Just to Congratulate

Congratulations to the new National Programs Chairperson. The news and its delivery was definitely welcomed, and a pleasant interruption to being out and about on a Saturday evening. Definitely makes me want to serve on a board in some capacity. I miss it to an extent. I'll consider the R1AB. In my opinion, national programs chair is quite possibly the most important position, and I have every confidence that the new chair will give it the respect, attention, and successful execution that position requires.

I watched V for Vendetta this evening. It was very interesting. At first, I wondered how they were going to pull off a movie with someone wearing a mask the entire time, but if you're into symbolism, and you listen carefully, it means a lot.

Change of subject, before I spoil the movie.

I have an XM satellite radio trial for 3 months with my car. I barely listened to it at first, but I grew tired of my CDs, so I turned it on for a while. Its not bad, but I have some major concerns about it. Satellite radio, at least the way it seems, should have a level of quality that far surpasses normal radio. Over the years I have acquired a great many songs with varying quality, most easily represented by the bit rate. A clear song can range from 128kbps and up. I can tell that what I hear on XM is sent at lower than 128kbps, and is more likely 96kbps, which is something I will not pay for. Their reason for doing this, lower bit rate means they are sending less information per channel. Less information per channel means they can have more channels. They sacrificed quality for more variety, likely keeping in mind that they will gain a lot more listeners due to variety than they will lose because of quality. I happen to be one of the quality oriented individuals. I turn on regular radio, and it sounds better. I can burn CDs and it sounds much better. Why pay $12/month when all I find myself doing is noticing how bad it sounds?

~JL