On Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:14:23 -0500, Ian Burgmyer <spe### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>What kind of methods do the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB?) 
>use?

Since you know the acronym you probably know more about it already than I do.
All I can do is give this link.
http://www.barb.co.uk/index1.cfm?flag=home

>
>> Will you have to travel or will it be on site somewhere?
>
>It depends on where I wind up.  If I end up in the Baltimore, MD, market 
>I think it's all going to be fairly close. 

That sounds good, I think.

> Some markets are spread out 
>kind of far from what I understand.

Given the geography of the States I would think so too :)

>Nielsen gives out company cars, fortunately.  They're pretty generous 
>about using them for personal use, too.  You get a certain percentage of 
>personal miles for so many business miles that you drive; anything above 
>and beyond you have to pay a certain amount for (which, I believe, is 
>still cheaper than buying fuel).  About the only thing you can't do with 
>the company cars is take them out of the country...no biggie.

Ah! My car is blue. It has been over a year since I put fuel into it.
</Interest> :-)

Regards
	Stephen

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Stephen wrote:
>> What kind of methods do the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB?) 
>> use?
> 
> Since you know the acronym you probably know more about it already than I do.
> All I can do is give this link.
> http://www.barb.co.uk/index1.cfm?flag=home

I just guessed the acronym based on the name of the organization, 
actually. :P

Looks like they do things in a similar way to how Nielsen does it...not 
too surprising.  Here's some more info about how Nielsen does its ratings:

http://tinyurl.com/z3are

(apologies for the TinyURL link -- the normal one is 143 characters long)

>> Some markets are spread out 
>> kind of far from what I understand.
> 
> Given the geography of the States I would think so too :)

Indeed.

I guess the field rep for the state of Maine basically covers the entire 
state.  I don't think I'd want to do that much driving. :)

> Ah! My car is blue. It has been over a year since I put fuel into it.
> </Interest> :-)

Whoops! :P

-- 
-Ian

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On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 12:42:46 -0500, Ian Burgmyer <spe### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>Stephen wrote:

>> Ah! My car is blue. It has been over a year since I put fuel into it.
>> </Interest> :-)
>
>Whoops! :P
LOL
I'm just not interested in cars. I quite like driving and I loved the drive from
Miami to Key West I did about 10 years ago. 
Living in London you don't need a car, in fact it is an inconvenience. What with

at an average of 4 mph, I take the bus and tube.
My other car is a red double decker :)
I've had a scene with a routmaster (traditional London bus) in my mind for a
couple of years. I'm just building up my skills before I start. It should be
ready for Pov Ver 4 :)

Regards
	Stephen

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Stephen wrote:
> I'm just not interested in cars. I quite like driving and I loved the drive from
> Miami to Key West I did about 10 years ago. 

I'm going to be dealing with a shared car situation the entire time I'm 
in Tampa.  So far it's been quite...uhh...let's just say this is the 
first time I've been without a car for an extended period of time since 
I was 16.  It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't drive something 
like 1600 miles in the two weeks before I got here. :P

Ah well, I'll live.

> Living in London you don't need a car, in fact it is an inconvenience. What with

> at an average of 4 mph, I take the bus and tube.

Yikes.

The whole thing about traffic going at 4 mph reminds me of Cleveland 
rush hour traffic.  My speeds pretty much ranged from 0 to 85, just by 
keeping up with traffic and not doing anything stupid.



> I've had a scene with a routmaster (traditional London bus) in my mind for a
> couple of years. I'm just building up my skills before I start. It should be
> ready for Pov Ver 4 :)

Heh. :P

I'm looking forward to seeing that if you ever slap it together.

-- 
-Ian

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On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:33:35 -0500, Ian Burgmyer <spe### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>Stephen wrote:
>> I'm just not interested in cars. I quite like driving and I loved the drive from
>> Miami to Key West I did about 10 years ago. 
>
>I'm going to be dealing with a shared car situation the entire time I'm 
>in Tampa.  So far it's been quite...uhh...let's just say this is the 
>first time I've been without a car for an extended period of time since 
>I was 16.  

It must make you feel poor.

>It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't drive something 
>like 1600 miles in the two weeks before I got here. :P
>
>Ah well, I'll live.

I would have thought that you would welcome a rest :)

>
>The whole thing about traffic going at 4 mph reminds me of Cleveland 
>rush hour traffic.  My speeds pretty much ranged from 0 to 85, just by 
>keeping up with traffic and not doing anything stupid.
>

>

Yup! And that is not counting the "congestion charge". I generally park in China
Town, where you can get half price parking if you are going to the theatre or
buy a meal in a supporting restaurant.

>> I've had a scene with a routmaster (traditional London bus) in my mind for a
>> couple of years. I'm just building up my skills before I start. It should be
>> ready for Pov Ver 4 :)
>
>Heh. :P
>
>I'm looking forward to seeing that if you ever slap it together.

The working title is "Ritual Suicide at the number six bus stop".
:)

Regards
	Stephen

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Stephen wrote:
>> I'm going to be dealing with a shared car situation the entire time I'm 
>> in Tampa.  So far it's been quite...uhh...let's just say this is the 
>> first time I've been without a car for an extended period of time since 
>> I was 16.  
> 
> It must make you feel poor.

I wouldn't go that far but it has been quite an adjustment.

One nice thing about it is that it sort of gives me some company.  See, 
I dislike shopping alone in a lot of cases because I find it boring. 
When there's someone with me, it kind of balances me out a bit.  It's weird.

>> It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't drive something 
>> like 1600 miles in the two weeks before I got here. :P
>>
>> Ah well, I'll live.
> 
> I would have thought that you would welcome a rest :)

Strangely, no.  I figured it would be a nice rest at first but I think 
it's a bit too extreme of a change.

It's kinda like going from Ohio weather to Florida weather.  It feels 
like Spring or early Summer down here, when in the reality I'm right in 
the middle of Winter.  I love it. :D

> Yup! And that is not counting the "congestion charge".

Whaaaaaaaat? :(

That doesn't sound cool at all...

> I generally park in China
> Town, where you can get half price parking if you are going to the theatre or
> buy a meal in a supporting restaurant.

Eh, it sure beats dishing out four quid per hour for parking.

Now that I think about it, parking is dirt cheap in some areas of the 
US.  A couple of good friends of mine used to live in an apartment in 
Monaca, Pennsylvania (it's close-ish to Pittsburgh, if you know roughly 
where that is -- only about an hour drive from my parent's house) and 
the parking lot near them only cost a quarter per hour, only from 
8am-4pm, and only on weekdays.  Can't complain about a $2 parking fee 
for a whole day.

>>> I've had a scene with a routmaster (traditional London bus) in my mind for a
>>> couple of years. I'm just building up my skills before I start. It should be
>>> ready for Pov Ver 4 :)
>> Heh. :P
>>
>> I'm looking forward to seeing that if you ever slap it together.
> 
> The working title is "Ritual Suicide at the number six bus stop".
> :)

Even better. :P

-- 
-Ian

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"Ian Burgmyer" <spe### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message 
news:4791ad19$1@news.povray.org...
> St. wrote:
>>      Heh, I do. It was the Toronado - you LOVED that car!   :)
>
> Still do. :)  Definitely couldn't beat it as far as comfort is concerned.

     Yeah, I bet, it did look nice, (and big for such a young guy!) Was it 
the 'Ghia' version?

>
> The fact that my Saturn's gas tank is almost half the size yet has a much 
> higher fuel range kind of sealed the deal, though.  I love the Satty, 
> though, it's quite fun to drive.  It doesn't have a particularly powerful 
> motor (124hp 1.9L DOHC) but the car is so light that it still manages to 
> be pretty quick.

      Yeah, I bet. I think I've seen a few of those over here and I always 
thought "I bet they 'go' a bit".


>
>>> I'm on my second car -- a gold 1995 Saturn SC2, acquired in Spring 2003. 
>>> I ended up getting rid of the big ol' '82 Toronado (I kept it in the 
>>> family, though)

      Hmm, now let me see... <counts fingers>, my first car was a 
second-hand Ford Cortina MkII, gold colour with a leather roof - death trap, 
went to a wedding and the brakes failed coming up to a roundabout at 70mph. 
Foot to floor on the brake pedal got the nose of the car just over the line 
on the roundabout... The guy behind me helped me push it out of the way - 
embarassing.  :o(

 Second was a Ford Cortina Estate, (you'd think I'd avoid them by now), it 
was damn lime green! Good car, but never again... ;)

 Switched to Vauxhall for my third car, a second-hand Hatch Cavalier. Now 
that was nice, I guess at the time, it was my first 'modern' car, being only 
about 8 years old, but then I had a problem with it and one of my friends 
said thay knew someone that can fix it easily, and he proceeded to blow the 
engine when testing it!! I can't remember what the problem was now, but to 
be fair, he replaced the car with another Cav, and that lasted about 3 
years.

   Hmm, what next? Oh yes! A Ford Mondeo, ex taxi cab - never again.

    And lastly, the Rover 820. Took it for its third MOT since I've had it 
the other day... and it failed. Heh, they told me the number plate lights 
weren't working, but when I got it back home to check, they were working! 
But, the windows that they shine through, (yes, 'they' because I've got twin 
light bulbs see), ;) were really dirty, so I stripped it all down and 
cleaned them, took it back and it went through ok. STRIKE THREE!  :) I think 
I'll keep it for another year and start looking for something newer. Maybe.


>>
>>    Cool... cousin, nephew, SON??  ;)
>
> Son?!  Oh, heavens no.  Not yet, anyway!

    LOL! Yeah, I know, I was just 'kidding' around.  :)


>
> I ended up giving the car back to my father, who gave it to my uncle.
>
>>    Man, we've got it bad here in the UK with our 80%* tax on fuel... I 
>> don't know how they do that...
>>
>>     *I haven't a clue if that's correct or not.
>
> You guys have always gotten hosed when it comes to gas prices -- even 
> before the recent fuel inflation -- haven't you?  I don't think I'd be 
> able to afford to drive if I lived in the UK.


miles at the moment. Well, that's not true, but it feels like it. :o(


>
>>> Mine's a little bit dinged up from the previous owners using it as a 
>>> battering ram (it's not THAT bad...a cracked piece and some dings in the 
>>> paint), but it runs and it runs well. :)
>>
>>     Yeah, the same as my old Rover 820, dinged slightly on the nearside 
>> passenger door,  (grrr)
>
> That's the nice part about my car being mostly made out of plastic. :)

     *Please* don't do those slidy skid manoeuvres in snow "just to get used 
to it". Find an empty car park...  ;)


>
> I need to do some touching up on the headlight flaps when I get home -- 
> there's a bit of rust poking through.
>
>> but at 14 years old and with only 48,000 *original* miles on the clock, I 
>> simply laugh at the broken down newbies on the motorway.
>
> Woo, not bad! :O

    Yeah, it belonged to a Doctor that only used it for golf on Sundays, 
seriously!


>
> My Satty's got 96000 miles on the odo right now.  I fully intend to be 
> sitting in that car when it passes 100K.  It's kind of hard to believe 
> that it only had something like 62000 miles on it when I got it.  I think 
> I'm the one who put the most miles on it in its life.

     Wow, you've done a bit of travelling around there Ian! Mine had 43,000 
mile on it when I bought it, so that's 5,000 miles I've done in 3 years. I 
should change my name to 'Hermit'. ;)


>
>>>>      Nice to see you back.  :o)
>>> Good to be back, sir. :)
>>
>>       Hey, stick around matey.
>
> I shall, I shall!

    Goodo! I did think about you lot's of times simply because you just did 
the Genie thing, and disappeared! Kids these days... I dunno.... ;)

      ~Steve~



>
> -- 
> -Ian

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St. wrote:
>>>      Heh, I do. It was the Toronado - you LOVED that car!   :)
>> Still do. :)  Definitely couldn't beat it as far as comfort is concerned.
> 
>      Yeah, I bet, it did look nice, (and big for such a young guy!)

The Toronado was just my size, really.  As far as the Saturn goes, well, 
just just say I ended up getting the "big man, small car" joke a lot. :P

> Was it the 'Ghia' version?

That would be a negative.

>       Yeah, I bet. I think I've seen a few of those over here and I always 
> thought "I bet they 'go' a bit".

Indeed. :)

It's even more fun when you put it into "performance" mode.  As far as I 
can tell, it's the same basic experience as having a performance chip 
installed, but gives you the advantage of being able to switch it on and 
off (perfect for Ohio winters!).  The gas pedal is touchier, it tends to 
rev higher, and in some cases can give slightly better gas mileage 
(though if you're a lead foot it's probably going to plummet).

The company rental car that I ended up getting down here in Florida is a 
Ford Taurus SEL.  Not a bad little car (surprisingly quick for what it 
is) but I prefer my Satty.

>       Hmm, now let me see... <counts fingers>, my first car was a 
> second-hand Ford Cortina MkII, gold colour with a leather roof - death trap, 
> went to a wedding and the brakes failed coming up to a roundabout at 70mph. 
> Foot to floor on the brake pedal got the nose of the car just over the line 
> on the roundabout... The guy behind me helped me push it out of the way - 
> embarassing.  :o(

Ouch...definitely not good. :(

I was involved in my first traffic accident in a Ford, too.  My 
Pennsylvanian friends and I were driving in their Ford Escort down a 
freeway at 70mph when the front driver side tire suddenly blew out. 
Smacked into a tall concrete barrier going 70mph, pulled away slightly, 
slammed into it again, then skidded across the road and hit a guardrail 
at 35mph, then rolled to a stop.

None of us were hurt, fortunately.  I was actually the worst one hurt, 
only because I scraped my knuckled while trying to jack the car up with 
those damn crank things that they throw in the trunk.

The car made it to their apartment with the spare donut (!!) but the 
front end was so badly hammered from the crash ($4000+ worth of damage! 
  cripes) that the insurance company totaled it.

>  Second was a Ford Cortina Estate, (you'd think I'd avoid them by now), it 
> was damn lime green! Good car, but never again... ;)

Lime green... XD  Nice.

>  Switched to Vauxhall for my third car, a second-hand Hatch Cavalier. Now 
> that was nice, I guess at the time, it was my first 'modern' car, being only 
> about 8 years old, but then I had a problem with it and one of my friends 
> said thay knew someone that can fix it easily, and he proceeded to blow the 
> engine when testing it!! I can't remember what the problem was now, but to 
> be fair, he replaced the car with another Cav, and that lasted about 3 
> years.

I could see it now...

<Mechanic> Alright, there we go!  Let's hop in and make sure it runs.
* Machanic gets in the car.
* Machanic starts the car.
* Mechanic puts the pedal to the metal.
* Mechanic falls asleep.
* Car has quit IRC (AcK!!!!1)
* Steve has joined #life
<Steve> Dude, where's my car?
<Mechanic> Uh...whoops.
* Ian has been kicked (HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PUNS D:)

>    Hmm, what next? Oh yes! A Ford Mondeo, ex taxi cab - never again.

Ew.  Dare I ask how many billions of miles were on it?

>     And lastly, the Rover 820. Took it for its third MOT since I've had it 
> the other day... and it failed. Heh, they told me the number plate lights 
> weren't working, but when I got it back home to check, they were working!

Heh, the police in a town near me love to pull people over for "faulty 
license plate lights."  My dad was pulled over for that once and when he 
checked they were working fine.  Odds are the cop just wanted to know 
why he was out at 2am (he was going to work) and couldn't use that as a 
reason to pull him over.

> But, the windows that they shine through, (yes, 'they' because I've got twin 
> light bulbs see), ;) were really dirty, so I stripped it all down and 
> cleaned them, took it back and it went through ok. STRIKE THREE!  :)

Sounds like my headlights, heh.  I generally leave them popped up in the 
winter so that they don't freeze and break on me (because it looks 
really silly when cars are perpetually winking) and I have to clean them 
off regularly because of all the salt and crap that get stuck to them.

>>>    Cool... cousin, nephew, SON??  ;)
>> Son?!  Oh, heavens no.  Not yet, anyway!
> 
>     LOL! Yeah, I know, I was just 'kidding' around.  :)

Sure, sure... ;)

>> You guys have always gotten hosed when it comes to gas prices -- even 
>> before the recent fuel inflation -- haven't you?  I don't think I'd be 
>> able to afford to drive if I lived in the UK.
> 

> miles at the moment. Well, that's not true, but it feels like it. :o(

Yes indeed...

It's kind of crazy.  When I first started driving, gas prices were a 
third of what they are now.  I used to be able to fill my Toronado's 
twenty gallon tank for less than I can fill my Saturn's twelve gallon 
tank.  Amazing how things change in, what, seven years? :(

>      *Please* don't do those slidy skid manoeuvres in snow "just to get used 
> to it". Find an empty car park...  ;)

Don't worry, I've gotten [most of] that out of my system already. ;)

>>> but at 14 years old and with only 48,000 *original* miles on the clock, I 
>>> simply laugh at the broken down newbies on the motorway.
>> Woo, not bad! :O
> 
>     Yeah, it belonged to a Doctor that only used it for golf on Sundays, 
> seriously!

I was thinking more along the lines of "granny's car," but that works, too.

>> My Satty's got 96000 miles on the odo right now.  I fully intend to be 
>> sitting in that car when it passes 100K.  It's kind of hard to believe 
>> that it only had something like 62000 miles on it when I got it.  I think 
>> I'm the one who put the most miles on it in its life.
> 
>      Wow, you've done a bit of travelling around there Ian! Mine had 43,000 
> mile on it when I bought it, so that's 5,000 miles I've done in 3 years. I 
> should change my name to 'Hermit'. ;)

Meep. O.o

Yeah, I ended up doing a lot of little traveling over the years. 
Something like 100-200 miles per week between visiting my friends, going 
to work, going to school, and just going to places locally.

Going between Maryland and Ohio probably accounts for around 1000 miles, 
then there's all of the miles that I'd put on there for my new job.  Woo...

I've gotten very used to life without cruise control, believe me.

>>>>>      Nice to see you back.  :o)
>>>> Good to be back, sir. :)
>>>       Hey, stick around matey.
>> I shall, I shall!
> 
>     Goodo!

...goodo?  Nice. XD

> I did think about you lot's of times simply because you just did 
> the Genie thing, and disappeared!

That skill has taken me years to perfect.

> Kids these days... I dunno.... ;)

Yep...damn kids. :P

-- 
-Ian

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On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:47:47 -0500, Ian Burgmyer <spe### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>Stephen wrote:
>>> I'm going to be dealing with a shared car situation the entire time I'm 
>>> in Tampa.  So far it's been quite...uhh...let's just say this is the 
>>> first time I've been without a car for an extended period of time since 
>>> I was 16.  
>> 
>> It must make you feel poor.
>
>I wouldn't go that far but it has been quite an adjustment.

I forgot the smiley

>One nice thing about it is that it sort of gives me some company.  See, 
>I dislike shopping alone in a lot of cases because I find it boring. 
>When there's someone with me, it kind of balances me out a bit.  It's weird.
>

I often work in teams and a couple of years ago we went to Pittsburgh for a
project kick-off. Strange shopping with other people I hate shopping :). 

>>> It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't drive something 
>>> like 1600 miles in the two weeks before I got here. :P
>>>
>>> Ah well, I'll live.
>> 
>> I would have thought that you would welcome a rest :)
>
>Strangely, no.  I figured it would be a nice rest at first but I think 
>it's a bit too extreme of a change.
>
>It's kinda like going from Ohio weather to Florida weather.  It feels 
>like Spring or early Summer down here, when in the reality I'm right in 
>the middle of Winter.  I love it. :D
>
>> Yup! And that is not counting the "congestion charge".
>
>Whaaaaaaaat? :(
>
>That doesn't sound cool at all...

Don't sleep, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge
I heard that New York was thinking of trying it.
BTW I approve of it, travelling in London has improved since it was introduced
IMHO


>> I generally park in China
>> Town, where you can get half price parking if you are going to the theatre or
>> buy a meal in a supporting restaurant.
>
>Eh, it sure beats dishing out four quid per hour for parking.

That is for on street parking

>Now that I think about it, parking is dirt cheap in some areas of the 
>US.  A couple of good friends of mine used to live in an apartment in 
>Monaca, Pennsylvania (it's close-ish to Pittsburgh, if you know roughly 
>where that is -- only about an hour drive from my parent's house) and 
>the parking lot near them only cost a quarter per hour, only from 
>8am-4pm, and only on weekdays.  Can't complain about a $2 parking fee 
>for a whole day.
>
It is cheaper in most other towns and cities in the UK

Regards
	Stephen

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Stephen wrote:
>>>> I'm going to be dealing with a shared car situation the entire time I'm 
>>>> in Tampa.  So far it's been quite...uhh...let's just say this is the 
>>>> first time I've been without a car for an extended period of time since 
>>>> I was 16.  
>>> It must make you feel poor.
>> I wouldn't go that far but it has been quite an adjustment.
> 
> I forgot the smiley

Here, have mine: :)

>> One nice thing about it is that it sort of gives me some company.  See, 
>> I dislike shopping alone in a lot of cases because I find it boring. 
>> When there's someone with me, it kind of balances me out a bit.  It's weird.
> 
> I often work in teams and a couple of years ago we went to Pittsburgh for a
> project kick-off. Strange shopping with other people I hate shopping :). 

Haha, yeah, I guess it kind of depends on who I'm with.

There are some cases where I do prefer to go alone.  I ended up buying a 
camera the other day (Nikon D40, so I can finally stop using my crappy 
cell phone camera) and I doubt I would have sprinted in and out as 
quickly as I did if I'd had someone there.  Odds are I would have wound 
up spending more money. :S  External influence can be a bad thing in 
some cases.

>>> Yup! And that is not counting the "congestion charge".
>> Whaaaaaaaat? :(
>>
>> That doesn't sound cool at all...
> 
> Don't sleep, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge
> I heard that New York was thinking of trying it.
> BTW I approve of it, travelling in London has improved since it was introduced
> IMHO

I dunno...seems a little steep to me.

I'm really not sure if that would work in the States.  I'm just thinking 
of all the people who have hour-plus commutes and the relatively poor 
public transit systems in a lot of areas.  I'm fairly ignorant about 
daily life in Europe (for obvious reasons :P), so I don't know about the 
situation in various parts overseas.

>>> I generally park in China
>>> Town, where you can get half price parking if you are going to the theatre or
>>> buy a meal in a supporting restaurant.
>> Eh, it sure beats dishing out four quid per hour for parking.
> 
> That is for on street parking

Ouch. O.O

-- 
-Ian

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