What's happening?

Way too much.

Stuff I won't get into here. I've been very busy of late and only this morning did I find some time to relax, peruse the Internet and catch up on my blog-reading. Now I'm doing my blog-writing.

The story about security being relaxed for Obama's appearance in Dallas is making the rounds this morning. Seemed to be a friendly crowd? Reminds me of a line from one of Geogal's favorite movies, "Miss Congeniality," delivered by Candice Bergen:

"The guy was carrying a gun? This is Texas! Everybody carries a gun. My florist carries a gun."

So, security folks, you might want to tighten things up next time. (Translation: Do your flippin' job!)

And don't mistake me for an Obama follower. I'm not. I just don't want any candidate to be shot at or otherwise endangered.

And speaking of which--This is truly the most interesting presidential race I've ever witnessed.

And why not? For the first time in my life, and since the 1952 race, there is neither an incumbent president nor a sitting vice president campaigning for the top job.

And barring some very bizzare turn of events, this will be the first time a member of the U.S. Senate will go straight to the Oval Office since John Kennedy did it in 1960 (again, before my time).

The times, they are still a-changin'.

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I did it.

I broke down.

A few days ago, I applied online to get one of those $40 digital TV converter box coupons from Uncle Sam.

Why? (After all, the two sets I have in my home are both connected to DirecTV.) Two reasons.

One, curiosity. Several of the channels in my area are multicasting, and I'm wanting to see what's on these subchannels. My DirecTV service carries practically all of the local channels, but none of the .2, .3, or .4 transmissions. I'm guessing the satellite and cable services will eventually have these channels available to their customers, but why not see them now? Plus, I want to see how clearly these over-the-air transmissions come across.

Second, backup. The DirecTV service is reliable. More so than cable, which is forever plagued by service outages. The only time I lose the satellite signal is during a heavy rainstorm, which doesn't happen often here in the arid southwest desert. But you never know what will happen in the future. What if DirecTV suffers a systemwide problem resulting in significant loss of signal? You never know.

So, I'll keep the readers posted. Geohouse continues to embrace new technology! (within a tight budget)