It is Sunday. I love working weekends in the trucking business because I like the leisurely schedule. I have about 430 miles to drive today... which isn't a big deal. I'm on the western side of Pennsylvania and I had a really nice, cool, quiet night's sleep. Nobody around me was idling their engine and it was great Monday morning I am making a delivery in Worcester, Massachusetts and then by the afternoon I'll be way the hell up in Bangor, Maine.
Yesterday I purchased a new satellite radio unit. I've had my original one for 2.5 years now and it has performed admirably. I could no longer imagine doing this job without satellite radio. The $13 monthly fee is merely the cost of one compact disc... but provides me with hundreds of hours of entertainment each month. And HOWARD. Back when I first got satellite, I chose Sirius over XM because of NPR. So I didn't come on board due to Howard Stern, but I will tell you that his show uncensored is very entertaining. I think many people (including a lot of the mainstream media) wrongly categorize him as a "shock jock". Why? Because he talks and thinks like a normal guy? He doesn't do what he does to shock anyone. He wants to entertain. And entertain he does.
Fuck the FCC.
Anyhow, NPR on satellite was and still is a great disappointment. I love love love listening to "Car Talk", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", and "Whaddya Know?" on weekends. But the staples of NPR are all very conspicuously absent. There is no "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered". What the fuck? Granted, I would only listen to the latter at this point since Howard occupies me from 6-11am. But I'd really wish NPR played more during the week than just the constant barrage of "On the Media", the Diane Rehm show, and Talk of the Nation. Ugh, during the week it's just so monotonous you wanna stick a fork in your eye. Until you realize you have 125 other channels to choose from.
Back to the point... so I bought a new radio for pretty much just one reason: I was sick of the bleed-through interference I was getting from local FM stations and the tidal wave of new satellite radio owners on the road these days. I guess the latest generation of radios have much stronger FM modulators (the device that allows the satellite unit to play through your factory installed car-stereo without hard-wiring to it). Since I don't own my truck, this is the easiest option for me. Anyhow, my old radio was annoying me in that I'd have to constantly change between one of four frequency options... and even then sometimes I could not find a clear channel to work with.
So I did some research and spent a hundred bucks on a unit that I knew had a particularly strong FM modulator. In fact, I have heard rumors that a lot of the recent ones on the market are actually stronger than allowed by law. But knowing that, I am fighting fire with fire. I'm just sick of static. The new unit is smaller, much lighter, and has a couple of fancy new features (such as a 44 minute buffer so you can "rewind"... like TiVo for your radio). My only complaint is that the display is blue instead of the very subtle amber that I'm used to. And it's really damn bright. I have it turned down to the lowest brightness setting but it is still significantly brighter than my old radio Hopefully this wont be too annoying for night driving.
I still consider it money well spent.
Yesterday I purchased a new satellite radio unit. I've had my original one for 2.5 years now and it has performed admirably. I could no longer imagine doing this job without satellite radio. The $13 monthly fee is merely the cost of one compact disc... but provides me with hundreds of hours of entertainment each month. And HOWARD. Back when I first got satellite, I chose Sirius over XM because of NPR. So I didn't come on board due to Howard Stern, but I will tell you that his show uncensored is very entertaining. I think many people (including a lot of the mainstream media) wrongly categorize him as a "shock jock". Why? Because he talks and thinks like a normal guy? He doesn't do what he does to shock anyone. He wants to entertain. And entertain he does.
Fuck the FCC.
Anyhow, NPR on satellite was and still is a great disappointment. I love love love listening to "Car Talk", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", and "Whaddya Know?" on weekends. But the staples of NPR are all very conspicuously absent. There is no "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered". What the fuck? Granted, I would only listen to the latter at this point since Howard occupies me from 6-11am. But I'd really wish NPR played more during the week than just the constant barrage of "On the Media", the Diane Rehm show, and Talk of the Nation. Ugh, during the week it's just so monotonous you wanna stick a fork in your eye. Until you realize you have 125 other channels to choose from.
Back to the point... so I bought a new radio for pretty much just one reason: I was sick of the bleed-through interference I was getting from local FM stations and the tidal wave of new satellite radio owners on the road these days. I guess the latest generation of radios have much stronger FM modulators (the device that allows the satellite unit to play through your factory installed car-stereo without hard-wiring to it). Since I don't own my truck, this is the easiest option for me. Anyhow, my old radio was annoying me in that I'd have to constantly change between one of four frequency options... and even then sometimes I could not find a clear channel to work with.
So I did some research and spent a hundred bucks on a unit that I knew had a particularly strong FM modulator. In fact, I have heard rumors that a lot of the recent ones on the market are actually stronger than allowed by law. But knowing that, I am fighting fire with fire. I'm just sick of static. The new unit is smaller, much lighter, and has a couple of fancy new features (such as a 44 minute buffer so you can "rewind"... like TiVo for your radio). My only complaint is that the display is blue instead of the very subtle amber that I'm used to. And it's really damn bright. I have it turned down to the lowest brightness setting but it is still significantly brighter than my old radio Hopefully this wont be too annoying for night driving.
I still consider it money well spent.
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
mrbeast:
that was the plan till they sold it!
kittyninetails:
Yeah I can see what you're sayin about those areas being a bitch to drive in. The highways aren't bad in New England.. it when you start using the sidestreets that you figure out don't just get right back around the block that pisses me off. lol
