Wednesday, 4/9

So...just what IS the protocol for removing dead people from your contacts?

I'm curious because I had to add a couple of new numbers to my phone this past weekend, and it made me think about that question. Actually, it made me think about a couple of things, the other being that heaven forbid I—we, actually—have to remember phone numbers these days, right? I mean, the only phone numbers I know without having to look them up are Loraine, both my parents, and the Q107 transmitter, which I have to call every time something goes wrong.

Can you guess which one I wish I didn't know by heart?

Anyway, as I was adding the new numbers in I noticed my phone contained the numbers of three people who, sad to say, have passed away in the past couple of years. They were individuals that I had met thanks to the History Center or “High School Bowl”, and were people who had become friends. Sadly, my favorite mother-in-law was in there, as well, almost a year after she passed away.

So when I saw I still have their numbers, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. After all, I don't need them any more. They're dead. But, for whatever reason, it didn't feel right deleting their info. I don't know why. The rational, logical part of me knows I don't need the numbers any more. But to the rest of me it just didn't seem right to get rid of the info. It's a dichotomy I can't explain. It's not like by deleting the numbers I'm removing them from my life. That happened when they passed away. And it's not like I'm ever gonna use the numbers again. Knowing my luck, I'd accidentally touch of the entries and call the number, only to have whoever picked it up when it was reassigned by the phone company answer the call and wonder what's going on.

Just what is one to do? Is there a proper etiquette for dealing with a situation like this?

In the end, the logical, rational, and practical side of me won out, and the numbers are gone. I know I don't need them, and I know there's absolutely no reason for me to digitally carry them around with me. So there—I guess we can now consider that the proper etiquette for dealing with a situation such as this.

Still, it just seems strange not having them in my phone. Now, if I could only do that with the number for our transmitter, all would be right in the world.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 4/8

The story you are about to watch is real. Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

As I think I've mentioned (or at least inferred) I have been spending time recently with Trolls—people from Michigan's Lower Peninsula (and, for those of you who don't live here, they're called “trolls” because they live below the (Mackinac) Bridge. Get it?) As we all know, people from the UP and people from the LP are not always the same, so I took the opportunity to ask three of these Trolls about their impressions and thoughts regarding Upper Michigan.

And then I spun a TV bit out of it.

As you'll hear when you watch it, I'm not surprised by the three different answers I received. In fact, in the back of my mind, I was expecting a variation of each of them. I don't know if I was just able to grasp the relationship between the two peoples, or if Trolls are just that predictable, but they answered the way I pretty much thought they would.

And that's now I got last night's TV piece. Check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com), not a Troll.

Monday, 4/7

At least it was a sign of spring. And these days, I’ll take what I can get.

Once again, I wasn't gonna talk about the weather, but those of you who are in the U.P. know that we’ve had, well, quite the weather month. We’ve had snow...lots of snow. We’ve had cold. We’ve had ice pellets. We’ve had wind. We’ve had just about an entire year’s worth of winter weather compressed into one 30 day period. And I feel confident in saying that most of us are starting to get sick of it, and are looking for a sign--any sign--that spring may soon be returning.

Well, I think I had one of those signs while cleaning some ice (yes, in April) off of Loraine's windshield after running this morning. And while it may not have been the most traditional sign that spring is inexorably on the way, I’m cool with that. You see, as I wiping Loraine's windshield clean I noticed something on it. It wasn’t on the windshield earlier (at least I don't think), so I knew it had just happened, and I knew it was a sign spring may be lurking about, no matter what the forecast has to say--

There was a big splattering of bird poop on Loraine's windshield.

Now normally we look at a big splattering of bird poop on a windshield as an inconvenience, because we know we have to clean it off. We may also look at a big splattering of bird poop as a personal affront, especially when said splattering happens to appear, say, right after we’ve finished washing our car. But this particular big splattering of bird poop may have been the most welcome big splattering of bird poop in recorded history, if only because it means that there are actually birds around to leave the big splattering of poop. And since birds only start to return to the U.P. when spring is (supposedly) here...

Well, let them splatter the car as much as they want.

I know that in a couple of weeks or a couple of months I won’t feel the same way about seeing a big splattering of bird poop on Loraine's windshield, but for now I look upon it as a sign. A very good sign, in fact, that despite the snow and cold and wind and ice of the past few weeks there is hope. There’s hope that Spring, with its warmer temperatures and green grass and lilac blooms, will show up, no matter what it looks like outside now. And how do I know that?

I saw the big splattering of bird poop on Loraine's windshield. That’s how I know.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 4/4

I think I've inherited a lot from my mom. I'm pretty sure the ability to draw isn't one of them.

First of all, happy birthday (tomorrow) to one of the two people without whom I wouldn't have been possible. She's down in Florida right now with Chicky-poo soaking up the sun & the warmth, while the rest of us are still up here suffering through the snow and the cold. So, when you think about it, maybe there are two things I didn't inherit from her—the ability to draw, and common sense.

We'll have to debate and discuss that further one day in the future.,

The reason I bring this up on her birthday is that she has a website. I don't know if you're aware of this, but I put it together for her so she could show off her talents as a watercolorist. She came to this hobby after beginning to spend winters in Florida; she took a class, and found out she could paint. And trust me—she can really paint. Don't believe me?

Yes, that last one is of me and a cow in Germany. It was a surprise Christmas present after we all went over there a few years ago, and it's currently hanging in the Jim & Loraine Apartment Gallery, along with several other of her originals.

We call it “A Dork and a Cow”. I think you know which one is which.

Those are just a few of her works; you can check out the rest of them, should you wish, at www.darlenekoski.com. Lest you think I'm biased about her talent (and while I am, it's for a good reason) go ahead and see for yourself just how good she is.

Have a happy birthday, mom. Can't wait to see what you bring back home with you this year!!

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 4/3

Once again, apparently, I am an oddball.

Our “At Work/Online Network” question for this week deals with a person's LEAST favorite Easter candy. I kinda sorta did it to see just how many people agree with me that the abomination known as black jellybeans should be banned from the face of the Earth. As of yesterday, though, only one person who answered the question online agreed with me.

The rest thought it should be Peeps.

I wasn't quite sure what people have against Peeps; I mean, I know they're cloyingly sweet and quite chewy, but to me, at least, they're nowhere near as bad a black jellybeans, which taste like someone throwing up in your mouth after eating too much road tar. But maybe that's just me; in fact, if you look online, you can find whole communities of people who gather to rag on the candy. And while there are others like me who aren't fond of black jellybeans, they seem quite outnumbered by those who loathe Peeps.

Wow. I had no idea.

If nothing else, this was an exercise in Confirmation Bias, where someone supposes that everyone believes the same things they do but find out (often quite explicitly) that others actually don't. So, I guess I'll take away two things from this—one, that if there's a more universally loathed candy than Peeps, I have yet to find it.

And two? Well, I guess I'll remain an oddball for a little while longer.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/2

You knew it was Hungarian, didn't you?

I did indeed resurrect the old habit of writing a blog and then posting in a strange language yesterday for April Fools Day, and having read several books on strange languages the past few years figured Hungarian would work just fine. For some reason, it's not really related to any other European language (except Finnish, for some bizarre reason) and so there are few recognizable words for someone who speaks a Germanic language (like English) or a Romance language (like Spanish or French) to recognize.

Anyway, thanks for indulging me in my flight of fancy. It actually puts you in good company these days, in the company of the people taking part in our “Easter Parade of Colors” contest. If you've been listening, it's a contest built around a whimsical theme—that we're now broadcasting in color, and people can use their new color radios to guess the color of an Easter egg I hold up to the microphone.

The amazing thing? So far every single person has played along with the gag.

And it IS a gag. After all, sound doesn't come in colors, and even if it did, you'd need a color radio, which according to the promos we're running are available at stores like The Sound Center and Colorvision, both of which closed over 30 years ago. The whole contest is basically one giant whimsical joke, and I have to say I've been heartened that everyone (at least so far) is in on the gag.

And we're going whole hog on that gag, now that we're broadcasting in “full color” (as many of our liners say). Of course, I suppose it helps that we're giving away almost $700 in prizes. A total like that will almost certainly lead someone to willingly suspend their disbelief long enough to qualify. But the way that listeners are willing to play along with such a straight face warms the cockles of my weird little heart.

And we all know how weird THAT is.

So over the next two and a half weeks, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone keeps playing along. And if they do? Maybe I'll amp up the whimsy even more.

I just probably won't try to take a qualifier in Hungarian. That might be a little too much.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 4/1

És boldog április bolondok napját!

Valójában nem fogok sokat írni ide, de arra gondoltam, hogy KELL írnom egy kicsit, ha valaki kitalálja, hogy ezt a bejegyzést magyarul tettem fel, és képes vagy maga lefordítani, vagy, mint én, találni egy webprogramot hogy megtegyem helyetted.

Úgy értem, nem gondoltad, hogy valójában tudok magyarul, igaz?

Az a vicces, hogy valójában ezt a blogot akartam közzétenni azon ó, 3 millió nyelv egyikén, amelyen a C-3PO állítólag a „Csillagok háborújában” beszél, mert ha hiszed, ha nem, néhány hete olvastam, hogy ott több „Star Wars” nyelvű fordító az interneten, mint bármely más nyelv esetében. Sajnos úgy tűnt, hogy egyiket sem találtam. Vagy legalábbis bármelyik működött.

Aki tudta? Valójában nem hiszel el mindent az interneten. T

ehát ahelyett, hogy ezt egy bolygón kívüli nyelven tenném közzé, úgy gondolom, hogy ezt az egyik legfurcsább nyelven tenném közzé, amivel valaha találkoztam. És hidd el - ez az egyik legfurcsább nyelv, amellyel valaha találkozhatsz. Most itt van a húsvéti tojás a mai bejegyzésben.

Kattintson erre a linkre -

https://en.eprevodilac.com/prevodilac-madjarski-engleski

És eljut egy webhelyre, ahol lefordíthatja a blogot, és elolvashatja, amit írtam. Sok szerencsét!\

(jim@wmqt.com)

********

And happy April Fools’ Day!

I’m not actually going to write much here, but I figured I SHOULD write a little something in case somebody figures out in which language I posted this and is able to either translate it themselves or, like me, to find a web program to do it for you.

I mean, you didn’t think that I actually know that particular language, do you?

The funny thing is, I was actually going to post this blog in one of the, oh, 3 million languages that C-3PO claims to speak in “Star Wars” because, believe it or not, I read a few weeks ago that there are more “Star Wars” language translators on the web than for any other language. Unfortunately, I didn't seem to find any of them. Or at least any of them that worked.

Who knew? You actually can't believe everything on the Internet.

So, instead of posting this in an off-planet language, I figure I’d post this in one of the strangest language I’ve ever come across. And trust me--this IS one of the strangest languages you’ll ever come across.

Now, here’s the Easter Egg in today’s entry. Click on this link--

https://en.eprevodilac.com/prevodilac-madjarski-engleski

And it takes you to a site where you can translate the blog, and read what I wrote. Either that, or wait until tomorrow when I post the translation. It's up to you.

Good luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)