Sinus Headaches...wish you were me?

I've been suffering today from a sinus headache. I really, really bad sinus headache. I went into work at 7:15 and made through 11:00 before it was time to go home, get some medicine and sleep. Of course, that's not the way it worked. I followed up on some client business and was able to sell $250 and got several client on our upcoming auction.

By the time I got to lay down, the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Maybe sleep will come tonight.

AJ

A day in the life...

Everyday is an adventure when you have three kids. Here's just some pictures from an average day around the Wright household.

This first picture is of Kallsen mimicking his Daddy. As you can see, he is on his potty, talking on the phone while brushing his teeth. You're never to young to learn there's not enough time in a day. his picture was taken yesterday morning.

In this next picture, Joseph is enjoying his favorite past time, playing his PSP. That stands for Play Station Portable. He would spend every waking moment of the day on this if we would let him. I remember having a hand held football game and baseball...and playing it all the time. If I had I a PSP or GameBoy when growing up, I might still be glued to the game.

In this last picture, of Parker, it's just a really good picture that didn't make the cut from Saturday.

Growth Spurt?

Parker may be getting ready for another growth spurt. Last night at 8:00 he had two large servings of baby food and five ounces of formula. He then had five ounces of formula at 11:00, 2:00 and 5:00. That's more than he's ever had before over night. And his diaper was not very wet this morning. If it's not coming out, he must be using all of it to put toward a growth spurt.

I'm afraid that when I see him this afternoon I'll react similarly to how Kallsen reacted to the cat the other day..."what's that?"

AJ

Coincidence?

Coincidence? Maybe…but it does make you wonder.

Here’s the story…

My Grandpa Wright died last Spring. Over the past several months my Dad and my uncle Dan have been cleaning and fixing up Grandpa’s house so it can be sold. My Dad asked me if there was anything I wanted from the estate. I had made a request for one of my Grandpa’s study Bibles. My Grandpa had lead Bible study groups over the years and had a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I haven’t always been the perfect Christian. In fact sometimes I’m probable far from it. Every now and then, when I’m looking for answers I will meditate or read or sit and ponder.

Yesterday I was having some trouble working through some things. I had woken up in a particular bad mood and may have taken some of my mood and shared it with others (mainly Joseph and I hate that I did that.) On the way out of the house before getting in the Camry, I decided to go into the Suburban and grab the study Bible that my Grandpa had used (and it’s my understanding that was the last Bible he was using before he died) and to bring it to Church that morning so I could read along with the scripture lesson. Which is something I don’t normally do.

Other than having looked through the Bible when my Dad first gave it to me, I haven’t used it yet. The Scripture lesson on Sunday was Luke 15. When I opened up the Bible and turned to Luke 15 that’s where my Grandpa’s bookmark was. The last place he had marked in his Bible was the first place I looked the first time I used his Bible.

I’m always aware that I shouldn’t mistake coincidence for something else. But it does make you wonder.

AJ

PS-for those that don’t know, Luke 15 is the parable of the prodigal son. That was the lesson in church on Sunday and that was the last place marked in my Grandpa’s Bible.

Finally...

One of my failures as a parent has been reading to my children. Not Joseph. When I married Sara Beth, I read to Joseph almost every night for several years. And now Joseph loves to read. I'm a big believer in reading to children. I saw it make a difference in Joseph and I'm hoping it will make a difference in Kallsen and Parker.

Well, I have not done a good job in reading to Kallsen or Parker. Not that I haven't tried but Kallsen has been so active that he has not had the patience to sit and listen and have a book read to him in full. And this includes those short A, B and C books.

Well tonight Kallsen sat in my lap and was fully involved in the book I was reading to him. And when we were done he wanted to look at the pictures in the book again.

I think we're on to something.

AJ

Faces of Parker

PartyWright. LLC back in business?

I received my 20th call today asking about renting one or more of the items we used to carry in our inventory. All these calls came since November when we sold our inventory. We would have been doing more business in the winter months than I ever thought possible.

I'm a little surprised of the amount of phone calls and most of these calls are from people I know so I feel closing the deal would have been easy in most cases. And what I don't know is how many went to our website and saw that we were no longer in business and didn't bother calling. Our website has taken more than 1,000 hits since November.

We've had calls about our bounce house, our accelerator slide, Boom Blasters, pitchburst and several calls about our tents and tables. I think tents are the number one request.

With all these calls, it makes me wonder if I made the right decision. It also makes me want to get back into the business. I don't have an interest in moving a 700 pound slide anymore but I wouldn't mind the Boom Blasters or the bounce house. Even the tents...they paid for themselves very quickly.

AJ

Let's get naked...

Furry...

Furless...

When Kallsen saw Pumpkinhead for the first time after Pumpkinhead came home from getting shaved, he said,"what's that?"

AJ

Sunset over the Alaskan Range

(taken May, 2005)

One banana two

He love's bananas. Proofs in the pictures.

Now, this is funny...

I just wish I had found it sometime last week...when it was more timely...

How did you sleep?

At 2:00 this morning, Parker woke up and was needing to be fed. I got up, went and got Parker and fed him. Shortly there after he needed a diaper change. While I was changing his diaper, he peed all over me. I needed to turn the light on to get both him and me cleaned up. The light woke Kallsen up who then came into our room and wanted to be in on what ever was going on. Sara Beth decided she couldn't sleep with two kids in the bed so she moved on into the living room.

About a half hour later, Parker threw-up in the bed (mostly on me) and we were back up changing Parker's outfit and of course Kallsen was back up and wanting to get in on what ever he thought was going on. After I got Parker cleaned up, I headed back into our bedroom with Parker and Kallsen (lights are off) and I ended up knocking Kallsen in the head with the door and now he's screaming, so I turn the light on to find he has a bloody nose and a bruise on his forehead. I put Parker in the bed, and I tend to Kallsen and get him into the bed.

So here I am, a 19 month old, a four month old and me in the bed and no one is a sleep and its 3:30 in the morning and I'm coming off a day where I was up at 3am to get into the radio station to do the morning show and news. So I'm more tired than normal. As soon and I think both boys are a sleep (remember Sara Beth is in the living room trying to sleep on the couch.) Parker throws up again...this time all over everything. So I'm back up with the lights on trying to get the vomit off of the bed and getting Parker into his third outfit since 2:00. I take Parker into his room to clean him up and Kallsen wakes up and starts calling, Momma, Momma, Momma and heads down the hallway to the living room and wakes Sara Beth up. She comes back down the hallway and tries to get Kallsen into his bed as I finish cleaning up Parker and as I clean all the vomit off of the bed. So I strip the bed, wipe down and disinfect the mattress and then we (Sara Beth and I) decide we need to let the mattress dry and air out so we make a pallet on the floor in the boys room. Both Kallsen and Parker decide they can't sleep in their beds and would be so much more comfortable on the floor with Mommy and Daddy.

So here we are, it's coming on 4am and Sara Beth, me and two of our three boys are on the floor in the nursery between the changing table and Kallsen's toddler bed. Kallsen tosses and turns the remainder of the night and Parker just sits there blowing spit bubbles and singing. Next thing you know, the alarms going off and no one has really slept, other then Joseph, who has no idea what has been going on all night.

Before we went to bed last night, Sara Beth was saying she is wanting to have another baby. I asked her this morning if she still feels that way. Guess what her answer was....

AJ

Stuck between a .....

At our house, we have a five foot long fence that sits in front of our fire place to keep Kallsen (and one day Parker) from climbing into the fireplace. Earlier today, Kallsen threw his pacifier over the fence and decided it was time to explore and go get his pacifier. Needless to say, Kallsen got stuck...

Kallsen, always one for adventure, decided to try his hand at skateboarding on Sunday. The only thing is, we don't have a skateboard...so he decided to use what ever was handy...

Kallsen has always been a bit of a daredevil, so much now I'm somewhat amazed we haven't ended up in the ER. He is just non stop go, go, go all the time.

Some news on Parker...he has his first tooth coming in...you can see it about to break through the gum line. Needless to say, we've had our share of yucky diapers and more spitting up than normal. They say teething can do that to a child. As soon as the tooth breaks through, I'll try and post a picture.

AJ

Snow Days

Last week we had a number of days where we had snow. Here's a picture of Kallsen having lots of fun in the snow. We also have some video of him running and laughing in the snow. I'll see what I can do to get the video to load on the blog later.

AJ

Turn Over

Parker turned over from his stomach to his back today. I missed the first time he did it but I saw the second time. My boy is growing up!

AJ

150,000 Miles and counting

On my way back home this afternoon from the North Carolina Mountains I passed 150-thousand miles on my odometer of my 1996 Camry. I turned past 150-thousand miles right at the state line of Georgia and North Carolina.

AJ

Can you hear me now?

DK Republic: Georgia House passes School Club Law

DK Republic: Georgia House passes School Club Law

Georgia may legalize hate...

I ask you to please read this post on the DK Republic. I've commented on this posting and I will try to make it an issue on one of my upcoming talk shows.

Some days...

You have nothing to say. Today is one of those days.

AJ

Big Head Todd and The Monsters

Kallsen and Parker had doctors appointments today. Parker is in the 95th percentile for his head circumrfance and Kallsen is off the charts. Kallsen's head measured 20" in circumference. I think both these boys will follow in the Wright family tradition of having big heads. Both me and my Dad have to wear extra large hats. One size fits most, not all.

AJ

PS-for those not familure with Big Head Todd and the Monsters, they're a rock band from Colorado that was popular in the early 90's.

Counter Down Results Good

I have adjusted my counter to not turn when any one of three computers I may use to check the blog are used. I also changed the counter so that if you visit more than once in a six hour period, the counter will only count you once. It was counting people if they checked back within a half hour.

The reason I made the changes is to better reflect the numbers that are reading the blog on a regular basis. When I check my numbers, it shows that some IP addresses were checking back to my blog several times a day...

AJ

My Blog View

Apparently, this is what my blog looks like to snapshirts.com. I might see if I can get snap shirt to do something like this but only use my kids' names and my wife's name. That would be cool.

AJ

Let's talk about love

So I was the speaker this morning for my church's CRN group. I was called on Sunday afternoon and asked if I could do their program on Tuesday. I said I would be able to and then I was informed that I was to bring a message on love.

I get asked to speak before groups on a some what of a regular basis. I talk about radio, sales, advertising, disc golf and a few other topics. Things that I'm knowledgeable about. I'm the last person that you would want to speak about love. In fact the idea of me speaking on love is so ridiculous that when it was mentioned during our administrative council meeting on Monday night that I was doing the program the next morning and I was bringing a message on love, most everyone laughed. So I'm not the only one who thought I was an odd choice for that particular message.

I spent Monday night and Tuesday morning doing research. I looked up love in the dictionary and learned there are 22 different definitions for love. I also learned that when looking up Terms of Endearment, you need to wade through tons of references to the movie before you actual get to Terms of Endearment.

So I started my program with thanking them for inviting me and explaining that most times when I speak before groups I talk about radio or advertising. I very rarely talk about anything else. So I explained that everyone has some experience with love and being that I was the youngest person in the room that each one in the group had more experience and knowledge about love and could probable do the presentation just as well if not better than I can.

I talked about the definition of love and what it means in different situations. It's a different meaning when I'm talking about my love for radio or my love of playing disc golf. Loving what I do is different than loving my kids or my wife. I then went on to give a run down of all the things I love.

Here's my list...I love pizza, summer breezes, cold crisp mornings, throwing a Frisbee, the sounds of chains ringing in the distance, I love my cat, my job, the radio station and the staff I work with. I love my church, my preacher and I love my car. I also love when a plan comes together, when a client gets results, I love making a big sale and I love a good nights sleep. I love waking up each day and I love my family...my inlaws, my nieces and my nephews. I love my sisters and their families. I love my grandpas and grandmas and I love my parents. And I love my children. Joseph, Kallsen and Parker. And most of all, the two things I love most and the two things that allow me to love everyone and everything else in my life, I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I love my wife.

I then asked how many in the room had children and grandchildren. And everyone raised their hand. I asked the group if they loved their grandchildren the same. And most of them raised their hand. I countered with while we all love our children or grand children the same, we also love them differently because each child is different and each child express their love for us differently.

I then talked about my three boys and my love for each of them and how each of them is different in the way they express their love to me. And I finished the program by thanking the group for inviting me to talk about love because in preparation for the program I learned more about myself and learned more about my family and for that I am grateful.

AJ

Pepper Sprayed

So our VP shot someone this weekend. While it was an accident, this is still something that I think was mishandled in the way the VP's staff reported the incident.

One thing that seems ridickulous is all the pundits on Fox news taking up for Dick. He shot someone. It doesn't matter that he's the VP or that it was accident what matters is that he shot someone. And then he blamed the victim for being there! It's like trying to blame the other driver when you ran into them. He shot someone. Dick's to blame. Plain and simple.

And I bet if I were on a hunting trip and I accidentally shot someone, I would have been charged with some sort of misdemeanor or been given some sort of citation. This is ridickulous.

AJ

Parking Find News Fast Website

As of this morning, findnewsfast.com has been turned into a parking lot for other news sites. I had hoped to have my own web designed page up by now but getting the breaking news links to update as quickly as I would like has proved to be a more of a challenge than I have time for right now. Hopefully I'll get something on the site of my own within the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, if you're a news junky like I am, the site does link to several news organizations and you'll find links to the biggest stories going on in the world, it's just not what it's going to be in the near future.

Please use the site as often a possible to find news and that will help motivate me to get my site launched.

AJ

Snowed In?

Three of the last five days brought snow to Rabun County and that has caused everyone and their mother to cancel everything. While I can understand some folks wanting to cancel if they're in the higher elevations because the roads tend to be slick on the side of a mountain. But when you call to say you're snowed in, that can't actually be the reason for canceling something, can it?

While this is the most snow that's falling here in three years, at the most the snow amounts to about two or three inches. And the snow that fell Sunday and over night into Monday was so dry, you didn't need an ice scraper, you needed a broom.

Let's just say what we all know, closing your office and blaming the weather is an easy way to take the day off without guilt.

AJ

Clayton Methodist Church Service On Line

Clayton United Methodist Church will begin broadcasting or streaming their 11am service on their website, claytonmethodist.com beginning next week with the February 19th 11:00AM service. We've been trying get this up and going for quite sometime and it seems all the bugs are all but worked out. I look forward to this ministry of the church beginning.

I think the the church's web page will be come a great asset to the church. While the complete web site is not near finished, the web site will be including schedules, prayer list and blog updates soon. We're trying to give our congregation and others reason to visit the website on a regular basis.

If you have any ideas or suggestions of what to include or make available, I'm always open to hear your ideas.

AJ

Walk on the Lake, Sing a Song, Make New Friends, Go Home...

All in a day of the life of Judy Wright.

Just read and enjoy the posts made on Saturday, February 11th, 2006.

AJ

Evolution vs Creationism

My Dad sent me this email tonight...

Adam,I just read about this project and signed my name to the clergy letter project. They now have over 10,000 clergy signatures on a letter saying:

We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as “one theory among others” is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God’s good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.

Here's What I (Adam Wright) Think:

That those that proclaim creationism over what science has taught us and can continue to teach us are like the blind leading the naked. There's nothing wrong with having a strong faith but it improper for folks to condemn those of us that believe in and understand evolution. It is also wrong for school boards to try and make creationism school curriculum. Creationism isn't a science. And anyone trying to pass it off as anything other than it being based in religion is lying.

AJ

PS-here's a link you'll enjoy

Here'ssssssssssssss Winter!

So a few days ago I blogged about no longer having winter. Well winter arrived this weekend in the North Georgia Mountains. School was called off on Thursday for a quarter inch of snow that was gone by lunch. On Friday night we got hit pretty hard for the North Georgia Mountains. This is our two cars at about 7am Saturday morning.

David, my newsman at the radio stations, and I went in early Saturday to handle the phones and put any cancellations or closings on the air and we will be back tonight because more snow is in the forecast. You see, in the South, people get kinda bent out of shape when it snows. They all run to the store to buy milk and bread because they all think they'll be snowed in for weeks. Which, of course, never happens.

If it snows again tonight, like the forecast is calling for, I bet a bunch of church's will be calling off services in the morning. All saying there calling off services because they don't want the elderly members of their congregation going out in such conditions. So if it snows tonight, tomorrow will be a busy morning on the radio.

Welcome Winter....I've missed you!

AJ

Find News Fast

I've been wanting to find some sort of web page, a domain name that could generate tons of hits without having to work hard to get those hits. And I've found that site. As of early this morning, I now own findnewsfast.com and I plan to launch a web based news site soon.

I will be spending weekends and evenings (after the kids and wife go to bed) designing the site. Right now, findnewsfast.com will take you to my blog. Hopefully, I'll get something on the site by the end of next week.

AJ

Where's my money?

Payola is landing some heavy fines for radio station companies nationwide. And I thought payola was not what it used to be. Why payola in the olden days of radio meant paying jocks to play your song. Which is what it should mean today but in the bigger markets it appears to be the people much higher up the ladder.

Some of the artist didn't need payola to get their songs played, while other's probable needed the help...

ABC News "Primetime" reported Tuesday that Spitzer is investigating the largestnine radio corporations including ABC in a scheme that involved Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" and John Mayer's song "Daughters." Songs by other artists are also being examined, including those by Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion, Maroon 5,
Good Charlotte, Franz Ferdinand, Switchfoot, Michelle Branch and R.E.M., according to ABC. The radio companies that have received subpoenas control thousands of stations nationwide, including Clear Channel, Infinity which now operates as CBS Radio, Citadel, Cox, Cumulus, Pamal, and Entercom, ABC reported.

Working in radio, an AC format for that matter, makes me wonder which songs are on the charts in our format that may only be there because someone got paid or got a trip. I mean lets face facts, Jessica Simpson may be good looking and she may have a pleasant voice, but the songs she records aren't very good.

In small market radio, payola is the act of going to a local restaurant or business and telling the owner if he comps the meal, we'll say good things in our show on the radio about his business. A jock at a station I worked at years ago did that and got fired because of it. I think that is ridiculous to put your job at risk simple for some free food.

AJ

Good Humor

My newsman, David, found this and posted it on his site.

A little too young for a rap sheet

A six year-old has been suspended from school because he touched a girl after she touched him. All parents are familiar with teaching their children about good touches and bad touches. And it's hard to believe this could have been considered a bad touch.

If this were my child, being suspended for this action, I might have to take some sort of legal action. This child will now be labeled as long as he goes to this particular school system. And while you can't stop your child from being labeled, you certainly should be able to do something about a label that will negatively effect your child in this manner.

For parents that are interested, here's a link to an explanation of good touch and bad touch.

My Boys

I was going through some pictures taken of Kallsen and Parker these past couple of days. This was just a really fun look from Kallsen. He has just gotten out of the bathtub and didn't want anyone brushing his hair. So it looks a bit wild. But then again, that's Kallsen.

We have quite a few really good pictures of the two youngest boys from the past couple of days. Including this next one of Parker hanging out on the couch. Parker is smiling a lot now and he has begun to sing. I love that he sings. Kallsen sang a lot when he was between 4 months and 10 months old. I'm looking forward to Parker singing too. As you can see in this picture, Parker is drooling a lot...which means he has teeth coming in...exciting!

In this last picture, Kallsen was on the couch holding Parker. They certainly are good looking boys!

The family web site is still under construction. When it's finished, you'll be able to find all these pictures and plenty more. I'm really looking forward to getting the family page done. I think it will really showcase all three boys.

AJ

What happened to Winter?

I was just wondering today...What Happened to Winter?

It seem to me that we would have at least some snow every year, even in the south. While we've had some flurries this year, we haven't had any snow that has actually stayed on the ground. Not that I want lasting snow that closes down the schools and businesses, but my kids want snow, they need the snow. Watching kids play in the snow is just a lot of fun.

Here, in Rabun County, Georgia. We seem to have only three seasons. Spring, Summer and Fall. In Minnesota they have only two seasons. Winter and Road Construction.

AJ

Using a Funeral to Push Politics

I read with interest this morning the amount of stabs those speaking at Coretta Scott King's funeral took at the president. While I'm not a fan of President Bush, using a funeral, no matter whose funeral it is, to further your stance or feelings concerning national issues is just plain wrong.

Funerals should be used to look back at a person's life, to remember that person and to reflect on their life. And while Coretta Scott King and her late husband were the civil rights movement in a lot of people's eyes, it doesn't make right to attack someone at a funeral.

When my grandpa died last spring, the preacher used the funeral to talk about his wife, her battle with cancer and the fact that the grace of God kept her alive. While I think it's great his wife beat cancer, using my grandpa's funeral to preach that message was completely ridiculous.
And that's the same type thing that happened yesterday in Atlanta.

A Reel Mess

You would think that everyone has moved into the digital age...at least as supplying radio stations with new commercials is concerned. Well one of our clients dropped off commercials Tuesday on reel. So I set up the reel on our reel to reel machine in the FM studio. One of the reels comes loose and tape runs off the reel and all over the floor. While I was trying to get the tape back on the reel, something else messes me up and the tape ends up in a knot. Anyway, after about an hour, I get the tape back on the reel and the spots into the system and on the air. What a mess!

AJ

Kallsen's New Favorite Food

Kallsen has taken a liking to bananas. This morning, while getting him and Parker ready for the day, Kallsen saw a banana and started to fuss. So I got a banana and he ate the banana. And then he went right back over to the kitchen, reached for another banana and started to fuss again. So I fed him another banana.

So it's 6:00 in the morning and Kallsen has downed two bananas in about 5 minutes. I would bet if Sara didn't need to get the kids into the car and get on their way, Kallsen would've eaten several more bananas. At least he's begging for a healthy food and not something unhealthy.

AJ

PartyWright Picture

This is my favorite picture from when I was doing PartyWright, LLC. The picture was taken from a long distance a way and I had to enhance the picture. The thing I like about the picture is it captures the pure essence of what PartyWright was about…bringing fun and excitement to your world.

PartyWright, for those that don't know, was a company my wife and I ran until we sold it in November of 2005. We started the company with a bounce house and inflatable slide. After some success in 2004 we expanded in 2005 by adding tents, tables and chairs in June and then in July we added Boom Blasters and a Pitchburst. Our best month ever was the last month we were in business. We had only intended to sell the slide and bounce house (so we could focus on items that didn't cost an arm and a leg in insurance) and reinvest into items that have good appeal but don't come with a high insurance price tag. After listing the items on the web for a couple of days, we received an offer from a company in South Carolina to purchase everything we had except the webpage. So, that's why the page is now a parking lot for the domain.

We're focusing our PartyWright business on doing a web based business now. I was hoping to have a site up and running by now but the set up and some other issues are taking more time than I had thought they would.

I have several ideas for web based businesses. I'll share some of those ideas in upcoming posts.

AJ

Parking PartyWright.com

I've turned partywright.com into a parking lot. Please visit as often as you can and use the links on the site. Every time someone uses the links, I can make money. The difference between making money on partywright.com and on the adsense on the blog is this...the more traffic partywright.com gets, the more likely someone is to make an offer to buy the domain name, and the links make me more money than adsense ads by google make me. And we're all in this together. By, "in this" I mean making me money.

There's a web company, sedo.com, where you can park your unused domain names. They'll put links to businesses that are representative of the name of your web page or representative of the type of business that was on your web page before you parked the domain. Hopefully, the traffic patterns I encountered last year will continue. Last year I average more than 500 hits per month with some months the hits getting close to 1,000 hits.

AJ

Kallsen being Kallsen

Tonight, after Kallsen had dinner and had taken his bath, he decided to hang close to Daddy and Parker. Mostly because Parker was being fed at the time.

As you can see in the first photo Kallsen has his hair slicked back and was looking really cute. That may have been just to get close to Daddy so he could steal some of Parker's dinner. You see, no one eats without sharing with Kallsen. Kallsen proves this by getting between Daddy and Parker and making sure Daddy knows exactly where to put the food.


Kallsen is known as a 'good eater.' He seems to find you or your lap when ever you have food. And sometimes, when you make him a plate of the same food you've made yourself, he still would rather eat yours than his. This is just one of the many things that makes Kallsen who he is. And I love him for who he is.

AJ

Baseball Try Outs

Joseph had baseball try outs today. Its not that he is trying out for the team but showing off his skills so the coaches can do some sort of draft. Which I think may seem weird to some but it is a much better system than where we lived before. Joseph is wearing his jacket in some of the pictures because it was in the mid 30's and very windy.

Joseph did a great job today. He fielded very well, he threw well and made good contact at the plate. I didn't get a chance to see how well he hit the ball because I was taking pictures.

It was actually snowing at our house when we left to go to the fields. Amazing that we're out playing baseball and it's snowing. I'm not sure when the season starts but practices should start within a couple of weeks. The season will begin most likely in April and go through the end of May.

Last year, it never seemed to get warm during the season. Joseph's team made it to the championship for 7-8 year-olds and that was in the last week of May and it was in the 30's that game. Our team ended up forfeiting the game because one of our players got injuried and had to be taken to the hospital. I thought that the lesson learned by forfeiting was a better lesson than if they had won the Championship.

AJ

Giving Me A Reason To Listen

David, my newsman at the radio stations, has been filling in as morning show host until I can hire someone for that position. Usually, you don't want a news person filling a personality type position at a radio station. Not because they can't do it, because usually news people just don't go over very well at that position. Proof of that will be when I take the morning show duties on Monday, February 20th. I will be doing the morning duties that day and the news duties. And as a long time newsman, you'll find out why news people shouldn't be doing the morning show. David is the exception that proves the rule.

On Thursday, David interviewed a ground hog about Groundhogs day and was attacked on the air by the ground hog and this morning he played a radio version of The Price is Right. Then he placed all the birthday entries into a bracket and had a playoff to see who would win the birthday winner. Very Creative and that has made me stay in my car and listen longer...and that's what a good morning show person should do...make you listen longer.

Good Job David.

AJ

Not feeling well today

I've been fighting something these past couple of days I now believe I'm losing the fight. I've had a severe sinus headache the last couple of days. I went to bed last night at 6:30 and other than waking up twice for Parker, I slept through the night. I kind of feel how my son Joseph was feeling when I took this picture of him. Joseph had complained of not feeling well on Sunday during Parker's reception.

If I can just get through today, I'll have the weekend to recover. Today's one of those days...I have my talk show at 9:00 then I have to drive to one of my company's station in the North Carolina Mountains and then on the way back stop at a client to record a spot and then back to the station to produce the spot and distribute checks.

AJ

Podcasting

I just read an interesting prediction on Podcasting. It came from the Small Market Radio News Letter:

Realizing that subscribing to Podcasts is more confusing than it ought to be, podcasters will seek out other venues for their content. Aggregators will lock on to popular podcasts and distribute them through online or satellite radio. By the end of 2006, we will be well on our way to making podcasts ubiquitous, mostly through making them easier to access. Satellite radio companies in particular will look to benefit from the popularity of podcasts.

I tend to believe that podcasting will increase in its popularity and those of us in radio need to get in on the bottom floor so we're not having to play catch up. One of the ways we're using podcasting to enhance our operation is making our AM talk show available for download on our station website. We've also made press conferences available in whole...which gives our audience a better look into the actual news.

On thing I'm hoping to do is make a lot more content available via streaming on the web and then making those same events available for download later. An example would be streaming the League of Women Voters' debates with political candidates and then making those debates available for download the next day. That will give lots of people a better chance to hear what's going on and will also create more traffic to our website which in turn will make it more appealing to clients to buy spots on our web page. And that's a great way to increase revenue without giving up inventory on the station.


AJ

Spending more time together

Parker has moved into Kallsen's room. I'm betting that these two boys will be roommates for a long time. At least it seems they get along well.

I didn't have any brothers...just two sisters that shared a room for several years. I'm trying to decide if we should focus on getting into a house where each of my three boys can have their own room or is it better to let them be roommates? I guess both situations have pros and cons.

I know this, I enjoyed having my own room and space growing up and I'm glad I didn't have to share a room. Makes me think...

AJ

NASCAR back on SKY 104

NASCAR back on SKY 104. After losing NASCAR from our line up last year, NASCAR has contacted us and wants us to carry NASCAR. So, beginning in a couple of weeks, the Sunday air waves on SKY 104 will be covered with racing action.

I've never been a big NASCAR fan, but carrying the races should give us something to sell and hopefully pick me and our sales staff up...it seems the motivation and intensity has been lacking this past week or two.

Just Plain Gross

So our cat, Pumpkinhead, got locked in our bedroom all day today. With no other option, when he had to go he went. Right on our bed. He didn't just go a little, he went a lot. And on my side, too.

AJ