Satellite Music

I have been a huge XM Radio fan for several years now. I’m not quite sure what radio commercials sound like, except for the 30 seconds or so that I listen to commercial radio on my bedside clock radio during workdays.

I work for a company that sells XM, so we have had some great deals to get me the equipment, but it's been worth it every step of the way. I firmly believe that the money my family spends for XM is thousands of time better than any money we pay for cable TV. Cable TV, after all, requires that you be sitting in one place for an extended period of time. XM is portable, mobile, or fixed, depending on your setup.

Right now, we have four (sad, but true) XM units that we pay a monthly service on. One is in Sue's truck (the oldest radio), on in her office (a new one, but it sort of sucks as well), a Delphi unit in my truck (sometimes in my house) that totally rocks, and a new portable one. We have a bit of swapping to do - my Delphi from my truck is going to get mounted in her truck (and she can use it in the office as well), and my portable MyFi is going into my truck (also to use in the house). That'll take us from four to two that we're paying the monthly service on. Much more reasonable, if you ask me.

I have been using the MyFi in my office, as the reception is good there. I don't really like the mobile (i.e., for walking) side to it, but it would likely perform better in a city rather than in pseudo-suburbia where we live.

The musical selection is excellent. My favorite station is Deep Tracks, XM40. The two DJs on the station know more about music than all of my friends put together (and that's saying a lot!). Great commentary from real professionals. Right now, for example, Peter Frampton is singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." It's a great version of the Stevie Wonder song that we all know. Today, GTM had a clip of an interview with Rick Wakeman (from Yes) that I listened to in a short drive home. I was laughing so hard because of the commentary Rick was delivering. What a sense of humor. Certainly, there is no commercial station that you could ever hope to hear that on.

The other favorites I listen to are Top Tracks (XM46) for regular 'ol hit music, and Lucy (XM54) for newer music that my son and I can mostly agree on. Even the MIX songs (XM22) that replaces most "hit" commercial music stations is at least 100 times better because of the continuous music with no commercial, traffic, or weather breaks. Did I mention no wining local DJs talking to hear themselves talk. At work, I also listen to Watercolors (smooth jazz) and XM-Pops (classical). No talk and easy listening music. It's not my favorite, but good when I have heads-down concentration required while sitting at the computer at work.

So, if you haven't tried XM, you should. For broadband users, there is even an online version that you can try out for 3 days for free. Go to www.xmradio.com for details.

Oh, yes. The price is going up. So What!!! Comcast has upped the price almost monthly on the worthless cable. If I didn't need it for high speed internet, it would be dropped. XM will also include the online version with the upgrade, so it's really a wash. If you have any doubt of the value, ask either of my kids. There is never a fight when I ask them to get my Delphi from the truck so I can turn it on in the house. Jake is a big XM20 (20 on 20) fan, but also listens to Lucy. KT listens to XM22 much of the time, and Nashville (XM11) whenever she and I are in the truck together. I am really glad to help teach that diversity in musical tastes is a good thing to have as an adult.

Hot water, water, everywhere

Today, we resolved one of the biggest household problems we had. Our hot water heater was starting to leak, wasn't working very well, and was apparently undersized for our 4-person household. It worked find until we determined that we had an up and coming teenager to supply water for, and another one on the way in two more years.

So, we took advantage of zero interest financing and we purchased a new hot water heater. It's bigger and much more efficient than the 24 year old unit that was installed when the house was built. This new heater is about 40% bigger, but will cost us less each year to operate. I'm looking forward to taking the first long, hot shower tomorrow morning since moving in. As of this morning, when we had 3 showers to take, one person got left with a short shower if hot water was expected. When there were four of us (like on a Sunday morning), forget it. Finally, we won't have to worry about hot water being used for a load of clothes or dishes when there's an evening shower to be taken.

What's funny is that we went from a highly innefficient 52 gallon tank to a very efficient 80 gallon one. While I should feel guilty, I don't. Less (energy) dollars money for more energy.

Life is good...