Floyd
12-06-2003, 11:14 AM
Well, last night was the station tour. I met up with Jaymer and Bdraw at Carrabbas and we tried to outsmart several bartenders in a futile attempt to actually get two martini's for the price of one. The first round was explained as "two in one glass", but it was the same size glass we always get, so to make us happy they mixed up another batch with the correct ratio of ingredients and gave Jaymer two "half-full" glasses. Go figure.
So Jaymer proceeds to give us the forum host indoctrination lecture:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/coexistonmyterms.wav
We had had a couple of drinks by now so it was all starting to make sense. There were some fine-looking women there and we were all making loud comments to them until someone said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/hushmouth.wav
So, Jaymer continued on with the forum indoctrination:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/regardme.wav
Bdraw must have thought the indoctrination was over the top, but I reminded him that we were only forum members:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/independent.wav
After another round we were feeling pretty good, and I had eaten a whole sausage platter and might have seemed unstable to the bartender, who must have remembered us from the last meeting there, so he says:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/anticipated.wav
Then we all continued to bs about the current state of HD equipt, ect. until Jaymer announced:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/alcohol.wav
so we all piled into the mini-van and headed over to the station, where the station engineer was waiting in the parking lot for us. After meeting up with some other forum members we proceeded to the engineering area for the tour.
In the operations center there were hundreds of impressive-looking devices with thousands of buttons to push and dials to turn. We were immediately drawn to the buttons and started adjusting the controls to improve the stations HD signal, then the chief engineer appeared and saw us in the heart of the control center and said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/whatthehell3.wav
We were advised to keep our hands to ourselves and were then shown the other facilites where the stations ads and some of the productions are developed, and the power and transmission equipment. All of it was very impressive, not to mention expensive. One box we saw(the multiplex demodulator I think) was 35 thousand dollars! http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/mackerel.wav
It was getting time for the HD network feed to come down from NYC, so we watched the signal transiton and then went over to the conference room to see the HD system and talk some more. We had seated ourselves around the large conference table, eaten some hooters wings, and Jamer was right in the middle of explaining the proper function of the multiplex demodulator when he slowly began to sink out of sight behind the large table, and continued all the way to the floor. Jumping up and peering over the table we saw that the chair had given way and folded back until Jamer was laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling, though still in a seated position, like one of the space shuttle pilots ready for launch. Now a lesser man might have said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/apollo13.wav
or
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/remembered.wav
but not Jamer, he says: "get the camera.....take a picture". Too much. The station guys were very polite about the whole thing, and ran off to get some chairagra, but you can bet there will be stories of our visit told for a long time.
We continued to discuss HD until we were about talked out and Jamer announced:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/irrational.wav
So, we said our goodbyes and again piled back into the vehicle for departure.
The ch-44 guys were super for hosting this for us, and we are thankful, and also looking forward to another station visit in the future.
Disclaimer: the foretold events and descriptions do not necessarrily reflect any actual events of the aforementioned evening. Any indication that Jaymer's voice is similar to Jabba the Hut is also coincidental.
So Jaymer proceeds to give us the forum host indoctrination lecture:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/coexistonmyterms.wav
We had had a couple of drinks by now so it was all starting to make sense. There were some fine-looking women there and we were all making loud comments to them until someone said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/hushmouth.wav
So, Jaymer continued on with the forum indoctrination:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/regardme.wav
Bdraw must have thought the indoctrination was over the top, but I reminded him that we were only forum members:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/independent.wav
After another round we were feeling pretty good, and I had eaten a whole sausage platter and might have seemed unstable to the bartender, who must have remembered us from the last meeting there, so he says:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/anticipated.wav
Then we all continued to bs about the current state of HD equipt, ect. until Jaymer announced:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/alcohol.wav
so we all piled into the mini-van and headed over to the station, where the station engineer was waiting in the parking lot for us. After meeting up with some other forum members we proceeded to the engineering area for the tour.
In the operations center there were hundreds of impressive-looking devices with thousands of buttons to push and dials to turn. We were immediately drawn to the buttons and started adjusting the controls to improve the stations HD signal, then the chief engineer appeared and saw us in the heart of the control center and said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/whatthehell3.wav
We were advised to keep our hands to ourselves and were then shown the other facilites where the stations ads and some of the productions are developed, and the power and transmission equipment. All of it was very impressive, not to mention expensive. One box we saw(the multiplex demodulator I think) was 35 thousand dollars! http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/mackerel.wav
It was getting time for the HD network feed to come down from NYC, so we watched the signal transiton and then went over to the conference room to see the HD system and talk some more. We had seated ourselves around the large conference table, eaten some hooters wings, and Jamer was right in the middle of explaining the proper function of the multiplex demodulator when he slowly began to sink out of sight behind the large table, and continued all the way to the floor. Jumping up and peering over the table we saw that the chair had given way and folded back until Jamer was laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling, though still in a seated position, like one of the space shuttle pilots ready for launch. Now a lesser man might have said:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/apollo13.wav
or
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/remembered.wav
but not Jamer, he says: "get the camera.....take a picture". Too much. The station guys were very polite about the whole thing, and ran off to get some chairagra, but you can bet there will be stories of our visit told for a long time.
We continued to discuss HD until we were about talked out and Jamer announced:
http://pages.prodigy.net/fsbashman/Sounds/irrational.wav
So, we said our goodbyes and again piled back into the vehicle for departure.
The ch-44 guys were super for hosting this for us, and we are thankful, and also looking forward to another station visit in the future.
Disclaimer: the foretold events and descriptions do not necessarrily reflect any actual events of the aforementioned evening. Any indication that Jaymer's voice is similar to Jabba the Hut is also coincidental.