The DJ on the radio said “It’s a barn burner!” He wasn’t talking about barns or fires. He was referring to the 90+ degree weather we are having.
A while back, after my free trial and my incredibly cheap first subscription expired, I gave up Sirius satellite radio. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I did. No blubbering radio person and no commercials.
However, I’m a logical person (somewhat…when it comes to shoes, chocolate and cats that’s off the table). I drive around 3,000 miles a year in my car. That’s not a lot of time. I am retired. That money could be put to better use (like shoes and chocolate) so I gave it up.
One thing I missed when I had Sirius was the local traffic report. To some extent I missed the weather but I live in a more mountainous region so the weather forecast is rarely correct. Clouds get hung up somewhere and storms make right or left hand turns without signals like an old blind driver, making fools out of the forecasters.
I didn’t realize I missed the pop culture you get listening to the radio. It’s a local treasure. There are phrases I’ve never heard before but I understand through the context of the sentence. (I also know where the best car deals are!)
There are always contests for concert tickets and goofy things they do that make me smile. All the local activities are announced and there are interesting food reviews (only good ones…they don’t want to lose sponsors).
Life is a tradeoff. I gave up the peace and tranquility (sort of…I listened to rock on Sirius) but I have more information on things that don’t matter. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Hope you are not having a barn burner.
We recently went on a road trip and I must say, Sirius was a wonderful addition. No news, no chatter about news …. nothing but music to my ears. But, that was in that moment.
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It is wonderful for road trips. Also beats changing CDs.
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I’ve never tried Sirius, so I can’t miss something I’ve never tried. I do have the radio on all day though. I have mixed feelings about all the commentary that occurs during the course of the day. Sometimes it is very interesting and other times I just want them to shut up!
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Depends on my mood too.
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Yep, it’s a barn burner here. 100* and humid. I am ready for it to cool down. *80’s would seem like a cold snap.
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We are expected to drop to 88 tomorrow. It’s been a consistent low 90s here all week and that’s kind of unusual. We have hot spells but we have had more this year than usual. Then again, nothing about the weather this year has been usual.
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I like Sirius even on short runs…so many choices. I wouldn’t pay the full price but their specials of 30.00 for six months was an easy choice. Except for some sports talk radio there’s just too much nonsense talking and commercials on regular radio.
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My frustration with Sirius was the uneven pricing. I had to call to get a special deal at the end of my subscription period or they would do an auto renew at an outrageous price. The special price was always different (and different from the one my husband got for his car an hour earlier). They may have kept me on if they hadn’t made it so weird.
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I’m not in the car nearly as much as I used to be, either. (Perks of working from home.) But when I drove across the country, damn, I wish I’d had a decent radio station. Especially is western Texas.
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It’s great for long distance driving. Going in and out of station range gets annoying. Then finding a station you like is another thing.
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Zen-Den has Sirius in his car, but I don’t. However, using the same account I have it on my smart phone. It’s quite nice there, and allows me to have some radio-type music without all that DJ blathering. [It’s also on my iPad, but I rarely use it there.] I like Sirius, but then I don’t download music so it takes the place of that.
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Initially I tried to get it in my house but the customer service rep told me it wasn’t available for that. This was about 10 years ago. I’d love it for that because I wouldn’t have jabbering nor would I need to fuss with CDs. I got used to the quiet so now it doesn’t matter so much. In my car the jabbering keeps me alert.
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I don’t know any of the details of how I got it on my phone. One day Z-D asked me to hand him my phone, he did something, and voilà! I had Sirius. If it was just for me I wouldn’t have it, but because we both can use it, I think it’s worth it. For now.
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I need a Z-D! My husband is useless with the newer electronic stuff (like smart phones).
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I didn’t renew Sirius after my free subscription ended. I don’t drive enough (even before I retired, I had a three-mile commute) and I really prefer NPR. I get solicitations from Sirius now and then that say they are turning my subscription back on for a month but I usually don’t bother listening.
We’ve been traveling… sometimes it’s been in the 90s, but today we drove through mountains that still had snow.
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Enjoy that snow! It’s toasty here. I did get a free trial about a month ago but kept forgetting to tune it in.
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Sound Good !
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I have been thinking of trying Sirius for my man cave. A friend keeps telling me how much he enjoys the talk shows. I don’t care for shock jocks, but I love a decent discussion on something.
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You may be able to get a discounted trial offer. The good thing about it is that you can always discontinue the service if it’s not what you want.
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Nope. We’re not having a “barn burner.” Low 70s, sunny and perfect.
I listen to NPR a lot. Sometimes I listen to music CDs. Each year on my birthday, my daughter sends me a new one with current songs on it. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. Yesterday I played Man of la Mancha (looking for a song for one of my characters). I hadn’t heard it in a long time. It was great. It set my feet a-dancin’. I also started listening to Pandora. I don’t do it often enough.
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The more I read your blog the more I think you live in the perfect place! Your daughter’s gift is a great idea. It keeps you current. I do get stuck in the oldies station to the point where I don’t know the current musicians or their songs. I’m getting like my mother. She would say “It all sounds the same!”
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It’s too cloudy and rainy here for much of the year, but summer and early fall are wonderful.
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You just burst my bubble (and plans of a relocation!).
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The weather guesser said last night that things were going to cool down today work a high temperature of “only 94 degrees.”
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Only? Cold front moving through!
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We had Sirius free a couple of times. They didn’t have my favorite music choices, and John didn’t have the talk shows he likes. We are not tempted. Our older van has a six-disk CD player, and John loads it up before a trip. We never lack for music.
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I only listened to a few different stations. Mostly just one and then I noticed a pattern that they played the same songs over and over. We do special things for trips, like CDs or a book on CD.
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You would feel right at home here as it has been a barn burner for some time and will only get hotter. I only listen to National Public Radio and try to support it with a small annual donation. Stay as cool as possible! Margaritas help!
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We have had an unusually hot summer for our area. Margaritas, yes!
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We’ve been roasting down her in Charlotte….a three bra day for sure!
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I did three too. Multiple shower day too. Going out for dinner. Worked outside in the morning. Yikes!
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I’m surprised you didn’t mention the money would be more useful used on Starbucks. 🙂 We use to have Sirius Radio, but decided to cancel and listen to local stations so we hear what’s going on around us.
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I am too! What was I thinking? I kind of like hearing the local chatter. Keeps me in touch.
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Supposed to hit 100 with much greater than that “feels like” temperatures. I have to be out in it in the early evening to judge some things at the county fair. Yay me!
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OMG! I was out all morning before the worst of the heat and it was hot. We won’t hit 100 today.
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Sounds like a good day to cool off by running . . . Through the sprinkler!
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I ran through the shower like a dirty truck with muddy wheels after working outside this morning. Now I’m recuperating in the a/c. There will be a nice frosty drink in my future before dinner!
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Sounds like a plan!
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🙂
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I hardly ever drive, but one thing I always enjoy when I road trip is local radio for just that reason. It’s such a fun peek into the life of whatever community I’m passing through. Though I have to say that I don’t envy 90 degree weather – it’s nice and chilly here in Scotland! 😂
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Chilly? I can’t remember what that feels like but I’m sure I’ll complain about it in 6 months! I remember a trip driving through our southern states. All we could get was country western stations. I like that music but after a while I was yearning for a change.
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Haha in Scotland we don’t get the chance to forget! Funnily enough, I drove through the south of the States last year and loved the country music – I’d never heard any of it before!
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I always have music on in when I drive and sing along it. 🙂
It is a barn burner week here!! You walk outside and the wall of heat smacks you in the face!
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You live somewhere in the same state. Barn burner for sure.
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You live in Pa?
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Yes north of Philadelphia. Don’t you live in PA?
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Yes I do but somehow had missed that reading that you did!
We should meet up at a Starbucks. 🙂
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Where are you?
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We are in South Central Pa. 30 minutes away from Gettysburg. ! hour from Harrisburg and 1and 1/2 hours from D.C.
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Sounds like you are about 3 hours from me. Hbg is two hours.
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I go to the Hbg/Hershey area fairly often, we should try to meet! 🙂 You will be able to feel Tall! LOL!
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There is another blogger who runs a feral TNR in Hershey near you. Her group does wonderful work. Her blog is https://blessinganimalcompanions.wordpress.com/
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Cool! Thanks for the link, will check it out.
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It was 88 here yesterday, which would normally be a cause for celebration. But it was humid (for us) which made it feel a lot hotter. Sigh…..
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Most of our summer is humid so high 80s is warm. Today is in the 90s but the humidity is down from where it’s been so it’s downright balmy.
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I hate radio. I hate the DJs. I hate the stupid commercials. I hate that they play the same few set of songs over and over. I hate the stupid games. Gimme the MUSIC! When I get in the car unless there is a baseball game on, I have my iTunes on my phone playing. There I can get a random mix of rock, pop, country and oldies. I never know what’s going to come up next, unless I pick something specific. I wouldn’t pay for Sirius either.
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I’m never in the car long enough to worry about it. They do play the same songs even on an oldies rock station which has a decade or two of songs to choose from.
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A few months back, I quit Sirius as well…at least I tried to. But then the ‘special rejoining deals’ came flooding in…until my husband finally cracked and signed us up again! There goes our local news!
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That has happened to my husband multiple times. Now, after not having it for over a year, I’m starting to get offers. I hate their system. You sign up at one rate and at the end, they triple it. You have to call, threaten to stop it and then they come up with a “special deal” just for you. Boogers!
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There are alternatives to Sirus, but I can’t really tell you what they are! Internet radio…Pandora, etc. However, I have and will continue to have Sirus. I like being able to listen (without changing a CD – and do you know the newer cars (2018) don’t have CD players!)to what ever I am in the mood for! My husband loves “smooth jazz”…there is not one jazz station left on either AM or FM. So I will continue with it…at least for now.
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My trips are so short it doesn’t matter. If we go on a road trip we use my husband’s car and right now he has Sirius. I haven’t used a CD in my car in decades. We use them sometimes on a road trip but not for driving around town.
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I never listen to radio in the car, Sirius or other, so this has never been an issue for me. But you sure do manage to spin an interesting post out of it!
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It’s the silk purse (or maybe a cotton bag) out of a sow’s ear thing, isn’t it?
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Sirius radio saved my friend’s life! She was listening to the Elvis station and thinking about killing herself (she had become addicted to gambling). The next song was a spiritual, and she decided to admit to her husband and to get help.
We don’t have a car. I wonder if there is Sirius Radio for bicycles!
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I hear you can get it for the house which I may use more. I’ve become accustomed to the peace and quiet of no noise and I like it.
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I always listen to our lamest local radio station, but the people they have in their contests are priceless… think the DJ is either a saint or he has the senses of a rocking horse ;o)
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Especially the “call in” portion. They ask a question and only weird people call in with responses. Sometimes it’s hilarious.
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