Where Icarus Flies, Episode 13, Don’t call it a comeback…

WhereIF Episode 13 Contents

Episode 13 has been in the works for a long time. Almost ten years! I now know how Meat Loaf must have felt with Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell or Boston with Third Stage. 😊

In any case, it is good to be back in the studio. A lot is going on that needs yet another voice to give social commentary. Well, either that or I just like to hear myself talk!

Let’s Play Catch-Up

There is so much that has happened. Can I cram it all into one little segment? Nope. I won’t even try. I will, however, cover the things that stand out to be some of the more significant happenings in the last ten years. I will also give an update on my own life. A nice fireside chat.

Trump’s New Reality

I, of course, cannot start up again without starting with Trump. Just the way he likes it. However, instead of attacking and complaining, which is easy to do, I’d like to take a look at what is happening right now. The impeachment investigation is in full swing, and subpoenas are being issued and ignored. Let’s look at what that means with an eye on history and some interesting case law setting precedent. I am no legal scholar, nor do I pretend to be one, but I found some interesting things in my amateur research.

Return of The Hoover Report

Our old friend, Joey Hoover, is in the house! Where has he been? What has he been up to? We finally get partial answers to these burning questions!! We also find out who he sets his sights on this week with the latest installation of The Hoover Report!

Attribution

This podcast uses selected background music by Kevin MacLeod licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license from https://filmmusic.io. Visit him at https://incompetech.com.

New Platforms!!!

I am excited to announce that you can find the Where Icarus Flies podcast on many of the major outlets. Currently, I am on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Spotify, TuneIn, Google Play, and Blubrry. You will see the subscribe links in each podcast post as well as the “Where to Find WIF” section of the website. Of course, a search for Where Icarus Flies on each of those platforms will also work.

I will announce more platforms as my network grows.

Feedback

All show ideas, comments and questions can be sent to feedback@whereicarusflies.com

26

Oct

by WhereIF

As I was walking down the street I swear I heard a familiar sound. It tugged at the far reaches of my mind. No, more than a sound. Music. A tune. A jingle. A song. I was not quite sure, but there it was hanging in the air around me. It wrapped around me like a cozy blanket. So safe. So warm. So protecting. So welcoming.

Is it getting louder? I think maybe it is…

Crystal water turns to dark 
Where ere it's presence leaves it's mark
And boiling currents pound like drums
When something wicked this way comes…

A presence dark invades the fair 
And gives the horses ample scare 
Chaos rains and panic fills the air
When something wicked this way comes... 

Ill winds mark it's fearsome flight, 
And autumn branches creak with fright.
The landscape turns to ashen crumbs,
When something wicked this way comes... 

Flowers bloom as black as night 
Removing color from your sight 
Nightmarish vines block your way 
Thorns reach out to catch their prey 

And by the pricking of your thumbs 
Realize that their poison numbs 
From frightful blooms, rank odors seep 
Bats & beasties fly & creep 

'Cross this evil land, ill winds blow 
Despite the darkness, mushrooms glow 
All will rot & decompose 
For something wicked this way grows.

-- Ray Bradbury
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes...

-- Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1
William Shakespeare

8

Apr

by WhereIF

What is that? Can you feel it? Right there, on the back of our neck. A tingling as the hairs stand on end. Maybe, you notice an ever so slight sweet, pungent earthy zing in your nostrils, just like the smell before a summer storm. Maybe it is just a feeling you have that something is just outside your conscious perception. Hmmmm. You may be right…

A Classic Cheater!!!WhereIcarus Flies, Episode 12, the last honest podcast…

WhereIF Episode 12 Contents

Back again! Did you miss me? Did you think I was gone for another 5 months? Well, no such luck!!! Some quick website news. I know that you cannot get enough of my pithy yet thought provoking Twitter musings. So, I have a new section of the website that has archived all of my tweets. The collection is browsable by moth and fully searchable. You may not have asked for it, but you sure got it!!! There is a link on my website or feel free to visit WhereIF’s Tweets now.

That is all I have to say about that… So now, on to this week’s show.

Cheating in Sports

Cheating and sports go hand-in-hand. Is there a difference, however, between working to get a call and breaking the rules? Derek Jeter, poster boy for wholesome goodness, truth, justice and the American Way is being vilified for overacting in a recent game. He did not get hit by a pitch, but he acted as if he did and got the call. Besides hamming it up WAY to much, is he a cheater? What are some other memorable cheating moments in sports history? We’ll take some time to mull it over this week.

Big Brother 12 on CBS

One of my favorite summer guilty pleasures! I do love this show. This summer’s cast could possibly have been the most boring cast in Big Brother history, yet they are not the worst cast ever, in my opinion. What is is whit these reality shows that keep us watching? I spend some time talking about this hit summer show.

iTunes Ping

Is it a social networking platform, a marketing ploy, a useless idea or the next phase in Apple’s media domination? I share my opinions on this new grass roots effort by Apple to become our media control center. I would also love to hear your thoughts on this.

The Hoover Report

Joey Hoover stops by to give us his thoughts on Derek Jeter, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nikita on the CW and more!

Masterworks Theatre

This week is another special MWT. With my budding guitar skills (well, maybe budding is too strong) I give you my version of “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel.

Podcast File Info – Episode 12

I used an enhanced version of the podcast (.m4a) as the default version in my RSS Feed and on iTunes. If you have any problems with it, let me know (although if you use iTunes, .m4a is not a problem). I have received feedback that some mobile devices have trouble with the enhanced version (yes, that is you Blackberry). You can still get the .mp3 version from the website.

  • Running time: 57 minutes
  • MP3 file size: 54MB
  • M4A file size: 56MB

All show ideas, comments and questions can be sent to feedback@whereicarusflies.com

Bill

Karen Gillian plays Amy PondWhere Icarus Flies, Episode 11, covering topics throughout time and space…

WhereIF Episode 11 Contents

I have returned! It has been a long hiatus, but Joey and I were back at it this past week. I have missed being on the air very much and Joey has been bursting at the seams waiting to get in front of a microphone once again!!! I never thought it would take this long to get to episode 11! As a wise man once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You just never know what you are gonna get.” 😉

So let me get right to it and tell you about this week’s podcast…

What Happened to my Job?

I have been out of work for a year. It has taken a steep toll on me, not just financially, but mentally and physically as well. I spend some time this week talking about the toll being unemployed can take on a person. Dealing with the unemployment agency, worrying about paying the bills, being ignored by hiring managers that you interview with. It all adds up. I talk about my own personal experiences.

Has Google Lost its Mojo?

Google has made blunder after blunder of late. Big mistakes such as backing a private internet to messing up the Google News and Google Image Search interfaces. I send some time talking about why I think that Google had jumped the shark.

Doctor Who

You had to have noticed the gorgeous red head above! That is actress Karen Gillian who plays Amelia “Amy” Pond a companion to the eleventh incarnation of The Doctor on BBC’s Sci-Fi institution Doctor Who. This show has been around for the better part of the last 50 years. The latest incarnation of the show began in 2005. I only started watching it again this past January, just as the eleventh doctor took over. The show this past season has blown me away! It is excellent! I have now seen most of the episodes from 2006-2010 (thank goodness for The Interwebs). If you like Science Fiction and have not watched the current series, you are missing out. Matt Smith, who plays the the good doctor, just me the best Doctor Who ever! (Sorry Tom Baker and David Tennant)

The Hoover Report

Joey is back in the studio to give us his unique perspective on society, sports, the entertainment world and current events.

Masterworks Theatre

Masterworks Theatre returns with something a little different. This month I sing and play the guitar. Oh, it is nothing great, I assure you. I only started teaching myself to play at the beginning of the year. I am still very much a hack, but I have fun.

Podcast File Info – Episode 11

I used an enhanced version of the podcast (.m4a) as the default version in my RSS Feed and on iTunes. If you have any problems with it, let me know (although if you use iTunes, .m4a is not a problem). I have received feedback that some mobile devices have trouble with the enhanced version (yes, that is you Blackberry). You can still get the .mp3 version from the website.

  • Running time: 57 minutes
  • MP3 file size: 54MB
  • M4A file size: 56MB

All show ideas, comments and questions can be sent to feedback@whereicarusflies.com

Bill

21

Aug

by WhereIF

Five GuysI am still on my quest to find the best burger around. There are really three awards, Best Fast Food Burger, Best Restaurant Burger and Best Overall Burger. No, I am not including homemade burgers.

So far, on my quest I have sampled burgers from places like: Carl’s Jr., McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, In-N-Out, Jack-in-the-Box, BJ’s Brewhouse, Rockbottom Brewery, The Britannia Arms, Johnny Rockets, Fuddruckers, Red Robin, Chili’s, and the list goes on. By the end of the year I will dedicate a podcast to my burger experience.

Yesterday I visited a new contender in the Bay Area: Five Guys. This is a chain that has been around in other parts of the country for a long time. They are new to the West Coast, however. The shocking and controversial news recently from Zagat’s is that Five Guys is the best fast food burger in America, ousting the home town favorite In-N-Out. Now, anyone who knows me at all, has listened to my podcast, read my blog, or follows my Titter feed, knows full well that I believe that In-N-Out is the most overrated burger in America! With a burger connoisseur buddy, @kevincrossman, I ventured into what some call a burger paradise.

The Environment

Your surroundings can have an impact on your burger experience. Should it? We can argue that later… Anyway, I thought that Five Guys reminded me of a mix of Johnny Rockets and In-N-Out. It has a fast food joint look from the 50s. Fairly stark, clean and full of potatoes! What? Potatoes? Yes, that is what I said. Apparently they are very proud of using Idaho potatoes. The lobby is filled with bags and bags of them! The bags are arranged in such a way that it marks the boundary between the line and cashiers and those just scoping out the menu.

There were far too many quotes of how great Five Guys is for my liking. Zagat reviews on the wall, quotes from national and local reviewers on the walls. Who are they trying to convince, me or themselves? I am hoping that this isn’t the typical decor and that it is only because they are brand new to this area. Still, it put me off.

They have a box of peanuts that you can freely partake of while you wait. I am not sure why this is a good idea. Peanuts in a burger place? I mean, unless there are arcade games around or they serve beer, what the heck are they thinking?

The Menu

The menu is simple, which is fine with me. No need to mess with your focus. Compared to In-N-Out, Five Guys does have a bit larger selection. They have hamburgers, cheese and bacon, so you can order a burger in any combination of those items. You can also order the burgers in little sizes, I assume for kids. They have a hot dog, cheese dog and bacon cheese dog. They have a grilled cheese sandwich and something veggie. I don’t know if it was a veggie wrap or veggie burger. Honestly, every time my eyes strayed to the veggie item, it burned my eyes and made my head hurt. Why have such an abomination in a burger joint? I mean, if you are a meatasaurus why would you drag your chlorophyll loving friends here? Seriously?!?!?

Anyway… I was impressed with the toping choices. Five Guys has all the classics: ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, onions and such. They also have grilled onions, jalapenos, A1, grilled mushrooms, hot sauce, BBQ Sauce and green peppers. Nice selection!

The fries come in two sizes which are basically big or bigger. They come in two styles: cajun and normal.

As for drinks, Five Guys has the normal assortment of fountain drinks. One addition, they did have caffeine free Diet Coke at the fountain. You don’t see that very often. Something shocking: They do NOT have shakes. This is, in my professional opinion, a HUGE miss. They have unneeded extras like a veggie sandwich and grilled cheese but no chocolate shake? I thought they were supposed to be serious?

This isn't my actual burger, but it could be its long lost twin!

My Order

I ordered the bacon cheese burger with ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions. I also got regular fries and a Diet Coke. Yeah, that’s right, a Diet Coke. Deal with it.

The Fries

I’ll start with the fries. Basically, they were good. Unlike those nasty, cardboard-like, denizens from potato hell that In-N-Out doles out, Five Guys fries are tasty. They are not the best fries in the world, but worthy of being categorized as Good Eats. They are thick, almost like steak fries, but just shy of crossing that line. My regular sized fries had tons! Way more than I should have eaten.

The Burger

First, let me start with the good. It was big. I almost had to unhinge my jaw and go all python on it. Also, the bacon was EXCELLENT! Crisp, thick enough and tasty! Best bacon in a fast food place ever, hands down. I was in awe over how they made the meat… instead of one patty, they made two smaller patties. In between these two mini-meat mines, they melted the cheese. Brilliant!!! Well, it seemed brilliant at the time…

My first bite, I was not in heaven, but I thought it was a good burger. My main focus on that first bite was the great bacon! As I eased out of my bacon bliss, I began to realize that the burger itself had some major flaws. Originally, I thought the two smaller patty idea was a good one. Turns out, not so much.

I know that fast food burger places will never have nice thick burgers like you make at home or get at a full service restaurant. I also know that due to health reasons and the fact that their patties are thin, fast food places cook their burgers well done. So, knowing this, making your burger patty smaller and thinner is not a good idea. It didn’t even seem like the meat was kneaded and massaged into a decent patty. They were barley smushed lumps of ground beef. Without my pile of condiments, the burger would have been dry.

That brings me to the bun. Just like at In-N-Out, they grill the inside of the bun. This is a good thing in my ratings book. That is the only good thing that I can say about the bun. I did not care for the taste of it. Now, a good bun can certainly enhance a burger and bring it to new heights. At the very least, you can get away with a substandard bun as long as it does its job, namely: HOLD THE CONTENTS OF THE BURGER TOGETHER! Why did I yell that? Because the flimsy, weak-ass bun that Five Guys gave me can’t even do that. Less than halfway through my meal it started falling apart. I have no problem with a good, messy burger, but that is only when things fall out of the sides. When it is messy because it falls apart, that is an entirely different story. Epic bun fail!

The Verdict and Rating

Five Guys hardly has the best fast food burger in America. As you already know, I do not worship at the altar of In-N-Out, so I have no hidden burger agenda when I say that Five Guys Burgers and Fries is not better than In-N-Out Burger. Although, even with its annoyances I did think it was a decent burger. It wasn’t an embarrassment, Five Guys is just not as good as its reputation. If I was with friends who wanted to go to Five Guys, I could deal with that. I just would not seek Five Guys out on my own.

To be fair to them, I will try Five Guys one more time before my big burger podcast. Thank goodness they have bacon, it really does make everything better!

WhereIF Rating: 3 sets of wings out of 5.

3 out of 5

15

Jun

by WhereIF

This is an original poem that I wrote back in 1991. It took me a lot of digging to find it. Is it a copout for Week 1 by posting something that I had already written? No I don’t think so. That is the point of WhereIF a Week, sharing original works. I don’t have very many already made items, so 99% of my posts will be recent work. I was always proud of this poem and am glad I have a venue to show it off!

I originally wrote it on some word processor on a VAX, so a mono-spaced, sans-serif font was all there was. Which is exactly what this needed to work. Because I didn’t want to mess with CSS within WordPress, I decided to type it up again in Word and use a screenshot.

Okay, WhereIF a Week 1 is posted. I am excited. This should be fun!

Bill

15

Jun

by WhereIF

What Next????Well, what started off strong as a podcast a week has turned into nothing more than a linkfarm to my Twitter posts. I really enjoy doing the podcast, yet I procrastinate. Why? I guess it just shows that I don’t have the passion for it right now. I have been out of work for 10 months now and every day I grow more complacent. I need to change that.

I recently found the wonderful musical works of Jonathan Coulton (JoCo for short). He is quite amazing and his website is worth checking out. While I was reading about him, I learned that for a year he posted a new song every week. He called this endeavor “Thing a Week.” I am inspired. I am now going to do something similar. No, I am not going to post a song a week. I have only been self learning guitar for about six months, so I have a long way to go before I worry about music. 😉 So what am I going to do?

The WhereIF Experiment: Part II

I started my podcast as an experiment and a way to learn more about the modality for disseminating information. Yeah, I know, a pretentious way to say, “I wanted to learn how to podcast and understand its world.” I know I only have 10 episodes posted (as of this writing), but I have learned a lot about the podcasting world. Is there more to learn, most certainly, but as far as the mechanics go I am down with that. It helps that I have three years experience as a DJ and a bit of time as a radio newscaster.

So, it is time to bring my experiment to the next level. Whatever that is. My raw plan: post “something” every week for six months. What???? Only six months? What the hell? Why not a year? JoCo did it. Julie Powell did it. What gives??? A year is a freakin’ long time. Honestly, I am not sure I am up for six months, but I’ll give it a try. It took me like eight months to put up 10 podcasts. After four months (so, sometime in September) I will make a decision to commit to another six months or not. Lame? Possibly. Copout? I don’t think so. What is so special about a year? Six months isn’t something to scoff at.

What will that something a week be? Right now, I don’t have a plan for that. My brainstorming is that it will be things like: a podcast episode, original poetry or short stories, animation, comics, possibly tutorials or demos. My intent is to have it something more than just a blog post a week. That would be lame. My intent is to post some original work of some sort that is substantial.

When will I post? Hmmmmmm… I don’t have a commitment for that yet. I was thinking I would shoot for every Tuesday. Possibly I will just post sometime in the week (Sunday through Saturday).

So, there is my idea. It doesn’t really matter what you think about it, since I am doing it anyway. Although, as always, I would love to hear your feedback.

Does the Project Have a Name?

Not officially. “Thing a Week” has already been done. The WhereIF Project could have been cool, but it seems too close to Julie Powell’s. WhereIF a Week? What are your suggestions?

When Does “WhereIF a Week” Begin?

There is no time like the present. It begins this week. Since it is already Tuesday, I better think of something to post fast. So, gotta run…

Bill

The Obama Plan...Where Icarus Flies, Episode 10, trying to educate the masses…

WhereIF Episode 10 Contents

Blog Post Note: It has now been over two months since I last posted a podcast. This podcast was recorded on March 18th, it is not April 28th. Man am I a lame-ass! I just listened to this episode again and wow, my voice was still thrashed due to my bout with H1N1. I sound MUCH better now!!! — Bill

By not posing a podcast in over a month, Where Icarus Flies is in danger of becoming irrelevant. Well, that assumes that we were relevant to begin with. 😉 A lot has happened since Joey and I were last on the air. I joined the 40 club, we went on a trip to Massachusetts, the Vancouver Olympics came and went, I contracted H1N1 and battled the Swine Flu for two weeks, President Obama declared he was not a friend of teachers and Little League Baseball season started. Those are just the major items on the list!

The good news: we are back! My “weekly” podcast may end up becoming a bi-weekly podcast, but I’ll do my best! It is amazing how much life gets in the way! Hey, at least my podcast wasn’t off the air as long as Adam Curry’s!

So, what does WhereIF have in store for you this week? Let’s take a look…

Where Icarus Flies Jambalaya!

Jambalaya is a wonderful Cajun dish of rice with shrimps, chicken, and vegetables. The word Jambalaya most likely comes from the Provençal word  jambalaia, meaning a mish mash. That is what the WhereIF Jambalaya segment is. A mish mash of topics that can sometimes boarder on the spicy! This week I talk about a potential National ID Card, Zurich’s “Fish Lawyer,” and Google vs. the little guy.

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

Digital Rights Management, or DRM for short, is a broad term to indicate one of many possible techniques for restricting the free use and transfer of digital content. The digital content is most commonly a movie, song, game, document (mainly PDFs), audio book or more. The case for DRM is that without a strong system in place to ensure only paying customers can access media, piracy will run rampant and cut drastically into profits for content producers and its distributors. On paper or sitting around a conference room table, this sounds quite reasonable.

In practice DRM does very little to curb piracy and mainly gets in the way of a consumer’s right to enjoy their legally purchased digital content in ways that comply with reasonable fair use guidelines. Although the public face of DRM would have you believe that its sole purpose is to protect the poor copyright holder’s intellectual property, it does little to do so. At they same time DRM proponents argue that the rights of the consumer are paramount. DRM is mainly about use (or more accurately non-use) of the digital content, not about the rights of the consumer.

This week, I spend tome time talking about DRM. Can you guess which side of the debate I am on?

America’s Public Education Fail

I have talked about this before, Public Education in the United States at the K-12 level is an embarrassment. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a sick joke and President Obama does not have an adequate plan to fix our education woes. Everything about President Obama’s education plan smacks of public pandering. Oh, there are parts that sound good to the general public, but that is only because the general public does not know anything about education. Tying teacher pay and performance rating to test scores is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Especially since the test that are being used are inadequate and our current education standards are not reasonable.

On top of that, President Obama created what can be best described as a secret society to dole out needed money to states in need. The bogus Race to the Top program is a farce. California did not get needed government money because most of the School Districts and Teacher’s Unions in the state would not agree to the out-of-touch, nonsensical mandates of President Obama’s plan. Most everyone remotely knowledgeable about Education will tell you that using standardized tests to identify good vs. bad teachers, is not just a bad idea, it is idiotic!

President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan had no problem showing their true colors when they both supported the firing of all 93 teachers and administrators at a failing Rhode Island School. Proponents of the firing like to paint the picture of an impoverished and helpless student body under the thumb of an evil teacher’s union and a brave and visionary superintendent of schools who would not take it any more. Throwing the fantasy away, we see a school that has a student body that has been below level for a long, long time. A fairly new superintendent who is trying to make a name for herself and and teachers who are shackled down by NCLB and do not know what else to do. Okay, maybe I am painting the picture in reverse, but that is how I see it. The mass firing had nothing to do with helping the kids. It was a hardball negotiation tactic used by the superintendent that now has the teacher’s union back at the table cowering. Oh and the nuclear option of fireing all of the teachers come in spite of a state report written last April that focused on the high school’s reading and writing proficiency, which have gone up 22 percent and 14 percent respectively over the past two years.

Due to President Obama and Secretary Duncan’s support of this draconian move, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers both lambasted the pair. Firing the entire faculty of a school is not a recipe for turning around a struggling school. That plan relies on a magical pool of excellent teachers to spring forth and replace the old teachers. It is a plan that is naïve at best and desperately misguided.

Hoover Report

Joey is in the studio and itching to be back on the air. He takes on sports, pop culture and the St. Patrick’s Day staple: corned beef and cabbage!

Masterworks Theatre

A special Masterwork’s Theatre this week that ties in to my battle with the Swine Flu!

Podcast File Info – Episode 10

I have gone back to making the enhanced version of the podcast (.m4a) the default version in my RSS Feed and on iTunes. If you have any problems with it, let me know (although if you use iTunes, .m4a is not a problem). I have received feedback that some mobile devices have trouble with the enhanced version (yes, that is you Blackberry). You can still get the .mp3 version from the website.

  • Running time: 63 minutes
  • MP3 file size: 61MB
  • M4A file size: 63MB

All show ideas, comments and questions can be sent to feedback@whereicarusflies.com

Bill