Episode 883

Another Dead Musician, Another Jingle?
With the recent surmise of Michael Jackson, Leo is wondering if he will join the ranks of the dead Letters Jingle Singers.  Calling Dan Lueders ... It won't be long.

Terracotta Chia Pets
Talk of China's Terracotta Warriors has prompted another letter from Alessandro Abate. The Chinese invented paper currency (and paper itself), gunpowder, noodles and the compass, but among the less well-known of their inventions was the Chia Pet (see Episode 752 for the Chia Obama).  The Terracotta Soldiers were actually the Emperor's private collection of Chia Pets, but the Chinese forgot to water them.  Terracotta, Alessandro adds, is Italian for "baked earth".  It was the ancient Romans' first failed attempts on making pizza.  Thankfully they switched to baking dough in time.

The Man Who Loved China ...
... and it's not Leo.  Recommended by Alessandro, this book by Simon Winchester is about Joseph Needham, the British scientist who, starting in the 1940's, became fascinated with China and its scientific achievements.  It was the Audible Pick of the Week on MacBreak Weekly 135, but Leo has not got round to reading it yet.  The Man Who Loved China is available on Audible.



Leo's Gallery on China Tour
Leo is still enthusing about his tour of China, and was much impressed by the 8,000 odd Terracotta Warriors, each about 6-foot tall and every soldier is different.  Check out his photos on Smugmug or Flickr.

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Episode 882

Another Netbook
These days Leo is going through his netbooks the same way he's going through his netcasts - lots of them.  After his Asus Eee PC (Episode 447) and MSI Wind (Episode 762), the latest addition to Leo's line of netbooks is the Samsung NC20.

Samsung NC20, with a VIA Nano ULV CPU (1.3GHz)
The First Letters Jingle: An Encore
Andrew Rodriguez welcomes Leo home, and wants to remind everyone of the very first Letters Jingle.  He is good enough to attach the jingle to his email.  Dick and Leo can't remember who was responsible for it.  It's the Finnish Letters Jingle, put together by Henrich Antonin from Finland.  Billed by Dick as the jingle with the "big finish" because of the gong at the end, it was played from Episodes 151 to 160, and superseded by George Wood's wonderful Letters Jingle in Episode 166.

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Episode 881

Sunday In The Park with Leo
Leo had a walk in the park one Sunday evening in the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing, and was ready to meet the Chinese version of the Sharks and the Jets or the Crips and the Bloods.  Instead, he chanced upon a group of middle-aged Chinese women doing a co-ordinated dance, and before long, another troupe came along to perform Beijing Opera.



A Fine Analogue
15-year-old Steven Rodriguez, better known by his handle optionshiftk, is in the chatroom while Dick reads his letter. Steven wonders if Dick and Leo are familiar with the raconteur and radio show host Jean Shepherd, famous to modern audience for his Christmas Story, but who for many years hosted a show on WOR Radio in New York, telling stories and anecdotes, reading poetry and making observations about life in New York.  Steven has not had the benefit of spending nights with Shep, but the Daily Giz Wiz and other shows on the TWiT Network provide him with a fine analogue.

Leo grew up listening to Shep, which decided Leo's career for him.  You can get Jean Shepherd on Audible, or follow the links provided in the website Flick Lives.

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Episode 880

Leica DISTO
The first Leica DISTO was made in 1993.  The latest and greatest model is the D8.  Here's the history chart of the DISTO.

Leica DISTO History
Creative Advertising
Joshua O'Connell, who has a marketing background, enjoys listening to Dick and Leo discuss some of the creative wording in advertisements.  He works for a newspaper (creating buzz for the Connecticut Post), and has noticed in the paper an ad headlining a new easy-to-use laptop computer for $188.  In smaller type, it advises the reader that the computer is for the buyer to keep for another payment of $188.  To create a sense of urgency, the ad predicts that at 7.30 in the morning, hordes of people will jam the telephone hotline.  It goes on: The computer can be used right out of the box because it's pre-loaded with Windows XP!  It's a Comptec.

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Episode 879

XPAL Power
Energizer has partnered with XPAL Power to introduce 3 new lines of Energi To Go portable power supply products using Lithium Polymer batteries which are lighter, more stable and non-flammable, and can be shaped into any forms (like an iPhone case):

• AP series (AP1000 & AP1500) - each charger is just like an ordinary iPhone case with a dock connector into which the phone is slotted.

• SP series (SP 1000 & SP2000) - they contain solar cells for using light energy to charge the batteries (which can also take AC).

• XP series (from XP600 to XP18000) - the standard line of chargers, with power capacity ratings from 600mAh to a whopping 18,000mAh, weighing from 1.2 oz to 7.9 oz.

Energi To Go AP, SP & XP Series
That New Great Invention
A warm welcome back, to Phillip White from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who last wrote in Episode 406.  Phillip heard in Episode 798 about the Digivina, the ultimate in retro style, and snapped it up in no time.  The CD-to-vinyl press certainly impressed Phillip, who has been converting his huge CD collection to vinyls.  Check it out at digi-vina.com, and look out for Digivina Portable.

Digivina: the ultimate in retro style
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