Bag of Randomness

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  • I went to Subway yesterday during the lunchtime rush in which the line was consistently ten deep.  The woman in front of me was ordering for a group.  At one point the sandwich artist asked her what cheese she wanted and she responded with, “Hold on, let me text her and find out.”
  • Several countries are using their resources to help search for that missing  Malaysia Airlines plane, but I wonder who pays for those resources?  Are taxpayers footed with the bill or will a bill be sent to Malaysia Airlines?  I’m not griping, just curious.
  • When I was the The Ticket studios I wasn’t surprised at the number of emails the hosts get from listeners, but I was surprised at the number of emails in which all hosts, producers, and others were all included in an email.
  • I heard one reason Toyota chose Plano as their North American headquarters over Dallas is because of the Dallas school system.  It’s no surprise that the school district doesn’t have a great reputation, but since most workers commute to downtown from the burbs, I’m surprised that DISD was a factor.  With a GM plant in Arlington and Toyota in Plano, DFW is motor friendly.  Can we get a Tesla plant please?
  • After months of wanting to take the kids to the beach, WifeGeeding finally decided we may be rushing things and next year would be a better experience for them.
  • I keep my Kit Kats and M&M’s in the freezer, they taste better that way.
  • Perhaps the state of Oklahoma could contract with Dr Conrad Murray for their execution needs.
  • When the Don Sterling news broke, I wonder if Jerry Jones broke into a cold sweat wondering if anyone recorded any of his drunken ramblings.
  • For the last two nights, David Letterman has had former NBA Commissioner David Stern on the show.  All he does is walk out to the center of the stage, Dave will ask him something relating to the NBA, and then Stern grinningly replies with one sentence that doesn’t relate to anything remotely close to the question, and walks out backwards.  It’s so strange and surreal, and the form of humor is so different, it’s genius.
  • I’m caught up with everything at work, maybe even a little ahead of schedule with things, but I just have this weird feeling that I can never catch up.  Actually, I feel like that with most things most of the time.
  • I’ve only been to the Bishop Arts District twice, but each time I’ve parked by The Book Doctor.  It advertises that it fixes books and Bibles (as if the Bible isn’t a book, but I get why they make the stipulation) and for some reason it just interests me.  Turns out the NY Times did a story on them a year ago, and here’s a local feature  as well.
  • Some really great pics from the set of ‘Mad Men’.
  • Someone has already bought a Manziel Cowboys jersey.
  • Grace
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Nissan’s Never Get Dirty Car

Washing a car can be a chore – and a costly one at that. In response, Nissan has begun tests on innovative paint technology that repels mud, rain and everyday dirt, meaning drivers may never have to clean their car again.

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London 1924 & 2014

In 1924, Harry B. Parkinson and Frank Miller documented London in a fantastic series of short films, known as “Wonderful London”. Over the last few months, I have stood in their foot-steps, recapturing their shots exactly, and have blended the two together creating a window through time.

Wonderful London 1924 & 2014 from Simon Smith on Vimeo.

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Bag of Randomness

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  • Yesterday I spent the afternoon at DFW’s most beloved radio sports radio station, KTCK The Ticket, at Victory Park.  Instead of driving I decided to take the DART Green Line.  I’m glad I had WifeGeeding drop me off because there wasn’t any parking available.  On the way there I was the only passenger on the train for the first few stops, but on the way home on the 5:09 train, it was standing room only.  I bought my ticket using their mobile app, but man, it would have been easy to just sneak onboard without paying.
  • Victory Park is a ghost land and a far cry from what was originally planned during the middle of the day.  Hopefully the New Victory Park will liven up the joint.  But I did catch some folks doing outside yoga during the lunch hour.
  • In case you are wondering why I got to spend a day at The Ticket, I gave Sean Bass an old mower and in exchange he said he would buy me lunch and let me spend an afternoon at the mothership.  There’s not a nicer guy in radio, I tell ya.  During lunch I asked him how the mower was working and it needed a little work and was only able to mow half his lawn, which made me feel like a heel as it worked before he came over.  But then again, it’s been collecting dust for about two years.  While we were eating he got the weekly rating numbers.  If I understood correctly, KZPS came in first, followed by KISS, and then The Ticket, but I got a bit lost in terms of what that meant in terms of demographics and such.
  • We walked into the studios around 1:30 PM and I got a brief tour of the place, including the other radio stations on the floor like ESPN and KSCS.  It was almost as I expected, with doors that had an “On Air” light above them.  I saw the Catman, the program directory, and that’s one intimidating mean looking dude.
  • During a commercial break we walked in on Bob and Dan of Bad Radio.  Bob didn’t recognize me at first and cited the beard, and I was surprised at how friendly Dan was.  I was nervous that I was intruding or throwing them off rhythm, but they’re pros and they seemed a little surprised that I was being so quiet.  I guess it was my way of being respectful.
  • The Ticket’s studio basically comprises of three studios.  You have one large room with a table and about six adjustable mics, and then two rooms are connected with that room with windows.  I’m probably not using the correct terminology, but one room is the control room where the producer sits (Jake or Danny) with a board operator, and another smaller room for the folks like Sean that does tickers.  I spent about all my time in the ticker room.
  • Understanding that I was a guest, I did my best to be respectful and try not to be “that guy” that whipped out the camera phone and take obtrusive pictures.  Even though Sean said it was okay, I still didn’t want to be a distraction but I did snap a few where I felt it was appropriate.  I really wanted to take some goofy pics with the hosts, but other than talking with Bob and Dan when I first arrived, I didn’t really get that opportunity.
  • There’s an actual real Emergency Break of the Week trophy.
  • This fathead of Mike Rhyner is about five feet tall.
  • Here’s Bob and Dan during a commercial break in the main studio room.
  • This is the control room, Jake is on the right.
  • On the opposite side of the building is where the sales staff and other folks work.
  • Funny Norm wallpaper for a computer in the ticker room.
  • The great Sean Bass preparing audio for an upcoming ticker.
  • A view from the ticker room of the two other rooms.
  • This is a picture of Sean Bass taking control of the ticker room at the start of Why Today Doesn’t Suck, notice the wallpaper of a young Mike Rhyner on the monitor.  Right above that picture of Rhyner is the actual back of Mike Rhyner in the studio.
  • Line Four Guy is no longer on line-four but line-one.  Line-four use to be the line for the long distance callers, so now you know he’s not a local resident.  I also found out only one host knows his identity as they are friends, childhood friends I believe.
  • Here’s Mike and Corby starting The Hardline, this is right after Rhyner said “the friendly Mercantile building.”  And here’s Danny Balis producering the show.  And yes, I know ‘producering’ isn’t a real word.
  • Here’s a very bad picture of Becca the traffic girl.  She basically sits down in the main room for about four minutes, plugs in her headset, does the traffic, and then heads out to do the traffic for one of the other radio stations.
  • While I was at The Ticket a close friend called saying he was at the Coppell Dairy Queen drive-thru and witnessed a black Mercedes convertible drive into the establishment.  He was able to snap this picture and then I told Bob I had breaking Coppell news.  Dan had a funny comment about it but I don’t know if it’s appropriate for this blog; however, I sure did laugh pretty hard.
  • All 552 ‘Simpsons’ Episodes to Air Consecutively on FXX in August
  • No one does more with less – Craig Ferguson is leaving the ‘Late Late Show’.
  • I found a replacement screen for my Chromebook on eBay for about $45 buck, which is much cheaper than buying a new computer.
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