Adam & Amber’s Blog

A while back I posted about a pizza vending machine and made the point that food preparation could easily be done more efficiently by robots. From a business standpoint I still agree with this, there will come a tipping point where it will be much more cost effective to maintain a robot, then employ people.

Recently, this topic of conversation has come back up around the lunch table and it got me thinking of another aspect of this robotic society. In a world of ATMs, Coffee Vending Machines, and Online Ordering we are quickly coming to a day when there is no reason to directly interact with a human all day. It is not hard to imagine a very efficient world where every non-internet business involves just a touch screen and a credit card swipe. I am not sure how I feel about that, this world would allow the introverted to stay introverted (which would make them happy), and the businesses could charge extra for the extroverts to get human interaction (which would make the businesses happy), but is anything lost?

I remember when I was in middle school one of the most uncomfortable things for an introverted youngster like myself to do was order pizza (probably not where you thought I was going). On half days a couple friends would usually come to my house (yes, introverts can have friends) and we would order pizza, for some reason making that phone call was nerve-racking. It seems idiotic to me now that I would be afraid to call and order pizzas, but it probably had to do with the fact that as a middle schooler I never really had to directly interact with “adult” strangers, alone, before that. It took some time, but I got over it (as most people do), but if it hadn’t been for that experience, or others like it, would I have ever broke out of my introverted shell? To put it another way, if all I had needed to do was go online and order the pizza, then I would have never been forced to face that irrational fear. This makes me think that the side effect to this ultra-efficient future, is a psychological one, and I am not sure this world needs more adult introverts (except, maybe for population control).

Looking at this another way, human interaction cuts down on the inherit stupidity of people. I found this blog today about a guy who decided to test out the Dominos Online Pizza ordering system, which allows you to be very specific about what you order. I am not saying that beef-bread isn’t a perfectly valid order, I just think that you should have to go through the indignity of an “excuse me? what was that again?” if you really want to order it. Don’t get me wrong, I can understand the flip-side of this, in my world of phone ordering an introverted, beef-bread loving, adult may never be able to get their beef-bread fix. Maybe, but maybe today’s satiated introverted beef-bread lover, would have been yesterday’s extroverted beef-bread restaurant pioneer, so we could all have enjoyed this little known culinary masterpiece.

Maybe none of this matters and we will adapt to fit technology into our society, instead of technology replacing our society, but hey, I got to use “beef-bread” in my argument and that has to count for something.

I normally wouldn’t post a video that would be embarrassing to someone else, but this is of a public performance, so I don’t feel too bad. It is strange that she appears to have worked so hard choreographing the routine and yet could play so out of tune. Anyway, the dancing, outfit, and playing combine to make a hilarious video, plus, using the trumpet as a gun, brilliant.

After writing yesterday about ‘Pushing Daisies’, I realized that I could probably write more on the other shows I have started watching this Fall. It is odd, but having the MythTV box makes me record and eventually watch more TV then I usually would (probably has something to do with having 6 tuners). So here is my “Top 10″ ranking of new Fall Shows I have watched, keep in mind these are the only 10 I have watched so it isn’t so much of a “Top 10″ as an “Only 10″:

10. Dirt Sexy Money (ABC)
Overly-simplified Description: Wealthy family has problem and the new family lawyer must fix them, while trying to figure who killed his father.
It very much has the feel of a Evening Soap Opera (ala Desperate House Wives), which means it probably will do ok, just isn’t my cup of tea. After watching an episode or two the characters just got annoying and I really didn’t care about the conflicts. I tried to get Amber started on it (seemed more up her ally) but she didn’t show much interest.

9. Moonlight (CBS)
Overly-simplified Description: Modern day Vampire Private Eye solves cases with young beautiful reporter.
I actually wanted to give this show a chance (I guess I figured TV really needed a vampire on it), but the acting is not great and the entire mood of the show doesn’t feel dark enough to fit the plot. That being said, it doesn’t take mush to be a Friday night hit, so maybe the show will stick around long enough to find itself.

8. K-Ville (FOX)
Overly-simplified Description: Cop show based in port Katrina New Orleans.
This show is actually better then I though it would be, but it also isn’t really all that original. The fact that it takes place in New Orleans adds some to the character development and alters the crimes a little, but at the end of the day crime is crime and a cop show is a cop show. Nothing against law enforcement and doctors, but you would think there could be other professions to base TV dramas around.

7. Reaper (CW)
Overly-simplified Description: Parents sold his soul to the devil, now he must collect lost souls.
There are two reasons I watched this show at all (and broke my “No CW” rule). First, the pilot was directed by Kevin Smith, with this concept and him at the helm it seemed like it would at least be worth a shot. Second, I really liked “Dead Like Me” and was hoping that this might in some way fill that void. I do have to say, that the pilot, directed by Smith, was good. A mix of supernatural, campy, and hilarious. Since then the show seems to be turning towards more generic CW Teen show, which I am sure will do them well (it has up to this point) but unless things get less teeny, I am not sure it will hold my attention.

6. Journeyman (NBC)
Overly-simplified Description: Man comes down with a case of the “Time Travels”. Think Quantum Leap, only more time traveling and less Bakula.
Another show that was better then I initially though it would be. The concept of random time traveling seemed to me not to have the legs to span multiple episodes (more of a movie concept, involving some vast government conspiracy). That being said, the episodic nature of the show allows them to split the main story of the what/why/how of the time traveling into small hints scattered throughout the shows, while at the same time giving you an interesting single episode story to follow. It is hard to believe this show will have a long life on NBC (maybe transfer to SciFi?), but hey Quantum Leap was on forever, so who knows

5. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Overly-simplified Description: Geek attempts to hook-up with sexy neighbor, hilarity ensues.
It is strange to see a sitcom on TV anymore, they don’t really seem to have a place other then on CBS where they actually flourish. My initial impression of the show wasn’t that great, it seemed idiotic to base a show around a group of nerds and their hot neighbor. However, the jokes are funny and because I hang out with a sometimes geeky group, the characters are sometimes too easy to relate to. The show is good for a laugh and makes for good fluff TV.

4. Bionic Woman (NBC)
Overly-simplified Description: Woman gets implanted with bionics, and aboriginally calls herself the Bionic Woman.
The pilot ran like a movie, big explosions, special effects, fights. All of which was a bit misleading as the show has fallen into a spy show with a scifi twist (which can feel a bit familiar). I do have two gripes with the show. One, the transition from regular woman to bionic seemed rushed. It would have been fun to see her be independent for a while, discover what she can do on her own. Two, there is a sub-plot between her and her sister that feels more “After School Special” then “Primetime TV”. My guess is that it was an attempt to grab a broader audience, but it just feels awkward and contrived. All that being said, the show is still very watchable and at least worth a shot.

3. Life (NBC)
Overly-simplified Description: Cop turned inmate turned back to cop finds himself in a generic cop show.
Another cop show, with another twist. Most people would probably hold that against ‘Life’, but there is some originality here, and the characters are interesting enough to warrant watching. I imagine that down the line the originality will get lost and the show will become completely generic, but for now it is worth a few viewings.

2. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
See full review here.

1. Chuck (NBC)
Overly-simplified Description: Nerd turns spy after receiving trippy email
I think this is a genius show by NBC. You take a night that has “Heroes”, which is basically required Nerd TV, and put on a show were a Nerd gets to do something extraordinary, become a spy. It is just good psychology, give people someone to watch that is similar to them, give him a cool ability, a beautiful partner, and a life more interesting then their own, and you got yourself a hit. On top of that, the show has some quality action, good comedy, and interesting plot lines. It seems like the show will have to go through a couple of interesting plot twists to survive more then a season, but if it can survive those it could last a while.
I am not sure I have accomplished much more by writing this then proving I watch too much TV (which I do), but maybe someone out there will find something interesting to watch off this list. As a general comment, it seems like the networks are doing a better job with new shows this year. The quality seems higher then in years past, which probably has two sides. Quality generally means pricey, and that generally means a show has to be better then average to survive. It is hard to see a show like ‘Bionic Woman”, “Pushing Daisies”, or “Chuck” surviving multiple seasons without pulling in good ratings.

I was tooling around youtube a while back when I stumbled upon this video, I can’t explain why but I find it hilarious. This is just one in a series of videos, you can check out their site here.

When I first read the pitch on Pushing Daisies I thought to myself, “what a stupid concept for a show”. The basic plot that I read then was that the show was based around a guy that for some completely unknown reason can bring people back to life by touching them, but if he touches them again they die and he cannot bring them back. However, if he doesn’t touch them again (killing them, …keep up) within 60 seconds someone else dies in their place. I am sure by this point you can understand why I would think that the concept for the show was stupid. Even writing it now I can’t imagine wanting to watch that show, and I wouldn’t have even given it a shot if it weren’t for a recommendation of a friend.

What you don’t get from the plot synopsis is that Pushing Daisies is a truly original television program. The cinematography has the feel of Big Fish or Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (which it also shares a similar narration) and the basic plot premise is so absurd that once you buy into it (which is surprisingly easy to do) the show has the freedom to do whatever they want with you, and they do. From cast members breaking out in musical numbers to cars that run on dandelions, nothing is to far fetched and that is refreshing.

The show is basically a crime show, every episode has a death (usually a few) and the main characters go about solving why the person died. You can probably see why being able to bring people back, even only for a minute, would be useful in this line of work. The plot is made more interesting by a cross-episode story arc, that involves the main character bringing back a recently killed estranged childhood sweetheart and not being able to bring himself to put her back under. They of course fall in love, which is complicated seeing as how if he touches her again she will die. The cool thing is that with as complicated and absurd as that sounds (and trust me that is just the surface, it gets much more complicated and absurd) the fact that the show revels in both it’s complexness and absurdity makes it incredibly smart and entertaining.

I won’t say this is a show that will stay on the air forever (I can’t imagine it having a broad enough appeal to be a mutli-season hit) or that original won’t turn into hokey after 20+ episodes, but for now it is definitely a show worth watching and catching up on. I have to applaud ABC for taking a chance on a show that I am sure needed to be explained multiple times before anyone even remotely understood what it was about.

P.S. If you want to catch-up ABC has some of the episodes online, a trend shared by all the major networks. It is getting to the point you don’t even need a tv anymore because they give the shows away, with fewer commercials, online. I’m not sure the angle the networks are using with putting all their shows online, but I like it.

It is hard to believe it has been so long since I wrote a blog post. Blogging is one of those free time activities for me, and when the free time goes out the window so does the blogging. I will use this post to get people caught up on what has been going on in our lives in the last month or so…

Marching Band
This is the biggest reason we haven’t had much free time. As I have mentioned before, Amber and I work with the Lourdes Marching Band (Amber as Color Guard Caption Head, me as Marching and Maneuvering/Visual Staff). We finished our successful season a couple weeks ago, which ended months of 2-3 practices per week plus weekend football games and competitions. Helping with the band is one of the highlights of my year, it is a fun activity, completely unrelated to computers or technology, and I get to spend a lot of time with my wife. That isn’t to say the season didn’t have its problems or frustrations, but it is a privilege to work with such a great group of students and staff.

Body Work
Unfortunately I don’t mean I am on a diet and exercise plan. Last week, while Amber and I were out for lunch and Hubbell House, my car was hit in the parking lot. Left a petty good dent in the driver’s side door. If that wasn’t bad enough, the driver was kind enough not to leave any information so I had the pleasure of reporting it to my insurance and paying my deductible (thank you anonymous driver). The car just got out of the shop today, so I was without personal transportation for much of the week, which isn’t really wasn’t all that bad. We still have Amber’s car to get around in, Andy and Darcy were kind enough to let me carpool (fun and eco-friendly), and as a result I am getting up earlier which is helping break my multi-month sleep-in-a-thon so I am back to a normal work day (and not ‘Jon’ work days).

Polka Music
Thinking that I was done with music for a while after Marching Band season was short lived. There was a need at work for a Polka Band to play for a site Oktoberfest event (the root beer kind). My friend Mike was on the committee that was planning the event and volunteered to get a band together, and me with my vast Trumpet experience (from 10 years ago) was an obvious addition. We were an unconventional polka band with a Tuba (Zane), Two Trumpets (Mike and Myself), and a French Horn (Jim), but we made it work.

I should interject that I am not a big fan of Polka, it is a fun dance in the sense that you can’t really do it wrong (as long as you are jumping around with the music) and I assume its popularity is set by the fact that it is easy to do when drunk. Polka music is ok, it is usually upbeat and fun, but I have always found it a bit hokey. That being said, I haven’t had an excuse to play my Trumpet in a while and playing music with friends is always sure to be a good time.

We played yesterday, and it was a blast. We weren’t perfect, but with only a couple weeks lead-in what can you expect. I’d like to think this would cause me to play my trumpet more, but realistically unless given a reason to practice it will be hard to keep up.

MythTV
I have been meaning to continue my mythtv saga, but with everything else going on it has been difficult to find the motivation. The box is still up and running fine, I recently added a HDHomerun network based HD tuner in honor of football season. Having HD on the Myth Box really makes a difference, unfortunately it also makes me change my recording style, from save everything to watch and delete (750 Gigs goes fast when you are recording as much as we do). I plan to write more soon on the final setup and how we are using it.

That is just a little of what we have been doing, I will try to get back to posting more interesting content now that I have some free time.