Just a couple extra views of Hollywood Beach, Florida, on a late winter day. On the left, looking northeast out over the Atlantic Ocean. This is five miles south of Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Temperature is 79F with a slight ocean breeze to keep things comfy.
On the right is a typical Florida beach bar, in this case a Tiki. This hotel is called the Riptide, and it faces the ocean beaches. There is no need for walls or curtains year round. Most of the serving staff are Canadians working under the table, which is where most tourists drink themselves. That's not a problem, as the entire beach area is within staggering distance.Happy Earth Day. Except for this neighborhood. Some rotten French-Canadien has moved in and destroyed paradise. Typical half-brained loser brings a yapping Chihuahua into the middle of a residential community. Time to invest in a birdhouse. And to do a little checking on his Quebec license plates. And with the immigration department. And with Revenue Canada. Obviously, we were getting far too comfortable around here and that is something a Canadian cannot abide by. Seems they turned around and went back to Canada in a fast hurry.
Big Jim called y’day for some tech support with his Karaoke machine, shown in today’s photo. This is a JB-199 Premier, presumably the JB means “jukebox”. He has 31,000 Karaoke songs in the memory and needed just one of them burned to CD.The attempt required three hours, many phone calls, and finally a visit from the vendor. Within moments, I had diagnosed the burner as not CDG compatible. Nobody would believe me because it was known I had never seen this equipment before. The other two and three-quarter hours was waiting for others to arrive at the same conclusion.
Who remembers all that research on Karaoke formats I had so much to say about a few months ago? Yeah, I know, who could forget? Well, this is a classic situation where these things can pay off. Within moments I was able to determine the Karaoke Machine seen here is nothing more than a very expensive Win XP SP3 computer. The display, just visible in the background, auto-boots to something called the CAVS system. But far more captivating was the file structures (once I found the D: drive). Although the unit is billed as a CDG (compact disk graphics), all of the files were (ordinary) mp3s with a matching file suffix “.ngc”. Aha, if it is MP3, it is completely compatible with my existing gear, a smooth move. Plus, I figured out how the files are structured and located by the software. The vendor said he drove over was to meet this “mysterious” friend of Jim’s who had grasped the entire system so readily. He wants to talk soon.
Thanks to my solo act at Jimbos, I may suddenly be 30 months ahead of the competition when it comes to creating Karaoke as backing tracks for “live” shows. No, not ticky-bop MIDI, but the real McCoy. Or better, the real McCartney, actually playing lead in my band. I now have the technology (and they don’t). To think how, back in 2005 I bought my first book on burning CDs, and the Hippie scoffed it as a bad investment. (I had taken the book along on a trip out to North Port.)
[Author's note 2015-04-22: In the end a new generation of Karaoke equipment made the equipment I was looking at obsolete. Why bother with fragile, bulky CDs when everything is available on a hard drive. Somebody walked into the shop and gave me a complete Karaoke setup for free. At the same time, several local entertainers got out of the business and sold out for pennies. However, my own show was taking time and making money, so I never pursued Karaoke again until 2014.]
Meanwhile, this just might propel me ahead into late August (based on my music planning schedule). Time to haul out that Karaoke machine a lady gave me last year. If I can burn even one successful MP3/ngc combination, I will be just a flat-screen TV away from one incredibly modern and impressive Karaoke show.
From what I saw last night, nobody from the vendor right down to the performer knows a thing about duplicating or modifying those files. They are stuck with what they can buy; I would have no such restriction. And you bet yer azz I’ve got some great ideas on how to improve things. The giggling and rubbing of hands together nearly drowns out the sound of that Chihuahua right outside my window.
I’m still reading Ehrenreich’s book, more out of momentum than anything else. She sparks your interest by presenting a few early facts, then drops to sounding like an O’Rourke wannabe, elaborating on the obvious. Seminars, networking and dress-for-success theories are all the proof you need that America is doomed, yet that’s all she’s done for the last 100 pages. In fact, she’s done pretty much everything except look for a job. The book’s a must-read for those who take twenty years longer than average to clue in.
[Author’s note: Ehrenreich’s footnotes in “Bait and Switch” are actually more informative than the work. According to them, I am one of the few Americans left who will soon be enjoying a defined-benefit pension plan as opposed to a 401(k). I learned COBRA, the health insurance option, stands for “Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act”. It allowed the unemployed to continue their health insurance by paying 102% of the premium (or about half a maximum $550 unemployment insurance check). Only a politician could have come up with that one.]
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