Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My Plan To Save Radio

I enjoy technology. I've been downloading MP3's since Napster was still in college. Alana and I were trying to burn CD's way before burners were installed in every desktop and laptop. And once I did get a burner, I burned enough discs to fill a CD Warehouse. Having said that, I still like listening to the radio.

When driving, the radio is just so convenient. Unfortunately, roughly half the songs that come on the radio have been played so many times they've lost all their meaning. The fact that Sublime is still played on the radio multiple times a day in 2010 baffles my mind. It's no secret that radio listenership is down because of MP3's and the iPod. It's with this in mind that I have hatched an idea to save radio.

If the artist or a member of the group is no longer alive, then their songs shouldn't be played on the radio anymore.

I know it sounds drastic. I know people will bristle at the thought. But, hear me out. Radio programmers don't know when to pull the plug on an artist. They stick to the familiar and rarely add anything new to the repertoire. In order to get them to inject some new and abandon the old, let's give them a rule to follow.

Basically, Jimi Hendrix has been dead since 1970. He's still on the radio. Meanwhile, artists like the Broken Bells, Pop Evil, and Evan's Blue get little to no airplay. Let's force the program managers to drop acts like Sublime, Nirvana, and the Doors. They had their time. They died. Let's move on.

If this works, then the next step is to drop bands that have broken up or aren't in their original lineup. Then we can get those cursed Red Hot Chili Peppers off the radio!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas 2010 In Pictures

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas this year. Rhys made a great haul, as you can see by the videos below.






Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Job Search

Looking for a job is like trying to get laid in high school. Finding the right combination of a girl you like that actually likes you, getting to spend some time alone, and then actually getting her to take her pants off, is almost impossible. I honestly think it would be easier to harvest my own organs and put them on eBay. Step 3: Profit!

I've noticed after being through this a couple times in the last year or so that you go through a few different emotional stages during the job search.

Stage 1 starts when you find out you're going to be laid off. There's still plenty of hope and a positive attitude. You'll find something. It's just a matter of finding a company that can see how great you are. Salary expectations are still high.

Stage 2 starts to creep up after you've submitted a few hundred resumes and had zero responses. All these employers must be crazy to be passing up on the opportunity to have me on the payroll. Right?

Stage 3 shows up a few weeks before deadline. You've started drastically lowering your expectations for salary and location. Fear begins to set in.

Stage 4 is basically "what the fuck am I going to do?"

Anyway, it's 9 lbs of stress in a 1 lb sack.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Santa!


Santa!
Originally uploaded by Gemini Ace
We took Rhys to see Santa the other day at Bass Pro Shops. I know that's probably the last place you would think to find Santa, but apparently he's into camouflage, stuffed deer, and shotguns. It was a cool deal. One free picture with Santa, then you could buy more with their package deals. He was good as always, although he didn't smile for the one they took. He at least had a grin for me.