I’ve had Verizon FiOS “Triple Play” (phone-data-tv) for a few months now and love it. At The Gym every morning I love watching MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. As I was programming my channel presets for my SlingBox client, I couldn’t find the channel number for MSNBC. I thought I was going crazy, but nope, it turns out that VERIZON FIOS TV DOES NOT OFFER MSNBC IN NORTHERN NJ. WTF?! Here’s the explanation from Wikipedia:

As a result of a carriage agreement, MSNBC is currently not available to Verizon Fios TV subscribers in Verizon’s Northern New Jersey grouping as well as areas in New York City. The reason for the lack of availability is an exclusive carriage agreement that MSNBC entered into with Cablevision, which services the areas in question. [8] The terms of the agreement (i.e. when the exclusive agreement expires) are unknown. The result of the agreement is that a competing content provider will be unable to offer MSNBC from where the broadcast originates. Also, as Verizon’s subscriptions rise, MSNBC will be increasingly unavailable in one of the largest markets in the United States unless viewers subscribe to a second provider (either Cablevision or one of the satellite TV providers).

Wow, what a disappointment.

Yeah, that’s what I’M talkin’ about! (Warning: profanity)

I’ve been hooked on Facebook lately and have been moblogging with my iPhone when I’m in New York City. I’ve decided to make my pics viewable by anyone, even if you don’t have a Facebook account (which you should!). Pics here:

Dio’s NYC Moblog on Facebook

I had an interesting day in NYC today… attended a meeting at the New York Stock Exchange and was able to get onto the NYSE floor for the closing bell. Got to see Brad Garrett from “Everybody Loves Raymond” up close and also met NYSE CEO John Thain. Brad was an absolute riot (and one tall dude)!

Actually, more like 157 channels and nothing on. I have DISH TV and can’t believe how many channels I DON’T watch in my package. Either they’re pay-per-view or just stations/programming that are not very interesting to me. I probably watch less than 5 channels regularly. Sad (especially when you consider how much they charge).

All that being said, I got a Slingbox Pro for Christmas. It wasn’t so much that I can’t be away from television for too long (I definitely can), but I was more interested in the technology. If you’re not familiar with a Slingbox, it allows you to watch and control your personal television from anywhere in the world via the Internet. I can watch my DISH TV via PC, Mac, desktop, laptop, or even Pocket PC handheld. Works over LAN, WiFi, EVDO, and even 2.5G networks. So far so good. Can’t believe how well it works (even with DSL). I know, I’m getting FIOS soon.
So even though I’ve complained about bad programming on DISH, I recently came across a channel that I really like — NYC TV. Lots of interesting programming about New York City… things to see, places to eat, history, etc. One of my favorite programs is “New York Noise”, where they showcase some pretty good NYC indie and underground music/videos. I definitely plan to watch a lot of NYC TV on my Slingbox. Check it out!

It took me over 2.5 hours to get home from NYC today… @#$% Traffic was bumper-to-bumper from Hoboken all the way to Rochelle Park. The reason? The Sopranos were filming an episode at the South City Grill on Route 17 and EVERYONE was rubber-necking. Of course I took a turn when I finally drove by and saw Tony Sirico, a.k.a. Paulie Walnuts, walking around (you could see that hair a mile away). It’s always neat to see them filming an episode in the area. At least I got to see one of the cast members this time (yes, they film on Route 17 a lot).

I’m not usually one to watch award shows, but I had to watch my favorite, Conan O’Brien, host The Emmys. The opening video was hilarious and I thought he did a great job to the end. I was psyched that Kiefer Sutherland, 24, and The Office all won. I’m going to check out The Colbert Report on Comedy Central — that Stephen Colbert looks pretty funny.

I confess… I’m addicted to 24. Yes, the Fox show notorious for blatant violence, government conspiracies, terrorists, big explosions, incredible computer skills, and some of the fastest PDA downloads I’ve ever seen in my life. Oh yeah, and of course, Jack Bauer!

I’m so addicted to 24 that I’ve gone as far as changing all the ringtones in my house and cell phones to the CTU ringtone (good thing my wife likes it too). Actually, it’s a very good ringtone — kind of mellow, but it can cut through a lot of noise. Plus, when you hear it it gets you thinking about repositioning satellites and saving the nation.
What I like about the show is that it always moves. There’s always something interesting going on and it never fails to surprise you when you least expect it. Best of all, I like living vicariously through Jack Bauer. He beats people up if they piss him off, knows everything about everything, and is friends with the President. He’s simply the modern day super hero. No cape or special powers… just a 9mm, great interrogation techniques, and a cell phone battery that lasts forever.

I finally finished watching Season 2 this past weekend — awesome! I realize I’m years behind, but I actually tried avoiding 24 for a few years. I knew once I started watching it I’d get hooked (it took me one episode!). Besides The Sopranos, it’s really the only television show I consistently watch these days. To date I’ve seen seasons 1, 2, 4, and currently 5. Season 3 is waiting for me on DVD and my video iPod. I can’t wait.
Be sure to check out this site, if you’re as addicted as I am: TwentyFour.TV

My wife and I are big Conan O’Brien fans. Since I haven’t been watching his show during it’s regularly scheduled hours, it was a nice surprise to catch this on my macTV podcast subscription:

[macTV Show #87]

Great to see Conan poking fun at the new iPod. It’s even better to see that Apple is now including some Conan video clips in the iTunes Music store (although I wish they were offering entire episodes!).

Hey Seinfeld fans, ya gotta love it when a Festivus story makes it to ABC News. It’s a Festivus Miracle!

[article at ABC News]

Living in New Jersey definitely has some benefits, especially if you’re a Sopranos fan. Seems like everywhere you turn in NJ The Sopranos have filmed a scene somewhere close by. For example, I used to live near Satin Dolls on Route 17, a.k.a. the Bada Bing, and now I drive past it almost everyday on my way to NYC. It’s great when people come to visit the NY/NJ area and you can point out little tid-bits from The Sopranos… “this is the place where Paulie did this or Christopher did that”… Ahhh, Jersey pride. For what it’s worth, James Gandolfini grew up in the town next to me (Park Ridge). Ahhh, more Jersey pride.
After appointments today my colleague and I took the opportunity to take a peek at T’s big house on the hill. We happened to be in the vicinity and my colleague knew the area well (he grew up nearby). On our way to “the house” a road was closed and we had to take a detour. As we stopped briefly in a parking lot to make a U-turn, a guy standing in the lot picked us out from a mile away. He knew right away that we were looking for “the house” and barked out some unsolicited directions (obviously we weren’t the first to be looking for “something” in North Caldwell). Being good strangers, we politely thanked him and went on our way. A few minutes later we were in Tony Soprano’s neighborhood taking phonecam pics of his house (see RAZR pic below)… beautiful neighborhood and one great looking house! Looks exactly as it does on the show.
I can’t divulge the exact location of Tony’s house (I’m sworn to secrecy), but I will say that it’s now listed as a favorite in my GPS. Let me know if you’re interested in the coordinates — you can plug them into Google Earth and do a virtual tour if you’re not up to driving to Essex County.

Thanks for the tour Mike!

The Soprano Residence

Funny stuff from Comedy Central’s “The Man Show”. Although you don’t have to watch the show to get a kick out of this one. Looks very scientific… until you read a little closer and click on some boxes.

[TheManShow.com Periodic Table]