Infrequent Inspiration and Introspection

5 questions for you?

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:37:12 GMT

Spreading the love that dallylamma started.

1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, your favorite kind of sandwich, or maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update YOUR LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.
5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions.

His questions/My answers, as required :-)...

1. What's the hardest part about having kids?
   Sacrificing some of my selfishness and comfort for the good of the family. That selfishness fits like my favorite pair of jeans. It just feels so RIGHT, that it's hard to believe it's wrong :-). Specifically: how I allot time has changed, and it's harder to connect with longtime friends.

2. If you could live in any other country in the world where would you go and why?
   England, because I loved London. If I can't be in the country that's home to New York City, might as well get the next best thing.

3.What's your last meal on earth?
   Burger, fries, and ice cream will suffice just fine. If somebody else is paying, a decent steak from Outback plus their bloomin' onions.

4.What's your most and least favorite thing about family gatherings?
   The AWKWARDNESS of catching up with people you have no connection to, aside from your shared DNA. But it's so weird. If it's a lengthy family gathering, certain members become like long lost friends from high school.

5.Do you think a new President will change anything in your country?
   I'm highly skeptical. I think if Mitt Romney or Hillary Clinton got the job, it'd be more of the same. I'd like to think that McCain or Obama would go about things differently based on their campaign rhetoric, but party politics seems to be stronger than personal charisma. Heck, I thought having BUSH would change things...and I guess it did, but I'm no fan of the change we got!

Satellite Radio stats

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:35:33 GMT

Arbitron has released some interesting ratings info on XM and Sirius satellite radio. Audience sizes (depending on the channel) are both surprisingly large and surprisingly small (my station actually out-cumes most of these national channels!).

Top 10 Satellite Radio Channels (XM; SR for Sirius)
(ranked by average-quarter-hour audience)
SR100 Howard Stern 100             96,700
SR101 Howard Stern 101           30,700
XM25 The Blend                              27,100
XM26 Flight 26                                 25,100
XM13 Willie’s Place                        24,900
XM46 Top Tracks                            22,900
XM20 Top 20 on 20                        21,800
XM6 The 60s on 6                          21,700
XM202 The Virus                            20,800
SR60 New Country                        20,400

I find it interesting that EVERY single channel in the top 10 (and most in the top 30) are by and large "mass appeal" channels. The personalities/topics and/or the music genres mirror what's available on commercial radio. In fact, aside from Howard Stern, The Virus, and Willie's place, you can hear everything in the Top 10 in almost every market across the U.S. And sadly, XM/Sirius don't execute it any better than terrestrial radio.

The "mass appeal" sticks out to me because the whole supposed sales pitch for Satellite Radio is that it has what us old-fashioned radio stations don't. Yet Satellite Radio customers don't even bother listening to the unique stuff!

Here's the full ratings report: http://www.radio-info.com/in3_src/images/SP07_National_Satellite_P12.pdf

Just proves my argument that most people gravitate towards the middle somewhat, and stations would be wise to cater to that instead of damaging their brand to appeal to the naturally tiny group of people known as fringe listeners. Heck, I'll even go one further! Many of my friends are on the fringe, but they appreciate and notice a mainstream product done well when it doesn't insult their intelligence. Such a thing is quite rare.

The dumbest people in radio are (drumroll please)....

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:49:34 GMT

The most stupid people in the biz (or more accurately...formerly in the biz) are none other than a couple of Michiganians.

As voicetrack will attest, when Arbitron comes calling on your house, you stay FAR away if you collect a paycheck from a radio station.

"On Friday, October 12th, 2007, Arbitron alleged that one or more of our employees had filled out listener diaries in the Spring 2007 Audience Survey and will be releasing revised rating information for the Traverse City/Petoskey market on Monday, October 22nd, 2007. The revisions will primarily affect reported listening levels on 106.7 WSRT. It is important to note that this had no affect on the gains made by WKLT/WKLZ or The FOX FM. After performing our own due diligence, we concluded that the household of two of our employees had indeed filled out diaries which were subsequently used in the tabulation of the Spring ratings. On Thursday, October 18th, 2007, I asked for and received both of their resignations effective immediately...."
GM Charlie Ferguson

BUT WAIT, there's MORE! Instead of just shutting up and letting it blow over, the culprits destroyed any chance they had at credibility:

AllAccess.com reports that it has received a letter from Glenda Lee, who claims she is responsible for the three diaries in question:

"I am the wife (although maybe not for long) of the programmer involved with the station," she wrote. "He knew absolutely nothing about diaries until we were approached by our GM last week.

"I did know. I thought that I had declined the offered diaries. They came anyway. Just for fun, just for the opportunity to do something I had never been able to do, and never intending for the diaries to be mailed or seen by anyone other than me, or perhaps my husband AFTER the ratings came back, I filled out three of the diaries. One was filled out based on my own listening, one as I thought he would fill one out, and one, as a much younger woman (wishful thinking maybe) just for kicks.

"Again, these diaries were NEVER intended to be submitted or seen by anyone outside of myself. While I did not mail these diaries myself, it is my fault for leaving them laying around on my desk where my son saw them and put them out for the carrier, thinking that I DID want them mailed. However, when the ratings came back, and up until the day my GM brought this to my attention, I too had no knowledge or expectation that the diaries -- my play diaries -- had actually gone into the mail...."

More from each party is at http://www.michiguide.com/archives/2007/10/northern_michigan_newsmakers_o_2.html#more

I hope I never do something this silly.

crack it open

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:29:04 GMT

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I am being HELD HOSTAGE...

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:28:24 GMT

...I am not in control of my own fate.

You are.

Even if you don't like me or my job....

....even if you only have $1 to your name...

YOU CAN FREE ME FROM THIS CAGE.

Please go to www.WaY.fm to consider doing so.

Thanks!!!

I guess I am settled in

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:45:19 GMT

This summer marks the FOUR YEAR mark since I started working for WaYfm here in Grand Rapids. Prior to that, I spent most of my life growing up an hour to the east, in Lansing.

When we first came over, I was determined not to get used to life in GR. I chose not to make new friends in my new 'hood for two reasons: 1) I went back to school full time, plus I worked more than full time. 2) Why make new friends when I won't get to see my lifelong existing friends in Lansing enough?

That plan went fine and dandy, except that my wife felt differently. Jennifer immediately immersed herself in all things GR, from getting involved at church to knowing her way around town better than me.

This weekend, we were walking around downtown (saw some cool break-dancers by the way)...

and we bumped into some folks we knew....then some more! Then I realized that more often than not, we see someone we know almost everywhere we go.

That's what life was like in Lansing. It helped that I worked at half the radio stations in town and went to a large church. I never expected it to be that way here, but I was incorrect.

While much of my heart will always belong to my friendships with sabatoa and tancave, I am accepting the reality that I'm now just as much a part of GR as I was the Lansing area.

NYC vacay

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:32:40 GMT

To clarify, sabatoa wrote that John and I chose to sleep in Central Park because we were afraid of the hostel or some such thing. Truth be told, it was sabatoa's idea to nap there. He said it was the best option at our disposal. He was right, but I wanted to make it clear that I went into the choice blindly, with no opinion of my own as I had not seen my hostel room yet.

Other than that minor point, he was correct in summing up the rest of our trip.

Since I didn't take many pictures and don't feel like reinventing the wheel, you can get some VERY fun (and a few scary) pictures from our Gotham trip by visiting my friend sabatoa, and my work blog.

I am in Maine

Wed, 16 May 2007 01:28:40 GMT

So I am in MAINE now, helping a station do their fundraiser. Pretty interesting and quaint so far. There's definitely a different demeanor to most of the locals I've met. They're nice, but a bit stand-offish.

I landed in Portland, and their skyline was pleasantly surprising.

Everybody is white. Everybody.

Maine is so sparsely populated that there are numerous townships in the northern half of the state that have yet to be named (few to zero residents in these places). They are simply called "Township 632," "Township 543," etc.

Aesthetically, Maine looks a lot like the old tv show "Northern Exposure." There are even "moose crossing" signs on the roads (and they mean it!).

The Big Apple with sabatoa in a month will be a nice change of pace :-).

How I avoided paying high gas prices today

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:26:15 GMT

At our house, we're a one-auto operation. It's been increasingly less fun for Jennifer (my wifey ;) to load everybody up, drive me to work for 10 minutes, and then go home to unload everybody.

So this morning, I tried something new AND healthy. I biked to work...sort of. While it's only 4.5 miles from home to WaYfm, the hills are insane. Were I to bike the whole way (which I did every Saturday AM last summer), a smelly Mike would be a sure thing.

Thus, I rode my bike to a bus stop 1.5 miles away, secured my bike, and hopped aboard. (There's a stop by my house too, but that route would have taken an hour to get me here).

Al Gore would be proud. I did a little something for the environment, and my health. Although I didn't completely avoid sweating, so I'm not sure how much good I really did for the planet :-/!

from the lovely sabatoa

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:05:27 GMT

The Five Love Languages

My primary love languages are probably
Acts of Service and Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Acts of Service:		8
Physical Touch:		8
Words of Affirmation:		8
Quality Time:		5
Receiving Gifts:		1

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

which finger do you want...

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:20:20 GMT

You Are a Pinky

You are fiercely independent, and possibly downright weird.
A great communicator, you can get along with almost anyone.
You are kind and sympathetic. You support all your friends - and love them for who they are.

You get along well with: The Ring Finger

Stay away from: The Thumb

What Finger Are You?

a few random things

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:49:38 GMT

1) I locked our 2 year old, Hezekiah, into the van while it was running at Applebees on Beltline Saturday night. God bless 911 and the precinct #1 fire station.

2) I noticed a bunch of kids in the play area at the mall. One of them kept shouting, "I'm the leader! I'm the leader!" That makes me wonder: A) is he really the leader of that group? Will he be a natural born leader when he grows up? OR, B) Is he a leader wanna-be that will never attain the status he desired during that little game?

3) I might be going to Portland, Maine to help another station out for a few days in May. Looks pretty from Google earth's angle. Is it?

4) I can only consume 130 more calories today, and I have not had dinner yet. So sad :-(

5) voicetrack is still alive. Yee ha.

Presenting baby Ephraim

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:06:08 GMT

Last night, Tuesday April 3rd, 2007, my wife Jennifer and I were blessed with our 2nd son (and we're not even 30 yet :-).

Ephraim ("eff-rum") Michael Couchman arrived at 11:59 PM...5 seconds before midnight!

Had he come 5 seconds later, he would have had to share his birthday with our 2 year old, Hezekiah.

Want pictures? Do ya?

Yeah, I just got here...need a bath. Night night!

As you probably assumed, one of these people worked hard to deliver. The other person just paced and tried to be supportive.

Family visitors.....................and our first family shot as a 4 some :-)

Big bro. kisses little bro................Pops was almost asleep when that camera flashed

Is he thinking, "boy there sure is a lot more space here than where I was last night!"?

Or, is he hoping his future dates never, EVER, sees the left pic?

New Freaking YORK

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:38:00 GMT

My friend Sam (sabatoa) sent me this rocking link that tells you in REAL TIME what all the public emergency situations are (think police, fire, medical). I am becoming addicted to checking it. If only my radio format was profitable enough to exist in Gotham...

...Anyhow, here's the site so you can become addicted to: http://gothamist.com/labs/map

traveled over to sabatoa to get this

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:01:00 GMT

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

Remember me???

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 03:12:25 GMT

Yeah, I am back. ETERNALLY long story about why I haven't been on LJ...related to my full time job and full time school duties, but most importantly it's due to the POOR, AWFUL, HATEFUL service of BEST BUY.

They finally caved though, and school is slowing down, so here I am.

I don't plan to read back through 6 months of my friends pages though, so hopefully I'll figure out what's up with you soon enough anyhow.

Honestly, I got this from voicetrack

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 02:12:26 GMT

<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#DDDDDD" align=center><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'><b>You Are 72% Brutally Honest</b></font></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#EEEEEE"><center><img src="http://images.blogthings.com/howbrutallyhonestareyouquiz/brutal-4.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center><font color="#000000">
Most of the time, you tell it like it is. Even if it's hard for people to hear.
Sometimes you hold back though, because you never want your honesty to be hurtful.</font></td></tr></table><div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/howbrutallyhonestareyouquiz/">How Brutally Honest Are You?</a></div>

Road Forks

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 01:19:42 GMT

Fork A)

Return to my hometown, which I love, to exist among friends, whom I love. Career goes nowhere. Likely God-given talents go underutilized (or do they?) Income potential quite limited. Existing on one salary that supports our family challenging to accomplish.

Fork B)

Continue to excel in my career. Sky seems to be the limit. Continue to miss friends and hometown...risk becoming even further removed from them. Income potential much better.

Which fork is God's will? I've been asking myself (and not asking God enough) for the past year. On the one hand, I have wanted to be in my career since the 3rd grade. This knowledge and desire leads me to believe that perhaps it is some sort of "calling" that should not be ignored. Don't want to be like the dude in the parable that wasted his master's talents!

*****

Does "purpose" require that one sacrifice personal happiness? However, success in my career brings about satisfaction. Yet it would take triple the work success to equal a good month with good friends.

Which is best for my family? Eventual ease of existence in my career, or the ease of life that comes naturally when you are surrounded by everything you love?

STINKING LANSING. If the city would have gotten its act together 30 years ago I could be there and it would be just the same as being here or elsewhere. Instead it decayed and now struggles to become rejuvenated.

How much more shallow and self involved can I become? Nearly everywhere else in the world, Christians are tortured for simply existing. In the Bible, people thought nothing of living lives full of suffering because they knew their purpose in such a life. So here I am, blessed in whichever fork I may choose, whining. WAH. Being good at my job hurts my friendships. WAH.

I'm nearly ready to highlight this whole entry and hit delete.

I Wish I could dance like this!

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 01:45:26 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&eurl=

(credit to noel_heikkinen)

Tower falls down goes boom...ooops!

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 21:31:01 GMT

http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=5002278
(Video link at bottom of story)

weekend pictures!

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 01:26:21 GMT

10 years ago, courtesy of thormonger

Sun, 21 May 2006 13:10:37 GMT

1) How old were you?
THEN: 19
NOW: 29

2) Where did you go to school?
THEN: I was nearing the end of my time at Lansing Community College.
NOW: Cornerstone University

3) Where did you work?
THEN: Two different radio stations in Lansing, Michigan (one Country, one Jazz)
NOW: A fist full of different radio stations around the country, but only full time via one in Grand Rapids, MI.

4) Where did you live?
THEN: Lansing, MI (south side baby! take pride)
NOW: Grand Rapids, MI.

5) How was your hairstyle?
THEN: A puffy blonde afro, usually covered by a Kangol hat
NOW: "messy"

6) Did you wear contacts?
THEN: Yep
NOW: Yes

7) Did you wear glasses?
THEN: Yes
NOW: Yes

8) Who was your best friend?
THEN: Sam, Adam (aka sabatoa & tancave)
NOW: Adam, Sam, and a half dozen like-minded career peers (Jeff, Dave, and more)

9) Which of your pets were still alive?
THEN: No pets
NOW: Two cats and a fish

10) Who was your boyfriend/girlfriend?
THEN: I *think* it might have been Rachel Whittaker, but I might be off by a year. I was quite irresponsible and don't remember a lot from this part of my life.
NOW: I'm married, so she's my wife, not a girlfriend.

11) Who was your celebrity crush?
THEN: Gywneth Paltro
NOW: none

12) Who was your regular-person crush?
THEN: Cara Krebs
NOW: My wifey

13) How many piercing did you have?
THEN: nada
NOW: negative

14) How many tattoos did you have?
THEN: None
NOW: zip

15) What was your favorite band/singer?
THEN: Paradigm Shift, Dr. Onionskin, World Wide Message Tribe
NOW: It changes by the week. I am loyal to almost nobody. Latest faves include Family Force 5, The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, and NeedToBreathe.

16) Had you smoked cigarettes?
THEN: Past tense, by 19 I HAD smoked them (but no longer consumed them.)
NOW: see above

17) Had you gotten drunk?
THEN: I might have been buzzed once or twice.
NOW: I've resisted the temptation to become a raging alcoholic. :P

18) Had you DRIVEN?
THEN: Uhh, yeah. What? Am I from NYC or something?
NOW: Yes

19) If so which car?
THEN: 1989 Blue Subaru GL, 4 door with a boomin' system
NOW: We're stuck in the leasing trap. 2006 Pontiac G6

20) Looking back, are you where you thought you would be in 2006?
I only had vague notions about things. Career-wise I'm pretty much on track. I never thought that I would be married and have a kid though.

Uhhh, WHOOPS!

Sat, 20 May 2006 14:47:17 GMT

http://www.break.com/index/newsslip17.html

Sat, 20 May 2006 01:29:47 GMT

"When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?"

Buying into this could free me up from a little bitterness.

Who ate Mike's candy?

Fri, 19 May 2006 01:23:53 GMT

See that empty M&M bag? Fran from our front desk gave it to me. Since that bag (taking up more than half of this computer keyboard) was WAY more than what should be eaten by one person, I told fellow cubicle dwellers that they were welcome to partake in my gift.

When I got done with my show, there were FIVE left. That's fine though; I sure don't need to be eating them. But it almost would have been better if the person who left 5 just finished the bag off.

Leaving 5 is either their version of throwing me a bone, or adding insult to injury.

Okay now to deal with more important things :-).