For a big budget show¹, the American version of Top Gear got very little fanfare.  It was mentioned a couple of times in the news and details were sketchy.  What was mentioned was the hosts of  Top Gear USA, Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara, and Rutledge Wood, whom I’ve never heard of before.  Then it premiered in History Channel.  Who would’ve put this combination together?

Maybe I should’ve dug deeper because the show was closer to home than I thought.

The show was filmed on El Toro Airbase in Irvine, which is only 5 minutes away from work.  Earlier this week, as I was driving up Irvine Blvd, I did see a giant light on top of a tall crane in the middle of the airfield.  I wondered what or why it was there.  Now I know why.

I’ve always paid attention to the Top Gear series, but for some odd reason I missed the call for tickets to see the show at the Marine Base.  I’ve just submitted my name for future tickets, hoping the show will be renewed for 2nd (or 3rd) season.

Now, Top Gear UK worked because of the presenters gelled together.  On the first episode, the three US guys just don’t have that closeness.  It’ll take some time for them to get to know and gel with each other.  By the third episode, I could see them bonding during the $1000 car challenge, where they spit alcohol on the camp fire, and laughing it all up when they trashed their cheap cars off-roading.

I sure hope they don’t suffer the same problem with Top Gear Australia, where they kept changing the hosts – trying to figure out which three will make the right combination.  I say give them a chance.  They might just surprise me.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Top Gear USA – Under the Radar

1. at least the UK version

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Not convinced she should be the winner of AGT 2010?  Watch the video from her first appearance on the show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPITHzdUUDk

Official AGT Youtube Link here.

Next see her on the semi finals:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGrcy8wQHk

Official AGT Youtube Link here.

Now here she is on the Top 10:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ar0r02FZng

Official AGT YouTube link here.

And finally, with her role model, Sarah Brightman:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qecULT01iE

Official AGT YouTube link here.

That’s talent, folks!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

AGT2010: Jackie Evancho Is Our Choice

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Here’s my attempt to identify them:

1919: Popeyes

1929: Tintin

1930: Betty Boop

1935: ??

1950: Peanuts

1952: Astro boy

1959: ??

1960: The Flintstones

1966: ??

1969: Scooby Doo

1970: Josey and Pussycats

1983: He-Man

1984: ??

1985: ??

1986: Calvin & Hobbes

1987: The Simpsons

1993: ??

1995: ??

1996: ??

2000: Aqua Teen Hunger Force

I’m not able to identify some of them.  If you have any idea what they are, you can let me know via comment below.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Cartoons

No related posts.

Here are some of the shows I’ve been following recently:

24

Jack Bauer is the man!  I’ve always been entertained with the ridiculous plot twists and turns.  This season, they have Starbuck as a meek computer girl, with a shady past.  The only thing that won’t let me down is the timeline: In real time¹!  As a sidenote, I got a kick of Kiefer Sutherland‘s voice performance as the General in Monsters Vs Aliens.

Heroes

Been following this show since the beginning.  What grabbed me are the interesting characters and plot twists.  Milo Ventimiglia (who plays Peter Petrelli) is from my current city of Anaheim.  Also the best, is Masi Oka playing the Japanese hero, Hiro Nakamura.

House M.D.

It’s another show that I’ve been watching since the beginning.  It’s also a show that I like to watch in one sitting, so it’s my favorite “one-sitter” series.  Hugh Laurie is the absolute star of the show, as the blatantly honest yet brilliant medical doctor.  As a side note, also in the movie Monsters Vs Aliens, Hugh’s voice acting as the roach scientist was so funny and entertaining!

Castle

I’ve been a fan of Nathan Fillion since “Firefly”.  Now he’s back (for good, I hope) in a smartly written “Castle” with a stunning co-star, Stana Katic.  Last Halloween, Nathan donned his Captain Mal suit in the show.  How cool was that?

Leverage

I liked the movie Ocean’s Eleven.  I also liked the classic Robin Hood story.  This show is just like that – thieves who help the needy.  I like the tricks and plot twists in each episode.  I also like the performance of Timothy Hutton, who I haven’t seen since the movie Ordinary People.  Then, there’s of course the parade of guest stars from Star Trek veterans like Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Wil Wheaton, and Armin Shimmerman.

Burn Notice

It’s a cross between Macgyver and the A-Team.  This show got me hooked from the beginning.  Honestly, I watch it because of Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness).

Stargate SGU

I have my reservation at first.  A reboot of the Stargate series, with a darker story line and mostly characters with a dark past.  It’s been compared to new Battlestar Galactica in so many levels.  But after a few episodes, it’s starting to mold into its own unique show.  Also what makes it good, at least so far, is the intriguing character development of Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) and Eli (David Blue).

Sanctuary

They had a slow first season.  But, they had an amazing season finale and interesting 2nd season, so far.  I’m going to stick with it because of Amanda Tapping, a Stargate SG-1 veteran.

Eureka

A short summer series, always delivering fun stories about time travel, physics defying vehicles, and futuristic gadgets.  All wrapped in a comedy of human interaction, with a bit of drama thrown in.  Lately, I haven’t seen Matt Frewer in the show, which is a pity, he’s a fun actor to watch since the days of Max Headroom.

V

What can I say, I love the original 80′s TV mini-series.  The new show was written, in such a way, to have picked up from where it left off.  We all know who the “Visitors” are.  We all know what they want.  What we don’t know if what are they gonna do now?  I’m tuning in to find out.   Also, as I mentioned before, I’m a fan of Firefly, so I’m also watching because of Morena Baccarin.  Also good to see Joel Gretsch again, since the show The 4400.

Top Gear

Funny, craftly scripted, well presented, and an awesome parade of super cars. It’s a TV show made for men!  The series is short at 8 episodes per series, with at least 6 months worth of breaks in between.  Plus, every finale there’s always a rumor about cancellation.  I suppose the big budget has a lot to do with it.  With that bombshell, I think Jeremy Clarkson is the funniest presenter… in the world!

Doctor Who

I’ve watched the classic Dr. Who since I was a teenager in Canada.  Last year, I’m disappointed David Tennant left the show.  David’s energy made the Doctor exciting and fun watch.  I’ll keep an open mind with the new Doctor and see how well he’ll fit in.

Merlin

The retelling of a famous English legend, featuring the young versions of Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere, Galahad, and Morgana.  Brilliant set and costume designs.  The main actors are mostly new and unknown, with only a few prominent supporting actors like Anthony Head and John Hurt.

Human Target

The most exciting new series that I’ve watched, so far.  The pilot episode was superb, great action show, with Tricia Helfer guest starring.  I also like the quiet, yet comical, Chi McBride, from Pushing Daisies.  If they can keep up this pace, it’ll be a delight to watch.

Photo Credit: VintageLooks

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

TV Worth Watching

1. unlike Lost where they go back and forth in time.

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It’s been a long wait.  We (us folks in America) are finally switching to an all digital TV broadcast, today!  The antiquated analog broadcast is finally starting its slow decent to oblivion.

I’ve been anticipating this day for a long time.  It was suppose to happen back in February 2009.  However, a senator decided we were not ready to do this, and delayed it for another 4 months to help the “preparation”.  That was a load of crap, and a waste of tax payer’s money.  That’s the government: inefficient, too much politics, and all about squeezing more money from special interest groups.

Now it’s D-Day, and some say we’re still not ready.  An article in LA Times claimed Southern California residents, mostly the poor and senior citizens, are still not ready.   According to the official site of The Digital TV Transition, California is only 26% converted!  So far, the entire US is only 43% converted to digital.  The politicians rely on these numbers, even though the site does note it’s only an estimate.  No one can really be sure of the actual numbers of how many TV sets are still getting analog TV.

I’m hoping this transition will be the big push that will ultimately force the broadcasters to start improving their HD service.   I do think they need to upgrade the broadcast towers.  The Over-The-Air (OTA) digital signals are poor in most places, including mine.  The only way to get a reliable signal is via Cable or Satellite Dish.  However, signals from cable or satellite are highly compressed, so the quality is not as good as OTA.

I can already see PBS starting to show Sesame Street in 16:9 aspect ratio, and putting horizontal black bars for old re-runs.  News footages are still shot using 4:3 cameras, but I noticed some are already broadcasting in widescreen, such as during sporting events/interviews.

Personally, I want to upgrade to a video camera that records in HD and 16:9 widescreen.

I want to see cheaper HDTVs such as this 55″ LCD LED-backlit Vizio VF551XVT.

It’s time for everyone to go digital!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

The Switch to Digital TV – About Time!

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Also, I don’t even get HD programming.  I like to get them, though.  I know some people have told me to go the easy way: pay the extra $15, or so, and get it off cable or satellite.  But that’s defeats the purpose of trying to cut cost in the first place.

So, my goal now is to get it off-the-air (OTA).  And that requires, a terrestrial TV antenna.

I remember back in the 70′s where my parents sell TVs for a living.  We had a trained staff who could go up to roofs and install those big ugly antennas.  They were also able to do the cable work from the roof to the main floor.  Those guys would leave in the morning to do 2-3 jobs, and wouldn’t come back until late at night.  It was hard work.

Now, here I am, thinking about doing the same thing.  I don’t have any experience in running cables to the roof (or attic, in my case).  Actually, I’m kind of afraid of messing things up there in attic.  I’m not keen on punching holes on the drywall either.

Instead, I’m going to try my best with “rabbit ears“, or set-top antennas.  Originally, after checking with AntennaWeb, I thought this area would never get a signal.  I’ve tried by getting a cheap antenna from Radio Shack.  That didn’t work.  Recently, I had a chance to buy a $15 AverMedia card for my laptop, with a small antenna.  I thought I should try it in other locations, like Irvine, where I might get a better signal.  To my surprise, even in my house, I managed to get HDTV channels!   I only get 3 channels, but it’s a small victory.  All is not lost.  I’m hopeful.

I’m now going trying to find the right desktop antenna to get more channels!   Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to be brave, and venture into the attic, and install one there.

Speaking of getting a good TV reception, I recalled a hilarious skit by Mr. Bean where he was trying to use himself as an antenna.  I felt like Mr. Bean when I was fumbling around with the rabbit ears to get a proper HD signal for my TV.  Here’s the video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqveIgmVtuE

Hat tip to CK for reminding me of the Mr. Bean episode.

Photo Credit: fladrifscorzapelle

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Rabbit Ears

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So, with existing parts and new ones, I started to put the HTPC together:

• Intel Pentium 4 Duo running at 3.2 Ghz
• ECS G31T-M(1.0) LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
• Corsair 2x2Gb PC2-6400 DDR 800 RAM
• ASUS EAH3450/DI/256M ATI Radeon HD 3450 Low Profile Video Card
• Western Digital WD6400AAKS WD Caviar SE16 SATA Internal Hard Drive – 640 Mb
  
• Seagate Barracuda® 7200.11 SATA Internal Hard Drive ST31500341AS – 1 TB
• Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5″ Internal Card Reader w/ USB port
• CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified
• VisionTek ATI TV Wonder HD 650 Combo PCI Express
• Old firewire PCI card
• Old Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
• Old LG DVD/CD RW drive
• Old black mini-tower Antec case

For the most part, this setup works pretty well:

1. Re-using old PC parts is one of my main goal.  It’s my way of “recycling”.
2. The setup is quiet.  The Corsair Power Supply is whisper quiet.  The Q-fan control on the Rosewill HSF kept the CPU fan noise down too.  There’s no fan on the video card.
3. The PCIe 16x video card is more than capable of handling YouTube and Hulu videos, as well as videos played using VLC player.
4. The VisionTek’s TV Tuner comes with ATI Catalyst Media Center that lets me record live TV to mpeg, Divx, and H.264 codecs.  It’s more liberating than Windows Media Center’s “dvrms” propreitary format!
5. I got a good deal for the Seagate 1TB drive for $90!
6. Also took advantage of the dropping RAM prices. I maxed out to 4G for $30!
7. The Rosewill all-in-one card reader is useful when Ineed to sneaker net files around using CF and SD cards.
8. Since I’m connected to the network via a Linksys wireless repeater, I can start experimenting with streaming-anywhere apps like Orb.

However, I still have a few kinks to work out:

1. I couldn’t get the ATI TV tuner card to work with Windows Media Center 2005.   It’s not a big deal, but it would be nice to have the option to use WMCE.
2. It’s having a hard time keeping up with 1080p HDTV playback.  I’m suspecting it’s the CPU fault (see below).
3. The Intel CPU (given by Matt) is an “experimental” test CPU.  It’s a dual-core Prescott chip, but it has a tiny 200 Mhz BUS!  This is an obvious performance bottleneck.
4. The TV tuner is not able to control my satellite dish because the DishNetwork set top box remote is RF based.  I’m sure someone out there has a gadget to interoperate IR and RF.

The beauty of a PC is the upgradability:

1. Get a better wireless keyboard/mouse combo.  I need them small and have more range.
2. Get a new CPU with a bigger bus.  Perhaps upgrade my other PC to a Quad, and use the Dual in the HTPC.
3. Upgrade to 64-bit Windows 7 Media Center.  Hopefully ATI will update their drivers to support it.
4. Get a Blu-Ray Disc drive.  However, with the unstable flux of Sony’s BD firmware revisions, I doubt I’ll get into this any time soon.

I enjoy putting a PC together, much like playing with a giant jigzaw puzzle.   With this one, I learned that a custom made HTPC is not so easy to build on a budget.  It takes time and patience, and a lot of experimentation.  Other HTPC enthusiasts will attest to that.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Building An HTPC

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This new season 7 promises more action and mystery.  It has been under wraps for more than a year, partly due to the writer’s strike.  It’s time to see if it’s worth the wait.  I’ve just finished the first 4 episodes, and so far so good.  I’ll be looking forward to the next 3 months, watching the mystery unfolds.  Will the senate find Jack guilty?  Will Jack find love again?  Will his daughter, Kim Bauer, forgive him?

As part of the TV watching experience, I usually watch the DVR version.  I just tried to watch it real-time, including the commercials.  I didn’t like it.  I even used the mute button to make the ads more bearable.  But, the waiting around bugs me, so I’m going back to my DVR.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

24 – Season 7

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My daughter likes to watch TV.  My wife and I kept her TV time to a minimum, and only with select shows without the commercials.   I always use the DVR to play one 30-minute shows at a time, and not live TV.   While watching, there will be either my wife or I supervising her, interacting with her by asking (or responding to) questions.  We also evaluate the shows, to make sure they have positive content and full of educational materials, such as reading, writing, counting, dancing, and singing.  I’m sure, with common sense and discipline, TV watching can be a pleasant and beneficial family time.

I have a list of recommended shows that my daughter likes:

• Hi-5 (The American Cast)
  
• Dora the Explorer
• The Wonder Pets
• Sesame Street
• Mickey Mouse Club House
• Go, Diego Go!
• The Backyardigans

All of these shows spark creativity, as well as telling positive values of sharing & helping.  Her current favorite is The Wonder Pets, a show where a group of pets goes out to help other animals in trouble.   Her all time favorite is Hi-5 because she loves to sing and dance.  Actually, Hi-5 is kind of fun to watch for us too, because the performers are talented singers and the song lyrics are smart.

I have no doubt as my daughter grows older, her selection will change.  There are new shows like Sid the Science Kid and Imagination Movers, that she’s starting to warm up to.  With so many selections to choose from, I think we have to start to be even more picky.  It may be a difficult task because they’re producing more and more quality children shows these days.  When we sat down to preview some, she tends to like many of them!  Her mind is like a sponge – absorbing them like water.  We just have to make sure the water is clean and refreshing.

Image Credit: Wallcoo.com

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Kids and Watching TV

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Meanwhile, Sony is advertising the new 200Hz TV in Europe, using the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, as the platform.  Here’s the rather nifty ad featuring Daniel Craig being bounced off various debris.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHBrbumr-Hc

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

240Hz Goodness

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