Tuesday 14 December 2004

Pic of the day: This is pretty much what it looks like. Actually I grabbed a picture of one of their related models, but the exterior is so similar you will likely not notice from this distance. And it is grey.

Drab DAB

Bought a DAB radio - Digital Audio Broadcasting. The Norwegian State Broadcasting is expanding its DAB and contracting its FM. That is to say, it is moving channels into digital and announcing their removal from the FM band. Among those destined to move is my favorite work channel, "Alltid nyheter" (Always News), the nation's only pure news channel. Also NRK/MP3, their youthful music channel.

Indeed, the music channel is the main excuse for getting DAB. These broadcasts send auxilliary information along with the sound, so I should be able to see what song is playing. This is often not mentioned at all, especially on MP3. Now that I have no one to help me find new songs, I have for the longest time been limited to J-pop (Japanese pop) because that is what I find through anime and the online channel Kawaii Radio. I sometimes listen to NRK/MP3, but it pains me to hear a good song and know that I will never know where to find it.

(This imaginary pain is the heart of greed: To be unable to secure the repeat of pleasurable experiences. C.S.Lewis explains this wonderfully in his book Perelandra, both in the symbolism of the floating vs the fixed island and more outright with the fragrant fruits that you could only experience by popping them like a soap bubble. Of course I did not think of any of this when I bought the radio.)

As can be expected, this purchase didn't make me happy either. I think it may be a year or two early, as the only channel not still available on FM is Always Folk Music and I cannot find NRK/MP3 anywhere on my DAB in Kristiansand. But at least it looks good on my desk. Yeah.