Sinatra's MySpace

Here is the link to the Sinatra "My Way" parody I played during Saturday's show. Ol' Blue Eyes would be rolling over in his grave if wireless iPod speakers could penetrate six feet of dirt.

I'll be in Orlando mid-week to participate on a panel for GE's Ecomagination homebuilding program. This event coincides with the International Builders Show. Will try some remote blogging, Twittering and Uttering.

Because I just looooove convention centers I will giving a home technology seminar this Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Texas Home & Garden Show. 3-4pm at Reliant Center.

Other random ramblings this weekend:

• I actually watched most all of the Pro Bowl game. Not sure why but the 3:30pm CT start time may have been better than the 7pm start times like they used to have. Nothing like NFL All-Stars banging into each other at 10:30am local Hawaii time.
• Is anyone watching the Grammy's (an hour into it as I type this)?? Tina Turner's face has been frozen since 1984. My high-def TV tells me that Beyonce may have had a little work done herself. But as I've always said she needs to work on those thighs a bit. Seriously.
• Amy Winehouse has already won like a dozen awards. Think she realizes she won?
• TV highlight of the year so far...Morris Day and The Time playing together for the first time in 15 years. My son was watching this and ddn't understand how big a deal this was for me. Jimmy Jam has gained some weight since the mid-80's but he can still swing. Mirror-holding Jerome looks as young and fit as he was back in the day of stage sliding. But why did they have to bring out Rihanna during set? Someone please find this on YouTube for me.

Can't See Cowboys on NFL Network Tonight? Just Sling It

Once again we have another situation that for sports fans to put a Slingbox at the top of your holiday wish list.

Tonight's Cowboys-Packers football game will be shown on the NFL Network, the NFL-owned channel that 74 million homes CAN'T receive thanks mostly to a dispute between cable operators and the NFL ($$$$). NFL rules stipulate that the participating team markets have to show it over the air which is all good for Dallas and the Green Bay area. But everyone else is out of luck unless your cable or satellite company carries the NFL Network.

A few weeks ago Houston was the only major market not to get the Patriots-Colts showdown because the Texans were playing at the same time. I circumenvented the KHOU Channel 11 feed by tapping into a friend's Slingbox who lives in another city; watching every snap on my larege computer monitor.

If you have a friend who lives in Dallas or gets the NFL Network try to tap into his Slingbox tonight. If not, the NFL just announced a way to get snippets of the game. NFL.com will provide limited access to the contest. The website will provide a live studio show, plus live "look-ins" at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. It also is promoting live video for play inside the 20-yard line. NFL.com also plans to show the entire halftime show.

You Are Looking Live...

...at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Live on CBS via my buddy's Slingbox in North Carolina.

While the rest of Houston is watching the Texans have their way with the Raiders on KHOU, Ch. 11, I am tapped into the CBS feed from another market. As described on my show yesterday and my previous blog, this is working like a charm.

I also think I just coined a new phrase - Picture-Out-Of-Picture (POP). Notice the Colts-Pats game on my 21 inch computer monitor and the Texans-Raiders game on my 42" LCD TV.

I am the commissioner of TV football watching.

Another Reason To Get A Slingbox

One of my fave gadgets of the past two years has been the Slingbox. It's a device that plugs into your TV and lets you watch and control it from a remotely connected computer. I've tapped into my Slingbox from my office, WiFi hotspots, London, Dallas and several other places during my travels. Since I can control my TV I can watch live shows or programs I recorded on my DVR.

A few of my friends in other cities have their own Slingboxes and that is where we get "creative." We have exchanged passwords so we can log into each other's boxes. Why would we do this? Aha! To watch shows that we can't receive in our home TV markets. For example, when the Dallas Cowboys game is not shown here due to a conflicting Texans game, I log on to my buddy's Slingbox in Dallas and watch the local Dallas feed.

A friend of mine in the TV biz who recently moved away from Houston taps into my Slingbox to watch his old channel here (apparently he really misses the weather).

So guess where I will be this Sunday at 3:15pm CT (after sleeping an extra hour)? Watching the over-hyped and much-anticipated Patriots-Colts game. CBS plans to pipe the "Game of the Century" into 96 percent of the country's TV households but because the Texans play the Raiders at the same time, KHOU (Ch. 11) will be showing that barn burner of a match instead. Note: The folks at Slingbox don't endorse or suppport this use. But I do.

Getcha popcorn ready and get over to my crib. Game on!

Has anyone else used a Slingbox in such a creative way?

5768, NFL and Early Evening Radio

As pointed out in the previous post's comments, I wonder how I will be writing the year 5767 on my checks? (Thanks, Mr. Crap Man).

Hung around the house today planning on how to conquer the world this new year. Got in an extra helping of ESPN and saw lots of news...

Roger Goodell is STRONG. I think he's doing a helluva job as NFL Commish and really making his power felt. He slapped Bill Beli-Cheat with a $500,000 fine and the Patriots' first or 2nd and 3rd round draft picks next year for taping the Jets' signals. You go, Rog. And don't evah let Michael Vick back you in your league.

Our Dallas Cowboys (or maybe just MY Dallas Cowboys) were just named the world's most valuable sports franchise by Forbes Magazine. Jerry Jones' "little" investment in 1989 is now worth $1.5 billion. And who says the AFC is the better league? 3 of the top 5 most valuable teams are in the NFC EAST. And who says #2...Who says winning is a measure of a good team? Our Houston Texans (Ok, maybe YOUR Houston Texans) are #4 on the most valuable list. Sell now while the gettin's good, Bob.

Typing of football, The 9-5-0 is airing a Texas Tech game this Saturday for some reason. That will push my show back to a late start. Tune in around 6pm for my show this weekend.

Hop To It. Kangaroo TV Is For Ultimate NFL Fans

I used to hate leaving my home as I missed too many of my favorite TV programs. Of course this was before VCRs and then DVRs but I was a homebody growing up. As a sports fan I really hated missing games of my teams.

The folks at Kangaroo TV must love TV and sports as much as I do. Their handheld devices allow spectators at sporting events to tune in the action they are watching, including camera angles and interviews not possible through your plain old binoculars.

The company has rented these small wireless units at Formula 1 and NASCAR races for the past few years. But Kangaroo has hopped down to Houston via a deal with the Texans and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket.

The Texans are one of four NFL teams to offer Kangaroo TV service this year. Here's how it works:

• Visit a kiosk on game day at Reliant Stadium and bring your credit card. Fill out a quick information sheet and pay $24.95 to rent the device during that game. You can also rent it for the entire season at $129.95. There is a web site to rent it online and pick it at the stadium.
  
• The unit comes in a bag with headphones, neck strap, battery charger and an extra battery. Turn it on, plug the headphones in and you are in business.

The units only work inside the stadium on game day as the content is delivered through the NFL Sunday Ticket via DirecTV. It's wireless so you can tote it to the snack stand, mezzanine and bathroom so as not to miss one play.

I tried Kangaroo at the Texans season opener thinking I would solely watch other early games instead of watching our home team stink it up. To everyone's surprise the Texans played like champs which kept my eyes going back and forth between live action on the field and the seven other games being played around the NFL.

There were no instructions other than the 20-second explanation from the nice girl who rented me the unit. It took me about the first quarter of the game to figure out everything to view but then it was easy to maneuver.

Kangaroo shows live video for up to 10 games including the Texans' feed. The device has a color screen about 3 1/2 diagonal inches. It is certainly not HD and the picture was a bit jumpy at times probably because I was walking around parts of the stadium with less than stellar wireless coverage.

But the ability to watch the action from all those games is great. Other content features include real-time fantasy stats from NFL.com, game stats from across the league, DIRECTV Red Zone channel and even CBS and FOX pre-game shows

Kangaroo TV is not for everyone especially the die-hard home team fan who wants to concentrate on nothing other than the game on the field and who is bringing him his next beer. It is a perfect way for fans of other teams who want to monitor those games while cheering for the Texans.

The Texans are 1-0 since Kangaroo came to town. Let's hope they continue to offer the service through the Super Bowl.