Get Up, Come On Get Down With The Bloggness; or, Believe It Or Not, I Am Still Alive

Wow, so it's been quite some time since I've last blogged. I'm sure of the 3 of you who read this mindless drivel, you were happy with that fact. Well, I'm not Robert Scoble, but I shall endeavor to press on, and restart my little bloggity blog here.

Now, where to start?

Ah, yes, the radio show. Seems a good place since that was the subject of my last entry. The Trifecta is going strong, every Tuesday night, from 11pm-2am eastern time. And now that the holidays are past us, I will be able to get the past month or so worth of shows up online. My work schedule has just not allowed me the time. But rest assure, they are coming, and you can subscribe to the podcast feed of those shows here. We are having a good time with it, and while we have no real numbers, we think that slowly, we're building a fan base.

Speaking of work, this year was by far the worst in terms of volume for Christmas. But somehow, I survived it, and will push on, in hopes that a change is on the horizon for me, career wise.

Other than that, it's been pretty much par for the course. I did have my birthday about a month ago, which went well, as it usually does. Far less drunk this year, which believe me, is a good thing. The mead has been finished, and half is already gone and drank. I think it turned out pretty good myself. In fact, most all who have tried it, said it was good. Even Jim, who hates everything, and isn't afraid to tell you about it. I am pleased that it turned out well, and will be starting a new batch soon.

Also, in technology news, I took the plunge, and bought a big screen tv. 42" of LCD greatness I must say. I was stupid enough to go out for black friday and stand in line for 3 hours starting at 2am to get it, but in the end, it was worth it. The TV is outstanding, and now that Pat has his PS3, we have some fantasic gaming and movie watching going on. Well, not much of an update, but it's all you get. Oh yeah, vacation time is coming soon. I have two trips planned. One to florida for a week, sometime in March, to visit friends and relax. And a second, week long road trip to see 5 or 6 baseball games in different citys. More on both of those as detail become available kids. Until the next time (which i promist will be less than 2+ months), this is TV's Travis, signing off

The Trifecta; or, It Has Begun!!!

We have begun the new show. That's right, The Trifecta on WNMC is on the air. Tuesday nights, from 11pm to 2am eastern time. We also have a way to hear each episode via podcast here. As well as the myspace page for the show. You should listen in, and let us know what you think.

Now, I know I said there were going to be movie reviews happening here every so often, and that is still the case. I just haven't had time to get them up. Mostly due to time restraints with work, the new show, and the need to sleep every so often. But rest assured, the reviews are coming.

Also, I have a paranormal investigation tonight, so I will be letting you all know what evidence is found, if any, and a general feel of how the night goes. Until then, I leave you with a photo from the devil's night show. Pat and Joe, goofing off in the studio. Enjoy!

A Short Update; or, New Hotness

The mead is coming along nicely. It's still a couple weeks away from drinkable, but it's getting there. Not much else to say on that.

We had the "1st official" show last night of The Trifecta, which is on WNMC (90.7fm in Traverse City, wnmc.org online) which went well. 3 hours of shenanigans and music. Listen in on Tuesday nights, from 11pm to 2am and call us (231-995-1090). We have a myspace page of the show here. And we will begin recording the shows, and putting them up edited down and in a podcast probably starting next week, so check back for that.

In other news, I am going to begin a semi-regular movie review on my blog. It will happen basically when I feel like it, and deal with movies either in theaters, or on video, old or new, and good or bad. It should be interesting only because you will never know when I will post, or what it will be like, so check back early and often.

Now, I must get back to work. First movie review is coming tonight, you have been warned. In the meantime, check out the Trifecta on myspace, and show us some love.

Polluting Airwaves; or, Radio Gold!

It's Tuesday night, which means I am currently on the air, doing my weekly radio show on WNMC. If things go well, this will hopefully be the last one I do alone. I'm currently awaiting word back from the station manager about my idea to bring in Patrick and Joe, and do some sort of late night talk/music radio. Things sound favorable, and it looks good that it will happen, but until it does, I am stuck doing my show alone. It's not that I don't like being able to do a show on college radio, the freedoms of it are much better than commercial radio. It just gets pretty boring doing music radio for 3 hours. That's why I want to bring those guys in, bring some newness to the show. Keep it fresh, and interesting, with some good bantering, pop culture and movie references, and just overall, different from traditional radio. If I had my way, I'd do all talk radio, with just music for bumpers, I find that to be much more compelling radio personally. But, even a combination of the two would be better than straight music, and if it's Pat, Joe, and myself; entertaining to the extreme!

In other news, the Mead is coming along. It was racked from the pot, to the first jug today. I'm not sure how it's going exactly, because I've never made the stuff before, but so far, it seems fine, and smells really good. It's still a few weeks off before I can say for certain I brewed it correctly, but we shall see.

And lastly, this past week, in my fantasy football league, I mopped up, scoring a league record 206 points. I try not to brag much in my life, and I know karma will come back to bite me on this one...but HELL YEAH! Eat it boys...for this week, I RULE!

Well, back to work on the show

Trying My Hand at Home Brew; or, Barkeep, Mead!

So I've decided to make my own Mead. For those of you unfamiliar with the substance, Mead is an old fashioned honey wine. It's the oldest fermented beverage, and it something of a rarity this day and age. Oh sure, you can find it if you want to look hard enough (or just go here and click the search option), but I wanted to try my hand at it. So, after looking around for a reciepe online, I traveled to the local home brew shop (Diversions in downtown TC) and picked up the needed supplies. Mead is a very simple concoction to make. It's essentially honey, water, and yeast. I added some cloves, cinnomon and lemon for flavor as well. As we speak, the yeast is in it, working it's magic. I'll report back on the mead's progress as it develops.

In other news, there is no other news. Nothing new to report really. Spent most of the weekend just hanging out with Dubbya, and doing very little. Well, except for the mead making, that was an accomplishment I suppose.

Halloween fast approaches, and I really need to put the finishing touches on my costume. It's probably about 80% done right now, but needs some touches to make it complete. So, that's now my focus, as well as the radio show, and filmic ventures.

On the topic of the radio show, I am attempting something new. I have moved to tuesday nights, from 11pm to 2am. I am in the process of convincing the station manager (a wise and sage like man, I should add) into letting me bring Patrick and Joe in to the mix, and make it a mixture of standard college rock radio, and late night talk radio. I don't think the three of us would have much trouble coming up with topics to discuss, and we would incorperate emails and calls from our audience (all 6 of them, including you Jacob). So, if you are reading this blog, tell me, would you listen to a show of three guys, riffing and playing music once a week? And if so, would you tell your friends and get us more listeners? Let me know, spread the word, help us make it happen.

OK, I'm off to watch some more television/movies on my dad's big screen (housesitting is fun!) I'll check back with mead updates, as well as other updates as they develop.

Music Piracy Trial; or, Why the RIAA Should Go Away

I've been following this story lately, and I find it quite interesting. See, Capitol Records (et al) are suing a lone private user for copyright infringement. But what really caught my attention was this little nugget I saw from Ars Technica:

"It's my personal belief that Sony BMG is half the size now as it was in 2000," she said, thanks to piracy. In Pariser's view, "when people steal, when they take music without compensation, we are harmed." Pariser has a very broad definition of "stealing." When questioned by Richard Gabriel, lead counsel for the record labels, Pariser suggested that what millions of music fans do is actually theft. The dirty deed? Ripping your own CDs or downloading songs you already own.

Gabriel asked if it was wrong for consumers to make copies of music which they have purchased, even just one copy. Pariser replied, "When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Making "a copy" of a purchased song is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy'," she said.

That's it. I officially hate record labels. I'm sorry, you can honestly believe that everyone who has ever made a copy of music (and dating back to the advent of recording technology, that would be EVERYONE) is a thief. That's just plain ignorance if you ask me. All that is accomplished by that thought process is to punish normal people who don't pirate music (or movies, or any other media), but who make copies for their own use as backups, or just a way to archive for later use. (on a side note, that means that every single iPod or other MP3 player owner is a thief, and all the money the labels have made off those people apparently doesn't count) Pirates, those who truly want to steal music, will always find ways around any copy protection scheme you can think of, just remember that. I personally will buy music if at all possible. But I despise DRM, and avoid it at all costs.

Get your act together RIAA, and record labels. For all the money you've screwed bands out of in the past to make youselves fat and happy, you deserve what you get. If I thought the money for a CD actually went to the band itself for their intellectual property, that would be a different story. But bands don't make money on that, they earn there cheese on concerts and merch, not album sales.

I will get off my soapbox now...and bid you good day.
I said GOOD DAY!

Computer Troubles; or, Someone call Max Von Sydow

I agreed a couple weeks ago to fix a friends computer. Nothing new there, and I began as I have so many times before. Except that this time, it was a machine with Windows XP Home edition. ugh. While this should not cause to many problems, it in fact did. Because you can't use an XP Pro CD to install XP Home. So after sacrificing a goat and 3 chickens to appease the gods, I had to call in the professionals. They came in the form of DBAN, or Darik's Book and Nuke to be exact. It wipes the hard drive clean allowing for a fresh install. But not just clean, oh no...so clean the DOD couldn't get any info off the little bugger. Needless to say this is a lengthy process, which I began Saturday afternoon, and will commence sometime around midnight tonight. Way longer than it should, but I was out of options, and desperate. The worst part, is my computer has been disconnected during all this, which means I have been sans computer since Saturday. Luckily I have my trusty Lappy486.

Everything should be back to normal tomorrow, but head my warning: Check which version of windows the serial key is for BEFORE you begin the install. It will save you time and sanity, both of which are in short supply as it is.


One last note. My radio show has changed yet again. I am now moving to Tuesday nights from 11pm to 2am (possibly with a co-host to trade off every week, not sure on that part yet) but it's a more free form show, so I will hopefully get to expand and experiment some. Tune in starting next week, and feedback is always appreciated

A Little Late; or, Yes I'm Lazy

So, I'm a bit late on this post. Granted there is no set schedule as to when I post for this blog, but i did intend to have this post up Tuesday or so. So, let's recap, shall we?

Friday night was a movie night, watching Hot Fuzz with the iBock and Anna. I'm still not tired of that movie, and it still cracks me up every time. Saturday was a day of nothing-ness. And boy did I enjoy every last taste of that. Sunday was the day of filming. Ah, how I love filming. Currently the project is our upcoming Halloween special. I don't want to give away the goods, but let's just say I was covered in pea soup with green food coloring added to it for the better part of 3 hours on Sunday. The things I do for my craft. But it's worth it, because I think we'll turn out one helluva Halloween special. Better than last years, and that one was pretty good. That's the trick as an artist (and yes, I think of not only myself, but our group as artists), challenge yourself to get better every time out.

Monday saw a horrendous work day, followed by some beers at the local drunken clam, and my bragging over fantasy football superiority. A good evening in all respects. Tuesday was nothing special, with Wednesday bringing a softball double header (we won both games) that included my first inside the park homerun of the season. Then a pint and off to bed. Today was fairly slow as well, and I'm currently on air doing my radio show.

I did participate in last evenings Taps Family Radio broadcast, from the chatroom, and made it on air with my question to the guest (Keith Johnson, noted demonoligist). That was pretty cool for me personally.

Now, some of you out there may have heard the story of the college student from U of F that was subdued by police at a John Kerry talk last week. I'm not going to go into detail here, but check out my friend Pat's Blog to see his reaction and thread. It's a shame what happened, but it's also a shame when you find out that the kid is not an innocent college student. Go read it, and form your own opinions.

Well, that about wraps up this blog post. I shall endeavor to be more up to date and post more often. This once a week shit's gotta go. Until next time children

tomorrow; or, my next post, seriously

I have plans for an update tomorrow. There's a bit to tell, but I'm in to mental state to post it tonight. So check back on the 'morrow children. I'll try not to disappoint.

One Strange Day; or, You'll Never Believe This

So, today started out like pretty much any other week day. My alarm woke me up earlier than I wanted, and try as I might to fight it, I did eventually drag my ass out of bed. After the morning routine (the S-in' - Shit, Shower, Shave. Minus the shave part, it's against my religion), I put on a relatively clean work uniform and head downstairs to go to work. Reaching the bottom of the stairs I see someone sleeping on the couch. It appears to be the size and shape of The Horvath, so I think nothing of it and head off to the jobbie-job.

4 hours pass, and I stop by the house for a little lunch. Pulling in the driveway I notice both The Horvath and Perkette chariots are missing, OK, they left for work. But when I walk into the house, there on the couch is the same dude from that morning. So, it's not The Horvath. Alright, must be a friend of his, or maybe Patrick's. Whatever, I gotta pee. When I get back downstairs, he's gone. Strange, but I sort of put it out of my head, and get back to work for the day.

I get home from work, and Perkette comes home. I start to tell him my story of the morning, and see if he has any idea who our "Couch Bum" was. I'm treated to his telling of seeing this guy on the couch as well, thinking at first it was The Horvath's friend, but he claims to not know the guy. Naturally we think must be a friend of Patrick. Well, once Patrick makes it back, we ask him. He has no idea who it is. Sometime around 3am, Patrick woke up for some water. On his way out to the porch for a smokie treat, said "Couch Bum" snores really loud, scaring the holy-lovin'-shit out of Patrick. He thinks it's The Horvath (it's dark after all) and shakes him, to which he hears "Search Query". He assumes it's still The Horvath, has his smoke, and goes back to bed, albeit a little weirded out.

At this point, None of us have any idea who the guy that slept on our couch the previous night is. Nothing was missing, and the living room had been vacuumed (to which Patrick owned up). Then we headed out to see "Superbad". Funny movie. Even funnier was the Rhodes Scholar sitting 3 rows back repeating lines 30 seconds after they were said in the movie, or shouting "What?" at every turn.

On our way home from the movie, Patrick gets a call from the bartender at his bar. Some dude is at the bar, telling the story of waking up this morning at a strange house, on the couch. And he remembers the address (which was our address). When it finally dawned on the bartender who's house it was, he calls Patrick. Set course, Bootleggers!

We get there, and there he is. The guy from our couch. Drunk as shit. Fresh from the pokey for a DUI and subsequent probation violations, he got drunk as a skunk last night, and walked in to our house thinking it was his. He apparently lives a block from our house.

After hearing about 35 times that he was lucky to not be in jail, that he can't believe it was our house, and that none of us know him at all, he wanders behind the bar (mind you, it was dead in there, and the bartender was on the phone telling the story to a friend of "Couch Bum", and fellow bartender), grabs a bottle of Petron tequilla, and proceeds to drink down about $20 worth like water.

OK, so, a long way to go for this story I know. But if you made it this far, I applaud you. It really is a funnier story than it sounds reading it here. But hey, I tried dammit!

Why You Can't Lock Technology Down; or, Viacom Are Some Greedy Folk

Right, so, I've been bad at updating yet again. I have no excuse really, just a general lazy streak. So, let's get caught up shall we?

This past weekend, I was involved in my second "official" paranormal investigation. This time, making the trip out to Pere Cheney, which is a sort of local ghost town. When I say local, it's about an hour drive from my house. And when I say ghost town, I mean in the sense that it was once a town, which had two major fires, and a couple of outbreaks of sickness, and say it's population go from about 5000 to nil in less than 15 years. It is supposedly a highly active area for the paranormal. So, I met up with the folks in my group (Wind Spirits Paranormal Society), and we did a joint investigation of the area with Metro Paranormal Investigators (MPI) from down state. I really enjoyed working with the guys from MPI. They run an investigation the way I like to see it. Very professional, very organized, very good. I am hoping to work with them again soon. I was extended a personal invite to tag along with them again if I'm ever in their area, and I will be taking them up on that. I did have one personal experience happen during the night. I saw what looked to be a small child running around in the grass in front of me. I can safely rule out a fox or other animal, as I was less than 20 feet from it, and I heard no sound what so ever coming from it. I still have all my audio to go over, so we'll see if there is any evidence captured.

Now, here's a little news story I can't help but talk about. Seems Viacom send out yet another cease and desist order to someone on YouTube. It was for a clip from the VH1 show "Web Junk". It dealt with a clip that was an ad some guy made when he ran for public office on some kind. The rub? It was posted by the guy who made the original clip VH1 used. With out contacting him in any way, they used his clip, then try to say he is infringing on copyright by posting the clip from their show of his material. read more about it here.

In other news, The iPhone is unlocked. Well, sort of. Two different teams of hackers claim to have a software unlocking utility that can easily unlock the iPhone, allowing you to use any GSM carrier's SIM card to run your phone. Of course, you can't actually use either one yet, as they both have said that lawyers for AT&T have threatened legal action if they do. More impressive though, is the 17 year old from New Jersey. He did a bit more in depth of a task, spending his summer before college hacking the iPhone, hardware style. Using his trusty soldering iron, and apparently a lot of free time, he successfully hacked his phone. Not bad. When I was 17, I was lucky I knew how to use the microwave, but these kids today, boy howdy!

The weekend approaches. I have a pistol match Sunday, and labor day on Monday. I can't wait. Should be a good weekend

As Promised; or, It's Bloggerin' Time!!

First off, I'd like to apologize for the title of this blog. Well, not really, it's the title I chose, and I'm sticking with it. Now, on to the post

I've been bad about updating lately, for that I do humbly and truthfully apologize to both of you who read this. I have this bad habit of putting off posting, usually because I am inherintly lazy. I did set up a microblog account with Jaiku (you may notice the badge on this blog) that I update with some good regularity. I like Jaiku because it lets me post quickly, and only gives me 140 characters to work with. Plus, it reminds me to update this blog as well (well, kind of). So keep checking back here, and my Jaiku page as well.

Some new news to report. My radio show, which had been alternating Wednesday nights from 9pm to 11pm, has now moved to Thursday nights. Same time, but different day. And will be a weekly show, instead of bi-weekly. And I will be adding a new feature. Webb Alert. You've heard me sing it's praises here (I even embedded it at the bottom of the page), and now I will be featuring it on my radio show. I obtained permission from those involved, so it will be starting up next week. I'm really happy to get my show weekly, maybe I'll even build a fan base (yeah...sure I will)

In other news, Michael Vick (aka Douche Bag) is going to plead guilty to federal dog fighting charges. That's right, the man who claimed (through his lawyer) to plead innocent only a few weeks ago (which is incorrect mind you, you plead not guilty, you don't plead innocent), and was going to clear his good name so he could get back to "spring training" with his team, is going to face the music. He'll get between 12 and 18 months in prison.

But even better, are comments made by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist on a round table program on KDKA. "It's really a sad day in this country when somehow ... Michael Vick would have been better off raping a woman if you look at the outcry of what happened. Had he done that, he probably would have been suspended for four games and he'd be back on the field. But because this has become a political issue, all of a sudden the commissioner has lost his stomach for it." Some people's children.

One last note. Don't shop for food when you're hungry. I know it's not exactly a new thought or anything, but I found out first hand why. I went to Meijer sunday night, with the intent of picking up a few items. An hour and a half and $110 later, I left with enough food to feed a small army. It's not all bad, I am stocked up. Just a bit of a strain on the pocketbook.

Until next time

update....tomorrow

I plan on an update tomorrow. I had some stuff to post today, but well, it just didn't happen. So tomorrow shall be the day. Until then...

Monday Monday Monday; or, It's time for me to get back to blogging

OK, so I have been bad about updating this here blog for a bit. My apologies. Life got in the way. What with the film fest, Softball tournaments, and friends returning, it's been a whirlwind. That having been said, let's recap, shall we?

Film Festival: Kick ass! I had a great time. Good movies to watch. Great People to work with. All around good week, and worth spending my vacation time working. Saturday night became Kilt Night '07. I need to wear my kilt(s) more often. Not only because of the comfort factor, or the pride...but the comments. I genuinely enjoy it. It is sad when the fest is over, and real life starts up again, but hey, there's always next year.

Rest of Life: Ward is back! That's right, every one's favorite computer savant is back in the state of Michigan. After a 3-4 month stint in Key West, he's back for fall semester. If only for fall semester. It's good to have him back. It's hard for me to say this, but I have missed him in his time away. It's been nice to hang out with him lately.

Also, last Saturday night, I was involved in a paranormal investigation. It was mostly uneventful, with no paranormal experiences while in the house. A house that was beyond disgusting I might add. But the experience of doing a full blown investigation was priceless, and I look forward to more in the future.

OK, I'm sure by now all 3 of you who've read this are bored to tears and begging for the end, so I shall grant you that. Until next time (which won't be in 2 weeks, promise), this is Travis, signing off.

P.S. - This Wednesday, I will be on the air (WNMC 90.7 FM in Traverse City, wmnc.org online) from 11pm to 2am. Listen in, call in, email me. If you do, I'll love you. Really. I'll even call afterwards ;)

My Celebrity Crush; or, Check Out the Video

Just a quick note. Morgan Webb now has a daily video blog called Webb Alert. Be sure to check it out. It's a quick 5 minute roundup of daily tech talk. I have added it to the bottom of this blog page, so you can see it here or on her site. She rules, so you should check it out. Not to mention, she's very easy on the eyes =) (yes, I am still harboring my crush for her)

New JerryTown Content; or, A Short Update During Work

New videos posted here from all of us at JerryTown

These are the bumpers we submitted to the Traverse City Film Fest. Two were chosen (one edited somewhat), and ran all during the festival at various venues. It was pretty fun to see my big fat head on the big screen, with as many as 600 some odd people watching it, and even seeming to enjoy it. I got a kick out of that.

Also, I have added a new feature to my blog, my Jaiku's. I thought I would give that site a little try, see if I like it. It is a nice way for me to update on the fly, to supplement my not-so-regular blog schedule.

That is all for now. I will have a much fuller recap of the festival after I get a little sleep, maybe tomorrow, maybe Thursday. But it is coming, so be warned!

Valets, River Monsters, WWII, Oh My!; or, The Film Fest So Far

I had hoped that maybe I would be able to post somewhat during the Film Fest, alas, it was not to be. It's just been a whirlwind, coupled with little sleep. And I wouldn't trade it. It has been a fun festival. Monday was the volunteer free screening of the French comedy "The Valet". It was cute. Not laugh out loud funny, but some good moments. Yesterday I watched "Slaughterhouse 5" based on the Kurt Vonnegut book. I haven't read the book (but I plan to), but I enjoyed the movie immensely. Very good stuff. And last night, "The Host", a Korean monster movie. Highly entertaining fair. Tonight is the New Zealand vampire sheep movie "Black Sheep". Yes, vampire sheep. 'Nuff said.

Sadly, I was not able to make it to "Uncensored Borat and Beyond". My schedule just did not allow it. But, I did find out the Michael is planning to produce his next film here in TC. Not shoot it here, but do the production on it. And will be looking for local people to crew. So yeah, I'll be working to get that to happen for myself, as well as the rest of the JTown crew.

For those of you interested in photos of the festival, Clint has had his camera all week, so I will endeavor to get some of those pics from him, and get them up online soon. I do not have a camera of my own, or I would have them for you already.

Now, I must nap before my shift. Tonight will probably by my 3rd 4am night out of the last 4, and tomorrow promises to be similar. Homey needs his sleep

A New Age of Wireless?; or, It's Martini Time!

Today is the first official day of my vacation week. A week of rest and trial seperation from work. I couldn't be happier. I needed some time away from that place. Working the hours I do, dealing with the people I deal with, takes it's toll on you after a while. So it's nice to get a little time away, collect myself, and not deal with it. Plus, it's Film Fest week, so I know where I'll be all next week. I hope to have some pictures, as well as good stories to tell. I'm sure I will have at least one of the two.

In other news, I recently heard about a news story that you all might find interesting. Read about it here. Apparently when the FCC is done making all the TV stations convert over to digital, they plan to auction off the 700mhz band to the highest bidder. That's the real reason for the whole switch to digital. It truthfully have nothing to do with High Definition (or HD, if you prefer) at all. They want that band because it's some valuable stuff. It's what TV is on now, and it's good, low frequency, and can go through walls and such. Of course, all the major telecommunications companies (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, et al) are going to bid, but a new player has tossed their hat in the ring.

Google.

That's right, the internet giant has said they will meet the minimum bid of 4.6 billion (billion!) dollars and get into the fracas on the condition that whomever wins the bidding (be it them, or someone else) has to keep it an open platform. In other words, no doing like what the wireless communication companies do now. Google wants it to be open to any hardware and software. And speculation is that if they were to win it, you might see a nationwide free WiFi network,
as well as Google perhaps getting into the hardware biz and making their own device that would work on it, as well as use Google Talk or Skype, some kind of VoIP service and if that were to happen, it would completely change the entire landscape of wireless communications. And be a huge benefit to us, the consumer. Keeps your eyes on this one kiddies.

Well, that is all for now. I'll try to keep up to date during the festival, but I can't make any promises. But check back often, and if you get bored, watch the JerryTown videos posted. They're good ones

Radio Gold; or, My Wednesday Evening

As some of you may know (note: the number of people who read this blog is not gigantic by any means) I have a little radio show about twice a month on the local college radio station. It's my little two hour block of radio gold. That is, they let me play music, talk a tiny bit, and generally think I'm special. It's fun, it entertains me, and I get out of the house and occasionally get to play some music that normally doesn't get on air. If you're in the TC area, listen in on 90.7 fm. It does stream online at wnmc.org.

However, tonight, on my way here, something tried to ruin my mood. Not that I had a particularly good day as it was (work sucked more than usual, it was hot all day, and was my third long long day in a row). I have a flat tire. More annoying that horrific, but still, a pain in the ass to say the least. Now I have to get a new tire, an expense I don't want to make. And with work lately, it will be a day or two before I can get to a tire shop. All in all, Travis is not happy. But I'll survive.

After all, I only need to survive 2 more days of work, and then it's a week's vacation and Film Fest. I've been looking forward to this for a while now. And it's here, and I will relish the time off work, and the company of those crazy bastards at The State Theater.

Well, time to do a break. Only 45 minutes left in my show.

Embracing the Penquin; or, Starting Another Week

On Sunday, July the 22nd, I took the next step in my continuing geek-dom. I installed Linux on my laptop. And I'm proud of it too. The nice thing about it is that the laptop is a little old, so putting Linux on it (specifically Ubuntu) will help it run a bit smoother. I really only use it to surf the internet, and as a device to capture audio with. And finding Audacity for Linux was the icing on the cake. So yeah, I'm a geek. And a proud one. Get over it.

Tomorrow, or later today if you prefer, begins a new chapter in my attempt to take over the world. My new Podcast. The first recording will take place tomorrow (if all goes well), and hopefully be up and available for download by the middle of the week. I will post details on it when it's ready.

Speaking of podcasts, if you haven't noticed, there is a link to the JerryTown video podcast on the side of this here blog. Click on either link to go to the page, or Here, and sign up for it. I will be adding content to this podcast as it comes along, as well as classic skits. So be sure to subscribe and keep up with what's new.

Also coming up, will be my Take on the Michael Vick dog fighting situation. I don't want to go into it right now. But I'm sure I will in the next day or two. So until tomorrow kiddies, download some JerryTown, and get ready for the new audio podcast.

Welcoming the Weekend; or, 5 More Work Days Until Film Fest

It's Friday, which makes me happy. Why you ask? Well, because finally, after another long work week, it's 5pm (well, OK, more like 5:45, but cut me some slack here) and that means, weekend! Hooray weekend! And a weekend with no plans what so ever. Which is the best kind of weekend to have. This week was surprisingly busy given that Cherry Fest is over and all, but I managed to survive.

And, I'm now just over a week out from Film Festival. That's a scary thought, because I know we're not ready. But, I also know that we'll pull it together, and make it come off seemingly problem free. Because that's how good we are. I did happen by the box office today to see a line out the door, and around the corner of the next building of people waiting to buy tickets (today was the first day for the unwashed masses to purchase theirs). And that line had formed before 9am, and lasted out of the door until nearly 2pm, when I drove back by. That was a nice site to see.

In other news, in my continuing attempts to better myself health wise, I have decided today, that I am giving up Soda. I know, I know, it's been said before. But hey, I gave up smoking with sheer will power, I can do this. So today, I had my last bottle of sweet sweet Mt. Dew. My thinking is that if i can cut out all that nasty high fructose corn syrup, I might just live a little longer, and not to mention drop a few pounds. It couldn't hurt, I know i could stand to lose some of this weight. I mean, I'm not Shamu, but I am heavier than I would like. So, I'll let you know the progress of this endeavor.

And with that, I bid you Fondue

Light Alphabet; or, Some very cool photography

Light Alphabet, originally uploaded by floyduk.

This is a picture I found on Flickr. It's from "The Tech Guy" assignment to make a composite photo of the alphabet. Check this one out as well as other submissions to the assignment. Pretty good stuff.

Garfield was right; or, Why Soccer still doesn't matter

Monday. You all know how it goes. The start of a new week, filled with promise and hope. Right, not around these parts either. For me, Monday is a four letter word. It speaks of long hours at work, more stupidity than could choke a moose, and it all gets to start almost an hour early.

And this was no ordinary "I-hate-everything" Monday. No, today I had a new hire with me. Which means, I get to train them. Now while i don't despise this particular task, it's not how I prefer to start off my week. That, and having someone else in the vehicle that I have to talk to and train, means i can't listen to my radio shows/podcasts, and therefore puts me in a crabby mood (I'm a simple creature, with simple needs, OK?)

Oh, and let us not forget, David Beckham has come to the US.
........
Yeah, no one cares. Well, no one except for the myopic US soccer fan. The guy who swears soccer is the next big thing in the country. That somehow, a guy who is a good player, GOOD player, not great, will move the needle. Here's the thing. He won't. End of discussion. David Beckham isn't going to get more kids to play soccer (they all do already), and while some people might take notice for a month or two, it won't take long for them to realize "oh yeah, it's soccer, we didn't watch it before, why watch now?".
And don't tell me about Pele, and the New York Cosmos. Yes, I know that they sold out Giants Stadium once. Big deal. The league they played in, The NASL, yeah, that didn't last too long after that. And the MLS, please. They get ratings below Poker tournaments and even Hockey.

And it's not that I dislike soccer, or Beckham. Far from it. I'm just not convinced it's going to change anything. Soccer is a great game, but with all the other choices out there for sports fans, as well as non sport fans, it's not going to make a big blip in the long run.

There, I said it. For you soccer fans, take your shots. I will take all of them. And if I'm wrong, I WILL be the first to admit it, I promise you that

Looking Ahead; or, Getting a Handle on the Future

As some of you may know, i have been able to crawl my way out of debt recently. Now, granted, i was not in debt up to my eyeballs or anything, but debt is debt, and being able to get rid of it is something I am rather proud of.

Now the plan is to make myself a little nest egg. A fund for when/if I move, or whatever I may need. The plan is I want to have an idea of where I will be, and what I'll be doing by next March 1st.

But, here is my dilemma. I don't know where I will be. Many of the people around here will be moving. Ian is headed to California, Patrick is headed possibly to Dublin, Horvath is talking of San Diego. Oh, and Wardo is either going to be in Florida, or GR.

So, the question becomes, do I stay or do I go? (insert your Clash reference/jokes here)

So, I have something to think about in the coming months. I would like to have it all thought out, planned (at least somewhat), and starting to wheels in motion by March 1st of next year. Any advice out there is of course appreciated, and I will keep all parties concerned posted.

Another Friday; or, How i suppressed my homocidal tendancies

So here we go, a new blog, a new experiment. This one will be updated more frequently than my other blog on MyCrack, so look here for the latest news in the life of me. Now, on to the meat and taters

It's Friday, winding down the Cherry Festival, and believe it or not, I haven't killed anyone. Yet. I'll do my best to keep it this way. Thankfully, no one has tried to run me down either. Maybe I'm not doing something right, because each of the last two years, some sizzlechest has tried to run me over with their giant environment killing SUV as I attempt to do my job during Cherry Fest. Oh well, no new stories on that front.

We are approx. two weeks removed from the Film Fest. And no where near ready. Finally got the schedule of films however, so I will be choosing which i want to see, and making up the schedule for Stage managers soon. Should be an overall exciting and fun week, if not booze filled and stressful.

Lastly, I hope to begin the first recording of the podcast on Monday, with the help of the Hobo Lover. It will be up and ready for consumption as soon as I can get it done, so be prepared for that.

OK, I am off to work. Enjoy your Friday everyone, but enjoy your weekend more. I know I will