Thread by @airbornesurfer

Hey, remember that iMac I was working on last week? The one that I was putting Mojave on just 'cause? Well, I told you I had a project in mind for it!

https://twitter.com/airbornesurfer/status/1398485442584973312

Also: For the record, it's an early 09 model, not a 10.

Anyway, I've always been a bit of a broadcasting nut. I always loved/hated the politics, the business, and the technology of commercial broadcasting.

In fact, in high school/early college, I wanted to make a career of it.

Even before then, I was recording "radio shows" and "TV programs" with friends. Much of it was parody--inspired by Dan Aykroyd sketches, Tiny Toon Adventures, that "Stay Tuned" movie, and Wayne's World--but I played it seriously (which was part of the fun)

More than the programming, though, I was fascinated by the technological infrastructure. How radio equipment works, how signals are converted, but especially how that can be exploited.

When I was 14, the school band went on a trip to Panama City. My best friend brought a small FM transmitter like you would plug into a CD player to listen over a car stereo, and I hatched a BRILLIANT scheme.

After a covert mission to Radio Shack during a lunch break, we had exactly what we needed to build that elusive dream of all Gen X kids (and some of us Xennials).

It didn't take long for us to get into a LOT of trouble with the adults 🤣

Anyway, I've always romanticized broadcasting. Fortunately, I understood where the industry was going and got out before I grew to hate it. That's why I gravitated toward YouTube early on, but it's very noisy and just doesn't feel the same.

So this bit of personal history brings me back around to the project at hand. I know that with today's technology, literally anyone can broadcast. There's really no gatekeeping anymore (which is a good thing), but I still love the idea of "curated" content.

So I wanted to build a little homage to analog broadcasting. I wanted to capture some of the essence and the nostalgia of the old ways without getting caught up in the whole "content mill" mindset. Something that could run itself, automatically generating content without my input

So I built what might be the epitome of mid-90s automated analog TV:

The Weather Channel

It's simple, but it's proof-of-concept for a little side art project that I've been kicking around in my head for a long time. Eventually, I want to add more concepts like simulated EBS, station ID, sign-offs, and other goodies.

And, of course, programming.

The biggest thing is that I want it to be fun. I want there to be interesting little surprises for people who watch, and--really--I want people to take part in it in some way.

Got an idea for a show? Want to make an infomercial that plays at 1am? Let's chat!

There's no other goal here than to have fun, so expect puzzles, Easter eggs, and plenty of irreverence. I want to position this concept kinda like a zine.

In fact, I've thought about posting a "TV Guide" when there's an update, but I haven't got that far yet.

For now, though, just enjoy the wallpaper.

The scaffolding is up, so I'll start mixing the paints!

twitch.tv/airbornesurfer

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