Let me start off by saying I love NBC. It is by far the station I watch the most during the year. They have a vast majority of my favorite shows and are generally pretty relevant with their news programs. That is why I was so surprised they dropped the ball like they did with their Olympic coverage.
Last night Megan and I rushed home from dinner with friends to make sure we caught the Women’s Gymnastic Finals, Megan’s favorite event in the Olympics. We got home, turned on the TV, and luckily it hadn’t started yet. We then went on to check our email and work on some projects on our computers while we waited for the event. I had just stepped into the office when Megan shouted, “I’m seeing results online, why aren’t they showing it on TV?”
I checked it out, and sure enough, NBC was posting live scores to their website, but we were seeing Men’s Beach Volleyball on the TV. The local coverage was being delayed to adjust for the time zone. I looked around NBC.com for a live feed, but nothing. They offered no live feeds online of their primetime events. I looked around the internet for other live feeds. CBC was clever enough to block their internet feed to users outside of Canada. I tried a YouTube hack Jesse shared from Valleywag, but YouTube had since patched the hole. Frustrated, I finally went back to NBC.com to send them an email and in doing so, I saw the results of the very event I was trying to watch posted on their main page! Ridiculous.
Luckily, Megan hadn’t seen the results (although the swimming results were spoiled for her by the CNN feed on her home page), so we stayed up to watch the delayed coverage, but every time I saw that “Live” bug in the top right corner of the screen, my blood boiled.
I took this picture at 10:40pm Pacific time. At this point, the US is warming up for their first event, but in reality, the event has long been completed, and I have already seen the results. Notice the “Live” bug floating prominently next to the NBC Olympic logo. There’s no indication anywhere that this “Live” feed has been delayed to compensate for time differences.
This is unacceptable. No other live sports coverage is handled this way. They would never dream of doing this with Football. Why did they decide to delay the mother of all international sporting events? It doesn’t make any sense.
I was okay with the delayed Opening Ceremonies, I am okay with the small amount of events available to watch on NBC. I am okay with them spreading the coverage over their partner stations and the internet. I am even okay with them breaking for commercials. I understand that they are still trying to make money. What I am not okay with is delaying a live feed just to put the coverage in line with the local primetime slot. No other sporting event is handled this way, not even Nascar.
I did not check to see if this problem just affected Las Vegas or if it stretched across the entire Pacific Time Zone, so please, leave a comment if you’ve noticed the delay in your area too. If it has, send an email over to NBC to complain along with me.
Update: Gizmodo has some workarounds that might help you get a live stream online. Let me know if any of these work. I’ve lost all faith in NBC.
Tags: Articles, las-vegas, Live, media, NBC, Olympics, tv
So, after a year and a half or so of living in Las Vegas, I’m moving once again. It’s weird. I’ve moved a lot in my life, but for some reason, this time feels different. I feel like Hugh Grant’s character in About a Boy, like every day, every activity in which I involve myself is broken up into smaller units of time, which units I’m slowly running out of. It’s not that any unit of time is any more precious to me than it usually was before I decided to move, more that I’m a lot more aware of these units these days.
Taking a shower: 1 unit.
Going to work: 16 units.
Hanging out with friends: 5 units.
Microwaving Chimichangas: 1 unit.
Reading: Not enough units.
Watching movies: way too many units to count.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe I have become Hugh Grant’s character in About a Boy, only not so British, or man-whorish. Maybe I’ve successfully become an island here in Las Vegas and this move is disturbing the peace on my tranquil little island. Most of my friends are now married, so at most I see them once a week, and my family lives a few thousand miles away, and I guess I’ve become a little too well adjusted to this island life. I do what I want when I want to do it, only associating with the people I’ve chosen to associate with. This move threatens to put an end to all that. I may actually have to leave this hip little island getaway. That is not something I’m looking forward to. Seriously, you should check it out sometime, it puts that island in Pinocchio to shame, mostly because my guests don’t turn into donkeys at the end of the day. A few of them might feel like a jackass, but that’s their own doing. Luke’s Magical Island assumes no responsibility for any feelings of jackassity that may occur as a result of your stay.
What’s most interesting to me is the way people react when they find out I’m moving. First, they ask where I’m moving to. I tell them New York and their eyes light up as they ask, “The city?!” I just smile and nod and they say something like “That’s so cool,” or “Wow!” or “I’ve never been to New York, I’ve always wanted to go,” each of which is followed closely by “So does that mean I can stay at your place when I visit?” To most people, it’s like New York City is some magical place from the movies and TV shows that instantly catapults any resident of that city into some strange category in the upper echelon of society. I’ve been to the city. Sure, it’s cool, but it’s not echelon cool. It’s just an island full of people living as islands. I guess that’s kind of cool.
I don’t think the island thing is really the answer. I mean really, if I can live as an island here, it’ll be a lot easier over there. So why does this move feel so weird? Maybe it’s because it’s the first time in my life that I’m moving somewhere completely foreign, not really knowing anyone in the area, and having no idea where I’m going to live or specifically what I’m going to be doing. That should make me scared, but it’s not fear I’m feeling. I know it’s the right move, it’s the right time, and I’m sure it’ll work out. I’m not scared. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. I can’t even convince myself that I am. It all just feels weird.
Maybe it just means I’m finally entering the “adult” world. Maybe that’s it. Las Vegas is kind of a transitional place. Most of the people I know out here are in that transitional phase of their life between college and career. Maybe this weirdness is just the feeling that comes with leaving that phase behind. Maybe this is the feeling of “growing up.” Maybe this is the feeling of actually becoming an island. Whatever the case, I’m not getting on any stages with strange little boys to sing “Killing Me Softly.”
Tags: about-a-boy, Articles, growing-up, las-vegas, moving, music, new-york-city, simon-and-garfunkel
There is a road I take along the back way to my house that offers a perfect view of the Las Vegas Strip. Every night as I drive home after whatever I was doing that day, I look over and take a second to appreciate the beauty in these man-made monuments to the gods of consumerism, power, and greed. It’s hard not to notice the Strip. The light beaming from the Luxor every night attracts my gaze like a moth to a burning flame.
Tonight, however, was a little different. As I drove past this scenic view listening to Neil Diamond belt out his earth-shaking rendition of “Happy Christmas (War is Over),” the lights of the Strip told me a completely different story. The green lights of the MGM were sprinkled perfectly with the red brake lights of the surrounding city streets. It was like a living, breathing Christmas tree topped with its very own Christmas star, the unquenchable light of the Luxor.
Then it happened. I had to pull over my car and take a deep breath. I had officially caught the Christmas spirit. It’s been quite a while since it last happened. I’ve never been much of one for the holidays. I don’t even like birthdays. To me, a birthday’s just another day, why should it get special treatment just because I managed to survive another year on earth? For some reason though, on this fateful Sunday night, the combination of Neil Diamond’s soothing vocals and the colorful lights of the Las Vegas strip infected me with a virus I haven’t had in years, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
As this virus spread within me, memories filled my mind and I raced home to look through my albums for whatever record I had of these memories, but found nothing. For some reason, I stopped taking pictures over the years as I became too lazy and broke to bother with film and developing. I then looked through my hard drives and finally found a few pictures sent to me from friends and my mind was filled with the adventures of the past year.
I’ve lived in Las Vegas for well over a year now, and a lot has happened in that year. I started the year off with a change in wards, and with that change came many new friends and new adventures. There was the good old gang from the old ward, Nicole and Thresa, and with them came a new roommate, Ethnie. We swam together like a school of fish watching for sharks as we tried to find our place in the ocean of this new ward. Nate and Jeanne went from friendship to relationship and have rarely been seen apart since. Stephanie moved in with her cousin, Kara, and before I knew it, I was over at Shawn and Lissette’s every other night watching a movie or crushing them and Lindsey in Cranium.
Next thing I knew, Nate and Jeanne were engaged, and Nate and I were moving into a new house with new roommates, Derek and Andy. Those two are a couple of stories in and of themselves. With the new roommates came a new season, and the good old gang shared many a barbecue and some great days at the park. Then, Stephanie was moving to Utah, and Nicole and Thresa were leaving for the summer. Cara moved in with Ethnie and the adventures continued. Shawn 2 was added to the mix, as well as movie nights and trips to the Strip to watch the fountains dance.
Wedding season arrived and I traveled to Boston to watch Nate and Jeanne become even more inseparable. My days were then spent painstakingly completing every task on my dad’s “Honey-Do” list, only taking a break to keep Scott company in the great state of Virginia as his wife was away. We kidnapped Ralph and escaped to Virginia Beach to eat crab legs, and play miniature golf in a torrential downpour. We raced go-karts and philosophized over buffalo wings. I even did a beautiful rendition of “I’m a Little Teapot” in a noble attempt to help a young waitress win her game of Bingo.
Then I watched through the viewfinder of my new camera as my sister got married and brought along a houseful of friends and family members. After I bit into my first official slider in an actual White Castle restaurant, thus accomplishing my only true goal of the summer, I was ready to return to my new home and see all my old friends once again.
I came home to an empty house and a higher rent. Andy had moved out and Derek went back to school. Not much longer though, and Steve and Casey moved in, making rent a little more manageable. Steve joined the rag tag crew of Shawn, Lissette, Lindsay, and I, and the Adventurers were born.
The old gang reunited, and those adventures continued as well. There were many more barbecues, and trips to the Shark Reef, and movie nights, and hockey games, and Dam gift shops making up for Dam tours not taken, ending in 3 hour Dam detours keeping a Dam birthday girl from her Dam cousin’s party. Thresa, Ethnie, and Nicole left the ward and Nicole started dating Shawn 2. They will be married before the year is through. Cara found new roommates and a new house, and then did it all over again a few months later. The adventures continue despite all the changes, and we now find ourselves in the midst of intense gingerbread house competitions and re-gifting extravaganzas.
All in all, it’s been a good year. I got into the Stagehand Union and started on the path to a career. I worked many shows, including Rock Honors, the Comedy Festival, and a French Music Video, and met many new people while discovering many new opportunities. There was many a road trip to Utah and back and San Diego and back as the Falcon and I bonded further, sharing many an adventure, and moving many a box for friends.
With the New Year come new expectations and many new opportunities. With it comes also the possibility of yet another move as opportunities arise in New York City. My New Year’s resolution? To get a digital camera and start taking pictures again so I don’t have to resort to writing one of these things again next year. Seriously, this thing turned out way too long. What was I thinking? Stupid Christmas spirit.
Tags: adventurers, Articles, christmas, friends, las-vegas, marriage, neil-diamond, spirit, Wedding
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