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"It's a knockout!"
Is it a bad thing that I love the Peter Gabriel song "Games Without Frontiers"? It's such a STRANGE song. The lyrics are a fusion of game show references, anti-war messages and whatever else you bring to the table. For example, one of the lines in the first verse, "Adolf builts a bonfire, Enrico plays with it", makes me giggle because it gives me a very insane mental image.
Moving right along... I find it funny I'm pulled to anti-war messages from the Cold War. Me thinks it's a reaction to my general pissed-off-ness at modern culture and the nostalgia factor. I can't stand the over the top aggressiveness of most anti-war media - you can't fight violence with violence. I'd prefer to enjoy (and create >_> ) media that uses humour to level the playing field. Humour and good spirits >>> riots and weapons. And it's a whole lot more subversive.
And now the FUN part of the day: A review of WestJet's LiveTV service.
WestJet got this brand new shiney "Live TV" system put into their 737-700. There's a TV set located in the back of the chair in front of you, giving each person their own personal set. The set is rather small, about 3 inches by 4 inches, and the angle of the screen can be adjusted up or down to reduce glare. The controls are located in the armrest. You can control the volume, the channel, and the brightness.
The WestJet website proudly lists the following stations as being carried: A&E, ABC, Animal Planet, CBC (6 feeds), CBS, CTV, CTV Newsnet, CTV Travel, Discovery Channel, Fox, Global (7 feeds), Much More Music, NBC, SRC, TLC, TSN and The Score. This adds up to 28 channels, but my set could only access 25. If I tried, I could probably find something to watch.
Probably the most intresting channel they don't list is the "LiveTV" station. This tracks the speed, altitude and location of the aircraft. This is also the channel at is on when you enter the aircraft and the only channel that won't randomly conk out on you.
The technology is not perfect. The free headphones they give are, frankly, awful. The sound is thin and tinny. The headphone jack is the standard 3.5mm/ 1/8inch, so bring your own headphones. I used the headphones from my CD player and the improvement was noticable. The satellite feed is very random in that it will cut out "Due to normal aircraft movement". Which, apparently, meant half the flight in our case. I got to watch some Mythbusters but I got bored of the toy quickly and just read my copy of Fullmetal Alchemist 1.
Also, while WestJet claims that "we do not have the ability to... turn off individual satellite television screens", you don't have to be a captive audience to Bell ExpressVu. Just do what I did: adjust the brightness to the lowest setting. This shuts off your screen, allowing you to do whatever you want without being bothered by the glowing TV screen. The world outside the window is ALWAYS more interesting.
So... LiveTV. Interesting little time killer. However, I watch only a limited amount of television and perfer to read. Actually, LiveTV would make an neat plot device. I've got some random ideas that I may share to my friends, but not to the general public. Can't copyright a non-fixed idea, ya know. :P
Moving right along... I find it funny I'm pulled to anti-war messages from the Cold War. Me thinks it's a reaction to my general pissed-off-ness at modern culture and the nostalgia factor. I can't stand the over the top aggressiveness of most anti-war media - you can't fight violence with violence. I'd prefer to enjoy (and create >_> ) media that uses humour to level the playing field. Humour and good spirits >>> riots and weapons. And it's a whole lot more subversive.
And now the FUN part of the day: A review of WestJet's LiveTV service.
WestJet got this brand new shiney "Live TV" system put into their 737-700. There's a TV set located in the back of the chair in front of you, giving each person their own personal set. The set is rather small, about 3 inches by 4 inches, and the angle of the screen can be adjusted up or down to reduce glare. The controls are located in the armrest. You can control the volume, the channel, and the brightness.
The WestJet website proudly lists the following stations as being carried: A&E, ABC, Animal Planet, CBC (6 feeds), CBS, CTV, CTV Newsnet, CTV Travel, Discovery Channel, Fox, Global (7 feeds), Much More Music, NBC, SRC, TLC, TSN and The Score. This adds up to 28 channels, but my set could only access 25. If I tried, I could probably find something to watch.
Probably the most intresting channel they don't list is the "LiveTV" station. This tracks the speed, altitude and location of the aircraft. This is also the channel at is on when you enter the aircraft and the only channel that won't randomly conk out on you.
The technology is not perfect. The free headphones they give are, frankly, awful. The sound is thin and tinny. The headphone jack is the standard 3.5mm/ 1/8inch, so bring your own headphones. I used the headphones from my CD player and the improvement was noticable. The satellite feed is very random in that it will cut out "Due to normal aircraft movement". Which, apparently, meant half the flight in our case. I got to watch some Mythbusters but I got bored of the toy quickly and just read my copy of Fullmetal Alchemist 1.
Also, while WestJet claims that "we do not have the ability to... turn off individual satellite television screens", you don't have to be a captive audience to Bell ExpressVu. Just do what I did: adjust the brightness to the lowest setting. This shuts off your screen, allowing you to do whatever you want without being bothered by the glowing TV screen. The world outside the window is ALWAYS more interesting.
So... LiveTV. Interesting little time killer. However, I watch only a limited amount of television and perfer to read. Actually, LiveTV would make an neat plot device. I've got some random ideas that I may share to my friends, but not to the general public. Can't copyright a non-fixed idea, ya know. :P