May 20
Apparently some people aren’t aware that World Fusion Radio
(http://WorldFusionRadio.com/) has a new address for the radio streams.
You can now listen here:
128k stream: http://s4.viastreaming.net/7340/
or here:
56k aacPlus stream: http://s4.viastreaming.net/7360/
Please update your bookmarks.
Sep 30
World Fusion Radio is on the air again! Tune in at http://WorldFusionRadio.com
Sep 2
It’s September and we are back in Chicago. World Fusion Radio is not back to Webcasting yet, though. We let the lease run out on our apartment so we could take our big journey. So, even though we are back, we are still living in hotels. World Fusion Radio requires a dedicated computer and broadband Internet connection to Webcast, which means we need a home of our own. We’ll be looking for an apartment soon–the first weeks of the college term are very busy–and as soon as we have found a place (and we will look for a good one, not just take the first thing that comes along) and have the Internet hooked up, I will fire up the computer and get World Fusion Radio back on the “air.” Wish I could give you a date, but as soon as I have a better idea I will be posting that. Thanks as always for all of your great support and enthusiasm.
Peace,
Douglas
Jun 30
Most restaurants, stores, and other public places we have gone into on our journey have had piped-in music. I would say at least three-quarters of it has been “Classic ’70s – ‘80s.” On successive nights at different restaurants we have heard the same songs—the restaurants must be using the same Muzak channel. Yes, did you know that Muzak now offers not just their old soul-slaying instrumentals but over 40 channels of bad music?
As a philosopher and music lover I question the ethics of forcing people to listen to music. I of course acknowledge the wonderful benefits of music to help one relax, work, and otherwise better enjoy life. As owner of WorldFusionRadio.com I love sharing my favorite music with people. But it would be wrong, everywhere and under every circumstance to try and force someone to listen to my music. So how can it be okay for businesses to force us to listen to their music? We have laws in restaurants to prevent people from being forced to breathe secondhand smoke—so why shouldn’t “secondhand music” also be banned?
Besides, who decreed that everyone likes to listen to “Classic ’70s – ‘80s?” One constant I have noticed in my life is that the music of 20-30 years ago—called “Oldies” or “Classic” in the radio biz—is played everywhere as “safe.” Certainly some people today do want to hear The Cars, Journey, or Fleetwood Mac. But that’s what iPods are for—to program your music and hear what you want. Or there is the Classic Rock radio format where Corporate Radio will play you the same 50-60 songs every day just in case you haven’t tired of hearing them every day for the past 20-30 years. But why this belief that everyone should like the same thing? People aren’t all the same, despite the Corporate Media’s incessant attempts to make them that way.
I know my musical taste is very off-beat but I don’t think I am alone in not wanting to be forced to hear mainstream pabulum. Whether it is Muzak, a Sirius/XM music channel, the local country music station, or even a proprietor-chosen CD, it should not be forced on people. Occasionally, I notice someone in person or print criticize the younger generations for “blocking out the world” with their iPods. Well, I know why they have their iPods on: they want to listen to their music, not yours. I see someone listening to their iPod and I see not someone zoning out but someone taking control over their sound environment. Power to the people!
Jun 2
One of the truisms of life is that you have to pay to be somewhere. Regardless of all other factors in life you need a place to be and if you don’t bring all your stuff with you, you need a place for your stuff. Though we have freedom of speech and freedom of expression and to an extent freedom to be where we want, to be somewhere is not free. Aside from public libraries and parks, you have to pay somebody to be somewhere. You can sit at a coffee shop or restaurant for awhile but you have to pay to be there by ordering something. You can sit in the library but it will eventually close. When it is time to sleep, you definitely have to pay for the privilege; sleeping is not a right, you do not have the freedom to sleep anywhere. The plight of the homeless, who have to find a combination of libraries and other public spaces by day, and hopefully a spot in an underfunded, overcrowded, only slightly better than the streets, shelter by night, is truly tragic. But that is how our society is structured—you need money to be somewhere.
We will be traveling this summer, which means a hotel room each night and somewhere to be during the day, both of which cost money. But first, because the furniture and most of the books and clothes aren’t coming with us, we need a place for them. That also costs money. So we looked at storage options.
The first thought was a storage facility where they rent you a room or garage. A storage area big enough to take the belongings of our two bedroom apartment comes to between $240 to $280 a month. That is about ten percent of our rent. The problem with the storage rooms is that you have to get your stuff there, which means hiring a truck and some moving people to load and then unload the truck (we’ve moved ourselves enough in life, it is time to hire movers). Then there’s the truck and movers again when it is time to take the stuff out of storage and into the new apartment. So that adds at least $200 each side of the storage move so we figure for three months this option costs at least $1,120.
The second option we considered were the “pod” system. Companies like PODS and 1800Packrat deliver a portable metal container, a small semi-tractor trailer either 12, 16, or 20 feet long, and you load and they haul it off to their storage place. This eliminates the need to rent a truck, and the unloading at the storage place, thus saving about $200 roundtrip. The rent for storing the metal “pod” is about the same as a storage room so this option is about $900.
Even better though are the “mini-pods.” These are smaller portable containers from companies like Door-to-Door and Smart Box. These are wooden crates that measure five feet wide, eight feet deep, and seven feet tall. Because of their size and construction they are cheaper than the large and heavy metal pods, especially storage costs as low as $49 a month per pod. They also have the advantage of being delivered and picked up, thus no need to rent a truck, and no unloading at the storage place. Since they are smaller, we would need two to hold our stuff, but even so three months of storage comes to about $800.
Mentioned:
http://www.pods.com
http://www.1800packrat.com
http://www.doortodoor.com
http://www.smartboxusa.com