Wednesday, 11/29

I think it's gonna take a while to break this habit.

In a decision I think is horrid for the environment, those of us who live in the city of Marquette will no longer be able to recycle glass along with our plastics, paper, & metals. The news came after the city signed a new trash deal with Waste Management, and took a lot of people by surprise. Apparently, there's no money to be made in recycling glass, and the glass we have been recycling has been pulled out of the bins and tossed in the Marquette County landfill for several months now.

That's not good news.

As some of you may know, I've been an avid recycler since, well, forever. I think that's one of the things about growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, during the height of the environmental movement. It's something I learned about as a kid and something I've done ever since. In fact, I recycle so much that I only have enough actual trash to fill a city bag once a month.

I'm guessing that number's gonna go up soon.

I have no idea why it's no longer cost-effective to recycle glass. I mean, I know it's made out of sand, and I'm guessing it's probably cheaper just to dig up new sand than to recycle the old stuff. But I did a little research—did you know that glass can last up to two MILLION years before it breaks down in a landfill? Two million! Think of it this way--modern humans (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) have only been around 200,000 or so years, which means that we're making materials that will last at least 10 times longer than we've been around as a species. That blows my mind. And that also makes me wonder just how much glass will be sticking around the Marquette County Landfill long after we have a species have either blown ourselves up, evolved into whatever comes next, or have been enslaved by our new robot overlords.

The capper of it all is this—for several weeks now, even though I've known better, I keep washing out all the glass bottles and containers I use. It's force of habit; I've been recycling for so long (and trying to be hygienic when I do it) that I'll still clean an empty glass container out without even giving it a second thought. I mean, I know that I can just toss it in the trash, but there's a default setting inside me that makes me want to recycle the container, even if the city says I can't any more. I'm pretty sure it'll take me a while to break the habit.

Hopefully, it just won't take as long as the glass will last in a landfill.

(jim@wmqt.com, disappointed recycler.

Monday, 11/27

There's no way it's been 15 years...has it?

Fifteen years ago today I wrapped up a HUGE project that had taken up four months of my life. At the time, we were broadcasting from a dumpy, drafty, dusty space in Ishpeming, a space that really wasn’t a good one for a modern radio station with computers and high tech equipment. So thanks for the foresight of the late Joe Blake, we found a nice space in downtown Marquette that fit our needs perfectly, we moved what we could down from Ishpeming (and donated the rest to Westwood High School), and after a VERY long construction and conversion process, we began broadcasting from our current home fifteen years ago today.

So happy anniversary (in a way) to us, I guess!

I can tell you the exact time we began broadcasting from Marquette on November 27^th, 2002. That would be 5:45pm. And I can even tell you what song we played when we began broadcasting from Marquette that afternoon; that would be U2’s “Beautiful Day”. And although that song was a random choice, it was indeed fitting, not only because it wrapped up months and months of very hard work, but because of everything that our move has allowed since then, everything from broadcasting right outside our door for ball drops and bike races and food festivals to how I now live my life.

And in those fifteen years my life has changed considerably. I no longer have to drive to Ishpeming five to eight times a week; instead, I walk down Front Street whenever I feel like it. I no longer have to plan ahead to take a vacation; instead, if it’s a nice day outside, I’ll take a few hours off and enjoy the weather or enjoy the beach, and not have to worry about killing a huge chunk of the day driving back & forth. In all honesty, back in 2002 I was getting to the point where I was getting burned out going back & forth to Ishpeming all the time and wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep doing it; after the move, I was immediately re-energized, and I haven’t looked back since.

As with many things, it does not seem like it’s been a decade and a half since this all happened. It seems like it’s been a couple of years, at most. But it has indeed been fifteen years, a fifteen year span in which we’ve accomplished a lot of things from this studio, everything from frying eggs on the sidewalk and holding a bake sale out front for NMU to raising money for drug dogs and hosting Olympians, rock stars, and all kinds of really great people for all kinds of really great causes. And maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem like it’s been a decade and a half. We’ve just been having too much fun to realize just how quickly the time is passing.

So that’s the big anniversary we’re celebrating today. If for some strange reason you hear “Beautiful Day” at 5:45, now you’ll know why!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/22

Am I missing out on something by not eating stuffing?

A couple of years ago on our “Tuesday Topic” we asked listeners about the food they most enjoy on Thanksgiving. And I have to admit I was a little surprised when the winner was stuffing. Not turkey, not pumpkin pie, my two favorites, but stuffing.

Really?

I think this proves a couple of things, one being that it's further evidence I'm not like other human beings. I've never liked stuffing, and I don't know that I ever will. I don't know why; I like many of the ingredients that go into stuffing. But I guess I've just never liked the overall end result, per se, of stuffing. I don't know if it's the flavor, the texture, or the fact that it's usually shoved up a turkey's butt to cook. For whatever reason, I personally don't like stuffing.

But I know I'm in the minority here. I know that every other single person with whom I traditionally share my Thanksgiving dinner adores the dish. And they're probably happy I don't like it. After all, it just means more for them. From the sounds of it, I'm guessing this would also get replayed in any other households where there are a bunch of stuffing lovers and one naysayer. The people who love the dish—the vast, vast majority of people—get a little more because there's one person who, for whatever rational or (ahem) irrational reason doesn't like it.

You know...like at any Thanksgiving dinner where I'm a guest. Unless, of course, someone figured out a way to make it with chocolate. Then, just maybe, I might consider it.

Maybe.

8-)

On that note, I hope that you and everyone with whom you might celebrate has a great day tomorrow. There won't be another one of these until Monday, although I will be on the air Friday should you find yourself so insanely bored that you don't have anything else to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/21

Who knew so many people also miss Big Lots?

After writing yesterday's entry about how I've missed the store since it closed its doors in Marquette a couple of years ago, I was stunned by the batch of e-mails I received from people who said that they too missed wandering around its aisles, looking at some merchandise that no one in their right mind would like while at the same time stumbling across the occasional hidden treasure tucked in the shelves.

Wow.

Now, I'm sure the e-mails I received are not a proper sample size, and may just reflect the fact that people with a skewed outlook on things read this (or are at least driven to send me notes). But the outpouring of affection I received about the store makes me wonder why it pulled up stakes in Marquette in the first place. I mean, I know it closed because it “lost” its lease (corporate-speak for “they just didn't want to be here any more”), but obviously there were people who enjoyed going there. And if you extrapolate the number of people who sent me notes, factor it into how many people read this on a daily basis, and then extrapolate that number into the current population of Marquette County...

Well, actually, I have no idea what that number would be, or even if it would mean anything. But it just seems to me that the store, while here, banked a lot of goodwill among the people who visited it. At least, that's what I inferred by reading the e-mails I received yesterday.

Thanks for sending them along. Now, Big Lots, if you ever wanted to come back into the market, I know a group of people who would be there waiting for the doors to open!

8-)

*****

Before I go I have to do one thing, and that's wish the Most Amazing Woman in the World a happy birthday! That's right; it's Loraine's big day today, and while she's luxuriating in a day off of work (she's one of those lucky people who gets their birthday as a paid day off), and enjoying the birthday cookies I made for her last night (pecan chocolate chip, if anyone's curious), I just wanna make sure that this is another of the 12 or 13 ways in which I'll be wishing her a great day. I know I write in here all the time about the incredible stuff she does and about how she helps makes me a better person, and I appreciate the fact that you allow me to do so. I can't imagine what life would be like without her, and I'm just overjoyed that I get to celebrate it with her.

So happy birthday, Loraine!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs, kisses, and all that good stuff,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 11/20

Don't laugh, but I really kinda miss Big Lots.

I know; I don't necessarily seem like the Big Lots kind of guy, do I? And I really wasn't. After all, when the store was open in Marquette I would only visit it once or twice a year (so yes, I'm to blame for it closing two years ago, I guess). But it was around this time of the year that I'd pop in, and it was probably not for the reason you'd think. I didn't like to go to Big Lots for their collection of off-brand merchandise and factory seconds, or for their overly fluorescent lighting.

Nope—I liked to go to Big Lots because you would've found that the store had somehow amassed this amazing collection of interesting foods from around the world. Over the years I'd picked up blackberry jam from Turkey, cheese gnocchi from Italy, and a package of raspberry filled chocolate cookies from Poland, just a few of the many treats I found there.

And that's why I'm sad they closed their doors and never looked back.

Aside from the oddities of international food you could've picked up at the store I can also vouch for another service provided by Big Lots when it was around. If you had found yourself in need of a small, shall we say, out of the ordinary gift for an upcoming holiday season you could've found one while looking through the food shelves of Big Lots. Not only did they have a bunch of snacks and treats from around the world, but you could always find something weird from here in the USA, as well.

Case in point? A couple of years ago I needed a small gift that cried “strange”, and I found it at Big Lots? What was that gift, the one that cried “strange”? How about Elvis Presley flavored hot chocolate. That’s not to say the hot chocolate was flavored like Elvis Presley which, if I had to guess, would taste vaguely of fried banana sandwiches and painkillers. Nope; it actually had different flavors you’d expect from hot chocolate, flavors like mint & caramel. But just the fact that you could get “Elvis Presley” brand flavored hot chocolate at a store (at least at a store someplace outside of Memphis, where everything has Elvis’ picture on it) was one of the prime reasons why I would visit Big Lots once or twice a year.

And that's why, especially this time of the year, I kinda miss it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 11/17

I'm ready for summer to come back.

Yes, I know we just finished summer (or “summer”, as some of us refer to it, seeing as how this year we really didn't have much of one), but I'm more than ready for it to come back. The sunless, cold, snow-filled days of yuck that we've experienced pretty much the entire month of November have pegged the “blah” meter up past 100, and the fact that we still have months of this to go is almost enough to make one throw up their hands.

Almost.

So, because it's (almost) the weekend and because I refuse to give up without fighting the good fight, here are some pictures, taken during this past “summer”, that have two things in them—sun, and color. In fact, more color than we'll probably see any time soon-

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

And, just to show almost every single color seemingly known to humanity...

I don't know if they helped, but at least it gives one hope, right? Have yourself a great weekend, and remember—just four or five months before we see color again!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 11/16

I think I have my list of cookies set.

As those of you who have reading these forever know, Christmas cookies are a big deal in the Koski household. I make a crapload of them at home and then give most of them away to family and friends, then repeat the whole thing over again when I go over to my parents and make most of THEIR cookies for the holidays.

What can I say? I'm a masochist.

Whenever I sit down to make the ones I give away, I always have to consider it from two different directions. I need to make four or five cookies that I always make—the “traditional” cookies. These are the ones I've made forever, the ones that would get a “why didn't you make?” if I ever decided not to make them. So I know that every year I'm going to make those particular cookies. But I always save a slot for a cookie I've never tried before. While I enjoy making the “traditional” cookies, I also enjoy challenging myself just a little. So each year around this time marks a quest to figure out something different, something out of the ordinary, that I can add along with all the “traditional” cookies.

This year's entry? Lemon rosemary cookies.

Yes, I made cookies with rosemary in them. No, they didn't suck. In fact, I made a test batch for a friend and she said, and I quote, they're “perfectly light and airy cookies with just the right amount of sweet, and the lemon flavor and the rosemary sends it over the top”. And I have to admit, she's right. There's something very addicting about them, despite the fact that they're basically just shortbread cookies with fresh lemon rind and fresh rosemary (but not too much fresh rosemary) added in. I can understand why people might look askew at cookies with rosemary in them; after all, I usually use rosemary on things like pork chops & chicken. But in these cookies?

Yum. And there was an added bonus in that I had to buy a lemon to get the rind while making the cookies. So when I was done with the lemon I juiced it, made myself some lemonade, and you know what I threw in it as an added flavor boost?

Why, rosemary, of course.

I'll be interested to see how the cookies go over with the people who receive them this year. While I realize they're not as “traditional” as the sugar cookies, the chocolate cherry bombs I make, or the Grandma Cookies everyone goes gaga over, I'm hopeful these experiments hit the spot. And who knows—if enough people like them?

Maybe they'll get added to the rotation every year.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/15

They can't do this to Loraine!

Well, technically, “they” can, because in this case the “they” is the Marquette County District Court and the “this” is jury duty. That's right; my (much) better half gets to be part of a participatory democracy for up to three different Tuesdays in December, and I feel her pain. Those of you who have read this for a while may recall two or three Decembers ago when I had the exact same call to duty, except mine was for SIX different days during the month.

I was even paid $1.89 (seriously) for the rearranging of my entire month.

While neither Loraine or I balk at doing our civic duty, I find it kind of funny that both of us have gotten called to the same court for the exact same month. I'm not a mathematician (after all, we don't want heads exploding anywhere, do we?), but I would have to think that the odds that both members of a couple getting jury duty during the exact same month of the year would be, well, small. My pea brain says it should be 24 to 1; I'm sure someone out there can calculate them much better than can I, so feel free.

Still, it is what it is. I know when I had to clear six days during the busiest month of the year a few years ago I spent many a night or weekend day at the station, working ahead in case whatever case was coming up actually went to trial. Five out of the six days I was on jury duty the trial was called off; on the sixth, I showed up early that morning and found out a settlement had been reached a few hours before. Still, they did pay me mileage—that $1.89 I previously mentioned—because I had to walk the six blocks from my apartment to the court house.

So the month of schedule disruption wasn't a total waste. I think I bought a bottle of Pepsi with the money.

My hope is that Loraine calls the day before each of her three scheduled dates, and is told that she doesn't need to show up. That's my hope, and given the experience I had a few years ago, that's the assumption we're working on. Hopefully, she'll be able to slide through the month with minimal disruptions, and then we'll both be off the hook for jury duty for the foreseeable future.

Or until next December Whichever comes first. Wish us luck.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/14

I don’t get it myself, but that’s okay, because everyone else seems to.

The “it” to which I’m referring is, of course, the Yooper national holiday that starts tomorrow. I myself have never gone hunting and I’m guessing I never will, but I realize that puts me in a minority here in the U.P. And that’s all right; I’ve pretty much made a life of being a little out of the ordinary. So to everyone who IS heading out tonight or tomorrow, I wish you the best of luck. I also hope you stay warm, hangover free, and come home both safe and facial hair-free.

And in the spirit of the holiday, here’s something I wrote last century (no, really, I wrote it last century) and stick up here just about every year on this day. But before I get to that, I do have to mention that today my favorite newborn in the world becomes my favorite 1-year old in the world, as my nephew Abel celebrates his first ever birthday. So happy birthday, Abel. I'm sure this will be your best one ever!

(jim@wmqt.com)

****

“’Twas the Night Before Deer Camp”,

by Jimmy Koski, grade 3.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE DEER SEASON

AND ALL THROUGH THE CAMP

HUNTERS WERE UNLOADED BEER CRATES

AND LIGHTING UP LAMPS

THE RIFLES THEY HUNG

IN THE PICKUP WITH CARE

IN HOPES THAT A 10-POINTER

SOON WOULD BE THERE

I IN MY ORANGE

MY BUDDY IN GREEN

SAT DOWN TO A CRIBBAGE GAME

THE BIGGEST EVER SEEN

WE PLAYED THROUGH THE NIGHT

AND EMPTIED THOSE CRATES

BUT MORNING SOON CAME

WE DIDN’T WANT TO BE LATE

WE SET OUT AT SUNRISE

AT DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT

PUT DOWN A BIG BAIT PILE

IN HOPES THAT BAMBI WOULD BITE

WE SAT AND WE WAITED

AND WAITED SOME MORE

I KEPT MY EYES OPEN

MY BUDDY STARTED TO SNORE

WHEN TO MY SURPRISE

STANDING RIGHT BY A TREE

WAS A BIG 12-POINT BUCK

MY PANTS I DID...WELL, NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT

I BROUGHT UP MY RIFLE

I LINED UP THE DEER

THEN MY BUDDY WOKE UP AND YELLED

“HEY--WHERE’S THE BEER?”

THE BUCK RAN AWAY

I LOWERED MY GUN

MY BUDDY JUST LAUGHED

SAID “LET’S HAVE SOME FUN”

WE WENT BACK TO DEER CAMP

AND HAD US A BALL

SO LET ME SAY THIS--

GOOD LUCK DEER HUNTING TO ALL...

(copyright 1999)

Monday, 11/13

I don't think I've ever been so thankful for a soundproof studio.

As you know, we've had a run of bad luck recently. We're still dropping out on the air here and there, and we're no closer to figuring out what's causing it (although, in my mind, the fact that it's clustered around the top and the bottom of the hour HAS to have something to do with it). And last Thursday, we had another problem start to plague us, although thankfully in a way that no one listening noticed. Last Thursday, a pipe going to the furnace in our building burst, sending water shooting everywhere. And while we didn't have to deal with the worst of it, water flooded the floors of and got sucked up into the drywall in our bathroom and back conference room. Serv-Pro was called in to clean it up; the water's now gone from the floors, and to dry out the drywall there have been six industrial-sized air fans blowing into holes drilled into the walls of the affected areas.

Guess whose office is right next to the affected areas?

Now, if you didn't immediately answer “yours, Jim”, you haven't been reading these long enough. Of course my office is right next to the flooded areas. And while I'm thankful (very thankful, in fact) that my office didn't get any water it in, having six industrial air blowers running 24 hours a day right outside my door isn't how I thought I'd be spending these past few days. While the blowers basically emit nothing but white noise, the white noise they emit is so loud that I can't hear anything my co-workers say, I can't hear the radio playing in my office, and in some instances I can't even hear myself think.

Not that the last is necessarily a bad thing.

You do get used to the noise after a while. At least, you get as used to it as you can get to something that would probably deafen you over time. And since you basically hear it every place you go on the station, after a while it's kind of like background noise. It's there, and you tune it start to tune it out. Except, of course, until you go into our air studio, which is soundproof, and you close the door. You then notice something that takes a second to register in your brain, but when it does register it's glorious.

It's the (literal) sound of silence.

You don't realize just how loud those blowers actually are until you're suddenly not exposed to them. Instead of hearing this wave of white noises all you can hear, assuming the air monitors are turned down, is the soft, subtle sound of computer hard drives gently whirring in their boxes, oblivious to the audio chaos that surrounds them. If you strain, you can hear fans that are blowing cool air into a few pieces of equipment. And if you close your eyes and listen, really listen, you can even hear yourself breathe.

It's quite the shock to the system.

It's funny, because I usually don't mind having a little noise in my work life. I always have music on, whether it's what we're playing or new stuff that I'm checking out. I myself am always making noise whether by talking to myself or horribly singing or by providing my own sound effects track to whatever I'm currently doing. So I'm obviously not adverse to noise. I guess it just takes having six industrial-sized air blowers to make one realize just how blessedly peaceful silence can be.

And that's why I'm really glad we have a sound-proof air studio.

(jim@wmqt.com), hopeful the air blowers get taken out later today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Friday, 11/10

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. Most people only think about the day when they realize there won’t be any mail delivery, but in living with a World War II researcher, I’ve come into a whole new appreciation of the day, especially when I hear the stories of people for whom the day honors, both those still with us and those never came home from their service.

People like THIS one--

Lawrence Ryan was born in Ishpeming on November 9^th, 1921. He was the oldest of three children; their parents died when they were all young, and the Ryan siblings were split up. Lawrence and his sister Helen were placed in the Holy Name Orphanage in Marquette, while their brother Bob stayed with an aunt in Ishpeming. The siblings remained close, especially after Lawrence and his sister moved back to Ishpeming to live with other relatives. He was a very talented musician and had an aptitude for science, graduating from Ishpeming High School in 1939 and, thanks to an uncle, enrolling in Michigan State for two years. Like many men of his generation, though, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he joined the military, becoming a fighter pilot cadet.

After two years of aviation training, Ryan made a short trip home to see his brother and sister, and then went overseas with his unit, the 509th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group, 84th Fighter Wing, U.S. 9th Air Force. Stationed in England, Ryan’s squadron escorted bombers as they attacked military installations, factories, and other important targets in Germany. Like all pilots in the war, Ryan just had to fly 50 missions, and then he could go home and finish out the war with non-hazardous duties. But because he was single, with no wife or children, he decided to stay on with his unit after his 50^th mission, allowing someone in his squadron who WAS married to head home in his place.

15 missions later--on his 65^th flight--Ryan was shot down over Uelversheim, Germany. He was 23 years old when he was killed.

After he died, Ryan's body was temporarily buried in this cemetery in Uelversheim, which we visited a few months ago--

Then he was brought back home, and buried next to his parents in the Ishpeming Cemetery. His brother and sister, when we met with them a few years ago, still talk about their big brother in fond and slightly melancholy terms. His name is on the Veterans’ Memorial next to the Ishpeming Post Office, and is also listed on a plaque on the Michigan State University campus, honoring the 300-plus students and alumni who died during the conflict.

So tomorrow, when you realize you’re not getting any mail, and you then realize that it's Veterans Day, think about all the people who’ve served their country, and, in cases like that of Lt. Ryan, made the ultimate sacrifice, as well.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 11/9

Trust me—it's been just as irritating for me as it has been for you. Maybe even moreso, because there seems to be nothing I can do about it.

Three times in the past three weeks we've been barraged with a ton of dropouts on the air. It will, at times, render listening to the station almost impossible. We try to figure out what's going on, but can't. And then it clears itself up and the problem doesn't occur again for four or six or eight days. Then, for a few hours, it comes back with a vengeance before disappearing again.

And there seems to be nothing we can do about it.

We've been able to narrow things down just enough to make us think that we're making progress, even if that progress doesn't show on the air. We know that something is interfering with our signal as we send it from our downtown Marquette studios to our transmitter in Ishpeming. Specifically, we know that something's interrupting our signal between Marquette and a mid-point tower at Morgan Meadows. We know the interference is occurring somewhere between here and there. We know that the interference is causing problems for at least one other area radio station, although not at the same time it's causing our problems.  And yesterday, at least, the problem really seemed severe during the first 15 minutes of each hour.

But other than that, we have no clue.

There are so many radio signals floating around the air today that I'm kind of surprised that this hasn't happened before. Theoretically, everyone who uses radio signals is supposed to be registered with the FCC, and they're supposed to monitor things so that no one interferes with anyone else. But with so many wi-fi and wireless signals now in use, signals that span a big swath of the electromagnetic spectrum, there's just a lot of “gunk” out there. And that may lead to something called “multiplexing”. I don't know exactly how it works, because I'm not as smart of some of the engineers who are trying to figure out this problem, but multiplexing is what happens when you have a signal on a specific frequency. Apparently, if you double or triple or multiply that exact frequency by a certain number it can, theoretically, interfere with another signal on one of those multiplied numbers. That might be what's happening to us. There are cell phone and other towers on the path our signal travels from Marquette to Morgan Meadows; maybe one of the signals coming off of one of the towers is causing the problem.

That's just one of the theories floating around.

The irritating thing is, of course, that we get a little closer to figuring out what the problem is, and then the interference disappears before we can get equipment or people out there to figure out what's in the air. It's kind of a Sophie's Choice—we need the problem to be ongoing to figure out what it is, but you also don't want the problem to exist at all so people can actually listen without shutting their radios off.

You're darned if you do, and you're darned if you don't.

If things go like they normally do, you should be able to listen interference-free today. After all, the problem is bad one day, and they goes away for a few days. That's a good thing for listeners, and usually good for me, too. At least until the next time it happens. And sadly, with the lack of success we've had in trying to figure out the problem, there WILL be a next time.

Wish us luck.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/8

See? I really DO know what I’m doing by eating chocolate!

I came across a link to an old article  on the Huffington Post a few days ago regarding chocolate and all the health benefits related to it. Now, I knew that moderate consumption of one of my favorite foods was good for your health, but when I saw the list, even I was astounded.

For instance, eating chocolate can, according to the article:

--Make you think better

--Control your appetite

--Lower your blood pressure

--Relieve anxiety

--Lower your bad cholesterol

--Kick up your metabolism

--Give you smoother skin

--Help you lose weight, and

--Lower your risk of a heart attack.

And here you wonder WHY I eat chocolate so much??

8-)

Chocolate actually does all that; the science behind it is proven. There are two very strong caveats to go along with this, though. You actually have to consume your chocolate in moderation; eating more than two or three ounces a day (the size of an average bar) just adds calories to your diet without adding any extra benefits. And the chocolate you eat MUST be dark chocolate, with at least 70% cocoa content. Milk chocolate doesn’t have enough flavanoids in it to help your body, and all the extra sugar in it just makes you gain weight.

Good thing I really like dark chocolate, huh?

I knew eating dark chocolate was good for you; I guess I didn’t realize ALL the benefits that came from eating moderate amounts of it, especially because some of those benefits are so counter-intuitive. I mean, eat chocolate to lose weight or lower your cholesterol? It doesn’t really make sense, but the science is there, as is the answer the next time someone asks how I can stay so skinny when my love of chocolate is so well known.

I just eat the right kind of chocolate, and I don’t eat too much of it. Who knew, right?

Now, if scientists could only prove that eating pizza, ice cream, and cookies from Cal’s Party Store had the same health benefits as eating dark chocolate. If that were the case, I think my diet would be set for life.

Hopefully, that discovery is just around the corner!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/7

I know what’s wrong with this country these days, and I can sum it up in two words--

Leaf blowers.

Probably not the two exact words that popped into your mind, right? And I’ll admit I AM being a little facetious, although I'm not the only one. My “Weird Fact of the Day” yesterday was that 68% of Americans wouldn't mind if leaf blowers were banned. I can sure see why so many people think that way--leaf blowers consume finite, non-renewable resources. They spew pollution, both environmental and noise. And because people using leaf blowers use far fewer calories than people who rake, they also add to the country’s exploding obesity problem.

Leaf blowers. . .the all-American problem-causing device!

I don't know about the rest of the 68%, but I've always thought that way, especially on those weekends when one of my neighbors stands in his yard and spends an hour or so using one of the machines to blow several hundred leaves around his yard. I didn’t think it actually took that long to put all those leaves in a pile; after all, when I’ve raked a small yard like the one he has, it sure didn’t take me an hour to do it. I truly believe he just liked the noise the machine was generating and ending up moving the pile of leaves from one side of his yard to the other.

At least that would explain the hour of noise, right?

I know I’m not the typical American these days. If I’m outside enjoying myself, I use a bike or skis; I don’t hop on a 4-wheeler or snowmobile. If I need to go to a store three blocks away, I don’t hop in my SUV and drive there. And if I have to rake leaves, I actually use a rake, and not a pollution spewing noise machine.

Obviously, there’s something seriously wrong with me, right?

Sorry if I’m sounding like a cranky old man in training here, but as I contemplated the noise my neighbor was making I just had this epiphany about leaf blowers and pollution and obesity and how it just typically. . .American it all seems to be. And I’m not saying in any way that everything that seem to be ill these days is the fault of leaf blowers; I can think of at least a dozen others off the top of my head. It’s just that at the moment my neighbor’s leaf blower started up, something clicked in what’s left of my brain, and I knew right then and there--

Leaf blowers are, if nothing else, a symptom of what’s wrong with things these days.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 11/3

My grandfather died thirty years ago today. And in a very small way, it changed a little something in your life.

I don't think any of you knew my maternal grandfather, Frank Schwemin. He worked at NMU for many years and called square and round dances throughout the area before dying of emphysema on November 3^rd, 1987. It's funny, but in a way he lives on, as his oldest grandson has the same dorkily long limbs and slightly sunken eyes as he did. So every time you see me you see a bit of my grandfather.

But that's not how his death changed your life in a very small way. When my grandfather died I was working in Flint, suffering through a horrid job in a horrid locale. At the same time I came home for his funeral a job at TV-6 opened, a job almost exactly the same as I was doing down in Flint. Up to that point, I had always thought that my future lie somewhere other than Marquette. I don't know why I did; call it the impetuousness of youth, I guess. But coming home for his funeral made me realize that moving back to Marquette might not be the worst thing in the world. So while I was going to funeral and family gatherings I managed to sneak in a job interview before heading back to Flint, where I waited to hear if I got the job.

A few days later I found out it was given to someone else.

That might've been the end of it right there. I might've resigned myself to finding a new job somewhere else and then hoping that the girl I had met in Flint might wanna look for a job there, too. But as it turns out, the person hired for the TV-6 job worked at a Marquette radio station. That meant that his job had to be filled, and while I hadn't really thought about going back into radio, a few months later I found myself moving back to Marquette to fill that position. And while that particular job was almost as bad (if not worse) than the one I had in Flint, it had three things going for it—it was in Marquette, not Flint. The girl I had met in Flint decided to take the leap and move up here. And it allowed me to connect with a guy for whom I had worked in high school, and when the afternoon air slot opened up at Joe Blake's WMQT, I took it and haven't looked back since.

That's why my grandfather's death 30 years ago today changed your life just a small, tiny bit. If I hadn't decided after he passed away that I wanted to move back to Marquette you'd be listening to someone else every afternoon, and I'd probably be working at some job somewhere I didn't like, missing out on the chance to live in an amazing city with an amazing woman, an amazing family, and an amazing lifestyle.

And that all started because of what happened 30 years ago today.

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps—enjoy your weekend. And, as is (sadly) becoming normal, stay warm & stay dry!)

Thursday, 11/2

Eleven months down, one to go.

Those of you who have read these babblings forever know that on occasion I do stupid and/or weird things (the rest of you may now mutter to yourself “that explains a lot”). I do something once, and then decide to see just how long I can keep it going. Well, I'm now 11/12^th of the way through something that IS stupid and/or weird.

And I only have to do it once more.

We have had a bizarre weather year this year. Along with our cold & wet summer, ur tropical September, and then the monsoon we had last week we also had a very mild winter. It was so mild, in fact, that we had a stretch of temperatures in the 40s during January and hit a peak of 64 in February. Because I tend to wear shorts when I go running any time it's above freezing, I amused myself by wearing shorts in January. I got a chuckle out of the fact that I was wearing shorts in January, but didn't think any more of it. Then when it hit the 60s in February and I wore them again, one of those stupid and/or weird things popped into my head; namely, could this be a year where I wear shorts while running at least once every month?

After yesterday morning, I'm 11/12^th of the way into it.

No, I didn't plan on seeing if I could run in shorts every month of a year. The opportunity just kind of presented itself, and I took it. Maybe it was because after several bitterly cold winters the comparative warmth of this January and February presented an opportunity. Or short-circuited something in my brain. Or both. Nonetheless, seeing as how I'm this far into it I might as well go for the gold, right?

Now, we just need to make sure that there's a day in December that's above freezing, and I'll be all set. Keep your fingers crossed.

(jim@wmqt.com), doer of weird things

(ps—while I have the chance I wanna wish my favorite brother in the whole wide world a happy birthday. I mean, he's my only brother, so he kind of has to be my favorite brother in the world (at least that's what my mom makes me say), but nonetheless, if you see Marc around anywhere today, make sure you wish him a happy birthday, because he deserves it!!)