Traditional Media (and WTAM): It’s Time to Catch On

OK, yet another evidence that the traditional media, even radio, doesn’t take mobile media or social media seriously. Here it comes.

I spent ten bucks for MLB Gameday Live on my iPhone.  Every game, every radio broadcast, plus the gameday diagrams, video highlights, and consolidated video replays.  Awesome.  In fact, the best value on the App Store if you ask me.

Only one problem: the local broadcaster of the Cleveland Indians, WTAM 1100 AM, which refers to itself with the catchphrase “the Big One”, hasn’t had a working stream of its broadcasts for over a week.  So when there’s a day game, like today, I am forced to listen to the opposing team’s broadcast team.

I could understand if I missed a portion of a broadcast due to technical problems at WTAM, but come on, the thing’s been down for over a WEEK.  What’s worse, the excellent iHeartRadio app for iPhone, which also carries the ClearChannel affiliate WTAM, has been absent the live stream for a over a week, too.  I couldn’t even listen to their web-browser stream yesterday when I tried.

So I’m listening to the Minnesota Twins crummy announcer instead of Tom Hamilton, the Indians’ announcer.

Come on WTAM, fix this. And keep it fixed.

Sump pump is working overtime

Well, spring has apparently sprung in northeast Ohio.  It’s been warm and rainy all day–which means spring is here.  I wouldn’t count out another frost though.  The tulips should be rising soon and I have my opening day tickets for the Indians. Can’t wait!   Hey remind me to start another blog desk meme, as my blog desk has undergone several enhancements since the last one.  See ya.

Comparison of Nokia N95 and N73 snapshots

The N73 has a 4.1 megapixel digital camera, while the N95 has a 5 megapixel camera. Both have a Carl Zeiss lens (not sure exactly but I think that’s a good thing?). So here are some pictures of some photos I took with each along with some remarks about them.
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The Davis-Besse nuke plant west of my home. Take with the N73.

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The infamous 8 Mile sign on I-75 in Detroit. Notice how well the N73 does with pictures taken in motion. This is especially true when there’s a lot of ambient lighting.

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Duane-o! N73. Plenty of ambient light, looks great.
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My cousin Ana and her hubby Matt. Great picture could’ve been greater on the N73 if the flash didn’t make everything look blue-green. Taken in a low-light situation.
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Another in-motion pic from the N73. This is the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Good subject, bad angle, and my car window was rolled up at the time.
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This is how I know I’m home, haha. N73 from my car window.

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Jacobs’ Field in Cleveland. Tribe versus the Orioles. N73 takes great pics as long as there’s plenty of ambient light. This one turned out wonderful.
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Friends of mine–Nilda and James. Sadly, the N73 just doesn’t hack it indoors.

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This is Mads and Tiger. Taken with the N95. Very little light in the room, but for some reason the flash on the N95 doesn’t seem to have as much of that blue-green effect as the N73 does. No guess as to why, but I just love this picture of my daughter! My son Jake is sitting in the next chair over, wearing his invisibility suit.
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Sunset after a nasty thunderstorm here in Cleveland. N95. Not much to say about this one.

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Another Mads N95 picture. She is dressed as a pinkheaded guru doing “the robot”.
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More buds, this time with the N95 in very low light room. I think this camera does better with the flash on than the cam in the N73.
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Jacobs Field club seats–Tribe against the Blue Jays. I like this picture a lot; it was taken during the bottom of the first inning on the N95. The Tribe won in eleven innings thanks to a Travis Hafner line drive.

Tribe Opening Day: Snowed Out on Good Friday

The kids and I went downtown to Jacobs Field for a day of hot dogs and home runs and ended up shivering in the wet, snowy cold for hours. The game was called with the Tribe up 4-0 with one strike to go in the bottom of the fifth, which would’ve made it an official victory for the Indians. Unfortunately, the umps decided they were freezing their butts off and despite Paul Byrd’s no hitter in progress, they dumped the game and erased it from the record books. Grr. The good news is I can exchange my tickets for another game later in the season. I’m thinking June as I prepare to go snowblow my driveway (again).