Blank Media

Ever have that feeling?

2011-04-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

Mumford and Sons

2010-11-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Please listen to the lyrics.

Twas the Night Before Christmas, My Style...

2009-12-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house,
my dog Xena was prowling, protecting the house
The stockings had runs, thanks to Nikki's fun without care
and I ran thru the house, nude, naked, bare

until at the door, the garage one, it did open
I grabbed for my boxers, right side in I was hope'n
I threw on a shirt and some shorts I thought matched
I put on two shoes, one brown and one black

I went to the door and unlocked the latch
I threw open the storm door and checked my shirt tag
And what did I see in my garage space?
Some fat man with unusual speed, dexterity & grace

His face was round, wind-blown and red
his clothes were the same, covered in bugs, all dead
His boots were worn down and missing their soles
His pants were no better, the crotch had a hole

He made his way in, heading straight for the tree
He met first the coffee table, with his left knee
He cursed and cussed and made such a tinkle
I thought to myself "This is Kris Kringle?"

He grabbed for the gift in his graying sack
not caring too much he tossed it to the back
it landed with a thud next to the one wrapped in black,
the one with holes that hissed, Grandma wrapped up her cat...

With a scratch of his ass and a gulp of warm milk
he perused through the kitchen to see what he could bilk
Grabbing the pudding some 3 weeks old
and the plate of brisket already covered in mold

He went back to his sleigh, and hooked to the right
the reindeer must be blind, or senile at night
they hit the street light, taking it out
along with Dasher, Dancer and Donner's left snout

They recovered altitude almost hitting my car
but hit the neighbor's tree, they didn't get far
As they fell to the street, Santa's words I heard him say:
"Goddamn you flying assholes, you ruined my sleigh!"

Catharsis

2009-11-26T21:02:00.008-07:00

As customary on Thanksgiving, one sits back and counts their blessings regarding everything in their life until that moment. Mine didn't occur until much later, after the green bean casserole and countless pies consumed have not yet made their journey through my lower GI tract. Among some of the things that have happened within the last year, friends have come, some have gone, and life altering events have definitely shaped some of my thoughts and actions since. I thought I'd share something I haven't spoken about for a while outside of one person.

Last year, I was in a minor accident. It was hard enough to total my Neon, but not hard enough to deploy the airbags or seriously injure myself. That is to say I didn't escape unscathed. The moment of impact was shared with several people. The moron who hit me, myself and my friend Wilson. He happened to be on the phone with me at the time and heard the airbags in the other car deploy. After gaining my bearings after impact, I remember telling Wilson the intersection I was at and he came to my aide immediately.

The lingering effects of any accident vary from person to person. Mine was whiplash. I had a difficult time doing simple tasks such as dialing a phone, answering a question about time displayed on a digital clock and forming sentences longer than 6 words. In the hours after the accident, I had the car towed to my body shop of choice and tried to get back into a normal routine. I was advised heavily by several people, my doctor included not to head to work that day and just relax and recover. In a matter of weeks my life would start to change for the better, it just took some time to get over what happened.

After it was said and done, I was out of a car due to it being a write off. My head was still in repair mode and I had no outlet of my own to assist. I had the use of the Ranger, but at the time, my dad was still using it. I had to bite the bullet and jump back into the dealerships and buy myself another car. One of the dealerships closest to my house had this gorgeous blue Mustang convertible that I was compelled to test drive. The salesman was a great guy. The topics were general wants vs. needs and covered the gamut of "typical convertible shake over rough road" to "my old convertible made that same squeak" but my heart and my head really wasn't into it.

I knew it was pretty bad when I stepped behind the wheel of a 2008 Charger RT and other than a slight semi forming in my jeans from the sound of the engine and smell of the leather seats I was still out of it from the accident. I was very disconnected. While we were testing the car (doing 112mph down the freeway) we turned around and went down a quiet stretch of road near the dealership. The headlights illuminated a few really out of place items in a field. We stopped and took a look at the field and saw three unrestored electric trolley cars from the city of El Paso. The salesman and I both said how bizarre it was for them to be just abandoned in this field. I knew I had to go back. This was the answer to help clear my head.

I headed out there the next day with my camera in hand and no real focus to the day except let the images speak to me. I stood in front of the three trolleys for about 10 minutes, just taking them in visually. I turned on the camera and let the lens tell the stories that were forming in my head to the images I was seeing. The deeper I got into the images, the better I felt. I started to walk a little closer to the cars, getting inside one to take pictures of its dashboard. Bakeolite switches and 1930s era controls as fractured as my head were a welcome sight to see.

I had lost all track of time. I spent a full hour among the ruins. It was now my time to leave. I walked back to the Ranger and went home. I uploaded the images to my computer and left them there. I took them out and ran them through photoshop every now and then to learn some techniques but I really just would not pay attention to them. It wasn't their time yet to come back into the spotlight. But now it is. I turned off my TV this evening and had to start thumbing through them. I took myself back to that afternoon and the state of mind I was trying to recover from. Its amazing how the brain works at times trying to heal itself and what its capable of doing. Several of the pictures took on more meaning once I edited them, one is actually my desktop wallpaper.

I needed to write about these pictures this evening to finally get past the accident and move on.

Spiderman vs. Karma

2009-11-17T08:08:00.004-07:00

I sat in class one day during a break in curriculum when I overheard two instructors talking about karmic events. One instructor was tossing an antenna ball up in the air and catching it 90% of the time, one time rolling my direction and got a good look at it. Hard plastic, it was a Spider-man antenna ball.

I picked it up, inspected it a moment and then tossed it back to him. He included me in the conversation saying how he was at the office parking lot of a business associate he works for privately and one of the employees at the business had bragged about seeing the antenna ball on this one car, and snagged it. So, the boss hears it, snags it off the employees car and sticks it on his own.

I smile realizing where this is going.

The instructor then says two or three days later he is back at the office park and sees that the boss' car still has the Spider-man on the antenna. At the end of his job at the office, he walks out and pops the ball off the antenna and heads to the school where he triumphantly yet clumsily tosses it in the air.

One week later, it still sits on top of his antenna on his car in the parking lot.

So, walking into school one evening I park near his car, get out & snag it off his antenna and throw it in the glove box of my car. Later on during class break, he mentions that Spider-man is missing from his car. He laughs realizing what happened to him, but still asks everyone in class if we took it. I did the best acting of my life and said nothing more than "nope" or some other disavow.

This was back in 2003.

I am still in possession of Spider-man. I contemplated keeping him here at my desk at work, but considering lunches disappear mysteriously I don't think he will be a permanent feature at my desk.

PS, I never finished getting certified for computer repair/maintenance. Guess that was my karma.

Sprucing Up

2009-11-02T22:00:00.003-07:00

You might see a few small tweaks to the website. Im just playing with some new upgrades and features (like the car at the top of the page).

iPhone MMS (Much Mischief Suspected)

2009-09-23T18:55:00.007-07:00

I ditched Sprint like a bad date back in January of this year for the iPhone. Yes, I went to a higher rate plan, and yes AT&T is a conglomerate, and yes you are nit-picking something I really enjoy (haters) but the one thing I had to endure these 9 months had been the lack of proper MMS capabilities. I was no stranger to this, the last phone I had was a TREO "smart phone" that needed to connect to a website to view MMS photos sent by friends.

I didn't mind this. I was used to it.

Well, after a few hiccups here and there and Apple's promise to have MMS before the end of summer (a few days late, but still) on the 25th of this month all iPhone users will be able to send and receive MMS messages all they want.

Something that I have been thinking about, though. AT&T has contended that the reason they shuffled their feet in not allowing MMS messages is because the iPhone is the equivalent of an SUV. The data consumption is epic. The phone uses (when cruising the 3G network) something close to 3X the data a "dumb" phone uses.

Personally, I switch to a wifi signal for extensive data & web browsing.

But this has me wondering how well AT&T's network will hold up to the millions of iPhone owners simultaneously sending images and videos to friends in a half-hearted triumphant display of our phones new capability that was standard on the cheapest free phones for sale on the market.

Well, Im going to test it out myself. I do not have the 3GS. I do not have the ability to record video. But I have TONS of very large files saved to my photo folder. I am going to find the largest image I can and send it to EVERYONE in my phonebook. Several times.

Guess time will tell.

Road Trip

2009-09-06T15:42:00.014-07:00

So, It started with a half-assed plan to just grab Evelyn and head out to Las Cruces to visit Wilson and possibly pig out at a restaurant. With summer winding down, the weather starting to cool, I had not been able to really head out on a true road trip. I have the perfect vehicle for it.

It's also the time of the season for the annual Hatch Chile Festival. Hatch is a good one hundred miles away from the house, but thought it would be great to just get out and enjoy the journey. So after filling up, Evelyn and I hit the freeway to Las Cruces to meet up with Wilson & haul to the festival. Evelyn & I ended up meeting up with Wilson, sitting on his favorite ride (FJR 1300) I dropped the top & we jumped onto the highway another 22 miles to Hatch, just north of Las Cruces.

At ludicrous speed.

A reason there aren't that many pictures of the actual event. It was like a fair/ carnival on dirt, but without the sort of pomp & circumstance that usually a fun-filled frivolity comes with. It wasn't what I thought it would be. It was a fair. There was one thing that I really really loved while there. It's a "Hit & Miss" engine. I never thought I would see one in real life, let alone running a slew of modified hand crank ice cream makers. The ice cream being made? Green chile ice cream.

So, we didn't leave empty handed. Evelyn & Wilson bought and split a full bag of roasted Hatch chiles. The entire way home, we could not get away from the smell of roasted chiles. Wilson had stowed his 10 pound bag in the "trunk" on his bike, and we had our haul in the trunk. No matter who was leading the way home, we were following the smell of chile.

Back in Las Cruces, Wilson & I parted ways, Ev & I were hungry. We stopped at a Red Lobster and single handedly decimated the shrimp population in Las Cruces in one hour. By the end of the night, we went thru 200 miles of absolutely gorgeous roads, a half tank of gas, 60+ some-odd number of shrimp, one 20 pound bag of chile and two trunks that still smell of chile.

Next time I make this journey, I will take a proper camera. It was definitely an adventure worth doing all over again.

A Rebuttal

2009-09-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

That is all.

This was amusing...

2009-07-20T23:07:00.001-07:00

24

I have the moral compass of a boor. What's your score?

Another Hiatus Too Many

2009-06-19T21:24:00.004-07:00

Jeez, where to begin.

Lets get caught up to speed. A lot of things happened between October of 2008 and now.

This is my new car.

I went through hell to get it. No lie.

On Friday, October 17th 2008, I was hit head on by someone asleep at the wheel while on my way to work. I was not seriously injured, but the accident totaled the Neon. For a full month and a half, I was mired in insurance paperwork and auto loan debacles that I don't wish on most of my enemies. The end result was me paying off a vehicle that I no longer owned and watching the guy who hit me slap on new fenders and continue like nothing ever happened.

November 17th, one full month to the day of the accident, I bought the Mustang.

It wasn't Jojo's, but its mine.

Moving on, my 15 minutes of fame are over. People Magazine's feature about unusual fears was an entertaining little article that really had no other reason behind mine but to show that I am afraid of balloons. In the interview I had with the reporter, I was told that a portion of people who suffer from globophobia have a slightly altered inner ear that detect air pressures differently than other people. The difference is slightly painful, and the sight of a balloon that might pop gives the inherent fear that it will hurt us when it pops.

Of course, that did not make the article.

But, how many people can say they were featured in a major magazine.

Seeing that its a little late, I think I will retire for now.

Voyeurs...

I know, I know, it's been a while, hasn't it?

2008-10-21T09:58:00.003-07:00

I should start this thing back up.

Much has changed, much is new. Much of the old is gone and I have to say, I am enjoying it!

All is well for this first update since I took hiatus, content will change on the main page in the following days, and there is some new content about to go up.

Blank Media 2.0 will be online soon.

To all you Globophobes out there, I am with you!

Ciao for now!

Where does the time go?

2008-05-31T20:18:00.002-07:00

Well, it's my own damn fault, I let the site slide lately- and by lately, I mean by several months.

For that I am sorry.

Hell, I don't know whether or not people still pass by this little corner of the internet, but I do keep getting emails and comments from site readers.

To that, I have to answer a few questions that have arisen.

I was asked about my fear of balloons. To the anonymous reader who basically told me to get a grip, I have AND I have a better understanding of the fear after talking to a few doctors and reporters.

I was also asked by another person if I have pictures of the Himalaya ride I used to operate at Western Playland. I do have only one picture, and I will scan it and provide it for you if you leave me your email.

With new jobs come new responsibilities, and unfortunately the free time that was granted to me on my previous position has gone by. I no longer have the ample time allotted for finding the quirky and obscure, but I have been living a richer life from the benefits of the new job.

You can't beat that with a stick and $$ betting on a blugeoned seal.

Lets see, to catch everyone up I am still single, the Treo 700 died and was replaced with a Treo 755, the lappy's CD drive is working in spits and spurts, the Neon is hitting 73K, the doggies are all well and life seems to be going well.

I need to clean the cobwebs off the site and start being active again. I need to hone some of my writing skills and see where I can improve. I have big plans ahead.

I know, Ive teased on that in the past. It seems more tangible now.

Ciao!

So... Where was I?

2007-11-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-08-09T06:58:00.001-07:00

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

2007-07-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

I have updated my Magic Landing site.

It's worth the read.

Can you sleep anywhere?

2007-07-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-06-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

...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?

2007-06-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-19T17:16:00.001-07:00

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

2007-04-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T21:24:00.001-07:00

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

2007-03-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-02-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-02-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day

Observations from the middle of the night

2007-02-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-01-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

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).

So what did Santa crap down your chimney this year?

2006-12-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

I got a cold.

Yes, it's my own damn fault, but I blame Yolie and Jimmy. They suprise me Christmas eve and I go walking outside (in 40 degree temps) wearing nothing more than sandals and a t-shirt and shorts.

After all, thats what I was wearing to bed when I was woken up by Yolie.

I need to hit the stores now that the after holiday rush is over. I need a new leather jacket. My old one was a little too short on the sleeves and would bunch up around the elbow whenever I extended my arm for any reason. Im sure the sales will still be in effect.

I also want to buy a garlic roaster. Those things are friggin' fun.

Anywho. Blogger's new method of logging in disrupts my normal update pattern. Normally I was able to log in at the alarm company, but now that the changes are made away from the BETA system, I might actually be able to log in now.

That remains to be seen.

For now, I am off to go blow my nose into some pillowy soft tissue paper. I thought about blowing my nose in a soft pillow, but... eeeeeeeeeew.

Where's my tea cup? I needs myself some green tea --

AW CRAP!

I just realized I left a newly brewed cup of tea sitting on the talk set.

An hour ago.

Hold on a moment...

(walks to talk set)

It's cold. I just checked it.

Oh well, at least I will brew a fresh cup.

DEAR GOD NO

2006-12-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

DEAR FUCKING GOD NO!!!

Ford is actually considering BASTARDIZING the Ford Mustang into... Oh God, I can't wrap my mouth around the words...

A STATION WAGON.

Whoever thought this idea NEEDS TO BE DRAGGED OUT INTO THE STREET, SHOT AND RAN OVER BY EVERY MUSTANG OWNER/ LOVER IN NORTH AMERICA.

THIS IS NOT THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THE ORIGINAL MUSTANG. THE SPIRIT IS GONE IF YOU ADD 2 MORE DOORS, LET ALONE A FUCKING WAGON TO IT!!!

The hate mail to Ford has begun with me. If it takes me creating new email addresses every week, I am going to deluge them with negative email in hopes they do not EMBARRASS themselves releasing this abomination into the automotive world.

Nasty Habits

2006-12-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am a techno-whore. I like technology and everything attached to it. The prestige, the glamor, the sort of snobbish behavior that comes with fine electronics. I also like the attention I get with them.

I'm shallow, I know.

But all joking aside, there's a nasty little habit that I am starting to pick up and I know its seemingly benin & innocent.

I chew on my stylus.

What the frag are these things made of? I think its made of delicious titanium. They don't seem to break easily and are pretty damn light weight.

I digress. The Treo is an awesome little PDA/ phone/ entertainment center all wrapped up in a touch screen & BLUETOOTH bundle of fun. I will sit and stare at the screen for hours it seems and whenever I need the stylus its always in its little notch in back of the unit. Then I got into this habit of just leaving it in my mouth so its easier to get to.

Why I figured something would be easier to get to in my mouth than its intended location is beyond me.

What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Why does it happen when the weather gets cold?

2006-12-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, been busy last week.

I wanted to update the blog, but due to Blogger Beta's inability to cooperate with some other computers I use, this is the first chance I have had to update several things.

With that said.

Last Friday was cold. Nothing like you see in Chicago, Hanover, NH or Alaska, but cold enough to make your hands go numb after a few minutes, and your ears red and painful. The day warmed up, but not when I needed it to.

On my way to work at 5am, I got a flat tire.

The nail just punctured it, but the tire held air long enough for me to get to work and park. It was more than halfway flat when I parked and 3 hours later, at 7am when I checked on it, it was completely flat.

Thankfully, the jack worked better than any other jack I have used on any other vehicle I have owned.

That was definitely not the way I wanted to change a tire. Thankfully, I wasn't anywhere on the freeway when that happened, so I guess beggars can be choosers.

The car looks hideous with that "donut" spare tire.

I digress.

More to come.

...ERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A M...

2006-11-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (aw, how nice) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (ok, stop it) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY (I said stop it) CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (WHY wont you STOP IT?) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (Oh, come on!) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS...

GAAAAAAH!!! MAKE IT STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF CAKE!

Are you starting to feel like this?

Not yet?

Have you started to listen to your favorite radio station, only to find they have switched COMPLETELY to Christmas?

You don't mind, you say?

Wow.

I'd love to hear from you a week from now when you openly complain to a passenger in your car "Oh, I forgot, they're playing Christmas music until the 1st of the year".

I didn't used to be like this. I loved Christmas music, and the holidays. It just gets to you after a week of listening to the same music again and again. It has to do with where you work. Here at the radio station, we have our AC station playing Christmas tunes until the end of the year. This is nice if you are the person who really loves Christmas music during the holidays. For the rest of us who's attention span is fewer than 6 songs, or the iPod generation who's constant shuffle presents them with a definite change every song, this is a problem.

Everyone here at the radio station is already sick of the Christmas crap.

YES IT IS CRAP.

We are all sick and tired of hearing it.

But we are doing it for the listeners.

We are doing it for the people who love the music and play it all day.

We are doing it for the ones who can't get enough of the Christmas spirit.

We are doing it...

Hmmm. That's all I got.

Yeah. We are doing it.

Jeez.

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS...

No, really, make it stop.

The Industry from an insider

2006-11-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've worked in radio for now some 11 years. That's a pretty long ass time. With the work, come moments in your job that you look back on and either cringe, shake your head and laugh, or try really hard to remember because you blocked out several years due to poor management.

Remind me to tell you that story one of these days.

I guess what made me write this entry was something that really made my day that I had totally forgotten about.

It was more than likely 2001 or 2002. It was close to the holiday season and all of the commercials everyone groans and complains about hearing every commercial break were playing with regular rotation. I myself found it irritating to hear Christmas jingles playing on the commercials while down the hall, more commericals were being produced with more homogenized music of the holidays being unceremoniously slapped together with glazed hams and car dealerships. It's the sort of thing in radio and TV that makes you tire of (any) holiday fast.

I was still trying to stomach everything when on my business phone, a caller who was listening to a radio commercial earlier in the previous evening asked about some product being sold for the holidays. Judging by her voice, she was easily in her late 60's to early 70's. Kind, sweet and sincere, her voice echoed with the sense of deep, wishful thinking that she could hopefully find this commercial she had no time to write down. I can't remember what the commercial was about, it's been so long, but all I remember was the sound in her voice when she asked if I could find the commercial we played.

I kindly got her telephone number and told her I would call her back whenever I found it.

I searched the log*. I couldn't find anything that remotely matched her commercial. Then I started to think it wasn't one of ours, but one of the national spots** that airs. So I went onto each radio shows website and reviewed their holiday commercials. I found the one she was asking for (not in the right time slot she said) and called her back. The sound of relief in her voice that I was able to find the commercial, product name and a phone number made her day. She thanked me untold times and asked for my name. I didn't think too much of it, thanked her for listening and hung up.

One week later, I go out to my mailbox at the radio station and find a holiday card and a small, simple box of chocolates. I opened the card up and found that the nice lady who I had given the information to, ordered exactly what she wanted for the holiday and had sent me a thank you card and the candies to thank me for helping her send the exact gift she needed. My supervisor had seen the chocolates on the table and had asked who they were from, so I showed him the card and explained what happened.

My whole point of the story is this. If you call up a radio station, just remember that the people who answer the phones, take your call, take your requests and put up with your stupid questions on a daily basis are human. We have emotions, thoughts and opinions just like you. We strive to be as personable and like-able as possible so you keep listening and be entertained by us. We also (probably like you) like to get some sort of token of appreciation for the things we do.

If we look up a phone number for you on a commercial we played that you didn't have enough common sense to try and listen for again, thank us -- don't just say "uh huh, 'kay" and hang up. If you hear the radio station is "off air", for the love of God do not call us and ask us the question "Do you guys know you're off air?".

We know.

For the love of Pete, we know.

With that said, do us one simple favor. Call us up and say thank you every once in a while. You'd be surprised how shocked and thankful we are for the compliment and acknowledgement for a seemingly thankless job well done.

*Radio stations have what are called commercial logs that tell us the name of the commercial advertiser, the time they should play, the total length of the commercial, and how long the total commercial break should be, as well as any other information such as Legal ID's, Promos, Tags, Liners etc.
**National Spots are commercials that are found nationwide. A perfect example would be a commercial for Ruby Tuesday's, Applebees or Kohl's department stores.

Unhealthy Spending Addictions

2006-11-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm paid every Wednesday.

All bills are paid up.

I sneak off to a guilty pleasure.

Its out of the way.

The pleasures are really expensive for what they are.

What should take 10 minutes usually takes an hour.

I mean really, $140 for sheets?

Yeah. Sheets.

Don't ask me why Bed Bath & Beyond has become a personal favorite place of mine. It just has. Within the last 3 weeks, I have spent around $500 in bedding and housewares alone. It's like I figure, spend money on yourself and make sure you enjoy what you buy.

I have bought everything from a down mattress top for my bed, new $140 sheets (1,000 thread count cotton sheets!) new contour shaped pillows, duvet covers and body pillows. I am so comfortable in bed its actually harder to get out of bed than normal, and whenever I am warm, especially on cool mornings, forget it. I ain't getting out of bed.

I urge everyone to head out there and take a look at what they have. You might see me there.

Holes in the wall that don't involve getting tested later...

2006-11-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been updating my blog the past few days. These things happen. You see, I've been doing some research into some projects that don't involve the unlawful act of breaking & entering. That part is behind me. For now anyways.

I get off work at 11am. Prime time to grab some good lunch. Problem is, once you are sick and tired of all the cookie-cutter type restaurants, what is left?

Hole-in-the-walls.

They're fucking awesome.

This sign is definitely vintage. Fuck, the building itself is pretty damn vintage. It's all business. 1950's meets 1960's retro glass & modern brick styling where you drive thro the fucking building and watch as the servers actually COOK the burgers from fresh ground meat.

Yes, you can clearly see you must order by numbers. If you don't know what the fuck you're ordering by the time you get to the only working speaker box, you're hosed. Short order cooks (who themselves are short tempered) ask you with no other tone of voice but that of business what you want, and how you want it. Then, when you pull one car length forward, you are welcomed with the sweet smell of actual grilled burger smell as white smoke billows out the top of the kitchen air vent, filling your car with the most delicious aroma of real burgers.

Then you stop and think to yourself "I can get this same burger, maybe a little larger from the Burger King down the road".

Well, sure you can. You can also pay more for the same burger that comes wrapped in a simple bag with a simple logo that needs no multimillion dollar ad campaign that keeps them in business. You can go somewhere else where you have no earthly idea where they get their meat, their cheese, their onions for their honest-to-god real onion rings hand battered and fried.

Sure you don't have to wait in an ungodly line for the food. You can clearly see that I am still like 3 car lengths behind the main window, and still like 5 from the end of the line. Shit, there are days you can't get into this place because the line goes out onto Mesa street.

But its a good burger at a good price.

Oh, and the owner of the joint still works the cash register and greets you with a hello and a thank you.

If you want to try an amazing, yet somewhat familiar tasting hamburger without all that marketing voodoo and support a long time El Paso establishment, you may visit the only remaining Charcoaler at:
5837 N. Mesa

PS -- Study the menu really good and know what you want to order. No matter what you order, you will enjoy it.

From the studios

2006-11-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Just thought it was pretty cool. Im not a political person, but I am damn glad that there is a change in power in the House. This means a definite change in 2008.

Now, if we can only get Kerry to shut the fuck up.

Head on over to Clauds' site for her exhuberant take on the elections.

Be warned, she might be reeeally buzzed when she writes it.

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

I had been staring at the picture from a previous post and had thought what a perfect time to share the video of how hotdogs are made than on Halloween! The picture (above) looks tantalizingly delicious. Where else are you going to find reconstituted pig parts that were packed tightly, yet satisfyingly in 40 square feet of pig intestines, pre-cooked then wrapped in yet another complex layer of pig meat, then grilled and served with tangy yellow mustard? So I wandered around to YouTube and found it.

I think IM going to go cry in a corner somewhere...

Vintage Schlock

2006-10-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had typed a little short essay about the naiveness of America. Maybe not naive, but wholesome, something we seem to have forgotten about.

I digress. While searching thro all of the vintage stock photos, I found some rather hilarious images that seem out of their original intent given today's attitudes.

Here we see a young Hannibal Lecter as a child. While it isn't his choice of bean, we can see he had that twinkle in his eye that the neighborhood stray would be first on his list of -- experiments.

Here's Hannibal's sister, Harriet. Looks like she got hold of the neighborhood stray and created spreadable puppy brains innocently disguised as a fruity jam.

The horror!

Sadly, no one ever understood why Little Debbie brand snack cakes never changed their trademark girl on the box. Here we see little Debbie, blinded by the sugar intake in the first batch of cakes cooked up by plant managers. Here, along with family for Christmas dressed in the outfit that launched a thousand delivery trucks, she stares vacantly thro the plate of food being passed to her elderly granmama smiling with the hope of one day being able to see again, but for now, enjoying the sounds from the table and family members clanging their dinnerwear and trying to make a show for her remaining senses, all the while fighting back the tears and angst of what happened to her so many nights ago...

Is that a pair of honey-brasied duck lungs slathered on the plate?

Wow, I can really get into these. Lets move on.

Meet Bob. Ever since his first acting role, he has had the stride and confidence that comes along with a healthy diet and exercise and the first time he was used as a test subject for Enzyte. This ad was photographed days after the initial dose took effect and its clear that there's something else long green and poking out of the water he's showing to his friends. Isn't it funny that even the name of the outboard motor is called Johnson?

It was funny. I sat here and stared at these swim trunks and thought to myself:

The guys have no basket.
None of these people (now) can run
None of these people remember this
They're still wearing these, only they're diapers in festive colors

No, I don't want to comment on why I was looking at their baskets.

Moving on...

Patsy Cline was in a horrible traffic accident. Doctors at the time were able to reconstruct her cranium by utilizing fragments of Dr. Frankenstein's monster's skull. Though, it looks more like they used hull armor from the U.S.S. Lexington...

"DICYCLOPENTADIENE!!!!"

This I think goes along with the other swim wear/ adult diapers from a few photos above, it looks like one of the happy-go-lucky men found this lil' lady and is either dragging her out of the pool due to too many chemical cocktails, or its the artists rendition of a joyous kidnapping.

Given it's probably the 1960's, this has got to be the most funnest toy I have ever seen come out of this decade. Dear God, look at the knobs, levers and buttons this 60 lb. hunk of metal has to play with! You know some dickhead gouged his eye out and had his parents get this toy banned forever, along with lawn darts. IF YOU'RE THE BASTARD, YOU DESERVE TO BE EYELESS! This looked like a fucking kick-ass toy that you could easily have up-staged that snotty neighbor kid who always gets the cool toys before you did. I would have just aimed right for the fucker's eye and...

Whoa! I think that parents used to buy this toy for the kids so some kinky wife swapping, toy utilizing parents would use this little gem on the others wife or husband if they were daring...

Hi

2006-10-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

So, here's a question for you.

You are sitting on 2 months of the year left and 2 weeks of vacation that your boss has now thrown down the ultimatum "take your vacation time or loose it".

You are sitting looking at your bright orange Dodge Neon and saying to yourself "road trip".

You look at the tires on the aforementioned vehicle and say to yourself "blowout".

So what would any rational person do in a situation like this?

If you said "Let's spend that money on a TREO 700p" I'd give you a cigar!

(yes, I discovered the "quotation marks" thank you for noticing)

Sweet little phone, isn't it?

Ugh, yes, I bought this damn thing. Its a fucking kick ass phone, but whatever you do, DO NOT for the love of Gates buy the 700wx version. I had fewer bugs with Windows 95a (for those of you who know WTF IM talking about, you know).

I initially bought the 700wx thinking it would be the end-all of phones. It wasn't. Without going into details *cough-itsucked-cough* it wasn't user friendly. I've had pit bulls with better manners than that damned thing.

Anyways. Short of a blowout on the freeway, I am planning so many things with my new toy. Best toy for the phone (remember, this damn thing is also a great sounding phone) is the optional TomTom GPS unit I can install -- why say install, the fucking unit just plugs into the memory card reader!

Yeah, and I need the BLUETOOTH portable keyboard.

Ain't technology grand?

This looks disturbingly delicious

2006-10-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting here crying with laughter. The commemorative tote filled with vegetarian chili was just icing on the taco.

WTF people? Really?

2006-10-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

I drive an otherwise stock 2005 Neon. The only thing added to it was a K&N air filter. Not even a high input intake kit. Everything found on the car is stock Daimler Chrysler.

Even the fucking headlights.

So why is it whenever I am driving the car at night with the lights on the low beams I get every fucktard on the road flash their headlights at me? It happened to me 3 times today, all different drivers none of which were anywhere near each other and two of them were people I had passed.

So I slowed down and put my fog lights and combo low/high beams directly at their rear view mirrors.

Fuckers!

Seriously, I never had this problem with my Mustang, but I did have this problem with my Cavalier.

I don't have high powered plasma bulbs, I don't have projector headlamps. They're just normal stock headlights.

Really people, WTF?

Another reason I like my car.

2006-10-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

This was taken from the Sydney Morning Herald.

An alleged female carjacker couldn't get into first gear when confronted with a manual vehicle in Sydney's south yesterday, police say.

The woman, 20, allegedly dragged a 49-year-old woman out of her Toyota near the intersection of Forest and Wyangala roads in Miranda, police said.

But the would-be carjacker found herself behind the wheel of a manual vehicle, which she didn't know how to drive, police said.

When she tried to run away, two men who had witnessed the incident stopped her and police arrived shortly after.

The driver was not hurt.

The alleged carjacker was arrested and taken to Sutherland Hospital, then Miranda police station, where she was charged with common assault and assault with intent to take or drive the car.

Bail was refused and the woman is due to appear at Sutherland Local Court today.

Simple Times

2006-10-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Were we ever pie-eyed and naive enough to believe the future would be filled with such wander and amazement that we would be traveling to the moon for vacations, watching huge extravagant machineries creating grandiose achievements in biomechanical homebuilding?

Did we have outlandishly huge block parties that left our neighbors passed out in lawn furniture, petunia beds and diving boards the next day?

Did we fall prey to the stylish marketing campaigns that told us we couldn't dare live our lives properly without cups of coffee, orange juice, batteries, the wonders of metallurgists and radioactive televisions?

Uncle Carl's secret sauce burgers

We did.

How do I know? We left relics of the past that is now gone forever.

You couldn't get away with that image without paying a couple of million dollars in restitution. Now, we lock our doors when we leave to go to the grocery store. We have car alarms that sometimes cost as much as a used car. We have security systems installed at home that equal the value of that used car with the alarm system.

I look back at these posters and placards from a long forgotten era and ask myself "did we really live life this way"? Naive, complacent, comfortable?

Yes. We did.

Judging by the Alice's Diner massacre-to-be waitress manning the cash register with Miss Audrey Hepburn Look-Alike 1961 buying the necessities, we were blissfully unaware of the world around us. As long as we had our beers, our cars & what looks like 2 gallon jug of apple juice, we couldn't have been happier with the way the world was forming.

We lived in a world where the aspirin bottles didn't come with tamper proof lids. We lived in a world where our cars were considered "screaming metal death-traps" and paid to put extra shiny pieces of chrome-plated maim devices on the dashboard within easy reach. For fucks-sake we ate butter as if it were healthy for us.

What we didn't realize then was how we needed to prepare for what was going to turn our lifestyle from picture perfect to real world in no time. We couldn't fathom that we would one day have to turn our backs on everything that was right with the world and accept that there were people out there trying to undermine what we had fought so dearly for in the 1940s.

I see in all of these vintage stock pieces a world before corporations. You don't see anything here that was some major corporations drive to become the industry that causes the world to turn. You don't see conglomerates vying for your dollars.

You see their marketing campaigns to get you to buy their product by reaching for your heart strings and other emotional ties. They show you what your world would be like to buy their product. Looking at Thelma and Helouise above, you see that they're not trying to sell you a lifestyle you can't afford. They're not trying to tell you to charge their bilge on credit. They're trying to just get you to buy their gas.

Simpler times indeed.

Where do I find a time machine? I want to live one day in that utopia we forever lost.

It's a long way down, the Holiday Road

2006-10-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a long standing theme within Blank Media that music is very much a part of my life and everyday activities. With that said, it was because of my previous post about Lindsey Buckingham that triggered a lot of reaction within my friends here at the radio station, alarm company and abroad.

National Lampoon's Vacation features Lindsey Buckingham as the singer for the opening credits to the movie. Arguably, this is the most recognized opening credit themes in comedic history and one of Lindsey's more noted, yet forgot-it's-him-because-it's-so-obscure song.

Its lyrics are basic, mostly consisting of the main chorus eating up most of the song. Its the whole song when listened to that will either make you stop and listen to it, or turn and make negative comment on it. The fact is, everyone recognizes it as the movie's opening song because everyone remembers that movie in their own way.

Foods throughout the decades

2006-09-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting here at Sonitrol at nights, I have time to stop and check out some of the funniest things on the internets. One of my favorite spots is Lileks.com, where James Lileks has done an awesome job reprinting old Knudsens recipe's and cook books from the 1950's and 60's. His website also boasts some other hilarious pages of clothing and decor of the era and many others.

For me, the food section of the website really makes me cringe and laugh.

Then dry heave.

The picture above is that of two separate types of gelatin, one being a somewhat disturbed vegetable cocktail of leftover opened cans of items leftover in the fridge and pink food dye for good measure, and the bottom is labeled as a corned beef gelatin loaf.

That's right kids, cold meat cake.

First thing is first. I am 27 years old. My concept of gelatin based foods is the Jell-o brand type where it is offered as a dessert, created with artificial fruit flavorings and is served at the end of a meal and is by no means gross. Some of the pictures and recipe's described as far back as the 1920's tout gelatin as a staple of food dishes served on the American table as early as the first commercially produced refridgerators came to market.

GELATIN SHOULDN'T BE USED AS A MEDIUM TO FLOAT VEGETABLES!

That image is just wrong on so many levels. I understand that at the heart of gelatin lies a morbid sinister secret. I accept it. Matter of fact, IM ok with that. I guess it was a generation thing.

Thanks to Bill Cosby's efforts to put a box of pudding in your cupboards, today's youth & generation aren't familiar with the use of gelatin as (barf) an actual ingredient/ preparatory method. We have pull tabs on our Jell-o brand pudding, we do Jell-o brand shots, but we do not under any circumstances put meat, vegetables or anything that isn't sugar laced in our gelatin!

Ah Cosby, you have probably freed us from the shackles of fucked up foods forever. With that, we owe you a heap of thanks.

Music

2006-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

So IM sitting in the studios of the KTSM AM control room listening to some music we have in inventory when my boss walks in with a brand new CD. It's the sampler CD that record companies issue to radio stations that let them know which songs are scheduled for release from the album. The cover shows a person who I hadn't seen as a solo artist in a really, really long time.

Lindsey Buckingham gained his fame and notoriety back in the 70's as the guitarist for, and one of the contributing song writers of the super group Fleetwood Mac. He also played as back up for many other 70's and 80's bands & artists throughout the years and has been known for both his unique arrangements and ear catching songs. Most notably, National Lampoon's classic Vacation wouldn't be the same without Lindsey's "Holiday Road" as the opening credits theme.

So, my boss drops the CD on the table and shares the same shocked expression I do upon seeing it.

"A new one from the Buckster?"

"Sure looks like it. Figured you'd want it."

"Yeah, thanks (this should go good between my Say You Will radio CD sampler handed to me years ago)."

I got up from the studio and decided to take a listen to his latest creation. Walking to the production room, I reminded myself how I got started listening to the likes of Lindsey & Fleetwood Mac. I had just started working the afternoon shift at the radio station. At that time, we were known as Newstalk 1380 AM and our station couldn't be better (HA!). The afternoon show I was producing at the time was a huge hit and efforts were made to keep the listeners happy with it. Some of those efforts involved a music machine.

A forerunner to today's modern music libraries featured in radio stations, the music machine (which was a hastily botched together HP desktop computer and several small hard drives (being 1998, we didn't have your fancy-schmancy 40 gig HDD's)) featured a wide variety of artists and songs that were available to play at the click of a button. I was amazed, sitting right behind me was this library of music just waiting to be perused and played! I thumbed thro each song on a daily basis and would sit back and listen to my favorites.

One song was Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon. I was captivated by it. The song moved me like no other song did before, and subsequently since. I had to hear more. I found the CD at the local music store and took it home. I remember tearing open the CD and playing it in my convertible and was blown away by what I was hearing. The composition, arrangement and lyrics just blew my mind. Hearing the pain and anger in each note made each song even that much more incredible to listen to.

Then, I wanted more. I bought each one of their albums and listened to them from front to back (old LP saying) and back again. Each album was a chapter in each of their lives. Each song was what they were feeling and going through and each note was exactly how they felt. I wore out CDs that summer. I probably wore out my parents patience listening to them at full bore in the house, but they agreed that they also loved some of their songs.

My greatest moment was seeing them in concert back in 2003. Its a shame I wasn't around to have seen them in concert back in the 1970's cause I've seen video of Stevie [Nicks] belting out the songs like a mad woman.

Somehow, I also think that no one showered in the 1970's, everyone looked all sweaty and unclean.

I digress.

I sat down in the production room and started to listen to the music coming from Lindsey's website. It was at least two of the same songs offered on the radio sampler CD I had in hand. I listened to it, and thought to myself that this doesn't sound like typical Lindsey Buckingham, it sounded more like an effort made by him writing for Fleetwood Mac. I really like what I hear!

If you want to sample some of Lindsey's new album, go to http://www.lindseybuckingham.com

*The laptop is still down, pending repairs and XP updates*

Completely random thought from left field

2006-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

This thought came to myself and Amber while really, really bored.

What if you took a turkey to Carlsbad Caverns and tossed it into the bottomless pit? My question of that scenario would be: Would the turkey fall asleep because its so dark, or would it continue to flap thinking it would land?

Optional equipment for the turkey would be the addition of glow sticks to the turkeys feet.

Once Amber and I thought of this scenario, we started to logistically think out what this would entail.

Catching a turkey and concealing it in a backpack
Sneaking said turkey into the middle of the caves without drawing suspicion in backpack
Attatching glow sticks to a rather (rightfully so) uncooperative turkey
Avoiding the backlash of people (and eventually P.E.T.A.) after the experiment has begun

We get bored. Our minds wander and think of random, crazy shit. I blame society and the tuba.

PS - Hello to my good friend Mark Ross of Newschannel 9 fame. I saw him and the lovely Mrs. Ross at the bank today.

Hmmm...

2006-09-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a little preoccupied with some things around the house and around town lately, so if I haven't been updating I don't apologize.

One of the things I can't figure out is my laptop. It's throwing a slight attitude and I can't figure it out. The DVD player refuses to work. Main problem is it happened less than a day after I reinstalled Windows XP. I loaded the drivers and software for the program and tried it with a valid DVD. It worked. So I continued to load more programs and when I tried to watch the same DVD, the computer started to hang and refused to read the DVD.

So.

I start asking friends to see if they have experienced the same thing. No one has. I go online and check forums and no one has heard of that happening to my model of laptop. Someone had suggested looking at the last few programs installed after checking that the DVD player last worked. Looking back, I loaded iTunes & my iPod, Windows Media Player 10 and Mozilla Firefox.

At first, I started to curse out iTunes. I've got something close to 1600 songs already loaded to the iPod and saved to the hard drive. They're backed up on a separate drive, but it takes a long time to reload them. Then I started to think that the problem isn't caused by the iPod. I downgraded the player back to factory settings and its working fine. Also, instead of using the CD to load, I downloaded the software for iTunes fresh from the Apple website. Its the latest and up to date software. So I know that's not the problem.

I also downloaded Mozilla Firefox. Each time I reloaded XP, I loaded a new version of Firefox. This can't be either.

So, the culprit has to be Media Player 10. There have been no updates and each time I've reloaded XP, I've tried the DVD player before downloading this. Problem is, when I uninstalled it, it didn't solve my problem. This means I will have to wipe again and start over.

Ralph was able to come thro for me and found original newspaper articles from Magic Landing's accident. They're at the house, I just need to scan them and post them on the site. Expect that soon.

IM considering taking vacation soon. Haven't decided where yet.

Chow time

2006-09-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Nikki and Xena chew on some beef ribs. Ralph and I went to a bbq place and I bought some ribs to take home. After eating most of what was on them, we gave them to the dogs. They wasted no time rendering every ounce of meat off them.

Xena, started to break the bone apart.

Time to take away the bones.

Random thoughts from 2:53AM - 3:30AM

2006-08-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

I fell asleep sometime around 10:30AM yesterday morning and didn't wake up till around 8pm. I've been awake since that time and I've been doing a lot of catching up. Not on the things I need to, like laundry or crap like that, but TiVo.

IM listening to the iPod right now. Linda Ronstadt is playing Blue Bayou, but earlier I had sat down and programmed a new playlist. 158 songs long! That was an average of 4 songs per CD I own. According to iPod, that's a lot of damn songs.

[cranks the volume up and looses track of time]

I took a moment or two to listen to some songs. Its 3am.

I've decided to go ahead and buy a motorcycle. The Mustang sadly isn't what I expected. It will take way too much time & money to get it the way I want. For the cost involved, it would work out to my advantage to find a slightly better conditioned vehicle and start from there. For the time being, its going to have to be a motorcycle.

Alison Krauss & Union Station are playing Everytime You Say Goodbye. How appropriate.

Haven't decided yet what I want. Judging by all of the advice given to me by other avid riders, its going to be a cruiser or a sports cruiser. No idea what that would be. IM looking forward to it, actually. I remember the fun times I had with each of my convertibles and how I loved that sense of freedom with the top down. Open air excitement, nearly at one with the environment. Pounding the pavement with the sort of reckless abandon used by Kerouac as he wrote about what he saw when he was on the road.

Pink Floyd is playing You Better Run. How appropriate. 3:07am.

I need to start planning my next vacation. I haven't had a good road trip in quite some time now, and the bug is starting to itch. Corpus Christi sounds good right about now, God knows IM used to the fucking humidity thanks to El Pasos monsoon season.

IM trying to decide whether or not another trip to Magic Landing is in order. With the recent rains, I don't think a trek out there is such a good idea. I would like to see if the rains affected anything, though. Speaking of which, I am in constant talks with some people who have enormous amounts of information about the amusement park and will be sharing all that crud with the public on the Magic Landing site.

[lowers volume, listens to next track]

I still need to hunker down and get some damn info into the Mountain Shadow Lakes site. That thing's just been sitting there (the lake and the site) and I haven't touched either.

I also need to start getting some things ready for other things I have planned. The more I get in order, the closer I will get to revealing what it will be. Lindsey Buckingham is playing I'll Tell You Now, but I don't think now is the right time to say.

This iPod is trying to tell the stories before I can do it. Strange what happens when you program it then set it on SHUFFLE.

Fucking chorus is just saying "TELL TELL TELL TELL".

[pushes forward button to next song: Elton John Rocket Man (I Think Its Going To Be A Long Time)]

There. That should stop now.

Bastard.

No one seems to believe what I want to do, though. The few I have told think its an awesome idea. I guess publishers will have to agree for me to continue.

3:21AM. Time doesn't fly when ideas don't.

I sit here and think about what the layout will look like. Start off with Magic Landing, then end with it. Mix in some movie theaters and some concert halls, some sporting arenas and some sad crying clowns in iron lungs and I think I might have a winner.

Yeah, the insanity is starting to kick in.

Well, I guess I better start getting ready for work. I do need to find my pants. I left them to wash, but I don't know where they ended up. I've been wearing the same one pair for a while now. Maybe I should start a search party for my pants.

[sniff]

I need to shower too.

More soon.

Quelling Boredom

2006-08-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

TV is bad for the populace. It has an influence of which acts can be imitated. Often shocking, often dumb, most of the time a waste of time. Others are way too much fun!

Take Amber & I. Itching for mayhem (and mosquito bites) we bought some Diet Coke liters and Mentos candy.

When you add 5 or 6 candies to a freshly opened bottle of coke you get the fountain featured above. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture the higher peak of the geyser, but you get the idea.

The aftermath is quite stunning, and really funny. More than half of the bottle was emptied out and the remnants were flatter than a Firestone tire.

If you're bored and got $3.58 in pocket ($2.49 for the 3 liter Diet Coke and $1.19 for the box of Mentos) and have some place to spill one and a half liters of soda all willy-nilly, then by all means, go nuts!

TAGGED

2006-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU DAMN KIDS!

I was tagged by Torn Shorts and quite honestly, I love these damn things!

1. Four jobs I have held in my life:
Morning show producer, amusement park ride operator, TV assignments editor, media relations for a non-profit

2. Four movies I could watch over and over:
Office Space, Kill Bill 1&2, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Getaway

3. Four places I have lived:
El Paso. IM boring, sue me!

4. Four TV shows I love to watch:
Mythbusters, Ghost Hunters, The Venture Brothers, Countdown with Keith Olbermann

5. Four places I've been on vacation:
Las Vegas, San Antonio, Chicago, Corpus Christi

6. Four of my favorite websites:
fark.com, wilwheaton.net, thinkgeek.com, Metafilter.com

7. Four of my favorite foods:
Frisco/ Roscoe Burgers, Pizza, Lasagna, mom's tacos

8. Four friends I will tag:
Evelyn, Joe & Ivette, cause no one else will do it.

9. Right now I would rather be:
taking a long vacation!

It feels like... BURNING...

2006-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

You know, I would sit on my bed, laptop on the comforter and think to myself "What keeps this black rectangular hodgepodge of plastic and electronics cool enough not to catch fire while resting on a surface that doesn't conduct heat all that well?". Well, apparently Dell is suffering from some battery malfunctions. By malfunction, I mean short circuit. By short circuit I mean they fucking catch fire!

Dude, you're toasting your Dell!

The upper photograph was at an electronics conference. The fucking Dell asploded on the Goddamned table! Look at the fireball, it looks like it was powered by fucking Chernobyl!

Thankfully, my Dell Inspiron 1000 was built using the last parts and pieces from a model line that was eliminated and replaced by the Inspiron 1100 and such forth. The design of the Dell laptop has a strange way of expelling heat from the case and cooling the processor. It draws air from the bottom of the laptop and expels it from the rear of the chassis. It overheats when you sit the laptop on anything other than a slightly raised surface for airflow, and placing it on the bed, carpet or lap is downright suicidal.

My friend John had clued me in to a great product made by Antec. Its a laptop cooling pad. It runs off of the USB port and does a remarkable job at cooling off the laptop and making it perform much better. When using the laptop on your lap, it keeps sensitive parts safe from heat (really, really bad).

Thankfully, my laptop was made around the time where my model was discontinued. My laptop battery is safe from the voluntary recall on certain Dell models. If you have a Dell that you need to have serviced, here's the link to the Dell Battery Return Program.

Fun & funny random crap

2006-08-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

American Cities That Best Fit You::

65% Chicago

60% Los Angeles

60% New York City

55% Boston

50% Philadelphia

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

You Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled with Money

You've either been really really good this year...
Or Santa is trying to pay you off!

What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?

Your Deadly Sins

Sloth: 80%

Gluttony: 40%

Wrath: 40%

Envy: 20%

Greed: 20%

Lust: 20%

Pride: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 31%

You will die with your hand down your underwear, watching Star Trek.

How Sinful Are You?

Your Rising Sign is Aries

You're full of energy - and people look to you to get the party started.
Confident and honest, you'll be the one to say what everyone is thinking.

You are easily bored, and you always find unique ways to do things.
You don't just dream it, you do it. And that's why you're so successful.

Too intense for some, often times people are intimidated by you.
But you're usually smart enough to charm them anyway!

What's Your Rising Sign?

You Are Jean Grey

Although your fate is often unknown, you always seem to survive (even after death).
Your mind is your greatest weapon, literally!

Powers: telepathy and telekinesis, the ability to project thoughts into the mind of others, communication with animals

Which of the X-Men Are You?

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic

At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty

You drink coffee when: you're out with friends

Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"I can pass this guy."

What Will Your Famous Last Words Be?

You Are The Hanging Man

You represent the seeking of enlightenment and spiritual clarity.
You tend to confuse others, but your oddities seem deeply satisfying.
Self sacrifice is easy for you, especially if it makes you a better person in the end.
You are the type of person who is very in touch with your soul and inner spirit.

Your fortune:

Right now is a good time for reflection and meditation.
You should stop resisting the problems in your life, and let yourself be vulnerable to them.
You may need to sacrifice something important to you to move ahead in your life.
Accept your destiny with courage, and learn to let go of what you think you need.

What Tarot Card Are You?

You Should Drive a Ford Shelby Mustang Cobra

You have an extreme need for speed, even when you're not in a hurry.
And while your flying by, you don't want to look like every other car on the road!

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

Maroon 5 Shares Your Taste in Music

See their whole playlist here (iTunes required)

Which Musician (or Group) Shares Your Taste in Music?

30,000 MILES

2006-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I had just pulled into the garage at home when I saw that my car just turned 30,000 miles. I haven't seen a car odometer that low since I bought the Cavalier with 31,257 miles on it.

I talk to myself in the car

2006-08-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

I do it often enough that I rarely think about it. I was sitting in the parking lot of Sonitrol this morning waiting for my paycheck when I started to talk to myself. Nothing to call the men in white coats and large novelty butterfly nets over, but I do notice I carry small conversations.

Often I talk to my car. Penny is a fickle little car. She has her moments where she's purring like a well tuned machine, then there are days when she feels like she's giving back a little too much attitude.

Today my conversation to myself involved music. Like many other drivers, I sing along to good music. I was blasting Fleetwood Mac as loud as my Neon could mustre. It had been a really long time since I sat down and listened to some good Fleetwood Mac songs and today coming home that's all I kept thinking about. The last time I really did that was when I was heading out to Corpus Christi in the Mustang. I took along with me some 9 hours worth of FM and by the end of that road trip I had my fix.

So today was one of those days where I said "IM just gonna listen to this one song [Gypsy] and that'll be it".

Then The Chain played.

You can't interrupt a good song.

Then Dreams.

Then Silver Springs.

Pretty soon my playlist started to shape into just hitting play on all Fleetwood Mac songs on the iPod. I sat at a stop light and happened to notice there were a few people staring at me as I sung. I stared straight at them and sung louder. I tried to turn the radio even louder and found I was maxxing out the volume on the Neon. It wasn't loud enough. I was in the moment, in the zone with some truly awesome music. I listened to Stevie Nicks belt out Rhiannon, then started thinking about her concert performances back in the 1970s when she was performing like a mad woman possessed by the passion for her lyrics and oblivious to the world beyond the melody. I could hear that version in my head screaming out the lyrics and captivating the audience in what would have been a spectacle of sequins and lace trailing from her black satiny blouse as she hung onto that microphone and painted the concert hall in her soul.

Then the light turned green.

I talk to myself in the car. It helps keep me sane.

One Week Later

2006-08-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

The video above is what Doniphan looked like on Wednesday Aug. 2nd as the water in the street just sat there. Now one week later, the water is mostly gone, but a new problem has come about.

*click image for larger version*

The mosquitos are breeding like mad. On my legs alone I can count about 10-15 bites that really really itch. My arms have about 5.

All of this area might not look like this anymore, but the stagnant water left in yards and low lying areas stinks to high heaven. Couple this with the trash that washed away from peoples garbage cans and street runoff, not to mention the malodorous scent of drainage canals and farmland in front of our building, it is absolutely unbearable to breathe any fresh air outside of the building, or for much of the upper valley.

Its one of those times you wish El Paso's windy season would come through and blow out all of the stench and mosquito's somewhere else.

What I hate

2006-08-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

I hate my voice.

Yep. I work in radio and I hate my voice.

I don't hear what other people hear. Those of you who are reading this blog should watch the videos posted on my site, the person talking is me. Yeah, that's also me driving a 5 speed and shooting video at 45mph.

But that doesn't change that I hate my voice.

I always have. To me, my voice sounds nasally and crappy. Everyone says I have a radio voice and have been used for commercials and recorded phone messages.

It's also a good reason I don't like talking a lot.

I had this discussion with some co-workers here at Sonitrol the other day. I remember we had mentioned that I knew a co-worker back in the day and she utilized me as the guy who recorded the phone messages for the company. It was around that moment I told her and my co-worker that I have always hated my voice. They were a bit surprised and laughed it off, but I can't stand it at times.

IM strange that way, I know.

This is why I love radio

2006-08-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

IM sitting in the talk set watching several TVs and radio reports and trying to gather as much information as possible. Where El Paso isn't as bad as Tuesday's hellish downpour, its still pretty bad. A lot of the roads that were affected by Tuesday storm were clearing yesterday (see videos in last update) but last night the rain hit us again.

So, here I sit gathering information about the El Paso International Airport loosing a good 20 x 20 section of roof due to the rain, parts of the "Upper Valley" of El Paso are flooded, a traffic accident with a semi and construction workers killed one, Las Cruces New Mexico are getting hammered by rain, I am trying to gather what I can and send it on air as fast as I can...

IM busy, IM active and its not the same ol' routine as normal.

This is why I love radio!

Flood 2006

2006-08-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Oooooh, it has such an ominous presence, doesn't it? These are videos taken by my camera.

Mid-summer blahs

2006-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

It's the play Shakespeare had failed to follow up with. The same blahs that are preventing me from writing really good, lengthy updates with are the same blahs that are making me want to go on vacation or just sleep in for really long periods of time.

It's the apex of summer. That's what it is. Its the knowledge that you've (should've) done everything you said you were going to do this summer and are now gearing up for the coming winter. It's hitting me like a fat woman running for the buffet in Vegas. Large, unimposing, like a lava lamp that just keeps moving and moving and moving and moving and moving and moving and mov...

IM bored. That's what it boils down to. My summer has rendered itself into this gelatinous heap of absolute blah that is indistinguishable from other years. With the exception of 2003 when I saw Fleetwood Mac in concert, its the same thing, year after year.

Woo- hoo.

I want to go on vacation. Down south. Corpus Christi. That is such a beautiful town. Beaches, small town mentality, friends up the wazzu, warm sunshine, humidity, high crime rate - the advantages go on forever. I can feel myself on the beach right now, sidestepping jellyfish that die and beach themselves, avoiding the sea gulls shitting on your car for a scrap of food, the pot holes from the torrential rains that plague the area.

That's why I drive 690 miles for vacation.

And to see Evelyn.

Cause she doesn't like to drive to El Paso.

To see me.

;-)

I need to break away from these blahs. I haven't tried to take the Neon out for a long distance trek, I might as well start now! It's got the amenities IM used to now, like the XM Radio & cruise control. I think I need to start planning some serious vacation time soon.

As an opinion, where should I vacation? I'm open to suggestions.

Writers Block

2006-07-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, I haven't been updating Blank Media because Im suffering from writers block. I don't know how long this will last, but Im trying to relax and let the natural juices flow.

9 Years

2006-07-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Today marks my 9th year working for Clearchannel radio. I signed the papers back in 1997 and who'd have thought I'd still be here?

Visuals from Chicago

2006-07-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

When I returned from Chicago, I had to reload my operating system without backing up my video files from Chicago. This is one of them that was saved on the camera I never deleted.

Its short and simple, but I watch it every day or so and remember how humid that damn day was.

The rain was pretty damn nice.

So I'm trying to stay awake...

2006-07-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

...when I walk into the production room and my waning attention span leads me to the three model cars perched on top of the machines on the table. I pick up the Nissan Z and spin the wheels, open the doors, look under it. I put it down and roll it back and forth for a moment, then return it perfectly back into its original spot and start walking out when Eddie meets me at the door and is laughing at me.

"I have never wanted kids more in my life, watching you play with those cars was funny!"

Thanks Eddie.

There is no God

2006-07-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

I get into work under the cover of darkness. Usually, I have the stereo on the Neon turned low to hear conversation between me and Mike D. Mike D is on vacation. I had the stereo up pretty loud. XM channel 26, Top Flight. 3rd Eye Blind was playing. That's the last song I remember before turning off the car and putting the sun shade in the windshield.

iPod in tow, I did my obligatory edits and then jumped into one of the production rooms to check out some internet sites I love. I tried to tie the iPod into the production studio and wasn't able to. Its a shame. I had recently loaded the iPod with some Sting, Prince, Tool & Beatles and really wanted to listen to them on the ginormous speakers we have at our studios. So I opened up our music library.

The Clearchannel database is pretty huge, but its not complete, and it certainly doesn't have everything anyone would ever want. Its a good database of songs. I started up one of the computers we use to do editing to surf the internet and got started listening to the catalog at our disposal.

People say I'm the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue...

Ah, Linda Ronstadt.

So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears...

I had closed my eyes. The mind is a powerful tool that can build images and music videos that play as vivid as you can imagine. I had pictured a gorgeous 20 something woman in Stevie Nicks garb running in slow motion through a crowded soiree right at the climax of the song we see mascara running down her face and the hear-

My smile is my make up
I wear since my break up with you..

-then I get the rudest awakening I've had in too long. JD, the new lickspittle from Power 102 beckons down the hallway with the words that still haunt me 7 hours after he uttered them: "Who in the hell is that?".

There is no God.

Vehicle Profiling?

2006-07-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

What do you drive? Is it an indicator of how you can potentially drive? Does it stand out from the crowd? Is it a unique, eye catching color that draws attention? Is it sporty or agile?

What if it was unassuming. What if it is a popular car for modifiers, but unmodified for street use? What if it's a stock car with an abnormal paint color?

Confusing?

I am guilty. Before I go any further, I am guilty for the offense of Improper Lane Change while driving. Its $150 for the fine. I admit it. I am guilty because I did do it. I can't deny it, the cops saw me do it and certainly everyone around me saw me do it.

While I was stopped along the side of the road, I noticed the cop looking up and checking on the other cars as they passed. The correlation of head turning and possible perpetrator vehicle was uncanny, almost as if he were looking especially hard for the "import tuner" style cars, both modified and unmodified.

My Neon is a stock SXT model. Stock wheels, tires, body kit, you name it. The only thing it has is a K&N air filter. I was wearing at the time my Cubs hat backwards and the stereo blasting really really loud (stock Daimler Chrysler stereo).

Now, again, I don't deny I was breaking the law, but is it right for the police to look for these cars and keep a closer eye on them more than the rest of the cars? What about the car that was in front of me that I was trying (in a pathetic and illegal sort of way) to tell that they were driving way to damn slow in the fast lane? It was a Honda Civic.

Maybe its the sort of thing that gets me irritated that the people who cause us to drive the way we do get away with the smug satisfaction that their irritating driving caused someone else to get a ticket for their own bad habit (albeit the ticket recipient was also in the wrong).

I used to get paranoid driving the Mustang that I would get pulled over for no apparent reason. It was bright red, fast and sleek -- a real head turner. Now, my paranoia is to my own little tiny sedan. Agile and nimble as it is, its got a bad rap on the streets, all with its wild paint scheme and stock appearance.

It just struck me as strange.

(re)discovering music

2006-07-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, music has always been something that I can escape into. Whether it be a Fleetwood Mac album or Eminem, there's something that I can listen to that's perfect for my mood or situation. A few bands I try to listen to but often times can never find usually appear on XM, but more times than I care to count I can never find them.

So when I was at Circuit City yesterday, I found a few albums that I bought sight on scene.

TOOL, LATERALUS

TOOL, UNDERTOW

The only one I didn't buy, but I definitely recommend is from Queensryche.

Queensryche, Promised Land

This one was lost at the bottom of my CD tower in my room. Turned sideways and upside down and collecting a lot of dust. I need to do something better with the storage in my room and I also need to update my sidebar playlist to reflect my current play list and new songs.

Expect those soon.

After the thrill is gone

2006-07-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

I left work on Friday and thought to myself that the week coming up would be a strenuous one, longer days, somewhat stressed worrying about two jobs instead of one. I unlocked the car, took it out of gear, pushed the clutch and started up the Neon en route back home for some needed rest.

I talk about rest as if I am worked to death. The hours are the only things that make me so tired. My job doesn't involve heavy lifting or strenuous activity, and thankfully my job isn't the sort of environment where I have to watch my step or keep hydrated after being in the hot sun or exposed to the elements needlessly. Matter of fact, it's been the same job I have had for almost 9 years now.

July 27th, 1997 I walked into the KTSM Newschannel 9 studios as wide eyed as anyone could get. Fresh out of high school, no college experience and suntanned from working summers at the local amusement park, I met with my then boss and signed paperwork hiring me on as a full time employee of a radio station. My heart pounded from anticipation (and the beginnings of high blood pressure) and my mind raced with the millions of thoughts about how working in the news and radio industry would be.

I would grab the keys to the cruiser, a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina minivan emblazoned with the radio station call letters on the side and take the sucker out for its daily washing and fueling. I stayed for hours at my house on days where the vehicle wasn't needed and detail it, vacuum out the carpets, organize the shelves, make it just that much more presentable. As I sit here and write about it, I laugh to myself how eager I was to please my superiors and show how much I appreciated my job. Then as I went higher in the company, I saw how others had taken the keys to the cruiser and didn't show the compassion and care I did.

As the years went on, I noticed that I too started to change. I had money. I had spare money and time to spend with friends. Everyone remembers climbing into my 1999 Cavalier and just driving for hours on end enjoying our company and the roads. My priorities changed and so did my outlook for my job. I saw my job as defining who I am. I am in this radio station because 18 years prior I was in the car with my parents and while passing by the KTSM Channel 9 studios, I leaned forward from the back seat and proclaimed "I'm going to work there".

My parents didn't say anything to me. I don't think they took me too serious when I said it.

It was around the epiphany of that foreshadowing that things started to change. All of my life I had devoted myself to my craft, my industry that I have nothing else to show for it. What I thought would give me money and fame, just gave me mediocrity and debt. I used to tell people that working at the radio station was just like any other nine to five job. It was a job. A task you alone are hired to perform to the best of your abilities based off of the information given to management off of your resume. A resume that only had one other radio job on it. It's a linear profession, not progression.

Do I care that I am not the most famous name in town?

No.

Do I care that I could have done more with myself doing something else?

Yes.

I've had so many friends tell me I am too smart for what I am doing at the radio station. It got really fucking annoying being told that. The question was always the same "What are you doing, you're smarter than this, you should be doing something other than this". I used to counter by telling people that I was doing what I wanted to do, not what others expected me to do. The sad part is it was what I didn't want to do that I ended up doing and regret not taking the advice my friends tried to hammer into my head years ago.

I also have the opposite view based on what my friends talked me out of doing back when I had a better chance at pursuing it. Then one day, I started to feel differently about my job, my career. Years of telling everyone that it was merely a nine to five job started to sink in. Working at the radio station has been just like working at any other nine to five job, I got there, did my work, did whatever extra needed to be done and then got the hell out of there as soon as I could.

Putting the car into first gear made me realize up until buying the Neon, I had been doing the same thing for the past 10 years, 9 at this job. It was just another day at work. Another day at my job, a place where menial tasks are performed day in and day out. The passion I once used to have for my work is slowly starting to disappear and the feeling I used to have isn't there anymore.

The thrill is gone.

So where do I go from here?

Well, things are changing at work. I don't know for certain that I am included in these changes, but I know for certain that change will come my way soon.

When that happens, I will make my change.

I am not Eddie Ita

2006-07-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard I try, I am not Eddie Ita.

Who is Eddie Ita?

I don't know. IM getting a lot of collection agents calling my Cingular GoPhone just convinced I am Eddie Ita. Apparently, Mr. Ita hasn't paid his bills.

A lot of bills.

I thought I had taken care of the few phone calls I had been receiving last month from a collections agency asking for this person. Well, apparently he didn't pay off a lot of his bills.

Once again, if you are a creditor, if you are dialing ~~915-867-5309~~ and asking for Eddie, you're out of luck.

SO STOP CALLING ME.

What is it about the smell of charcoal lighting?

2006-07-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's unmistakable. The instant you smell those first few coals ignite, you start anticipating what the food is going to taste like. Waiting with anticipation for the rest of the briquettes to light and then set to a nice charred white color, indicating they're ready to accept meat. Ribs, chicken, hotdogs, hamburger patties, steaks & grilled onions and garlic, all makes the mouth water with the remembrance of barbecues past and how great they all tasted.

Hopefully, if you are reading this on this July 4th in America, you are also lighting up your grill and cooking out with friends and family celebrating the Declaration of Independence.

Sorry England,

Not yours.

Interesting development in the polling results

2006-06-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

3 friends and 2 anonymous persons have weighed in.

The Mustang seems to be winning by a landslide.

Two of the three friends are biased in this survey, since it's Jojo's Stang I might be buying.

Close your eyes...

2006-06-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

...damnit, you have to have them open to read this.

You are at home. You are sitting behind the computer, mouse in hand and you are surfing the internet for that hard to find item. You are using Google.com to make quick searches, Ask.com to narrow down your choices and basing your purchase off of Amazon.com's suggestions based off of what you find online. You pull out the credit card/ debit card from your wallet/ purse and make your purchase with a few key strokes and a clicking of the submit button. Depending on the extra cost, you opted for next day delivery and in no time, you are enjoying your purchase made and absolutely in love with the computer age.

It's a pretty kick ass era, isn't it? I think so. Other than the development of the automobile around the turn of the century & early 1900's, no other technology has advanced so fast in such a short period of time than the computer age seen from 1994 to today.

So what's the problem?

Do you know who your neighbors are? Do you know them by name, do you know what they do as far as their career goes and furthermore, do you rely on their opinion as a good neighbor to find good deals, information or what's happening in your own back yard? Do you know more about your online friends than you do with most of your in person friends? Do your online friends know more about you than your spouse or significant other?

Do you think you have a problem? Do you think this sort of thing is a problem?

~~I admit, I am an online junkie.~~ I am a gadget junkie that each just happens to be able to gain access to the internet. I own a T-Mobile Sidekick II and it is connected to the internet 24 hours a day. I get home and turn on my laptop, which is near me or close to me almost all hours I am home. I recognize I have a problem. I surf the same 6 websites every day, I am somewhat of an information junkie but I don't view my internet usage as being something that causes me to have job performance issues. If anything, it keeps me up to date on a lot of information the moment it becomes available. My Sidekick is a sweet little gadget, always connected to the net and can surf real websites and can help me log into my bank account at any time. Its a real time saver when I am no where near an internet connection and absolutely positively need to get online.

No, I haven't omitted that the Sidekick II also has Yahoo & AIM messengers on it at my disposal as well.

I tend to think that we as a modernized society have forgotten what it's like to have social interaction with our own neighbors, friends and family. Sure the internet makes it easier to talk to people, but it also isolates us from the rest of the world in the process. Hell, I have a set of really dark sunglasses that I keep with me at all times because my eyes cannot adjust to the light all that well. Had I spent more time outdoor than indoors on a computer when I was younger I might not have this problem. I mean really, when was the last time you had actually spent some time talking to your next door neighbors -- and I'm talking about an actual conversation, not something you're forced to do because you see them getting the mail, putting the trash can to the curb or leaving for the day?

I swear a lot of my family members read my website so they can keep tabs on me and find out what's happening in my life more than my friends do. Granted my work schedule doesn't leave much to a social life, so in a way this is the only way to get some sort of human interaction between me and my loved ones.

Hopefully after reading this, some people might open their eyes and maybe do something more constructive with their time than pop bubble wrap online. Yeah, I love that page.

P.S., was listening to the iPod writing this. Something about being one-on-one with your machines, I tell ya...
*currently playing Queen A Kind of Magic

Status Report

2006-06-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Listening To: XM Radio Online, Channel 47 Ethel
Doing: Working
Eating: Eating dinner from P.F. Chang's
Thinking: How cool it is that I found my PSP's charger
Wanting: Sleep/ rest
Current Mood: Good

1988 Ford Mustang LX

2006-06-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

I was asked about the Mustang I want to buy.

She is a 1988 Mustang LX hatch back with a factory replaced 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed manual transmission. Shes a light weight car with a decently powered engine. She doesn't have that many luxurious amenities, power dual mirrors and A/C, but her potential is limitless. Originally, the car was painted grey with a grey interior. In its life, its been painted a dark grey, then midnight blue, then a darker blue, then the color faded.

The list of things needed is somewhat long, but all of them aren't impossible to replace, find or update.

Updated suspension pieces
New headlamps
new tail lights
5 bolt wheel conversion
Paint
Fuel pump
Window tint

We have the technology, we can rebuild her.

Stronger.

Faster.

Mine.

Breaking it down by the numbers pt. 2

2006-06-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

It's somewhat uncharacteristic of me to actually think things out. I second guessed every car I have ever owned since the Cavalier and I can say with confidence that I won't have that issue with Joe's Mustang. I had an idea of what the Mustang should look like and how it should perform and also have car parts catalogs at my disposal online. I looked and am impressed with what I want to do.

Sally, my old 2001 'vert handled like she was on rails. Power up the wazzu, looks that stopped traffic, I remember getting thumbs up from other Stang owners and felt so accepted as part of a clique of fellow drivers who got the whole ideal Mustang conveys. I am foolish to think I will recapture the spirit of Sally, but I can do it in Roxie (Joe nicknamed his Mustang Roxie).

The Fox body Mustangs produced from 1979 to 1993 had the same suspension shared by the Ford Falcon and remained unchanged until 2005's redesign. Updates to the design are available in the aftermarket for reasonable prices. The Fox frame also gave the wheels 4 bolts instead of the standard 5 bolts on American wheels. There are conversion kits on the market that make the car a little more standard than stock. For just the two conversions, I am looking at around $2000 in upgrades to the cars suspension, no to mention the new wheels I will need.

Then it needs a new fuel pump. I'll just let the dealer take care of that one.

Basically, once IM done with her, she will corner like she's on rails, stop on a dime properly and look the part of a iconic symbol of freedom in driving.

Breaking it down by the numbers

2006-06-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

So, I get antsy thinking about new jobs in Chicago, moving, motorcycles and Mustangs. Ideas run thro my mind and then the tiny little factor called MONEY gets factored in and throws everything out the window. I had talked to Teddy yesterday and found out he's going on vacation next month and had invited me back to Chicago. I'd love to go, but there's some things I need to factor such as my bank account is shot from this last excursion -- Who spends $1200 in 10 days? I do, apparently...

The cheapest last minute tickets to Chicago O'Hare Intl. will cost me $407. Last month, the tickets cost me $205. The distance between my house and Teddy & Yolie's apartment is 1,667 miles. My car averages 360 miles to a tank of gas, so that means just going one way, I will have to fill up for gas 5 times. 5 full tanks of gas at $2.90 x 12.5 gallons (average for a 2005 Dodge Neon from empty) will cost $181.90. Still have to factor in the price of an overnight hotel stay, since the drive takes over 25 hours to complete. A nice overnight stay would average $49. If I return (considering I don't forget the world as I know it) the price doubles itself again for gas & hotel. In total, $461.80 for a drive to Chicago, and I hadn't factored in meals.

That's one hell of a road trip.

On the flip side of that coin, I couldn't stay out of town that long anyways. Being gone for 10 days last month killed my spending account when I came back. Trying to catch back up on bills taught me a valued lesson: SAVE MORE. The only way I would ever do that road trip is if I found a job out there and I was driving my possessions out there. Driving 700 miles to Corpus Christi was a hassle at times cause you get a little bored and antsy from sitting in the same position for hours on end, I can't imagine how a lot of truckers (my brother included) can do it.

IM trying to go back to Chicago, but I don't think it will be next month.

So, thinking about other things, Wilson gives me ideas in my head that aren't cheap. He has always told me my ideas I plant in his head make him do really expensive things, well, I guess this is his way of turning the tables on me. It's no secret. I love motorcycles. Hell, anything with an engine and wheels is something that interests me. How many people do you know who actually like the quirkiness of a Yugo?

So the seed that's been implanted involves me buying a motorcycle.

Yeah.

Thinking about it, I could buy Joe's Mustang, then after I know its going to be a reliable driver, trade in the Neon for a motorcycle.

No one ever said I was sane.

Everything is in thought mode. There isn't anything solidified or set in stone.

What do you think? IM open to all suggestions.

Shoes

2006-06-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

That should be the least of my worries. Well, except for balloons while buying shoes...

And C-Span.

Fucking C-Span.

I digress. Remember the other day I laid mention that my room looked like F.E.M.A. slipped it a roofie and had some fun with it while it didn't know what was happening? Well, I actually completely took apart my bedroom and cleaned it from floor to... floor. Took apart the bed, dragged that out, also the under bed storage boxes, the papers, mounds of papers, shoes, clothing, CD's, DVD's, money (found about $5.43 in change) and tons of feathers.

Yeah, feathers.

I have a down comforter you sick demented bastards. Whenever you move, they escape from the microfiber outer covering. I really need to get a duvet cover for it, but I keep forgetting to. Then, I had to bring up the electrical cords, de-tangle them and toss them out while I cleaned. I was really hoping I would run into the power cord to the PSP I have mysteriously lost, but I haven't found it. The battery is dead on that thing and I would like to watch some movies on it again.

Back to the original point, again. I cleared out everything, washed a lot of things and re organized everything a lot better this time around except for one unexpected thing. On Wednesday, I had ordered some new sandals from Oakley.com and they finally arrived. They're comfortable, but at $70 with shipping, a touch pricey. Well, after cleaning the room, I promptly sat my tired ass down and rested for the rest of the night and the next day wore my new sandals to work.

This morning, however, I woke up late. My alarms are set at staggered times. The first one goes off at 3:24am, then 3:27. A third alarm sounded at 3:48, then again at 3:55. It takes me a really long time to wake up. Well, by the time I realized I needed to be awake, it was already 4:17am and I leave the house at 4:30. Frantically, I grab clothing, put on socks, jeans, shirt... Where the fuck are my shoes?

I find only one shoe. The underside of the bed is empty, that was cleaned... on... Wednesday.

Crap.

I don't remember what I did with my wearable pairs of shoes. I remember throwing out a lot of pair I didn't wear, and at this point I am hoping to Jesus/ Allah/ Buddha that I didn't go over zealous and throw out the pairs of shoes that I needed to save. I know I didn't throw them out, they're just in another part of the house I haven't looked. See, this is why I keep my room looking like a devastated war zone. I know where everything is at any given point (with the exception of the PSP power cord) and whenever I clean the place out, I tend to forget where everything was placed.

Right now I am wearing my new sandals. I just need to find my shoes before I hit Sonitrol tonight.

Fucking C-Span.

2006-06-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

1) How old do you wish you were?
I don't know.
2) Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was at work, arguing with another morning show producer when I looked at the TV showing the first tower with the hole in it.
3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
I get violent.
4) Do you consider yourself kind?
Yep
5) What did you eat for breakfast today?
Eggs, bacon, toast, coffee & milk
6) If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Why does it have to be worded "had to get"? I want a tattoo, and I want it on my shoulder.
7) If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Spanish.
8) Do you know your neighbors?
Yes. One's a jeweler and the other are nice couples.
9) What do you consider a vacation?
Anywhere that's not El Paso.
10) Do you follow your horoscope?
No.
11) Would you move for the person you loved?
No.
12) Are you touchy feely?
Sometimes. It depends on the situation.
13) Do you believe that opposites attract?
Don't know, it hasn't happened so I can't give an opinion.
14) Dream job?
IM working it.
15) Favorite channel(s)?
Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Spike, History Channel, HGTV, G4
16) Why do people always delete questions out of these?
Because they fear that there will be a question so embarrassing that they don't want anyone reading it and having another person find something out about a person that might lead to embarrassing or confrontational situations.
17) Favorite place to go on weekends?
Anywhere relaxing. I usually work weekends, so this one's kinda moot.
18) Showers or Baths?
Baths. I love to soak.
19) Do you paint your nails?
Secretly, I -- NO!!!
20) Do you trust people easily?
No.
21) What are your phobias?
Heights, balloons, spiders, dark, public speaking, religious kooks
22) Do you want kids?
No.
23) Do you keep a handwritten journal?
No.
24) Where would you rather be right now?
Chicago, IL.
25) Who makes you feel guilty?
A lot of people. I have issues with trying to please everyone and fearing I missed someone and feel shitty whenever I miss someone.
26) Heavy or light sleep?
Heavy.
27) Are you paranoid?
Why do you ask? Are you here for my tinfoil again? BASTARDS!
28) Are you impatient?
A lot. Its a character flaw I have.
29) Who can you relate to?
I guess everyone, I am a chameleon.
30) How do you feel about interracial couples?
I don't mind them at all. I didn't even think there was any sort of problem with them to begin with.
31) Have you been burned by love?
Yeah. 3rd degree. Still haven't healed.
32) What's your life motto?
The purpose of my life is to serve as a warning to others.
33) What's your ringtone on your phone?
I have several phones, and each phone has a different ringtone.
34) What were you doing at midnight last night?
Watching TiVo recorded programming.
35) What did the last text message on your phone say?
"You work today?"
36) Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
Prude. My own.
37) What color shirt are you wearing?
White/ orange striped Gap t-shirt
38) Most recent movie that you watched?
X3
39) Name three things that you have on you at all times.
Body piercings, boxers, cellphones.
40) How much cash do you have on you right now?
$.80 cents
41) What's your favorite town/city?
Chicago, IL
42) I can't wait to (till):
I leave El Paso.
43) Who got you to join myspace?
My friend Robbie.
44) What did you have for dinner last night?
Leftover elbow macaroni spaghetti
45) When do you wanna get married?
Don't care for marriage just yet.
46) Who is the last person you spent $50 on?
My mom for Mothers Day.
47) Do you have an air freshener in your car?
Used to, baby powder.
48) Does anything hurt on your body right now?
No.
49) If you could choose, how would you pass on?
Asleep. Damn that was a morbid question from out in left field...
50) Any sex today?
Prude. No, why are you offering?
51) Do you miss anyone?
That's a hard question to answer. I miss a lot of people, all of whom aren't in town, but are still alive.
52) Do you like revenge?
Oh yea!
53) Know how to swim?
No, I sink like the Titanic and take a whole lot of innocent people with me.
54) Do you know how to skate?
No, and I fucked up my wrists trying to learn.
55) Did you do sports in high school?
I tried out for sports, but my classmates & coach laughed me off the field. Fuckers.
56.) If you could have one wish come true, what would it be?
Financial independence.

Globophobia

2006-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's a valid fear.

I have this fear.

It's what you would commonly call "being a pussy". I have a fear of balloons. Big fear. It's the pop that flips me out. I hate the sound they make as they're being filled with helium. The rubbery shreikish squeaky sound it makes when you're tying them, how they FUCKING ATTRACT TO YOUR SKULL WHEN THEY'RE ABOUT READY TO POP AND SCARE THE LIVING BEJEZUS OUT OF YOU.

Well, maybe the Bejezus out of me.

I go out of my way to avoid them. At Red Lobster a few years ago with Yolie and Lupe before her wedding, there was a birthday heathen at the table next to ours and of-fucking-course, there were balloons fucking FLIPPING ME OUT. I get antsy and paranoid, often times I cringe, close my eyes and escape into my happy place where I know I am nowhere near a balloon. Still, I hear the squeaking of the incidious balloon.

See, it happened to me today. I was at the local Sketchers shoe outlet here in town getting a snazzy pair of new shoes when at the fucking front of the store, the nimrods were blowing up promotional balloons and setting them up at the ends of each isle.

Ear level.

Every isle.

With me already inside the store.

Flipping out.

Badly.

Visibly.

I had an elderly man ask me if I was ok. I wasn't, but I didn't want to freak him out so I gathered courage and moved to another section of the store. I started to cringe and cower to the floor I was so petrified.

Yes, I am telling the truth. I have a flipped out fear about balloons. Some people freak at the sight of clowns, some at feet, others at heights or spiders, I fear balloons.

Well, I grabbed the shoes [wearing them now] and paid for them, got an unusual look from the clerk, then ran into my car, slammed the door and started it up so if there was any popping or filling of balloons, I wouldn't hear it. To add insult to injury, I came to work today to have lunch with my mom and before I could open the door, one of our co-workers scared the living shiat out of me, making my nerves so fucking shot I was a wreck and it ruined my afternoon completely.

Im somewhat over it, but it hasn't left the back of my head. I'd fucking pop a balloon behind the head of that coworker, but she has seizures and I don't want to explain why the fuck I did what I did.

Writing about this helps.

Bear with me on this one

2006-06-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

It's my blog and I will write whatever the hell I want.

Mustangs.

Yep, that's right, Mustangs. That will always be my car. When Joe relinquishes Roxie into my custody, I have such plans for her she'll look like a whole new (yet familiar) car.

I honestly don't care who is reading this and how many times you've said in your head "Oh terrific, he's talking about cars again" and switch to another site. To you, I say get the hell off my site. If you don't want to hear about it, go somewhere else. If you're thinking "you should do something productive with your money instead of squandering it away on some vehicle", your opinion is duely noted but ignored.

Repaint to original grey color
Reupholster with new materials to include carbon fiber seat inserts
Convert wheel bolt pattern to 5 bolt
Satellite Radio (of course)
Upgrade suspension & brakes
Strip off tint from windows, re-tint

It's been on my mind for a few weeks now.

So much to do, so little free time

2006-06-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

My room looks like a disaster zone. I've seen pictures of Katrina ravaged New Orleans look better than my shamed hovel of a room. I blame society & the tuba.

IM also battling some problems with my computer and home network. It seems that with the iPod, the latest update made the DVD player stop recognizing DVDs. It plays CDs and program CDs just fine, just forget trying to play any DVD. My network screws up every afternoon, and I don't understand why. It could be a hacker gaining my bandwidth (heh heh, the net is unsecured at my house) but its starting to piss me off.

Yesterday's rain pissed me off, too. Not so much rain, but spittle & dust. I had the car under the car port and thought to myself that my parents would come home soon, so as I opened the garage door, a gust of wind and rain/ spittle hit the car. Mind you, its the sort of shit that just dirties the car, not really wets it enough to wash it.

I'd shoot Mother Nature if she was in front of me for that...

On the plus side, I managed to fix the connection between TiVo and laptop, it was a simple matter of my firewall settings. The downside is my satellite provided programming SUCKS. For reasons unknown, my satellite receiver has screwed up several of my FAVORITE (of course) channels. Half of my Season Pass list can't be recorded due to TiVo recording C-FUCKING-SPAN INSTEAD OF THE HISTORY CHANNEL.

Worse yet, I had reset my TiVo, wiping all of the system memory, waited 3 hours for setup to reinstate everything and it wiped out the recordings I already had. So now that I have my computer communicating like it should, I have nothing to transfer.

And C-SPAN.

Fucking C-SPAN.

Surprisingly, I've been upbeat. I've been smiling a lot. It's the memory of my vacation still fresh in my mind. The remaining photos I have of the vacation include several video files that were remarkably saved from deletion when I wiped out the laptop in a fit of rage. IM still patiently waiting for any calls on my resumes floating around the greater Chicagoland area. All I can do now is wait.

Wait, and try to clean my room.

Or repair TiVo.

Or shake my fist at the skies.

Fucking C-SPAN.

Yikes

2006-06-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

So, it's been in the news that Scientology is going to sponsor their own NASCAR entry. Wow. Their logic is they are looking for the marketing appeal tied into a large gathering. NASCAR's following is huge, but I wonder about the NASCAR fans who might look the other direction.

Then I started to do some research on Scientology. It sounds pretty good, or just like any other organized religion. Then you start reading about other things.

Read me.

Yikes.

Last minute thoughts for the night

2006-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren't bad people; they're just acquaintances.
-Jay Leno

Isn't that the truth? I have a deep appreciation for Teddy & Yolie because of that quote. They welcomed me into their home and showed me around town, laughed with me, cried with them, and in turn had a deeper understanding of what true friendship is really all about. Its not the baubles you bring back that make you remember a good time, its the people at that moment and experiences you share during your time that make true friendships withstand the tests and tribulations of time.

Im back, and it doesn't feel good to be back.

2006-05-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Last time I was in Chicago was for 7 days. This time around I stayed for 10 days. Within those 10 days I had time to seriously think about what the city was all about. Within those 10 days I realized that it is everything I could want in a city, straight down to unbearable weather conditions.

Watch for videos soon.

Vacation, all I ever wanted!

2006-05-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Its that time again! I will be taking some vacation time to Chicago from May 20th thro the 30th. I will be taking my laptop with me on my vacation and might be posting pictures of Chicago the same day I take them.

If you want to follow my flights:

DEPART:
El Paso Intl. on American Airlines flight 2018
Departure Time 8:07am

ARRIVE:
Chicago O'Hare Intl.
Arrival Time 12:00 Noon

RETURN FLIGHT HOME

DEPART:
Chicago O'Hare Intl. on American Airlines flight 871
Departure Time 11:13am

ARRIVE:
El Paso Intl.
Arrival Time 1:21pm

.mp3 ringtones for FREE!!!

2006-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

*that is if you have the right tools...

I have a T-Mobile RAZR as my primary cell phone and after downloading three ringtones for $1.99 each, I thought to myself I could have purchased the same three songs on iTunes and several others for the same price. Another problem I faced was the fact that the songs I wanted weren't offered as ringtones.

That pissed me off.

So I started to put 2 + 2 together and figured out how to (with a BLUETOOTH enabled phone) create .mp3 ringtones for your cell phone for free.

Here's what you'll need:

Computer with BLUETOOTH built in/ BLUETOOTH adapter (if not installed)
BLUETOOTH enabled phone
music editing software (I use Cool Edit Pro)

Here's what you do.

Step 1. Find a :30 second portion of the song you want (plus or minus :30 seconds, as long as it sounds like a natural entrance & exit to the song) and edit out the entire other portions of the song. All you are concerned about is just that :30 second blurp of music. Once you are satisfied with the sound of the soon-to-be ringtone, save your file.
Step 2. Locate your file using Windows Explorer (or whatever it would be under Mac, IM not a Mac person yet...) and right click the file and choose Send to BLUETOOTH Device.
Step 3. Turn on the BLUETOOTH feature on your cell phone.
Step 4. You should see a new screen pop up on your computer. This is the setup screen to bond your computer to your cell phone. It will ask you to search for the file you want to send, then it will start a search for your phone to bond with it. Use a simple 4 digit (don't use letters, too timely to input on a phone) code and hit enter. Your cell phone should ask for the passcode you just entered. Once verified, it will now ask if you would like to send the file you were originally sending.
Step 5. If everything verified and the file has been sent, your phone should automatically start playing the song. If it's to your satisfaction, save the song to the phone, renaming it whatever you want and you are done. If your phone says the file is unreadable, make sure when you saved the file on your computer you saved it as an .mp3.

FAQ's when sending items to your BLUETOOTH enabled phones:

Is there a charge to send from the computer to my cell phone?
-No. Bluetooth to Bluetooth connections are free, file transfers are free as well.

Will this void my warranty with my cell phone provider?
-Depends. Certain T-Mobile phones support .mp3 file formats, and most other cell phone companies who have cell phones with .mp3 support will recognize the files. Sprint will not void your warranty if you use an .mp3 as a ringtone (thank you to my friend working @ Sprint for verification). Saving them as .mp3 files will not void your warranty, but if the bitrate is too high for the phone to handle, your cell phone might crash/ stop responding when you try to play the song. I am able to get away with 128 kbps. on a :30 second file on my RAZR V3.

How do I convert a file I have to .mp3?
-The easiest way to do this is to download (if you don't already have it) iTunes. Once its set up, under the options menu you have the ability to save new files as either .mp3 or .aac file formats. While using iTunes, if the program has found the file, right click and convert the file.

What else can I send to my cell phone using BLUETOOTH?
-Photos can be sent to your phone using your BLUETOOTH connection. Repeat the same steps as above to send photos you have on your computer into your phone. If you have photos of friends, you can send them to the phone as picture caller ID's for free. If you need to resize the photos, use MSPaint to open the file, then go to IMAGE, then STRETCH/ SKEW and resize the image using the HORIZONTAL settings.

I don't have Cool Edit Pro. What else can I use?
-If you go to any computer software retailer, you could buy one of two editors (and these are my two top choices): Ringtone Maker and WavePad Audio Editing Software.

Break yourself free from the cell phone companies and their strangle hold on forcing you to buy $1.99 for :10 to :20 second ringtones.

BBC Radio

2006-05-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I was interviewed by the BBC about a growing problem happening along the United States & Mexican border. Click here to read more.

Another pointless insight of the letter "i"

2006-05-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

"I"

I AM: sitting at a desk wondering what to type.
I WANT: to buy Joe's Mustang.
I WISH: I had more of the root of all evil and the devils playthings.
I HATE: people who don't get out of your way on the freeway.
I MISS: hearing the sound of tires on pavement and wind blowing over the windshield of a convertible at 2300 rpm.
I HEAR: the RADDs here at work.
I WONDER: what I will do on my vacation to Chicago next week.
I REGRET: taking my peers advice about not pursuing my dream of being a paramedic.
I AM NOT: the type to leave when someone needs me the most.
I DANCE: very rarely since I have a low self image of myself and my actions.
I CRY: whenever I get emotional over animals.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: as strong as some people believe I am.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: farting noises to make people laugh, even if it's in mixed company.
I WRITE: my true feelings on my blog for the world to see.
I CONFUSE: my thoughts of happiness for thoughts of togetherness.
I NEED: to buy myself a jacuzzi for the back yard to relax in.
I SHOULD: start researching and writing the book I want to write.
I START: things I sometimes forget to finish.
I FINISH: things without knowing there was an ending to it.

Picture this...

2006-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

It's 1am, you cannot sleep and there's not much you can do about it. You had napped earlier in the afternoon so sleep isn't all that much on your mind and all you can think about are the sounds of the outdoors right outside your window. Your TiVo isn't recording anything and you've now started to browse thro the folder of deleted items just to pass the time when you hear the dog door violently open and the sound of 3 sets of feet racing in the back yard, garage and back in the house. This wouldn't be something to think twice about until you hear the shrieks and hissing sound of an extremely frightened cat and a lot of scratching and clawing.

That's when you get out of bed and start hunting for what the dogs are hunting.

At 2am.

In your underwear.

I didn't think you wanted to see that image of me, but that was me. Flashlight in hand and broom in the other and wouldn't you know it, the dogs trapped a cat in the fence and... Well, lets just say that cat will not be coming around here anymore. It got away, but is probably minus a few lives.

That was my morning, how was yours?

UPDATE

2006-05-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

I have managed to gain access to my SENNHEISTER Yahoo! ID. You can now safely email me on that account again.