Garth?

I heard mention of the Garth "Ultimate Hits" collection that was coming out. I figured it was just another tool to get him another 20 million units sold. Even I as the complete Garth fanatic, am beginning to think that there is a limit to how many times the same songs can be released. Having said that, I will buy this one too.

Jess saw a commercial for his ONE MAN, ONE SHOW, ONE NIGHT show that was to be on GAC. I set the TiVO to record (even though its description was cleverly disguised as "TBA").

There was the preshow on all week pitching the CDs and DVDs in the Ultimate Hits Collection. That was great. The concert finally recorded and I watched it. New stage. New band members. New World Tour? Please? I am begging!

What I thought was only one night was 9. He did 9 shows in Kansas City...just 7 hours from here and I did not know? How could this have happened to me? Did Al Kunz know and not tell me? No - he would never deprive me out of his general dislike for Garth would he? Somehow, this completely avoided me or I would have been there.

The magic words were spoken after The Dance. "If you wait for me. I promise - I will be back!" That is the greatest news in a long time.

I spent much of this weekend entering CD data into my DJ database. Everytime I have a new artist or new artist combination (as in "Young Dro Feat JC and Lil Dickhead and Scumbag Thug"), I have to stop my entry and enter in the new "artist" into my artist table. Every disc has 19-21 tracks. Every disc I enter 4-5 new "artists". Always rappers. Usually one timers (not even classifiable as One Hit Wonders). I am so sick of these know-nothing-no-talent-thugs cluttering up the airwaves and my CDs that I want to barf! Knowing that Garth will be back...releasing CDs and touring is like finding out the end of a plague is coming.

The concert...yes, it was fantastic. Now I know Al will comment and say what he says about Garth. If Andre reads this, he will probably post something about Garth on his lack of singing qualities (no, he is not Opera Doc).

No matter your take. You must admit. The man is awesome. No matter where he goes. No matter how long he has been away. He can pack 9 shows, probably sell them out in 2 hours, and have every song sang word for word by 90% of the fans at the show. That my friends is the true definition of Superstar.

I am predicting 2014 as the year he officially comes back. That is when his youngest is done with school and daddy Garth has fulfilled his promise to them.

Oh, what a long 7 years it will be. Good thing I have every CD he ever released....

The Orracle Is Back!

After a brief hiatus from blogging and work in general, I am back. We took a quickie vacation to Vegas, my favorite town. It had been over 2 years since Jess and I had been to Vegas so this trip would have its focus on gambling and not shows.



As per any trip to Las Vegas, planning was essential as mentioned in a previous blog. Most important was the Couponomy employed on this trip. Using nothing but coupons from the Las Vegas Advisor http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/ we saved quite a bit of money. The cost of the membership is $37.00 for the online version. For $50.00 you get their monthly magazine mailed to you. The information in the magazine is great for hints on promotions, shows and food. The coupon book is called The Pocketbook of Values and is issued annually. While the book is geared toward local's casinos, there is a fair amount for the strip and downtown as well.





Our coupon use was as follows:


2-1 hotel at Main Street Station (downtown) - $79.20

2-1 buffet at Green Valley Ranch (used for lunch) - $11.84

2-1 buffet at Rio Carnival World (Saturday brunch) - $25.85

2-1 buffet at Main Street Station (lunch) - $8.50

2-1 dinner at Bay City Diner (Golden Gate) - $11.00

2-1 dinner at Ellis Island (had baby backs in their BBQ eatery - OMG....good!) - $14.00

$10 matchplay at Terrible's won - $10.00

$10 matchplay at The Cannery lost - $0.00

Free hot dog and beer at Slots-o-Fun - $1.99

Grand Total Saved: $162.89

If we could have stayed one more night, we would have stayed at Terrble's for 2 nights instead of one and saved an additional $69.00.


Of note: The Las Vegas Advisor has published facts that when comparing months from 2006 to 2007, the tides are changing. The trend of the strip gaining and downtown losing has reversed for several months running now. The strip is going down and downtown is going up. When visiting, you can see the downtown draw. Walking from casino to casino (without a taxi), buying big cheap drinks, being drunk and wild, etc. It is old Vegas and people are realizing that it is more fun than ultra lounges and $16 drinks with a dress code. I think the big strip boom is finally going to be over once Palazzo opens. Hooray!

Know The Enemy

On a day where I sat yet again waiting so patiently for the opportunity to create that anticipated steaming gutpile, my Vikings went to Green Bay.

Shall I say that despite only seeing one deer small enough to do a fireman's carry on that I was thankful for the hunting outlet so I was not forced to watch the whole game?

But, Ye Shall Know Thy Enemy!

The enemy takes several shapes:

1. Brother in Law (his career trains him to look convincing)
2. Nephew (don't let his smile fool you!)
3. Top Dog of Systems at Metlife (she'll woo you by referring to you as 'BigSexy')

While this is not a comprehensive list, these three are evil. They really are not one of them. They do not go to Green Bay proudly wearing blaze orange. They are not from the woods. They come wearing their Nike and Starter wear. Jerzees bought in a mall. City Folk. But I digress....

As I sit, patiently awaiting the snort of a 12 point buck or the bellar of a hot-in-heat doe, my cell phone buzzes.

Hmmm, what could it be? A text message?

Yes, they catch you no matter where you are, no matter the activity you are doing.

Oh yes, to people resistant to the technology world we live in I have said,

"Kicking and screaming is no way to enter the 21st century!".

Now I am the one kicking and screaming. Wishing I did not have such technology available to me while hunting. While in the woods. Way up north. While climbed half way up a damn tree. Freezing my butt off.

To my enemy, I hereby declare this:

I shall not waiver. I will always be true. True to my Purple. You can take your swampwater-wrinkled, mosquito larve eatin', grit guzzlin', AARP qualified quartback. Go cry with him. Go practice faking injury to get a roughing call. Take him back to the swamps of home and leave him there where he first superglued his upper lip to his teeth (watch the boy try to talk once).

A new day is coming. Once again, Green Bay will suck. Order shall be restored in what was once the NFC Norris/Black and Blue Division of the NFL.

Purple Pride

Oh, yeah....fire Childress now please.

What Gives Me Gas

Did you really think I was posting about that? Maybe some other time....

Some of you that knew about my other short lived and rarely posted on blog may remember a post about gas prices. As we sit here on 11/7 and gas prices are back over $3.00, I find my patience on fumes once again.

Reasons our gas prices go up...

1. Forecasts of tropical storms (not actual storms...just the mere threat)
2. A small refinery in Kansas was flooded.
3. A pipeline in Yemen was hit by a bomb
4. Nigeria might have a civil war.
5. Bombings in Afghanistan.
6. Lyle rented a motorhome for a 5,000 mile trip.
7. A car in Arkansas was found to have missed a tune-up and is getting less miles per gallon than it should.
8. Britney Spears was in the news again.
9. Someone thinks US supplies of oil are getting low.
10. Oil producers are not satisfied with quarterly profits that a perpetually records and higher than than last quarter.

By all of the nonsense that might happen which DOES cause an increase per barrell of oil, we should assume that the US gets oil from every source in the world. If Yemen has an issue, buy it from Mexico. If Mexico has a storm, buy it from Nigeria. If Nigeria has a civil war, get more from Alaska. How is it that any one issue causes gas to jump 30 cents per gallon?

Now, the talk is out there of $4.00 per gallon. We won't stop until we hit it. We cannot! We must hit it and then someone will step in, make some royal change (a.k.a. Bush) and it will fall to $3.00 and somehow we'll be satisfied. Nevermind that at $3.00, the oil companies are making more than most countries GNP.

Now, someone will come back and say, "In Europe, it has been $5.00 per Liter forever. The US has just been getting off easy."

To them I say, "Too bad for the Europeans for putting up with it. Too bad they are not the US. Too bad they are not fighting a war over oil and deserve better prices."

The bigger pet peeve I have is how oil futures for January 2008 being traded today can cause an INSTANT jump at the pumps. The oil bought in January 2008 won't be at my station until February or March 2008 and they are just FUTURES.

I think it is time for the oil companies to be required to invest some of their obscene profits into better refining techniques. They should be part of the solution as opposed to the biggest part of the problem.

The New Improved Village Idiot

I Present Ye Royal Village Idiot!
Is Sean Hannity the poster child for what it takes to be on TV? I could be as much of a village idiot as him for that kind of pay.

I have not searched this out online but I am sure it has been on just about every show and website. I heard of this today on Howard Stern.

"Halloween is teaching our kids to be liberals by going door to door an asking for a handout."

You MUST be joking!



Was this his attempt at an Onion article? You cannot make this crap up.

Sure, Pat Robertson lashed out against Halloween because it is rooted in evil, pagan ceremonies, ghosts and goblins. He is a freak in religion. That is worthy of certain forgiveness when being an idiot.

But to suggest that trick or treating is a form of liberalism, welfare or other pan-handling type activities is crazy.

I have lots of ideas on things I can be a total jerk about. Put me on TV for HALF of what he makes. I am sure I can do no worse. In fact, I just might entertain someone!

I think of how I have always said, "To get rich, you just need a gimmick". I have thought for hours about what garbage I could get on a stick to sell at the State Fair. What idea could I possibly dream up to strike it rich?? Here, all this time, I have been thinking way too hard. I just need to get a job on TV where I talk out my ass like Sean.

Rush Windbag invented it, Sean is apparently perfecting it.

XM vs. Sirius and The Merger

There is a proposed merger between XM and Sirius Satellite Radio companies. They are the only two companies in existence. As one might expect, getting a satellite in space and filling it with programming is an expensive proposition.

Recently, a merger was proposed between the two companies. This merger is being opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

To oppose it for fear that it is a monopoly is conceptually correct. Dig in a little more and you realize that opposition for that reason is not right.

First of all, to be a monopoly, consumers must not have any other means of receiving the same service. If I choose, I can listen to any free radio, mp3 player, CD or chat with my wife in the car for entertainment.

Second, it is argued that the rates will go up. They may. I am more likely to expect a la carte or cafeteria type plans where I can pick the stations I want and pay accordingly.

Third, if the NAB is going to cry monopoly here, they better crack down on Infinity and Clear Channel. They have done so much damage to radio and the music industry already because of their monopolized approach to content.

There is proof against their biggest argument which is my first item above. If consumers truly did not have access to other sources, the membership of Sirius and XM would be millions and millions more than it is. Currently there are around 14 million satellite subscribers. That is barely a drop in the bucket. People MUST have some choice. It is because of the limited number of subscribers that the merger is needed. With a merger, this excellent radio entity can survive and I will not have to listen to terrestrial (testicle) radio ever again!

The opposition to this is simply the radio industry scared stiff at the public's perception of satellite radio and their inability to compete with it. Competition...still the best incentive to improve!