Weather...Or Not: March 2011 Entries

3/31/11

--See you later, March. You came in like a lamb and are leaving like a…lamb. Thanks for that.

--Here's something I wonder about. I've never been hospitalized, outside of when I was born. There have been a couple of emergency room visits. And of course I have been to the doctor several times. But I have never been admitted for anything and certainly have never spent the night in a hospital as a patient. Is that common? How many of you have never been hospitalized? I'm not knocking it…I feel fortunate. I just wonder if it is common.

--My buddy Bill sent me a link to a great story out of Japan. It's about a Shih Tzu…so of course I love it. Here is the link.

--Sometimes on the way home from work I listen to Rush Limbaugh. Let's face it…I'm in the car for an hour and it is boring. So I switch back and forth from Rush and ESPN Radio. And the other day Rush was bashing the President for giving control of the Libya thing to NATO/UN. I'm trying to figure out why this is such a bad thing. DO we need to be in charge of another war? And furthermore…when we didn't go into Libya Rush was complaining. Now that we did something the guy is complaining about how we did it. Everyone acknowledges that Rush saved AM radio. But does he have to keep whoring himself out just to make ratings? What he does is prey on fear and hysteria. And yet I find him entertaining.

3/30/11

--Today is JC Fultz's birthday. Happy birthday, JC!

--There was a big situation at the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday. If you are a woman, a worker, an employer, or a business owner what may happen at the Court should be interesting to you. For about a decade there has been a suit pending against Wal-Mart by potentially 1.5 million women. And yesterday that suit was discussed by the Supreme Court. As of this moment I don't think a decision has been rendered. But here is a link to a story saying it doesn't look good for the women.

--It also appears as though the Illinois smoking ban is going to take a hit soon, too. While it is important not to overstate what happened yesterday in the Illinois House…could it begin a trend? The House approved lifting the smoking ban for casinos that are on a border with states that do not have a ban. It's a very limited situation that only affects a very small portion of the population. But…could tobacco supporters use it as a springboard to get the ban lifted elsewhere?

Here's a link to the story from our website.

As always you are more than welcome to share your thoughts with us. Hit the feedback section below or send me an email with "blog" on the subject line. And now you can also give feedback on the Facebook page!

3/29/11

--Many, many of you have commented to me that it was fantastic to see Scot back with the morning crew yesterday morning. I want to be very clear when I say this…none of this is anti-Chris Nguyen. Chris is a great kid and has been a lot of fun to work with in the morning. But Chris has made the decision to move on from here, which is his right…and everyone is sorry to see him go and wishes him the best. And that leaves us with a spot to fill, and from what I can honestly tell most people in the community would love it if Scotty could come back to the morning crew. I know for me personally Scot would be my first choice. However…as was also discussed yesterday…that choice is not mine to make. I'm sure whoever replaces Chris in the morning will be fine. And the process can be a lot of fun.

--Now for a complete left turn…it seems as though this galactic alignment for next year is heating up in certain circles. I was watching a show yesterday that was breaking down Nostradamus and how his predictions might apply to today's world. And naturally the topic turned to the Mayans and their calendar. The way this show broke it down was pretty convincing. I will try to summarize as best I can.

So apparently there will be an alignment of planets, stars, and heavenly bodies in our galaxy next year that only happens every 30,000 years or so. And SCIENTISTS think that every time this has happened it has a major impact on our planet. And by impact they mean earthquakes, very strong storms, tsunamis, and volcanoes…basically things that make it very difficult for most life to survive the event. I know…it sounds familiar doesn't it? With the recent active Earth we have had it obviously has many people believing that next year will be a very tough year for the human race.

I'm not sure I buy into all of it. But I do know from my own education that a lot of this is based on science that is true and known. Storms have been more intense over the last decade or so. We are seeing stronger earthquakes in the latest cycle than we've had in a while. And before 5 years ago or so when did we really talk about tsunamis? Certainly not like we have in the past few years. And we do know that there are volcanoes that are seemingly getting ready to "peak". The part about all of this that no one can predict is what it all means, and what will happen when this galactic alignment hits its moment. And part of the increases could actually just be that the technology and equipment we use to monitor these things is just much better than it has ever been.

As a race we tend to love the doomsday scenario. So it isn't surprising that there are people talking about carving into the mountains in Colorado to have a safe place to ride out next year. There are even people suggesting that the super wealthy have already bought their places of safety for next year. Now…I am not into all of that. But I do think that things seem to be coming to a boiling point in a lot of different aspects of our planet. I tend to be more positive about it, though. Why does any kind of major change have to be so negative?

3/28/11

--We are going "Old School" a bit on you this morning. Chris Nguyen is not working this morning. And filling in for Chris this morning will be Scot England. Nothing against Chris, but we miss working with Scot. And I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to this morning.

I've mentioned before that we have an employment ad on this website seeking a morning anchor/reporter. This is not to replace Tara Barrett for her baby leave. Chris has decided to move closer to home out West, and that leaves us with an upcoming opening in the morning. Wouldn't it be nice if Scot England came back?? I think it would be. But I don't get to make those decisions. Chris only has two weeks left with us. And he has been a lot of fun, and I think he will succeed at this job. But many of us have known Scotty for a long time. And many of us would be thrilled if Scotty joined us again in the morning. Time will tell. I don't even know if Scot would be interested. But I know he makes us better in the morning.

--In keeping with the theme of change around here, this weekend provided me the chance to work on Saturday. We do have someone new coming in to replace Laine Sylvester. But that person doesn't start until next week. So there are still some weekend shifts to cover. And I worked Saturday. Liz Adeola had an important function to attend in Springfield Saturday night (you can read about it on her blog this morning), so she couldn't anchor. And for whatever reason they decided to have our Champaign reporter Jillian Deam sit at the desk for Saturday's newscasts.

I probably should not be giving you this much behind the scenes information here…but that's how we roll on this blog. Jillian had never anchored before. Not even in college. So the potential was there for Saturday's newscasts to be interesting. However…Jillian is a capable young woman. She was extremely nervous on Saturday…but you certainly couldn't tell once she got going. Jillian nailed the newscasts like she had been doing them for a couple of years. I don't say this lightly…but kudos to our News Director for being able to see the diamond in the rough. It's a risk to put someone "fresh" on the desk. He took that risk…but he knew what he was doing. I don't know if Jillian will anchor again…once more…that is not my call. But she could certainly become pretty good at it if she wanted to do it!

--Many of you have contacted me about the future of this blog. I mentioned on Friday that I will likely be drawing this bad boy to a close in a couple of weeks. For now I will continue blogging on this website while I mull things over. And I will continue to push you to the Facebook fan page. I just think that is where the future is for us. But many of you have said that you don't do FB…and aren't interested in FB. And I don't want to leave anyone behind. So maybe there will be room for both. We shall see. But in the meantime go to the FB fan page and "like" it, for those of you on FB. And for the rest…well…I will figure something out!

3/25/11

"Feedback Friday"!

From Sharon (3/24/11):

I listened to the song & then went on to listen to several more--absolutely wonderful. Thanks for broadening my musical horizons!!

You are welcome, Sharon! My Dad tuned me in to Amici Forever a couple of years ago. It's kind of an up-tempo opera and I love it. They are all over my IPod. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

That's it for feedback this week. Yep. One piece of feedback. There is actually more blog feedback on my Facebook fan page, but I am not going to bring it over to the blog this morning. I am going to leave it on Facebook. The people that left feedback there may not want their feedback on this blog, and I never said anywhere that I would use the Facebook feedback on this blog. So I wouldn't feel right moving the feedback over here.

One of the things that I have always loved about this blog…and I think you've loved about it, too…is that this is a place of honesty. We don't shovel manure here, and we don't act like company spokespeople. When I think something is good I say so, and when I think something is crap I say so. I like to keep this blog a place of honesty.

In keeping with that honesty I want to tell you about some things that have been on my mind lately concerning the blog. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that there would be some changes coming up around here. Part of that conversation was about new people on the morning newscast, and new people in the weather department. And a BIG part of that conversation was about this blog. I've decided to end this blog.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be putting more and more of my thoughts on the Facebook fan page, and less on the blog. I am doing this over the course of the next couple of weeks to give you the chance to find the page on Facebook, or sign up for Facebook if you are not on it already. I feel that going forward this will be a much better way for us to stay connected. The link to the Facebook page is at the top of this blog…and I will put it RIGHT HERE so you can check it out right now and "like" the page.

For those of you unfamiliar with Facebook…when you go to a fan page there is a button next to the name at the top of the page that says "Like". When you hit that button you gain access to everything on that page, and you can comment on the page and follow along with everyone else. It is much, much more interactive than this blog on this website. And I think it will provide a much better connection between us. Not only that…but you'll be able to interact with other Gregorians on the fan page…which you can't do here on the blog.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about what we are doing here feel free to email me so we can hash it out! mailto: greg.trumbold@wandtv.com

3/24/11

--So things are starting to hop on the Facebook fan page. Thank you to those that have "liked" the page. As time goes by this will be the best place to stay up with things, like the blog and the station and anything big happening in my life…provided that interests you. Who knows…at some point it might even replace this blog. The link to the page is now next to the B. Lime link above.

--For those of you keeping track I used a manual toothbrush this morning. And yesterday during my lunch break I went to the Kroger close to the station to look for a new toothbrush. But as a grocery store Kroger doesn't exactly have a great selection of dentifrice tools. So I guess I have decided not to use the "toilet brush". I know some of you will be relieved!

--Did I mention that around Christmas last year Faye got me an I-Pod cord for my car? So for months now I have been listening to my I-Pod on the way to work. This morning I caught Amici Forever. They are fantastic. They sing a song called "Pearl Fishers" that is tremendous. Here is a link to YouTube for the song. If you do nothing else today take the 4:41 and listen to the entire song. And then hit the feedback section below and share with me what you think. Starting at around 2:00 begins my favorite part of the song.

3/23/11

I tend to be a clean freak. Three times a week I come into work and wipe down the counters. At home most of the time when I leave a room I like to leave it cleaner than when I entered. And once in a while…about once a week…I get into a "go mode" and frenzy around the house cleaning. This past weekend I cleaned my bathroom and used bleach cleaner around and in the toilet. While I would not necessarily eat off the floor or the toilet…that stuff was very clean.

Fast forward to this morning. When I get up in the morning I usually jump into a routine. First I let the dogs out and make sure they have water and food for when I let them in. Many mornings I will check Facebook and work email on my phone while I'm taking a leak. And then I brush my teeth. This morning was like any other morning. I let the dogs out…took a leak…checked the status of my new work Facebook page because I am trying to get as many "likes" as possible. The dogs were doing fine outside, but Gizmo wanted in so I let him in. He usually lies in the middle of the bathroom floor after I let him in, and he did that again this morning.

So I began brushing my teeth. I'm not sure how it happened, but after I finished brushing my teeth I was washing off the brush with water under the sink. I have one of those electric toothbrushes. It's not the supreme, fancy, expensive toothbrush…but a regular Crest electric brush that'll shred your gums if you use it too hard. So after I washed the toothpaste off the brush I went to the left with it to the towel. And for whatever reason the toothbrush flew out of my hand and landed…behind the toilet.

I believe I've blogged about this before…but there was once something called the "5 second rule" that has since been changed to the 30 second rule. The basic premise of the rule is that something dropped on the floor doesn't become "contaminated" before 30 seconds of contact with the floor. It is also true that the more the human body becomes exposed to certain "contaminants" the better the body's immune system evolves to withstand said contaminants.

Bottom line: I ran very hot water over the toothbrush for a few minutes and put it back in the medicine cabinet. If I die in the next few days from an odd disease…you'll know why!

3/22/11

Do you ever wonder what you are doing with your life? Lately I've been giving this a lot of thought. Have I made the right decisions? Am I fulfilling my potential at my current job? Am I over-employed? Am I under-employed? When I am old and retired will I look back on my life and think maybe I could have done more?

I guess the good news is that my life is good enough now that I have the luxury of thinking about these things. It wasn't too long ago that things were fairly miserable and the focus was just on the day-to-day. But now that my personal life is better than it has ever been I've been thinking a lot more about my professional life. One thing I've always wanted to do is act. I've done some stuff here and there…but I have never just dropped everything, taken some classes/coaching/etc…and just gone for it. For whatever reason life just hasn't allowed, so I never made it happen. I wonder if I will ever regret that.

Don't get me wrong…I love the job I do now. And I've been doing it for over 13 years. Weather is interesting and ever-changing, which I love. I get to be a goofball in front of an audience, even if I never see that audience. And the job allows me to meet loads of very cool people. But I often wonder how great it would be to perform in front of a live audience every day you work. There is kind of an audience in the studio during the news. But these people are busy doing their jobs and not really paying attention to what I am doing. Hell…there are times after the weather when I am supposed to go sit with Chris and Tara on the desk for what we call "cross talk" that I will sit down and look at them and I know right away they have no idea what I just spent 3 minutes talking about!

Anyway, I have about one more year left on my current contract. So I have some time to think about what comes next. It could be that what comes next is exactly what is now. If things come together properly here I could decide that I want to sign for another 2 or 3 years, provided they want me to stay. Or maybe next year will be the year that life finally allows me to take another big friggin leap to grab a live audience. In a sense I've taken that leap twice before. The first time was when I decided to get into radio…and the second is when I decided to get into TV weather. Both of those worked out pretty well. Why wouldn't acting? Huh. Time will tell, maybe.

3/21/11

--Saturday morning I was planning to update the blog from home to mention that I went ahead and deleted my Twitter account. Unfortunately I forgot my password to the website that we use to update our website. In attempting to log in numerous times the website froze my account! So…not only could I not update the blog over the weekend…but I also had to call the website company this morning to have them re-activate my account. No need to fear…even though I am now running pretty late this morning everything is as it should be.

So now that things are back to normal…I decided to delete the Twitter account. Thank you very much to those of you that chose to follow my Twitter. Overall, though, I found the experience to be disappointing. To me Twitter was just a series of Facebook status updates and I wasn't digging it. So I decided to cancel the Twitter and start a Facebook "fan page". If you are on Facebook and you want to keep up with me you just have to visit the page and "like" it. I'm not announcing anything here…but it will be a great way for us to keep in touch if, say, I don't work here anymore.

--Speaking of not working here any more…things are starting to change quite a bit in the morning, again. As we get into April things are going to look different. I don't believe I can get into specifics, but obviously we are looking for a new anchor/reporter for the morning crew. The ad is on our website. And we have another anchor that will obviously be taking some time off soon. (I'm saying she will be out this week, which would be early!)

So through April and probably most of May it will be me, and one or two new people during the morning news, until Tara comes back from her leave. At least things aren't boring around here!!

3/18/11

--Yesterday on the blog, on the air during the morning news, and on Facebook I said that I was not Irish. As you will see in the feedback below…that information might not be entirely…accurate!

--The situation in Japan keeps getting worse. This nuclear radiation stuff is scary…and something no one is talking about yet is how that radiation may affect marine life. Al Roker keeps showing Japan weather to illustrate that the wind should carry the radiation over the ocean. That might be fine in the short term for humans on land. But Japan is a huge fishing economy. What happens to that radiation when it settles in the water? I am no expert…but wouldn't it get into the marine population? And who is going to eat that fish? Humans. Something to give some thought.

--After a brief tryout with Twitter I decided yesterday to start a Facebook fan page. I'm just not that impressed with Twitter. Maybe I don't understand it…but Facebook is so much better for me. So I started the fan page. I do have a personal FB page, but as I have said I don't add "friends" that I don't actually know. I've been burned by FB before because of people I really wasn't friends with…so I keep my personal page locked now.

So now with the fan page ANYONE can follow along and join in on the fun. If you are on Facebook and are interested…just hit this page and click "like"! (It could be the only other place in the universe besides the news where I actually talk about the weather, too!)

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Greg-Trumbold-WAND-TV/196488740384866

"Feedback Friday"!

From Jim (3/11/11):

I've now seen enough feedback that I feel compelled to respond to this marijuana issue you raised... so here goes:

I have a "late twenties" aged son living in Illinois who has had no driver's license for almost eight years due to being arrested twice for trace amounts of marijuana being discovered in his car. (arrested as a teen ager) Uh huh, and in most other states this would have been totally ignored or maybe a $100 fine. So far he's paid perhaps $15,000 for his misdemeanor crimes and been through needless and expensive drug rehab programs now TWICE! The effect of all that is that he's no longer even willing to reapply for his driver's license, because it's so expensive and they will normally just turn you down anyway. (in Illinois)

He's always at least 30 minutes early at getting to work, and has never missed one day on his job after many years. He's an upstanding good guy who everyone seems to love, but for the life of me I can't understand why marijuana use is such a terrible crime in the state of Illinois? I watch the news every day and I see felons, convicted of horrible things (with cars being instrumental to their offenses) that never even once lost their driver's license before getting out on bail.

My son was long ago arrested on two DUI's NOT because he was "under the influence"... but by the virtue of the police who stop every teen ager in this town just to let drug sniffing dogs and lazy cops into their cars. Do I even need to now tell you what my position is on marijuana? I've never found the need or desire to use it, and now my son doesn't use it any longer either. I think it's a "no benefit"

type of drug, that when used does nothing more than to dull our senses, same as alcohol.

Still it needs to be decriminalized in Illinois at the very LEAST!

During the long ago days of prohibition, a person caught drinking paid little or nothing... just because it made so very little sense to do so. "Common Sense" is now what is missing, but the bankrupt state of Illinois is making tons of money off of any kids who ever smoked pot in their cars. Illinois now has thousand-fold's of more "social workers" than intelligent politicians to run our lives, so I plan to move out of this state (where I was born) ASAP.

It's a sad day when a southern Illinois born boy looks at "Lincoln- Land" and says: "I've finally had enough of Chicago."

That's just my 2 cents.

I've often thought some of our criminal laws don't have enough nuance. I don't know the exact details of your son's case, obviously, but it sounds like he should have been hit with a misdemeanor and paid a small fine. But a "druggie" is a druggie, to the state I guess. (I'm not calling your son a druggie…just trying to make a point.)

It's similar to our sex offender laws. Now…I don't know anyone that supports sex offenders. But the laws are very blanket in nature. For example…if an 18 year old boy "hooks up" with his 16 year old girlfriend…both kids could be in high school…and the girl's parents decide to press charges and get a conviction, the 18 year old boy is a registered sex offender for life. That kid has to register every where he lives…for life, just because he made a poor decision as a horny teenager. Is it fair for him to have the same punishment as a 35 year old man that piddles 5 year old girls and boys? I wouldn't think so. But the law considers them the same.

From My Mom (3/17/11):

Greg,

Yes, you are Irish! We have Irish blood from your Maternal great-grandparents.

Love,

Mom

Well crap. I guess I am 1/8^th Irish after all. Wait…I don't mean "crap, I'm Irish"! I mean "crap, I was wrong about not being Irish!" So by my count I am 5/8^th German, 1/8^th Italian, 1/8^th Welsh, and 1/8^th Irish. Yeah. That's me. 100% European Mutt.

We should have a "Mutt Day". We deserve our own parade and national holiday. Don't most of us qualify as Muttish, anyway??

That's it for now! The next few days will bring a decent chance for storms, off and on. Spring is here! Sunday around 6:21 P.M. is the equinox, according to the Farmer's Almanac. Dig it.

3/17/11

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I am not Irish.

3/16/11

--It would appear as though billions have survived the Ides of March. That is good news. But sadly yet another Doomsday prediction has fallen to the side. Okay. Maybe that was an odd way to phrase that. I'm just saying that just for the sake of these people that predict the end of the world or huge cataclysmic events it might be nice if it actually worked out at some point. As a profession…"Apocalyptic Prophesizer" leaves a lot to be desired.

--I'm listening to "The Tide is High" by Blondie right now on my IPod. Getting older is a funny thing. This song came out when I was a kid. I've been listening to this song for 30 years. How is that even possible?

--Twitter seems to be an odd place. I've been tweeting; you know…thoughts and such. I suppose for someone not wanting to plaster pictures all over the place Twitter is actually a pretty cool thing. But you have around 140 characters to type what's on your mind. It's kind of fun. I even posted a job listing that we have on our website here. Heh. You might find it an interesting job posting if you like watching us on the morning news. You can find the job posting by finding me @Trumbold on Twitter. (Yeah…an obvious attempt to get you to check out my Twitter. In reality all you have to do is find the job posting here on this website!)

--Speaking of getting older…lately I've been feeling like life is starting to move faster. It could very well be that with us being short one in the weather department at work I've been working a little bit more. One Saturday worked this month does not make an overly cumbersome burden, mind you…but doing the noon a lot more tends to make my weeks seem to fly by. That isn't a good thing to me. I generally try to soak up as much of a day as I can because I realize at any moment we could stop having days, if you take my meaning. It makes me uncomfortable to realize it is Thursday or Friday and I didn't even feel the week.

Part of that could be that Faye has been busy with her job, too. And we haven't had much quality time together lately. Its becoming obvious to me that time off is a must very soon. I've been trying to work out that whole "independently wealthy-don't have to work" thing, but so far my lottery numbers can't find the mark!

3/15/11

"Beware the Ides of March!!!"

No, really. Beware of March 15^th this year. Apparently today the polar shifting we have been experiencing since the beginning of this planet is supposed to cause billions to die. This is disconcerting, considering that there are only close to 7 billion people on the planet right now. That means that a good chunk of humanity is supposed to die today.

This could be worse than the story we ran during the news yesterday morning about the one dog surviving euthanization. You know…the story that caused me to flip out a little bit and make comments about the other four pooches that were successfully killed, and the trash can where the dead dogs are thrown. And now this "heartwarming" story has this survivor the subject of many adoption wishes. I mean…if billions die today I think that would be worse than the one dog surviving.

Okay…take note of my sarcasm and you will realize that I don't really think billions will die today. But if you've been reading this blog long enough you know that I do have a fascination for doomsday stories. "Coast to Coast AM" that I occasionally listen to on my way to work in the morning is full of theories about the end of the world.

For those of you interested, either in the end of the world or useless entertainment, here are some links where you can further research this "phenomenon".

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/pole-shift-2/alarming-noaa-data-rapid-pole-shift/

http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/153461-march-15th-pole-shift-to-kill-billions.html

3/14/11

My weekend was a blur. Saturday I had to work. It isn't great for me to work a night time newscast anymore. My bed time is around 6 each evening. That is so I can get up around 1 or 2 each morning to get ready for work during the week. Even on the weekend I am pretty well zombied out by 8 or 9 each night if I have a reason to stay awake. So giving me a live microphone and a camera at 10 on a Saturday night is going to be less than enthralling television! But as I blogged over the weekend we are short-staffed at the moment. So I was put to work this past Saturday.

Because of that and the time change Sunday morning…the rest of my Sunday was a waste of time and space. I got up to go do P90X. Then I vegged on the couch for hours, dozing off and on. At some point yesterday afternoon I got up and showered and Faye and I went to eat lunch at the Custom Smokehouse. We had steak/shrimp kabobs…and they were fantastic. We stayed there for about an hour. I was in bed and sleeping by 5:30 "last night". I'm feeling good today, though.

Over the weekend I did find time to start a Twitter account. This will be a "work" account and you are more than welcome to follow it. I'll likely be tweeting a lot, even when I am not working. But since it is a work account I will still have some basic guidelines to follow. It should still be fun despite the obvious restrictions! Hit me up here on Twitter. The more the merrier…

3/12/11

--So here I am working on a Saturday. As you prolly already know Laine Sylvester is no longer working here. So while The Suits continue their search for a replacement weekend person JC, Lee, and I will be filling in on weekends. It's really no biggie. All 3 of us at one time or another have been the full time weekend weather person here over the years. In a way it is nostalgic. Having said that…I think if The Suits ever wanted me to go back to being the weekender again I would just quit! This is not something I would like to do every weekend again.

--Bob Seger is an artist that I almost never think about…until I hear him on the radio. And when I hear him on the radio I think he is fantastic. Is it possible he is the most under rated singer in the history of singers? Could be, for my money.

--It is with sad regret that I must now announce that not ten minutes ago I started a Twitter account. While I feel as though a part of my soul is now gone...it should make it easier for us to have better interaction. I already have a Facebook account, but that is just a personal thing. If I haven't met someone I don't add someone as a friend. So it is not a work account. I've been wanting to do something for work to get more interaction with people I've never met. I thought about doing one of those fan pages on Facebook. But I just couldn't bring myself to starting my own fan page. It felt weird to me. And starting another profile that would be for work was another option. But instead I thought I would look into the Twitter stuff.

So if you are a Twitter person, or whatever it would be called, you can now follow me at @Trumbold. Go to the main page and search for "@Trumbold", and I think you will be able to find it. This may take a bit for me to get used to and as I do I will be able to give you better instructions to find the thing. It is my ardent hope that this kind of instant access to my thoughts does not get me fired. Although I completely enter into this knowing full well that at some point it will get me in trouble. When I do the blog there is a process that allows for me to give some thought to what I have typed before I post it to the website. Twitter apparently does not have those processes.

God help me.

3/11/11

Japan had a monster earthquake off its coast early this morning. The 8.9 quake was followed by a 23 feet high tsunami that has really done a number on the coastline. It's also caused tsunami warnings around this half of the globe, as far away as Chile…and including our West coast. It was reportedly the strongest earthquake in Japan's recorded history, or since we've been measuring earthquakes. It's a sad story…and the death toll is rising even as you read this.

"Feedback Friday"

From Sharon (3/8/11):

Thanks for the explanation about the blog & Comcast. I've been going nuts trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.(I figured it had to be me because I'm so dumb about computer stuff)

Nope…it's not you, Sharon! But thanks for staying with us while we try to figure out the Comcast issue!

From Bill (3/9/11):

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Editorial-Board-Blog/2011/0309/Is-Gandhi-really-in-hell

Oh…thank you so much, Bill. I will be sure to send the email I get from this straight to you! Heh.

From Cindy (3/9/11):

Hi Greg, just wanted to say hi and to tell you that you and JC are doing a great job with the weather. I just wanted to tell Laine good luck with her new job and I will miss her on the news. I was just wondering why WAND didn't report on the drug bust in Macon to begin with, I had to find out what is going on around the corner from where I live from channel 3 news. They always say you'll hear it from us first. Have a great day Greg!!!

Thanks, Cindy! I think JC reads this blog once in a while, and I am sure he would thank you, too! I haven't heard from Laine since she left…but mutual friends have told me she is digging her new gig. I'm glad. She deserves to be happy.

Hmmm. I'm not too sure which drug bust you are referencing. And I can not speak for the news department's selection process. Perhaps one of my coworkers with decision making powers will read this and comment.

From Joan (3/9/11):

Hi Greg I've not commented on your blog for some time, but I wanted to add to your discussion of legalizing marijuana...unlike booze, I think it would be hard to control who could buy it, and where it could be sold as it can be grown in someone's back yard...might be hard for the government to get their share of taxes if you can walk over to the neighbor's to get your supply. Just seems to me that there will have to be a lot of prep work and kinks to work out, licensing, etc. before Walgreens and Walmart can stock pot on their shelves. I guess I just don't think you can compare it to booze. Have a super weekend!!

You bring up some great points, Joan. And I am not disagreeing with you. But there is one thing that I think might spoil your thought: laziness. Growing your own pot takes time and patience and work. It is cheaper to brew your own beer. I know it is because I've tried it. And while some people very much enjoy the process…I would rather spend the money and go to the store to buy some now. It is also cheaper to grow your own food…but most people don't because it takes a long time.

The same goes for pot, I think. Why wait for your neighbor's crop to come in when you can take ten minutes…go to the pot store…and buy some now? Of course…we won't really know for sure until we try it.

From Nannette (3/10/11):

OH Greg how you do make me laugh almost every morning Thank you.I don't see how you get any sleep your mind never shut off( and that's good for the rest of us.) I also agree with you let's make pot, prostitution, and gambling legal put tax's on them and I bet we could clear the state budget in less than 6 months. Keep doing what you do You Tara and Chris are still the BEST in morning news. have a good week-end.

I'll be honest with you, Nannette. It doesn't suck to hear that people think I am funny! Thanks for the compliments. And don't worry…my own inherent laziness ensures that I sleep VERY well.

From David (3/10/11):

Well Greg, do you know why so many school kids smoke pot, because they don't get carded.

Have you ever heard of a single kid getting turned away because they were too young?

NO !!!

THAT is why most kids try pot, to start with. It's not peer pressure, it's easier availability over alchohol.

Think about it.

Good point, David. I know that when we found the field we did it because we were bored…and it was there. And although I am sure that each kid is different, I'm sure that availability plays a big part in it to some degree. Obviously legalizing marijuana is a complicated issue, and I never claim to have all the answers to any question. But I think it is an issue that bears discussion.

Thanks for reading this week. And thank you to those that chose to take part in the discussions of the week. The weekend is starting to look fantastic, and but the end of next week we will be pushing into the 60's. I'll be working tomorrow…so I may blog. If I do there will be email alerts sent out. So feel free to sign up for them if you haven't already! The form is below…

3/10/11

Here are some answers I thought I would pass on to you. Why? Because some people have asked some questions…recently.

No, I am not a druggie. I wouldn't judge a druggie. But I am not one. I mentioned yesterday that I tried pot. Many people have. But apparently you can't admit to it without some people trying to make more of it than there actually is. So here is a little drug history on me. I've told you I keep it honest on this blog…even when it may get me in trouble.

When I was a kid, around 13, some friends and I found a pot field. Long story short…obviously we smoked it. Not the entire field. But from what I can tell a good part of it. We lived out in the country, and there was a month-long teachers strike in the fall. There wasn't much to do…and while we were exploring we found the field. Hilarity ensued until we got caught. Then there was trouble of the domestic kind. The authorities knew of our find but were more interested in using it to their political advantage than punishing a group of young kids. And that was it. Later on in high school I tried it again. And maybe a time or two around college, although my college lasted off and on for about 13 years. It's not something I care to do today. It was a very small part of my past. And that's it. It wasn't a gateway for me to other, more serious drugs...although I did learn a little bit about sniffing gasoline, which happens to be a very stupid idea.

These days I don't even take aspirin if I can help it. I'm allergic to a lot of pain killers anyway. It is actually pretty freakish. My left eyelid swells almost shut when I take anything with ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or other fantastic pain killing chemicals. I allow myself one soda a day and I have one coffee in the morning to get a little juice flowing for the news. Once in a great while I will take an antibiotic when medically necessary. But I am a person that believes the less of that stuff we put in our bodies the better off we are as a race. Sometimes you just have to sweat out a fever, and I think it actually makes us stronger. So with the exception of caffeine and social drinking I am pretty much drug free and I prefer it that way. (I do have an addiction to sugar that I fight every single day, but I don't think sugar qualifies as a drug.)

So…now…can we get back to what is to me the much more interesting conversation about what our state can do to make money, aside from taxing us more? Legalizing marijuana is only one thought. I didn't even mention legalizing prostitution…which wouldn't bother me either. Should we put up on-land casinos? Those people make a ton of money. Or is it wrong to capitalize on such things just to make a buck?

Tomorrow is "Feedback Friday". Get your thoughts in now!

3/9/11

Man it is wet today. As I'm looking over rain totals so far this morning it doesn't seem that we are getting a load of rain. We didn't really expect to get drenched. But for some reason it feels wet this morning. Know what I mean?

With so many states, and the country overall, still in harsh financial condition this year…I am really surprised that the conversation about legalizing marijuana has stopped, at least in the mainstream. There are those that argue that marijuana is not as bad for you as alcohol. And there are those that always mention the potential financial benefits of making pot legal so it could be controlled and taxed. I found a website this morning that has links to a plethora of sources for various arguments concerning pot and booze. Here's the link to check out if you are interested.

For me personally, as I have stated here on the blog before, I have no issue with it being legal. Sure…I've tried it. I could see why some people choose to do it everyday, whether it's legal or not. I haven't tried it in a very long time. But I might again if it ever becomes legal. I suppose I am in the camp that thinks it probably isn't as bad for you as booze. And it wouldn't bother me at all if it was legal, just like booze. Obviously you would have to treat it like booze…no driving or being excessively out of control in public. And it might be nice if someone perfects a smokeless form of pot. But by and large what people do in their own homes is their business, as far as I am concerned.

If you care to sound off on this issue you are more than welcome to here. If you've noticed recently I have started making feedback a little more anonymous. Before I would list your name and city in which you live. Now I just give your name, and in some cases where you live. I just don't want you to feel like what you say here could be read by someone you know, or whatever. We have some pretty small towns around here, and someone named Xavier in Lerna might stand out a bit! Hit the feedback form below, or just send me an email with "blog" on the subject line.

3/8/11

--If you have Comcast as your internet provider you may have noticed lately you are not getting any email alert updates from this blog. For some reason when I do the email alerts in the morning they bounce back to me. I've had "our people" working on the situation for a couple of weeks now, and no one is quite sure why it is happening. I just wanted to give you a heads up about the issue. Hopefully we will get it resolved soon. So if you use Comcast and are hooked on this blog you might just want to keep checking back every couple of days or so. As a general rule if I am working the blog will be updated.

--So yesterday I shared some on the Speaker of the House John Boehner. So maybe it is fitting if I give you a little Michael Moore this morning. He recently went to Wisconsin to speak to a rally. While there he read a blog he wrote the night before. There was one "fact" out of this blog that stuck with me. There are 400 Americans that alone have more wealth than 50 percent of the country. Think about that for a minute. 400 people in this country have more wealth than around 150,000,000 citizens…COMBINED. How can that be healthy for an economy? So much for "trickle down economics".

Here is the speech.

3/7/11

--This is now an "old" interview by today's media standards. It is from last week. I watched it Friday and thought it was interesting. It's with House Speaker John Boehner. He answers some questions I think many of us are asking right now. However…whether you think he is full of crap or not I will leave to you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jyqf4fCIp8&feature=featured

Speaking of House Speakers…I wonder how Newt Gingrich really plans to run for President in 2012. Didn't this guy leave his first wife for another woman…while that wife was dying of cancer? And then he left his second wife for his third wife? Meanwhile during some of this he spearheaded an impeachment of the current President for lying about oral sex in the White House. Is that correct? It seems sleazy to me. But apparently Newt is soon to announce his candidacy, from what I've heard.

--Are any of you researching gas prices? We've been told that we'll be paying over $4 a gallon through the Summer. Yet the price of crude hovers around $100 a barrel. As of this morning I think it was around $106 a barrel. Have we just grown to accept getting hosed by oil companies that we don't even ask questions anymore?

--We spent almost the entire weekend supporting my cousins' new restaurant venture. The kitchen is open…but they are only running out their menu over time. For a little while longer they will still be going from Joe's menu. But over the next few weeks they will be bringing in their own stuff. On Friday we had oysters on the half, which is the first item they have brought in. Saturday my cousin was doing up some brisket for a private party, and he gave us a taste. OUTSTANDING. He mixes his own sauces, and the spicy BBQ is something I am trying to talk them into marketing on its own. It is that good.

This isn't something I plan to smother all over the blog. But for now it is a great new place to eat in Coles County. And that is something Coles County really needs. So for a while I will keep you posted on the progress of Custom Smokehouse & Grill. It really is going to be superb. And it is worth the drive for those of you not living in that area.

3/4/11

If you are familiar with Joe's in Mattoon, formerly Gunner Buc's and Bonkers, then you know where my family is putting up Custom Smokehouse & Grill. This was mentioned yesterday, and I have more details. The Smokehouse is open right now. They will continue a seamless transition from Joe's by keeping the kitchen open serving Joe's food. And over the next several weeks slowly introducing their own stuff. Next week they should have oysters that are out of this world, and some stuff from the Smokehouse. And in a month or so the complete transition should be complete. The focus of Joe's was a bar that served food. The focus of Custom Smokehouse and Grill will be food. So it will be more of a restaurant that has a bar. Again…hit their Facebook page from yesterday's blog for more details. It is going to be fantastic. I know this because I've been eating their food for a while now. You will not be disappointed.

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Mark (2/25/11):

Howdy Greg,

I just read where Laine is leaving the station. Are they looking to hire a female weathercaster or someone to fill her place? Also, do you know where she's going to?

Hey, Mark. I don't believe it is legal to specifically try to hire a woman, is it? Honestly…I am not in on those kinds of conversations anyway. But my guess is that the station will hire the person they think fits the role the best. Or at least the best person that will accept their offer! (I'm JOKING, Suits! Let's not lose our sense of humor!!)

I'm also not sure where she is working now. But I do know that it is not in television and has nothing to do with the weather.

From Betty (2/27/11):

Where, is the weather girl moving to, that does the weekend weather. I, will miss her.

Hi, Betty. Laine actually isn't moving. She got a non-weather gig closer to where she already lives. And I will miss her too. I consider her a friend, not just a former co-worker. She is a person of substance…and I don't say that about everyone around here!

From Angie (3/1/11):

It's very sad to me that Charlie Sheen has been abusing women for years and society looked on him fondly..."Oh that Charlie!" Now that he's acting crazy, everyone wants to talk about how awful he is. Where are our priorities? Didn't being violent to women make him awful??

You know…that is an aspect of the situation that I hadn't even gotten to yet. But that is a fantastic point, my friend. And I am completely unsurprised that you are the one that brought it up! The entire debacle is shameful…not only Charlie's manic stuff, but for the TV networks that keep putting him on TV. At some point you have to be responsible and acknowledge for the Sheen family's own benefit that putting him on TV only hurts the kids.

From Phil (3/2/11):

Hi Greg;

After having watched the complete interview Charlie Sheen had with Piers Morgan, I am inclined to agree with you about the possibility of bipolarity being somewhat of a reality. I also think there may be more to it, perhaps ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). As he was interviewed, he was constantly squirming in his chair and seemed to be hurrying the interview process along.

Charlie is intelligent, very much so, which is common among ADHD affected people.

Couple this with fame, arrogance and his "everyone else is wrong" attitude...it is no wonder things are falling apart for him.

I sincerely hope that he sees a psychologist to be tested for the above attributes BEFORE his whole world crumbles completely apart.

I researched these disorders extensively, as I had a son that was diagnosed with both. He now leads a happy, responsible and full life.

After so many interviews in the past couple of weeks…a lot of people are talking about Charlie's mental health. I think even some networks have had shrinks on to talk about what could be wrong with Sheen. Like you…I hope he gets help if he needs it. As I said above there are two kids involved here, and that is the most important thing to keep in mind.

From my Little Sister the Biologist (3/2/11):

One thing to think about is things that make spores that can be expelled via your butt, such as clostridium difficle. If someone has that infection…the spores prolly come out and get kind of sprayed into the bathroom. It doesn't take 30 seconds for a spore to stick to your hand…and then you could ingest it! Gross! So wash your nasty hands in public potties!

Shortly after my sister sent me this feedback she texted to remind me that spores are not killed by hand sanitizer…good old soap and water work best.

Ummm…Lisa…when did you get so smart? Seriously…I still see you as that 5 year old, snot-bubbles on your nose, smart alleck little mouth breather. (Naturally once again I am only teasing. We've all known for a long time that you are the smartest of the 3 Trumbold children. I'm not sure if that is saying much, though.)

Thanks for setting the record straight, Little Sister. And thank you for giving the Gregorians a reason to vomit so early in the morning.

From David (3/2/11):

Few things gross me out, but that is one thing that just makes my stomach churn, is someone to take a crap and walk right out w/out washing their hands. Didn't your Mother teach you better??!!

As far as the 5 second rule, I was taught that from one of my sisters. LOL

Word, Brother! It is gross.

From Jerrie (3/4/11):

hey Greg glad to hear there is a new place to eat my family will drive to mattoon to just get out of town beause of being a shut in its a pleasure to have someone to go with sometimes we just go for a ride and end up at dq to enjoy a treat and mt adopted daughters calls and want to go with us but if her teenagers were to find out we are in trouble so this sunday im having a family dinner consisting of porcupineballs deviled eggs and a salad its quick and easy and a lot of fun for family movie day we always have these on a sunday that way everyone is at home have a good weekend and i hope the food joint goes over good and i hope that your family we be able to keep it going for a long time if you have good food and good service you can make a go of it thanks for the good weather keep up the good work look forward to watching the early morning crew thanks jerrie and family

I hope you guys to make the trip to Custom Smokehouse and Grill in about a month or so. It should be a great place to eat! And enjoy your Sunday dinner with family!

That's for this week. Hope no one floats away tonight. It will probably be VERY wet!

3/3/11

It was written (typed) here a while back that there was some big news coming down in Mattoon, especially for people that like to eat. I wasn't allowed to say anything…but mentioned that it was going to be fantastic. Well…I'm still not sure if I am supposed to mention anything or not, but I was told last night that it is official. There is a new place to eat in Mattoon, and it is going to be fantastic. To the best of my knowledge the kitchen isn't open yet, but it will be soon. Without being allowed to give you details I will just give you a link that you can check out yourself.

The place is called Custom Smokehouse & Grill, . It is run by some of my family. I've had their food. Faye has had their food. We are discriminating folk when it comes to food, meaning we have high standards. So I don't say this lightly…but Custom Smokehouse & Grill makes TREMENDOUS food. Even for people that don't live in Mattoon…it will be well worth the trip. Make a Friday or Saturday night out of it and you will be more than happy that you did.

They are on Facebook. I don't think the official announcement has been made yet, but I will give you the link and you can check them out there. To my knowledge you don't even have to join Facebook to view the page…but you do have to be a member to "like" their page and get updates. So hit the link…check out their page…and if you are interested hit the "like" button. You can even leave them a message telling them the blog sent you there after you "like" the page.

And if you aren't familiar with Facebook…well…what the Hell have you been doing? Over 500,000,000 people worldwide have joined! That's a lot of zeroes!

Here is the link: Custom Smokehouse & Grill

3/2/11

--I mentioned yesterday that I would not call Charlie She, , en crazy. W, ell…I still won't call him crazy. But I could easily see it come out in the coming weeks that he is suffering from some kind of mental illness. While he obviously has some strong philosophies…that are actually shared by many other people that have been called "crazy"…if you watch his interviews it seems like something is just a little off. Can anyone actually believe in him/herself as much as Charlie Sheen professes to believe in himself? He's a winner. He rhymes with winning. With his tiger blood and Adonis genes. It is going to be hard for me to not use Sheen quotes during the weather today.

--Here's something that I've given some thought lately. You ever notice in some public restrooms there will be signs explaining how to wash your hands, and for how long? The running theory at this point is that you need to wash your hands in warm water for at least 20 seconds to kill germs on your hands that you might pick up while doing what you do in the bathroom. For the record…I am all for washing your hands before you leave a bathroom. I've even blogged about the fact that I see too many people on any given day coming right out of a stall and through the bathroom door without even looking in the general direction of the sink. What I have issue with are these directions that someone has decided to post in many, many public bathrooms.

A couple of years ago someone decided that there is no longer the 5 second rule for dropping things on the floor and eating , those things…it instead takes at least 30 seconds for contaminants to attach themselves to an object. Most of you should know what I am talking about here. When someone used to drop food on the floor you yell "five second rule" to justify the person picking up the food and eating it. I know…it sounds gross. And maybe it is only something that dudes do. But it happens. Well now research indicates that you have 30 seconds to pick something up instead of five. And the principal that it takes 30 seconds for something to be contaminated by touch is key to my point.

Stay with me here.

So let's say I am standing at a urinal doing what we do at a urinal. It rarely takes me 30 seconds to finish what's happening there. (A fact I realize is likely to change as I get older.) So given the 30-second rule of thumb I can do my business, whether I hit my hands or not, and as long as I wash those hands within 30 seconds no contaminants will stay with my hands. So given that train of logic…what difference does it make if I wash my hands for 5 seconds or 20 seconds? No contaminants from what I just did will stay with my hands as long I get warm water and soap on them within 30 seconds of peeing on them.

So if this is true…should we not just be happy that people are washing? Do we really need to criticize the way people are washing their hands? Shouldn't we just consider ourselves lucky that there is washing happening…and not ridicule the method of washing? Or maybe these signs are just another subtle way of keeping the public afraid by spoon feeding us common sense-level information. We don't want people thinking on his/her own, after all! Someone thinking on his/her own is harder to control!

3/1/11

Charlie Sheen has been in the news lately, if you want to call it news. There's been a lot of talk about the recent radio interview he did that reportedly got his show shut down for a while. I hit YouTube and found the interview. It is cut into 3 parts because of YouTube's time constraints. But if you hit the first interview you can easily find the second and then the third.

Let me throw out the proverbial "beware of colorful language" right here. If you listen long enough you are likely to hear something "off color". But we are adults, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGdshc0AtOE&feature=related

It takes a bit to get to the stuff that got the most attention with CBS. But I think all of it is pretty good stuff. Feel free to let us know what you think by either hitting the feedback form below, or sending me an email with "blog" on the subject line.

I will say this about the interview…the media is missing the best parts. Lenny Dykstra joins the interview for the final minutes. It is fantastic. They speak of "beheading" and "destroying" people, but they are being metaphorical. Lenny Dykstra was thrown out as crazy by media a few years ago. And it seems that Lenny and Charlie are on the same page. Now…I won't call them crazy. But I will say that they beli, e, ve in things that are nowhere close to mainstream, and that doesn't make it wrong. Between you and me…I actually understand what they are trying to say.

It isn't mainstream thinking. From what I can tell it is based in the belief that we are all warriors. And their goal is to live their lives with passion and go full speed into everything. To me it sounds similar to the Ultimate Warrior, for you wrestling fans that remember his "promos", and some of his interviews post-retirement. It also has shades of "The Art of War" which is a book that Charlie Sheen's character in "Wall Street" quotes. I understand it…but I don't live by it. However I also don't criticize their decisions to follow whatever philosophy they choose. And I won't call them crazy.

Weather...Or Not: March 2011 Entries - Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

Weather...Or Not: March 2011 Entries