So... Where was I?

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Yeah, it has. How are you guys? I'm doing pretty good, actually. I've been busy with life again. It is so strange to feel like I am alive again and a functioning member of society, capable of being social and living it up.

So, what have I been doing?

Simple.

Living life.

My best friend Wilson had asked me a few weeks back about helping him train his dog.

Well, thru the use of sophisticated computer technology- and a box of crayons, I have some YouTube videos of the hilarity. Evelyn had the camera, she weighs in on some of the training done. I will be posting that soon.

Had some issues with the car lately, scratched it up, got some bolts broken off, otherwise, its been a good vehicle.

I still want Joe's Stang.

Its the allure of a Mustang that makes me want it now. Good things come to those who wait.

And wait.

More later, I might be sprucing up the site in the next few weeks as well. Maybe finalize some new layouts before the end of the year.

Ciao for now guys!

Sorry, been busy

I have been blissfully absent the past few weeks, been devoting some time to the Magic Landing site (finished some of those updates recently) and in doing some driving. Quality drive time. was outside of Sierra Blanca a few days ago, took a few pictures, not enough to justify the trip though.

I want to head back out this weekend to take the pictures I didn't.

For the most part, I am fine, nothing major to write about; but I will start writing again soon.

I'm being pushed by several people to start my first major project since the Magic Landing site and I have to say I am excited to start it. More on that later.

Until next time...

Misc. etc.

First off, my laptop is dead. Sometime 2 weeks ago the hard drive failed when the system never came back from sleep mode. By all accounts, its death was quiet & peaceful. Fuck, that's just what I need-- a dead laptop. Thankfully its just a damn hard drive, and nothing more serious like a processor fan or something internal like that. That is a frivolous item that will need to be replaced in time. I have other things I need to deal with before I go and buy a new one.

One interesting thing I have discovered is how my sleep patterns are now showing I have an addiction to the internet and connectivity. I became so tweaked for internet news and hilarity, I actually downloaded and installed firmware updates to my PSP and am using that to get online. I also have my cell phone to do so, but its going off of the Sprint internet and that's as slow as a room full of retards contemplating Einsteins theories of relativity. I've been falling asleep earlier, but on a strange side note, I am waking up exactly one hour before my alarm clock goes off. This is strange, since I am also falling asleep before my normal sleep time.

Its annoying more than anything else.

I have some ideas rolling around in my head for a business venture, but I have to check the legality of it with the RIAA. The last thing I need is to have them come and shut me down for doing something benign & enforce a tariff on my earnings til the day I die. I won't reveal too much, but it involves something that everyone has, would like to have, but don't like the cost of them.

Vague enough for you?

One of the other things I had thought about was something that I try to do on an every day basis. I would say I am decently sharp witted, above average cognisance & have a better-than-average understanding of things around me. One thing that I am challenged with that really keeps me on my toes is the ability to describe the world to a blind man.

Stop and think about that for just a moment.

How do you describe normal every day objects to a visually impaired person? Better yet, how do you describe objects to a visually impaired person when their visual knowledge is from the time they were born to the time they were legally blind?

Here's an example:

This is what I was faced with. This is the Batman symbol from the 1989 version of Batman with Michael Keaton & Kim Basinger. When you have this to start from, how would you describe the Batman Begins symbol?

So, I started to think about it.

What in his memory knowledge would be the closest thing to this logo?

What in my memory knowledge would be the closest thing to this logo?

So I told him, imagine the original Thunderbird logo for the Ford Thunderbird, remove the tail feathers, loose the beak, add bat ears and a slightly battier wing, and that's the Batman Begins logo.

I stop and tell this story to people I know, just to make them stop and think about exactly how they sit and think about things in relation to others. It's a great creative thinking exercise that I think everyone should do. You never know when this might come in handy. It also might help out with some thoughts or ideas that boss' might have or ask you to come up with. See the world through the eyes of a blind man. It's amazing how much you can learn about yourself from doing these little things.

More soon. I don't know when I will get that new hard drive.

UPDATE

I have updated my Magic Landing site.

It's worth the read.

Can you sleep anywhere?

Considering I haven't slept everywhere, I cannot answer this question.

Why do I ask this question?

Well, to answer this, you have to look at El Paso. Located in the desert, and during the summer months, working outside can be a challenge. Most road crews chose to work during the night time hours when its hovering around 80 degrees. This presents several problems that are overcome by flood lighting & tons of coffee.

With that said, I was fucking tired this morning. I still am. I've caught a quick couple of Zs here and there, but I don't think I could do what I saw one worker do. I had driven by a construction zone at 5am and found along the concrete center divider, one road worker literally sprawled out on the barrier resting/ sleeping.

Now, Ive slept through thunderstorms, airplanes flying way too low, loud stereos- but I haven't slept on a concrete divider in the middle of a freeway with traffic whizzing by at 60 miles an hour.

-But sleep does sound good right about now...

Unconscious Actions -or- Why did I hit the garage door opener?

It's one of those strange things that we as humans do. We have set routines we follow, usually to and from work. Things such as adjusting the mirrors, plugging in an mp3 player, opening a sunroof are all things we sometimes do unconsciously at sometime during our drive. The one thing I can't explain is the stupid action I had today when picking up my carpool buddy.

I went through the motions. I grabbed the cell phone, rang his cell phone 3 times, downshifted to 4th, then 3rd, turned the corner and accelerated to 40mph then neutral. I pulled into his driveway, he placed his items in the back seat then got in. As I put the car in reverse, I also grabbed the garage door opener and gave it a press as we got back on the road.

Stupid me, I actually stared at his garage door expecting it to either open or close.

Then, the thought came to mind: What if the garage door at the house opened up?

Then I dismissed that thought. The fucking door doesn't open when I am pulling up to the house next door to us, what makes me think that where I was, 4 miles from the house, that the damn door would open up from that distance?

I bet others who read this share the same thought that the door will open up at a distance greater than 1 mile away.

Have you ever thought to yourself....

...what you would do with a large lotto jackpot?

Yeah, I know you have. Everyone does it. They think to themselves exactly how they would spend every penny of the money almost down to the cent, small detail or extravagant frivolous item. Well, I've done the same thing, but I think I have some paranoid thoughts invading my "dream home" out in the county.

I start imagining owning 20 acres of land, and on this land, I have a marvelous 5 bedroom custom built 2 story house with a 2 and a half car garage, split level & balcony overlooking a huge sweeping swimming pool & BBQ entertaining area. The house itself would have two special rooms, one dedicated office and another media control room to house all the houses internal controls for satellite, TiVo, phone service & security systems.

Then, I start pulling out the tinfoil hats.

I then start thinking "I need to protect my house from invading cellular signals, tracers & hackers wanting access to my wireless internet" so I start thinking about an episode of Mythbusters where they build a Faraday cage out of brass mesh (like window screen) and think to myself "I could build a special 'artistic' feature into the house by covering the entire perimiter with this brass mesh so it looks like an architectural feature, not some paranoid schitzo's internet-related nightmare.

Then I start getting worse with the thoughts.

I start thinking "if I wrap it around the outside, it will eventually break down with the elements, so why not build it INTO the house while it's being built?" and thats when things just go loopy. My house is an entire Faraday cage at this point, not allowing cell phone signals in, or out of the house, protecting me from security threats, cell phone hackers, satellite tracking systems trying to listen to my sordid phone calls & now psychotic ramblings of a rich, paranoid man.

Don't get me started on what I think the entry driveway should look like. You'd think I have something to hide by building a 10 foot wall, and a 10 foot channel on the inside perimiter of the wall for any would-be intruders to land a bone-shattering 20 feet to the concrete below.

You should see the security I imagined for the car garage in the back property!

Adventures in LUBE... wait, wha?

Lubricants, you know, engine oil?

Guess I should have been more specific.

So I was at the Lube & Go the other day and had to shell out some massive $$$ to get the oil changed.

Fuck that shit.

I thought, if I could start doing my oil changes at home, pocket the difference in labor, I am ahead each time I change the oil.

So, I went to buy the culprits. 5 quarts of Mobil 1 full synthetic (Penny has been swimming in synthetics since she was 3,000 miles old) a pan to catch the used oil, a new Bosch oil filter, and ramps.

I will elaborate in a moment.

So, the little sticker indicated I was now a thousand miles past my scheduled oil change. I went home with my supplies and started to jack the car up. Well, as I was jacking it up, the car started to SLIDE SIDEWAYS.

That was unsafe, so I stopped.

Crap, what do I do, I cant fit under the car, it sits 6 inches from the ground and I am nowhere near my old svelte size 4.

I head back to Autozone and buy car ramps. They raised the car a full foot off the ground and I easily slid under and started... to... undo... the FUCKING.... BOLT..... FOR THE OIL.

Leave it to Lube & Go to seal it with a waxy covering. It also sealed it just about to the crank case. After breaking that seal and unscrewing a fucking long bolt, I positioned the catch basin for the oil right where the oil should have landed. I say should have landed cause I horribly misjudged where it would flow.

Exxon Valdez eat your heart out.

So, after catching MOST of the oil in the pan, I geared up to take off the oil filter. That itself was a chore, damn thing was just as tight as the drain plug, it actually warped as I unbolted it. That fiasco also sent a nice spattering of 20 weight oil on the ground.

Finally I was done.replaced all fluids and got her back off the stands and sopped the spill up with some dirt.

So I sat back and marveled at doing my own oil again (I used to do it with the Mustang) and then I tallied up my spending.

Oil x5 quarts - $32.45
Oil Filter - $5.99
Oil receptacle - $7.99
Vehicle Ramps - $49.99
------------------
TOTAL - $96.42

So, as reference, I looked at an old Lube & Go receipt.

Final bill of sale was $60. If I subtract the cost of the ramps for the next oil change and the oil receptacle, my next oil change will cost me $38.44.

It was somewhat worth getting covered in used lubricants to ultimately gain back that $28, but that's a tank of gas.

I see what you did there -or- How many parts does it take to change a light bulb?

So, here's the poop.

About 4 weeks ago (yeah, it is a long time isn't it?) the turn signal went out on the Neon. It happened to take the tail light out at the same time. The part was easily available & after a consortium of dim-witted parts peddlers, I finally found the place this little flasher module is supposed to go.


*image taken with a TREO 700p

Yeah, it goes here.

A long, long time ago the flasher module went where everything else was- the fuse box/ panel, and that was located directly under the dashboard. Now, you have to tear apart the damn steering column just to get to it. This isn't why I write about, though. It's what they [dealerships] do to scare you into giving them your car keys and money:

Just make sure when you're taking apart the steering column you don't set off your airbag.

When I heard that, I immediately looked at the service advisor & the parts peddler and gave them that look of "you bastards, thank you for putting that hint of self-doubt into me" that would force me to GLADLY give them my keys, time and money to replace a $30 module.

After all, who wouldn't want to do it yourself when they can scare the bejezus out of you by saying you could potentially set off your airbag- causing at minimum $200 worth of repairs while replacing a seemingly harmless $30 module.

What should I do?

Well, obviously I tore the steering wheel apart. I didn't damage it, but when I got an errant phone call (set to vibe and set in the center console) I nearly pissed my pants thinking the airbag was buzzing and on the brink of ker-plosion. After a quick change to a fresh pair of Hilfigers & a renewed confidence that the airbag was in no danger, I swapped out the part, hooked the battery back up and turned the key.

It didn't solve the problem.

I was just about to pick up the business card that had the service departments phone number when my dad offered this brilliant insight: Check the light bulb.

Why the light bulb? It turns on and off with the headlights, so it can't be that.

Or could it?

I took off the bulb and found the filament had popped, but the second filament was intact. Hmm, so the lights and turn signals are on seperate circuits.

$4.80 later for a new bulb and presto!

Thankfully it wasn't something expensive. It was a simple light bulb.

Damn modern conveniences.

WHOA!!! I've used how many minutes?

You gotta love your cell phone carrier.  I do, to a point.  The rate plan I have on my Sprint 700 TREO Palm is a great plan.  Something close to 1,250 minutes, unlimited everything under the sun & I am a happy camper.

 

Until paying my bill and realizing I have less than 20 minutes durring normal buisnes hours to use the damn thing.

 

I need to stop chatting so much!

 

Be back with more...

OPERATION: Annoyance

I don't know what seems to be wrong with me lately, but a lot of the things that happen around the radio station annoys me. Particularly, when people replay audio from soccer games that the annoying-as-fuck announcer screams the word "goal".

I will not subject those who also dislike this practice, but you can (in your mind) hear it and are probably somewhat annoyed by it.

Well, what would you do in a situation like this? Kindly approach the person and ask them to close their door? Ask them to lower the volume? Tell them to shut the fuck up or else you will shove a soccer ball where the sun doesn't shine?

That's not my style.

I have an entire catalog of music at my disposal.

I've been playing an assortment of classic country hits from Glen Campbell & various stuff from the Bee Gees. For some reason, I feel like I am on the floors of Studio 54, minus the drugs and that Steve Rubel freak at the door.

I will admit, it's drowning out the sound of both the people playing the audio files AND the people responsible for it. I am also getting a lot of laughter and strange looks from coworkers passing by my studio.

Strange, not one person has asked me to turn it down.

Stayin' Awake

Last night I didn't get enough sleep. It was totally my own doing, but things happen for a reason. It reminded me of one of my first overnight stints @ the radio station now some 10 years ago.

I had just been given the morning hours of 12am -6am with 2 hours of production at the end of the shift. It was actually a great shift, got to get up late in the afternoon, then go to work and get home when everyone else was getting to work. I had just bought my first car and things were going great for me, until I started to realize that working odd hours was starting to goof up my sleep rhythms.

I remember I had already arrived at work one day late and wasn't about to let something like sleep interfere with the work I wanted more than anything before that time. Our format at the time differs greatly from what we have now, back in the day we actually ran the control board as well as read the news at the bottom of every hour. Now, due to the wonders of computer technology and various boxes of silly string, we can set the station on auto-pilot and leave the studio.

Back then, we couldn't.

I remember I was seriously behind on some of my show prep work and really needed to prep for the newscast around 12:30am, but was so damn tired, so my efforts on air was a little sub-par at best. I fumbled thru the scripts of the previous hours newscasts and never checked anything before reading them and it showed. I was glad it was over, I had shut off the mic and threw my headphones across the control board in disgust and annoyance of my lack of focus.

Then I got the phone calls.

Not from management, God knows no one in management wanted to hear the early morning jocks doing news updates, but the people who are working in warehouses that were listening to the shows on at that time. They had heard my really sucky attempt at being the next Edward R. Murrow and wanted to chime in on it. It was funny, apparently my voice on the radio sounds different than the one on a telephone apparently, cause this is how the phone call went:

Me: AM Control, how can I help you?
caller: Yeah, I was wondering, who do you guys have reading the news for you now? The guy sounds like he isn't prepared or organized when it comes to reading early morning newscasts and was wondering if everything was OK?
Me: (hurt, but accepted the criticism) Well, the guy we have reading the news [me] is a newbie from school and this is his first time behind a microphone, so he's got a lot to learn.
caller: Oh, he's new? I didn't know.
Me: Yeah, the other guy who was here for the longest time retired and this is who they were able to get right out of school.
caller: Oh, OK, well, I hope you let him know that there are people listening and just let him know that its a tough road out there but to hang in there and he will get better soon.
Me: I will let him know that. Thanks for calling.

I will try and post audio of my voice via a :30 second commercial I did for a non profit out in New Hampshire, but my voice is the same there and on the phone. I don't know whether or not this guy realized during the middle of him talking to me that I was the same person or not, but it was pretty damn funny.

I reminded myself of that while trying to stay awake here at the front desk at the radio station.

Blog Challenge

Today's challenge was set forth by Clauds, and it is a funny one! Post a ghetto Mexican smudge on the back window of the car, using Paint.



This is something that I sometimes do to my own car.

The Week In Review

It kinda bummed me out that I didn't capture a photo of a license plate yesterday. It was pretty strange, especially for the vehicle it was on. Since it wasn't photographed clearly, I can't post it without there being conjecture or argument that it's not what I claim it to be.

With that said;

VIDEO MOTION SICKNESS

Oooh, yeah. This one SUCKS. It sucks for all the right reasons, though. I was given a raw video taken back in 1993 of Magic Landing, with all of its rides intact and taped up. The look at the park was stunning, the rides in their original locations, the paint, the plants- definitely not the weather beaten grouping of shacks and shapes that once resembled an amusement park. There was one problem with the video, it looks like a spastic chihuahua with a camera on its head took the picture in a hurricaine.

Its interesting that the park still had all of its furnishings and props standing. It indeed looked as if the park wanted to reopen at some point. Knowing what I do now, it was apparent that that was never to be.

It haunting to look at. The image quality is pretty good for its age and the sound of the wind blowing thru the trees gives it that air of real that didn't exist when I visited the site 2 years ago. The video was a major find, I can't wait to use it on the Magic Landing site.

TACKY CAR ART

This used to be a staple of Ford Econoline Conversion vans of the 1970-90 models. The spare tire cover disgracefully adorned in art, usually dictated by the region of the country of origin. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are also not immune to this, Jeeps also fall victim to this problem, especially in wooded areas where hunting is so prevalent, backwoods retards shoot at anything (real or cheaply printed) that has antlers and moves.

So what do you do when you don't have a spare tire cover on your precious Ford pickup?



You heinously paint your tailgate.

Now, call me crazy, but I don't think this is the way to spell Patty.



I hope they got their money back.

I've got more, but I need to get something to eat before I head out to work.

-and get some Dramamine!

A long overdue update

This one will have to come to you in chapters.

PAIN

This should be the first spot where I say my birthday was a quiet little endeavour. Simple, no-frills, quiet and relaxing. A far cry from what happened later on in the week. See, Jo-Jo and I usually celebrate our birthdays close together. So back on the 10th, we decided to have a brunch affair with Ivette (not that sort of affair) and have a good go at it. Well, that morning I threw out my back helping with some of the chores around the house. I was hunched down behind the dryer installing a new vent tube and felt my back wrench itself when I got up.

Now, again, this is on a Saturday when this happened. No one was open, my doctor wasn't even going to answer so I could get some muscle relaxants or pain relief meds. In a sense I'm glad. See, when I got to work on Monday my boss gave me the number to a good chiropractor. I figured "why not", shuffled my twisted back into their office and got-a-crackin'. This guy is good, Ive heard vertebrae pop that only normally does so when I cough heavy.

I've been seeing him pretty regularly since the 12th. It has made a vast improvement in my day and my well-being.

Ice packs and chiropractors. Get yours today!

MOTORCYCLES & VEHICLES

I am still on the fence about motorcycle ownership, but I will get the license so I can ride them. I love motorcycles. I can't help it, their lines are seductive, their aura of mystique is captivating, the seemingly complex ballet of hand-eye coordination goes out the window when figuring out how to even operate one of them suckers- but I love them. I spend my days reading magazines devoted to them, learning all I can about them and what is coming down the pike.

I know a lot of my desire for them stems from their overwhelming beauty. The lines found on a Harley Davidson V-rod are my idea of what form & function should look like. Sleek, flowing & innovative. My other favorite is a Kawasaki ZZR 600. Whenever I think about a motorcycle, this is the bike I imagine. These are some of the cleanest lines since the Ducati 996 and the more erotic 1098. Problem is, if I think I am visiting a chiropractor pretty heavy now, imagine if I was riding one of these suckers for long distances.

So, with that I started thinking about other cars I could spend some time and money on. After being brow-beaten by several friends against even considering purchasing Jo-Jo's Mustang, I came to the most obvious decision ever. I am going to finish my 1957 Chevy and start driving that for a while. It's just sitting in the back yard, waiting to have the brake system finished. Well, that and it would probably need a little cleaning as well, but it should fire right up once every things been done to coax it back to life.

I can't help that I'm a Mustang person.

CLOTHING

Levis suck.

Back in the day, everyone's closets were filled with jeans that were just so old they started to fray around the knees and the stitching around the pant cuffs were just tattered. The jeans had a thickness to them that rivaled leather at times due to its indestructibility. The colors on them have probably faded away leaving almost white jeans due to repeated washings and the pockets themselves probably have as many holes as a sieve, but they were more than likely extremely comfortable to wear.

This was before they packed up many of their production plants in America and moved to Taiwan & all points overseas.

Now, their jeans are barely lasting one year. Jeans with price tags of $60 shredding mere months after their purchase, or wearing way too fast. I had (threw them away the other day) 4 pair of pants that ripped, one after the other in 4 consecutive days. Im not talking at the knees or someplace common, but at the back pocket on the ass. Way too often, my jeans have revealed my choice of boxers to the world without my approval. I have had it. I found that Gap's jeans are pretty damn comfortable and are pretty affordable.

Look for the label to emblazon my ass soon.

By they way, I wear Tommy Hilfiger boxers.

INTERNET

On the 10th of March, I threw out my back. Because of this, everything else took the back seat as far as priorities go. Interestingly, I believe the network went down sometime that day. Well, whatever happened, the wireless router died and prevented anyone from accessing the internet. I was hurting way too much to even shuffle over and check it out. Once I was able to do something about it, I figured I would go all out and upgrade the network to a secure network and prevent others around me from possibly stealing internet signals for free.

An interesting theory.

In practice I found that to be so fucking frustrating. I bought a Linksys wireless G router from Wal-Mart for $60. You see, it was the router I really wanted when I bought the Belkin model a year before. A problem at setup caused the Belkin's network security features to be disabled when programing the router to the ISP. It wasn't the end of the world because all of the computers at home access the network wirelessly (including my TiVo) and there were no complications. This setup worked well. The TiVo had full access to the network to perform transfers of TV shows, wires didn't need to be strung thru the walls to connect distant computers, it was truly a win-win situation.

Again, that was with the Belkin.

The Linksys setup I bought was nowhere near as easy to use as I hoped. First, I tried to set security features. That failed. After locking the network, found that my laptop would loose connection 10 minutes after discovering the signal. After unlocking all security features, found the connection was still lost to both the TiVo and the laptop. Then TiVo couldn't join the network even with WEP keys. Finally, I had enough. I yanked the power cord out from the wall, threw the router on the ground, stomped on it, threw it along with its cables and manuals (which were a total waste of time and don't get me started on their India-based tech support of whom I hung up on after hearing their name was Alex) and went back to Wal-Mart to buy a Belkin router identical to the one that died and guess what?

It worked FLAWLESSLY.

Still works, as a matter-of-fact. Even loaded the security features that the previous model didn't load.

Alas, that has been the past few weeks in a nutshell. I like the way this update shaped out, and I might start doing more updates in this fashion.

Fun Facts: Money & Video Game History?

You're probably not a numismatist, so you wouldn't pay attention to this sort of thing, but have you ever looked at a handfull of quarters before and noticed the years on their face?



Pretty unassuming, huh?

Well, what if I told you that some quarters tell history just by their use, or even their existence?

Go reach into your pockets, your couch cushins, your spare change bowl you keep for laundry or the tolls. Pluck out every quarter you have.

Go on, I'll wait.

You back?

Ok.

Out of the ones you found, set aside the new "State Quarters". You know, the ones that have a different state featured on each reverse "tails" side? Set those aside. Oh, yeah, now is the perfect time to weed out the Susan B. Anthony dollars & Sacajawea "gold" dollars. Those Susan B's are always mistaken for quarters.

Score $1 if you found one! (good luck finding a vending machine that distinguishes that from a quarter -- ITS IMPOSSIBLE!!!)

Check out the dates you find on the coins. For the most part, you should have a vast majority of coins with the range of 1990-2000. You should still see some stragglers from the 1970's and even sometimes the 1960's. Can you figure out what you don't see?

Coins, quarters mostly, from 1978-1988 are some of the hardest to find coins in your pocket.

Why?

Hmm. What happened within that 10 year or so span that caused quarters to virtually dissapear?

Arcades.

It started with pinball, then evolved into Pong. Then, console cases became huge with Donkey Kong, PacMan, Ms. PacMan, DigDug & Galaga.

What did they require?

Quarters. An entire allowance worth of quarters. The machines were held in arcades where the sound levels alone would cause hearing-loss after 10 minutes exposure. It was truly the golden age of computer games. Within that expanse of 10 years, games evolved from simple 8-bit games like DigDug to 16 bit games such as The Simpsons & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles.

My addiction was SEGA's Out Run (which carried over into the SEGA Master System).

Within this time, the coins took a beating. Imagine the constant use of putting them thru the coin slots, pockets, then back into coin slots. Remember going to Chuch-E-Cheeses & Peter Piper Pizza and shelling out your dollars into the coin changers and greedily grabbed the quarters from the bin? Many of the coins wore out 10 years prematurely due to the unreal use in arcades. If you do have a coin (quarter) from this age, look at its condition. It's probably worn smoother than coins of similar design and of older mint.

Imagine how many games of Terminator were played with that one coin, or how many times another round of PacMan was played because you were "in the zone".

I doubt you care like I do. Just thought I would share.

Oh, by the way. Now that you've looked at your coins, here's an explination on the smell of the coins.

Happy Single Awareness Day!

Happy Valentines Day

Observations from the middle of the night

I was told by a close friend "why do you put it upon yourself to try and fix things for others?" to which I replied it was my nature to do so.

I rely on my friend to be a blunt-question asking person because I am the same to him.

I don't like turmoil within my friends. My natural nurturing persona tells me I need to do what I can to return my friend's mental or physical being to what it used to be. I do that often times damning the consequences.

I do it because I would like to believe these "friends" I help would do the same for me.

I have 4 people I would drop everything for and help with whatever they asked me to.

Why?

These 4 people (in the past, and proved it) would drop whatever they were doing to help me.

I had (tonight) drove home a friend from a pretty traumatic night. He asked my advice on a touchy subject, in which he asked what I would do for a friend who contemplated suicide. I told him to assist the friend in getting them the help they needed, if not for their sake, but for your own peace of mind.

I told him "If the situation was reversed, would he do the same for you?" to which he replied "I don't know if he would".

I told him "then that's the difference between the two of you, your level of compassion for wanting to help and asking others to assist. He might not do the same for you, but you can do it for him and hope he comes around one day".

I pick and choose my friends carefully. I enjoy every minute of their company and yes, I will go out of my way for them.

I know they would do the same for me.

Life goes on

I really shouldn't be upset. Then again, I have a valid excuse.

Today's digital age and instant news gratification has been both frowned upon and applauded for accessibility but seeming lack of humanity. It seems its easier to simply check up on a person using sites like Blogger, MySpace, Live Journal and Typepad than it is to simply pick up the telephone and hold a simple 5 minute conversation with the same person.

I just think it has something to do with our shortened attention spa -- ooh, shiny quarter...

I digress.

I'm pretty sure the invention of the telephone way back when garnered the same ill feelings towards the new medium.

I digress again.

It has never happened to me untill now. A "friend" of mine announced apparently for some time now that he was planning on moving out of town. I didn't catch wind of it until 5 days prior to his move, and 4 days before my next time off. Then, all I get is a simple text message that he had arrived in his new city safely. No face to face goodbye, no hug, not even a group dinner to say farewell.

Life does go on. I am not letting this insignificant event ruin things for me. It just means times and people change.

Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

A "Normal" Day of Work for Me

I wake up at 4am on average. It's tough, for a non-morning person it is tough. I gulp down some coffee, then I grab my crap (two cell phones, BLUETOOTH earpiece & wired headphone, iPod, 2 pair sunglasses, fountain pen) and breakfast and jump into the car.

Sounds normal so far.

I pick up my coworker. He tosses his crap into the back of my car. Sometimes he puts the strangest things in the car, like CD players, TiVo, sports jerseys, hoola hoops, foam machines, basketballs. I still think the hoola hoop was the strangest thing, and was surprised that actually fit in the Mustang (back in the day). We talk about a lot of things on the commute, mostly TV shows and the such. We make each other laugh pretty hard. Its hard to remember that my coworker is blind.

We head to work. There is almost no one on the roads at 4:30. I sit down and start editing shows. I see the people the listeners only hear on their radios. They're sitting down in other studios working within earshot of each other just getting things ready for the 6am start to their shows. Melissa Kerr pokes her head in and says her good mornings and laughs her trademark laugh, Vicky Lee finding comedy bits to play on air. There's a good number of sound bites that we can't play, which is a shame.

Then, there's the unmistakable sound of Tiny TT running down the hall. If you've ever heard the sound of a "little person" running thru a hallway at 5am, you understand where I am coming from. To make things even more normal, you should see him on holidays. All I have to say is "costumes". Picture that running by your door every morning.

Its a normal day for me, really. I get to hear and see all of that long before any ones alarm clock goes off for themselves to wake up.

Where am I?

I'm here. Where are you?

Ive been getting some outstanding information on Magic Landing and have been busy posting and reading all the great things coming to me. Yeah, I should have said something, but you know how I get whenever I get something interesting.

I'm trying to figure out how to convert a DVD video to MPEG. Any ideas?

Nostalgic

I had a somewhat long day, Monday. I had 2 hours to kill before heading to Sonitrol and I didn't feel like going all the way home, just to head all the way back. I jumped into the Neon, and headed off to Anthony NM. to a little place that my family has been going for probably 30 years.

I remember it well, every sunday was a treat for us. It was also a little bit of hell for me and everyone else in the car, especially if it was in the summer time. We used to pile into my mom's 1965 Chevy Corviar and make the nearly 30 mile trek out to Anthony. We didn't have air conditioning, that was considered a luxury. We had the basic manual crank windows and a Coleman cooler filled with either tea or Kool-Aid, chilled with tons of ice.

The Corvair was comfortable, seating wise. I loved that car. It was the sleek 2 door coupe and it drove like a dream. Ice box white, blue upholstery with black dash and chrome treatments. My brother and sister shared the back seat with me, and would always remember passing the cooler of drink to either or up front to my parents. They used to torture us by telling us not to drink too much coolant, or else we wouldn't save ourselves for some good food.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and a day we would arrive at the little restaraunt. Eager to get the hell out of that hot car, we all piled out and found comfort in the grass and open areas nearby. Within walking distance was the railroad tracks (a treat for me) and the car with food in it. I remember sitting back and chowing down on the corn dogs and delicious fountain drinks and every other visit, the train would entertain me as it passed.

Then, it was time to go. The ride home never felt as bad as the anticipation of waiting nearly an hour to get to this place. It was family drive time. We all enjoyed it.

So there I was, in the same parking spot my family would occupy. This time, I was the one driving, and all by myself. I ordered my lunch, 2 corn dogs and an order of onion rings and a soda. I sat inside the car and watched as a man and his daughter played outside on the grass and would remember doing the same some 20 years before. Sadly, you can't go back and do it all over again, which is why the memories of those days -- so benin and simple -- stay with you for a really long time.

Well, Happy New Year

It's a new year, and what a way to ring in the changes with some massive changes at work. Clearchannel Radio was purchased sometime back by someone who I stopped caring for long before and because of the blah blah blah, new managment came in and revamped how we operate. Because of this bold and controversial budget scrimping move, a lot of good, honest working full timer's got their salaries cut down and placed on part-time status.

Myself included.

Which really sucks when you stop and think about it.

This year (1997) marks my 10th year at the same company. Being the smug, vain bastard I usually am, I love to remind people I know that I (would have) had 4 weeks vacation, 45 days of sick time and 3 personal days to take off whenever I needed.

Well, that went out the window on January 1st of this year.

See, when I was reassigned as a part-timer, I lost everything. I lost my 4 weeks vacation, 45 days sick time, 3 personal days and all of my health benefits. Now, if a new budget gets miraculously approved, then I get all of my aforementioned time and benefits back.

I see the Titanic self-rising from the ocean floor and docking in New York before I see that happen.

So what am I doing?

Well, I don't know at this point. I was able to head to Sonitrol with enough time and get my benefits covered with enough time to start the new year. It was a seamless transition. I still have the matter of a lot of bills to take care of, and I need to start talking to some financial advisors to assist me in them before I make the ultimate self-sacrifice and hit bankruptcy. Several friends have been outstanding in helping me get some information that I don't want to share at this point about my future, so until that time comes, it will be under wraps.

For the time being, Im ok. Im in an upbeat mood thanks to Evelyn and Yolie's visit last week. Im sure that had a lot to do with my still up beat demeanor. As for the future of Blank Media, I might change the name to something different. Blank Media symbolized the empty recordable disc you could put into a machine and make something of it, and now its a reminder that indeed the media itself is pretty blank when it comes to decisions that affect employees. It's time for a change, so I am open to some suggestions for a new name.

It's time to drag myself into the control room. Another day, another $.57 cents (adjusted for cut in pay and taxes).