When my wife started participating in The Pampered Chef parties, I was scared... real scared. There goes more money. But I'll tell ya -- the stuff is good. My favorite is the meat thermometer. Perfectly cooked meat every time. My apologies to the vegetarians.
Every day there's a little TV chatter about FOX phenom American Idol. And who keeps popping up? William Hung. The Pet Rock became trendy because it was absurd. William Hung became popular for all the wrong reasons -- an awkward engineer who fits America's Asian stereotype, and his last name is Hung; a hung... excuse me... young man who's willing to play the fool.
But unlike the clumsy, high-school nerd that is made popular for a couple of weeks by the jocks, William Hung will not go away. Ever...
A Milwaukee TV station dispatched a crew to report a story on thin ice. Guess what happened? Their truck fell thru the ice. I love it when news operations employ the "here's what not to do" approach.
This TV station is the perennial loser in Milwaukee when it comes to news. I found out why a couple of years ago, when I was contacted for a position there. The pay was roughly half my FOX23 salary. Milwaukee is the 34th-largest, U.S. television market; Albany-Schenectady-Troy is the 56th.
Even though it's a tame winter so far, I'm already looking forward to spring. We're one week away from the 1/2-way point to the Vernal (spring) Equinox. Unfortunately, there is still 24-hours of twilight over the North Pole and very little, weak sun over the Arctic, which means the air up there continues to grow colder (stupid, tilted planet).
This is a great water cooler story -- the Yonkers health teacher who may be jobless after having his 7th-graders draw male naughty-bits on the chalkboard (I hope they cleaned the erasers after). You can read the AP story here.
Note to print journalists: You see those cameras pointed in your direction? They're recording -- be careful which finger you use to scratch your nose.
Who did the best job giving early warning to the severe cold? Technically, channels 6 and 13 tied for fewest error points. Channel 10's numbers were too cold, but kudos to them for having some guts and driving home the point. The highs for THURSDAY and FRIDAY were 20 and 11, respectively.
Don't forget to check out the Center for Disability Services telethon this Sunday on FOX23. My old cronies will put it to air and host. Various FOX and sports celebrities will make an appearance, as will many of our elected representatives and local businesses. But the stars of the show are the consumers of the center -- the environment they thrive in is un-paralleled. You can help make that environment even better by watching and making a donation.
I re-discovered this letter opener in a seldom-used briefcase the other day. As you can see by the forensics picture, it's good-size and surprisingly heavy. As 1/2 the population will tell you, 8.5" is nothing to sneeze at.
This evil dude goes to prison for forcing sexual contact on a middle-aged woman, gets out, fails to register, and promptly goes after a 14-year-old girl. I'm so tired of hearing about sex offenders getting out of prison and repeating their crime. The State better throw away the key on old Lucifer, here. Too bad we have to waste tax dollars on keeping him alive in prison.
In case you haven't noticed, I dig astronomy. I would love to be in Australia or New Zealand right now just to check out Comet McNaught.
President Bush used some aggressive language regarding U.S. oil consumption and the further development of alternative energy sources. This is good, although I don't believe his goal of using 20% less by 2017 is obtainable; perhaps a 1% decrease for each year would be a better goal (10% after 10 years, 20% after 20 years, 50% after 50 years, etc.). Either way, it's an issue that started gathering steam during the waning years of the Clinton administration. Then it took a back seat to terrorism, and now it's gaining steam again in a big way.
Fortunately, it looks like everyone's getting on board the train.
It is believed world oil production will peak during the middle of this century, roughly around 2050. After that, the price of oil is expected to increase severely. When (and if) I hit 80 years old, gas will probably cost eight or nine bucks a gallon -- maybe more. I'll have enough problems when I'm 80; I don't need to be paying $110 for a fill-up or $3,000 just to keep my house warm during the winter. And I certainly don't want that financial burden for my kids. I fear the day utilities will cost as much as rent.
But again, the train appears to be on the right track. Hybrid cars keep popping up; heck, BMW has a car that runs partly on hydrogen. New York State is doing their part too, as are many other state governments. Eventually, we'll all have to adopt green technologies -- might as well start looking into them now.
That's right... stupid cold. Hopefully you weren't lulled into believing we're immune to painful cold because of El Nino or global warming. Remember what I said back before Christmas. So get ready... temperatures cold enough to make you scream are coming on Thursday and Friday. This one will hurt.
Just for fun, here's the forecast from our local TV stations (as of Tuesday morning)...
STATION___THURSDAY'S HIGH___FRIDAY'S HIGH
WNYT_________16_____________12
WRGB_________18_____________14
WTEN_________12_____________8
WXXA_________29_____________18
- Hats off to the Colts for fighting back.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is vast. NOAA funding is always under scrutiny, but the research done and the products available are invaluable. For example, keeping tabs on the snowpack helps the agriculture industry anticipate growing conditions, helps state governments and municipalities manage water supplies and leads to more accurate solutions for numerical weather models, resulting in better forecasting. This link yields snowpack information for the Northeast. You may enjoy where other links on the page take you.
Note: While constantly adjusted for accuracy, the snowpack information is only approximate.
First, this one...
Retro, communist China... certainly before their cultural revolution. At least I hope it's China and not North Korea, otherwise those kids are getting executed.
Next...
At the end, the guy orders flowers? That's admitting guilt! Or maybe he knows all too well what an un-trusting, paranoid freak his wife is.
Comets visible by the naked eye don't come by that often. Most of us missed our chance to see Comet McNaught earlier this month because of the weather. I did notice (spaceweather.com) that John Cordiale of Argyle managed to capture an image. On the 13th, McNaught was visible in broad daylight, a feat last accomplished by Comet Ikeya-Seki back in 1965; once again, the weather killed our shot at a look.
My NFL picks almost panned out. I was a little surprised Baltimore's old team made it past their new one. The Ravens did keep the Colts out of the endzone, but even that wasn't enough.
I normally don't criticize my peers, but I can't let this one go. A local weather anchor actually said our lake-effect snow normally shuts down by January; but not this year, because the unusually warm winter has prevented the lake from freezing. No. No. No. No. NO! Good God. Even my wife, who ironically could care less about the weather, knows this is far from true. She pointed it out.
Dealing with a dirty diaper can bring even the most hardened person to their knees. The stuff that comes out the other end of your kid can make you want to grab the passport and head for Canada.
You may have heard how the Town of Glenville is encouraging its Highway Department workers not to call in sick -- by offering a thousand bucks for perfect attendance. Seems like a good idea.
Except... getting sick is part of being human. It's very difficult to make it a whole year without calling in once. And what's a good way to not get sick? Avoid people that are. Consider the highly-contagious stomach virus going around right now. If I were a department manager, and one of my employees had said virus, I'd want them to stay home. I'd much rather have six employees get sick on separate occasions than all at once.
Now the Glenville Highway Department is giving its employees a reason to come to work sick, and if a sick worker is three weeks away from collecting a cool grand, I doubt they're going to care who they infect. My wife did point out that these people are not in an office setting, which would probably cut down on virus sharing. That's true. But still -- although good, I'm not sure this is the best idea.
You may have already seen or read the story of the Doomsday Clock getting closer to the hour of judgement. If not, read this.
You're watching TV. Suddenly the picture you're watching shrinks, some "stuff" appears on the right-hand side and words start scrolling across the bottom, "...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SARATOGA COUNTY UNTIL 7:15 PM...". Yup, it's a weather crawl; and since you live in Halfmoon, you wonder if the storm will hit, or miss like all the others do. Saratoga County is pretty big. Does the whole county get slammed?
The weather alert process employed by the National Weather Service is pretty slick, but it does have one flaw. It cries wolf; and because of that, it can be counter-productive. People say, "Oh! Here we go again. They run these warnings all the time and nothing ever happens". Next thing you know, people are letting their guard down and ignoring the alert.
This will change after summer, when the National Weather Service radically changes those warnings. Read this short press release for a full explanation. Soon you'll be able to take those warnings much more seriously.
Oh cielos! Yet another kids' show that tries to teach Spanish. This one is called Handy Manny and it comes from Disney. Am I saying this is bad? Of course not -- just unoriginal. Here's my idea: make a kids' show that's spoken entirely in Spanish with English subtitles. Genius.
About a week before Christmas, I stepped outside during twilight to watch the Space Shuttle fly overhead. Ten minutes later, the International Space Station took a pass. The viewing wasn't what I would call spectacular, but still pretty neat; it's something I believe a child interested in space ships would find memorable. That's a good word to describe it -- memorable.
One of the perks at my old job was a paid trip to the annual American Meteorological Society (AMS) convention. The station would pay for all reasonable expenses, which meant no massage. The week-long meeting consists of lectures, seminars, workshops, a convention floor, and various other activities, and is attended by both broadcasters and researchers (two very different breeds).
Interstate Batteries' phone number is 1-800-CRANK IT. I wouldn't dare type crankit.com into my web browser, but this phone number is apparently OK.
Yeah, she would have left her Seattle interviewers in a lurch; however, Paula Abdul should have backed out of this interview. I think drunk Paula and drunk Joe Namath should have a contest to see who can make the least sense.
She's the chef on the Zetia (a cholesterol management drug) commercial. The first words out of her mouth are, "I watch what I eat". You figure it out.
Zetia does have a pretty slick website.
Are you familiar with Spike TV? It's a guy's channel -- 55 on Time Warner Cable. They keep advertising this show -- set to debut soon -- called Pros vs. Joes, where regular Joes like myself take on former professional athletes in their sport. The show has some big names; in fact, Spike TV touts the jocks as "the world's greatest athletes".
I had a friend growing up whose father was a computer programmer. Their house was loaded with computers: several Apple IIs, a II+, a IIc, a IIe, a Lisa 2 -- I think there was even an Apple III. I remember those computers well. You had to type PR#6 to reboot the machine. PR#4 did something too -- maybe change the "font" size. But I'll never forget when they got an Apple Macintosh. Boy, was that thing cool. It had a mouse, and came with a paint program where you could draw shapes with patterns, and cut and paste.
Apple Computers, Inc. could always make the tech-savvy say, "wow". Now they rock the world with their latest creation, the iPhone. If I had a job, I'd totally buy one.
Actress Suzanne Somers gets burned by the weather, as Santa Ana winds fan one of those infamous California wildfires. The fire destroyed Ms. Somers' multi-million dollar home. She even lost... [tears welling up -- give me a second]... a Jaguar. Fox News Channel (Time Warner Ch. 70) owned the story, using up time in 2-3 minute segments to keep America informed on this crucial development. Experts even tackled poignant questions like -- is Suzanne using her loss as a platform to speak out against troops in Iraq?
If needed, Ms. Somers could always borrow money from Howard Stern, who received an $83 million bonus from Sirius Satellite Radio for exceeding subscriber goals. I'd just like to re-congratulate the Sirius brass for being the worst contract negotiators this planet will ever see.
Well, maybe not starving -- because this woman's painting of Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary -- hanging in a Wal-Mart of all places -- is on the block for 50-large. Has anyone informed Michael Jackson? The only thing weirder would be if the painting included the vial of Billy Bob Thornton's blood that Jolie used to wear around her neck.
This artist creates some freaky things, to say the least. My favorite is this picture. Read the description under the photo -- that's right, it's made of human hair embroidered on a pillowcase, which naturally conjures images of this guy. She also makes carvings of... umm... rhymes with 2nd planet from the sun.
Avalanches in Colorado are not at all unusual; after all, they named their hockey team after them. But the glut of snow so far this winter season caused an event that scared the living daylights out of some motorists.
We Bad! (I'm showing my age a little here) The all-time, record high temperature for the entire month of January in Albany was tied today when the thermometer peaked at 71 degrees. Records go back to the late 1800s, so this is approximately a once-every-60-year event. I'm sure you'll remember this day for a long, long time.
Oops. Wrong bowling term -- it should read "Bonanni Turkey", as in three strikes in a row. This is, of course, the THIRD TIME Albany Police Officer William Bonanni has been involved in an incident that's brought negative press to his department. Maybe the guy is always at the wrong place at the wrong time, but I challenge you to find another situation like this in the entire country -- make that the entire world -- where a local, legitimate law enforcement officer has been at least indirectly involved in a beating, a fatal shooting, and a department violation, and still has a job.
First, the local media's relentless trashing of area ski resorts is past the point of getting on my nerves. Can't some of these stations think of anything better to say? I'm sure the resorts are thrilled that potential customers are being told there's no snow to ski or snowboard on -- day after day after day. At the very least, some stations are implying that it's not worth going. Here's the truth: Can you ski or snowboard? Yes. Can you do it everywhere? No. Are conditions great? No. But they are good in plenty of spots. If you're an aggressive skier and crave big moguls, then you're probably out of luck; otherwise, wax 'em up.
Second, I saw the first of what will no doubt be a slew of global warming and El Nino weather reports -- this one from the CBS Early Show. Unfortunately, their weathercaster -- who does not hold a science degree -- did an awful job of describing what El Nino is and what the effects are. Reports of flowering plants that should be dormant are springing up all over the country. Does the unusual warmth deserve attention? Absolutely. Just be leery about what you see and hear from the national media. Good information can be found here and here.
And finally, Friday was the last day for FOX23 News Reporter Jill Montag. Please join me in wishing her the best! This is the 3rd reporter or reporter/anchor FOX23 has lost in two months. On a positive note, that's three extra, precious parking spaces in the FOX23 parking lot.
This chunk of something - about the size of an egg -- crashed thru a house in New Jersey. About the possible meteorite, a local police officer said, "I haven't seen anything like it in my career". Boy, that really sheds some light on things.
From the Associated Press: Approximately 20 to 50 rock-like objects fall every day over the entire planet, said Carlton Pryor, a professor of astronomy at Rutgers University. That's it... I'm not going outside anymore.
Could the chunk be a piece of this? Maybe. Check out the cool video on the linked page.
Before the real partying went down at the Francis house on New Years Eve, my wife and I scrolled through the entire list of Movies On Demand. After about four times through the list I finally blurted, "Oh! United 93! How 'bout that?". It's just one of those movies that doesn't get a lot of attention. But it was riveting. So riveting, in fact, my wife fell asleep for about 30 minutes (don't let that stop you from seeing it for the first time -- she falls asleep during movies all the time).
No big names in this one, and more like a re-creation than a movie. It's intense... sad... and it should be watched by all.
Christian superstar Pat Robertson predicts a terror-related mass killing for the United States in late 2007. In one of his sit-downs with The Lord, Robertson learned the attack could possibly affect millions.
Robertson is known for cheering up his patrons with his annual predictions. The following is taken from the Associated Press: In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America’s coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring’s heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.
Lame.
As in tears of joy -- that's how much I love Wolf Road in Colonie. Everything you need is on Wolf Road, and it keeps getting better. Colonie Center gets a makeover, a crazy-popular Cheesecake Factory and a theatre. And farther up the road -- right by the Pizza Hut and Holiday Inn Turf -- is another new restaurant.
I want to thank the owner and family of the new Buffalo Wings and Rings for inviting me to cut the ribbon on their new eatery back on Saturday, December 30th. My wife and I got to sample the great menu. Go check it out sometime... it should be hopping for the NFL playoff games.
On a personal note, it really means a lot -- despite my current absence from the television -- that local businesses, organizations and schools continue to ask me to participate in their functions. It's always a joy to shake hands with viewers who used to watch.
Oh... and the full moon tonight -- according to spaceweather.com -- is called the Wolf Moon. This is way more than just a coincidence, folks.
Another dismal season for my Minnesota Vikings -- a once proud franchise turned ugly. But that doesn't mean I'm not tuning in to the playoffs.
I like the Jets and here's why: A few years ago they were picked to make some noise but never did, primarily because Chad Pennington was hurt and they had no back-up. This season it seems all the "experts" gave up on them and their chances. But they're gritty. They don't have any great players, but they do have a lot of good ones, and a healthy QB gives them a chance. Unfortunately, when I say, "I like the Jets" it means I like watching them. They've already beat New England on the road, but I don't think they can do it again. The Patriots are better on paper and Tom Brady just wins.
The Giants are supposed to be an exciting team, but injuries have killed them. They've limped into the playoffs and will exit early to an Eagle team lead by a resurrected (but still creepy-looking) Jeff Garcia. (By the way, have you ever seen Jeff Garcia's girlfriend? I won't post the link. I don't even know if they're still an item, but it's a wonderful story a la Beauty and the Beast.
The Bears are a big question mark with Rex Grossman throwing the ball around -- he can be a real dud at times. But odds are he'll play well enough to get Chicago to the NFC Championship Game against the Saints. Home field advantage in January is enormous for the Bears, so look for them to play in the Super Bowl.
Call me crazy, but I like the Ravens in the AFC. Much like the Bears, their defense should carry them far. They've flown under the radar all season and ended up 13-3. I think they'll face the Patriots (who will upset San Diego) in the AFC Championship Game and go to the Superbowl.
So what do you end up with? One low-scoring Superbowl. Take the under.
I don't know why, but 2007 has a nice ring to it. Maybe -- like my wife says -- it's because it ends with lucky number seven. So here's to a year filled with good luck and fortune.
