Weather...Or Not: October 2011 Entries

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10/31/11

--IPod: No IPod this morning. I'm watching the replay of "Meet the Press". Tom Brokaw is on this one. Good stuff!

--Today is Halloween. Obviously today is the day that people are supposed to be "frightened", although in a fun and undangerous way. Someone last week sent me a link to something that is scary…for real. I will be perfectly up front and honest with you. Some of you WILL NOT want to watch this. It's a story surrounding 9/11 that I had never heard. It's a 12 minute long video story. It is well worth the 12 minutes.

If you are a person that is very bothered by 9/11 footage…and I know you're out there…then just skip this link. Really. Otherwise, as Americans, this video is something we should all watch. I watched the entire 12 minutes and it was so riveting that I didn't even realize it was that long. And you are sure to recognize the voice of the narrator.

Here is the link.

10/28/11

--IPod: Christopher Cross, "Think of Laura". Terribly sweet song. I heard it was written about a soap opera character. When I heard that it really disillusioned me. I always though the song was about a friend of Christopher Cross' that died of cancer or something. But to know he wrote it about a soap character is either very creepy or very funny. It could even be both.

He played the Decatur Celebration the first year I worked at the station. As a matter of fact…I've always liked his music and I wanted to go check out his show. But while he was playing I was doing my first ever weather live shot a couple of blocks away. I could hear him singing the theme from "Arthur" just before I went on to do the weather.

--I go to be around 6 during the week. So most sporting events during the week I only get to recap on sports radio the following morning. I heard about that great World Series game last night on my way to work this morning. Sounds like it was fantastic. And I hope it didn't cause anyone to have a coronary. Game 7 will be tonight. I think this is a game I might have to watch, provided I can stay awake. The last time the Cards won the World Series I was at my Dad's house. I fell asleep in the late innings and woke up just as Wainwright was getting the final out for the Cards to win it all. So at least I was awake for the celebration.

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From David (10/25/11):

I went to an OZZY concert at the Keil back in '86 and WOW!!! Same sort a deal. Our seats were under the top section. You could see the smoke rolling under there. LOL Heading to Champaign to see ZZ Top and Lynard Skynard, Saturday. WOOHOO

I've never been a huge ZZ Top fan. But I would LOVE to see Skynyrd. Enjoy that concert, my friend! Who knows…you may catch some "friendly fire" at that concert, too!

Yeah…that's it for feedback this week. Enjoy the weekend! And go Cards!!

10/27/11

--IPod: Alphaville, "Forever Young". Nice song.

--Here's a little insider information that may or may not change every facet of your life: I've recently been buying some dress shirts on EBay. I've found them to be much cheaper there. In some cases I've saved around $25 a shirt…which is substantial when you buy more than one. So I had one that arrived late last week that is a great two tone black striped shirt. I've been excited to wear it all week because I just knew it was going to look great. Faye organizes what I wear and she really set this new shirt up with a great suit and tie combination.

Today was to be the big day for this new shirt, and stellar combination. I go through my usual morning routine like I always do. When it came time to put on this new shirt I did the same thing I always do the same way I always do it. When I put the shirt on it felt a little…funny. As I began to observe what was happening I noticed that the sleeves were about 3 inches too short. I took the shirt off and looked at the tags to see if the size was wrong. Nope…16 ½, 34/35 is my size and that is what the tag says. But those sleeves are NOT 34/35 in reality! So no new shirt this morning.

I believe I have mentioned this before…but I am flat out dangerous when it comes to picking out clothes. I don't deal with shades of colors very well and can't tell what goes with what. That's why it is so important and nice to have Faye to set my stuff up. But this morning I had to make a command decision on the fly. The set up she did was no longer useable because of the shirt. I had to wing it and create my own combination. You'll likely notice this morning if you watch the news…and I could tell this as soon as I got into the lights at work…but I think I missed badly again.

10/26/11

--IPod: Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale". This song always reminds me of the movie "The Commitments". Great flick, and a must-see for any fan of music.

--I know I've blogged about the World Series a lot the past couple of weeks. But it is the Cardinals…and therefore important! Tonight is game 6. And if you're paying attention to the Series you know that game 5 was all about LaRussa's failed attempt to get Jason Motte throwing in the bullpen. I'm not privy to the inner workings of the Cardinals' dugout. But something doesn't seem right about the situation. I think there is more to the story than Tony LaRussa is letting us know. It could even be that he got confused and just doesn't want to announce that he has that issue right now.

--Someone on the radio this morning was talking about how overall in the macro view of our species…humans are becoming less violent. I know that on the micro here in Central Illinois it seems to have been a violent summer, at least in Decatur. But overall in the big picture how do you feel about this idea?

To me it seems spot on. Our wars are smaller with fewer casualties than ever before. We no longer enslave humans on a mass scale. You can make the argument of the sex slave trade, but that is pretty small compared to Hebrew slaves or African slaves, etc. Our punishments are not nearly as violent as they used to be. When is the last time someone was drawn and quartered, or crucified?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Hit the feedback section below, or send me an email with "blog" on the subject line if you have a lot to say.

10/25/11

--IPod: The Black Crowes, "Sting Me". I went to a Crowes concert a long time ago. Thanks for the contact buzz, Chris Robinson.

--So the Cardinals lost last night to fall to a 3-2 deficit. Now the Series goes back to St. Louis where it will be windier, cooler, and maybe wetter. That will certainly help to keep the bats quieter than they were in Texas. I'm not sure if they play to the Cardinals' favor or not. It is quite possible they could win the next two games to win it all. But history is not in their favor. Most of the time the winner of game 5 goes on to win the whole thing. Something tells me they will play on Wednesday night with a chip on their collective shoulder…which is good.

--This is the first morning in a couple of weeks that I have actually felt pretty good. When I woke up this morning I had the same "crank start" with my respiratory system. You know what I mean? The kind of cranking you have to do when you've had a chest cold for a while. You have to kind of clear things out, if you know what I mean. Well this morning something popped in my sinuses…and I've been feeling fairly clear ever since. So my hope is that this lingering crap is about behind me. It will be nice to come into work and feel that old juice flowing again!

--Is Herman Cain as dumb in real life as he seems to be on television? In case you don't pay attention to such things…Cain was the Republican party's flavor for a couple of weeks. And then last week they cast him to the side, much like they did with Donald Trump, Michelle Bachman, and Rick Perry. Cain makes his money for the past decade or so by being a motivational speaker. His run for President has actually helped his business. But he doesn't seem to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Mitt Romney still seems like the eventual candidate. I really wonder if that guy would be able to be win the big one, though. At the very least the run up for the Republicans has been interesting…

10/24/11

--IPod: Nothing. Right now I am listening to the replay of "Meet the Press". It replays before the news on Monday mornings. Ron Paul was the interview this week. Interesting stuff. That guy has what seem like good ideas. It's too bad he comes off like such a kooky dude.

--My fantasy football season is Hellish, relatively speaking. Yesterday I lost to the team in our league that had yet to win. My fear is that in two weeks I will be in last place. Everything I do turns to crap. I've gone through 5 or 6 running backs…two of which have suffered season ending injuries after I've put them on my team. When does fantasy baseball start again?? At least I usually win one of those leagues every year.

--Ford Focus + 120 miles per hour + cement barrier = YIKES! Watch this video! It's cool from a boy's "let's blow stuff up" point of view. But also as you watch it...give it some thought. It's actually pretty disturbing when you consider that this kind of thing happens with people in the car.

--Any thoughts on the race for the White House at this point? Things are cranking up. The Republicans are having some heated and interesting debates. Anyone there stirring your interest yet? The President is having some good luck with foreign affairs lately. He is about to announce some student loan and mortgage programs designed to help us domestically. How are you feeling about him these days?

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Hit the feedback form below to send feedback. Or if you have a lot to tell us send an email with "blog" on the subject line. Greg's Email. We post feedback on Friday around here on the ole blog.

10/21/11

--IPod: John Cougar, "Weakest Moments". At the time the song was recorded he was using the name "John Cougar". This was after the name "Johnny Cougar", and before he went with "John Cougar Mellencamp". Great song, though. I am not sure what the wind instrument is during the solo…but it is very peaceful.

--Man…the weather this weekend is looking fantastic. If you have the opportunity to spend some time outside you should take it. This could be the last time for a while we have a weekend with decent sunshine and temperatures pushing towards 70! Before long our weekends will be filled with temperatures around freezing…and possibly a good deal of snow!

--Have you seen the video of Colonel Ghadafi's alleged corpse? I saw it yesterday. Actually if you were plugged into the world at all yesterday it was tough to miss it. I personally did not find the video to be that graphic. But it did have a dead body in it and that really does bother some people. The rebels that killed the man released the video. It makes me think that maybe we could have handled seeing pictures of bin Laden's body, too. Frankly I wish our government would have released at least one picture of the guy by now.

--Just one piece of feedback to get to today…

From Sue (10/7/11):

OK. I am serious about this...one smell I will never forget is formaldehyde. The first autopsy I witnessed stayed with me for a lonnnnggg time. I could not eat for days. Everything tasted like the formaldehyde smelled!

Gross, huh?

Obviously this feedback is from a while ago because I wasn't blogging from home during my time off.

I know that smell, Sue! Growing up in a funeral home I am familiar with the smell of formaldehyde and embalming fluid. They provide some of the more unique smells on this planet, to be sure!

That is it for this week! Really…if you get the chance try to spend some time outside this weekend. There won't be many weekends in our near future that will be this nice!

10/20/11

--IPod: Neil Diamond, "America". Up until this year Faye had never seen "The Jazz Singer". When I was growing up we had one of those video disc players. Think of it as a video record, and they were a precursor to the VCR. One of the discs we had was "The Jazz Singer". Back then we had 3 or 4 TV stations we could watch. So when I wasn't outside playing I was inside usually watching "The Jazz Singer" and some of the other movies we had. A few months ago we got "The Jazz Singer" from Netflix and Faye finally got to watch it. Yeah…I typed that like it was one of her life goals. But believe me…I think I was looking forward to it more than she was!

--So the Cardinals won the first game of the Series last night! It means a lot to win the first game of the Series. AS a matter of fact…12 of the last 14 teams to win the first game of the series go on to win the whole thing. Man…that would be fantastic! But stats like that are just stats, not an indicator of who is going to win anything. The teams still have to play the games.

--I'm still not feeling completely up to par. No fevers or vomiting or anything. But I still have a bit of a head cold and a lot of coughing. If you want to know the truth I probably should have taken this week off too, just to recover from this illness. But real life does not often allow for such luxuries, does it? Kevin worked a lot while I was gone. And since I am not contagious it is just my own discomfort we're talking about here. And I am cool with that. When you are part of a team you have to carry your own part!

The downside is that we haven't been doing "Phrase of the Day" this week. My fear is that anything we try to do won't live up to the standard we've already set. I fear that because I'm generally low-energy this week. The illness and meds are draining! And if you've watched the morning news this week you can probably hear that sometimes it is a struggle to speak.

Again…these are not complaints. Just breaking down the reality of this week. It's just a cold at this point. It's not like I am fighting cancer and going through chemo or something serious like that. We are not without perspective here!

10/19/11

--IPod: Ozzy Osbourne, "Suicide Solution". This is one of the songs that was "on trial" after a child committed suicide in the 80's. The claim was that the child was driven to commit suicide based on the lyrics of the song. Tipper Gore, et al, led quite an assault on music in the 80's. Frankly…I am glad music won. Personally I've listen to this song for decades and it has never influenced my decision to stay alive. And it's the same for millions of other people. Perhaps this poor kid had other things happening to him in his life aside from the music. From what I remember of that time period and that crusade…many of the people speaking out against that music were basing it on the titles of the songs without ever actually listening to the songs.

--Today and tomorrow are going to be fairly windy and wet days. Starting at noon we will have several counties under a wind advisory. As far as fall days go today will be one of the less popular, I think. Something unusual may happen during the morning news today…I am planning to actually do a little meteorology with the weather! It won't be higher level stuff…but I will be showing and talking about high and low pressure and isobars. It's been a while since we've actually had relatively serious weather to talk about in the morning. I hope I don't forget what I am doing! (I don't really consider this weather serious. It's only a bit of wind and rain. But compared to the weeks and weeks of clear skies this weather will be noticeably more exciting!)

--I will admit that late in the baseball season I pretty much stopped paying attention to the Cardinals. Football had started, so I put my efforts into wrapping up another fantasy baseball championship and getting ready for fantasy football. But then out of no where the Cardinals made a remarkable late season surge to make it into the playoffs on the last day of the season. That left them facing the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs. No way they beat the Phillies, right??

Well they beat the Phillies. That led them to the Brewers. The Brewers are a better team…on paper. No way they beat the Brewers, right? Okay…they not only beat the Brewers. They made the Brewers look like a farm club. Now they are in the World Series again and playing the Rangers. The Rangers offense is as good if not better than the Cardinals offense. The pitching is comparable, too. I won't say there is no way the Cardinals win this series. But I will say that this should be one Hell of a matchup. Game 1 of the series begins tonight. It is times like this when I wished I had a different schedule so I could watch the games…

10/18/11

--IPod: Actually right now I am listening to voice mails from the past 9 months or so at work. A couple of years ago or so "they" changed our phone system and gave each of us our individual voice mail boxes. Of course I never set mine up and forgot about it. I recently received an email asking me to delete some messages because mine was full and slogging down the system! So I had my voice mail box set up, or whatever, and now I am listening to over 40 voice mails from the past couple of years! Fun stuff! Sorry if I missed your call…I just didn't know I had a voice mail box!

--Last week I was on vacation. The weekend before this last one Faye and I went to Wisconsin for a great friend's wedding. We had a great time…I was in the wedding. It was a blast. On the way home that Sunday Faye began feeling a little ill. I was tired from a big weekend but mostly felt pretty good. By Monday Faye felt like crap but still went to work. And I felt great and was looking forward to my week off at home. And then Tuesday morning it started with a scratchy throat. By the end of the morning on Tuesday I was into full blow sick mode! The rest of my vacation week was spent in bed or on the couch in misery!

This is not a major complaint, though. As a point of perspective my peer at the competition in Champaign has been off for a few weeks dealing with more chemotherapy for the cancer he has been fighting off and on for a few years now. (Hang in there, Robert!) See…someone somewhere is usually dealing with something worse than us.

--Yesterday was my first day of what was scheduled to be a two week jury service. I showed up with about 15 minutes to spare. For things of this importance I like to show up a little early. If nothing else I feel it shows my respect for the situation. And I do respect our jury system. It is the foundation of our entire justice system, and a guarantee from our constitution. It is the ability and sacrifice of the individual citizen to sit on a jury that makes the whole thing possible. And I truly believe that.

Having said that…I was taken back by how many people showed up late for their service. More so…I was blown away by how many people openly complained about having to be there. I gave a few glances and explained some jury procedural stuff, since it wasn't my first rodeo…but I spared the crowd my soapbox speeches on why it was important for us to be there.

In the end something had changed with our case and we were dismissed for good by 11 yesterday morning. And with no other trials scheduled in the next two weeks we were completely relieved of service during our stretch! And again I am left a little disappointed that I was not able to serve on a jury. This was the fourth or fifth time I have been called…and I have yet to complete the journey. Ah well…maybe next time!

10/7/11

--IPod: Gordon Lightfoot, "If I Could Read Your Mind". I used to love this song. And I may have mentioned this before here on the blog. But a couple of years ago when I was beginning the divorce process this song came on my IPod once and I sat at the counter in my kitchen sobbing while listening to it over and over because at the time it just seemed to fit the situation perfectly. Isn't it amazing how tightly connected music can be to a moment in time and the emotions at that time? I don't regret going through that period in my life because it has lead me to find more meaningful happiness. But man…

And I still love the song, but it is a little different of a feeling. Fortunately I am at a point where things are in perspective and there is no bitterness or sorrow attached, to this song or the overall issue. But when I hear the song I can still feel a glimmer of the angst I used to feel when the song came on that one afternoon. It's kind of like remembering the smell of the air in grade school on a crisp, dewy Fall morning…or whatever memory you have attached to a smell or a song or whatever.

--On that happy note…"Feedback Friday"!! (It is a happy note. Pain in life leads to growth…)

From David (10/1/11):

Great job on the skates, Greg. The first (and last) time I was on roller skates, I sprained my knee and ended up on crutches for a couple of weeks.

Thanks, David! OUCH! Sorry to hear about your last skating experience. For my part there were no breaks or sprains. But I would lying if I didn't admit that parts of my legs were a little sore for a day or two after the "skating".

From Phil (10/4/11):

Hey Greg....I have always LOVED ABBA. Joan and I crank up their song "Take a Chance" to hear the guys singing in the background. I think that's HER favorite song, but I like "Chiquitita"...however, it's totally mood-dependent. All of their songs sound great on a Monsoon sound system!

Thanks for the show of support, Phil! I thin the world would be a happier place if there was more ABBA in it!

From Sharon (10/4/11):

What happened to the star thing at the bottom of the blog?

That is an EXCELLENT question, Sharon. It is one I posed to Cody the Web Genius earlier this week. He has yet to respond to the email. But on that star rating system we were closing in on 2,000 5-star ratings. Look around this website and nothing else was anywhere close to that kind of rating! Thank you for that…

From David (10/4/11):

My sister swears by on-star. I wouldn't have it. It takes the challenge out of driving. How could you possibly take the "scenic route" if there's a little voice telling you where to go. Or asking you if your airbag went off, Obviously, they know it did and where you are, why are you asking me? LOL I don't really like the airbags, myself. I wouldn't wear a seat belt if I didn't have to.

I am not a fan of GPS either, David. Like you…I enjoy the challenge of being lost and having to find your way. However…I can't say that Faye loves that philosophy!

While I can't agree with you about not wearing a seat belt because I have always worn mine…I do fully support your right to choose whether or not you wear a seat belt!

From Nannette (10/5/11):

hey Greg ..I read your blog first thing in the morning then to FB. I like to read what your thinking about on your drive to work. I've always found that driving is a great time to think (or talk to yourself). Tell your mom thanks for having such an entertaining child. = O}

Awww…thanks, Nannette. I'm not sure if I was always a joy growing up, but I will pass along your message to my Mom!

From Kim (10/6/11):

I really enjoy your antics in the morning news . I think your funny. I do that, as you listen to the same music over and over usually its the whole cd not just one song. drives my kids nuts. One in particular is the Cheryl Crowes cd. I love that one

Good to hear that I am not alone when it comes to overplaying a song, Kim! Are you talking about the Sheryl Crow album that has "Strong Enough" on it? I love that song…

That's it for this week! Actually…that could be it for 3 weeks. Next week I am on vacation, and the two weeks after that I have to keep reserved for the Coles County Circuit Clerk's office. Yeah…jury duty. I hope I get put on a jury this time. I will likely be on the Facebook page over my "break"…unless I get put on a jury. If that happens I will likely have to shut down any connection to media.

Be well!

10/6/11

--IPod: Nothing. Yesterday I posted 3 different versions of the song "Under Pressure" on my Facebook fan page. This morning I've listened to all 3 multiple times. You ever get to the point with a song where you can listen to it over and over again for a while and it doesn't get old? I've always done that with certain songs. And then after a while the song kind of wears out. "Under Pressure" is one of those songs for me. When I crave it I will listen over and over and over again. Now it feels a bit exhausted…so it will be a while before I listen again. Maybe a couple of months or so from now I will crave it again and do the same routine.

--Major League Baseball has had some great drama this season. The end of the regular season was outstanding for both wild card races. It all culminated on one night of great baseball as the Rays and our beloved Cardinals won to make it to the playoffs. Of course the Rays were knocked out earlier this week. But the Cardinals came from behind again last night to beat the Phillies and push a game 5 in their series. Drama. Good. Now if they could just speed up the games and make them more TV friendly they could hold off the soccer charge a while longer.

--Here is a link to some information I have not officially checked out. It's about cell phone privacy. Something I don't think most people talk about is these newer technologies and the information they can track. It's not that big of a deal to think that your cell phone keeps a record of everyone you talk to on the phone. It's actually common sense if you know anything about cell phones. But…what is your phone carrier doing with that information? How are they using that information? It's the same issue with the newer "smart" devices the electric companies are starting to use. What do they do with YOUR information?

10/5/11

--IPod: Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Come on, Eileen". This song was number one in April of 1983. That was the spring I moved from Knoxville to Mattoon. I moved here a month before my family, basically. I came down to stay with my Grandparents…and while I was there my family moved. Don't get me wrong…I knew we were moving. But I don't think at the time I understood quite what it meant. I was only 10…how could I completely understand? I never felt like I got to properly say goodbye to my friends in Knoxville. And that song always reminds me of that.

Of course over the years I've gone back to Knoxville just to walk around and look at the old stomping grounds. And eventually I realized that I wasn't missing much. The friends had all moved on or away. And even many of the buildings had either been torn down or greatly renovated. Time moves on…and so must we.

--Here's an update to yesterday's blog, sent to me by the person that sent the On-Star link:

Good news about On Star. They received so many complaints, and all the negativity about that subject. They announced they were going to STOP that practice.

Outstanding. Thanks for the update!

10/4/11

--IPod: ABBA, "Mama Mia". Don't worry. This ABBA kick won't last forever. Although I would be totally cool with it if it did!!

--About 15 years ago I had a dream that I was driving a car on Route 16 just leaving Mattoon towards Charleston. Out past the mall in Mattoon I looked to the left and saw a HUGE wall of water crashing through the horizon. It was possibly a mile high and was rushing towards me. I'm not sure why I am thinking about this today. But it was a very vivid dream that I've always remembered. Obviously the only body of water to the north large enough to even get in the ballpark of that kind of a wave is Lake Michigan. And I'm not sure how a wave that high would get going from Lake Michigan. But it was just a dream.

--Do you use OnStar in your automobile? There has been a bit of an uproar lately involving General Motors and the OnStar GPS service. Is this a case of Big Brother trying to control too much? Hit this link…read the article…and feel free to let us know what you think. You can use the feedback section below, or just send me an email with the word "Blog" on the subject line.

10/3/11

--IPod: ABBA, "Lay All Your Love On Me". Yeah…that's right. Friggin ABBA.

--The Dallas Cowboys might be the most frustrating team in the NFL right now. One weekend they are world-beaters. And the next weekend they blow a 24 point lead. And at the heart of it is Tony Romo. He has been feast or famine this season so far. Romo is either the best QB since Unitas, or throwing 3 picks to lose the game. Don't get me wrong…I am not doubting my loyalty to America's Team. I've been a fan since 1978. I'm just saying…this is going to be a trying season.

--Weather this week is going to be delightfully boring. Nothing but sunshine for about a week and temperatures around 80 each afternoon. From the farming friends I speak to…this should be a great week for them to get things wrapped up in the fields, or at least get a good start on finishing.

--This may be my last week of work for a while. Next week I will be on vacation, and the two weeks after that I am to be available for jury duty. Obviously there isn't much I can say about the jury duty. But this is the fifth time I have been called to serve in four different counties. And I have yet to actually be placed on a jury. This time they've booked me for two weeks. So I hope that I can at least get on a jury this time. Truthfully…it is an experience that I believe I would greatly enjoy. I've never tried to dodge it by making up crazy stories or playing the part of a radical during questioning. But for whatever reason I never get chosen to sit on the jury. If they are going to keep calling me and very much inconveniencing my coworkers I hope this time they make it worth it!

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

Weather...Or Not: October 2011 Entries