Mother Nature's got us bracketed now

The March 12 tornadoes came from the southwest and passed just south of town.

The March 30 tornado came from the southwest and passed just west of town.

Why do I suddenly feel like we're in the bullseye the next time around??????

It's worth a listen...

If you get a chance (and have 40 minutes to spare) check out Idiot Cervantes. It's a podcast featuring the wit and wisdom of a couple of Jefferson City area bloggers, including J-Dub and DJobe. I single those two out because they seem to disagree on everything. I've been reading their back-and-forth postings on global warming for a while now, and it was nice to hear that even true believers can have a civil discussion about a topic on which they are polar opposites. (me--I try never to argue with a true believer, no matter what the topic. It's largely a waste of your time and theirs.) There is also a minor digression into chimpanzees and roulette, as well as a discussion about eminent domain.

I keep hearing that podcasting is the media of the future. I'm not so sure about that, but give it a listen and see what you think.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I can't help it. I LIKE the fact that we play things no one else does. We've been playing real, honest-to-goodness albums, as in vinyl, for several months now. And now we're branching into rock opera!


Coming up this Wednesday night, I'll be playing Tommy by the Who from start to finish. And Wednesday, April 12th, the original studio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Of course, there will be breaks...after all...I have to change album sides!

(Now for the self promotion part.....7PM on Power97, 97.7FM. Forgive me)

Parenthood is for the young....

and I'm thinkin' maybe GRANDparenthood should be, too!

Drove to Springfield yesterday to celebrate Aaron's second birthday, and had the brilliant idea of taking him to Chuck E Cheese (or however you spell it). Even with both his parents, the SO and me, he ran us ragged!!!! Damn that little sucker is fast. And short. Which means not only chasing him all over the place, but trying to do it bent over double.

I slept for ten hours last night and I'm still exhausted.

Why????

Why do they have braille on drive-up ATM's?

Why do states with open-container laws have drive-thru liquor stores?

Why are the fines for littering the highways higher than the fines for DWI?

Why do they print advertisements in the paper for literacy classes? If you can't read, how are you gonna understand the ad?

Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?

Why am I asking YOU?

We don't need no education

Had reason this week to gather my old college transcripts. (It's not easy carrying those stone tablets around!) Damn! 143.5 hours and not a degree in sight!

It normally takes 124 hours for a bachelor's degree -- UNLESS you spread your hours out over three schools and two majors. I keep thinking I oughta finish the damned think. I think I only need 12 hours (of course, with catalog changes, it's probably more like 112). Not that it would really amount to anything other than personal satisfaction. After all, a political science degree is about as useful as a philosophy degree. The certificate can cover up a hole in the wall.

If You Can't Beat 'Em...

If you can't beat 'em -- buy 'em.

If you can't buy 'em -- bankrupt 'em.

It worked for Reagan during the Cold War, and the big media companies are trying the same strategy today. But the "budget buster" of choice isn't SDI. It's HD. As in digital radio.

The Clear Channels, Entercoms and Infinitys of the world are trying to shove digital radio down the throat of the industry and consumers. It's ostensibly to "save the industry" from the competition from satellite services, Ipods and other "new" media. But in reality, it's just a way to further eliminate competition from the myriad small broadcasters who continue to be an irritating nuisance for the corporate giants.

Does HD radio offer some advantages? As with most things, the answer is not black and white. Yes, the current IBOC (In-band, on-channel) system from Ibiquity does provide CD quality sound on FM. UNTIL you start multiplexing with different digital channels, commonly referred to as HD2, HD3, etc. As you stack more and more program layers onto the digital stream, bandwidth for each individual program begins to diminish, until you end up with the same basic quality currently available. And since the digital signal cannot be received at the same distance from the transmitter that an analog signal can, the ultimate result is the same basic quality over a much smaller area. The nasty little secret about digital signals is that they are either there or they are not. There is no area of marginal reception. No gentle fading of the signal as you travel away from the transmitter. The signal is there one second and simply gone the next. And if the station YOU want to listen to is more than forty or fifty miles away -- you can pretty much forget it.

And for this, the mega-medias want you to spend several hundred dollars for a new radio!

It is claimed that HD broadcasting on AM brings the sound to FM quality. Notwithstanding the same effect of multiplexing the digital stream for additional channels, the AM HD system also causes very noticeable interference with adjoining stations. So once again, the coporate giants are essentially trying to LIMIT your choices to those stations in your immediate area. Preferably THEIR stations, to be exact.

But the ultimate problem with HD radio is one of economics. Many small and medium market stations are barely making ends meet as it is. The investment required to begin HD broadcasting is substantial, to say the least. And since stations are required to pay licensing fees to Ibiquity (which, incidentally, is largely OWNED by the big media corporations! Imagine that!) the switch to digital is more than just a major capital investment. It's a large ongoing expense, as well. I firmly believe the mega-media owners hope that, facing such an investment, small and medium market owners will either A) sell their stations at fire-sale prices or B) give up entirely and just turn 'em off.

The NABB (National Association of Big Broadcasters) is actively assisting in this attempted extortion. And yet small broadcasters continue to support the NABB through membership dues. Why? I know that belonging to the NABB gives stations the opportunity to purchase professional liability and libel insurance at reduced rates. But at what cost in the long run? Is the cost of getting insurance on the open market more or less than the HD which is being crammed down their collective throats??!!

Don't get me wrong. I am not against progress. I am not against trying to make radio as good as it can be. But the problems of the industry are not technical. They are systemic. It's bad programming, cookie-cutter formats and centralized control of broadcasting that is causing the relentless drop in overall listenership. What good are hundreds of digital channels if they all play the same music, at the same time, with no originality or responsiveness to the listeners? Which is better for the future of the industry -- a couple hundred small broadcasters super-serving their communities or a couple of dozen mega-media outlets simply sucking as much money out of their local economies as possible for the benefit of shareholders half-a-continent away?

The answer is important to far more than those of us in the industry.

Sad note....

Rita lost the baby yesterday. I wish she lived closer...

Random Thoughts

Why do so many good candidates make such lousy office-holders? Are the traits necessary to win an election so different from those required to do the particular job?

Smoking is bad for you. Getting fat is bad for you. Quitting smoking makes me gain weight. Which is worse? Should we have to choose between cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other maladies associated with either condition? (yeah, I know....quit smoking and DON'T gain weight. Bite me!)

If the Christian god is merciful, why is "the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom"? What's to fear?

Does good medical care and a decent standard of living cause cancer? After all, if we only lived thirty to forty years, would cancer rates be as high? Or would we die before we developed it?
Same question with Alzheimer's...


I was at a Mexican restaurant tonight. The wait staff and owners are Mexican. The entertainment was a mariachi band playing Frank Sinatra standards. The NCAA tournament was on the TV in the corner. Is this the melting pot or a clash of cultures?

Why do Lunesta (sp) ads feature a moth that never sleeps?

Is normal normal anymore? Or do you have to be slightly neurotic to be considered normal in today's society?

If one human year is the equivalent of seven dog years, what are computer years?

Why are so many college mottoes in a language (Latin) that so few colleges even teach?

If terrestrial radio and TV signals are travelling out from the earth at the speed of light, what will alien life-forms think when they recieve Uncle Miltie and I Love Lucy? Not to mention Howard Stern?

What if we are the equivalent of germs in a petri dish...merely being studied under the cosmic microscope of (to us) unimaginable size? Would the experiment be a success?

Life in an elevator

Life has its ups and downs -- all at the same time.

Down: headaches and arthritic knees
Up: Advil LiquiGels

Down: cold, dreary Saturdays.
Up: central heating

Down: gas prices
Up: having a car that runs and is paid for.

Down: working weekends
Up: having a job

Down: drab, brown landscapes
Up: bright yellow daffodils

Down: living alone
Up: not having to worry about putting the toilet seat down

Down: slow internet connections
Up: getting two loads of laundry done, dishes washed, and bathroom cleaned while ONE program update downloads.

Down: dieting
Up: hmmmm....I'll have to think about that one.

Down: income tax returns
Up: there IS NO UP! (sorry, raging liberals)

Oh well, I guess I should concentrate on the good things...like the kiss of a two year old, the smell of a woman's freshly washed hair, the pleasure of sleeping late on a Saturday, and most of all -- PROZAC!

Bah O'Humbug!

I'm NOT Irish.
I'm NOT Catholic.
I HATE the color green.
I DON'T drink beer.

And corned beef and cabbage makes me FART!

Case Study in Acute Stress Disorder

I don't know if this place is gonna explode or just die laughing. The stress of the past few days is really beginning to show.

Personally, I've had my own troubles dealing with the aftermath of the severe weather. Trouble sleeping, feelings of guilt that I had no damage while others suffered, a short temper, wondering what I could have done differently...mainly just an edgy feeling that wouldn't seem to go away. A long walk last night and a good night's sleep has done wonders. I no longer feel like I'm losing my mind (which, of course, probably means that I really am losing my mind. But that's another post.)

Now I'm starting to see the same reactions among other members of the staff. Tempers have been flaring, and you can just feel the undercurrent of stress. I think a lot of it is the frustration of wanting to get involved and actually help instead of sitting in this holding pattern. We've got literally hundreds of people who have volunteered, and dozens who need the help. But until the EMA authorities clear volunteers into the storm damaged areas, all we can do is wait. And it's really beginning to wear on everyone.

I'm just trying to keep everybody laughing so they don't kill each other!

Here we go again...

Found out last night that I'm gonna be a grandpa for the second time. Whew -- I'm just getting used to the first one! Mind you, Aaron is the smartest, cutest, most perfect child ever born. How can they hope to top that???

When my daughter called, I was at a Chamber of Commerce banquet. Talk about heading to the bar at top speed! I'm happy for her and her husband. I know this is something they want. But I've got the whole "practical dad" thing going on....can they afford it? How will Aaron react to a little brother or sister? The first childbirth was so hard on Rita -- how will she handle it a second time? Dammit -- why can't I just be thrilled for them????

Oh well, it should be an interesting Christmas this year.

I am SO proud!

My airstaff really showed their stuff in all the severe weather on Sunday. From part-timers making timely calls, to news people dropping everything to start gathering information, to both full- and part-time staff that streamed into the station to help...I couldn't be more proud of these people!

It's not easy doing severe weather coverage. Information streams in from all sources -- some confirmed and some not -- and they did a fantastic job of filtering the pertinent from the rumor and getting the info to those on the air. For many, this was their first time dealing with severe weather, and the fact that only one person was killed in our listening area tells me that the word did get out to people in time to take cover.

The weather spotters who were out in the storms, and the police, fire and medical teams that streamed into the damaged area also deserve fantastic kudos. Plus the community is already pulling together to help those who lost much, if not everything, to the storms.

Damn! Let's see satellite radio pull off what we did! I am so damned proud of this staff and station today!

The secret to staying young

Pick an age you like and just stay there.


I pick 28.

A different perspective on radio

I took this shot two summers ago at our north tower -- always did like it.

Job Fair Blues

Had to sit through a job fair at the local community college this afternoon. Jesus -- at least with root canal surgery you get good drugs!

Cardinal is her color....

Got a call from good ol' Billy Jewell Bible School last night, one of the never-ending quests for donations. The whole time I was talking to the earnest young sophomore, I couldn't help but remember a post on Tony's Kansas City Blog (if you've never checked out Tony's blog, you should. It's the ultimate example of blogging-- entertaining, funny, timely and more than a little cutting at times!). I kept wanting to ask if the girl I was talking to knew the person who either (a) posted this ad or (b) had it posted about her. It was harder than hell to concentrate!

The check is in the mail

I’m sure most listeners are unaware of it, but radio stations have to pay for the music they play. The major music licensing groups – ASCAP, BMI & SESAC – require stations to pay a licensing fee based upon various and sundry statistics, ranging from market size to power output to annual billing. (And it ain't cheap, either!) And stations periodically have to keep a log of what they play – every single song for anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. Those logs are then used by the licensing groups to determine royalties to songwriters and producers. They use some type of statistical analysis to extrapolate what stations across the country are playing based upon this sampling. Works great if everybody is playing the same thing -- which of course, most stations are these days. But it makes me wonder what our FM is doing to their statistical analysis.

My ex-wife was a songwriter, and a couple of her songs were occasionally played on our small, 1000-watt AM station. That happened during a couple of logging periods, and at the end of the following quarter, a check for a few dollars would show up in the mail. If one or two airplays on a local AM station did that, then our music library on the FM must be really screwing things up!

We have almost 2100 songs in active rotation (2,096 to be exact), far more than most standard classic rock stations. Deep cuts, album cuts – whatever you want to call them. We play a lot of things that haven’t been on the air in a very long time. I have this image of some songwriter suddenly receiving a royalty check for ten or twenty dollars when they haven’t gotten a thing for years. I wonder what goes through their mind….