Is Dick Buckley Worth $3 Per Hour?

Two things happened on the same day a couple of weeks ago. Harry The Computer Guy, a Windows techie I refer my Microsoft clients to, suggested I call my broadband Internet provider to have my rooftop equipment replaced. It’s four years old, and Harry’s service improved dramatically with new gear.

Then Joan, a private tutorial student and Tucson MUG member, showed me her newspaper delivery plastic wrapper, with an advertisement for Qwest DSL. She wanted to know if now is a good time to switch from dialup to broadband. I wasn’t sure DSL is available in her neighborhood. Joan and I each live in different parts of Tucson, Arizona, that have been beyond the maximum 18,000 foot distance from a DSL switching station when I called to ask in the past.

Floyd at Qwest checked Joan’s DSL availability. She is now eligible for their 1.5mbps service (that’s speedy), having a special introductory rate of $25 per month for the first year, plus a $5 monthly DSL modem rental fee and do-it-yourself installation (or pay a $50 fee).

My phone line qualifies for 7.5mbps DSL (that’s r-e-a-l-l-y fast), because new fibre optic cable was recently installed into our neighborhood. This premium DSL costs $35 per month for the initial year, with complimentary modem and physical installation of all equipment and software. Wowzer! Qwest is using aggressive pricing to compete with cable companies Comcast and Cox.

Joan said “I’ll think about it, John,” and I said “How soon can the installer come to my house, Floyd?” One week later, my DSL network was alive and well, averaging 5mbps incoming downstream and 700kbps outgoing upstream connections. David Weeks, local pal and colleague and DSL subcriber, is “insanely jealous” (his term, not mine).

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Dick Buckley is the best “classic” jazz announcer in the world, in my not so humble opinion. He specializes in the “golden age” of jazz, concentrating mostly, but not exclusively, on melodic performances from 1930 – 1960, with occasional side trips to bop and modern jazz repertoire. I’ve been listening to his Sunday afternoon show, off and on, for nearly thirty years. You can see his photo and learn a little about Dick at the WBEZ-FM Chicago Public Radio web site.

When I lived in Chicago, hearing WBEZ was as easy as switching on the stereo or listening in the car (my wife and daughter are very good sports when it comes to jazz). In Arizona for the past 15 years, access to Dick’s broadcasts was not as convenient.

Using my previous less-than-stellar Internet service, Real Player was unreliable when sending live feeds from WBEZ, and I was usually nowhere near my home office during the time Dick Buckley was on the air (now it’s noon until 3:00 p.m. each Sunday Chicago time, which is one or two hours earlier in Arizona, depending upon the time of year).

With super-duper-high-speed Qwest DSL, WBEZ streams without a hiccup via Real Player, and Audio Hijack Pro captures the entire transmission effortlessly. My two favorite programs to hear on the iPod during my workday drives around town are the one-hour MyMac.com PodCast and Dick Buckley’s three-hour Sunday show.

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What is the dollar value to me of Dick’s excellent jazz music and commentary? It’s equal to having high speed access to the web, and email, and Apple’s Software Updates, for examples that all readers can comprehend.

If I had to pay just for Dick Buckley, would it be worth $3 per hour, or $9 per week, or the entire $35 plus tax that Qwest charges me for premium network access? Very possibly.

Dick is 81 years old. He won’t be broadcasting forever, even though he is in great voice and full of love for jazz week after week. I wish I had hard drives full of MP3 files for every show of his going back to 1977, when he began at WBEZ, but I don’t. What I do have, and will maintain, is an archive of my favorite Dick Buckley broadcasts, that will pay dividends greater than my cost to obtain and store them, long after he ceases to be a living legend.

[Nemo]