Weather...Or Not: November 2011 Entries

Posted:

11/30/11

--IPod: Van Morrison, "Caravan".

--Take care of yourself, November. You're always such a fun month. Sure…you make us colder and many times wetter. But you are also the big reminder that the holiday season is just around the corner. By the end of you many people become naturally happier and more positive, even in a down economy. Be well, my friend…and we eagerly anticipate meeting you again next year.

--Hello December. You get the honor of being the final month of the year. It's a time to reflect on the past year and take stock in what we have. Of course you have the holiday season, so it is tough to hate on you. But December…you usually bring us our first round of nasty weather. That's okay because you do it with love. But please take it easy on us this time around. And hey…about next year and the end of the world and all…please tell the Mayans and their calendar to take a leap. We're not done with this world yet. Unless of course the whole 2012 thing ends up being very good for humanity. If that is the case…let it rip!

--So the Pampered Chef party ends today. The goal was two fold for me. First and foremost we were trying to help a friend jump-start her business a little bit. And secondly we were trying to hit a number of sales that would allow us to get a good deal on some merchandise ourselves. We accomplished both goals, to a degree. Obviously when starting a new venture you can never have too much in the way of sales. Given that fact we didn't overwhelm our friend with sales, but we gave her a little bit of a nudge and some press. We also hit a number that gives us a good deal on some merchandise. So thank you to those that helped us by buying some stuff! I believe you will be very happy with your purchases!

--There is still some chatter about the morning crew. As far as I still know it is Mark Rivera's spot to lose. The kid has been coming on strong as of late. In a week and a half he has sprung out with good personality already…and that is sooner than I thought. In the short run we are still getting to know one another during the news. That chemistry and trust takes a bit to form. In the long run I think we could be building something solid if people stick around.

Personally I like the kid. No one can fill the shoes of Scot England, obviously. And honestly...no one should even try. I think Mark gets that. He is coming in here to be the best Mark Rivera he can be. And the way it is starting I think that will be better than good enough. He has a very strong positive personality and I've already drawn on his energy on a couple of days where I needed a little kick. Now watch. He'll start to get very good in the next year or so and get called to go work somewhere bigger! Heh. Ah, well. Such is our lot in life in Central Illinois. We can be a launching pad...which is good. But that also means all of the very good ones get pulled away!

11/29/11

--IPod: East Village Opera, "Che Gelida Manina". I have no idea what these people are saying…but the music is good!

--Woooooo! We are getting some rain/wind/light snow today! There's a flood watch for our eastern counties. The wind will be gusting up to 35 or 40 miles per hour this afternoon. And by the time the rain starts moving on late this afternoon some of us may get into some light snow. Crazy. Welcome to Central Illinois, Peeps!

--Here's a link someone sent me this week about tire safety. It takes you to a video explaining the actual age of tires. It is an older story, and I have posted the link here on the blog before. But it has been a couple of years and it is an important issue. So I will post the link again! Here it is.

11/28/11

--IPod: Billy Squier, "Everybody Wants You". I always thought Billy Squier was underrated.

--So how was your holiday? Hopefully you got to spend some time with family and friends. My holiday was okay, but too short. They always seem to be too short, don't they? Did you do any Black Friday shopping? I had to work Friday morning. Actually I worked Thursday and Friday morning. Working that early in the morning on holidays really cuts down on family time. I doubt that family understands it…but when you get home you're pretty much a zombie and don't really want to do anything or go anywhere. And Thursday and Friday that is what we did. We stayed home. Finally Friday evening, after napping most of the day, we went out to eat at the Custom Smokehouse in Mattoon with some friends. My cousin owns the restaurant, so technically I did see some family.

--Illini football head coach Ron Zook was fired over the weekend. Honestly I don't really care. I don't watch much college football. When I go to the Illinois games it is for the tailgating and not the actual game. But it would be nice if that team had more success. And maybe finding a new coach will help speed that along.

--We're getting into week two of the "Mark Rivera Era". I thought in just a week's time last week he made good strides. Believe me…you don't just walk onto a set of your first anchor gig and perform like Tom Brokaw. It takes a while to get comfortable and find your groove. It's like any other job when it comes to learning your craft…only a job like this is done in front of at least a few dozen people. (That's a nudge to The Suits. They LOVE it when I downplay our audience!) Fortunately I don't think people have been hard on Mark so far. It's tough to come into a situation that was left by an icon like Scot England. But Mark is a good guy. He is very positive and has lots of energy. I don't think it will be long before he really gets a nice stride.

11/25/11

--IPod: No Ipod this morning. This morning I do know why…it's because I've got Faye sitting right here next to me!

--Stephanie, Mark, and I agreed that today would be "Significant Other Day" at work. So Stephanie's fiancé, Mark's girlfriend, and my Faye are all supposed to come to work with us. Stephanie was even planning to bring her collie in, too…although I haven't seen the pooch yet. It should be fun. It's also a nice way to spend more time with loved ones on a working holiday!

--I certainly hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! And if you are out shopping today I hope there are no broken bones in your vicinity…it can be viscous out there on Black Friday!

--Did I mention yesterday that I've extended the deadline on the Pampered Chef online party until the end of the month?? Hit the link above to get some very, very good stuff!

--If you check my Facebook page from yesterday you will see that yesterday was a very special day for my family. Before I tell you that I need to tell you a story first. Two years ago October I went out to South Carolina to visit my 8 ½ months pregnant little sister and her husband. The plan was to chill out with them for a bit and come back home. But what happened instead was my little sister enduring around 36 hours of labor and having the baby while I was there. I believe I blogged about it if you want to hit the archives below for October of 2009.

So for this Thanksgiving my Dad was going out to see my sister. At the time she was 8 ½ months pregnant. The plan was for my Dad and a friend to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. But what actually happened was the night my Dad arrived my sister went through about an hour and a half of labor and had another baby! So apparently all we need to do to stimulate her into labor is have someone in the family pay her a visit!

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Sharon (11/22/11):

I just watched the 15 min video you had a link to on your blog--thank you so much for giving us that, it was wonderful.

It was certainly a powerful video. My guess is there are many, many more stories from 9/11/01 that we have yet to hear. And of course it is important that we never forget.

From Elizabeth (11/23/11):

Greg, both 9/11 videos you posted links to were amazing stories - - of survival, of people coming together and helping each other in a time of crisis. Both were stories I had not heard before. As someone who has a very large family in New York City, and had family members in Manhattan that day, they both really hit home for me. Thank you for posting them!

Agreed, Elizabeth! So many amazing, chilling stories…

That's it for this week! Believe it or not I actually told Faye this morning that I would let her do a paragraph or two of the blog to say whatever she wanted to say! It was a huge chance I was taking…but she took the high road and declined. I'm not sad about that. She could have used the opportunity to tell you things about me I might not want you to know!! Heh.

Have a great rest of the holiday weekend!

11/24/11

--IPod: No Ipod this morning. I'm not even sure why.

--Happy Thanksgiving! There is a triteness, to me, about people that list what they are thankful for on public forums like this. Some things are better left private in my view. But…imma do it anyway!

I'm thankful for being healthy first and foremost. It is a blessing to only suffer from the odd cold here and there. And it is something I do not take for granted.

I'm thankful for a fantastic woman in my life.

I'm thankful for the animals in my life.

I have a great family and more friends than I have time to spend with them.

And to make this a short list…I am thankful for the chance of birth that put me in this country. Despite the hardships we face together…it's still the best thing going today.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

(By the way...I've had the Pampered Chef online party extended until the 30th, due to demand!) You have 6 more days to hit the link above and get some great stuff for someone you love, or yourself!)

11/23/11

--IPod: From "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat", "Close Every Door". Great show. I saw it many moons ago in Chicago. Donny Osmond was outstanding as the lead.

--Yesterday I posted a link to another 9/11 video. My point behind posting the video wasn't to highlight the ministry that the dude and his wife have going now. As I've stated on the blog before I am not even sure if I believe in that stuff.

Shortly after 9/11/01 I met a woman that worked in one of the Trade Center buildings. The morning of the event she decided to eat breakfast…which is something she never did. Eating breakfast made her about 20 minutes late for work. On her way from the subway the first plane hit her building. If she had not had the odd craving for breakfast at home that morning she would likely be dead now. It was amazing to hear her tell her story. At the time she still had the glaze of shock in her eyes, as this was just a couple of weeks after the attack.

The pilot's story in the video made me think of this other woman. The choice that the other pilot made to take the flight changed the course of the subject pilot's life forever, obviously. Life is truly odd sometimes.

11/22/11

--IPod: Enya, "A Day Without Rain". Well isn't that a fun coincidence? Or is that irony?

--Thanksgiving is two days away. What are your plans? Is anyone traveling for the holiday? Or is the economy such that more and more of us will be tethered to our cities and towns? I will be working both Thursday and Friday mornings. That really limits our opportunities to do much for the holidays. And at this moment I am still not sure what we are going to be doing for the holiday.

--Someone sent me another link to another story about 9/11. Like the last video I was sent, this one tells a tale I had not heard yet. And also like the last video…this one is very good. It is a little over 15 minutes. And every minute is worth the time. Again…it is important to remember in our little bubbles that the world is inherently dangerous. Here is the link.

11/21/11

--IPod: Blondie, "The Tide is High". It's isn't bad to think you are on the beach in the middle of November!

--We had a fantastic weekend. Friday afternoon we headed up to Chicago to spend the weekend with my Dad and friends. Saturday night there was a gala fundraiser at my Dad's church. The night included a concert that found us listening to some Gregorian chants. Naturally I thought of the Gregorians from this blog! The weekend was very much a good one. But I feel this morning like I need another weekend to recover from the weekend. Know what I mean? I don't care how tired or odd I feel this morning, though. It was worth it!

--With all the excitement of last week I forgot to do feedback here on the blog. So this morning we will have "Feedback Monday"!

From David (11/14/11):

Your reply to me in last Friday's Feedback makes me wonder if you sometimes live in a different world than the rest of us. Your last three sentences in the reply amaze me. Do you not feel that the juries that found O.J, Robert Blake, and Casey Anthony were just a little off-base with their verdicts of Not Guilty? Being found not guilty in a trial is no longer proof of not being involved. The accused from Penn State do not need to be treated as "innocent until let go by 12 stupid individuals" or in the case of Blago, one idiot in his first trial. I still respect you and consider you my friend in spite of this. Keep up the good work.

I stand by what I said, Dave. Until a person is CONVICTED in a court of law they are considered to be innocent. It is the hallmark of our judicial system and what separates our system so most others. It doesn't matter how guilty a person seems. Everyone gets the benefit until found guilty.

If we start throwing people in jail without giving them their day in court what is to keep someone from accusing someone they don't like of something just to get that person thrown away? You have to put the accused through due process…every time.

Obviously in certain cases, like the Sandusky issue, you have to take that person away from situations involving the accusations. And that is what has been done with Sandusky. While he awaits trial he won't be allowed much access to young boys. And that is the way it should be. But you can't punish him until he is proven to be guilty.

As to the cases you mentioned…I can't honestly say whether I feel those juries came back with bad verdicts or not because I was not on any of those juries. And while the trials got a lot of attention I still did not get to sit through the evidence presentations. It isn't right for me to say, "But come on…common sense tells us they are all guilty." Whether those people committed their crimes or not…it wasn't proven without a reasonable doubt during their trials. It's not a perfect system. But I still think it is the best one going today.

From Another David (11/15/11):

You better get that date right, Greg. Women are real sticklers about anniversary dates. LOL

Oh I know! The weekend got a little frosty anytime anyone asked us how long we had been together!

From Richard (11/16/11):

I missed why is Scot leaving wand tv?

Scot got a great job in Nashville. He will be anchoring a new national morning newscast for them starting in January.

11/18/11

--IPod: None again this morning. Oddly enough I am listening to YouTube this morning. Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson singing "To All the Girls I've Loved Before". If you watch this morning you'll know why. Ugh…this could be ugly!

--Of course this is Scot England's final day of work at WAND-TV. He has left us before, as you might remember. He ran for political office. Bob Flider beat him in what ended up being a very negative experience for Scot. I know Bob Flider…he is a nice person. But his people got ugly on Scot. After the loss Scot came back to WAND-TV.

I'm not going to give a long, drawn-out goodbye here on the blog. I've already given many, many thoughts on Scot over the past year or so here and on Facebook, and on the air during the news, etc. But when someone like Scot leaves people notice. It's a very large void that will be left. And while time moves on and so must we…whoever comes into this morning situation after Scot is going to have a very hard time following Scot England.

When someone that has been around as long as Scot, and has done his job as well as Scot, finally leaves a place it is certainly sad. But for us as employees it also opens up a "spot", or an opportunity, for someone to step forward and step up. My guess is…and I may catch heat from The Suits for saying this…that ratings will be impacted by Scot leaving, at least in the short term. And in a way that is good. It gives those of us still here the opportunity to re-invent, or as I said…step up and better ourselves. And knowing some of my co-workers…I think that is exactly what will happen eventually.

11/17/11

--IPod: None this morning. As I am about to describe for you…I've been busy with something else this morning!!

--The other day before I left work I took our three "clickers" that you can see us using on-air to advance our weather graphics, and I took our wireless microphone, and hid them from JC. I didn't put them in what I thought was a tough place. We all have at least one file cabinet, or drawer, in the weather area. You know…just some place to keep out stuff. I took the 4 items and put them in JC's drawer. Yeah…it was a prank.

A couple of hours after I got home my phone rang. It was Rob the Production Manager. Rob asked me if I took a little something extra home with me. I knew right away that if the matter went as far up as Rob that I had ca used some commotion! When JC got ready to do some weather he couldn't find stuff…so he asked on of the production people if he had seen the microphone. That set off a flurry of action as more and more people began to pitch in on the search. So I told Rob that I was messing with JC and then I told Rob to tell JC to open his drawer. As it turns out JC doesn't use his drawer much anymore…and that is why he didn't find the stuff.

JC has a great sense of humor and took it like I thought he would. He laughed…and then gave me a warning. Payback was coming…

Enter this morning. As soon as I walked into the weather area I knew something was up. All of the monitors on our main desk were turned around. And there was a note on one telling me to enjoy my hunt this morning! I took pictures of the scene and posted them on my work Facebook page. Hit the link above if you want to give them a look!

The clickers and microphone were not where they usually are left. Right away I went to a shelf that I use and found the clickers. But that microphone…I just couldn't find it! I was looking EVERYWHERE! I went into all of the drawers in all of the file cabinets. I looked behind all of the monitors and TV's in the studio. I looked where we keep the spare mics/equipment. I even went behind our weather wall to check and see if JC put the microphone there! We have mailboxes up in the newsroom and I figured that would be a good spot for it. Nope! It wasn't there. But our producer Kyle was in the newsroom.

Kyle comes in around 11 each night to begin producing the morning newscast. JC made it a point to check in with Kyle before JC left for the night. Kyle has a huge grin on his face when he sees me, and asks if I am looking for something. I told him I was…and he started to laugh at me. As it turns out JC gave Kyle a clue, but didn't tell him where the microphone was hidden. At this point I am starting to get under the gun, time wise. There are things I have to record before the news starts and I was getting close to the time to begin recording. Kyle told me that he was told the microphone was tucked behind something in the weather area. So okay…that was vague, but gave me a track upon which to run.

I go back to the weather area to continue the search. At this point I am not quite getting frantic…but my pace is certainly picking up. I'm picking up monitors and shelves and looking behind doors and walls in the weather area. Finally I end up over at the "weather island" where you can sometimes see us standing during certain shots in a newscast. This is pretty much the area where we keep the microphones. As it turns out I happened to look in a little nook not 12 inches from where I would usually find the microphone…and there…tucked behind a piece of wood…was the microphone!

Well played, JC Fultz. You win this time….but I'LL BE BACK…

11/16/11

--IPod: Night Ranger, "Sister Christian". This song makes me think of "Boogie Nights". Not sure why.

--In the "Penn State Scandal" we are starting to see the conflicting reports come out. Keep in mind that anything you see in a Grand Jury Indictment is not necessarily everything in the case. The purpose of that indictment is to show just cause for a trial, basically. So it won't hold all of the evidence. And THIS is why I've continually said we should wait until AFTER the trial before we persecute anyone, regardless of the alleged crime. Some of you have taken me to task for saying that. And I don't care. It is one of the founding principals of our justice system. It's blind and without prejudice. If we begin persecuting people before they are found guilty in a court of law then our system isn't the best the world knows.

Now the person that saw Sandusky allegedly raping the 10 year old boy in the shower says that he did stop the act before he left the area to call his father. That information is not in the indictment. And I've since heard more than one lawyer say that information like that does not have to be in the indictment. But it will come out during the trial when ALL of the evidence comes out. There is also some evidence that might suggest that local law enforcement authorities were, in fact, notified of the incidents. And of course that information might take heat off of some of the people that were fired.

I'm not saying whether any of this has merit yet or not. What I am saying is that once again the public has jumped to conclusions in another high profile case…before ALL of the story is known.

I still believe Joe Paterno, et al, should have been shown the door. And obviously accusations like those made against Sandusky require you to lock that person down until the trial. He can't have access to anyone younger than him, in my opinion, until he gets his day in court. But I also believe that we need to have patience before we start talking about these people in terms of being guilty or not guilty. That is not how our justice system works. Period.

11/15/11

--IPod: ABBA, "Lay All Your Love On Me". I think fairly soon I will go in and redo my IPod. I've had the same music on it for years now. A reboot is due. A refresher is in need. Sure…I'll likely still keep ABBA on it. But it's time for new blood around here.

--If you've read this blog long you know I am an animal lover. Here's a fun story that deserves a little attention!

--So here's another fun story. As of yesterday Faye and I have been together for two years. But in typical fashion I thought that today was the big day. I think as I get older I try to attach important moments to easier to remember dates. And November 15^th is easier for me to remember than November 14^th. November 15th has the symmetry of being in the middle of the month! So for quite a while I've thought that we got together on November 15^th of 2009. NOPE! Apparently it was yesterday! So even if I had planned something for today it was blown yesterday when Faye mentioned the date. And once that cat is out of the bag you can't really stuff it back in there.

So a day late, as it turns out…let me just say how lucky I am that we met each other. It was HORRIBLE timing for both of us. But we decided that there was enough there to try to make it work. And two years later we've overcome the bad timing and some other obstacles. My life is greatly improved because she is in it. And that's something I don't take for granted for a second! So here's to hoping I can misplace another anniversary date in another two years, and beyond…

11/14/11

--IPod: No IPod this morning! We've had some warnings and crazy behind the scenes issues this morning. Honestly…I haven't even settled in yet this morning and my IPod is still in my little bag.

--I won't break down the issues this morning. But let me just say there have been better starts to the week than I've had this morning! In the grand scheme of things, though, everyone survived. And life will move on.

--Today we begin the final week of saying goodbye to Scot England. By Friday morning at 7 I think most of you will be saying "ENOUGH ALREADY"!! Heh. But if anyone here deserves a two week send off it would be Scot England. He has been such a memorable and impactful on-air presence for over a decade here. He's also become a friend of mine. It's sad to see him leave, personally, but he is headed to a fantastic opportunity for him and his family. So the word "bittersweet" will be tossed around a lot this week, I would assume.

--Did you see the blog update from over the weekend? I've started a Pampered Chef Online Party! The link for it is just below. And soon I will put the link at the top of the blog. The party only lasts for a couple of weeks. So if you want to get some Pampered Chef stuff there is only a short amount of time to get it from me! My plan is to get some Pampered Chef points by throwing this morning…so I can get some Pampered Chef stuff for Faye. She's a big fan of Pampered Chef.

11/12/11

--IPod: Warren Zevon, "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". Zevon is FANTASTIC. Supreme storyteller.

--The holidays are coming up, obviously. This year I've decided to do something as nice as I can for Faye. She is a BIG fan of Pampered Chef products. And I want to get her some. So to get her some Pampered Chef stuff I've collaborated with a friend of mine that does Pampered Chef stuff on the side to host an online party. Bottom line…if you've been interested in buying Pampered Chef products you can no do it through my party! And I will be upfront about this…the more people that buy from my party the more points I'll get. The more points I get the more Pampered Chef stuff I can buy for Faye. And the more Pampered Chef stuff I get for Faye the happier she will be! And the happier that Faye is…well…you get the idea!

So if you'd like to peruse what this online party has to offer just hit this link:

Greg's Pampered Chef Online Party!

If you decide to buy some things and go to the checkout, make sure you select to have your items shipped to your address! Good luck, and email me if you have any questions! And also…thank you for your support.

Also…Dudes…women love these Pampered Chef products. At least give it a look. If you want to score points with your Chick…get her something from my party. You won't regret it…

11/11/11

--IPod: Ozzy Osbourne, "Mr. Crowley". Oh Randy Rhoads. Taken far too soon…

--This morning on my way to work I had a young buck run in front of my car. At first I thought we were going to meet in the road. But I managed to slow up enough to let the dude pass about 10 feet in front of my car. He was beautiful. The antlers were not fully grown but he was on his way. I couldn't count the points because of the speed with which we passed. But it was more than eight, I think. I know a couple of hunters that haven't had much luck during bow season that would have been happy to use a tag on him had we actually met in the road…

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Scott (11/4/11):

Greg, That link to the 9/11 video - very good. Really enjoyed the story about the experiences of the people there. Keep up the good work.

You bet, Scott. It is obviously very important that we never forget that day. And of course any time we get the chance to see other perspectives from that day we should take the opportunity.

From David (11/8/11):

Scot will be missed!! If there is any upside, it has to be for the people of Nashville that will once again be blessed with the presence of a Yankee!!!

I say AGAIN, because I have 2 cousins that live in Nashville. THEY get to see someone from "up yonder" in Illinois.

Scot will absolutely be missed. Someone as ingrained in the community as Scotty will certainly be tough to replace.

From A Different David (11/9/11):

Hey Greg, Old Dave here again. Just wanted to say I appreciate the bit about the blog remaining. I am not a fan of Facebook, and enjoy the blog and the feedback a lot more. Keep up the great work.

Thanks, Dave! Yeah…the blog will be around probably as long as I am around. Every time I think I'm out…The Suits pull me back in!

From Yet Another David (11/10/11):

Hey Greg. Old Dave again. I believe your last paragraph of the 11/10/2011 blog was a bit out of line. If you read the chronological list of events, you will see that this case hinges on more than one key witness. Joe Paterno fumbled, just as some of his past players have done. He must face the result. Just my opinion.

I don't disagree, Dave. The point I was trying to make was that this Sandusky dude has already been convicted in the public. But he hasn't had his trial yet. Obviously when someone is accused of something like this you remove him/her from situations involving children. But until he is PROVEN guilty in court I think we shouldn't be so quick to start chucking people around. What happens if he isn't convicted and the charges are proven false? It doesn't matter how guilty he seems to anyone right now. Until he is proven guilty in a court of law he is officially innocent, right?

From Dena (11/10/11):

Greg,

I agree with you and our system of "innocent until proven guilty". It would be devastating to learn, after the fact, that the allegations were made up and lives were changed forever. Last night, I read the indictment. It is very disturbing. After reading the document it is hard to believe Mr. Sandusky is innocent. However, I am not the judge and jury on this. Anyway, I just wanted to share the document with you.

On a lighter note... I am happy for Scot but sad that WAND is losing a wonderful person. Obviously, I am not privy to the "behind the scenes" discussions but I believe Scot to be loved by many and I have a feeling WAND let this one slip through their fingers. At the end of the day I just hope he is happy and his family is happy with their new start.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you for providing the document, Dena. I won't post it here because it is truly disgusting. But anyone wanting to read it won't have to look hard to find it. But even after reading the indictment Sandusky is innocent until he is proven guilty. I'm not saying at all that we should not quarantine the man from society while he waits trial. I am just saying we need to check out emotions at the door until due process takes its course. Some people involved now are getting death threats. It's crazy.

That is it for this week! Have a great weekend. I will be working tomorrow night. I may or may not blog…but if you are already signed up for email alerts it won't matter because you'll get an alert when I update the blog.

11/10/11

--IPod: ABBA, "Winner Takes it All". I think I've already talked about this song. Wonderfully painful and sweet.

--Joe Paterno was released from his coaching duties yesterday. I mentioned on yesterday's blog that this situation keeps getting more interesting and more disturbing. It is not my place to opine about whether the man should have lost his job or not. But I heard they fired him over the phone. The guy gives 60 years of his life to the school…and they don't even fire him in person. Keep in mind…he is not the man that is accused of abusing you boys. He is the man that didn't even violate the law. But he is the person that was at the head of the program and one of his underlings is accused of heinous crimes. And apparently he was told something of the situation a long time ago and didn't do enough about it. Even still…isn't the respectful thing to do to hang up the phone and give him the courtesy of a face to face?

This whole situation seems to be getting out of hand. The accused apparently goes to trial next month. But no one seems to be waiting for him to get his day in court. What happens if it turns out that the key witness is lying, or something? What happens if the man is found innocent? Then you have all of this upheaval over something that didn't really happen?

11/9/11

--IPod: Chicago, "Just You ‘n' Me". I love the horns in this song.

--I want to take a second and thank you for reading this blog. Some of you have been with me since the beginning a few years ago. It has certainly been a fun ride…and I love that fact that you've come along with me. No…I am not leaving or stopping the blog or anything crazy like that. But I wanted to let you know that I appreciate the fact that you read this. You are not taken for granted. Many blogs come and go, and many blogs get ignored. This one has managed to grow a little bit every year and it is because you keep reading it. So thank you!

--The next couple of days are going to be windy and chilly! Today we could get some wind blasts around 40 miles per hour. Our neighbor to the northwest, Iowa, is getting a bit of snow today…so it could always be worse! Don't get me wrong. I appreciate a good snowfall. But I'm just not ready for that yet. I like to get through Thanksgiving before we get snow, personally speaking. If you're not ready for the cooler air yet you'll be happy to know that we'll get warmer starting Friday.

--Man…this Penn State University scandal is getting downright ugly. There are so many things to say about the people involved. However…we do have to remember that so far there have just been allegations of the former defensive coordinator sexually abusing young boys. Nothing has been proven. And in our country EVERYONE is innocent until they have their "day" in court. Of course in this instance if the situation goes to trial it will likely be at least several days in court and it will be a circus.

The main thing to keep in mind with this situation, in my opinion, is that there are several boys involved. And there could be many more that come forward. And even though these boys may even be grown men by now, as the allegations cover instances from several years ago, it is important to remember the alleged victims of the allegations. Regardless of what happens to the alleged criminal or the people that allegedly turned a blind eye…it is imperative that the males on the receiving end of the allegations get the proper help and care they need. These types of crimes done to children can wreck a child's life…for the rest of the child's life.

11/8/11

--IPod: No IPod this morning. I'm sitting here chatting with Scot England while he puts on his makeup. Or…I mean…while we carve up the deer we just slaughtered with our bare hands. Yeah…that sounds much more masculine. Let's go with the deer story…

--Scot England is leaving WAND-TV in a couple of weeks. That was the big announcement from yesterday morning. I won't spend a lot of time on it this morning on the blog. There will be plenty of time for thoughts over the next couple of weeks. But in case you somehow missed it…that was the announcement!

--Some big things happening in the news over the past couple of days. Michael Jackson's doctor has been found guilty. You've got the Penn State scandal really just taking off. Any thoughts you'd like to share just hit the feedback section below! Or you can email me at greg.trumbold@wandtv.com and put "Blog" on the subject line.

You can even use the above to send me your thoughts on Scot England. I will collect the feedback about Scot and if there is enough I will dedicate a day of the blog to Scot. He reads the blog occasionally and will read your comments...

11/7/11

--IPod: Norah Jones, "Nightingale". Eh. I like Norah Jones. This is not my favorite song of hers. But I leave it on my IPod for contrast.

--Saturday night Faye and I went to hang out with some friends at their house. We played Xbox Kinect. They have this fruit slicing game called something like "Fruit Ninja". Basically fruit passes by the screen and it is your job to cut the fruit like you were a ninja. You can use any limb on your body. Mostly we used our hands. The game gets fairly intense and there is a lot of motion. Should I be embarrassed to say that I am still sore this morning? We may have to get one of those Kinect things just for the exercise! Although I am from the Old School that believes video games should be lazy.

--Great weekend of football. Saturday night was apparently a great college football game, although I didn't really care to watch it. College football isn't my thing. But pro football had a few great games late yesterday. And I watched some of them. It was a pretty good weekend for my fantasy team, too. So all is well for now.

--This morning during the news I believe will be the big announcement we hyped up a bit last week. I'm still not going to break it here right now…but I will tell you that it is great news for one and bad news for the rest of us. It's been a tough year around here to be attached to people.

11/4/11

--IPod: Neil Diamond, "Summer Love". I don't care what anyone says. I love Neil Diamond. And this is a great song. It's on "The Jazz Singer" soundtrack. There is a load of great music in that movie, and I will argue that opinion with anyone that's up for a fight!

--It's been an interesting week here at the station. If you follow my Facebook page you may have noticed a post I did yesterday about some changes coming soon. Like I said on Facebook…I can't tell you about it now. But you will likely start to hear about it some time next week. Change is inevitable…sometimes good, and sometimes bad. Word is that the announcement will be made sometime on Monday.

"Feedback Friday"!

From Mom (10/31/11):

Wow! That was an amazing 911 clip. I remember thinking on that day, while I sat in front of the television with Elijah on my lap....OMG, how will they get all those people off that island and to safety? It was a fleeting thought, and then I went on with my day, watching the reports. This explanation to my question was never answered until now; I remember nothing being told about how they (the people) got off Manhattan.

This clip should make all Americans so very proud of their people. It should restore faith in people, to know that there are those out there that will risk their own safety (lives) to save others without payment or glory being their motivation.

Thank you, my son, for sharing this clip on this day. My faith in people has been restored again!

Love,

Mom

Hi, Mom! Love you!

From Angie (10/31/11):

I've never seen this video either....wow! Very powerful. Thanks for posting it.

You are welcome, Angie. Someone sent it to me and after I watched it there wasn't much question about putting it on this blog. Glad it touched you like it did the rest of us.

From Sharon (11/1/11):

I too have gotten the email about congressional reform & my thought is "if only this could be enacted"!!

I know, right?!?! It looks like a great list of ideas. No way it would ever pass, though. And as it turns out…and I posted this the other day…while it is a good list it did not come from Warren Buffett.

From Ron (11/1/11):

Perhaps another item for congress would/should be the length of time they serve in the year AND they need to be current employees in the work force (non-government related). Perhaps that would help much more than, it appears, they are currently helping.

Great points, Ron. I believe that career politicians do far more bad than good for this country. The argument for long termed politicians is that you need someone in there with the experience to get things done. But if there were NO career politicians in there then everyone would have roughly the same experience level and there wouldn't be a need to have long termers in there. I think we'd be fine…and I believe that was what the Forefathers intended when they put this government together.

That's it for this week. Don't forget to "Fall Back" this weekend. Turn your clocks back one hour EARLY Sunday morning. That means an extra hour of sleep…or an extra hour of whatever you happen to be doing at 2 Sunday morning…

11/3/11

--IPod: No Ipod this morning! I'm actually listening to some of my music posts on my Facebook from yesterday. Great stuff, if you don't mind me saying.

--I've always been talking to Geno Reynolds this morning about his blog. He does this thing called "DreamCast" where he gives you a character that you have to recast with someone from today. It's interesting and entertaining and he has a great one for today. Check it out at this link!

--Faye made Banana Nut bread muffins the other day. This morning I brought some in for the kids at work. They seem to be going over well! Nice job, Faye!

--Nice rain today, huh? Nothing like a cold November rain. Today will get a little breezy, too. I believe we still need the moisture after our drought this year…so it's all good. It would be nice if it was warmer, though. However…we rarely get to decide that kind of thing.

--Tomorrow is "Feedback Friday"! Get your thoughts in now. Hit the feedback section below or send me an email with "Blog" on the subject line. We actually have more than one piece of feedback so far this week…

11/2/11

--IPod: The Beatles, "I Feel Fine". Nothing better than the Beatles. Nothing.

--Yesterday I posted something about Warren Buffett and a Congressional reform idea that was attributed to him. Since yesterday I've been told that it is fiction. Buffett apparently has nothing to do with it. However…reading those reform ideas…they seem pretty solid to me!

--Here is another link to a story done in Australia that might make you think twice about the meat you put into your body. Now…I am not sure if this is the way it is in the States. But the story says it is the way it is done in Australia. And once again I did not look into it to see if it is true here.

11/1/11

--IPod: Chris Isaak, "Somebody's Crying".

--Today is my little sister's birthday! Happy birthday, Lisa. She is pregnant again. About now she is around 8 months along. So she is my BIG little sister. Love you!

--I don't often go in for those forwarded emails that people love to send. Some I will read, but most I just give a glance before I delete. There are just too many to give full attention all the time. I got one the other morning, though, that had some nice ideas. The email attributed the ideas to Warren Buffet…but I did no research to see if it was true. The email deals with some reforms to Congress. Read on…

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

As always you are free to give us your thoughts on the subject, or any other subject. Just hit the feedback section below to send feedback, or if you have a lot to say you can always email me directly at greg.trumbold@wandtv.com. Just be sure to put "Blog" on the subject line so I know it's okay to post it on the blog for "Feedback Friday".

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

Weather...Or Not: November 2011 Entries