What's Your Body's MPG?

33.5 miles per gallon

Created by The Car Connection

I stole this from Jason Mac's radio station website. It's very cool. I get 33.5 mpg, how about you?

Merry Happy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Reminiscing Part 2

When my life is said and done, this song will end up in my top 10 of all time. Residing at about number 7 or 8, for reasons unknown to even me, this one one of my all time faves...still gets me to this day. They were never better than this song.

Bailout, Shmailout

Damn. Everyone has a hand out. The big three want big cash. Where have you guys been for the last thirty years? The first spike in oil was in 1973. That's 35 years ago. Where were the visionaries from Detroit then? Why did you keep making cars that
a) sucked and
b) sucked
if the car makers would have thought ahead, there would have been no oil problem because we would be using far less. Lazy, sloppy, inefficient and now it's finally caught up with them. As a former shop steward, I hate to cast aspersions on my brethren, but I wish all would have gotten along through the years.
Every commercial I see for the F150 pickup with 16 miles per gallon, I wonder why. Where's the beef? The hybrids? Electrics? Hydrogen? Propane? Natural Gas? Solar? and wind? cars? My 2004 Mazda 3 with 130,000 miles on it still gets 36 mpg. It's one of the very few foriegn cars I have owned and I wouldn't trade it for anything. $10,000 and still rockin'. Hey Detroit, where ya been? Why haven't you been making cars that Americans need?

Just Reminiscing

It's not this video but about a week after his performance on Midnight Special (where he was presented a gold record for "Bad Bad Leroy Brown")he and Maury were killed in a plane crash. There is a previous post about where I was when I heard the news. I'll never forget it.

Lil OReilly (I Can't Get Enough)

26 Letters 12 Chords

Quite a surprise from one Dave Mason. Apparently, he's been working on this release for the past six years or so in between his massive road work schedule. "Good 2 You" sounds excatly like Clapton. That's not a bad thing, for sure, but just different for Dave. He has played with Clapton, and Hendrix and Harrison and...
"World of Hinger" could have been done by Justin Timberlake or Timbaland and is QUITE the departure. "You're Standing in My Light" is cool, funky Dave and "How Do I Get To Heaven" is circa 1972 Dave with Willie Nelson on guitar. "Full Circle and Then" along with the instrumental "El Toro" is classic Dave. "Pink Lipstick" features the line, ...."she's much too young, for I'm in trouble, she's a woman now" which is a bit creepy coming from a guy his age. But still, a song full of hooks. "Ain't Your Legs Tired Baby (Cause You Keep Runnin Through My Mind)" is a fun, funky, nice workout. "That's Love" is another new sounding, funk piece that my daughter would even like, very modern, hip feel. This one almost sounds like he's trying to emulate Santana's "Smooth".
I gotta hand it to the old guy, the first time I heard this I went...wha? Where's Dave? Dave is back but he doesn't sound like Dave. I can't say I don't like it, I really appreciate his balls for taking chances and trying something new.

C+ when I first heard it, now definately an A.

If I Was A Terrorist (A James Pence Video)

Do You Have Gaps In Your Knowledge?

My friend from Nashburg, Dr. Sardonicus (and his twelve dreams) came up with this cool brain power exercise.

Do You Have Gaps In Your Knowledge?

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge:

No Gaps!

Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge:

Philosophy
Religion
Economics
Literature
History
Science
Art

Aint too bad for a farm boy, huh?

DoN't HAte mE

About the video: That song has been stuck in my head since last week, so you're welcome for sharing my torture with you. I'm passing it on to you because it's haunting me and will probably kill me in seven days. It's the Scanners movie all over again,

Down Time

I haven't blogged in a while. I am knee deep into a top secret project. It is taking a great deal of my time.

I made a presentation yesterday in Davenport and it went very well. While there, I saw my Aunt Jane again and she said no one has come to visit her since I saw her the last part of September. If that happens to me, shoot me so full of morphine that I'll be swimming in the stuff. Watch TV and eat. That's about all she does. Cryin shame.

It's budget time. I haven't done this in a while. Ought to be interesting to see what 2009 brings.

Can it be 2009? 1979 was thirty years ago? How can this be? Time marches on and slows for no one.

Here's a band you have never heard of. Fronted by Marty Balin in 1973, they released one (1) album and then disappeared. Very interesting, it sounds like a cross between Jefferson Starship and the Grateful Dead. Apparently, this was done during a drunken weekend and while Marty Balin was in between Starship stints. "Driftin" is a fine tune and the one I heard on late night radio. There are a couple more really interesting songs and done in a very laid back, relaxed atmosphere. Bodacious D. F. is the name of the one time one shot band.

How low will the stock market go and how much money will I lose in my holdings this year? I am a man of meager stature, thrifty and frugal. I do not have a car payment and I do not live beyond my means. Yet, lately, when I open my envelopes from Fidelity, The Hartford...etc, I lose money and a lot of it. That being said..where's MY bailout?

I have been a Dave Mason fan since 1970. A HUGE fan since about 1972. This new album of his sounds refreshed and Dave actually hungry to break new ground. There are songs on this release that sound nothing like him . There is one kinda weird song about him falling in love with a very young girl and there is one that sounds like Justin Timberlake could have recorded it. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or not. Dave sounds different and at this stage of his career, that may not be a bad thing. A FULL review will follow this weekend.

And That's How The Fight Got Started

1: When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take
her someplace expensive.....so, I took her to a gas
station..... and that's how the fight started....

2: I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller
Light for $14.95.. Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream
for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at
night than the cold cream. And that's how the fight
started.

3: After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to
apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter
asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I
looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at
home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would
have to go home and come back later. The woman said,
'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt
revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver
hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she
processed my Social Security application. When I got home, I
excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social
Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your
pants. You might have gotten disability, too'. And
that's how the fight started.....

4: My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school
reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her
drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked,
'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed,
'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to
drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I
hear she hasn't been sober since' 'My God!'
says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on
celebrating that long?'
And that's how the fight started.....

5: I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were
alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of
his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed
and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn't
believe it.... he was a DWARF!!! He stormed over to my car,
looked up at me, and shouted, 'I AM NOT HAPPY!!!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one
are you?' And that's how the fight started.....

6: I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some
reason, took my order first. 'I'll have the strip
steak, medium rare, please.' He said, 'Aren't
you worried about the mad cow?' 'Nah, she can order
for herself.' And that's how the fight started.....

11/11/08

...we'll always be brothers in arms...."

You Want Change With That?

I'll have mine supersized, please.

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Beginning Radio

...and after all these years, it's pretty much the same.

Sunday! Sunday!

Here it is Sunday night and here is what I think (for anyone who cares).


I am still a huge fan of Kurt Warner. When the Rams play the Cardinals, I'm rooting for Kurt. Even when the Rams aren't playing the Cardinals, I am rooting for Kurt. There have a been a couple of posts I have made talking about how I think he is one of the best passers in the history of the game. He dissected the Rams today. I really am in awe of a guy like that who lives his life the right way and absolutely kicks ass on the football field.

The first batch of the seasonal chili expedition has been completed. Excellent vintage, not too hot. I'll wait to bring out the hot stuff later. Nice and seasoned, may be some of the best chili I have ever made.

My kids made budget last month. We are building great momentum for future plans in Bloomington. Can't say how much I enjoy my team. I have compared my sales staff to the 1990 Atlanta Braves. On that team were Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Greg Maddox and Steve Avery. They turned out to be very good but at that time, they hadn't pitched much yet. Bingo. My guys haven't pitched much yet but I expect them to win 10 divisional championships in a row.

The "Saved By Zero" ad campaign from Toyota is a zero. Loved The Fixx and thought they were one of the highlights of the eighties. The work they did on their own and with Tina Turner really impressed me. I have a past post on my favorite Fixx songs. This ad campaign is a dud.

We're getting ready to lauch a deep tracks channel on my classic rock FM's website. Should be up and running by January one. Let me know if you have any requests.

Saw the movie "W" last night. I wish I could get those two hours back. Nine trailers before the movie started. Nine. Wow. Liked the first 45 minutes or so of the movie, then...meh. I'd give it a "C" at best. There was literally nothing else to watch at the theatres. That sucks.

Longest Running Sitcom Ever

The Simpsons, TV's longest-running American sitcom, is on tap for at least three more seasons, The New York Post reports.

"The cast is signed for three more years, so I would now say it's about a 90 percent chance we'll come back for at least one of those three," Al Jean, the show's executive producer, said. "I actually think it's better than a 50 percent chance we'll do three more years of this at least."

Should the triple renewal follow through, that would put the animated series at 23 years old - raise your hand if you're younger than it! - which would give it sole bragging rights as the longest-running scripted series, of any genre, ever.

At the moment, The Simpsons is tied with 20-season-long Gunsmoke for the honor. You know they totally want to break the tie.

Are you excited to be staying in Springfield? And will The Simpsons ever end?

English is Dum

This guy is 102 and he nails it. Very funny.

Another Motivational Poster

Celebrate Good Times...Come on!

Now that's gotta hurt.

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!
JOHN McCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems. OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Are You Kidding me?

Friends of "Mad Men"

Finished up season one today. Have the first part of season two on the Tivo. What a great show. I heard someone say that Jon Hamm is the "next" George Clooney, whatever that means. Handsome leading man, I guess.
The genius of The Simpsons never ceases to amaze me. Here's the latest Matt Groening creation....

Bad Politicians Are Everywhere

On August 19th 2007, an oil tanker off the coast of Australia split in two, dumping 20,000 tons of crude oil. Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament, appeared on a TV news program to reassure the Australian public. You'd swear it was a 'Saturday Night Live' skit. This guy is the epitome of an excellent politician.

Dolphin Rings

Amazing...The attached video is of dolphins playing with silver colored rings which they have the ability to make under water and play. It isn't known how they learn this, or if it's an inbred ability. The ring is a solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn't rise to the surface of the water! It stands upright in the water like a magic doorway to an unseen dimension. An explanation of how dolphins make these silver rings is that they are "air-core vortex rings". Invisible, spinning vortices in the water are generated from the tip of a dolphin's dorsal fin when it is moving rapidly and turning. The higher velocity fluid around the core of the vortex is at a lower pressure than the fluid circulating farther away. Air is injected into the rings via bubbles released from the dolphin's blowhole. The energy of the water vortex is enough to keep the bubbles from rising for a reasonably few seconds of play time.

After Joanie

All the folks have gone back to their homes and the healing begins. I know many of them for the next couple of years will think of life before Joanie and then after Joanie. It has happened to me in my life concerning my mother. This past week has been one of the worst weeks ever, for me personally and for the family, too. I know how hard this past week has been but, starting tomorrow, it's back to the routine and the daily grind. I think the last few days has made the family closer somehow, we all seemed to rely and find solace in each other. It was great to see four places taken up at the table at home. There's usually just one. The girl is back with the boyfriend and school; the boy, in LA, missing his girlfriend which is the way it should be. It will be Christmas before we all get together again. I'll head to Bloomington tomorrow and then it's turn back the clocks weekend, probably my least favorite time of the year. It seems a long way from last Thursday when all of this happened. But, with all that is happening in the world, I reiterate how lucky and blessed I am to be surrounded by people who I love and who love me, if only for just a little while. May we go forward with God's wishes and with our comforts of faith. The weather turns chilly and the days dim...

Killer Rabbit

When my daughter was at home, somehow, we got swindled into taking care of a good friend's rabbit. Female, we thought until he (it) started making claim to his territory and then we find out she is a he (sounds like a couple of famous songs). All is well until last fall when my daughter decided to go away to college and she can't take the rabbit. Shit. So, after trying to pawn off the beast to anyone who will have him, the rabbit remains in the house. Meanwhile, I've become attached to the little shit and all options of him being farmed out are now dismissed. I have dubbed him Mr. Bunny the Killer Rabbit. I know what you are thinking when I bring up "killer rabbit"...yeah, me too




or with the words, "shh we're hunting cwazy wabbits"


The cage cleaning is a pain but I kinda like the guy. Call me sentimental..

wait...is there a look of...evil?

October

I don't think much good happens in October. The skies gray, the wind chills and there's that first chill of winter that creeps into your conscience. My brother died in October, I have been fired twice in October and then's there this October, 2008. How brutal it's been. First the onslaught of the stock market news which has cost everyone of us something, some much more than others.

I had to "readjust" some salaries last week and then let go someone this week. See, we feel it too. Budgets for the future are challenging and then this week...

The matriarch of the family passed yesterday. Gladys' mother had been sick since July and "just went to sleep". Joanie was a sweetheart and somone whom I will miss deeply. Gladys and I were about 45 minutes into the relationship when the patriarch passed at age 62 from leukemia so, I never really knew Joanie while she was with G's dad. She lived alone for a time then married a wonderful man named John who really extended her life. He passed at the age of 82 a few years ago. Since then, she's been by herself again. A smoker from the age of 12, she finally gave out at the age of 76. She'd been much more than a mother in law, she's been my surrogate mom since my mother died about an hour into Gladys' and my relationship. A confidant, a friend and the last one of this generation left. Now, there's no one in my family that hails from the previous generation. Kind, considerate and a great example for me, and my family. You'll be missed old girl. Have fun with Saul, you two were one of the greatest couples ever. Time marches on.

Today is the twentieth anniversary of my mother's passing. I think about her everyday. Gone way too soon, way too fast. Her life was hard and her sacrifices many. She always made sure we had what we needed and I got my work ethic from her. She tried to escape reality as much as possible, I understand that now. She was getting older and she didn't like it. I remember one time she told me ..."all my friends are dying and I don't understand how anything works anymore, I feel I am left behind and I'm not sure I want to make sense of a world I don't understand..." How true, mom. She was a tough old broad and the time she punched out her daughter in law is one of my favorite stories of her. It's so her. Twenty years, man where did they go? Seems like yesterday, seems like thirty.

It's great to have the boy home. He looks good, strong and healthy and being of great mind and spirit. He had picked up more musical influences while in LA. One being Stevie Ray Vaughan. Very nice. We can certainly educate him here. The girl hasn't left here much, I guess the comforts of home are hard to beat in a time of crisis. We have all rallied around each other. We pray for the swift passage of time to get all of the family through this and behind them. God be praised.

I found out the October is turning into a cruel month for those in the radio business. Cumulus KC just sacked a couple of fistfulls. Namely, one of my mentors in the radio business and a guy who taught me a lot about handling people, Don Daniels. Don is one of the true great inspirations in my career and without him, I am not nearly the manager I am now. Honest, trustworthy, patient and detailed. It doesn't get any better than Don and I am saddened by his departure from this business. He is one that will be sorely missed. He just came off one of his best ratings periods ever and the reward is.... Not only Don is gone but Moffit and Frankie and a number of others. It's tough everywhere, something I don't think I have ever lived through and I lived through the seventies.

Intervention

This show is like crack cocaine. I have never done crack cocaine but if I ever did, this show would be like it. I watch the show for the same reason I watch "Cops" sometimes. No matter how bad my life gets, it'll never be this bad. I can certainly relate to the premise. Before Monday Night Football, this is a weird warm up. It sometimes hits close to home.