Meth-ed Up Thinking

Curve balls get thrown often in life. Over a week ago, I told myself that I wanted to do a post about pseudoephedrine. You see, Nevada lawmakers have been considering making changes to how you can acquire products containing the decongestant placing it squarely in the hands of physicians. Currently, there are already Federal Laws that limit purchasing the items (daily sales not to exceed 3.6 grams without regard to the number of transactions or monthly sales not to exceed 9 grams in regulated products.) Many manufacturers have "reformulated" in an effort appease but the effectiveness of the substitutes can be questioned. Of course, this is all being done to cut down and fight methamphetamine use. I planned to talk to talk about how this hits the little-man in the pocketbook with an extra co-pay just to get something for influenza or a cold. I wanted to denounce the lobbying by those in the medical field had to have done to push that through. I can honestly say that every pharmacist that I've asked, "What works best?," told me that the items with the drug were better by far.

Then I got sick on Sunday. Tried to make it through work on Monday but left halfway through my shift. I went straight to Walgreens and picked up Advil Cold & Sinus which was recommended to me as well as some cough medicine and cough drops. I went home and slept. I spent all of Tuesday in bed. That night and the following day were tough as was sore, had the chills and couldn't sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time. At 6 a.m. this morning, I gave in and drove to the Quick Care near the house... they open at 8, so instead of being suspicious sleeping in my car in the parking lot, I went home. Killed off a can of soup, took a hot shower and got back in the covers. Finally pushed myself to go back at 3:30 p.m. It's bronchitis. The doctor said that it was pretty bad and gave me 4 prescriptions to fill... one was for Pseudovent (pseudoephedrine/guaifenesin.) I'll be better soon but I keep thinking that it sure would have saved me 48 hours and +$30 in "over-the-counter" medicine if I had just gone to see the doctor in the first place.

So, in my recent experience, I'd say that making pseudoephedrine-based products a prescribed medicine would have saved on lost productivity, restlessness and coughing. But, not everyone has insurance. Not everyone can pay an extra co-pay on top of the price of their medicine. I am all for monitoring the use of these drugs at pharmacies. The Advil that I purchased had 20 tablets in there. Individually, they have 30 milligrams of pseudophedrine (recommended dosage of 1 to a maximum of 2 tablets.) I'm not going to do the math for you (1 gram = 1,000 milligrams) but if you are using nearly 3.6 grams of it per day... you are probably a meth addict. I'd be more apt to believe a uniform box that contains enough for a two week supply (as it's probably more serious if it lasts longer than that) is a great idea if one is allowed to purchase a box per month. Then again, maybe if they had a little machine (like the one that checks blood pressure) that will hear the rumble in your lungs, it would steer me away from purchasing the box and seeing a doctor.

All-Star Attraction

You probably know by now that Las Vegas was the site of the NBA All-Star Weekend 2007. We are still awaiting final word on how the city did during the event but there have been mixed reports (good and bad) on how it went. But as with any industry dominated town, casino revenue versus city expenditures will weigh the most in judgment.

My personal take? 403 arrests were made by local police from Thursday to Sunday. Most of them were of people not from the city. Hotel rooms on the Strip were sold out. But, I believe many of the visitors coming for the weekend didn't have rooms. The event pulled people from all over the Southwest but according to most in my inquiries of hotel employees, many were sleeping (sober as well as intoxicated) at the gaming machines. Cocktail waitresses were groped right and left. One mentioned to me that in fear of violence many were served Coke (instead of rum and cokes) after some just grabbed drinks off of trays going by. Many crimes went unreported in the media to avoid embarrassment by the hotels and management. So, personally, I could do without the thug-mentality, the event or even a team coming to Las Vegas in the future.

The weekend was a magnet for many of the negative aspects of the sport. Upon further reflection, I don't remember hearing of any other all-star professional event that attracts problems like this. The NHL, CFL, USTA and FIFA don't have these issues. I think that the one thing that can be done is what the NFL does... they hold it on an island. People can't just drive over to the event to people-watch, party, solicit, attack or steal. The attendees also have to pay a pretty penny just to get to the location let alone get a room or get tickets. Then again, I may be biased from my working in the industry.

Great Value In Unexpected Revenge

The recent warning about Salmonella contamination in certain brands of peanut butter got me thinking recently. You see, when my recent house guest (who charged up $6,000 in credit card bills and new credit card accounts) didn't eat much. She believed that she was a 'born again' vegetarian. I had no problem with that. I remember asking her if there was anything she wanted from the store that would make things easier. Peanut butter, crackers, tampons and beef sticks (yes, I probably had the same reaction to the final two as you are now.) I picked up the items and went about business as usual. So, months later, I see that report and I decide to check on the peanut butter... the number on is starts with the "2111" number series we were warned about. Maybe there is some divine justice out there although I do hope that she is alright. Does make me feel a little better as I'm still dealing with the credit card company.

I Owe a Bit

Every so often I like to talk about software. Why? Well, I think that if there is something free out there that can replace and often surpass the quality of a product you would pay for... you should know. Years ago, I would have told you that having Norton System Works was a great package. It had a defragmenter envied by Microsoft (until XP came out), one of the best disc repair programs (early versions of Windows actually told you to run their Disc Doctor by name) and their antivirus program. Well, Norton Antivirus has been losing standing in my eyes by letting several things through that were easily caught with other programs. It also has slid down in ratings by Consumer Reports. Oddly enough, there was this IObit program that popped up in the listing. There is a pretty good explanation of it in this press release.

Now, this isn't an antivirus program (I changed over to Avast! last year.) But what I find interesting is that several of these programs don't like each other. I only started looking at IObit after Avast! mentioned a conflict with Norton. And of course, I'd rather not pay $20 a year just so my antivirus program catches the latest problems when I could just spend it on a CD. I have found it amazing the amount of problems that have been fixed by changing programs and even installing it on other computers.

Things Can Only Get Better

I do really believe in Murphy's Law. When things are going good, when nothing seems like it could go wrong... it will. At least that is what I believe happened on Saturday. I've recently decided to start the podcast 30 minutes early. Recording won't take place at that time but I can sit and chat with people about the music they love. I'm hoping that this will drive a few of them to attempt to call in.

So, I'm sitting there and I see a few people pop in. And then a few more. I know that a few other shows were scheduled to begin but to see this many pop in was unusual. I then notice that my screen buttons allowing me to record aren't available. There also wasn't any audio. I logged out and relogged in (and answered a phone call inbetween.) It is now 15 minutes past noon and my attempt at being timely (early even) wasn't working out. Several of the site's technical staff popped in and apologized for the problems and expected to have it up soon. I told them that I wasn't going anywhere and planned to be the 'last one standing.'

By this time I was distraught and jittery. We got the recording to begin (although it cut out for a few minutes) but things got underway. Then I struggled with my standard opening babble but I recovered once momentum started. Once done, I went in to download the live version and start my post-production edit (yes, the later version isn't entirely live.) For some reason, my computer had issues with uploading the newer version (meaning the original version with all the problems, minutes of dead air and multiple openings was downloaded until replaced.) Hours later, it was fixed when Kerry and I went over to Lloyd and Teri's house to watch the UFC fight. We uploaded it on Josh's computer. This does teach me a lesson about live recording and I'm hoping that all the problems that could have happened got it out of its system. I really don't want to have to borrow a neighbors computer to upload the newer version of Saturday's episode 7.

Here's an odd question for you, though. Name 5 artists that you'd love to have me interview for the show. Now, do remember that Michael Jackson, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen may be too far up the food chain for me to reach.

In Contemplation Over Interns

It happens every once in awhile. Someone says something that makes a lot of sense and you now see the path ahead going in two directions. I'm standing at the fork of this road. The statement came from someone involved in the radio business talking about his podcast. He mentioned that the smartest thing that he did was set up internships at the local college offering a small percentage of revenue from the podcast. If I am correct, there were two getting 5% each. One position would run public relations and the other would do advertising/sales. 5% or even 10% of little profit is little pay so they would have to work hard to create revenue.

You see, it'll soon be about a decade since starting the newsletter (in its most primitive form.) And for all the visitors the site gets, I've done no advertising or promotion. This is the same with the podcast which generates listeners via cross-promotion from the Web site and newsletter. (Which means... pretty much the same people getting hit with the same ideas.) Why no advertising or self-promotion? People don't trust people that have to toot their own horn. I wouldn't. If I wanted to promote things, I'd have to pretend to be someone else when writing. Don't laugh. I actually have two friends listed as being in charge of sales and advertising on the Web site with their email coming to one of those multiple email accounts that I told you about before. I'd usually respond back to inquiries by saying, "Daniel (or Dion) forwarded me your inquiry." Doing that doesn't sit well with me. I'm actually shocked that I was able to arrange some great interviews by sending off a few messages at MySpace but how much better would it be if someone else did it representing you? If I had someone planning a minimum of 26 interviews a year (every other week gives me a breather,) I could focus on preparing questions and content. News of that interview that week would be sent to people running fan Web sites.

So, I'm at that divide. Sure, I would have to do a little more work to create internships, manage income and increase my organizational skills to grow something I enjoy into something much larger. But, 5% or 10% of nothing is nothing, so there is little loss other than complete control. Sounds like a winning situation. But, there is that fear of getting too business-like. There is the fear that more and more time will be needed when it should be lessening the workload. I could take that other path of least resistance -- doing what I've been doing -- but my original idea of starting all this was to get information that was being bypassed by the major media outlets to the fans. I could reach more with better promotion. The only thing that I can do is put my toe in the water to see if it's cold or not. Maybe soon.

Looking Back, Way Way Back

I think that I was about 16 when I really started looking into my family history. I still find the word 'geneology' interesting because you are trying to trace back your genes. It was during a trip to Sacramento to visit my grandmother and grandfather (the Hennessy's) when I mentioned it to them. Grandpa sat down with me and gave me a slew of names from his side (from which I made a chart.) Grandma did the same although she added "You do know that you are related to Roald Amundsen, right?" It gave me an interesting name to look up when I got back from the visit. It wasn't much later that a letter came for me with a detailed list of the family history going back to Sweden and Ireland. Well, those documents wound up filed away in a box until nearly 20 years later.

Someone asked me if I had looked at the Geni.com Web site. Curious as always, I looked. It was pretty interesting as you can put photos and detailed information in each step of your family tree. Hours went by too quickly as I started playing with it and when I remembered seeing a folder I had discovered when I moved into the house that said "family history" on it.

The interesting thing about the site was that you can also add email addresses and invite others to edit and add family to the tree. I did that for my sister Michelle who I know has an interest in geneology. Suddenly there are another 27 names on her husband's side that she added off the top of her head. Heck, I haven't even added much on my mother's side of the family, yet. But I do know it is going to be interesting to have all this information in one place that I can just go to at anytime for free when I have questions about or need to add branches to our family. As I've mentioned before, we seem to be getting many leaves during the last few years.

New Information, Past Drives

It was 1990. I had just graduated from high school and was working at the photo lab (which I'd been working the graveyard shift at during school.) That was when I met Miss Michelle B. (Don't want to get any threatening email by using full names.) After setting me up with her college roommate failed, it was revealed to me that it was her attempt to keep me "off the market." She had a strained relationship with a boyfriend up in Reno and I was supposedly a temptation. Well, I did wind up being taken off the market but it was by her. Anyhow, she was finishing her school semester and had decided to join him up in Reno for the next semester but planned to first see her family in Mesa, AZ. I made a rash decision and drove to Mesa to stop her and tell her not to go. The whole trip, I listened to a new cassette I had picked up called Hack. I made it there and got a speeding ticket (that's a whole other story.) I spent some quality time with Michelle before leaving. Although I left believing she was coming back to Vegas, she still wound up going to Reno. (Which leads into my Reno story that I'll get into another time.)

Well, the next guest for the podcast has been confirmed. They just so happen to be the band that released that cassette titled Hack... the Information Society. So again, I'm excited to talk to another 80's act that holds important memories for me. There seem to be many of those but to see them return to music (check out their MySpace page) brings a grin to my face and the memory of my first drive out of state.

The Neighbor's New Pets

It's definitely worth clicking on the picture to get a better view.

This is the view from my driveway to the left. I don't know why but it seems that they've adopted some pets from the Jurassic Park Foundation. Sure, this might be a wonderful thing for some. I mean, there are some people that only have complaints of their neighbors still having their Christmas lights still up.

What is my problem with this? Well, it seems they are multiplying. The raptor has been popping up here for the last month. I recall the neighbor telling me that he was trying to sell it for $2,000 or so. This week, the triceratops shows up. He's missing a piece of his butt (you didn't zoom in, did you) but I'm sure he'll be around the same price. I am worried that it won't be too long until they get more of them, start putting them in their front yard and start charging for tickets. My biggest concern right now deals with the vehicles.

All of those vehicles in this photo belong to the same house. There are two more on the driveway. That green one... it blocks the mailman from delivering the mail and the garbage truck from seeing my little trash can. Rolling all these concerns into one is that the view will increase the amount of traffic coming through the area ("Hey, kids. Want to see some dinosaurs?") as people drive by the neighbor's house. This will also lead to some gawking and most likely a driver that pays too much attention to the view as they hit another car. You may be thinking, "But, Martin, it might be one of those cars in the picture and you'll have one less one blocking the mailbox." It sounds good but I'm pretty sure they'll just put duct tape on the bumper or leave it there in the street.

P.S. - In what can only be called an odd situation, someone in the neighborhood is getting a little tail. Or a lot of tail... as there is a note today on the back of the raptor asking for its return.

How Much Do You Think It'll Get On eBay?

Been AWOL for a few days. I apologize. The interview went great and I've also discovered the joys of post-production when it comes to the podcasts. It is amazing how much better something live sounds afterwards when you can pull out an "ummm" and "uhhh" here and there. Also was able to put a cleaner intro in there. Enough of the technical crap. It's going pretty darn good (nearly 300 downloads at this time.)



This reminds me that I'm going to have to take photos of the newly painted walls in the living room... but this is a jacket that was given to me as a gift last year from someone working for the Rolling Stones during their stop in town. Sure, it's a nice jacket. It can be reversed and even fits. But, I'm not really big on ones that promote bands. My favorite song of theirs is "Undercover Of The Night" but that might be when I'd wind up wearing it... so it's on the way to eBay. I just need to figure out how much to charge for shipping (and what size it is as it doesn't have a label.) With so many varied prices out there on some of these... I'm curious. What do you think it'll go for?

Update: I put it up on eBay on Sunday here. I decided to start low at $75 and see what happens. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Classically Martin: King Swamp's "Is This Love"

I remember catching the video for this song on MTV's 120 Minutes. It was something that stood out at a time when Rock was losing its luster. I think it was vocalist Walter Wray's bluesy vocal delivery that sealed the deal. I made sure to pick up the self-titled King Swamp album. Then I discover that the backing band is supergroup of amazing musicians (many from Shriekback) and found myself playing it over and over again. I can clearly remember putting the cassette in my first car and driving from my house only to park behind a closed pizza place nearby (named Poe's Pizza) to listen to the music as I closed my eyes and ditched school. You had to be there, I guess.

This song will probably come down sooner than the others as I plan to interview Walter Wray for the live podcast on Saturday. Should be fun and I have to suppress that inner fanboy that wants to just tell him how amazing he is. Anyhow, here is their first single... which actually landed at #21 on Billboard's Alternative Rock chart in 1989.

Rock Star: Martin's Closet: Season Finale

As promised, the season finale. It has been a long road for these threads. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your votes as they have helped clean out Martin's closet for clothes that will actually be worn. Many have been discarded (and one used to help paint inside the house.) The only fair way to decide which one stays is to see each of them in action. So, consider the finals as our bathing suit competition (...ewww.)



Contestant 1: One of our only short-sleeved competitors, this contestant has held on. The stress of the voting must have been pretty tough on it as it has now lost a button. Winning, may mean having it replaced (as one has been found for the spot.)



Contestant 4: I did expect this one would do well in this competition. It could be the simple off-white color (or lack of according to some) but it does little to offend the eye. If you zoom in, you will notice the little emblem and a some plaid that runs along the button-up area (that would be hardly noticeable when entirely buttoned.)



Contestant 5: I will admit that I never expected this one to make it this far. It could be the checkerboard pattern. I've actually discovered during this that it looks quite different from afar than up close. A good ironing is waiting for this one if it wins.

Their fates are in your hands and they await your verdict.
"There can be only one" -- who stays?

Explaining And Apologizing For Episode 1

Just a quick little post as I feel that I have let my other projects get the better of my time. The podcast went better than expected (little flub in the opening music as it uses my microphone line to send the audio... bonehead that I was, I muted my mic thinking the sound would be better without me breathing in the background -- leaving about 15 seconds or so of dead air.)

I have figured out that to call in to the show, you will need to sign up for a free TalkShoe account. From there, when the show is running (on Saturdays from 3PM ET/Noon PT), you can call in on your cell or home phone (those with SJphone can use that also without dealing with long-distance charges... it seems that Skype started charging on the 1st) using the account information found by clicking the icon here:

For those just curious and not really interested in hearing themselves on a live show, having few questions to ask or just not wanting to deal with that much technology -- I've put a new link on the right near the links that will let you hear the latest episodes of the show.

Meanwhile... the finale of our pseudo-series, Rock Star: Martin's Closet, will be the next post.

Life Update - 123006

I had a great time spending Christmas with the family. Sadly it was shorter than it should have been. We bid with our seniority for holiday time off. This year we weren't told if we had it off until the week before. I took the prior week off due to it being slow at work and used the time to work on projects. I called into work to see if I got the time off and they said I was scheduled to come in Christmas week on my regular shift. That was a little depressing. I called a few days later to ensure they weren't wrong. This meant really coordinating my day well so I could spend a few hours with the family before going to work. Sadly, Mom and my brother Michael were running late and I got less than an hour to spend with them. When I got to work, I decided to check my file to find out why I was denied the day off. I looked at the paperwork that I filled out earlier and saw that it was approved. When I took that to the supervisor doing the schedule and asked where the "denial memo" was, he suddenly became skittish and apologized profusely when he noticed that he gave another Hennessy (there are two of us in the department) the week off. He said that I could leave right then but by the time I would get back to Boulder City, everyone would be leaving. Such is my luck but I did wind up getting some time with my family as others probably didn't.

One of the gifts that I received this year was painting from Kerry. I've been very reluctant to put any color on the walls of the house because that's just the way I am. Anyhow, she spent most of the last week in the living room and last night got into the hallways and dining room. She's a hard little worker. I try to help here and there with the really high parts (she's pretty short) and touch-up spots. I can actually say that the house hasn't looked better. It has brought up another issue that needs to be fixed soon: speaker wiring. I need to run it through the ceiling and... cut through some of the walls to run the rear speakers to the surround sound. When that is done, the rest of the paint can be finished.

Less than 2 hours from now, I start my talk show/podcast. I've decided that I'm going to use the next few hours to outline a bunch of things to say if there aren't any callers so I can kill and fill time with something other than inane babble. Should prove to be a good test.

Later tonight, we head over to Lloyd and Teri's to watch the UFC. Maybe the one good thing about working this week was the fact that I got to help and meet both Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. Should be a very good fight. Logically, I think Liddell has the better chance but I'd like to see Ortiz win. He was very nice when I met him and my impression of him changed when I saw him as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter.

After the living room gets put back together, I'll have to play a little catch-up on my DVR. Yes, it's hard not to say Tivo but in my living room, I took the only option left to me for the HD content coming from DirecTV. Anyhow, right now I have a full season of Battlestar Galactica and a majority of episodes for Smallville, Jericho and Doctor Who waiting for me. Things just need to slow down or I need to set aside a little time each morning to watch an episode.

There are babies on the way. Matthew and Beth announced at Thanksgiving that I'll have a new niece or nephew to spoil next year. My friend Tracy also is expecting as well as my friend and co-worker Patrick. Should prove to be a very interesting year.

Debt Analysis: Someone Else's

I was sitting at work, not having broken my book out of my bag, and found the Money section of the USA Today. They seem to be running a series this holiday season called Young & In Debt. I'd definitely like you to read this article because there are some points that the writer Mindy Fetterman leaves out.

Finished reading it yet? Alright. Yes, it's a really sad situation that Dana is in. She charged about $15,000 to credit cards while in college. (That seems to happen a lot.) She has $12,000 in student loans. Then she gets in a car accident which cost her $16,000 in medical bills (although, I'm unsure if the $2,000 to fix her front teeth were included in that) and is now paid down to $3,400. Sure, she makes $64,000 a year as a bartender but at 24 years of age, that's a lot of debt. Heck, her boyfriend and her both make the payments on the car. Anyhow. I'd like to address a few of these issues.

• Credit cards should only be given to college students with jobs. In other words, they need a way to pay it back before being given a line of credit. In the article, she mentions that her father helped her out while she was in college but she would see a shirt while shopping and charge it. This seems to have become a habit as $15,000 in clothing later she is having issues. It is later noted in the advice that she stop spending $850 some months on clothes... hello!! You got a shopping problem. Learn to sell some of those on eBay. They'll even teach you how... after you fix that computer.
  
• $12,000 in student loans isn't abysmal. I just wonder. With a degree in Fashion Marketing from Indiana University, why is she tending bar? She had a job managing a Ralph Lauren store and at least that was using that education wisely. Yes, at 24, she might have discovered she went for the wrong degree but, then again, there is a little hope in something mentioned later about her working for a friend that is starting a clothing line. This could become that step in the right direction as she could help market this line. With the experience and contacts made there, she could really start her career.
• They were pretty vague about the accident causing the medical debt. "She was in a car wreck." Was she insured, at fault or under-insured? Was the other driver insured? The direction of the article points to her not having medical insurance as being the culprit here but if the other driver was insured and at fault... those medical bills would be paid and the settlement would have paid off some of those credit cards. What I believe happened here is that she was at fault, was paying liability insurance only, under-insured or the other driver wasn't insured. One or several of those. Medical insurance is still extremely important but I kept waiting for something to pop up in the article saying, "this never would have happened if she was in Canada."
  

Anyhow, the article irked me and I feel I've gotten it off my chest now. The advice given in the story is very important. I just think that our kids need to better understand insurance, credit cards, shopping moderation, career direction and many other things prior to entering the 'real world.'

Merry Christmas 2006

My gift to you, enjoy.

Understanding The "Weekend"

Many people will remember Henry Ford for the invention of the transmission mechanism, Model-T and the assembly line for automobile manufacturing. But it is something he did in 1914 that changed the way America works. "We have," he said, "decided upon and at once put into effect through all the branches of our industries the five day week. Hereafter there will be no more work with us on Saturdays and Sundays. These will be free days, but the men, according to merit, will receive the same pay equivalent as for a full six day week. A day will continue to be eight hours, with no overtime." Of course, this was looked at as crazy but the standard workweek and weekend were defined.

The brilliance of this announcement was that both of the days off observed the different Sabbaths of Jews and Gentiles who at that time worked a 6-day week. Previously, it was advantageous to hire from only one religious group to keep a maximum workforce for 6 of 7 days a week instead of full attendance 5 of 7 days and partial employment for the other 2. At this time racial and religious anti-discrimination policies weren't put in place to create this change. Businesses that previously hired only Catholics (so the full force of the labor could work Monday to Saturday) were still free to do so but... that other company gives you an extra day off and the same pay. Costly litigation was avoided that would later come from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq., which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious needs.

Anyhow, as this is the start of the weekend, leading into Christmas, I thought that I'd take a moment to thank people like Henry Ford that had a moral compass (before needing lawyers and judges to nudge them in the right direction) and made ESSO [Every Saturday and Sunday Off] employment mainstream. Not that this exists much in the 24-hour hubbub of Las Vegas but for those of you that happen to enjoy it... have a great "weekend" as it could have been your "day off."

The Return Of Slobokan

I've talked about my introduction to BBS' (bulletin board systems) which predated early Internet use. Several people reading this blog became friends of mine via one such system. Recently, I had been browsing around and stumbled upon another friend from that part of my past. Slobokan (a.k.a. Mike, Ren or Renegade) would actually swing his truck over toward my house on Saturday nights to pick a 16 year-old me up for our Multi-comm park gatherings. (Come to think of it... I probably owe him gas money.) Sure, there was the point that I had a crush on his sister (as others did) but then again she also had my dream job of working in a record store at the time.

Anyhow, I recently found his blog, Slobokan's Site O'Schtuff, and was amazed at what he's been up to in the last 17 years. I guess it is like knowing someone and suddenly seeing Barry Manilow their CD collection (ok, I peek at peoples collections as it gives me more insight into what makes them tick.) If I didn't already decide to go with a live/talkshow format for the podcast, I would have taken him up on his offer to host my podcast through his ISPN Media company. It seems that he also does web design. So, if my request doesn't go through with the people that did Lora's, I'll be begging him for a blog make-over.

Silver And Black Weekend

There are usually so many things to talk about that I don't mention my football team much on here. It could be that I believe announcing myself a fan of a particular NFL team could be as polarizing as labeling myself a Democrat or Republican. Sadly, there aren't any Libertarian teams out there. I do think that playing fantasy football has made me a bigger fan of the sport, specific players and the game itself rather than just an Oakland Raiders fan. Then again, the only positive thing that can be said about the team this year is that their defense (especially their secondary) has improved immensely as it could most likely outscore their own offense.

My evolution into being a Raider fan is rather odd because I clearly remember a Christmas present of a Minnesota Vikings jacket one year. I did think the purple and orange colors were cool but I didn't care to watch pro football yet. In retrospect, I know that Dad would make wagers on the 49ers every so often but I figured that he was given a 'hot' tip by someone he was teaching tennis to that day. I wouldn't sit down and watch a football game until my last year of high school as my stepfather Bob would scream at this quarterback Jay Schrader every week. I figured that I'd find out why he was so upset, so I sat down to watch a few games with him. It wasn't long until I was upset also. I just wanted to see them win. Watching games with friends/co-workers and fantasy football had me watching every game that I could.

Why do I bring up football now? I'll be sitting in section 115 for their upcoming game against the St. Louis Rams. There was a time that I'd go see one game in Oakland each year. The first game wasn't so great (against the Dolphins where at the end of the game a young child in a Dan Marino jersey taunted some ticked off fans... I was waiting for him to 'accidentally' tumble down the concrete stairs.) The others were all winning events and all of them were extremely fun. This year, I'm heading there with my uncle David (yes, he's my age but leaving it out isn't respectful) who is a Rams fan. We fly out early tomorrow morning, attend the 1pm game and fly back a few hours after the game. I know we'll have a good time no matter who wins. (No, I really don't want the team to get the first pick in the NFL draft but if it happens, it happens.) Here's hoping your teams (football or not) do well this week!

Is It Live, Is It Memorex Or Is It Me?

Aside from writing the weekly 80's Nuts Newsletter, I dabbled in radio for a year. I had trained as a disc jockey at KUNV during the early 90's but never submitted a demo tape. It would take a couple named Patrick and Aimee that launched their own online 80's radio station to coax me onto the microphone. For that, I would record five 2-minute segments called the 80's Nuts Update that aired on weekdays at noon and midnight in the Midwest (10am and 10pm P.S.T.) This was fun as I believed that getting the news out to people, who didn't normally get it, was important. 80's Airwaves closed after just more than a year.

It was during this time that Patrick and a few other people asked me about podcasting. I knew very little about the technology involved and was pretty fearful. But, I made a promise to the subscribers of the newsletter and visitors of my Web site that I'd bring the radio segments back in the form of a new podcast by the end of the year. With just a few months left, I started looking into the changes in this technology. I had a better idea of what podcasting was as I was downloading a lot of them for my iPod. But, I was still lost as to the hosting and RSS feeds. I also knew that I needed to take steps of progress from what I was doing before.

This morning was my first test of two new free tools: Skype and Talkshoe. You may have heard of Skype before as it is a way of using your computer as a pseudo-telephone. You can connect with more than one person and hold conversations or pay a little more to actually call real phones (this means using your speakers, microphone or headset.) Talkshoe is a very exciting program. Essentially, a user can set up their account and record their rantings, podcast or talkshow. People connect to the program on their computer and call in via phone or use Skype. On the host's end, you can mute and unmute people to control the flow of conversation. The computer program allows you to chat with other people in cue and also 'raise your hand' to ask a question. At the end of the show, the file (which runs as streaming audio during the live recording) will be posted to iTunes as a podcast. The test went pretty well but I'll have to make an attempt with a real live audience before I even consider it further.

So the negative to going with these production tools is that I can't stop and edit my flubs as I've done many times when recording. What happens, happens and that's just the way it is. Yet, there are positive points:

1) I wouldn't just be reading the news to people that may have already gotten the email or been to the Web site
2) I could connect to many people that don't currently read the newsletter
3) I would be able to answer questions from long-time and new listeners/readers
4) I could actually schedule live interviews with guests
5) I could make the experience more personal by discussing the news with people

I figure that the best time that I could do a show like this would be for an hour on a Saturday afternoon/evening. I'm sure that the next test with live callers will seal the deal. Talking 80's Music with Martin Hennessy is the current working title. Keep your fingers crossed.