Quick Review: Vizio M422i Television

By William Teach December 31, 2014 – 9:55 am

So, I’ve had the same TV for around 6 years now, and Olevia (yup, off brand) 37″ HDTV, which still works, but I am getting some dark spots on the screen and when I turn it on, the speakers often go nuts with static for a couple minutes. It still works well, but it was time to upgrade. The parents hooked my up with $500 bucks towards a new set, and, after doing a lot of research, I decided on the Vizio M422i-b1, and purchased it at Best Buy. The “b” designation is important, since that makes it a 2014 model.

What I was looking for was a TV that was at least 40 inches, preferably bigger. The way the living room is laid out, the TV sits up over the fireplace, and you are about 12 feet away. I wanted at least a 120hz refresh rate. I preferred built in WiFi, though smart apps were not a big deal, as I have them on my Blue Ray player. Had to have at least 2 HDMI inputs. I also wanted great sound.

What I got with the Vizio was 240hz refresh rate, and, let me tell you, the screen is extremely clear. Perhaps too clear? Some people get upset over what is called the soap opera effect, but, so far, I mostly love it. I watch a lot of news, sports, and shows on stations like Food Channel, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Smithsonian, Destination America, and similar channels. There are very few regular TV programs that I watch. I lost interest in Haven. I’ll watch the last (and shortened) season of Continuum when it comes back. Defiance when it returns. Suits. Graceland. That’s it. And the occasional special.

Now, with said soap opera effect, it really soups up movies and some shows, perhaps a bit too much at times. Watching Predator, it might have been smoothed a bit too much. It almost makes movies and some shows feel like they are 3D. Watching The Hobbit, with it’s higher frame rate, was intense. I finally got around to watching SyFy’s Ascension, and, if you saw it, the part near the end where the lady received a bullet through the eye? Holy cow, the resolution made it intense! I’ll play around with the video settings to reduce some of the motion smoothing, you can create several custom settings which are easily switched.

For sports, the 240hz is incredible. I’ve watched several hockey and football games, and have been totally impressed. This is great for me, because, with the TV so far away, it helps my eyes. As we get older, it gets more difficult to refocus, and being that I look at computers, my smartphone, my tablet, and read a lot on my Kindle, looking up and back can be a pain. At the end of the day my eyes would often get tired and make writing on the TV blurry. Not now.

The blacks are excellent, and it has 14 active LED zones, excellent for a 42″ size TV. There are 4 HDMI inputs, 2 more than I actually need, and one of them also allows audio out. Of course, there are few soundbars/speaker systems that use HDMI in. It also has an optical audio output, as well as a regular audio output.

Things that are not so great are the audio and the station switching. When changing channels, if the station is a different resolution (480, 720, 1080), there is a slight lag where the screen goes dark for a second or two, which did not happen on my Olevia, but I do remember that happening on my much older Samsung tube HD TV. And did happen on my Dad’s older TV.

The sound quality is my only real complaint. It’s not good, especially with the HDMI cables. Strangely, sound is slightly better and louder using component cables. Anyhow, the sound is rather thin and blunted, and sometimes music can overpower speech. I have a pair of computer speakers hooked up, hasn’t helped that much. I could use my stereo, but I do not want to use yet another remote, as well as leaving it on during the entire time the TV is on. One thing about the old Olevia, it had dual 20 watt speakers, and sound incredible. I rarely ever considered turning the stereo on for movies or anything else. I’ll probably invest in a soundbar or something. Reviews of other TV’s, including much more expensive ones, are not much better for sound quality. I suspect makers want people to spend more on audio systems.

I have till the 15th to make up my mind. I’ve looked at reviews of other TV’s that I’m will to spend the money on, and while some have better sound, their video is not that great. For LG’s, supposed to have great sound, but the screens are said to have issues with blacks and with reflections. There two Samsungs which would fit the bill, except they would be 60hz. I could live with that, but, boyo, I love the resolution and clarity.

A couple minor quibbles, there is only one button on the TV itself, the power on/off, and it is on the back left on the corner. Not a big deal, I was just used to walking up to the TV and pressing the power on button, which was on the front right, and the cable box button, with the box sitting immediately to the right of the TV.

The remote is rather hard to see in low light conditions, being a black remote with black buttons with very light white letters/number/symbols. That said, there are several dedicated buttons on it, one being the input, making it easy to switch between blue ray and TV. Also, a button for the Smart Apps. It is easy to access the menu, and for those with Amazon and Netflix, dedicated buttons. Also, one for iHeart radio. Only downside is that you cannot login to iHeart like with smartphones and tablets. I won’t use it off the TV that much. The remote does have a full QWERTY keyboard on the backside, which does light up. Nice for entering search terms, user names, etc.

Many of the apps pop up in a small box on the left, so you can see them even while watching TV. For instance, there is a an AccuWeather app, I can easily launch it, see the current weather, forecast, and the radar. Though the radar is static, not active.

There is no screen mirroring nor DLNA, but there is the ability to send programming for Youtube and Netflix from a smartphone/tablet to the TV. But, really, I barely use the DLNA feature, available on my blue-ray player.

Anyhow, for a budget TV, it is an incredible value, hence being a big seller at WalMart and Best Buy. You can read a more technical review at CNET, as well as seeing more details at Amazon. Customer reviews are generally pretty darned good. The only really down side is the audio quality.

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Say, Will 2015 Be The Tipping Point For Action On Hotcoldwetdry?

By William Teach December 31, 2014 – 8:20 am

That’s what ultra-far left webzine Politcususa discusses. And hopes

2015 may quite possibly be the year that the world finally wakes up and responds to the challenge of climate change.

2014 provided a glimpse of what the new year may hold.

It seems the rhythm may have changed. Where before the challenge was to get people to understand and believe the reality of climate change, now the challenge is to get the people to act and to call on those in positions of power and influence to act.

Well, true, because, so far, Warmists have ultimately failed to put into practice their dogmatic “climate change” beliefs in their personal lives. In other words, hypocrisy. But, of course and as usual, writer John Lundin doesn’t mean Warmists should practice what they preach, but that everyone should be forced to bow down to Big Centralized Government

In 2015, the focus will be on Paris where world leaders will meet in November in an attempt to work out a major global warming deal. The populist activism that began this year can be expected to gain even more momentum as the climate talks approach.

Uh huh. Good luck with that. It’ll be yet another year of Warmists pushing junk science in order to institute far left Progressive political policies.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Gazette, which kills lots of trees and uses lots of fossil fuels to publish and distribute their newspaper, wants you to make a New Year’s pledge

But on the way to that objective of better health for ourselves, we should also spare a thought for the health of our planet, which many warn is in a fragile condition. While policy makers and political leaders bicker over emissions targets and who should take the initiative on curbing pollution, greenhouse gas levels continue to rise. This is a key contributor to global warming that could make Earth less habitable in coming generations, affecting the health of millions of citizens.

They feel that small individual actions, like using a reusable coffee cup instead of that disposable one, are super awesome, but….

Individual actions can be the starting point, but they can only go so far to preserving the health of our planet. Political leaders of all stripes also have a duty to enact policies and make decisions that protect the environment — and human health — rather than allow it to be harmed irreparably. Individuals can help make this happen by holding their elected officials to account.

Boom, more Big Government. Anyone else seeing a theme yet?

Over at the Huffington Post, they want you to have a safe New Year’s Eve by remembering the exploding population and how evil that is for “climate change”, so, use contraception!

Of course, Bill Nye has a big resolution for the New Year

One goal is to finish his next book.

“It’s about climate change and how we can become the Next Greatest Generation,” Nye said in the email. “We can get to work the way people did during World War II.”

How many trees are killed to publish a book, Bill? As for being the next greatest generation, what will be remembered 100 years down the road will be the lunacy of Climatism, with historians wondering exactly how so many could be duped and turned into raging wackjobs.

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De Blasio Aides Pushed Politicians To Blast NYPD

By William Teach December 31, 2014 – 7:56 am

The situation where the NYPD loathes NYC mayor Bill de Blasio is wholly a creation of de Blasio. He ran on opposition to the NYPD and so many of their policies which were reducing crime, he’s intimated that the NYPD is racist, took the side of all the protesters, and just fails to show respect for the NYPD. And then we get this

(DNAinfo) While Mayor Bill de Blasio was personally coaxing the city’s police union presidents to meet with him, his top aides were on the phones with lawmakers urging them to blast PBA President Patrick Lynch and other officers for turning their backs on the mayor following the assassinations of two of New York’s Finest, DNAinfo New York has learned.

As late as Monday afternoon — the same time de Blasio was speaking with police union leaders to set up Tuesday’s détente to possibly mend their fractured relationship — the mayor’s government affairs honchos were privately cold-calling the city’s Democratic delegation of city and state elected officials, asking them to publicly criticize Lynch and those officers who dissed the mayor.

“City Hall wanted me to blast the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for turning their backs on him,” a Big Apple legislator told “On The Inside.” “They called up Monday, said they were calling all of us, and that it was our obligation to stand up defending the mayor.”

One has to wonder of the mayor’s aides also contacted the NY Times and New Yorker, both of which have run nasty opinion pieces aimed at the NYPD, along with other NY newspapers.

In an update to the article, press secretary Phil Walzak emailed a response

Walzak confirmed that de Blasio aides cold called city Democrats but insisted they “did not ask elected officials to ‘attack’ anyone,” and only requested the politicians “support the families” of the slain NYPD officers.

Asked about Walzak’s claim, one of the lawmakers who received a call said it was “preposterous” and “not reality.”

One has to wonder, if Walzak is telling the truth, do Democrat politicians really need someone to tell them to support the NYPD?

Meanwhile, the hate police crowd is continuing its hate of police. In Upper Darby, a suburb of Philly, a man who had threatened to kill police and FBI agents attempted to run down police officers with his car, and earned himself an early grave by bullet. Cops in other cities have been attacked, including several in Durham, NC, which is the next town over, and we have to wonder how much has to do with the current anti-police attitude running through liberals around the country.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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It’s Almost Time For New Year’s Resolutions

By William Teach December 30, 2014 – 4:57 pm

More at Caveman Circus.

BTW, if you wondered why things have been slow in the afternoons the past week, that’s due to the parents being in town, and then catching a really bad case of the flu. By the afternoon, I’m either asleep or have little motivation.

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Say, How Do We Pay For “Climate Change” Safety?

By William Teach December 30, 2014 – 11:23 am

By completely changing the financial systems of the world, of course!

(SMH) The purpose of the global financial system is to allocate the world’s savings to their most productive uses. When the system works properly, these savings are channeled into investments that raise living standards; when it malfunctions, as in recent years, savings are channeled into real-estate bubbles and environmentally harmful projects, including those that exacerbate human-induced climate change.

Notice how Warmist Jeffrey Sachs writes about the financial system as if it were meant to redistribute wealth.

The year 2015 will be a turning point in the effort to create a global financial system that contributes to climate safety rather than climate ruin. In July, the world’s governments will meet in Addis Ababa to hammer out a new framework for global finance.

The meeting’s goal will be to facilitate a financial system that supports sustainable development, meaning economic growth that is socially inclusive and environmentally sound. Five months later, in Paris, the world’s governments will sign a new global agreement to control human-induced climate change and channel funds toward climate-safe energy, building on the progress achieved earlier this month in negotiations in Lima, Peru. There, too, finance will loom large.

Let’s put that in plain language: Warmists, and governments, want to transform the world financial system away from capitalism (which, no, is not perfect) toward a Progressive/socialist type system, one which is controlled lock, stock, and barrel by Government. Which would mandate what economic sectors and activity Is Allowed. Along with lots of “carbon taxes”.

Both Big Oil and Big Finance have made major mistakes in recent years, channeling funds into socially destructive investments. In 2015, these two powerful industries, and the world as a whole, can start to put things right. We have within our reach the makings of a new global financial system that directs savings where they are urgently needed: sustainable development and climate safety, for ourselves and for future generations.

More and more Warmists are coming out of the closet in stating their actual goals, which is the destruction of capitalism. Despite the fact that far left economic policies have failed time and time again. But, they do not care. This is about control.

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This Year’s Brasstown Possum Drop May Feature Possum Roadkill Or Stew

By William Teach December 30, 2014 – 8:51 am

PETA has long had a burr up their bums over the use of a live possum, put in a cage and slowly dropped on New Year’s Eve. Why? They have nothing better to do. This year might be a bit different

(Raleigh N&O) The annual “Possum Drop” celebration in the mountain community of Brasstown will go on this New Year’s Eve, the organizer says – just not with a living opossum.

That leaves open a number of possibilities for the starring role: A stuffed possum. A toy possum. Or something else entirely.

“We may have possum stew or something if we find one dead,” organizer Clay Logan said Monday. “No live possums, let’s put it like that.”

Logan says using a live opossum as part of the celebration will be put on hold until a lawsuit by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is resolved. The event has drawn national attention because of PETA’s attempts to stop it in recent years. But even before that notoriety, the celebration attracted thousands to the community more than 300 miles from Raleigh in the southwest corner of the state. It is now in its 21st year.

No possum has ever been hurt, and they are treated very well, including being fed, before being released back into the wild. The whole affair is family friendly, even going so far as to ban alcohol at the event. But, as you know, some people have to be perpetually outraged, so no live possum this year.

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Slate’s Top 10 “Civil Liberties Violations” Of 2014 Is A Hoot

By William Teach December 30, 2014 – 8:30 am

When one thinks about bat guano insane webzines, Salon is usually one of the first recipients of that thought. Salon is so barking moonbat that I often wonder if they do it on purpose, that they’re simply trolling the Internet, that this their articles are over-the-top on purpose. Then we get to Slate, which acts almost like Salon’s little sister/brother (I wonder if Slate can provide just a few more ad popups?)

The 10 Worst Civil Liberties Violations of 2014

The world may not actually be falling apart—but it feels like America is. From police brutality and botched executions to voter suppression and election corruption, 2014 was a terrible year for civil liberties in the United States. Protests were quelled by military-grade weapons in scenes worthy of a banana republic, and the divide between the rich and the poor in the freedom and justice they are afforded is Dickensian in its scope. While the country has evolved on marriage equality, it often appears to be backtracking on just about every other advance we have made, from the racial and gender progress of the 1960s to the most basic principles of the criminal justice system. Below, we’ve listed the top 10 civil liberties nightmares of 2014 in no particular order. Here’s hoping this list is harder to put together next year.

Some are more hoot-worthy than others

9. The Supreme Court invites our corporate bosses to takes away our birth control.

In the court’s Hobby Lobby decision, the same five conservatives ruled that “closely held corporations” had a religious right to deny female employees certain forms of birth control, if those employers believe the device or method causes abortions. It matters not at all whether the device or method in fact causes abortions. Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito downplayed the notion that women’s health and autonomy are “compelling interests,” leaving female employees’ intensely private health care choices at the mercy of their bosses. Alito reasoned that employees could rely on the government’s birth control accommodation granted to religious hospitals and colleges —then the court immediately suggested that the accommodation might be against the law, too.

I love this line of thought that far Left Progressives push, as it bears no relation to reality, and it portrays women as poor little things that need a big Progressive to watch out for them, that women cannot afford to spend a few bucks on condoms and birth control pills, that they can only do this under the Big Hand Of Government. It’s a very sexist position held by Progressives.

2. Abortion clinic closures.

Roe v. Wade is still good law in America. Abortion is still legal. And yet throughout the country, abortion clinics are being shuttered at record rates. According to this report from Bloomberg last month, the rate of clinic closures is unprecedented. Since 2011, legislative reforms, protests, and a series of onerous and costly new regulations have ensured that more clinics than ever are closing their doors. One in 10 clinics have shut or stopped providing the procedure since 2011. Four states, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, have only a single clinic now in operation.

It’s very upsetting for Progressives that abortion clinics are now obliged to have the same standards as other medical facilities, and that they will actually be inspected regularly. I thought Progressives cared about women’s health? It’s very telling that so many clinics have closed because they cannot be at the same standards as a typical medical clinic.

1. Grand juries reviewing police misconduct.

2014 has been a terrible year for relations between cops and citizens. A spiral of mistrust has led to a spiral of brutality and violence that exploded with the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, and John Crawford, among others. Then Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot and killed two Brooklyn police officers, claiming he was acting in the name of those who had been killed by police. This deplorable, appalling act of alleged retribution sparked a new wave of recriminations and accusations.

One fundamental problem with the criminal justice system that came to light this fall illuminates the reason there is such distrust between police and communities of color: We should not continue to use the grand jury system to hold police to account.

So, let me get this straight: they’re upset about what they perceive as botched justice, so in order to address this “justice denied”, they want to eliminate the Fifth Amendment Rights of all police officers “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury…”.

There are several other things they are Very Upset about, such as 7. The great torture shrug. Say, whatever happened to that torture report? After a brief outrage, the issue has vanished like a fart in the wind. Then there’s 6. Voting rights, for which they cannot provide any factual evidence that voter ID and other instituted measures reduced voting.

In fairness, they do have a point regarding 4. The Ferguson protest crackdown (cops going overboard with use of military implements and tactics early on) and 3. Civil forfeiture, especially taking away property without even proving that a crime has occurred.

What they forgot are the continued revelations as to the CIA spying on Americans. And the many civil rights violations of Obama and his administration. These are issues that affect a huge swath of Americans.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Obama Bumps Military Wedding To Play Golf

By William Teach December 29, 2014 – 4:08 pm

Even Democrats can’t possibly defend O on this one. If they try, they should just imagine their outrage if we substitute “Bush” for “Obama” (via Twitchy)

Natalie Heimel and her fiancé, Edward Mallue Jr., a pair of captains in the Army, were walking from their wedding rehearsal on Saturday at the 16th tee box at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course in Hawaii when they were informed they’d have to move their wedding, scheduled for the next day.

President Barack Obama wanted to play through.

It was the second time that day that the couple heard from the nation’s commander in chief, whose affinity for golf has, at times, caused political headaches for the White House. Stationed in Hawaii and knowing the president spends his Christmas holiday on the islands, they invited him to their ceremony on a lark. They had received a letter earlier on Saturday saying Obama regretted he couldn’t come and wishing them happiness on their wedding day.

“It was kind of ironic they got the letter from them and then, within hours, they were told they had to be moved due to him,” Jamie McCarthy, Mallue’s sister, said in an interview. “It was emotional, especially for her—she’s the bride and in less than 24 hours they had to change everything they had planned.”

In all fairness, perhaps no one on his staff told him about the wedding when he said he wanted to play a round. Even if he didn’t know beforehand, this is the tone of selfishness that he sets within his administration.

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 29, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a rising sea which cannot be caused by the Sun, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Raised On Hoecakes, with a post on a police sting gone wild.

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Rufa Red Knot Birds Totally At Risk From Hotcoldwetdry Or Something

By William Teach December 29, 2014 – 12:32 pm

Actually, something

The bird that travels 29,000km a year
The Rufa red knot’s epic annual migration from Tierra del Fuego to the Canadian Arctic risks being grounded by climate change

They call him Moonbird, or sometimes, just “B95” – the number from the band on his leg. Moonbird is the most famous, charismatic member of a group of mid-sized shorebirds named Rufa red knots, whose numbers have plummeted so dramatically in the past several decades that they just became the first bird ever listed under the Endangered Species Act with climate change cited as a “primary threat”.

Rufa red knots are among the avian world’s most extreme long-range flyers (especially in light of their relatively small size). They travel vast distances – some flying more than 29,000km – in the course of an annual migration that begins in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and extends all the way up to the Canadian Arctic(and back again). (snip)

Assuming that Moonbird is still living – the last sighting was in May – there are reasons to wonder whether there will ever be another bird that is his equal. Why? Simply put, his subspecies has been devastated, and climate change will make matters worse – making extreme survival of the sort that Moonbird has achieved that much more difficult.

See, Moonbird is 21, and the species generally live 6-7. And “climate change” is Bad!!!!!!! Oh, wait

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, there has been a 75% decline in numbers of Rufa red knots since the 1980s. One key reason is that the birds, during their northward migration, stop off in Delaware Bay in May and dine on the buried eggs of horseshoe crabs – a food source upon which they vitally depend. But those crabs saw their numbers plummet when fishermen realised if they chopped up horseshoe crabs and threw them in the water, the smell would draw in eels and conch. When numbers of horseshoe crabs crashed, so did numbers of the birds.

It’s not “one key reason”, it is the main reason. Birds have dealt with changes in the climate for tens of millions of years. Changes that can affect their migratory patterns, their nesting areas, and the places they stop for food. In this case, yes, Mankind has seriously damaged a main spot they eat. But, instead of dealing with the real environmental damage, these Warmist wankers have to interject their pet loon cult into the mix.

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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