Chris Core got fired?
February 29, 2008, 9:18 PM
As many of you know, I’m a bit of a talk radio junkie. My iPod is filled with radio talk shows, and I listen to talk radio streams online when I’m at my desk at work. My usual cocktail of talk shows consists of the first hour of Air America‘s The Randi Rhodes Show on podcast during my morning commute, The Chris Core Show on WMAL in the morning at work (live), Rush Limbaugh or Thom Hartmann in the early afternoon depending on my mood, then the rest of Randi Rhodes on the way home. I also have Rachel Maddow in reserve should I run out of Randi Rhodes or otherwise need more talk podcasts.
And now today, when I got home, I found out that Chris Core has been fired from WMAL. It seemed that Citadel Broadcasting, the company that currently owns WMAL, went through a major programming shakeup, and Chris Core was one of the casualties. And it was swift, too. Chris Core did his February 29 show as usual, and then was fired that afternoon. Not a cancelling as of a certain date, or they weren’t renewing his contract or something. No, he was gone, effective immediately, end of story. Thus he never got a chance to say goodbye to his audience or anything. It’s a shame. Core, however, was very diplomatic about it, saying that he wasn’t ready to retire, that he was not bitter over his dismissal, and that he hoped to get on the air again on another station.
I for one, though, will miss Chris Core’s show. Unlike most of the talk show hosts that I listen to, Chris Core was local. His show was produced in Washington DC, and only broadcast in the Washington DC area. And because of that, he was able to tackle local issues, which is something that national talk show hosts can’t do. And I like local news a lot. My TV at home, when it’s on, is almost always tuned to News Channel 8, an Arlington-based cable channel whose programming is primarily local news.
Continue reading…Categories: Radio
Stuarts Draft, take two?
February 29, 2008, 2:00 PM
It’s Friday, ya bastards!
And that also means that tomorrow, I am leaving Maryland and the DC area, and heading to Stuarts Draft. No illnesses are getting in my way this time! I feel good, and I will get up and be fresh as a daisy on Saturday morning for the drive to Stuarts Draft. This will also be the first time the Sable comes to Virginia with its new Maryland tags (oooooh!).
And it’s going to be a fun, though fast-paced, trip. I’m coming in midday, and going to see Katie on the way in. Then I’m going to my parents’ house, where we’re all going to do something somewhere (don’t know what yet – sorry, Mom, I still haven’t decided!), either eat out somewhere or eat in, etc. Then on Sunday afternoon, I’m heading back to DC. I’m stopping in Harrisonburg on the way back up to see my friend Patrick, and we’ll probably do lunch or something. And then, back to DC!
The only thing that’s going to be difficult to handle, though, is there being no dog at the house. I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since Greta died. But I’ll get to see where she was buried. Still, that will be strange. After all, it’s one thing to be told that Greta is gone, and it’s something entirely diffferent to actually see Greta not be there.
Then of course the futon that Mom got to replace my old bed is hard as a rock. That I tolerate, but barely. Nonetheless, sleeping on that is no fun. But it will be neat to see all the new furniture that Mom got. There’s this dresser with a ship on it that’s new that’s in the Pirate Room (my old bedroom), plus Mom and Dad both got new dressers from IKEA for themselves. Mom’s is exactly like the one in my apartment, and Dad’s is the taller but narrower version.
And meanwhile, I get to be Linux man for the weekend, as the Lappy currently only has Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on it.
Categories: Family, Stuarts Draft
So how does this look?
February 25, 2008, 9:12 PM
How does this look to you?
Categories: Schumin Web meta
“…because I slept with half of them!”
February 24, 2008, 11:53 PM
First of all, I am feeling a bit better after two days out of commission, and if things stay like this, I’m probably going to be in a suitable condition to go to work on Monday. Good.
And I spent much of the weekend watching old clips from The Price is Right on YouTube. There were quite a few good ones, but perhaps the weirdest one was this one of a woman playing Shell Game. Bob Barker asked her why the audience would know any more about where the ball was than she did, and she told him that she slept with half of them! Girl gets around!
Those kind of clips are the ones that amuse me the most – when people say something strange and seeing everyone’s reaction to it. Far more amusing than Yolanda and her wayward tube top, the Price blooper that everyone thinks about when they think of game show bloopers.
Still, they say that laughter is the best medicine, and I certainly got my fair share of it this weekend, so that’s a good thing.
Categories: Television
I wish I was in Stuarts Draft today…
February 23, 2008, 8:56 AM
Yeah, I wish I was in Stuarts Draft today. The reason is that up until yesterday, this weekend was going to be spent in Stuarts Draft. Then on Friday, I started coming down with something. It started Friday morning, when I had a very painful sore throat and a bit of a cough, but otherwise, no problem. By the end of the day at the office, I was pretty much feeling like I was sick. I notified all concerned that unless I felt really good come Saturday morning, that I was not going to make the trip down. And just as well. Yes, my mother would probably take good care of me if I made the trip sick, but I figure that if I’m going to be miserable all weekend, I’d at least rather be miserable in my own bed.
I figure I probably caught this one at the MVA on Tuesday when I got my Maryland license plates. That was about the only major deviation from my usual routine where I would be sitting in relatively close company with people I normally didn’t spend any time around. Realize it’s mostly the same people every day on the bus and the Metro. Then it’s definitely the same folks at work. So yeah, MVA seems the likely culprit.
And meanwhile, I now need to figure out another weekend to go to Stuarts Draft.
Categories: Personal health
Continuing to stain…
February 18, 2008, 1:32 PM
Now that the stain has proven to be a match, we’re staining two more:
Two coats later, it looks like my bedroom set. Excellent! And it’s 60 out right now, according to Weatherbug, which to me means it’s good staining weather. This is going to look so nice when it’s all done. I haven’t decided yet whether it’s going to be two rows above the bed staggered, or a tic-tac-toe style arrangement. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, speaking of home decor, I’m going to hang the Sable’s old grille on the wall in the closet. Why the closet? Well, it’s not something I want to put out where everyone will see it, but nonetheless it is a keepsake of sorts – a memento of my run-in with the deer, a somewhat traumatic experience.
Categories: Furniture, Mercury Sable
Staining the “Malma” mirrors…
February 17, 2008, 8:47 AM
Out of the nine mirrors I bought at IKEA when we went last weekend, I have so far stained one to match the bed. I got a can of water-based stain that’s not necessarily a “wood” color, but a “black” stain, which I was a little worried about. However, it’s exactly what I needed. I was using the first mirror to test out the stain to make sure it matched before I committed to the rest. After applying two coats of stain and letting it dry, I held it up to the dresser to see how it looked. Wouldn’t you know – it was a perfect match, and so it will look good once it’s all finished.
And this is a stain I can deal with. Unlike most stains, this one is water-based, and therefore doesn’t have a pungent smell, and also, it washes out of the brush, and off of my hands so easily. Of course, that’s not saying I’m doing the staining inside. Any time the lid is off on that can of stain, it’s going to be out on the balcony. And on my little balcony table, I make sure to lay out some bags from Shoppers to make sure it doesn’t get on the table.
My only complaint? It’s winter. So it’s a wee bit cold out there staining these mirrors. But I’m an adult – I can handle it. And it’s supposed to be 48 today, and 58 on Monday (a holiday!), so I don’t think it will be that bad.
Meanwhile, freezing rain is even worse than I thought. You may recall that in the previous entry in this space, I complained about slipping and sliding due to the freezing rain. Add to that losing power, too. I woke up on Wednesday morning, and my alarm clock was dark. Not a good thing. Check the light switch – nothing. Not a good thing. Check the hallway outside my door – dark. Confirmed, it’s not me – the power is definitely out. So I ended up having to get ready for work in the dark. Well, almost. I have this big flashlight that doubles as an electric lantern, and so at least I had some light. Not a lot, but some. In Stuarts Draft, we had underground utilities in our neighborhood, and so for the most part, freezing rain didn’t affect the power situation. In my neighborhood in Silver Spring, it’s overhead wires, and it does. At least I still had hot water, though. If not, I’d be taking a towel to work and showering there.
So there you go.
I hate freezing rain…
February 12, 2008, 11:06 PM
Freezing rain is perhaps my least favorite kind of winter weather. Snow and sleet I don’t mind so much, because they at least make the landscape look all pretty for a while. But freezing rain is no fun. Looks like regular old rain, but gives everything a glossy, deadly sheen when it freezes.
And thus my evening commute. I step out of the building, go down the front steps to the sidewalk, walk off the area where the building management treated the ice, and whooooop! Slip and slide. Repeat several times, going from areas where no ice formed, to dry areas, to icy areas. And it’s somewhat difficult to see, so it’s a surprise when you hit it. I nearly did the splits at one point, when I stepped on ice with my right foot, while the left remained on a non-icy surface. And so that right foot went sliding forward, until I eventually caught myself. I never actually fell between my office and Dupont Circle, but there were quite a few close calls.
Then once in the (relative) safe haven of the Metro (at least the stations I regularly use are underground, so no ice), the train operator was careful to remind everyone that the platforms might be icy between New York Avenue and Silver Spring. “Red Line, watch your step!” Then the area where I catch my bus wasn’t bad, as there was no ice there (it was just freakin’ cold!). But then on my street, where the bus lets me off, let me tell you something… you thought Dupont Circle was bad, this was worse. The sidewalks on my street were completely iced over, and so in order to get any traction, I had to walk on the (also icy) grass. But at least I made it. They also hadn’t yet de-iced the sidewalk in front of my apartment building, so that was an interesting walk.
Now tomorrow, I’m going to be ready, since I’m going to be a little more prepared for what I’m up against. Of course, this also hinges on the bus actually being on time. Ride-On doesn’t necessarily always make it on time in bad winter weather, but they’re usually pretty good about it. But at least I have Ride-On, which keeps to its schedule, compared to the Y5, Y7, Y8, and Y9 on Metrobus, which wouldn’t know a schedule if it bit them in the behind.
Categories: Winter weather
“Prince George’s Pizza”?
February 10, 2008, 12:40 PM
My parents – both of them this time – came up to visit this weekend. They arrived Saturday morning, and left midday Sunday. What a fun time we had! We went to IKEA in College Park, and bought stuff. Mom got a new computer chair for her classroom (replacing one I got for free at Potomac Hall), and I got some mirrors that I’m planning to mount on the wall above my bed. I was also interested in getting some picture frames, but as they didn’t have the kind I wanted, we skipped on that.
These little mirrors are really cool. I got the idea after visiting my cousin Kate and her husband Nathan, and seeing these same mirrors over their fireplace arranged 3×3. The whole mirror unit is one square foot, and about four inches square in the center is mirror, and the rest is a wide wood frame. I think it will look great in the bedroom, after I stain the wood to match the bed. The style is called Malma.
Also, a surprise at IKEA: In those little “Living in [whatever] square feet” displays they have where they show an entire house, they of course show the bathroom. The surprise came when, being silly, I lifted up the toilet seat to make it look more “lived in”:
iMac takes Metro?
February 10, 2008, 11:51 AM
This past week, I had two things that were worth a shot or two, and so I thought I’d share…
First of all, Katie and her mother went up to Leesburg in northern Virginia to see her brother and his family. And while she was up there, we also got together. The surprise of the evening was that prior to my arrival, her brother’s wife styled her hair. So here’s a photo of the one and only time she’ll be all curly, taken here at Chili’s, where we had dinner:
So the question is, how super will “Super Tuesday” be, i.e., will we have nominees by then?
February 4, 2008, 11:49 PM
So that’s what I’m wondering. With more than half the states having primaries tomorrow, and with this race being as it is, we might end up with nominees tomorrow… or we might not. After all, it’s been a downright ugly race at times, as on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has accused Barack Obama of representing a slum-lord, and Barack Obama has pointed out that Hillary Clinton was on the board of directors of Wal-Mart. Then on the Republican side, it seems that if they’re not trying to amend the Constitution to match the word of “God”, then they’re trying to compare how each matches up to Ronald Reagan, the great Republican god.
Meanwhile, I’ve officially adopted a wait-and-see attitude. I’m not particularly enthused about any of the remaining candidates. I was really excited about Dennis Kucinich’s candidacy, as exemplified by the fact that I got on the iStump for him, but now Kucinich is out, and neither Hillary or Obama really sends me like Kucinich did. I’m probably going to just hold my nose and vote for someone, but at this point, I genuinely don’t know about this current crop.
Categories: National politics