And the winner is: Blu-ray.
Yes, if you’ve purchased an HDTV and been contemplating whether to get a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player, the decision just got a whole lot easier. Toshiba announced that it’s abandoning the HD-DVD technology it invented, thus signaling the end of the format. It will now be remembered alongside other failed formats such as Betamax and 8-track tapes.
R.I.P. HD-DVD.
I heard on WCBU this morning (and read here in the Journal Star) that Dick Durbin was here, touting legislation that would help people who are facing foreclosure on their homes. It’s cleverly titled The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act.
It’s not mentioned in the article in the paper, but on the radio news, they had a sound bite of Durbin explaining one of the “reforms” he thinks is needed. He said there needed to be a cover sheet whenever you take out a mortgage that clearly identifies the amount you’re borrowing, the interest rate, your payment amount, and other critical pieces of info.
I’ve got news for Mr. Durbin: we already have that “cover sheet.” It’s called a “Truth in Lending” form, and it’s been a federal requirement since the passage of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) of 1968. That “cover sheet” has been around for 40 years. I’ve purchased two houses in my lifetime (1994 and 2005), and both times I received this form that showed in a very easy-to-read way how much I was borrowing, what the interest rate was, how many payments I was going to have to make and how much each payment was, and how much money I was going to be paying back to the financial institution in total.
Perhaps Durbin meant that his bill will step up enforcement of TILA; some lawsuits have already been filed over violations of the Act. But the way it came across on the radio was that there was currently no requirement to disclose these basic pieces of information to borrowers, but that Durbin’s proposed legislation was going to correct that oversight.
My train was late getting into Chicago on Sunday — so late that I missed the last train of the day headed back to Bloomington. So I got to stay overnight in the Windy City at Amtrak’s expense.
Some may scoff, but I still think it’s the best way to travel. Yes, it needs to be improved, but it sure beat driving, even with the delays. I was sitting in the dining car, relaxing comfortably, eating salmon and a baked potato while looking out the window, watching motorists slip and slide down the road in near-blizzard-like conditions while we traveled through Wisconsin.
I was happy to see we didn’t get hit with a blizzard here in Peoria. It made it easy to drive home from Bloomington on Monday. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
I’ll be on vacation for a few days and will not be blogging. Feel free to use this space as an open thread to talk about whatever you want in the meantime.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Here’s an article from the Wall Street Journal I hope hasn’t escaped the notice of the Journal Star, Junction Ventures, the Sierra Club, and Maloof Realty (not to mention the City of Peoria and Village of Peoria Heights):
Railroads are generating development in the same way they spawned towns and industrial sites over a century ago. Warehouse complexes are popping up next to new rail yards designed to load and unload trains carrying containerized goods. Major distribution operations have opened or are planned in places like Elwood, Ill., Kansas City, Mo., and Columbus, Ohio.
The social consequences are evident in developments like AllianceTexas. In the late 1980s, Hillwood Development Co., founded by Ross Perot Jr., son of the former presidential candidate, built a cargo airport outside Fort Worth, thinking that would be the best way to attract companies to 17,000 acres of land north of the city. As an afterthought, the company says, it made room for a rail yard.
A decade later, it’s the rail yard that has attracted huge warehouses, for companies such as J.C. Penney Co. and Bridgestone Corp. These and others get container loads of jeans, electronics, tires and such from Southern California ports. “I never would have thought having a rail hub in the middle of our development would have attracted so much interest,” says Thomas Harris, a Hillwood senior vice president.
The development, which employs 27,000, has spawned a nearby minicity of shopping centers, a golf course, a racetrack and 6,200 houses. More than 300 of the homes are high-priced models in gated communities.
Railroads have found friends among environmentalists, who see moving freight by train rather than truck as a way to reduce fuel burning and emissions.
Isn’t that interesting? A rail hub in the middle of the development. Attracted huge warehouses. Employs 27,000. Spurred retail and residential development. Not just cheap residential development either — “high-priced models in gated communities.” Helps the environment by reducing emissions. Too bad we don’t have something like that.
Oh, wait….
I hate it when local restaurants close. The Journal Star article implies that Red Zin is folding because of competition with all the new restaurants in East Peoria. I’m not convinced of that.
It might be their prices or the quality of their food or the consistency of their service. For example, the last time my wife and I visited Red Zin, we were served baked potatoes that were stone cold. Not lukewarm. Not even room temperature. Cold. At the prices they were charging, it didn’t motivate us to visit again anytime soon.
Maybe that was just a bad night. Or maybe there were a lot of bad nights, and customers got turned off. Who knows? One thing’s for sure, they weren’t losing business because people are scared off by the HRA tax. You might choose the East Peoria Steak n’ Shake over a Peoria Steak n’ Shake if you’re about the same distance from both when you decide to go. But if Red Zin is among your options for dinner, the tax rate is not likely to be high on your list of concerns.
So what’s next for this location?
I say, bring back The Grill. Or, better yet, have a ground-level restaurant that’s like a sports bar and restaurant where people can hang out before/after Rivermen and Bradley games whether they’re with their buddies or with their family, and put the highfalutin upscale restaurant at the top of the twin towers where diners can get an aerial view of the city while they eat. I’ve never quite understood why Peoria puts all its fine dining establishments in the basements of its downtown buildings.
If anyone can explain this to me, I’d appreciate it:
If nearby city-owned garage fees are hiked $1 per vehicle for concerts, hockey and basketball games next year, the Peoria Civic Center then might have to increase its parking costs. … “We’re usually 50 cents ahead of (the garage fees) . . . we’ll have to look at it,” [Civic Center General Manager Debbie] Ritschel said. “Usually people are willing to pay more when you are closer.”
Huh? Why the moral imperative that the Civic Center lot must cost more than city parking garages? And what’s Ritschel’s definition of “closer”? I would contend that the city garage across Jefferson is just as close as the Civic Center lot across Monroe. How curious.
For those who still use rabbit ears to get their TV signals, here’s a worrisome press release from the market-research firm Centris. Basically, it says that to really get a good signal, you need a rooftop antenna and be within 35 miles of the transmitter. If you’re farther away, or if you’re using rabbit ears, you may be left in the dark after the digital conversion.
I heard about it first through Broadcast Engineering. You can read their synopsis here.
NEW YORK, New York (February 12, 2008) – New proprietary research released today by Centris (www.centris.com), a leading market research firm, illuminates a major discrepancy in digital TV broadcast coverage that is critical to the upcoming DTV transition on February 17, 2009. The study, of U.S. television households reveals that there are serious “gaps” in digital TV signal coverage across the country. Coverage that millions of households will rely upon once analog signals are switched off exactly one year from now. That’s why I recommend looking in to the best iptv provider that way you can watch your favorite shows and movies without interuption. “We predict that digital TV signal coverage will be more limited than currently anticipated. An issue that, until now, has been completely overlooked by the FCC and governing bodies, and could have serious – and costly – implications for millions of consumers” says David Klein, Executive Vice President of Centris.
There are more than 40 million households currently receiving over-the-air analog signals in the U.S., according to Centris. These reflect a combined total of as many as 117 million sets that are unconnected from cable or satellite video networks – a figure that far exceeds any previous projections on the number of people who will be affected by the national switch from analog to digital broadcasting. With less than one year – and counting – until the DTV transition takes places, the potential gaps in digital coverage present a huge problem for the TV industry, and an equally large opportunity for cable, satellite and telecom video service providers as well as for manufacturers and distributors of “smart” television antennas. Similar problems have emerged in the digital transition taking place in the UK, where it is recognized that problems with digital coverage will require the use of more sophisticated antennas.
THE GLITCH: EXPLAINED
Over-the-air (OTA) consumers are currently being educated on three available options. Two of the three options – acquiring new digital TV sets and purchasing government subsidized digital-analog converter boxes – are entirely dependent upon receiving digital TV signals through an antenna. Without adequate broadcast signal coverage or a sufficiently sensitive roof-top antenna, Centris forecasts, these options will simply not work. For consumers living in problem areas where broadcast gaps exist, installing a sophisticated roof-top antenna is a possible option but signing up for a cable, satellite or telecom video provider is the only guarantee that their TV sets will continue to work. This is not what the Federal Government claims.
“Consumers are being urged to purchase equipment that may or may not work when they bring it home – never before has such an important transition been conducted on a trial and error basis. The reality is, if consumers want guaranteed ‘free’ TV, they will have to pay for it,” says Klein.
DISCOVERING THE GAPS
Centris examined several large TV markets and exercised models of coverage to determine how many broadcast stations could be received in zip codes within 5 mile intervals of the TV towers in a 60-75 mile radius corresponding to the FCC-identified service contours. Alarmingly, the results showed that there was little continuous coverage beyond 35 miles. The explanation lies in the fact that the antennaweb model used in the Centris study takes into account outdoor receiving antenna sensitivity and multipath interference. Certain households – for example: those that are not elevated; are surrounded by trees; or have set-top antennas instead of roof-top antennas; among other factors – are at higher risk of having limited or no signal coverage. Centris surveys reveal that 75% or more of over-the-air households have only set-top antennas.
“These are very real factors, that have until now not been accounted for. The effect will have extensive ramifications, not only among consumers, but also electronics retailers and manufacturers who can expect an influx of costly returns when it is realized that the converter boxes and new digital TV’s don’t work,” says Barry Goodstadt, Senior Vice President of Centris. “In addition, with so many sets potentially at risk of going dark, network, local and public television, advertisers and agencies will likely be adversely affected.”
THE COUNTDOWN
The hidden gaps in digital TV coverage will undoubtedly magnify existing levels of confusion in the marketplace. According to Centris November, 2007 survey results, 45% had no idea that the DTV transition was taking place; and among those who are aware of the transition, only 56% could correctly state when the analog transmission is scheduled to stop. With the one year-out countdown upon us, it is critical that the gaps in digital coverage are included in national dialogue on the DTV transition.
I wonder if Ray LaHood read George Will’s column on earmarks today? Will puts the blame for Republicans’ minority status right in the lap of their abuse and defense of federal earmarks.
Dr. Michael Siegel is worried. He’s concerned that “the anti-smoking movement is increasingly becoming more extreme” and “getting out of control.” And he’s started an organization to counteract it.
Due to the new law of anti-smoking many people have been switching to the products that are being sell at
Don’t think that Siegel is pro-smoking. He’s not. According to his website, the Boston resident has “published numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers on the health effects of secondhand smoke” and that his articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and other prestigious publications. No, it’s precisely because he’s anti-smoking that he’s worried about misrepresentations of science by anti-smoking organizations. He’s afraid that the public will not take anti-smoking campaigns seriously if organizations keep exaggerating health risks and playing to people’s emotions.
Thus, he has founded The Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control. He says he “became disillusioned by the direction in which the anti-smoking movement is going.”
The Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control is dedicated to ensuring the ethical and honest practice of tobacco control by anti-smoking organizations in the U.S. It aims to help ensure that efforts to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality are sustainable by a movement that can remain credible and effective into the future. Its premise is that the anti-smoking movement is increasingly becoming more extreme, getting out of control, going too far in its agenda, and losing its solid public health basis. The tactics being used by many anti-smoking organizations have become questionable, including misleading and deceiving the public, improperly attacking individuals, and improperly using kids to promote a political agenda. The agenda itself has become less and less public health-based; it now include [sic] efforts to deny employment to smokers, treat smoking parents as child abusers, and ignore basic issues of individual privacy and autonomy to coerce smokers into adopting healthier behavior.
In order to restore the movement, the Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control hopes to highlight the tactics currently being used, bringing these tactics to public attention in order to hold public health groups accountable to their primary constituency: the public.
If you visit his site, you’ll see example after example of inaccurate health claims and misleading statements published by anti-smoking groups. In particular, he takes on statements made by Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights (ANR) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, two organizations that are heavily relied upon by Smoke-Free Illinois advocates.
Siegel thinks the health risks are compelling enough without exaggeration, but apparently the public didn’t, which is why these other organizations felt the need to resort to hysterical rhetoric and heavy-handed tactics. It’s good to see an honest physician speak out against such abuses.