Place: Taco Time
Lunch: Crispy Taco (no tomato), Crispy Chicken Burrito, Cheddar Fries, Coke
"Cheddar Fries" in Taco Time speak are Mexi Fries topped with melted cheddar. "Mexi Fries" are tater tots. Basic tater tots. Nothing special, no special seasoning. But I get them anyway. Because tater tots.
I was watching my usual Saturday TV lineup last night. Saturday is my all-MeTV night. They start with two episodes of Batman, then Wonder Woman, then Star Trek, then Svengoolie. During Svengoolie, a commercial for something called "HD Night Vision Glasses" ran. They're apparently amazing because they reduce glare, and they're totally HD.
Being "HD" started becoming trendy thanks to HDTV, or High Definition Television. HDTV is, of course, the modern broadcast standard, replacing the old 4:3 480 line standard with a picture that has five times the resolution. Higher resolution equals higher definition. Or...HD.
Most of us replaced our old TV's with HDTV's over the last 5-10 years, and most television programs have long since converted to HD production. It really should just be "television" at this point. Yet it's still cool to declare your show is in "HD". So cool in fact that it's become trendy to declare products having nothing to do with televisions are HD, even in applications where it doesn't stand for "high definition", if it stands for anything at all.
Let's have a looksie at some of this silliness.
HD Night Vision Wraparound Glasses - The idea is that they reduce glare at night, thereby giving you clearer vision. There's a number of yellow lens "night glasses" in the market, making similar claims to improve vision. The more reputable web sources seem to think they're snake oil. I love a good night drive, but have never tried them. I do wear my polarized sunglasses in the rain to reduce glare though.
HD Radio - A digital radio broadcast technology (trademarked by iBiquity) used by several stations across the country. The signal is piggybacked on the analog signal, though the industry could go all digital eventually. Compatible radios automatically pop between the analog and HD signal as needed. Some stations offer sub-channels, effectively allowing them to broadcast up to three channels of programming on a single frequency. In this case, "HD" does NOT stand for "High Definition", or anything else, though in the early days iBiquity claimed it stood for "Hybrid Digital". Given the relatively low bitrates being broadcast, especially on the AM dial and on sub channels, that's probably for the better. Hasn't been adopted widely by receiver manufacturers, surprisingly, but I'm starting to see receivers in rental cars now.
Chevrolet Silverado HD - Just imagine washing your HD truck on a sunny day and giving the world a beautiful HD thing to look at. Except "HD" in this case means "Heavy Duty". But feel free to wash your truck anyway. Your neighborhood association thanks you.
Silverback HD - They make truck parts like brakes and stuff. Also using "HD" as an abbreviation for "Heavy Duty".
Timberline HD Roofing Shingles - Yes, shingles. "Lifetime high definition shingles", according to Timberline. Look closer, I guess.
The Home Depot - Guess what their stock symbol is? That's right..."HD".
Make Up For Ever - They have an HD line of makeup and use the phrase "high definition" on their website. So I guess if your face is looking a little standard...
PixelSkin HD Wrap for iPad - In case you need an HD cover for your iPad. But don't iPads have Retina displays?
Cellucor Super HD - Diet pills. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of definition to my stomach. It's just round.
Maybe I should come up with a new HD product. Maybe HD chili.
In that case, the "HD" would stand for "Heavy Density".
