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February 17, 2007

ROBERT ADLER IS GONE

But his spirit lives on.

(New, improved, registration-free link supplied by Jeff Meyerson, who states that he sent this in yesterday)

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**changes channel**

Is anyone remotely interested in this?

Actually, Dave, Polley's around. It's Adler's bit the dust. Eitherway, all of mandom has lost it's Paul Revere. Its George Washington. Its Jack Bauer.

It is, indeed, a tragedy that Mr. Adler had not lived mong enough to make his invention easier to find, as right now I am in the precarious situation of WALKING TO THE TV every time I need to change the channel. That's right. Ol' JP's roughin' it. So I can truly appreciate Mr. Adler's genius.

jp -- Thanks for the correction. I really need to start reading these things.

Actually, jp, you're Dave.

I've temporarily misplaced the remote for my dish PVR (tivo). In the old days you could get up off the couch, walk to the TV, and do whatever you needed to do at the set. But now, there aren't even enough buttons on the dang satellite reciver to do all the functions that the remote can do. I can't even figure out how to change the channels, let alone watch something I recorded, or back up and replay something.

Come, on, Mr. Polley, help me out!!!

I think jp is judi, and she's just sitting in the boss' chair while he's out golfing. With Hasselhoff.

Didn't I send both of these stories in yesterday? And mine didn't need no steenkin' registration.

Robot plows driveway.

THAT'S why my remote wasn't working this morning! It's in mourning!

Calm down, Jeff. This is just an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering.

"the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded both Adler and Polley an Emmy in 1997 for the landmark invention."

Some phrases, Like "National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences", just float right past you for years, until you read an artcle like this. Television science...the science of television.

The remote control. Who knew?

"'He was part of a project that changed the world,' Polley said from his home in Lombard, Ill."

That's just a stone's throw from me. Or a fling of the remote, if you will.

In other, unrelated news, Britney is now bald. God help her children -- she's crashing and burning fast.

Click.

Hooray Jeff! FINALLY you are getting Claire Martin-esque recognition!

This just in:

Eugene Polley is still not dead.
jp is not Dave.
Judi is Dave.
Judi is not jp.
Dave is not Judi.
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is confused.

Bald as in B A L D.

Not to be confused with a bikini wax or anything else we've been seeing too much of lately.

"I want him to get some exercise," she said. "He's always controlling everything by remote."

she wanted to say: "Why can't he invent a robot to 'plow my driveway', if you know what I mean."



OK, just to clarify:
I initially had the wrong guy being dead. JP corrected me, and I corrected the post and thanked JP in a comment, but accidentally put "JP" in the box where I was supposed to put my name. So now I have corrected that, as well as the registration link I posted because I failed to realize that Jeff Meyerson had sent a better link yesterday. I am starting to hate this post, which was not all that great to begin with. Thank you.

Thanks for clarifying, judi.

Gumball, Dave?

*loves Dave a beer, cheese-its n a parfait*

Dave, take a deep breath...have a gumball & a beer and go back to bed. Judi will take over and post about nakkid men do a fine job.

Who's "Dave"?

Brittwit's bald head reminds me of the old days (yeah, I'm that old) when someone would arrive @ school with a bald/shaved head ... everyone knew it wuz 'cuz they were lousy (as in: infested with head lice) ...

Merely ... um ... sayin' ...

((((Dave))))

I, for one, am kinda liking this thread. You boys and your angst are fun to watch.

And Jeff, the wife is obviously short-sighted. If something happens to hubby, she still has the remote and can plow her driveway!

In the early days of rehab (ie, Synanon in Santa Monica, CA), getting shaved bald was the first step. Sort of like giving up your old effed-up identity and joining a cult, a cult at least devoted to "purifying the spirit and body." So maybe there's a method to her madness.

... and the round of double 'bot "verification" on the posts reminds me that man is no longer the master of his machines ...

(tho sometimes the "shaved" look wuz due to Ringworm [some sorta fungal (NOT Fun Gal) infection] ...)

lol, jazzz.

PS Who's jazzz?

Thanks for the post CatR. The sound you just heard was my intestinal tract shifting from forward to reverse without using the clutch.

Stevie, didn't Jazzz writ a book?

or writE one?

fivver - My Dad refers to that sound as 'my a$$hole slamming shut.'

fivver.... I think "writ" was correct

Sorry, I'm catching up on the blog after days away. Siouxie already commented on the bald Britney on the radioactive sign thread.

I really should read old threads in order, instead of backwards.

Where's my universal remote? Rewind.....

I are an igit

i was just telling my boys last night that (cue geezer music) back when i was a girl, i had to get up from the couch, trek through the entire room, use my own hands to click from one channel to the next and sometimes...even back again!..and still had to walk back to the couch by my own power after i was done choosing something to watch out of all five of those channels.

i was just telling my boys last night that (cue geezer music) back when i was a girl, i had to get up from the couch, trek through the entire room, use my own hands to click from one channel to the next and sometimes...even back again!..and still had to walk back to the couch by my own power after i was done choosing something to watch out of all five of those channels.

Poor Dave. Sounds like he needs a beer. Or three. H3ll, give me a few.

Yep, CG, and barefoot and uphill both ways, too.

Namby-pamby kids of today....

CG - when I shared with my boys that as a child we did not yet have:
1. Cable or
2. VHS/DVD
they were in SHOCK!!!! How could you survive with just 3 or 4 channels? No movies to rent or buy and watch over and over again? How? How?????

I just severely p1$$ed off Da Bot. I think it tried to fry my laptop in vengeance for trying to link to something.

*rousting Hammie out my shower*

*unless he promises me a foot rub*

Okie - I, too, just had that conversation with my son. He was appalled that there were no special features on a DVD of an old movie, Victory. I had to explain that there were no VCR's, etc. when the film was made.

He shoots me a confused look and said, "So, how did you see movies?" At the theater! Duh.

Oh, and I don't have cable tv. I get 7 channels for FREE, double what we had growing up. Funny, my kids find other things to do if there is no cartune netwk or aminal planet to watch. They read, do art projects, or go outside and PLAY! aka torture each other.

what I don't get is -if he invented the technology to make channel changing easier in 1956, why did it take another 30 years or so for it to reach our living rooms?

and the bot sure is cranky today

Med - I'm glad I'm not the only one that appreciates the seven channels of non cable! The savings will buy my a car someday! How's the weather in KC?

Are we still talking geezer talk...my nieces (19 & 21) are just amazed that the song "I Like Big Butts" by Sir Mix-A-Lot came out when I was in high school. They thought is was totally knew. When I told them I had a tape of that song, they had no idea what a tape was....scary....

I think I'll have to cry a little tear for that guy.
I don't watch a lot of television either, but,
without the remote, I'd still be changin' channels for everyone.

As for the robot snow plow? I'm with it.
I think we need some androids now.
I would be all about havin' androids.
Think about it, androids could do all sorts of cool stuff that I would never want to do.
Things like car wrestleing.
Spectacular car crashes.
Spectacular motorcycle crashes.
They could wrestle lions.
How about fist fighting a tank? I couldn't do it.
But an android could.

So I say that unless you're building a giant apparatus capable of exponentially magnifying human strength, you should prolly try to make an android.
I mean, aim a little higher than the mundane people!

Thank you.
Psycho, signin out.

Hey Med, we get "senior" cable, just 8 bucks/month. I looked at what we were spending on regular cable and figured I could use that money for something more worthwhile (beer). My 14 yo daughter does just fine for being channel challenged, until she goes to my parents who seem to have every station in the western hemisphere.

But do you get Senior Wences?

The older sets get that, Stevie. (Talking about the TVs, not us).

Ees nice!

'sawrright.

tenk yew very muuuch!

Man, the geezers are out! ;)

In a box somewhere, I have an 8 track tape of Boston. I am SO Coool!

Thanks, Dave. You the man!

And major *snork* for insomniac for she wanted to say: "Why can't he invent a robot to 'plow my driveway', if you know what I mean."

All righty, I am off to drive back to KC! Wish me luck in this crazy wind!

Wx .... good luck in that crazy wind ! ;-D

I swear the bot just said "eat me". this is war !!!

Be safe wxgirl. This week is going to warm up, so maybe we will have a chance to meet for coffee.

Jazzzz... Is the bot coming onto you? Why don't you take it as a compliment? 6 letters isn't enough to say, would you marry me?!

Hmmmmmmmmmm....good point Med

Mot is becoming contagious...

maryme ...

that's only six letters ...

merely sayin' ... (and leavin' for the hockey party ... talk @y'all later ...)

I seem to have that effect sometimes.

I seem to have that effect sometimes.

mmmmmmmmm, that Jazzz sure is tasty.

*it being Saturday, presses the 'Clean' button on the remote so the Roomba will get started on the floors*

HELP !!!! The rotten-bot has me !!!

BTW CJ....don't over do yourself. Better take a break for a sandwich of the "hydraulic" type. (house cleaning can be soooo hard)

Awhile back my youngest was complaining she didn't have a tv in her room. I mentioned when I was a teenager we only had one tv in the whole house. We didn't even get color til the 70's. She looked at me and said with all seriousness "You mean there was no color in the world til then?" Totally unaware there had ever been black and white tv's.

His wife should be encouraging him. If he holds a patent, I bet they would get rich off his invention.

*smacks bot w/remote control to help Jazzzz*

*snork* at bali--how goes the home makoever show?

Lisa, you're right! Necessity (or, sometimes, pure laziness) is the mother of invention!

Heyyyy, I sent this in last week several times. A friend works at Adler's nursing home, and knew his 'batteries were low.' Apparently Adler's last words were, "Don't let that dang Meyerson get the scoop on my death."

It is so hot here, over 80. If the LA groundhog comes out of his hole and sees his agent, we get 6 more weeks of botox. Something like that.

Did I mention it's hot here?

BTW....the bot is pretty sexy... ;-P

*smacks Jazzzz w/remote control* Make up your mind!

Annie, how are you doing? All well now?

AWBH.... I'm going to jump off the roof now. Please don't wait a week to embalm me.

baligurl-I know, and try to tell them about when there were no computers.

Hi Ducky!

*turns on the fan for Annie* We're having a cold snap in Fla. Actually wearing closed-toed shoes!!!

I was thinking though, it might be nice to be where it was snowing. I miss that sometimes. (except for the times you need a remote-controlled driveway cleaner offer.)

When I was a kid, we had 1 TV, 3 channels (1 was PBS), no remote control, no VCR. Well, we got a VCR when I was in high school. How times have changed! Of course, sometimes there's nothing on even with 53 channels or so.

*snork* Ducky.... I'm a guy....what did you expect?

Home Makeover was fun today, DEMOLITION! Mostly by tank, with an assist by backhoe. I have approximately 4 lbs of fiberglass debris in my lungs, can't remember when I had so much fun! I met Ed Sanders today (he's my fave), had a brief conversation: fans will be glad to know he's very nice, and his hand is healing well. I'm probably not back til moving day, as I have no real skills to offer. Got a snappy blue shirt and a milewide grin!

Feeling much better, thanks. Although we have a birthday party tomorrow, with 10-year-old boys...in my house...survival is my only goal.

Jazzzz - you been suckin' fumes at work again? What is bot-hering you?

Hey, Annie, tomorrow my baby will be 16! And the bot has me too. Dang.

whoa, bali - I can't imagine that. Dating, driving, dissing....teen time! I'll take my 10-year-old any day. It's just the houseful that I'm a bit leary of.

I hope Adler gets a cool headstone, maybe in the shape of a remote.

bali - I just read about your xtreme makeover experience - very cool. I've always wanted to do home makeovers. Once I took a house, stripped the walls, refinished the floors, and even redesigned part of the floorplan, moving a wall. Then the owners came home and I was in trouble.

The really strange thing about this story is that for a couple of days, Adler's casket could not be located. Luckily, someone eventually discovered it stuck between two sofa cushions.

Ooh, bali, sounds like you had fun! (Except for the lungs full of debris.) Is your baby getting a driver's license on Monday?

Good luck with the malechild mayhem tomorrow, Annie! Remove all breakables and nail down everything else!

She's my 4th, so I'm pretty much broken in. And as for the ungrateful owners...can I e-mail you the address of my farmhouse I'm remodling? I'll stock the bar and fridge!

Ducky, who needs lungs? Been awhile since I had so much fun working, I wouldn't take a hundred bucks for it! As for the DL, there's a law here in OK that they have to have had their permit for 6 months before they can test for their licence, so I'm good til May. (She took driver's ed late.) Whew!

Good for you, bali! The law here in Texas lets kids get their license as soon as they turn 16 if they've been through driver's ed, but they are only allowed 1 passenger and have other restrictions on how late they can be out driving, etc., for (I think) 6 months after they receive their licenses. I believe it's called a "graduated license" or something like that.

My son, for some completely unknown reason, elected to wait until he was 18 to get his license. I was just fine with that!

*snork* at Annie & Malcolm!

From Adler's obit: Although he often appeared remote, Adler was universally loved...

*snork* @ Malcolm ('cause my *snork* @ Annie is a given)

The Anti-Remote

LBFF, this AM I watched "Biography: The Brady Bunch" while I was on my treadmill...I ran my 2 miles in record time!

So when you fall over dead, it turns off.... sweet

I hope Adler gets a cool headstone, maybe in the shape of a remote.

Brilliant, Annie! How cool would that be?

bali-That's what I do when watching tv too. I almost want to buy this just for variety.

btw How did you get involved with "Extreme Makeover?" It sounds like fun!

*winks* @ Jazzzz

Extreme Makeout? *winks back*

Awwww Jazzzz. *blush*

Once again, I have to say: get a room! ;-)

I think the group Kiss used to have a contest every year called "Extreme Makeout" or something like that.

*snork* @ ducky

Lisa, if anyone could perform an extreme makeout, it would be Gene Simmons! Possibly all by himself!

My Hubby knows the builder really well, and he got me and a friend VIP volunteer status, because he knew it was my favorite show. I knew they were coming, but I never dreamed I'd get this close! (It's actually taking place 30 miles away, in Lawton.) I feel so fortunate!

Ducky-You got that right!

bali-That is really cool. They do good stuff on that show. I'll look forward to pictures, if you can get 'em.

Well girls, would you rather have the extreme make-out with Gene Simmons or Richard Simmons?

EWWWWW, Stevie! *grabs lye soap to wash out Stevie's keyboard*

So far away
Doesn't anybody get off the couch anymore
It would tune so fine if you'd put on channel four
And I can't find the remote, it must be

Far away
Long ago I reached for it and
There it was
Now I reach beneath the couch and all I find is some fuzz
And a stale chee-toh, it must be
Far away...

One more night without getting up off the sofa
I can't find much of anything that's new
This old rerun of M*A*S*H is nearly over
I'd rather they'd try something like "Dave's World II"

But it's so
Far away
Hell if I'ma gonna get up off my fat hairy rear
Anyone within earshot, could you please bring me a beer?
Donuts, too, my dear, the kitchen's...

Far away...


Flippin' it around by hand sure gets me tired
All that up and down is so hard on my knees
I sure hope the remote turns up by midnight
Those infomercials really make me scream...


The TV's
Far away...

(with humblest apologies to Carole King, whom I love dearly.)

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