Is it a bad sign when there is a loud squeal from under the hood of your car as you accelerate? Yes, it is. But I'm afraid to have it checked out. Will probably be very expensive to fix. Most things on a car are. But, not fixing whatever it is now, will probably cause more damage, making it more costly to repair later. "rock and a hard place"
My daughter's car needs some fixing up too. Changing the oil, the technician pointed out one or two things which might "last awhile" or might "break anytime." So to a repair shop that can do the work. The parking lot at the shop is full. Owner says, "hot weather makes things break", so with temperatures around 100, auto repair stores are seeing more business. Meaning a slower turn around.
But in this economy, many folks are having little things fixed, instead of buying a new car or truck. Although, there are pretty good deals on cars and trucks right now. Dealers are wanting to sell.
By the way, the noise in my car only happens when the air conditioner is on. And the a/c can be really expensive to fix. Just have to drive with the windows down.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Salute
I know I'm not getting older, but my children are. Kathryn graduated from University of North Texas in mid-May. Tommy from Abilene High School in early June. Rebecca and Sarah graduated from Texas Tech 2 to 3 years ago. Christopher is moving up, so my wife and I have one more high school and maybe two more college commencements in the future. This does not count daughters and sons-in-law post graduate degrees which are not planned for now, but you never know, plus grandchildren, in-laws' children, other relatives and friends.
College and high school graduations are different. At the college level, you know your child who is getting the old sheep skin, and a friend or two. And that's about it. That's almost not worth sitting thru an hour and a half of name reading. But you can't leave. It is not polite. And they all have worked hard to get there, so they deserve your time.
High school commencement is different. Not just that it took 13 years to get there. It includes a lot of youngsters our children grew up with. Some back to kindergarten, which doesn't seem all that long ago. So even in a class of 500 or so, there are quite a few names even I recognize. Memories of the years gone by.
But a bright future for all the grads, even tho things are a little rocky right now. I'm very proud of what my children have accomplished so far and will do in the future. But that's just a dad talking.
College and high school graduations are different. At the college level, you know your child who is getting the old sheep skin, and a friend or two. And that's about it. That's almost not worth sitting thru an hour and a half of name reading. But you can't leave. It is not polite. And they all have worked hard to get there, so they deserve your time.
High school commencement is different. Not just that it took 13 years to get there. It includes a lot of youngsters our children grew up with. Some back to kindergarten, which doesn't seem all that long ago. So even in a class of 500 or so, there are quite a few names even I recognize. Memories of the years gone by.
But a bright future for all the grads, even tho things are a little rocky right now. I'm very proud of what my children have accomplished so far and will do in the future. But that's just a dad talking.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Goodbye Channel 32
I was at our transmitter site the other evening. It's about 15 miles outside of Abilene, and not a place I am required to go very often. In fact, the most recent visit was my third in the last 30 years. The first two were just before KTAB signed on the air in October of 1979.
The first found the Channel 32 antenna on the ground. The 75 foot antenna weighing thousands of pounds would later be lifted to the top of the 500 foot tower where it is bolted in place..free standing up there. No wires to hold it in place. It has seen a lot of lightning, strong wind and ice in those years.
The second time I was at "the mountain", was the morning KTAB signed on the air for the first time...October 6, 1979. I had just recorded the sign-on for the station. (A very last minute deal when I asked, "Has anyone recorded the sign-on?" No one had). In those days, before 24 hour broadcasting, we would use the sign-on as the official welcome. "Good Morning. KTAB-TV in Abilene, Texas, now begins another broadcast day..." followed by the National Anthem. At night, the sign-off. "This concludes another broadcast day..." followed by the National Anthem. Both included some legal requirements which the FCC mandated we (and all radio and tv stations) include. The sun was just rising over the eastern horizon, when the transmitter officially started broadcasting the KTAB-TV signal on analog Channel 32. Back in '79 we didn't think twice about an "analog" signal, that's all there was.
My return to the mountain 30 years later was because there isn't just analog, there is also digital. And the government was ordering us and all telecasters to stop our traditional analog transmission and go digital. (The feds sold off the analog frequencies to cell phone companies so there could be more cellular phone traffic than there is now. Some tv's won't turn off the analogs until June 12th.)
On May 12th, KTAB turned off its analog transmitter for the last time. Chief Engineer Glen McCandless had the honor. Glen and I are the only two remaining original KTAB employees still on the payroll. We both joined KTAB-TV on August 20, 1979. It was appropriate I think that Glen and I were there to turn off the transmitter, since we were both there 30 years ago when it was turned on. We did live reports from the transmitter site on May 12th during the 5 and 6pm newscasts. Photographer Danielle Reeves did a great job with the camera, showing what was going on.
Glen turned off the transmitter at 6:15pm while we were doing a live shot.
So, on October 6, 1979, my voice was the first heard on KTAB..."Good Morning...." And on May 12, 2009, my voice was the last heard on KTAB analog... "Goodbye Channel 32"....
The first found the Channel 32 antenna on the ground. The 75 foot antenna weighing thousands of pounds would later be lifted to the top of the 500 foot tower where it is bolted in place..free standing up there. No wires to hold it in place. It has seen a lot of lightning, strong wind and ice in those years.
The second time I was at "the mountain", was the morning KTAB signed on the air for the first time...October 6, 1979. I had just recorded the sign-on for the station. (A very last minute deal when I asked, "Has anyone recorded the sign-on?" No one had). In those days, before 24 hour broadcasting, we would use the sign-on as the official welcome. "Good Morning. KTAB-TV in Abilene, Texas, now begins another broadcast day..." followed by the National Anthem. At night, the sign-off. "This concludes another broadcast day..." followed by the National Anthem. Both included some legal requirements which the FCC mandated we (and all radio and tv stations) include. The sun was just rising over the eastern horizon, when the transmitter officially started broadcasting the KTAB-TV signal on analog Channel 32. Back in '79 we didn't think twice about an "analog" signal, that's all there was.
My return to the mountain 30 years later was because there isn't just analog, there is also digital. And the government was ordering us and all telecasters to stop our traditional analog transmission and go digital. (The feds sold off the analog frequencies to cell phone companies so there could be more cellular phone traffic than there is now. Some tv's won't turn off the analogs until June 12th.)
On May 12th, KTAB turned off its analog transmitter for the last time. Chief Engineer Glen McCandless had the honor. Glen and I are the only two remaining original KTAB employees still on the payroll. We both joined KTAB-TV on August 20, 1979. It was appropriate I think that Glen and I were there to turn off the transmitter, since we were both there 30 years ago when it was turned on. We did live reports from the transmitter site on May 12th during the 5 and 6pm newscasts. Photographer Danielle Reeves did a great job with the camera, showing what was going on.
Glen turned off the transmitter at 6:15pm while we were doing a live shot.
So, on October 6, 1979, my voice was the first heard on KTAB..."Good Morning...." And on May 12, 2009, my voice was the last heard on KTAB analog... "Goodbye Channel 32"....
Friday, May 1, 2009
H1N1
How are you feeling? Wash your hands lately? Think we're talking and doing too much about H1N1? We now have confirmed "probable" cases of swine flu. 6 children from Merkel. All the cases were mild and the children have recovered. Merkel and Trent schools will be closed until May 11th. The "probable" samples now go to CDC in Atlanta where a third test will confirm swine flu (or not).
Congressman Randy Neugebauer says altho it may seem overkill, the government has to plan for the worst and have everything in place in case the flu really does spread like wildfire. It would be tough to play catch-up. So, he thinks, better to be cautious.
Dr. Zane Travis of the Health District has had more air time than me, as we cover the swine flu. He still encourages not to panic. Even if you get it, its pretty much like any other flu. Not good, but most will survive.
Lots of school activities... concerts, end of year banquets, field trips, sporting events... all cancelled at some Big Country school districts. Merkel and Trent closed until May 11th. Can't remember anything like this, especially when not much has happened. Again, erring on the side of caution.
Our newscasts this Friday (5-1) were extremely interesting. Dan needed time to cover storms in the viewing area. News needed time to cover the flu. And David wanted time for sports. And we start and stop on time (most of the time). So, as they say in Hollywood, a lot of what we wanted to say "ended up on the cutting room floor." Altho, we tried not to cut any of the important information.
Producer Mark, reporters Victor and Megan and Manny, live truck operators Danielle and Andrew, director Russell, production crew all had a real workout. Shooting, writing and editing more stories than usual, chasing storms and setting up live shots, producing newscasts with ever changing content, putting a newscast on the air which was more "seat of the pants" than normal. This is another one of those days that confirms as correct, the decision to get into broadcasting. It is easy to walk away from an informative and entertaining half hour as we did at 6:30 and 10:40, and know we gave our best effort and provided the viewers with information they needed. Thanks all. Team work.....
Congressman Randy Neugebauer says altho it may seem overkill, the government has to plan for the worst and have everything in place in case the flu really does spread like wildfire. It would be tough to play catch-up. So, he thinks, better to be cautious.
Dr. Zane Travis of the Health District has had more air time than me, as we cover the swine flu. He still encourages not to panic. Even if you get it, its pretty much like any other flu. Not good, but most will survive.
Lots of school activities... concerts, end of year banquets, field trips, sporting events... all cancelled at some Big Country school districts. Merkel and Trent closed until May 11th. Can't remember anything like this, especially when not much has happened. Again, erring on the side of caution.
Our newscasts this Friday (5-1) were extremely interesting. Dan needed time to cover storms in the viewing area. News needed time to cover the flu. And David wanted time for sports. And we start and stop on time (most of the time). So, as they say in Hollywood, a lot of what we wanted to say "ended up on the cutting room floor." Altho, we tried not to cut any of the important information.
Producer Mark, reporters Victor and Megan and Manny, live truck operators Danielle and Andrew, director Russell, production crew all had a real workout. Shooting, writing and editing more stories than usual, chasing storms and setting up live shots, producing newscasts with ever changing content, putting a newscast on the air which was more "seat of the pants" than normal. This is another one of those days that confirms as correct, the decision to get into broadcasting. It is easy to walk away from an informative and entertaining half hour as we did at 6:30 and 10:40, and know we gave our best effort and provided the viewers with information they needed. Thanks all. Team work.....
Monday, April 27, 2009
What's In A Picture?
As I have mentioned before, one of the really great things about doing my job, is never knowing what will happen in the next second, which might become a story, or at least hot conversation in the newsroom. As an example, I was sitting at my desk writing the 6 pm news, while Victor Sotelo was editing video for a 6pm story at a computer about 10 feet from my desk. As we edit, the last frame of video is frozen in place, until the next video is ready to add on. When I happened to glance at the computer monitor, I was surprised at the image I saw. The frame I saw is below. What do you see? 
(It is actually a burning tree next to a house on fire in Abilene this weekend.)
(It is actually a burning tree next to a house on fire in Abilene this weekend.)Wednesday, April 22, 2009
I Want News
There are days, and then there are days. A large dry-erase board is on one wall of our newsroom. The day's assignments are posted there, with the reporters name assigned to the story, the story name and for which of our many newscasts it is expected to be completed.
As I may have mentioned before, there are days, and then there are days. Days are when the board is overflowing with projects completed or being developed but expected to be done. Days are when everyone also has an idea or two to toss into the mix about things we need to report, people we need to profile, story ideas to follow.
Days are when all the cameras are working, the batteries are all charged, the live trucks are all available, and people have remembered to put gas in all the news vehicles.
And then there are days. Like today. When the assignment board is about half full, there were not a lot of workable ideas presented, and one or two of those other things didn't fall into place. Sometimes, when it's a "slow" news day, there will be some stormy weather for Dan, or David has a new head football coach at a local high school.
And then there are days. Like today. Not a bad news day, just nothing really exciting, but still things you need to know about. We do our best to put together an interesting half hour of information, no matter what kind of day it has been in the newsroom.
But the wonderful thing about the news business is we never know what's going to happen in the next minute which will create our Top Story for a day like tomorrow.
That's when we'll be back with all the news that hasn't happened yet.....
As I may have mentioned before, there are days, and then there are days. Days are when the board is overflowing with projects completed or being developed but expected to be done. Days are when everyone also has an idea or two to toss into the mix about things we need to report, people we need to profile, story ideas to follow.
Days are when all the cameras are working, the batteries are all charged, the live trucks are all available, and people have remembered to put gas in all the news vehicles.
And then there are days. Like today. When the assignment board is about half full, there were not a lot of workable ideas presented, and one or two of those other things didn't fall into place. Sometimes, when it's a "slow" news day, there will be some stormy weather for Dan, or David has a new head football coach at a local high school.
And then there are days. Like today. Not a bad news day, just nothing really exciting, but still things you need to know about. We do our best to put together an interesting half hour of information, no matter what kind of day it has been in the newsroom.
But the wonderful thing about the news business is we never know what's going to happen in the next minute which will create our Top Story for a day like tomorrow.
That's when we'll be back with all the news that hasn't happened yet.....
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Breaking News
Most evenings we can all take a dinner break between the 6 and 10 o'clock newscasts..
That's MOST evenings.. But when there are severe storms in the KTAB viewing area, or when there is Breaking News, its all hands on deck.. We listen to police and fire radios and scanners all day.. Accidents, fires, shootings.. Those are all incidents we may hear on the police/fire radios.. Of course, we get phone calls and e-mails from viewers about what's going on too..
I also have radios and scanners at home.. My wife has "good ears" to pick up what's happening.. My children hated the scanners, but actually have heard useful news over the years.. Obviously, we use the information only for news coverage..
Wednesday (04-08) I was home for a meal break when the Abilene Fire Department started broadcasting a fire at The Windsor, a multi-story retirement community at North 4th and Pine, downtown.. In news, we really (believe me) don't wish for bad things to happen, but when they do, we have to be prepared to cover them.. That fire call ended my dinner break.. My wife put my dinner in a plastic dish, and I rushed back to the station, just in case.. Altho there was significant smoke and water damage to several apartments, there were no serious injuries and this did not turn into a major event (unless you live in one of those damaged apartments)..
This will obviously lead our newscast at 10pm.. But things are under control, and we have a plan for the 10pm news..
So, that gives me an opportunity to write this.....
That's MOST evenings.. But when there are severe storms in the KTAB viewing area, or when there is Breaking News, its all hands on deck.. We listen to police and fire radios and scanners all day.. Accidents, fires, shootings.. Those are all incidents we may hear on the police/fire radios.. Of course, we get phone calls and e-mails from viewers about what's going on too..
I also have radios and scanners at home.. My wife has "good ears" to pick up what's happening.. My children hated the scanners, but actually have heard useful news over the years.. Obviously, we use the information only for news coverage..
Wednesday (04-08) I was home for a meal break when the Abilene Fire Department started broadcasting a fire at The Windsor, a multi-story retirement community at North 4th and Pine, downtown.. In news, we really (believe me) don't wish for bad things to happen, but when they do, we have to be prepared to cover them.. That fire call ended my dinner break.. My wife put my dinner in a plastic dish, and I rushed back to the station, just in case.. Altho there was significant smoke and water damage to several apartments, there were no serious injuries and this did not turn into a major event (unless you live in one of those damaged apartments)..
This will obviously lead our newscast at 10pm.. But things are under control, and we have a plan for the 10pm news..
So, that gives me an opportunity to write this.....
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