Hendrix At Superbowl Halftime?

Posted by Jonathan in STADIUM, TELEVISION on 02-08-10    No Comments


Jimi at the first "Superbowl" via The New York Times

I mean no diss to Roger and Pete. And sure, the NFL knows us.  The Who really were a good call. But how ’bout this for a weird Web/sports tech moment? The New York Times — by chance probably — threw up a photo montage of Woodstock 40 years back. Never mind that milestone was in August of last year. But over the weekend, the NYT tossed up links to an important Who performance from back in they day: The Three Days of Peace and Love and Muck that was Woodstock.

Now, for real,  The Who rocked back then. And they rocked over the weekend. But much important to that show was who closed that show: Jimi Hendrix.  And to me, thats for a big fat Superbowl “what if.” What if this one true 20th century genius,  James Marshall Hendrix, had decided he wasn’t a drunk. Or a junkie. What if he made past 27 and into the 21 century? The NFL would have had to hire him to do halftime. And THAT would have been a heck of a show.

Go ahead. Take a listen on me: The SNW Hendrix at halftime mix. It’s goooooood.

(NOTE: Ya might have to log into playlist.com. But it should work with any browser. Send a link along and I tee you up to massive Jimi Mix. I got a ton of these tracks.)



Patrick Faces Male Pattern Idiocy in Jumping to NASCAR.

Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT, GENERAL on 02-04-10    No Comments


Now can someone please explain to me how the fit, athletic — frankly rippen hot–  competitor on the left could possibly be at a sporting disadvantage to the plumb, cholesterol  ridden — frankly ugly —  athlete on the right?

Well, that’s excatly what the New York Times is talking about when it comes to Danica Patrick coming to NASCAR.

NY Times reports that many close to NASCAR are saying that the female Indy Car racer is facing physical disadvantages in attempting to race in NASCAR. And where this is coming from, who knows. It makes no tech sense whatsoever.

Never mind that Patrick is in better shape than many NASCAR drivers, the pudgy fella on the right is NASCAR champ and one time Burger King spokesperson Tony Stewart. NASCAR vehicles are frankly, at least on paper, can be easier to drive than open wheel racers like Indy Cars.  The average IndyCar comes in at about 1,600 pounds. It is  about 16 feet long and has a torque heavy, 10,300 RPM, 3.5 liter v-8 engine that throws off 650 horsepower. Or roughly a single unit of horsepower for every 2.5 pounds of car. There are  a complex series of front and back ground effect and wing configurations, all sorts of crap with tires and suspensions that affect performance and require real body strength to control. And these suckers run at an average speed of 220 miles per hour. Top speeds of 270 mph are possible.

Let’s compare that to NASCAR.

The current “Car of Tomorrow” can plump up to 3,800 pounds for the same 16 foot length. It is driven by a pretty close to factory push rod, big block V-8 engine. The unit cranks off what appears to be a phat 840 hp. The problem is, the NASCAR car is much heavier than the the Indy Car. So a single unit of horsepower has to push over 4 pounds of car.  And while NASCAR cars have lots of controls in terms of wings and suspension, there is just not the same complexity involved. NASCAR’s strict rules keep cars  even. And all this control and heavier weight is reflected in speeds. The flat out NASCAR record is about 220. And average track speeds are in the 180 mph range.

The fact is, Danica already drives a car that is 20 percent faster, triply more complex and much, MUCH more dangerous. Indy Cars are open wheel racers, that if they even touch a wall or other car, literally explode. The torque from the tires and the fragility of the designs make Indy Cars dangerous beasts indeed.

This is not to say NASCAR is for dopes. Or that winning here is easy. Or that NASCAR racers are not hard to drive. NASCAR is a tough physical event. But to say Patrick cannot be competitive because she’s a she … that’s nonsense. How she fares in this class will have to do with how she and her team decide they want to compete. New designs will have to be made to handle Danica’s particular strengths and weaknesses. I imagine steering systems will have to be modified. But there is no systematic, physical reason why she cannot win. And considering the BS she has to put up with, I almost hope she does it. Just to keep us boys in line.

It’s just wrong to say woman can’t win in NASCAR.



Golf Gadgets Galore

Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 02-03-10    No Comments


Is it just me or is Phil wandering the Farmers Insurance Open, basically playing on an illegal club, sort of just too boring? And with no other real players, and no Tiger, like who cares? Well, the PGA might have an answer. The Association just finished up its annual gadget fest: the PGA Merchandise Show last week down in Florida. This is the annual clothing and device trade show for the golfing community.

And since golfers have never been gadget shy, there is no shortage of cool golf stuff.

The folks over at Birdieball, have a new riff on their Strike pad for practicing your wedges and short iron play while in the office. Just toss the napkin ring thingy down on the rubberized pad and you get a very realistic simulation of hitting out of the rough. Supposedly, the thing actually even works.

Or you can take a shot at getting a better swing. The folks over at AccuSport were showing their VectorX: A swing analyzer that gives you minute feedback on your club form and body movements. The unit warns you when you slice, bob your head or otherwise channel Charles Barkley.

How about The Caddieaway from Pleasy Golf, which the company claims is the world’s smallest golf cart. Basically a golf bag with wheels and a handle, you go from bag to cart with just a bit of tinkering of wheels and a handle.

Also impressive was an iPhone App from FreeDropInovations. Called the Gamebook. it is a real time tournament score tracker for all the players in a tournament. The idea is to have a portable means to follow your favorite pros around. And still know who is who.

But for shear gadget wizardry, it is hard to beat The Puttest. This Japanese putting trainer sits at the end of a simple putting mat and measures the vectors coming from the rolling ball. It then turns that energy into a very accurate estimate of where the ball is headed. In theory, that way you can practice imparting just the right amount of power and roll on the ball. Not a bad idea actually.



Super Sets Not Super Prices For Superbowl TVs

Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT, TELEVISION on 02-02-10    No Comments


No matter who takes down this year’s NFL championship, it’s clear that one thing that wont get taken down is TV prices. A warming economy and profit starved makers aren’t about to give way on prices now that they suffered through the great recession. Though HDTVs are not getting more expensive, as some had feared with concerns about inflation, they have not gotten exactly cheap. I have been doing my annual early-year price survey.  And it just does not seem like TV prices are doing anything other than holding steady.

The good news is, there are plenty of good sets out there for the money. Here are my picks.

The Vizio VF551XVT 55” TruLED™ The VF551 has been my pick for a value set in 55 inches since mid summer last year. And Costco is flinging this unit for about $1,700 since then. That’s pretty much been the bar. Though Vizios can be roman candle bright, and might give up a tiny bit of quality on the high end in terms of image quality, there is no denying the clarity, value, and ease of use. Kick in say $500 for a decent surround system and you have one heck of a game day experience ahead.

The Panasonic Viera TC-L42U12 42 inch LCD-TV. Though I am bigger fan of Panasonic’s Viera line of plasma TV, if you are going for a smaller TV, say down near 40 inches, it is tough to beat this Viera LCD. The unit offers solid mid-line value with 1080P resolution, a clear screen image, and lots of connectors. Don’t be put off by the supposedly slow 60Hz refresh rate. Most sports footage is up and down converted so harshly that the screen speed is not critical, particularly for smaller units. And there’s no beating the price. You can get this one from Best Buy for less than $700. And you can probably set it up yourself. Not a bad way to go.

The Philips 32 Inch 120hz with Pixel Plus. Say what!? A 32 incher for the Superbowl? What are you stoned Blum? Well actually 32 inches is major effin big if you are watching the game from your desk. And that’s the market Philips is aiming for here: desktop media types who want a decent quality TV for the big game. And the unit features decent resolution, refresh rates and nice circuitry that improve picture quality. And for $550 you get a monster desktop TV that does reasonably well as a monitor. Comes with its own handy TV tuner if you need to go broadcast for the game. This is a sleeper pick for the new media set.



Crowd Noise App for the iPhone

Posted by Dan in EQUIPMENT on 02-02-10    No Comments


The peeps at thiphonee iPhone App Lab have come up with a real doozy this time an iPhone app that produces fake crowd noise for you to crank at sporting events.

“I was at an Orlando Magic game and started to think about how I could use my iPhone to support the team,” explained Brent Nau, creator of the official Crowd Noise app. “The idea to easily play a crowd noise audio clip through my iPhone came to mind.”

Once you download the app the user can select the colors of their team to flash when the noise is on or you can upload an image. There is also a stealth mode that is all black while the noise is going, I guess so you don’t run afoul of the officials.  The app is available on iTunes right now for $0.99.