I hope everyone (and, of course, that means the 3 of you reading this) had a Merry Christmas. Mine was excellent. Gifts that topped the charts (in random order):
- Sirius Satellite radio + 1 year subscription
- Valentine One radar detector
- 20 GB iPod
- A new softball bat.
- Assortment of goodies for the apartment including a TempurPedic pillow, a Mogu (which goes well with the LoveSac), some nice clothes and assorted gift certificates.
Of course, Christmas is all about the spirit of giving. Or maybe it’s a religious celebration. I have no idea. In any case, one thing’s for sure: presents are awesome.
This is the first year I didn’t receive a single present (by design), coincidentally it was the first year I didn’t spend christmas with my parents.
I did, however, buy a 40 GB iPod two days ago.
Comment by f — December 29, 2003 @ 11:18 am
XM Radio is better.
http://schulte.subaverage.com/
Comment by Schulte — December 29, 2003 @ 1:59 pm
http://sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1065475754125
XM and Sirius didn’t really seem that different to me. Sirius is a little more expensive because it has fewer commercials. The comparison above is fairly hilarious though. I love that they criticize XM for being located in Washington, DC: “great place to learn all about our country. Music, not so much.” Zing!
Comment by T — December 29, 2003 @ 6:36 pm
That’s great. SO, after some ‘extensive’ research, I have gathered the following data:
Musically, XM and Sirius have roughly the same lineup, with the following exceptions:
XM offers MTV and VH1, more PopMusic stations, an all Love Song station (wooooooooooooooo!), a station devoted to Frank Sinatra, and an all 40’s station (Sirius only goes back to the 50’s). They also have an interactive Top 20 station (Sirius does a “static” top 40), and my favorite station: Cinemagic (it essentially takes the popular lines from a movie and plays that in between selected songs from the soundtrack. It’s kinda like listening to the Cliff Notes for a movie). They offer some additional crap as well that’s really not worth mentioning (unlike the all Love Song station).
Sirius offers an International Rap/Spoken Word station, more Dance Music stations, a Swing station, and a Ballroom station. Plus some other crap.
As far as the Non-Music Stations, XM and Sirius offer a lot of the same stations, such as CNBC,E!, and The Weather Channel.
XM offers CNN, CNET, Fox Sprots Radio, The Sporting News, NASCAR, Additional Comedy channels, and Audio Book Channel, 4 additional Talk Radio stations (including “The Power” — a No Compromise African American Talk Station), and for an additioanl fee, the Playboy Channel (which blows). Plus, some other crap.
Sirius offers 2 NPR channels, 3 additonal Weather Channel stations (both XM and Sirius offer the National Weather Channel, but Sirius offers regional stations as well, which is pretty sweet), Sports Byline USA, 4 Sirius Sports Channels, CourtTV, A&E Satellite Radio, and some other crap.
Comment by Schulte — December 30, 2003 @ 12:04 pm
Yes, I have multiple spelling/grammer mistakes…bite me.
Comment by Schulte — December 30, 2003 @ 12:08 pm
I’m glad you kept busy with all that research at work.
The biggest thing Sirius brags about (and I think it’s overblown) is that all of their music channels are commercial-free. I guess XM still has some commercials on their music stations (although probably fewer than FM). Since my music taste is not at all diverse (alternative, rock, and a little classic rock) that pretty much means 75% of the music stations are not at all interesting to me. I really like the talk and news though… keeps me from falling asleep in the car.
Comment by T — December 30, 2003 @ 8:57 pm
I’ve only heard commercials on one station, and I think it was MTV. I’m sure there are a few that have ads, but not the ones I listen to. Either way, I agree with you on the lack of musical diversity; XM offers 101 channels and I listen to 3 or 4 (every once in a while I’ll listen to another “entertainment” channel). I still think XM has a much better lineup, I just don’t listen to it. Sirius is cool in the fact that you can get a lifetime plan.
Comment by Schulte — December 31, 2003 @ 9:41 am
What was the “moderately moderately more romantic” gift that you got K this year?
Comment by Coon Dog — December 31, 2003 @ 8:11 pm
I got her (and I) a trip to San Diego for 6 days in March.
Comment by T — January 2, 2004 @ 11:50 am