Skip to main content

Baseball Everywhere

Southwest Airlines
There were no television screens, the flights attendants handled the safety demonstration with no video, and seated around me were multitudes of young people with an iPad, Smartphone, laptop, or some portable electronic device. We had just reached 10,000 feet from our takeoff at San Diego International Airport. The attendants voice comes on the intercom, “You can now use your electronic devices.”

Casually I opened the inflight magazine and begin to thumb through the articles. What’s this - Free WiFi complements of DISH Network, watch inflight TV on your portable device. “Baseball Everywhere” is the commercial you hear repeatedly when MLB advertises their AT Bat App, they are not kidding.

As of July 2, 2013 - “DISH (NASDAQ:DISH), the leading pay-TV provider, today announced “TV Flies Free” marking the first time TV entertainment is free for passengers aboard Southwest Airlines® (NYSE:LUV). Beginning today for Southwest Customers using iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®, or most other Internet-ready personal devices, DISH is providing free access to live TV and up to 75 on-demand shows on the airline’s more than 400 Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft.”

This truly is the age of the portable electronic device. Very cool, and simple - just turn on your device, touch settings, choose Southwest WiFI, close settings, open Safari, and choose which station to watch. Lori had mentioned to me before leaving home that FOX Saturday baseball started at 10 a.m. and I would probably miss it. Well, not today - just click on FOX 5 and it truly is baseball everywhere.

Now, to the younger generation that take these devices for granted, this innovation may seem rather boring. But for this naive baby-boomer who vividly remembers getting only three stations (ABC, NBC, and CBS), from an antenna mounted on the garage, on a black-and-white console TV the size of a dresser this truly is science fiction come to life (see space  technology).

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

A Heart Full of Thanks

Oh, the thanks I could think, and the thanks I could say! For the wonderful people who brightened my day. The first one is Lori, my wife, sweet and true, Who knows just the thing and knows just what to do. She whipped up a feast with a smile and a sigh, With corn on the cob and a steak cooked “On the Fly!” My neighbor, Steve, with a mischievous gleam, Said, “No fence work today! No work, it would seem! You’ll paint with some water, some colors so bright, And sign your new painting with all of your might!" I laughed and I said, “But I don’t know that skill! I’ll slap on some paint and see what sticks still!” Then there’s my friends on the Facebook machine, The best group of readers that ever was seen! They read all my blogs and they hear my podcasts, They send all their cheer that's built to last! And Billy and Linda. A Snoopy card in the mail. A wonderful surprise that was sure to prevail! From very good friends, a delightful new tale ! But the thanks didn't stop, no, not...

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

A Pirate's Ponderings

In this episode, A Pirate's Ponderings: Turning 69 with a Classic . . . When was the last time you were so compelled by a quest that you had your bags packed and your boots on before the first rooster crowed? For me, this summer has been exactly that, a journey where the world outside faded away and the one inside my head roared to life. I felt like that young cabin boy in training, with the vast ocean of a great story stretching out before me. My hand was on the wheel, navigating every swell, riding the waves, and eager to see what lay just beyond the horizon. This wasn't a journey across lands, but a flight of imagination that has been an exciting ride. My adventure took off on the deck of the Hispaniola as I became lost on Treasure Island . My imagination soared, and I could almost taste the salt spray and feel the ship's timbers groan as we sailed toward our destiny. Below deck, in the narrow, shadowy depths, I could smell the hearty meals Long John Silver and Jim Haw...