Country Music Fans Group: Messages by GaryJames

I am not talking about all electric heaters, I am talking about those with prices in the hundred of dollars. You know the ones I am talking about, you see ads for them everyday on television and in your local newspaper and shopping guides. I refrained from putting an image here because I do not want to be sued by the shysters.

First, a bit of background about me. I have spent all of my 38 years of work life either in the electronics field or in heating and air condition as either a service technician, broadcast engineer or service manager.

Can a electric heater save you money? Yes, if you use one to heat an individual room (this is called zoning) and turn down your central heating system thermostat, it certainly can save you money. I do this every winter. When my wife goes to work I find that the majority of my time is spent in my office. I heat this area with an oil filled electric heater, the type that looks like an old style radiator with the fins. The rest of the house is allowed to drop in temperature which reduces the amount of heat exchanged from indoors to outdoors. This reduction in the rate of heat exchange is what saves you money. Many customers would ask me why reducing your house temperature can save you money if you just have to heat it up again when you come home or wake up in the morning. It saves money because you have reduced the lost of heat by lowering the rate of heat exchange. In the winter your house is losing heat all of the time, you have reduced the amount of heat lost thus requiring less energy to reheat it.

Now back to the scam. I paid less than $30 for my electric oil filled space heater and it puts out the same amount of heat as the units costing hundreds of dollars. It has no moving parts or expensive heating elements to replace. Inferred heating elements are expensive and may need to be replaced. It is safe for toddlers, there are no open flames or hot burning elements. If you doubt that then just look at one. See the paint on the fins after twenty years of use, still looks good doesn't it. If it does not get so hot as to burn off paint or discolor the fins then it is not going to burn your skins by simply touching it. The oil filled unit has no fan so there is no waste of energy, it is 100% efficient. The scam units use the standard household voltage of 110 volts, so does my oil filled unit. The scam unit will put out about 5000 BTUs of heat, so will my oil filled unit. The scam units say they do not reduce humidity nor consume oxygen. That is also true with the oil filled heating units. In other words a $30-$40 dollar oil filled electric heating unit does everything that the scam unit costing hundreds of dollars does.

The scam units make claims of heating larger areas than they are capable of heating. The typical home central unit produces between 60,000 to 80,000 BTUs of usable heat. An electric space heater or the scam unit both produce about 5000 BTUs or between 1/12 to 1/16 of the heat of a central unit. Do the math, they will heat an average size room only in winter conditions in the north, they will do better down south where you can heat a house with a candle because of the higher ambient temperatures.

The sad thing for me is to see a national radio news anchor and a nationally known home fixer upper man both endorse these scam units. These were men I trusted before but not anymore. Also the major hardware stores are selling these devices while printing all of the scam lies in their advertisements.

Bottom line, you can save money by heating your house in zones (a zone should be closed off to the rest of the house and is an average size room) rather than the whole house. This can be done with space heaters. The oil filled electric space heater can do this safely and with a very low investment. The scam units will not do any better of a job and will steal money from your pocket with the initial investment.
~gJ
PS: I know the length of this article is more than we like to see on a front page post but I think that it is important that my fellow members of EONS know the truth about this scam.

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New Country Vs. Old Country and the "Murder on Music Row"
Country music, like any musical format, has had its fair share of controversies over the years. In recent times, there have been a number of so called traditional country music artists who have made disparaging comments in regard to the current state of country music. Complaints of the sellout mentality have been rampant since country started enjoying true mainstream popularity in the 90’s, but reached a fever pitch at the turn of the century when artists such as Shania Twain and Faith Hill bared their midriffs and crossed over to the pop charts thanks to smooth production and bubblegum sensibilities. Since that time, country has been categorized as either new or old country, though even the stars on the old side of the equation were once "new", as it turns out.

To get a better perspective on the issue, it’s important to look at the history of country music as a whole, although the last quarter century will do just fine.

In 1980, country saw the birth of the "Urban Cowboy" movement, popularized by the John Travolta movie of the same name. Many in the industry regard this period as a black mark on country music, with pop inspired country songs that couldn’t make it as country, and were equally abysmal at being pop. Even popular and unquestionably talented acts of the time such as Alabama were virtually ignored by the country establishment, though the number of hits they had certainly spoke volumes of their popularity with the public. Additionally, many country music fixtures of the previous era (and eras) continued to enjoy some level of success during this time. Johnny Cash was a legend of country music well before this period and enjoyed moderate success through it, until 1986, that is, when his label dropped him for not fitting into what country had become at the time.

What country had become at the time was a supposed return to traditionalism. Country regained it’s "countrified" sound, and Cash’s music didn’t fit in. Artist such as Reba McEntire, Dwight Yoakam , Randy Travis and Ricky Skaggs now defined country, as did George Straight, who began his career in the "Urban Cowboy" era.

This short period was abruptly halted by the "hat brigade", led by Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and others. At this point, country became wildly popular, though there was some dissention in the ranks, mostly from artists of the previous eras.

And today, of course, we have artists from more than one era complaining about the current crop of country music stars. Loretta Lynn can’t get 5 seconds on modern country radio, but thankfully has found an audience through her association with Jack White, a rock music icon.

So what do we make of all this? The simple truth is that music was meant to evolve, and that holds true for country just as well as it does for any other genre. Even the legendary Hank Williams, who died at the young age of 29, changed his style during his all too short career. If that’s not enough to convince you, take a look at the career of Chet Atkins, possibly the greatest guitar player to ever pick up the instrument (with all due respect to Andres Segovia). Atkins did more for country music than just about any artist in the history of the genre.

By the 1980’s, he was bored with country and began releasing some of the most brilliant jazz guitar records ever produced.

Jazz...imagine that.

I made this video playlist at myflashfetish.com

It is hard to watch my friend Johnny show his pain on his face and in his words. This song and particularly this video touches me deep down. But in the end I focused on the message that I received from it. Fame and money does not guarantee you happiness, neither for the young or the old. I have neither fame or monetary riches but I am happy. My goal is for my last "song" to be one of joy and hope for those I leave behind.

New Country Vs. Old Country and the "Murder on Music Row"

by EZ Tracks view link

Country music, like any musical format, has had its fair share of controversies over the years. In recent times, there have been a number of so called traditional country music artists who have made disparaging comments in regard to the current state of country music. Complaints of the sellout mentality have been rampant since country started enjoying true mainstream popularity in the 90s, but reached a fever pitch at the turn of the century when artists such as Shania Twain and Faith Hill bared their midriffs and crossed over to the pop charts thanks to smooth production and bubblegum sensibilities. Since that time, country has been categorized as either new or old country, though even the stars on the old side of the equation were once "new", as it turns out......... continued inside



Got an opinion? There are no wrong answers, everyone is entitled to like the music they like. Let us know how you feel!

Zach Brown Band
The lyrics to this song rings so true to me, great song, great thoughts. To me this is the Country Music Anthem.

Does anyone watch this show? I have it set to record on the DVR, just now getting around to watching the shows, I like it.