Joe Lavin

A longer version of this first appeared in Computoredge and California Computer News.

All I can hear is some scuffling. An awful fight is taking place. "So you wanna play that way, eh?" an Irish man yells. I hear a punch land. "How do you like that, eh? You had enough?" he asks, but then there's more fighting, and finally a loud thud.

Unfortunately, that's when my phone rings, and my work of 2004 takes me away from the exciting 1945 episode of "Dick Tracy" that I'm listening to on my computer.

When it comes to computers, we're almost always thinking of the future, but lately I've been using mine to go back to the past with old time radio. There are so many old shows available online that it's easy to step back in time with shows like "The Shadow," "Dick Tracy," and "Dragnet." Watch out though. The shows can be addictive, especially the radio dramas. Admittedly, they aren't always very dramatic. Some are just silly and a little bit heavy on exposition, like the above scene from "Dick Tracy." Still, that's part of the appeal.

My favorite is "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar." Considering that I work in a finance office, how could I not enjoy a show that begins like this? "Tonight and every weeknight, Bob Bailey and the transcribed adventures of the man with the action packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator ... Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."

Each week, Johnny Dollar tells the story of a case by reading from his expense report. I have worked with plenty of expense reports, and sadly not one of them has ever been action-packed. When you think about it, it's amazing that a show like this could have ever been produced. How many people today would tune into a show about a freelance insurance investigator? Hey, while you're at it, why not throw in an actuary as a sidekick? Nevertheless, this show ran on CBS Radio from 1948 to 1962.

At sites like RadioLovers.com and Live365.com, you can find streaming audio of many classics. Other sites like OTRCat.com will even sell CDs containing dozens of shows in the MP3 format. There are plenty of old sporting events available as well. Recently, I listened to a baseball game from 1957 between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. Then, as now, Vin Scully was announcing for the Dodgers, and it was interesting to hear that he sounded almost the same back then.

Listening to an old game is such a surreal experience that every baseball fan should take the time to do it. It's fun to listen to hall of famers playing, and you'll love the strange, folksy atmosphere. At one point, Scully implores us to get comfortable. "Just the start of things, so pull up a comfortable chair. If you want to take your shoes off, go ahead. Wiggle your toes, and we hope you'll have a cold Schaefer or two throughout the evening." Since Schaefer Beer is the sponsor, there are many more references to it throughout the game. One advertisement even tells us that Schaefer "tastes like sunlight on a drift of snow." Whatever that means.

Lucky Cigarettes is also sponsoring the game, and it's a little disconcerting to hear this after a Dodger home run: "And for the veterans at the VA Hospital another thousand free Lucky's along with that home run." You read that right. After every home run, Lucky actually sent free cigarettes to hospital patients. It was indeed a different world back then.

And here's something you certainly wouldn't hear anymore. When he announces the winner of a contest, Scully actually tells us that the winner lives on "2683 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn." Later, when a Brooklyn boy, Joe Pignatano, gets his first major league at-bat, Scully suggests that someone in the audience should call Mrs. Pignatano just to make sure that she knows that her boy is about to play. I almost expected him to give out her home phone number over the air.

This game came from OTRcat.com, but major league baseball itself has gotten into the business as well. At MLB.com, you can pay $4.95 a month to listen to as many of their broadcasts as you want. There are now about ninety games featured with plans to add more. There are many video clips as well, including the 1975 All Star Game that features broadcaster Joe Garagiola in a pink sportcoat/brown tie ensemble that defies description.

After seeing that outfit, I think I might stick with the old time radio. Sometimes, we're just better off without visuals.

©2004 Joe Lavin

October 24, 2003
From Computoredge
It's All About the Algorithm, Baby!

Exactly how predictable are we when it comes to music? Could a simple computer program predict the songs we'll love? I prefer to think not, but, regardless of whether we like it, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to predict our taste in music. ( More.... )

March 23. 2001
From Computoredge
Searching for Eddie Fisher

My 65-year-old father works out of a home office, and, for the past several years, I have been his de facto tech support line. For the most part, he calls me when he can't seem to get online or when his printer is acting up. Lately, though, his questions are much stranger.

"What's that song about running?" he asked at the beginning of one recent call.

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