Are you excited?
In just a few hours, the 8th annual Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza starts! I have been receiving dozens of messages from folks telling me how much they look forward to this time of year. Every year I wonder if I will do this again, and every year, my 4.7 readers come forward and beg me to do it again. I don't get it, but I like to keep them happy.
I was just sifting through the ties I will be wearing in December. I add a couple every year. Some people walk up to me on the street and hand me cash in exchange for the tie around my neck, so they won't have to see it again. I just go to the store and buy another one just like the one I sold. Circle of life.
I sold off nearly the last comic I owned, this morning. I was paid... well let's put it this way, if I had never bought the things in the first place, I would be much further ahead financially than I have been by selling them off like this. I still have some graphic novels and a few collections like a good chunk of Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge stories and The Far Side and Dilbert and several of those hard cover Peanuts volumes that Costco was selling several years ago. I will keep those mostly because I know they have little intrinsic value to them. From that perspective, they are even worth the paper they're printed on. Sad.
Anyway, I think I will turn in. Long, fun day ahead of me.
See you tomorrow, my lovelies.
Bevboy
Monday, November 30, 2015
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Post 3126 - Sunday Night Blogging
Hi. Back in the city. Got here around supper time.
I was later than normal getting back because I wanted to watch the last few episodes of "Jessica Jones" first. I was disappointed by the pace of the first half dozen episodes or so, but my goodness, it picks up a lot toward the end. I hope they make a second season. They likely will. Daredevil season 2 starts up shortly. And Luke Cage, sort of a spin off of Jessica Jones, will be sometime in the early part of 2016. The final Netflix series based on a Marvel character, Iron Fist, hasn't begun casting yet, and nobody knows what shape that series will take. Like you care.
Anyway, it has been a quiet night. We haven't done much since I got back, just getting caught up on "Castle". I have had my monthly shower, so when I return to work on the morrow, I will have to stink up the joint in a metaphoric sense this time, something I look forward to.
We are 23 minutes away from the mid-season finale to The Walking Dead. Who's gonna die? People are betting that "Coral" will be shot again and lose an eye, like in the comics. That preacher guy may croak. And people still think that Daryl will go to that giant enclave in the sky. Time will tell.
You guys have a good night. Talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
I was later than normal getting back because I wanted to watch the last few episodes of "Jessica Jones" first. I was disappointed by the pace of the first half dozen episodes or so, but my goodness, it picks up a lot toward the end. I hope they make a second season. They likely will. Daredevil season 2 starts up shortly. And Luke Cage, sort of a spin off of Jessica Jones, will be sometime in the early part of 2016. The final Netflix series based on a Marvel character, Iron Fist, hasn't begun casting yet, and nobody knows what shape that series will take. Like you care.
Anyway, it has been a quiet night. We haven't done much since I got back, just getting caught up on "Castle". I have had my monthly shower, so when I return to work on the morrow, I will have to stink up the joint in a metaphoric sense this time, something I look forward to.
We are 23 minutes away from the mid-season finale to The Walking Dead. Who's gonna die? People are betting that "Coral" will be shot again and lose an eye, like in the comics. That preacher guy may croak. And people still think that Daryl will go to that giant enclave in the sky. Time will tell.
You guys have a good night. Talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Post 3125 - Tablet Blogging
Hi.
Saturday night. Late.
I'm writing this on my new tablet. Got it Friday morning at the Superstore across from my work.
got it at an amazing price. Just 110 dollars. It is a Samsung Galaxy S3 Lite 7. Works great so far. I'm using it to produce this post. Typing feels a little bit weird but I will get used to it. I love the predictive text.
The only thing that gets in the way of completely loving this device is that it doesn't have a front facing camera. But I can watch Netflix and Plex and YouTube on it. The email client is pretty good. I can use the kijiji app to see what used local crap is out there. I won't throw my Kindle away but the app works great. Once I fill up a 32gb card with tunes I will be able to blue tooth them to a sound bar that has blue tooth. And there's a ton more this can do.
I know there are "better" tablets out there but I like this smaller one. Perfect size for my needs and likely enough power. Maybe not enough storage but we will have to see.
Long day. Enjoyed my evening watching "Jessica Jones". The show is really picking up in the last few episodes.
Think I will turn in. Long day ahead of me.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Saturday night. Late.
I'm writing this on my new tablet. Got it Friday morning at the Superstore across from my work.
got it at an amazing price. Just 110 dollars. It is a Samsung Galaxy S3 Lite 7. Works great so far. I'm using it to produce this post. Typing feels a little bit weird but I will get used to it. I love the predictive text.
The only thing that gets in the way of completely loving this device is that it doesn't have a front facing camera. But I can watch Netflix and Plex and YouTube on it. The email client is pretty good. I can use the kijiji app to see what used local crap is out there. I won't throw my Kindle away but the app works great. Once I fill up a 32gb card with tunes I will be able to blue tooth them to a sound bar that has blue tooth. And there's a ton more this can do.
I know there are "better" tablets out there but I like this smaller one. Perfect size for my needs and likely enough power. Maybe not enough storage but we will have to see.
Long day. Enjoyed my evening watching "Jessica Jones". The show is really picking up in the last few episodes.
Think I will turn in. Long day ahead of me.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Friday, November 27, 2015
Post 3124 - Friday Radio News
Friday morning, Global TV's Ray Bradshaw announced that his final day at Halifax Global will be Monday, November 30th.
And Halifax Newcap's Rich Horner is calling it a day as well, after 38 years on the air. Man, the stories he could tell.
I took this picture a few years ago when I was the Q104 studios. Rich was preparing the news, but he took the time to say hello.
My best wishes to both gentlemen as they retire.
See you later.
Bevboy
And Halifax Newcap's Rich Horner is calling it a day as well, after 38 years on the air. Man, the stories he could tell.
I took this picture a few years ago when I was the Q104 studios. Rich was preparing the news, but he took the time to say hello.
My best wishes to both gentlemen as they retire.
See you later.
Bevboy
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Post 3123 - Radio News
CBC announced in the last hour or so that Bill Roach will be the new host of Weekend Mornings as of December 5th. This is a good thing. With all due respect to Allison Devereaux, who's been filling in this month, she is a come from away and just doesn't have the knowledge of the Maritimes necessary to do the job justice. The CBC did the right thing in hiring Bill Roach. People are already worried that he will play Led Zeppelin some Saturday morning at 6:15, so that gives me confidence that the show is in good hands. And Doug Barron is remaining as producer, so the continuity from when the late Stan Carew was the host will still be there.
This still leaves the CBC with the decision as to who will be the new host of Halifax's "Mainstreet" drive home show. Roach would have been very good at it as well; he already fills in for Stephanie's frequent absences and does the traffic reports, too. Stephanie's last show is... hmm, December 11th, I think. They will likely have a rotating roster of fill-in/try-out hosts. I would love to see Carmen Klassen get the job, or Jackie Torrence. Either would be terrific, but the CBC may hire someone else. Maybe someone from a private radio station in town will apply and get the gig. Time will tell. I figure they will hire someone early in 2016.
Congrats to Bill Roach!!
And Wayne Harrett is reporting that MBS has fired Phil Thompson and Don Sharpe, both from CKPE in Sydney. Both had the better part of 40 years on the radio. They will either not be replaced at all, or some 18 year olds working for room and board will get in.
Sigh.
Bevboy
This still leaves the CBC with the decision as to who will be the new host of Halifax's "Mainstreet" drive home show. Roach would have been very good at it as well; he already fills in for Stephanie's frequent absences and does the traffic reports, too. Stephanie's last show is... hmm, December 11th, I think. They will likely have a rotating roster of fill-in/try-out hosts. I would love to see Carmen Klassen get the job, or Jackie Torrence. Either would be terrific, but the CBC may hire someone else. Maybe someone from a private radio station in town will apply and get the gig. Time will tell. I figure they will hire someone early in 2016.
Congrats to Bill Roach!!
And Wayne Harrett is reporting that MBS has fired Phil Thompson and Don Sharpe, both from CKPE in Sydney. Both had the better part of 40 years on the radio. They will either not be replaced at all, or some 18 year olds working for room and board will get in.
Sigh.
Bevboy
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Post 3122 - Exciting News
Just think, folks: Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza starts on December 1st, a mere 6 days from now.
I started this silly thing in 2008. That year, I didn't do as many ties as I had wanted to because my then-new car was in an accident the day after I bought it and I missed some time from work. But in 2009, I was wearing a different tie every work day in December leading up to the 25th. This will be the 8th year for this silly enterprise of mine.
There is no point in trying to talk me out of this, folks. You can't stop me. I am a juggernaut. I am unswayable in my quest to wear the crappiest ties imaginable, in the most improbable places you can think of, or can't think of. If I had a moustache I would be twirling it now and cackling maniacally.
I am still thinking of places to get my pic taken this year, so if you have any suggestions, please send them along.
The editions of the Christmas Tie Extravaganza will be easy for you to find, as they will have a special Christmas_2015 label. You will then be able to read these posts to your heart's content while you decorate your tree and hang with your friends. Which doesn't make much sense, really? I mean, who would read this blog as he was decorating a tree or hanging with his buds? Am I missing something?
Anyway, I must turn in so that I can plot additional tie situations for next month.
Are you excited to learn that the tie thing is coming back?
See you tomorrow!!
Bevboy
I started this silly thing in 2008. That year, I didn't do as many ties as I had wanted to because my then-new car was in an accident the day after I bought it and I missed some time from work. But in 2009, I was wearing a different tie every work day in December leading up to the 25th. This will be the 8th year for this silly enterprise of mine.
There is no point in trying to talk me out of this, folks. You can't stop me. I am a juggernaut. I am unswayable in my quest to wear the crappiest ties imaginable, in the most improbable places you can think of, or can't think of. If I had a moustache I would be twirling it now and cackling maniacally.
I am still thinking of places to get my pic taken this year, so if you have any suggestions, please send them along.
The editions of the Christmas Tie Extravaganza will be easy for you to find, as they will have a special Christmas_2015 label. You will then be able to read these posts to your heart's content while you decorate your tree and hang with your friends. Which doesn't make much sense, really? I mean, who would read this blog as he was decorating a tree or hanging with his buds? Am I missing something?
Anyway, I must turn in so that I can plot additional tie situations for next month.
Are you excited to learn that the tie thing is coming back?
See you tomorrow!!
Bevboy
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Post 3121 - Tuesday
Hi. Tuesday night.
You will be pleased to know that the 9 large plastic bags full of magazines (like Rolling Stone and entertainment weekly and Entertainment Weekly [for the first year or so, the magazine's title was in lower case]) along with about as many bundles of cardboard boxes that I dragged out of the house this morning and put on the front lawn, were all mysteriously gone by the time we got home. That is a yay.
I got my new work photo id taken today, along with some co-workers. The funny thing is, the lady who took the pics, Christine, gave me a new lanyard to replace the plastic pully mechanism I had before. She even helpfully provided a new plastic pocket into which to place the photo id. I figured the other 4 people with me would, too, but such is not the case. They all looked at me with some degree of jealousy and perhaps even envy. Man, I can't help it. I just played with my hair and laughed at everything she said. Before I knew it, she was giving me this swag. Maybe my co-workers should have tried something similar. Just sayin'.
I was happy to get the new pocket because last week, after a movie, I decided I needed to visit the young general's room. I was standing there, performing my civic duty, when the clip holding my then card became detached from my shirt pocket and landed in the urinal. I had to fish it out and wash it off before clipping it to my pocket again. And this afternoon as we were arriving to get out pictures taken, the same thing happened. Well, not quite the same thing. I didn't piss on the card again; it just became detached from the shirt pocket of its own accord. Like it was haunted or something. Very strange. I will not miss that old photo id. It was starting to take on a life of its own.
Not much on tv tonight. I am told that before tv was invented people would sit around the living room and ... I believe it was a process known as "talking". They would discuss what they had done all day, such as churn butter or produce embroidery or slaughter the pigs. Perhaps they would play a game of charades. Such fun!
These days, of course, in the absence of new programming to consume, one must fire up Netflix or Plex or Crave TV or some other streaming service. Beats the heck out of charades.
Or I could read a book. I found another 8 Ed McBain 87th Precinct novels upstairs tonight that I have never read. What am I waiting for?
You guys have a good night. See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
You will be pleased to know that the 9 large plastic bags full of magazines (like Rolling Stone and entertainment weekly and Entertainment Weekly [for the first year or so, the magazine's title was in lower case]) along with about as many bundles of cardboard boxes that I dragged out of the house this morning and put on the front lawn, were all mysteriously gone by the time we got home. That is a yay.
I got my new work photo id taken today, along with some co-workers. The funny thing is, the lady who took the pics, Christine, gave me a new lanyard to replace the plastic pully mechanism I had before. She even helpfully provided a new plastic pocket into which to place the photo id. I figured the other 4 people with me would, too, but such is not the case. They all looked at me with some degree of jealousy and perhaps even envy. Man, I can't help it. I just played with my hair and laughed at everything she said. Before I knew it, she was giving me this swag. Maybe my co-workers should have tried something similar. Just sayin'.
I was happy to get the new pocket because last week, after a movie, I decided I needed to visit the young general's room. I was standing there, performing my civic duty, when the clip holding my then card became detached from my shirt pocket and landed in the urinal. I had to fish it out and wash it off before clipping it to my pocket again. And this afternoon as we were arriving to get out pictures taken, the same thing happened. Well, not quite the same thing. I didn't piss on the card again; it just became detached from the shirt pocket of its own accord. Like it was haunted or something. Very strange. I will not miss that old photo id. It was starting to take on a life of its own.
Not much on tv tonight. I am told that before tv was invented people would sit around the living room and ... I believe it was a process known as "talking". They would discuss what they had done all day, such as churn butter or produce embroidery or slaughter the pigs. Perhaps they would play a game of charades. Such fun!
These days, of course, in the absence of new programming to consume, one must fire up Netflix or Plex or Crave TV or some other streaming service. Beats the heck out of charades.
Or I could read a book. I found another 8 Ed McBain 87th Precinct novels upstairs tonight that I have never read. What am I waiting for?
You guys have a good night. See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Monday, November 23, 2015
Post 3120 - Monday
After 10. Turning in shortly.
Been raining like a bugger all day long in these here parts. There is that old "joke" about how I saw a guy building an ark. I actually saw that guy drive off in his hummer this afternoon, leaving the ark half built. I can't say as I blame him.
I have had a very quiet evening at home. I am washing some clothes before I call it a day. I just watched the not-quite mid-season finale of "Gotham", and that show just gets better and better. I love this version of Alfred. He is some sort of former special combat soldier, past his prime, but still full of surprises and able to fight people half his age. He is my fave character on the show.
Also watched the not-quite mid-season finale of "Castle". The whole season has been about keeping the main characters apart, and the reasons for doing that never made much sense. I sense the producers just gave up tonight, and it's about time.
I have long since bailed on "The Blindspot" and only made it through 1.3 episodes of "Supergirl" before I decided life was too short to watch it any longer. I may force myself to finish watching "Jessica Jones" on Netflix, if only because I keep expecting a major fight or something to happen. Jessica is nonchalant about her powers, which most consist of throwing things and having epic coitus with Luke Cage, who will get his own Netflix show in 2016. I am about half way through the first season, and it is a struggle to go back to it.
What are you watching that I am not?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Been raining like a bugger all day long in these here parts. There is that old "joke" about how I saw a guy building an ark. I actually saw that guy drive off in his hummer this afternoon, leaving the ark half built. I can't say as I blame him.
I have had a very quiet evening at home. I am washing some clothes before I call it a day. I just watched the not-quite mid-season finale of "Gotham", and that show just gets better and better. I love this version of Alfred. He is some sort of former special combat soldier, past his prime, but still full of surprises and able to fight people half his age. He is my fave character on the show.
Also watched the not-quite mid-season finale of "Castle". The whole season has been about keeping the main characters apart, and the reasons for doing that never made much sense. I sense the producers just gave up tonight, and it's about time.
I have long since bailed on "The Blindspot" and only made it through 1.3 episodes of "Supergirl" before I decided life was too short to watch it any longer. I may force myself to finish watching "Jessica Jones" on Netflix, if only because I keep expecting a major fight or something to happen. Jessica is nonchalant about her powers, which most consist of throwing things and having epic coitus with Luke Cage, who will get his own Netflix show in 2016. I am about half way through the first season, and it is a struggle to go back to it.
What are you watching that I am not?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Post 3119 - Saturday
Hi. Late.
Friday night was a night where I got home from work, got into my jammies, and fell asleep in my easy chair. I was done for the evening.
Today has been quiet as well, but tonight I got a pretty cool email from someone. He took the time to tell me he missed my Frank column, but having discovered this blog, he will check it out on a regular basis. He doesn't care what Mike Cranston thinks. I told him to go ahead and read the few dozen blog interviews I have out there, especially Cranston's. Hee hee.
The email made my day, and I think Mike Adams for writing me.
I spent a few hours today cleaning out my junk room. Not done by any means, but it will look a lot better come recycling day.
Think I will call it a day. Will do more cleaning up tomorrow.
See you then.
Bevboy
Friday night was a night where I got home from work, got into my jammies, and fell asleep in my easy chair. I was done for the evening.
Today has been quiet as well, but tonight I got a pretty cool email from someone. He took the time to tell me he missed my Frank column, but having discovered this blog, he will check it out on a regular basis. He doesn't care what Mike Cranston thinks. I told him to go ahead and read the few dozen blog interviews I have out there, especially Cranston's. Hee hee.
The email made my day, and I think Mike Adams for writing me.
I spent a few hours today cleaning out my junk room. Not done by any means, but it will look a lot better come recycling day.
Think I will call it a day. Will do more cleaning up tomorrow.
See you then.
Bevboy
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Post 3118 - More Radio News
I was asked to keep it quiet, but Wayne Harrett is reporting it, so I may as well, too. The other two folks let go at the Cape Breton Newcap stations this morning were Hal Dornadic (news) and Ben Burnett (afternoons). They both worked at CKCH 103.5 The Eagle.
I am confident that these guys will find suitable work, soon.
Quick question to those of you seeking a career in radio: Why put yourself through that? Do you really need the hassle of working that hard for so little money, only to be unceremoniously canned at the drop of a hat? Ask yourselves these questions. You may save yourself a lot of grief down the road.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
I am confident that these guys will find suitable work, soon.
Quick question to those of you seeking a career in radio: Why put yourself through that? Do you really need the hassle of working that hard for so little money, only to be unceremoniously canned at the drop of a hat? Ask yourselves these questions. You may save yourself a lot of grief down the road.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Post 3117 - Radio News
Wayne Harrett is reporting that Amy Chabot was let go from C100. I contacted her just now. She confirmed the bad news. Amy is an excellent broadcaster, and a lovely person in every sense of the word. I know she will land on her feet, and soon.
And I just learned in the last few minutes that Sheumas Campbell was laid off from 101.9 The Giant in Cape Breton. That bad news happened this morning. Two others at the Newcap stations in Cape Breton were also relieved of their on air positions. I have the names but have been asked to sit on them for a day or two.
My god, what is this medium coming to? When it comes down to saving a few bucks, these stations and companies are ruthless.
My best wishes to Amy, to Sheumas, and the other two folks.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
And I just learned in the last few minutes that Sheumas Campbell was laid off from 101.9 The Giant in Cape Breton. That bad news happened this morning. Two others at the Newcap stations in Cape Breton were also relieved of their on air positions. I have the names but have been asked to sit on them for a day or two.
My god, what is this medium coming to? When it comes down to saving a few bucks, these stations and companies are ruthless.
My best wishes to Amy, to Sheumas, and the other two folks.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Post 3116 - A Long Time Ago
Past 9pm.
Had Toastmasters tonight. We had a really good meeting. Two members gave their Ice Breaker speech, where they talk about themselves for 4-6 minutes. Both speeches were excellent, and I had a hard time to vote for just one as best speaker. Turns out that other members were torn, too, because they tied for best speaker. Awesome.
We also had Table topics tonight. As I have explained before, that is when you are, with little or no preparation, given some subject, and you have to develop a 1-2 minute little speech about it. Tonight, mine turned out to be, "What moment in your life would you change if you could go back in time and change it?" And I told a story that I had never told to anybody before in my life, any time, ever.
I thought I would share it with you. It does not cast me in a particularly good light. It will reveal things about me that I would prefer to keep close; but I trust you not to tell anyone. Do we have a deal? Good.
This goes back nearly 30 years. I was at Acadia, and I was taking the one English class that I would take. It was the Fantasy course, which alternated with the Science Fiction course. We had to read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien and a good half dozen books about the King Arthur legend. The professor had an Arthurian fetish.
I had no idea how it worked, how students would get the reading list ahead of time and build up a head of steam so they would be caught up in time for each class. I had a full course load as it was. I would do my core courses, and then retire to the small student lounge in the main floor of the Beverage Arts Centre and read as much material as I could cram into my head. These were long days, and there is no way I could maintain that kind of schedule now.
I hated LotR. I found the writing style ponderous and bloated and about as interesting as kissing one's sister. I know that millions of people have been captivated by that series, but I wasn't. I had to buy other books that told me who the characters were. By contrast, the Arthur books were more compelling to me. I still remember passages from some of them. And I will one day re-read Thomas Berger's "Arthur Rex", easily the funniest novel I have ever read in my life. I eventually acquired a hardcover edition, and it sits behind me on one of my bookshelves, here in my home office.
My eye sight has always been not that great, so I tended to sit close to the front of the classroom. I'm left-handed, so I gravitated toward the left hand side of the room.
A young woman started to sit behind me, and from time to time we would chat. She asked to borrow my notes one time, and even called me to ask me what my hen scratches were supposed to mean. She seemed friendly, but I never took it to be anything more than that: someone being friendly.
The day of the final exam came. It was in the morning. She sat one row ahead of me, just to my left. She smiled at me and informed me where she was sitting, as if I had to be told.
Nearly three hours later, I put my pen down, passed in my exam, and left. I had another exam that afternoon and had to go to that.
I never saw that girl again.
All these years later, the memory comes back to me from time to time. Was I a fool to ignore her, to dare think she might be interested in me; or was I wise not to pursue this potential opportunity? I will never know, and not knowing is a handful of crackers that do not settle well in my soup.
If I had this to relive, I would hang around, explain to whatever her name was that I had to rush off to another exam, but could we perhaps meet for coffee at a later date? If she wasn't interested, then at least I would know that and not have had this regret for all these years.
I can still imagine her in my mind's eye. She was a cutie.
I hope that her life has been agreeable to her. I hope she met a fella who made her happy, and that if she wanted children, that she had them. I hope that my walking away from her that day in April of 1986 did not cause her much upset, and that if it did, that it went away quickly. And, I hope that she eventually reads this blog post.
So, that is one thing in my life that I would love to re-live, to change, and to see how it would play out. It might have gone somewhere. Or it might have gone nowhere at all. I hate not knowing.
What thing in your life would you like to re-live?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Had Toastmasters tonight. We had a really good meeting. Two members gave their Ice Breaker speech, where they talk about themselves for 4-6 minutes. Both speeches were excellent, and I had a hard time to vote for just one as best speaker. Turns out that other members were torn, too, because they tied for best speaker. Awesome.
We also had Table topics tonight. As I have explained before, that is when you are, with little or no preparation, given some subject, and you have to develop a 1-2 minute little speech about it. Tonight, mine turned out to be, "What moment in your life would you change if you could go back in time and change it?" And I told a story that I had never told to anybody before in my life, any time, ever.
I thought I would share it with you. It does not cast me in a particularly good light. It will reveal things about me that I would prefer to keep close; but I trust you not to tell anyone. Do we have a deal? Good.
This goes back nearly 30 years. I was at Acadia, and I was taking the one English class that I would take. It was the Fantasy course, which alternated with the Science Fiction course. We had to read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien and a good half dozen books about the King Arthur legend. The professor had an Arthurian fetish.
I had no idea how it worked, how students would get the reading list ahead of time and build up a head of steam so they would be caught up in time for each class. I had a full course load as it was. I would do my core courses, and then retire to the small student lounge in the main floor of the Beverage Arts Centre and read as much material as I could cram into my head. These were long days, and there is no way I could maintain that kind of schedule now.
I hated LotR. I found the writing style ponderous and bloated and about as interesting as kissing one's sister. I know that millions of people have been captivated by that series, but I wasn't. I had to buy other books that told me who the characters were. By contrast, the Arthur books were more compelling to me. I still remember passages from some of them. And I will one day re-read Thomas Berger's "Arthur Rex", easily the funniest novel I have ever read in my life. I eventually acquired a hardcover edition, and it sits behind me on one of my bookshelves, here in my home office.
My eye sight has always been not that great, so I tended to sit close to the front of the classroom. I'm left-handed, so I gravitated toward the left hand side of the room.
A young woman started to sit behind me, and from time to time we would chat. She asked to borrow my notes one time, and even called me to ask me what my hen scratches were supposed to mean. She seemed friendly, but I never took it to be anything more than that: someone being friendly.
The day of the final exam came. It was in the morning. She sat one row ahead of me, just to my left. She smiled at me and informed me where she was sitting, as if I had to be told.
Nearly three hours later, I put my pen down, passed in my exam, and left. I had another exam that afternoon and had to go to that.
I never saw that girl again.
All these years later, the memory comes back to me from time to time. Was I a fool to ignore her, to dare think she might be interested in me; or was I wise not to pursue this potential opportunity? I will never know, and not knowing is a handful of crackers that do not settle well in my soup.
If I had this to relive, I would hang around, explain to whatever her name was that I had to rush off to another exam, but could we perhaps meet for coffee at a later date? If she wasn't interested, then at least I would know that and not have had this regret for all these years.
I can still imagine her in my mind's eye. She was a cutie.
I hope that her life has been agreeable to her. I hope she met a fella who made her happy, and that if she wanted children, that she had them. I hope that my walking away from her that day in April of 1986 did not cause her much upset, and that if it did, that it went away quickly. And, I hope that she eventually reads this blog post.
So, that is one thing in my life that I would love to re-live, to change, and to see how it would play out. It might have gone somewhere. Or it might have gone nowhere at all. I hate not knowing.
What thing in your life would you like to re-live?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Post 3115 - Tuesday
Late. Turning in soon.
We decided to go to Costco after work tonight. Too many samples later, we got home and after deciding to skip CSI:Cyber, I took my shower and got myself all primped and preened to watch The Flash. Excellent, as always. And Jay wasn't on to whine and moan, so all the better.
"Agent X", starring Sharon Stone, was just starting, but we decided to get caught up on the show this weekend, so that can wait.
I have no radio news today. I got two private FB messages on Monday each with radio news items that I had to pass along, so I did. Unlike when I had my Frank column, I will be more selective in what I publish here. When I had the column, I would spend hours trolling FB status updates and the few websites that contain radio-related news. I am more passive about it now. If someone passes along news, I will pass it along here. If I happen to notice something I will also report it here. Since nobody's payin' me to do it, I am not so inclined to do all that legwork. Maybe I am lazy, or just trying to re-establish priorities.
You will be pleased, I hope, to learn that I have decided to attempt to do another Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza this year. It will be my first Christmas without my mother, and ... well, how do I word this ... without a certain branch of my family in tow. My heart is not in to the holidays, as it is not in many things this year. Perhaps if I put on a Christmas tie and try to pose in odd places in the city throughout December, then I can get into a bit of the spirit. It is worth a try. Help me along, will you? Pass along suggestions for places to get my picture taken.
I guess that is it for tonight. I have a long day tomorrow. Toastmasters night.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
We decided to go to Costco after work tonight. Too many samples later, we got home and after deciding to skip CSI:Cyber, I took my shower and got myself all primped and preened to watch The Flash. Excellent, as always. And Jay wasn't on to whine and moan, so all the better.
"Agent X", starring Sharon Stone, was just starting, but we decided to get caught up on the show this weekend, so that can wait.
I have no radio news today. I got two private FB messages on Monday each with radio news items that I had to pass along, so I did. Unlike when I had my Frank column, I will be more selective in what I publish here. When I had the column, I would spend hours trolling FB status updates and the few websites that contain radio-related news. I am more passive about it now. If someone passes along news, I will pass it along here. If I happen to notice something I will also report it here. Since nobody's payin' me to do it, I am not so inclined to do all that legwork. Maybe I am lazy, or just trying to re-establish priorities.
You will be pleased, I hope, to learn that I have decided to attempt to do another Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza this year. It will be my first Christmas without my mother, and ... well, how do I word this ... without a certain branch of my family in tow. My heart is not in to the holidays, as it is not in many things this year. Perhaps if I put on a Christmas tie and try to pose in odd places in the city throughout December, then I can get into a bit of the spirit. It is worth a try. Help me along, will you? Pass along suggestions for places to get my picture taken.
I guess that is it for tonight. I have a long day tomorrow. Toastmasters night.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Monday, November 16, 2015
Post 3114 - More Radio News
I just learned that Tony Thibault, popular C-100 and CJCH jock from the 1980's, has died. He had just moved to the Dominican Republic on November 5 to pursue a new business in the travel industry.
I am told by a reliable source that he developed a bleeding ulcer and had surgery in the DR on Sunday the 15th. He died overnight of massive internal bleeding. He is being cremated and there is no information yet on services back home in Halifax.
My condolences to Tony Thibault's family and friends.
Bevboy
I am told by a reliable source that he developed a bleeding ulcer and had surgery in the DR on Sunday the 15th. He died overnight of massive internal bleeding. He is being cremated and there is no information yet on services back home in Halifax.
My condolences to Tony Thibault's family and friends.
Bevboy
Post 3113 - Radio News
I am just getting word now that Acadia Broadcasting has purchased independent station CJLS in Yarmouth.
Acadia Broadcasting owns CKBW and CJHK in Bridgewater.
They plan no changes to CJLS.
My best wishes to everyone at all those stations.
Bevboy
Acadia Broadcasting owns CKBW and CJHK in Bridgewater.
They plan no changes to CJLS.
My best wishes to everyone at all those stations.
Bevboy
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Post 3112 - Sunday
Yeah, I know. I didn't write on Saturday.
I returned to the city Saturday afternoon. We stayed up late watching the first 8 episodes of season 2 of "How To Get Away With Murder". Once again, I marvel at how popular this show is, given that every character on it is a lying, conniving, self-serving so-and-so. They all have secrets. They all hide 'em.
Slept in this morning. And I spent two hours this afternoon in the middle bedroom, finding stuff to toss out in a week's time. Dozens of issues of Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, MacLean's, and others, too. They will all be place into clear bags and go out with my recycling on November 24.
I am finding stuff I had long since forgotten I had. I have unearthed my collection of Twilight Zone Magazine, published in the 1980's and a long time favourite. I can lay my hands on my Starlogs, and my nearly complete collection of Nemo, a magazine about comic strips that was published in the 1980's. There was one issue that devoted a lot of pages to political cartoons of the 1800's that I really must pull out and re-read. Nemo was one of my fave magazines from that part of my life, and I look forward to becoming re-acquainted with it. Its editor went on to co-found "Hogan's Alley", and I have found a few issues of that, too. The six or so early issues of "Cemetery Dance", a horror fiction magazine, have also been located. Ditto with "Fear", a British horror publication of 20+ years ago. I have more of those than I thought. I liked how they would rate movies, using skulls. The better the movie, the more skulls it got. Here is a short article about the magazine, and the crap it had to go through.
I am keeping those things, but an awful lot of other stuff is going next Tuesday. I don't need it any more. I never did need it, come to think of it. And it is taking up far too much space in a house that isn't all that big when you sit down and think about it.
There are also quite a few issues of National Geographic, but my mother's old nursing home will happily take those, so I will bundle those up and take them there the next time I am in the Valley, in a couple of weeks.
I should have purged this stuff years ago. But it's always been hard for me to let go of things. Sue me.
It's the end of a 5 day mini vacation. Back to work in the morning. Why does time off go by so damned fast, anyway?
You guys have a good evening. I will talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
I returned to the city Saturday afternoon. We stayed up late watching the first 8 episodes of season 2 of "How To Get Away With Murder". Once again, I marvel at how popular this show is, given that every character on it is a lying, conniving, self-serving so-and-so. They all have secrets. They all hide 'em.
Slept in this morning. And I spent two hours this afternoon in the middle bedroom, finding stuff to toss out in a week's time. Dozens of issues of Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, MacLean's, and others, too. They will all be place into clear bags and go out with my recycling on November 24.
I am finding stuff I had long since forgotten I had. I have unearthed my collection of Twilight Zone Magazine, published in the 1980's and a long time favourite. I can lay my hands on my Starlogs, and my nearly complete collection of Nemo, a magazine about comic strips that was published in the 1980's. There was one issue that devoted a lot of pages to political cartoons of the 1800's that I really must pull out and re-read. Nemo was one of my fave magazines from that part of my life, and I look forward to becoming re-acquainted with it. Its editor went on to co-found "Hogan's Alley", and I have found a few issues of that, too. The six or so early issues of "Cemetery Dance", a horror fiction magazine, have also been located. Ditto with "Fear", a British horror publication of 20+ years ago. I have more of those than I thought. I liked how they would rate movies, using skulls. The better the movie, the more skulls it got. Here is a short article about the magazine, and the crap it had to go through.
I am keeping those things, but an awful lot of other stuff is going next Tuesday. I don't need it any more. I never did need it, come to think of it. And it is taking up far too much space in a house that isn't all that big when you sit down and think about it.
There are also quite a few issues of National Geographic, but my mother's old nursing home will happily take those, so I will bundle those up and take them there the next time I am in the Valley, in a couple of weeks.
I should have purged this stuff years ago. But it's always been hard for me to let go of things. Sue me.
It's the end of a 5 day mini vacation. Back to work in the morning. Why does time off go by so damned fast, anyway?
You guys have a good evening. I will talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
Friday, November 13, 2015
Post 3111 - Friday
Hi. Welcome to the weekend.
I am in the Valley today. I drove up this morning to take care of a few things. For one thing, I delivered two boxes of magazines to the nursing home my mother was staying in before she died. For another, I backed up the hard drives on an ancient desktop computer I bought for 50 bucks several years ago (it was old when I bought it. How old? It had IDE drives!) and removed the ram and the hard drives and the extra usb cards.
Tomorrow morning I will deliver it to the recycling depot in nearby New Minas and take it out of its misery. I have already replaced it with this computer, a somewhat newer HP Pavilion Slimline that at least has a SATA drive in it.
It had XP on it; the software on it is so out of date that I can't really even go online with it, so I gave up and am running a fairly new version of Puppy Linux. The next time I am up I will put a full time OS on it, likely Linux Mint but I haven't decided just yet. The specs on this machine are fairly modest so I may be better off just keeping this version of Puppy on it. I will think about it.
So, my day has been fairly productive. I am going to settle down shortly and see what's on Netflix.
Today is the 70th birthday of Annapolis Valley Radio. I began listening to AVR in the mid 1970's. I have always wondered what kind of old audio is out there from back in the day. I still have a few recordings from around 1977 that I should digitize before the tapes crumble. Anyway, happy birthday, AVR. May you have many more.
You guys have a good evening. I will talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
I am in the Valley today. I drove up this morning to take care of a few things. For one thing, I delivered two boxes of magazines to the nursing home my mother was staying in before she died. For another, I backed up the hard drives on an ancient desktop computer I bought for 50 bucks several years ago (it was old when I bought it. How old? It had IDE drives!) and removed the ram and the hard drives and the extra usb cards.
Tomorrow morning I will deliver it to the recycling depot in nearby New Minas and take it out of its misery. I have already replaced it with this computer, a somewhat newer HP Pavilion Slimline that at least has a SATA drive in it.
It had XP on it; the software on it is so out of date that I can't really even go online with it, so I gave up and am running a fairly new version of Puppy Linux. The next time I am up I will put a full time OS on it, likely Linux Mint but I haven't decided just yet. The specs on this machine are fairly modest so I may be better off just keeping this version of Puppy on it. I will think about it.
So, my day has been fairly productive. I am going to settle down shortly and see what's on Netflix.
Today is the 70th birthday of Annapolis Valley Radio. I began listening to AVR in the mid 1970's. I have always wondered what kind of old audio is out there from back in the day. I still have a few recordings from around 1977 that I should digitize before the tapes crumble. Anyway, happy birthday, AVR. May you have many more.
You guys have a good evening. I will talk at ya tomorrow.
Bevboy
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Post 3110 - Thursday
Hi.
I wasn't feeling that well on Wednesday, so no blog post. I am sorry. I know that 4.7 of you care deeply and passionately about my welfare. Good to know.
I am caught up on The Walking Dead. I know about Glenn. However, since Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been cast as Negan, for later on this season, and that character kills Glenn good in the comics, I think we haven't seen the last of Glenn. It would suck, though, for him to escape all those walkers only to be clubbed to death like a baby seal. Time will tell.
There is not much going on at Casa Bevboy. We are off work until Monday, so it is a nice little break, the last one until the holidays. We are just sort of laying around the house watching Netflix, watching content through Plex, watching stuff on the PVR, watching stuff on demand.
It's interesting how far we have come as a society. Not that many years ago, those entertainment options did not exist. I remember when I bought my first DVD player, shortly after I moved into the house. That was a giant leap for me as I was in the VCR age before that. I had digital cable when I moved here, but video on demand didn't come along for a few years, and due to various factors I didn't have a PVR until this summer when I got fibreop installed.
Down in the Valley, my parents did not have cable tv until 1999, when it became available in a practical form.
So, we have come a long way.
I have a busy and long Friday ahead of me. I think I will turn in early, right after Big Bang is over.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
I wasn't feeling that well on Wednesday, so no blog post. I am sorry. I know that 4.7 of you care deeply and passionately about my welfare. Good to know.
I am caught up on The Walking Dead. I know about Glenn. However, since Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been cast as Negan, for later on this season, and that character kills Glenn good in the comics, I think we haven't seen the last of Glenn. It would suck, though, for him to escape all those walkers only to be clubbed to death like a baby seal. Time will tell.
There is not much going on at Casa Bevboy. We are off work until Monday, so it is a nice little break, the last one until the holidays. We are just sort of laying around the house watching Netflix, watching content through Plex, watching stuff on the PVR, watching stuff on demand.
It's interesting how far we have come as a society. Not that many years ago, those entertainment options did not exist. I remember when I bought my first DVD player, shortly after I moved into the house. That was a giant leap for me as I was in the VCR age before that. I had digital cable when I moved here, but video on demand didn't come along for a few years, and due to various factors I didn't have a PVR until this summer when I got fibreop installed.
Down in the Valley, my parents did not have cable tv until 1999, when it became available in a practical form.
So, we have come a long way.
I have a busy and long Friday ahead of me. I think I will turn in early, right after Big Bang is over.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Post 3109 - Tuesday
Hi. Sorry I didn't write last night. My body shut down quite early.
Just got finished watching this week's "Flash". Jay wasn't around to whine and complain, so it was better than last week's episode. Of course, given what happened at the end, maybe they will need Jay Garrick around after all. I wonder what they will do next week.
Anyway, I can happily report that I am off work for the rest of the week. I do not return to work until Monday, November 16th. A nice break, one that will have to sustain me until Christmas.
My plans for the rest of the week are still firming up, but I have things to do around here. That makes Newbie happy because he clearly suffers from separation anxiety when we are away. When we come home, he greets us at the door and walks us to his bowl so we can fill it for him. After he eats, he divides his time between us, usually deciding to plop on my lap and knead the flesh on my legs until they nearly bleed. Thanks, buddy.
So, I'm off for a few days. But fret not, effendi. I still plan to write something every day. I know you were worried about that.
I guess that's it for tonight, my friends. See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Just got finished watching this week's "Flash". Jay wasn't around to whine and complain, so it was better than last week's episode. Of course, given what happened at the end, maybe they will need Jay Garrick around after all. I wonder what they will do next week.
Anyway, I can happily report that I am off work for the rest of the week. I do not return to work until Monday, November 16th. A nice break, one that will have to sustain me until Christmas.
My plans for the rest of the week are still firming up, but I have things to do around here. That makes Newbie happy because he clearly suffers from separation anxiety when we are away. When we come home, he greets us at the door and walks us to his bowl so we can fill it for him. After he eats, he divides his time between us, usually deciding to plop on my lap and knead the flesh on my legs until they nearly bleed. Thanks, buddy.
So, I'm off for a few days. But fret not, effendi. I still plan to write something every day. I know you were worried about that.
I guess that's it for tonight, my friends. See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Post 3108 - Just Wondering
Hi. Sunday night. I am showered, shaven and shampooed. Can you state the same?
Another weekend is nearly gone. And I cannot state that much was done today. I did make dinner for us tonight. Haddock. Patricia says that I do a very good shop preparing fish. I am not sure how true that is. I just know instinctively that one should stop cooking it as soon as one thinks there is a chance it may be done. It usually is.
We spend some time today watching stuff on the pvr, and then deciding to delete things that we had either seen or didn't want to watch. We started to watch episode 2 of Supergirl, but 12 minutes in we decided we were bored and deleted the show plus any future recording of it. The pilot was promising, but it went way down hill after that. Let me know if you think I am wrong.
I read Deadline nearly every day. It gives the latest news about film and television. The reported just now that last night's Saturday Night Live, hosted by Donald Trump had yooge ratings, the best in years. It goes back to something I have wondered about for years now. The time was, Saturday night was the most popular night for tv, sort of like what Sunday night is now. The biggest hit shows were on that evening.
Even until the very early 00's, the main networks provided new programming on Saturday nights. Until 2011 or so, Fox would broadcast "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted".
Over the decades, the networks began to abandon, even shun, Saturday nights, and increasingly it became a beachhead for repeats of stuff from earlier that week, college sports, or lame-o reality shows that were being burned off. The only exception of note has been Saturday Night Live, which continues to be a popular show even though it's now on the crappiest night for tv.
I have always wondered if this is a chicken-and-egg thing. Did the networks get poor ratings on Saturday nights because they put less original programming on; or did they put less original programming on because they were destined to get poor ratings? Meanwhile, there is SNL out there, which gets really good ratings most of the time even though it is on a night when supposedly nobody is home.
Why don't the networks try to put some newer shows on Saturday nights? The Space channel runs Doctor Who and Orphan Black and other shows on Saturday nights and clearly gets good ratings for them, or they would not broadcast them then.
I realize most of you don't care a bit about my opinion on this, and that it will engender very little comment from any of you, if it gets any at all. But, darn it all, I have wondered about this for a long time and am interested in knowing your opinion.
You guys have a good night. I will talk at ya later.
Bevboy
Another weekend is nearly gone. And I cannot state that much was done today. I did make dinner for us tonight. Haddock. Patricia says that I do a very good shop preparing fish. I am not sure how true that is. I just know instinctively that one should stop cooking it as soon as one thinks there is a chance it may be done. It usually is.
We spend some time today watching stuff on the pvr, and then deciding to delete things that we had either seen or didn't want to watch. We started to watch episode 2 of Supergirl, but 12 minutes in we decided we were bored and deleted the show plus any future recording of it. The pilot was promising, but it went way down hill after that. Let me know if you think I am wrong.
I read Deadline nearly every day. It gives the latest news about film and television. The reported just now that last night's Saturday Night Live, hosted by Donald Trump had yooge ratings, the best in years. It goes back to something I have wondered about for years now. The time was, Saturday night was the most popular night for tv, sort of like what Sunday night is now. The biggest hit shows were on that evening.
Even until the very early 00's, the main networks provided new programming on Saturday nights. Until 2011 or so, Fox would broadcast "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted".
Over the decades, the networks began to abandon, even shun, Saturday nights, and increasingly it became a beachhead for repeats of stuff from earlier that week, college sports, or lame-o reality shows that were being burned off. The only exception of note has been Saturday Night Live, which continues to be a popular show even though it's now on the crappiest night for tv.
I have always wondered if this is a chicken-and-egg thing. Did the networks get poor ratings on Saturday nights because they put less original programming on; or did they put less original programming on because they were destined to get poor ratings? Meanwhile, there is SNL out there, which gets really good ratings most of the time even though it is on a night when supposedly nobody is home.
Why don't the networks try to put some newer shows on Saturday nights? The Space channel runs Doctor Who and Orphan Black and other shows on Saturday nights and clearly gets good ratings for them, or they would not broadcast them then.
I realize most of you don't care a bit about my opinion on this, and that it will engender very little comment from any of you, if it gets any at all. But, darn it all, I have wondered about this for a long time and am interested in knowing your opinion.
You guys have a good night. I will talk at ya later.
Bevboy
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Post 3107 - A Special Day
Watching the last half hour of SNL, the one that is hosted by Donald Trump. My goodness, years ago people were calling this show "Sunday Morning Fast Forward". That was back in the vcr days. Today, I suppose it would be called, "Sunday Morning Best Bits on Youtube". Sounds about right.
I went to an old friend's birthday today. His name is Ajeet and he turned 50. He threw his own birthday party, which is something I had never heard of before.
Patricia and I went and we had a great time.
We loved how someone put together the above poster, with the candy bars.
How did I meet Ajeet, anyway? Kind of a funny story. I have been in Toastmasters for a long time. He called me one night, wanting to check it out. I was suffering one of my migraines, and this was years before I discovered the pleasures of Zomig, so I all but hung up on him, asking him to call me back the next evening. Hardly an auspicious beginning.
He called me back the next night, and I told him about TM. He went to a meeting, and joined our little club, remaining for quite a few years before things pulled him away. We had become pretty good friends, so losing touch with him hurt a bit. My fault for letting it happen.
Seeing him again today after a few years was a pleasure. I am sorry that life got away from both of us, and I hope to see him again, and soon.
And, as you can see, Patricia does, too.
Happy birthday, my friend. May you have many more.
And, Patricia, stop grabbing his ass. Okay?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
I went to an old friend's birthday today. His name is Ajeet and he turned 50. He threw his own birthday party, which is something I had never heard of before.
Patricia and I went and we had a great time.
We loved how someone put together the above poster, with the candy bars.
How did I meet Ajeet, anyway? Kind of a funny story. I have been in Toastmasters for a long time. He called me one night, wanting to check it out. I was suffering one of my migraines, and this was years before I discovered the pleasures of Zomig, so I all but hung up on him, asking him to call me back the next evening. Hardly an auspicious beginning.
He called me back the next night, and I told him about TM. He went to a meeting, and joined our little club, remaining for quite a few years before things pulled him away. We had become pretty good friends, so losing touch with him hurt a bit. My fault for letting it happen.
Seeing him again today after a few years was a pleasure. I am sorry that life got away from both of us, and I hope to see him again, and soon.
And, as you can see, Patricia does, too.
Happy birthday, my friend. May you have many more.
And, Patricia, stop grabbing his ass. Okay?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Friday, November 6, 2015
Post 3106 - Friday
The weekend is here! Ha! Take that, you doubters.
Been a long week. And for the first time in several days, I haven't spent the evening farting around with the Plex Media Server or drives that mysteriously unmount themselves. Which sounds dirty, but really isn't.
We leave for work in the morning, and it's dark. Due to the time change, when we get home at night it is also dark. In between, Newbie is running around the house while we're gone wondering what we're doing.
Apparently, other people wonder what their cats do all day when they're at work. The humans that is.
Here is an example of one guy who recorded his cat at home while the man was at work. I must do this with Newbie, but there are so many places for him to hide around here I'm afraid that I'd have to have multiple cameras to track him. He has the complete run of the house, all 3 levels, so that's a lot of cameras and quite a few rooms.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Been a long week. And for the first time in several days, I haven't spent the evening farting around with the Plex Media Server or drives that mysteriously unmount themselves. Which sounds dirty, but really isn't.
We leave for work in the morning, and it's dark. Due to the time change, when we get home at night it is also dark. In between, Newbie is running around the house while we're gone wondering what we're doing.
Apparently, other people wonder what their cats do all day when they're at work. The humans that is.
Here is an example of one guy who recorded his cat at home while the man was at work. I must do this with Newbie, but there are so many places for him to hide around here I'm afraid that I'd have to have multiple cameras to track him. He has the complete run of the house, all 3 levels, so that's a lot of cameras and quite a few rooms.
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Post 3105 - Coolest Radio Blog Post Ever!
This blog post has been 35 years in the making.
Let me explain.
In the late summer of 1980, Richard Sanders, who played Les Nessman on WKRP in Cincinatti, visited Halifax for some reason, and was interviewed on the old CJCH Hotline. If my memory serves, this would still have been the time when Dave Wright was the full-time host of the program. Steve Murphy gradually took over the program starting in 1981, once again if memory services. But I digress.
I do not recall much of the interview, but at the very end, Dave Wright mentioned that Sanders loved getting fan mail and gave out his mailing address. I dove for a pen and pencil and jotted down the address.
You have to realize, I loved WKRP. It went on the air in 1978, and I was a fan from the first episode. I watched it nearly every week, including repeats, until it went off the air in 1982. The 1992 revival show was syndicated and hard to find, in those pre-dvr days.
Anyway, where was I? I wrote some kind of letter to Richard Sanders, popped it in the mail, and forgot about.
A couple weeks later, my dad brought home the the following letter (he would pick up the mail on hi way home from work, as the rest of us didn't have wheel and I didn't have my driver's license until October of 1980):
Oh, my God! Was it? Could it be? It was!
A letter from Richard Sanders addressed to me. But that wasn't all!! There was the enclosed photo.
My goodness, my little 16 year old heart went aflutter. I adored the show, and Les Nessman was my hero, a middle-aged version of me had I had the guts to go into radio and be stuck reading the sports reports for sports I didn't care about.
Some of the funniest moments of WKRP were all about Les, and Sanders' approach to the character. There was the time he went out on a date with Jennifer, played by bombshell Loni Anderson. As he got dressed, putting on his hairpiece, Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" was playing in the background.
Then there was the time when Nessman messed up the pronunciation of famed golfer Chi-Chi RodrÃguez. He struggled with it, and came up with "Chy Chy Rod Ra Gweeze". And let us not forget how Nessman crowed about winning the Silver Sow Award for his farm reporting. Dr. Johnny Fever always called it the Purple Pig Award, much to Nessman's dismay.
I kept this letter for years, but lost track of it quite a few years ago. Every once in a while I would find a stash of old letters and tear through them in the vain hope that the WKRP letter would be there, but it never was.
Finally, a few hours ago, I was stuffing old magazines and stuff into a plastic bag, to go out with Tuesday's recycling. I looked on the floor, and there it was. Yes, the room is a mess, but I am working on it.
(Hey, I also found some more back issues of Cities magazine from the late 1980's, and among them was the one featuring the article about Ada McCallum, Halifax's notorious madam, who has been a subject of one of my Frank columns, and here as well. I will write about that article, soon.)
I have put the letter in a safe place, which means I will soon misplace it again for another 20 years or so. But at least this time I have scans of the material for you and me to enjoy. And, who knows, maybe 75 year old Richard Sanders will see this and smile. Or contact his lawyer to issue a cease and desist letter against me. Wouldn't be the first time.
I love this old stuff!
See you tomorrow, my friends.
Bevboy
Let me explain.
In the late summer of 1980, Richard Sanders, who played Les Nessman on WKRP in Cincinatti, visited Halifax for some reason, and was interviewed on the old CJCH Hotline. If my memory serves, this would still have been the time when Dave Wright was the full-time host of the program. Steve Murphy gradually took over the program starting in 1981, once again if memory services. But I digress.
I do not recall much of the interview, but at the very end, Dave Wright mentioned that Sanders loved getting fan mail and gave out his mailing address. I dove for a pen and pencil and jotted down the address.
You have to realize, I loved WKRP. It went on the air in 1978, and I was a fan from the first episode. I watched it nearly every week, including repeats, until it went off the air in 1982. The 1992 revival show was syndicated and hard to find, in those pre-dvr days.
Anyway, where was I? I wrote some kind of letter to Richard Sanders, popped it in the mail, and forgot about.
A couple weeks later, my dad brought home the the following letter (he would pick up the mail on hi way home from work, as the rest of us didn't have wheel and I didn't have my driver's license until October of 1980):
Oh, my God! Was it? Could it be? It was!
A letter from Richard Sanders addressed to me. But that wasn't all!! There was the enclosed photo.
My goodness, my little 16 year old heart went aflutter. I adored the show, and Les Nessman was my hero, a middle-aged version of me had I had the guts to go into radio and be stuck reading the sports reports for sports I didn't care about.
Some of the funniest moments of WKRP were all about Les, and Sanders' approach to the character. There was the time he went out on a date with Jennifer, played by bombshell Loni Anderson. As he got dressed, putting on his hairpiece, Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" was playing in the background.
Then there was the time when Nessman messed up the pronunciation of famed golfer Chi-Chi RodrÃguez. He struggled with it, and came up with "Chy Chy Rod Ra Gweeze". And let us not forget how Nessman crowed about winning the Silver Sow Award for his farm reporting. Dr. Johnny Fever always called it the Purple Pig Award, much to Nessman's dismay.
I kept this letter for years, but lost track of it quite a few years ago. Every once in a while I would find a stash of old letters and tear through them in the vain hope that the WKRP letter would be there, but it never was.
Finally, a few hours ago, I was stuffing old magazines and stuff into a plastic bag, to go out with Tuesday's recycling. I looked on the floor, and there it was. Yes, the room is a mess, but I am working on it.
(Hey, I also found some more back issues of Cities magazine from the late 1980's, and among them was the one featuring the article about Ada McCallum, Halifax's notorious madam, who has been a subject of one of my Frank columns, and here as well. I will write about that article, soon.)
I have put the letter in a safe place, which means I will soon misplace it again for another 20 years or so. But at least this time I have scans of the material for you and me to enjoy. And, who knows, maybe 75 year old Richard Sanders will see this and smile. Or contact his lawyer to issue a cease and desist letter against me. Wouldn't be the first time.
I love this old stuff!
See you tomorrow, my friends.
Bevboy
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Post 3104 - Wednesday
Hi.
I had Toastmasters tonight after work. I told someone tonight that about 95% of the time, I feel better after a TM meeting than I did going into it. Tonight was no exception. A guy re-did his ice breaker speech; even though I have known him for nearly 20 years, I found out some things about him.
Table topics was fun, also. Individual questions. Mine was, "What would you do if you only had 5 years left to live?" I said I would, to the greatest extent possible, stop doing things that I perceived to be a waste of time. If someone told me that a certain movie was good, but fell apart in the second half or something, I would just tell them to tell me about the good parts of the movie and save me the money and the time.
We also voted in two new members tonight. People think it is odd to vote in a member. Why do something so silly? Well, it is a Toastmasters International thing. Some clubs, mostly in the States, have had problems with members joining and becoming disruptive to the harmonious nature of a Toastmasters club. If a club was full of people who are quiet by nature, and some rude and insufferable a-hole joined and caused people to quit, or espoused some political or religious dogma that made others uncomfy, then there was no mechanism for getting rid of them.
In keeping with what service and community clubs (such as the Lions) do here and abroad, TMI decided to insist that all clubs everywhere vote in new members. If they are voted in, the reasoning goes, then they can be voted out, should it come to that. That very seldom happens, although there was one time with one members in our club when it might have. Long story, and nobody is offering me beer.
Anyway, I got home around 7:45. Patricia had taken the bus home, arriving here just before 7. We ate something, and now I am down here in my home office, still configuring my download client. I don't think any drives have unmounted during the day. What an ache in the anus that is!
Today at work, I started coughing and gobbing. I thought I was coming down with a cold, but I decided to take an allergy pill instead. The interior of the drawers at my desk contains a near-infinite supply of things I may or may not need at some point. I knew I had some pills, so I took one. Within 10 minutes, the sneezing stopped. Go figure.
I think I will turn in. The pill I took was the drowsy variety.
Se you tomorrow.
Bevboy
I had Toastmasters tonight after work. I told someone tonight that about 95% of the time, I feel better after a TM meeting than I did going into it. Tonight was no exception. A guy re-did his ice breaker speech; even though I have known him for nearly 20 years, I found out some things about him.
Table topics was fun, also. Individual questions. Mine was, "What would you do if you only had 5 years left to live?" I said I would, to the greatest extent possible, stop doing things that I perceived to be a waste of time. If someone told me that a certain movie was good, but fell apart in the second half or something, I would just tell them to tell me about the good parts of the movie and save me the money and the time.
We also voted in two new members tonight. People think it is odd to vote in a member. Why do something so silly? Well, it is a Toastmasters International thing. Some clubs, mostly in the States, have had problems with members joining and becoming disruptive to the harmonious nature of a Toastmasters club. If a club was full of people who are quiet by nature, and some rude and insufferable a-hole joined and caused people to quit, or espoused some political or religious dogma that made others uncomfy, then there was no mechanism for getting rid of them.
In keeping with what service and community clubs (such as the Lions) do here and abroad, TMI decided to insist that all clubs everywhere vote in new members. If they are voted in, the reasoning goes, then they can be voted out, should it come to that. That very seldom happens, although there was one time with one members in our club when it might have. Long story, and nobody is offering me beer.
Anyway, I got home around 7:45. Patricia had taken the bus home, arriving here just before 7. We ate something, and now I am down here in my home office, still configuring my download client. I don't think any drives have unmounted during the day. What an ache in the anus that is!
Today at work, I started coughing and gobbing. I thought I was coming down with a cold, but I decided to take an allergy pill instead. The interior of the drawers at my desk contains a near-infinite supply of things I may or may not need at some point. I knew I had some pills, so I took one. Within 10 minutes, the sneezing stopped. Go figure.
I think I will turn in. The pill I took was the drowsy variety.
Se you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Post 3103 - Tuesday
Another night, fussing with the desktop computer. My, oh my, it is a lot of work and frigging to get a computer back to the state it was in before the new OS. Remind me never to do it again, eh?
Just watched this week's episode of The Flash. It gets better every week, except for one thing. The Jay Garrick character, the Flash of Earth Two, is becoming a whiny wimp, all cry baby like because he lost his powers. Tonight, because he didn't want to see Barry get his arse handed to him in an upcoming battle with Zoom, just walked out on the crew. It is not like he has anywhere to go. He landed on Earth One and doesn't have a job or anything. He might as well just sleep on a cot at Star Labs, but he has given up even that. Wimp.
Other than that one character who is disappointing me, The Flash is terrific, and you should be watching it.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, the first Wednesday of the month, so that means my bi-weekly Toastmasters meeting is this week. About 99% of the time, I feel better after a meeting than I did going into it. I use that mantra to keep myself motivated on weeks like this.
Is it the weekend yet? No, really. Is it the weekend yet?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Just watched this week's episode of The Flash. It gets better every week, except for one thing. The Jay Garrick character, the Flash of Earth Two, is becoming a whiny wimp, all cry baby like because he lost his powers. Tonight, because he didn't want to see Barry get his arse handed to him in an upcoming battle with Zoom, just walked out on the crew. It is not like he has anywhere to go. He landed on Earth One and doesn't have a job or anything. He might as well just sleep on a cot at Star Labs, but he has given up even that. Wimp.
Other than that one character who is disappointing me, The Flash is terrific, and you should be watching it.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, the first Wednesday of the month, so that means my bi-weekly Toastmasters meeting is this week. About 99% of the time, I feel better after a meeting than I did going into it. I use that mantra to keep myself motivated on weeks like this.
Is it the weekend yet? No, really. Is it the weekend yet?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
Monday, November 2, 2015
Post 3102 - Monday
Hi.
I didn't write last night because my body shut down around 8:15, while I was trying to watch "Quantico". Maybe I have quit the show, despite the fact that they have the most beautiful cast of people in the history of tv shows. Not a homely person on Quantico.
I awoke with a headache this morning, so I slept in until it subsided and then drove to work. This evening has been about trying to get another headache, as I have spent more than a bit of time getting sabnzbd working again. Not to be content with that, I then re-installed sonarr and added a couple tv shows I want to keep track of.
Tomorrow night, after many months of putting it off, I will attempt to install couchpota.to, which keeps track of movies.
Toastmasters is this week. Man, will the good times never end?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
I didn't write last night because my body shut down around 8:15, while I was trying to watch "Quantico". Maybe I have quit the show, despite the fact that they have the most beautiful cast of people in the history of tv shows. Not a homely person on Quantico.
I awoke with a headache this morning, so I slept in until it subsided and then drove to work. This evening has been about trying to get another headache, as I have spent more than a bit of time getting sabnzbd working again. Not to be content with that, I then re-installed sonarr and added a couple tv shows I want to keep track of.
Tomorrow night, after many months of putting it off, I will attempt to install couchpota.to, which keeps track of movies.
Toastmasters is this week. Man, will the good times never end?
See you tomorrow.
Bevboy
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