Classically Martin: Vitamin Z - Burning Flame

This song is among my top favorites. So much so that I made a poet's faux pas over it. You see... I used to listen to the radio at night as I slept. Songs would take my dreams every which way they could. One night, I woke up from a dream and thought that I had a new poem in my head. At this point in my life, I wrote poetry constantly. This one, I called "Embers." I kept the poem in my portfolio through high school. Yes, it was the lyrics to the song "Burning Flame" minus the chorus. Essentially, I heard it while I slept or recalled the powerful lyrics during my slumber. So I'll always feel a close relationship to this song. The lyrics really are a perfect description of sandpaper being rubbed over the open wound that is a former relationship. If anything, this reinforces one of my life mottos: listening to depressing music will make you feel better because you know at least the songwriter (or song's main character) is worse off than you.

Accent-u-ate The Positive

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Western. Like Midland, Western is another accent that people consider neutral. So, you might not actually be from the Western half of the country, but you definitely sound like it.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different... Different Same

Found this little test out there. I've always thought that I was accentless. (Most people do unless it's pointed out to them otherwise repeatedly.) This pretty much confirmed my feelings.

Madden NFL Covers

Yes, this is a sign that pro football is coming back... well, after the draft. But, I'd like to point at something. John Madden (former Raider coach, game commenter and analyst) has had his name on football softwared since 1985. He started working on the games with the NFL (becoming John Madden NFL) in 1994.

In 2000, the Madden games started highlighting athletes on the cover of the game. There has been a lot of talk about a jinx with injuries that have happened to the players on cover that year. The 2000 cover had Barry Sanders on it. They replaced him with Dorsey Levens when Sanders retired at the start of that year. I'm not going to go through the whole list of injured players and try to get you to believe in the jinx. I'd like to pay attention to the covers themselves. Here's a list of who they've had:

2000 - Barry Sanders (later Dorsey Levens)
2001 - Eddie George
2002 - Daunte Culpepper
2003 - Marshall Faulk
2004 - Michael Vick
2005 - Ray Lewis
2006 - Donovan McNabb
2007 - Shaun Alexander
2008 - Vince Young

So essentially, they've had 5 running backs, 4 quarterbacks and a middle linebacker on the cover. Notice anything missing here? Sure, there aren't wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs, offensive linemen, kickers or punters. The Associated Press MVP for the year prior to each of these would have some merit in their decisions one would think. Here's their list:

1999 - Kurt Warner
2000 - Rich Gannon
2001 - Marshall Faulk
2002 - Rich Gannon
2003 - Peyton Manning/Steve McNair
2004 - Peyton Manning
2005 - Shaun Alexander
2006 - LaDainian Tomlinson

So, essentially they got two of them right (well... 3, word is that Tomlinson turned down the cover this year.) Then there are the Super Bowl MVPs... and to save you a long list, Super Bowl winning quarterbacks John Elway (2), Tom Brady (3), Warner and Manning could have been on covers as well as a few wide receivers too. Now, Ray Lewis is the only one of that bunch that made a cover. Going back to that original list of those that have been on the cover, I wonder what the criteria is. I don't think I have to say that I see a trend. It does make me wonder if there is purpose in it and if there's a definite market they are trying to go after.

Latest Grandpa Sighting

After my last update, I wasn't very optimistic. In fact, I first thought that I would be able to add to the previous post for a few days and everything would be ok. I gave in after a few updates. I'm not saying that pessimism and lack of faith were part of me at that time but I was ready for the worst.

Before the weekend, they took out his ventilator again in an attempt to get him breathing on his own. And sometime this morning he fell out of bed. The last part, I didn't know about before we went to see him today. I asked the desk if he was in the same ICU room and the lady shook her head and gave me another room number. I gave her a quick 'thumbs-up' and left smiling. That had to be good news, right? So we get up to the room (after passing by it on accident) and the bed was empty...

Grandma and Shawna (my aunt) were on the other side of the room talking. I looked to my left and there was Grandpa with a nurse. He was sitting in a chair, looking at the dumbfounded people that just walked in. I retrieved my jaw off the floor and joined him by his side, giving him a slight hug. He turned to me as if little had happened and said, "Hi Mort." (I never really understood why he started calling me that as a child but figure that it's to separate me from my dad and just continued on.) We talked for awhile and visited until some friends of his from Idaho came to visit.

Essentially, his hearing is worse than it has been. Hearing aids will not help. But, if he focuses, he can understand you. I welled up seeing him like that and the shock on my face was evident to Grandma, Shawna and Kerry. He was laughing like normal and my worst fears were dismissed. They will continue watching him but things are looking better. Thank you for any and all your thoughts and prayers.

IQ

Took a short little IQ test. I've always wanted to take a real one but as far as I know, I never have. Maybe someday.

Grandpa

I guess that some people have a really close relationship with their grandparents. For my siblings and I, we lived far enough that it would take over a day to drive to any of them. The Hennessys were in Sacramento, the Boltons in Idaho and Grandpa McGillis in North Dakota. We only went to North Dakota a few times (one was a quick visit, the other for the town's 100th birthday and the last for Grandpa McGillis' funeral.) For awhile, the Hennessys would come and stay in town on a regular basis but it became a little less regular when Grandpa Hennessy died. Then we had a run of trips to see Grandma there on her birthday instead. Idaho was different, though. Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa Bolton would come here and we'd head there on Thanksgiving (lot of snow there when we'd visit sometimes.) There were a few years where we'd go there for some of our summer vacation. Sometime, I'll have to talk about "working on the farm." You could say that we spent more time with the Boltons than any other family members combined. I would say it is just shy of a decade since they relocated to nearby Boulder City and we haven't spent many holidays or birthdays apart.

I know, you are wondering when I'm getting to the point of all this. You see, Grandpa Bolton was found on the driveway in front of his house yesterday and at this moment lies in a coma in the hospital. I found out about it as I finished working on the newsletter yesterday afternoon, finished working on it, called work to let them know that I wouldn't be there and went to the hospital. Kerry met me there as did my brother, his wife, my aunt, my mom and Grandma. I spread a few hugs and listened to what they'd heard and seen so far. When he was airlifted from Boulder City to Vegas, they believed that his brain had been without oxygen for 5 minutes or more. He broke his nose, damaged his leg and hurt his arm in the fall (which they believed he tried to protect himself before he hit the ground.) It could have been a stroke or caused a stroke. Many are afraid to be too optimistic at this point. However, they also said he was responsive to the people around him and apparently tried to follow some direction. I went in to his room shortly after.

Grandpa served in the Airforce during World War II. Not the glorified fighter pilot-type division... he worked on the planes. They really didn't protect their hearing back then, nor did they have the knowledge about the longterm damage that comes from sustained noise levels. So, oddly enough, my brother and my voice are low enough to be heard clearly by him through his hearing aids. I walked into the room and told him it looked like Romanowski tackled him (he's a Broncos fan.) I felt his hand tighten. I told him that the waiting room was full of his family and named them individually. I could see he tried to move his lips that were around a breathing tube. I then told him that I'll watch after Grandma for a little while but he has to come back to take over the job as they've been through too much together. I made him a promise that when he gets better we'll go see a Broncos/Raiders game but he has to get better first. I stayed for a little while longer and made sure to tell him to relax and recover as we'll be here for him. They had to sedate him a little more after I had left. It made me think that if he is trying to get better, going in and talking to him would only keep him tired, drugged and awake -- which I don't think aids recovery.

I believe that he is going to be alright. I can't give any credible evidence as to why other than his reactions to particular things that I had said. I have faith that his recovery has started and I will be making a call in a moment to get an update. There are a lot of mixed thoughts running through my head at this time but right now, I worry about Grandma. You remember my mentioning my mother having surgery a few days ago? Well, Grandma has been at Mom's house taking care of her since (heck, I think she was also waiting at the hospital for her also.) Grandpa wasn't happy that she wasn't there with him but understood. She even mentioned her call to him that morning where he sounded a little unusual even in ending their conversation saying, "I just missed the sound of your voice." So, she was feeling torn and now a bit shaken and guilty. She shouldn't. As I told Grandma and Grandpa separately yesterday, Hennessys come together in times of need... as do all families.

I'll update this post as we know more and I want to thank you for your thoughts or prayers at this time.

Update: According to doctors, his condition has slightly improved as he 'seems stronger.' Otherwise, there is really no change and still no word on if it was an aneurism, stroke or heart attack.

Latest Update: It is Easter morning and I stopped in to see Grandpa at the hospital. The good news is he woke up. I was given good reports during the last few days. Today I received the clearest description of his condition from a nurse that has been with him for the last 3 days. He had kidney problems a little while back. Right now, his kidneys, heart and lungs are among his problems. He is on life support. His fever has come and gone. They tried to remove him from the breathing tubes but that only raised his blood pressure. In truth, things do not look good as all 3 of the organs that I mentioned earlier are not in good shape.

Even Later Update: Grandpa is awake a little longer. They sedate him every time he gets over-excited. I know that even with a chance of recovery that this will take quite some time. So, I'll add a post if there is any major news. But right now, I believe that he will continue to fight to get better. I also have faith that somone is looking out for him.

Sad Kermit - Hurt

Loved the original, loved the Johnny Cash cover and this... well... it's not for kids. Saw it and I had to put it up here. Yes, I've sung "Rainbow Connection" at karaoke before.

One Of Those Signs That I Don't Want To Grow Up

Somewhere in the back of my head, I hear this little voice (not that I normally hear voices mind you) that says, "That's it! I'm sick of feeling responsible all the time." Of course, I tell it, "Quiet in back or I toss you out of the bus." It is true that I throw a lot on my plate and, for some reason, when I take on a project it dedicates sections of my life from then on to it. The best examples of that are the newsletter, website, podcast and writing the book.

I think that is why I surround myself with some reminders that I really am a child at heart. There's a whole section of my DVD collection dedicated to that but while cruising through the store looking for gifts for the nieces and nephew, I saw Ernie. Yes, I know there have been rumors that Ernie and Bert are ummm... gay. I don't see it but what I remember most about the character are his rubber ducky and his laugh. I catch myself mimicking it still to this day. So, I quickly threw Ernie in the cart under the guise that I'm getting it "for someone." Anyhow, he now sits up on my very crowded headboard with his new friend Mr. Raider Bulldog.

Even though there are times when I look over there and think that Ernie looks like Mr. R.B.'s prison cell-buddy (for lack of a better word), I also see something that quiets that little voice and says, "I haven't forgotten what it's like to be a child. I'm just too responsible to let it control my life." Heck, I'd love to wake up as early as possible on Saturdays to watch cartoons in the morning with my Just Right, Kix or Pac-Man cereal sitting in front of me. But as you notice from that train of thought... cartoons now are on Sunday mornings (and there are several 24/7 channels dedicated to them) and it is really hard to find any of those 3 cereals. When things change, you have to grow up and accept it... but hold that little something to remind you of those early Saturday mornings.

My Mom: The Pain In The Neck

No, I'm not calling my mother names. Mom suffered a neck injury while at work nearly a decade ago. This changed her life as she has had multiple surgeries to alleviate migraine headaches and more recently shooting pains and numbness in her left arm. Well, it seems that after all this time that they have figured out that that the bit of bone (they took from her hip) that they used to fuse 2 of her neck vertebrae (which was reinforced with a metal plate) broke loose and has been pinching her spinal cord. According to the two doctors she has been going to recently (as well as her insurance) a surgery is required to pull that bone out.

The photo you see above was taken of my parents in the early 70's. I was recently told by my mother that it actually was some photo manipulation as they had people between them in the photo. Mom likes the photo quite a bit so I decided to snap a quick shot of it from on top of our piano. Anyhow, this morning she went into surgery to have that bone removed. I called and talked to her last night while I was at lunch. I'm optimistic and I'm hoping that Mom remains the fighting spirit that she has always been. There is a strong chance (50%) of paralysis in this surgery but then again she was also told that she would progress towards that if the bone weren't removed. Essentially, having the bone pressing against it for so long is going to require so much longer for it to regain its shape.

After typing the first two paragraphs, I decided to call around a little. Since I get off work around 1am and she was due to head to the hospital at 7:30am, I opted to go to sleep as I have to work today and woke up just before typing this. After calling my sister, I tried the hospital (as grandma doesn't have a cell phone that I know of) and was having a nurse check on her status. Then my cell phone started ringing. I looked down and it said "Mom." Those were the last words I expected on the Caller-ID and the first out of my mouth as I answered. There was a long pause but it turned out that grandma got ahold of Mom's cell. According to her, the doctor said the surgery went better and quicker than expected. I'll be heading over there after the podcast tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

What About Darfur?

I've seen this commercial several times. It hurts. It's that level right above watching Sally Struthers show emaciated children too weakened (or tolerant) to swat away the flies in their eyes. As much as I would love to see the United Nations go into Sudan to investigate and halt the genocidal horrors going on there since 2003, I know that it isn't going to happen. The government (if you call it one) there will not give them the permission to enter the region.

I think what hurts me most isn't just the rape, murders and savage disfigurement of the indigenous people by the Janjaweed militia. It's the fervent calls to action inside our nation for George Bush to go in there and fix it. Over half of the United States is upset that our country went around the U.N. to form a loose coalition going into Iraq. Yet, many of those same people that are against that action are screaming for us to act somewhere else again without the consent or backing of the U.N.? Are our troops supposed to be the ones to go where the U.N. fears to tread? Personally, I'd like to see the United Nations grow some testes, investigate and secure the region. But, calling Bush into action gives more ammunition to other nations (especially Venezuela) who already believe we are imperialists that go impose our will at will.

St. Patrick's Day 2007

It was pretty odd that the podcast landed on a holiday. I was trying to figure out what to babble about this week (I've been doing a lot of that.) After much thought, I decided that it was a good chance to talk about the musical contributions made by the Irish. Of course, U2 are pretty much the top of the heap there but many other acts helped shape the musical landscape. A few of my other personal favorites: Enya, Clannad, the Pogues, the Virgin Prunes and My Bloody Valentine. Sinead and the Cranberries had some moments also. You should be able to hear a little of what they sound like in the featured clips areas of each link.

That aside, I finally moved over to the new Blogger. Why did I take so long? Well, I really liked having a big archive on the side to remind me how long I've been typing up my thoughts and so I can check in on them easily. Maybe, labeling may make this even easier. Don't know. But, I also knew that Teri is having trouble replying and that could be due to me not changing with the times. We'll see how it works.

Feeling a lot better now and over the course of this, I've dropped some weight. This is a good thing. My eyes know that my stomach can take in more food than it should. Usually, I lose my appetite when I get sick and I've used that as a way to correct my portion control issues. It also seems that my family is getting together in September to do a family photo. This means that I could actually have the first decent photo of myself with the kin folk since grade school. Got my fingers crossed.

The Everything Test

I'm not big on these weird little tests but for some reason, I couldn't stay away from this one. Funny that it pegged me pretty well. I do worry about the phrases: "more concerned about self than concerned about others," "more atheist than religious" and "more lazy than workaholic." Then again, if I had 49% score in answers dealing with selflessness, religion and workaholism (?) then I guess they could be right. Hard to believe a test that can't spell adventurous, though. (Too bad the test is too wide to fit well in the our blog template. I did try to shrink the width to little success but don't think that will stop me from putting it here anyways.)

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-)

Personality You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about self than concerned about others, more atheist than religious, more loner than dependent, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more cynical than idealist, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted. As for specific personality traits, you are adventurious (100%), romantic (86%), intellectual (73%), horny (72%).

Stereotypes College Student 100% Prep 92% Old Geezer 83%

Life Experience Sex 60% Substances 24% Travel 29%

Politics Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom you agree with around 79% of the time.

Socioeconomic Your attitude toward life best associates you with Middle Class. You make more than 0% of those who have taken this test, and 28% more than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated R. By the way, your hottness rank is 64%, hotter than 90% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
brought to you by thatsurveysite

Project DIY: Bathroom Renovation

Ok, now that I'm feeling a bit more like myself, I have projects to get started on. I even made a little list last night. One of the big ones will be taking out the shower/bathtub in the hopes of converting the area to a full shower. It should be easier than when I converted the landscape outside, right?

You should be able to click on the photos to get a better look but essentially what is currently there is the original basic shower/bath. After my first few years in the house, I noticed some cracks in the tile on the side wall (zoom in to the mold on the bottom right.) I tried to do some of the repair myself but I came to the conclusion that water may have gotten back there. So, that requires a bit more renovation. I don't even use the tub in there as there is a second bathroom that looks just like it in the house. So changing over to a nice shower has been on my mind for the last year now. (I think having room to stretch in there is a good thing too.)

Before moving in, a co-worker gave me a bunch of boxes containing glass block. I expect to integrate that into the shower wall facing this way. I may also be replacing that window above the shower as it is useless (the contractor building the home put those in to avoid placing air vents in the bathrooms.) This means that I'll have to add ventilation to the remodel. But it should be a good project. I'd like to do the tiling myself and subcontract out the plumbing (I'm not even going to attempt it.) But first thing will be removing and cleaning the area. It'd probably be easier for me to screw it up and just call DIY To The Rescue. I really watch too many of those shows.

Oh, the other things on that list? 1) replace missing roof shingles from last storm 2) take crappy printer back to Costco 3) return bad peanut butter to Wal-Mart 4) send out new interview requests

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.