Sign off

Aircheck has finally reached the end of the road. This is my last post for this, my original, weblog. Thanks to you, dear reader, for riding along memory lane with me. I feel that every story (fit to post) has been covered, sometimes more than once. Radio is a dead end topic; unfortunately, the blog's title, Aircheck, was chosen at a time when I still pined for broadcasting. Events of Summer and Fall of 2011 changed all that. I've moved on to other interests. This site will remain open going forward for those who may discover our legacy posts. The companion blog Peanut Whistle remains my sole active Blogger blog, for now...

Neal

Just Egging You On

One my many passions is cooking, although rarely posted about in this blog. Last year, I shared my recipe for Bologna Supreme. It turned out to be a very popular post. Not to be outdone, this year I will tell how to make the perfect omelet. I sense a breakfast theme.

I know it is a tease. How could I stoop so low? Well, the idea is still “perfecting” in my kitchen. So…

Stay tuned.

Five Thousand

The service that hosts My Aircheck Blog has informed me that we have reached 5,000 views since their record keeping began. Thank you.

More is on the way. Keep reading, and…

Stay tuned

You’re So Vain

Throughout my days in small market Southern Gospel radio there remained one constant: local individuals wanting their music on your station. One thing these individuals did not understand was that the station’s image often rested on a listener’s first impression. If these unsolicited recordings had been allowed airplay willy nilly, I dare say these stations would have met a very early demise due to an overwhelming lack of sponsors.

Admittedly, Southern Gospel was a different animal. A lot of its artists got their start doing “vanity pressings” (recordings made at the artists’ own expense.) The most kind term for some of these acts was “unsigned talent”. In other words, a major recording label had yet to express interest in them.

Unfortunately, that lack of interest was often deserved. A vast majority of these singers were passed over for very good reasons.

As a deejay I shied away from playing local artists. Most of their music was sub-standard. A SG format is already an uphill fight, so playing the best songs from artists with national exposure, thanks to the backing of a major record label and professional representation, was a plus. Bad sounding music only diluted format. Disk jockeys didn’t often play to their personal preferences; I didn’t even like gospel music in the beginning. Ultimately, I learned to predict listener tastes and choose accordingly, winnowing a dubious playlist along the way.

My selection standards came into question at my 4th, and final, Gospel radio home. A popular young morning deejay there defined the term clueless. He was one of those individuals blissfully ignorant of any type of professionalism, yet arrogant. He conducted his show as if he were on a personal phone call; often interrupting the middle of a song or even a (gasp) commercial to announce trivial messages. Most of the music he played was from poorly recorded cassettes of unsigned artists. (I found out later that his family was a local singing group that owned a very small recording studio located in their thrift store backroom, where a majority of those tapes were recorded.) A frequent song he played on-air was one that he actually sang: the single worst version of Amazing Grace my ears have ever heard. (Off key, awash in phony echo, accompanied by a toy Casio keyboard—cheap, cheap demo recording.)

By comparison, my show was polished and featured only the top artists of the genre using pristine Nashville production values from vinyl and CD sources. The difference became a point of contention between us. Our egos often clashed. I eventually “won”, replacing him after an off-the-air argument escalated. The kid had sicced his irate mother on me—defenseless—while my general manager (a presumed friend) looked on. The boy quit. He evidentially had used the station for self-promotion and was threatened by losing that free publicity, no matter how small our signal was.

In the aftermath, the mother bought a 15 minute block of time during my show that featured her group, which was named after her. Ironically, she was paying more for a quarter hour than her boy had been paid his whole 5 hour day. 

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Here’s the scenario: Let’s say I own a recording studio and my son works at a radio station. I promise clients that if they record at my studio I will guarantee them airplay on my son’s station. This of course is unethical and illegal. It’s called Payola.

Stay tuned.

One Last Peek

Returning today: Radio Daze, Jim O’Neal’s memoir (a work in progress)

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Stay tuned

Too Hot for Radio

excerpt from Jim O’Neal’s draft, Radio Daze:

Certain topics were considered taboo in the dark ages when I started my career. No, I don’t mean the obvious: George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words or lewd conduct. Rather, the things you could say on-the-air that would get you fired. For example: sly digs pointed at management or, even God forbid, toward advertisers.

Howard Stern changed all that. Although not in reality; most of us working deejays could never get away with the things he’s done. Those similarly situated as Mr. Stern seem untouchable until the money runs out.

At 24 I was cocky. I felt indestructible like the considerably more high profile Stern. Unlike my example I had neither the talent nor the Teflon armor he had. Near the end arrogant, although subtle jabs at management (on-air and off), reached their peak. As a result, a mutual heated discussion boiled over into a permanent separation. Jim O’Neal had yet to learn not to cross he who signs the checks. Just smile and say, “Yes, sir.” Humble pie, anyone?

Two years later I called wanting back my job. My former 17 year old protégé answered. Her dad, along with local investors, had bought the station from the old man. The new owners wanted nothing to do with me. As the old program director I had made her my doormat. Little did I know of how drastically our roles would flip. The career never recovered. Karma is, well…too hot for radio.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. All rights reserved.

Favorite Things

Here’s a fun Sunday puzzle. Depending on how you’ve got your computer set up, the picture I have placed somewhere in this post is a still-life photo that I snapped several years ago with a Canon Eos SLR on Kodak 100 ISO black and white film using natural light. The photo intends to represent my pet interests at the time. The puzzle is: how many items can you identify. And after all these years, how many can I still pick out? Right click on the picture, then open up full size in a new window.

Stay tuned.

The Original Trilogy

Here is something that I have neglected to say, although I truly feel: thanks for taking the time to read Aircheck and my companion blogs, the Peanut Whistle and the newly reactivated Gospel Aircheck.

I have spent this busy summer away from the blogs often contemplating how each would evolve. Writing at least three weblogs can be a challenge. The one you’re reading now has to change in order to keep me interested.

First, radio is a dead topic to me. It no longer beckons me. Finally, I am cured of the radio bug. Events that unfolded over the summer assured that remedy. Soon I will detail those happenings in the Peanut Whistle. From now on Aircheck will delve into other areas, including: what’s on TV’s new fall season, my obsession with the home teams, and family life in general.

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Also check out my original Gospel Aircheck blog for the upcoming review of the 2011 National Quartet Convention my wife and I attended in Louisville, Kentucky

Stay tuned

Give Me a Break

Now on summer hiatus, My Aircheck Blog will return with new posts soon. This season has been full of family fun. It has also been a time of reflection for the author: how do I continue, what is the future of this weblog?

The blogosphere is a recent invention of a younger generation. Not intending to be left behind, I adopted the blogging hobby after most of these youngsters had moved on to “tweet” and “Facebook” their little hearts out.

I have taken a break from writing in order to read what others have written. Most of what I have discovered is useless to me, but I have gleaned one inescapable fact: there is just too much. The Internet is overwhelming and fickle. How does this or any other blog survive in this onslaught of constantly evolving information overload? How can it be profitable?

Aircheck will continue as the labor of love I began in 2009. In the meantime check out our earlier posts, especially if you are new. Thanks for your time. Read on, my friends.

Stay tuned

In the Clouds

You’d think that Aircheck would post more stories about radio. No!

Previous blog entries have had nothing to do with the industry at all. Traditional radio peaked long ago and has begun a terminal decline. That doesn’t really bother me at all because 16 years ago I noticed certain trends that led me into an unrelated field completely; never regretting my decision. I am fickle by nature and have gone through many cycles in a love-hate relationship with broadcasting. Right now, I see myself as a retired deejay and programmer who started as an adolescent with an aptitude for electronics, particularly audiophile grade gear. I figured an entry into the whacky world of radio was a necessary springboard onto a recording engineer career. Not so!

I was shocked to find that nearly every person that I encountered in radio over the years—particularly sales people—were either clueless or had no interest in high fidelity sound at all. To go out on a limb, I’d say no one I ever worked with was an audiophile, chief engineers included. My assumptions at the time were shattered by both the lack of knowledge and the apathy, contempt even, for ultimate audio quality. Initially, I wasn’t in radio to be on the radio (or even make money); rather, I was enamored with its technical magic. Crazy!

In fact, eons ago, while in my early 20’s, my capricious interests veered to the radio engineering field. I was easily thwarted by our chief engineer’s impatience with my constant questioning about emerging developments in audio that I had read about only in magazines. He was visibly peeved by my passion for all things audio and was quite dismissive, “Where did you hear about that?” He’d say. To him I was just a snot-nosed kid who shouldn’t be asking for his pearls of wisdom. (In truth, he was embarrassed by a kid who seemed to upstage him.) Lesson learned. Often my audio hobby clashed with the middle-aged sensibilities of my much older associates. Granted, my head was often in the clouds. If I had spent more time on the practical side of the business maybe, just maybe, I’d still be involved. Nah!

That’s a discussion for another day.

Stay tuned.

More Random Musings

Trust me, in no way will I poke fun at the less fortunate. But, the other day (hand to God it is true) my wife saw a somewhat well dressed girl standing beside the road displaying the ubiquitous will work for food sign while texting on her smartphone.

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Now a little confirmation on the demise of traditional radio.

We bought our son a tee shirt that included a free FM radio and ear buds. Long story short, Luke loved the radio. “Daddy,” he said “You won’t believe all the songs I’ve got on my new iPod.” He continued, “I even got the news on this thing!” Granted, the radio’s shape mimicked a common mp3 player; but, in the mind of my sweet 7 year old, the vast variety of music on his new toy must have been downloaded.

Further confirmation:

Two years ago I Facebook posted an old photo of my cousin listening to a Walkman style radio/cassette player. A young lady in his church youth group innocently inquired if the device in this picture from 1988 was his iPod.

Man, am I old.

Stay tuned.

Stressed?

I am in the process of digitizing my life. All my important photos, paper documents, and audio recordings will eventually exist somewhere on my hard drive or in the “cloud”. I came across this photo I took in 1988 with a Canon 35mm SLR of a small foam Christmas toy with an expression that represents my occasional frustrations.

Stay tuned

Holding Pattern

Summer 2011 is a blast! The kids are charged this year: a delightful Florida vacation, summer camps galore, and round the clock excitement. This leaves little room for my blogging hobby. Right now a new three part podcast is in the works. Not to give too much away but my idea for this upcoming Gospel Rewind show has its origins in about 1995. Watch this and the Peanut Whistle for more information.

Stay tuned

Translate This!

Among the things that I like about the current state of radio broadcasting is that the FCC has begun authorizing AM stations space on crystal clear FM. Now I can listen to news, talk and sports without the haze and static of the old AM band.

I have blogged about this previously. There are experts on the subject much more qualified to expound on the subject, so I will shut up and approach it from the angle of a happy listener who has appreciated great content on AM for years hoping for a migration to FM. Right now, by the looks of things, this seems to be coming to fruition. 

Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: radio,FCC,listening,AM on FM

Tubes

Not to stir audio controversy, but sometimes older is just better. I grew up in the age of solid state electronics although, at the same time, appreciating the older tube tech that preceded it. I sound like a broken record but vinyl does sound better than Mp3 or any number of the lossy digital formats around these days. Even now the Compact Disc itself is considered an old technology.

Lately, I’ve returned to my analog roots. I’ve perused local thrift stores hoping to buy good tape decks to playback my cherished cassettes, some of which are over 40 years old. Surprisingly, I have found a couple tape deck gems. Now my goal is a good reel-to-reel deck (fingers crossed). Don’t worry my CD’s are still safe.

As for the tubes versus transistors debate; I fall somewhere in the middle of the discussion. Tubes produce pleasant coloration. In guitar amps, tubes are the only choice. Solid State electronics sound clean, somewhat free of artifacts; much like digital audio seems too perfect when contrasted with analog. Recording engineers use tube electronics to give “warmth” to digital. It is the best of both. Is older or newer technology better? As long as one compliments the other, the answer is both.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. My Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

K1000

Long time readers of this blog know of my leanings to, shall we say, living frugally. To put it another way: I’m cheap. How cheap? I’m so cheap that I have Goodwill on speed dial. What you may not realize is that I will not sacrifice quality. Recently, while thrift store shopping, my hand fell on a camera. It was heavy. An old school manual 35mm film camera. It was a very good Japanese make that appeared to be like new. I turned it over. It was $3.88. An SLR under 4 dollars? This was too good to be true. Did I buy it? Does a dog’s lips move when he reads?

Of course I did. I had another SLR that I paid about $800.00 for in 1988. It was a Canon EOS that took great pictures, but had very few manual features. The Pentax K1000 I bought at America’s Thrift Store in Marietta, GA is a photographer’s camera: no automatic anything. I love it! So far there is nothing wrong with it and it takes great pictures.

Stay tuned.

©2011 Neal Rhoden. My Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Scoped or Unscoped, That’s the Question

An archive Aircheck recording from 1984 is below today’s post.

Since 1984 or a few months prior, I have recorded radio shows off the air for later listening—much like VCR’s and now DVR’s have been used to record television. Becoming a disk jockey at age 17 gave me the luxury of recording my own shows directly from the broadcast soundboard (most jocks called it “the board,” for short.) This method preserved the best quality sound before extra circuitry and processing were added to the signal.

My experience going into broadcasting involved my dad’s tutelage on his Dokorder ¼” reel-to-reel and other tape decks in his collection; including countless live sessions recorded on them in churches where he would sing and preach. In addition, I had educated myself  by devouring Stereo Review and Audio magazines succumbing to their admittedly stuffy technical style regarding sound and its associated high-end gear and snobby classical music reviews. Despite all that,  my subscriptions lasted well into the next decade.

My Gospel music shows were not stereophonic because the AM control room board was wired for monaural only (the turntables were stereo). It was my assumption that in those days AM station owners saw no need to install stereo mixers in their control rooms. That was, until my second radio home blew me away with its election to go full stereo although we were still broadcasted in mono.

Anyway, I recorded my own afternoon DJ shows on the station’s ReVox A-77 ½ track professional stereo deck on a recycled 1200’ reel of tape. At 7½ i.p.s. this yielded about 30 minutes of record time. I taped the last half hour each day. Bringing home the 7” reel each night, I played back the tape on dad’s Dokorder (a consumer ¼ track tape deck.) The two tape decks were slightly incompatible due to the wider track configuration of the professional unit at work. With some electronic tinkering, I made decent playback at home (thanks to a Radio Shack y-adapter.) From there I would edit out commercials and music onto either my Pioneer CT-330 cassette deck or dad’s more preferable Yamaha TC-511S. The “pause” button got a real workout. The final “scoped” airchecks laid neatly in chronological order onto a BASF Chrome Cassette. These early recordings were an invaluable teaching aide, my close companion, in improving my on-air delivery into the following years.

I found this method cumbersome and discontinued recording soundboard direct on reel. As an alternative, I would borrow the Yamaha from home until a decent cassette recorder was installed in the studio. I accepted the audio quality tradeoff, switched to cassette and seldom looked back. Not wanting to edit on the fly, almost all of my airchecks were unscoped (see the Aircheck Glossary) thereafter. I felt an extra generation of tape in the cassette realm was too much of an audio compromise. Listen below or download here.

Stay tuned.

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The photos top left and to the right are of my Pioneer rack system in 1984 with the Dokorder on the chest. A ReVox A-77 is pictured in the middle. Below is a Yamaha like dad’s. 

 

Neal Rhoden’s 1984 Scoped Aircheck Sweep

Info Please!

It never dawned on me to share a link for our readers, Radio-Info. It is a site dedicated to everything radio broadcasting: current news, views and discussion boards. Check it out. Many of our Aircheck topics have been inspired by this webpage that I have been reading for over two years now.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Useful Website

No Video, No Problem

A glimpse inside a real radio broadcast studio can be found on my companion Peanut Whistle Blog. It is a multi-part in depth series on my second radio home where I performed as Jim O’Neal—Disk Jockey and Program Director. Back then, I took quite a few photos with my Cannon 35mm SLR, but never any video like I did in the WBKI YouTube video. This series will be adapted for Aircheck and made into a page some future date. Until then…

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: The Peanut Whistle Weblog

Digital Dilemma

I sound like a broken record (pun), but this present technological day and age still amazes me. Generally speaking, the “future” has always been fascinating. I became a radio Disk Jockey and button pusher for an AM radio station at a very young age. Analog sound was a mature technology. Digital audio was in its infancy. At that time newer was better to me.

Move ahead 27 years. Newer is not necessarily better, it’s just smaller. Look around; our Star Trek devices have become much smaller. Arguably, a vinyl record album may sound better than a downloaded track, but you can’t play a record in your minivan. I am willing to make the audio quality tradeoff for portability. Thank you very much.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck Blog. All Rights Reserved.

May Day

Who wants to read when it is so gorgeous outside? Unplug for a while and enjoy a day without electronic distraction. We will be back on Aircheck very soon with more so…

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Blog Family

Ok, I admit this blog venture started well over 2 years ago is, shall we say, “diversified.” Aircheck is my original weblog. I also write the Peanut Whistle; then there is the Gospel Rewind Podcast. Whew! One would think that’s enough. The fact is: we are constantly searching for new and better ways of presenting my product through words and audio. Right now I am looking into a new site that promises to do for audio what YouTube has done for video. The jury is still out on whether that statement is true. My early impressions are lukewarm, at best.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Page-Turner

Now I have seen it all (and I have the picture to prove it!) Yesterday while driving around town a gray Nissan pulls up next to me and stops at a traffic light. The driver, a middle-aged woman, is reading a hard-backed book. I think she will put it down once we get the green light. No! She continues driving and reading for about half a mile oblivious of my 15 year old daughter snapping a cell photo of her. One thing I know is that book must have been very compelling. Her eyes never left the page.

In Georgia we have a no texting while driving law. It is a good law. Now the Aircheck Blog proposes the no reading while driving rule. I think it will catch on.

Stay tuned.

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Audio Gold

I’m pulling out an oldie, but goodie (sorry for the top 40 cliché) for today’s post. Two years ago the Aircheck blog posted a YouTube slide show video. We present photos of audio equipment, studios, and promotional items that I have used over the years. Enjoy…

Analog Journey

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. My Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Faces Made for Radio

A funny expression I learned in my previous career was: that guy really has a face made for radio (A not so cryptic euphemism for ugly.) One of my favorite episodes of  That 70’s Show from season 3 called “Radio Daze” where Donna Pinciotti gets a job at a radio station illustrates my point. Golden throat DJ “Jerry Thunder” turns out to be troll, although he sounds rather godlike on the air. Jerry Thunder is played by Curtis Armstrong, best known as “Booger” in the Revenge of the Nerds movies.

I suppose that the casual listener is forced to draw a mental portrait of his or her favorite DJ; often times disappointed by a face-to-face meeting. More than once when listeners met yours truly they make an expression of disbelief because their mental picture didn’t jibe with reality. The inevitable, “Oh, you don’t look like you sound” would come up. I smiled, not fully knowing how to take the comment. Did I have a face made for radio?

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. My Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Winning!

Boy, did I pick the wrong time to take a month off writing Aircheck. I refuse to give the insanity of the last 30 days any more publicity. But, the media coverage of this whack job actor and his slow deliberate career suicide live 24/7 is hard to ignore. An inescapable joke heard recently on the radio sums up the mess: “Did you hear about Charlie Sheen’s new show called Two and a Half…Personalities?”

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Country Flip

Back to the archive for today’s Aircheck post. 20 years ago today this broadcaster presided over a format flip to Country. I was program director at a religious radio station in 1991 that was forced to fire most of our air staff. Our owner presumed that a change of music styles would cause our station to turn the corner overnight (my speculation.) All of our daily preacher shows were exiled to Sundays where contractual obligations were met. It was thought that Country music would be the magic cure. Frustrated, I quit about two weeks after this recording because of some inter staff conflicts between our skeleton crew. The station itself struggled a while, then changed over to a news/talk format before its eventual demise in 1993. That year the owner sold the license to a local church. Thereafter, local preachers and gospel music were once again on their air. Download here or press play below,

 

4 February 1991 Country Flip Neal Rhoden aka Jim O’Neal

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck Blog. All rights reserved.

Great American Novel

A few days ago I returned to my “serious” writing. This blog is tons of fun, but for a writer putting together a book it is a real challenge. The struggle is not with the actual writing but with the polishing. The words flow. My pain is brought about by the editing; crafting a work of art. My manuscript may never see the light of day because the process continues to be cumbersome. I started in 2008 and have yet to complete the first chapter.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Bologna Supreme

If you’re looking for a hearty breakfast, then here is a recipe that will satisfy any appetite: the Bologna Supreme.

Passed down from my dad’s sisters, this sandwich starts out as a grilled cheese. We then take the humble lunch staple to the next level with the addition of fried eggs and deli sliced beef bologna.

Start with a large (12”) skillet pre-heated on medium-high heat with plenty of butter or margarine. Add an egg or two and begin frying. Separately place two slices of white bread, with either butter or mayonnaise spread on top, into the pan; add cheese. Sear two slices of deli beef bologna. When the egg(s) finish frying, assemble ingredients and press sandwich with spatula making sure cheese is fully melted. Flip occasionally to distribute heat evenly.

For an extra kick I add a few Mezzetta Brand Deli-Sliced Jalapeno Peppers and hot melted Nacho cheese.

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Tip for searing bologna: slice unheated bologna from center to edge so that the meat resembles Pac-Man. This keeps it from “bubbling.”

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All Rights Reserved.

Polar Opposites

Long ago I prepared a show that I intended to air. The goal in my young mind was an in depth expose into the debate hot, at the time, among Christian believers—musical style.

In the final analysis, there was no clear winner. Some felt that my station should play only one genre of Gospel music typical of which was lots of Country twang and four part harmony. Another style rich in tradition; represented by soulful singers such as Mahalia Jackson, the Winans, and Shirley Caesar. Then there was the Top 40 derived Contemporary Christian Music that, at this time, was very hot nationally. Amy Grant was queen and had just seen major crossover appeal into the mainstream (secular) market with exposure on the Top 40 outlets of the day. Additionally, a few CCM artists actually had their hits played on MTV. Arguably, the mid-1980’s was the apex of the genre’s popularity.

September 1986, my station was about to flip to a Contemporary Christian format in the afternoons. Today’s Gospel Rewind Podcast is the culmination of a quarter century of prep work. My listeners were passionate in their beliefs. Hear the debate in their own words for the first time anywhere from the request lines 25 years ago. Down load here or press play below.

Gospel Rewind “CCM Debate”, Episode 1, season 3

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, the Peanut Whistle Weblogs. All Rights Reserved.

CR-48

Last month we touched on the new notebook computer that Google sent out to selected applicants, like me, as a test unit for their Chrome browser and operating system. Its official name: The CR-48.

Unwrapping the unit was a breeze. Safely nestled in cardboard, this 12” x 9” wonder immediately awoke (something Windows OS designers should learn to do). As a precaution, I plugged its handy charging cord into the nearest 120 volt outlet. Within seconds the little notebook has found my Wi-Fi connection and the World Wide Web is at my disposal. A monthly 100 megabytes of free 3G Internet from Verizon is included for on-the-go web surfers.

Its 12” screen (measured diagonally) displays surprisingly good resolution. The built-in speakers, however, sounded thin; lacking good stereo imaging (my CR-48 was biased to the left speaker for some reason.) A good set of Koss headphones solves this problem. Long time readers of Aircheck know my passion for good audio. The Chrome Notebook was designed exclusively for Internet browsing; I just wish more thought had gone into sound quality of the speakers.

I am impressed with the rubber non-slip finish on the little computer. Right away clumsy hands everywhere applaud. Battery life is, at least, 8 hours on a full charge (about a week on standby).

The Chrome Notebook surfs the Internet like nobody’s business. But that is all it does. It has an SD card reader and USB port for uploading your priceless snapshots to Facebook or blog, for instance. However, there is no photo preview. I find myself blindly choosing shots and having to delete unwanted photos only after they had finished uploading. Cruising YouTube is ok until the flash player crashes (which is often.) Lately, the sound card is crashing as well. Instead of the streaming audio I expect, the unit plays back a gravelly static with a persistent high-pitched, bell like ringing. I do not know whether this is an operating system problem or a manufacturer’s defect.

Technical difficulty kept me away from my main computer for the month, so the Chrome Notebook saves the day. Living with the CR-48 is cumbersome, at times. Designing Aircheck’s layout is impossible. Photo editing on-line is a joke. Recording and editing professional audio is not within its designed abilities.

Google’s idea is based on cloud computing; living exclusively on the Internet, storing all your files and memories God knows where. For now, Aircheck needs a more creative tool. I return to my “old” Windows Vista computer today. For now, it is an upgrade. My kids inherit the CR-48: better than a smartphone, not quite a laptop.

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On the other hand, the Chrome web browser, which I have enjoyed since 2008, continues to be my hands-down favorite; better than Firefox, Opera, Explorer, or Safari.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Chicken Little

Our well known snowstorm of 2011 has past. Most people around here follow the forecast religiously in case a repeat performance any time soon. So far, no severe winter weather is expected. Yesterday, my wife Angie entered a local supermarket in order buy a few items for a soup recipe she recently discovered. On her way inside a (presumably) mentally challenged grocery bagger forcefully grabs and vigorously shakes her cart loudly exclaiming, "You'd better stock up! The ice is coming back!" According to Angie the poor girl truly believes the next snow apocalypse is eminent. It seems my wife gets all the crazies while she's out. Baby, next time a would-be prophet proclaims the sky is falling, shop on.

Stay tuned

Cabin Fever

During all this downtime in Atlanta with all of this snow and ice Aircheck should have more posts. In a word: no. Over the past 4 days this dad has been keeping the kids entertained. They have no desire to go outdoors and enjoy the snow (too many electronic distractions). Today, Angie and I have had enough. The kids are going to make a snowman, like it or not.

Stay tuned.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

We spent the overnight with a broken furnace. Now it is a waiting game for the repairman. I suspect that the heating element is bad. We are in a total electric residence, so there is no pilot  to relight. This news is especially comforting since a huge snowstorm is on its way. It is all good though; The New Orleans Saints are eliminated from the playoffs thanks to the Seahawks  41-36 victory, last night.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Winter Wonderland

Once again, there is snow in our local forecast. A huge snowstorm is headed our way this weekend and will cover most of the state of Georgia. One TV meteorologist compares the possible storm to 1993. The media called that one Storm of the Century. I remember it as a real monster of a blizzard. While I love the white stuff; it's the ice that stops us cold (sorry for the pun.)

Stay tuned.

Pep Me Up

What I miss most about high school is the fun we had every Friday during football season. All four classes, freshmen through seniors, united in a pep rally. The troops all gathered to cheer on the team and jeer our opponents that week. It makes me want the grown-up equivalent. The whole city of Atlanta needs to assemble in an old fashioned pep rally as the Falcons enter the upcoming NFC playoffs: rah, rah, sis boom bah!

Stay tuned

Say it Ain't So, Joe

Heard on ESPN radio today: New England Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady has made 335 consecutive pass attempts without a single interception. An impressive feat, to say the least. What I take issue with is his saying the Pat's QB surpasses (wait for it...) Joe Montana. I threw up a little in my mouth. Montana is my all time favorite athlete, no matter the sport. The commentator made a very strong case for Brady with other compelling stats, and tried to paint this generation as the best ever for any sport, except college Basketball. Bull! I see the San Fransisco 49ers football dynasty of the 80's as the best club to have ever lined up behind a pigskin. Period. Joe Montana's was more than statistics, he was part of the best football team of all time; never again to be equaled. 

Stay tuned.

One Piece at a Time

Long ago Country music icon Johnny Cash sang One Piece at a Time, in which he was a Detroit assembly line worker bent on owning a new Cadillac. The hero of the song obtained a new car by slowly embezzling it, part by part, home in his lunch box. The automobile was assembled in his driveway; a Frankenstein's Monster of Cadillac parts. I often find myself humming the song while thinking of getting rid of oversize items too big to leave for the trash man. A reverse of the famous song, in February 2010, I rid myself of eyesore living room furniture by sawing wood components into little pieces on its way to the curb. I have promised Angie that my 2011 resolution is to shed the junk around here. We were well on our way becoming featured on the TV show Hoarders. Sooner or later the mess was going to take over the house, so we began the offensive, one piece at a time.

Stay tuned.

No Football, No Problem

It is on to the playoffs with home field advantage for the Falcons thanks to their decisive win over Carolina yesterday. I am preparing for football withdrawals for the next two weeks as Atlanta has a one week bye to rest up for the challenging elimination games on the way to the Super Bowl.

Stay tuned.

The Credenza

December in Aircheck we posted a blurb on my Hi-fi project. Small details left unmentioned in the article is that the cabinet is currently being used as a TV stand. The console stands at 30 inches, is 16 inches deep, and about 54 inches long; more than adequate as a make-do entertainment center. And, the main problem with it is the low quality materials it is made of: ply-wood and mystery wood skinned with a rosewood veneer. Frankly, the cabinet is not worth saving. However, it serves as a superb prototype for woodworkers interested in mimicking early 60's style. I have drafted plans for a new credenza/entertainment center based on the hi-fi. It would be a great project. I have yet to work out the internals; but, inspiration is found on certain furniture store websites. Most of the credenzas I have seen are superior to our model in question in terms of materials.

A skilled craftsman could render a cabinet better than mass produced retail offerings, I'm sure. I will donate the console to anyone with a proper wood shop interested in bringing the project to completion. What is learned from this experience is: because it is old furniture does not necessarily mean it is better made.

Stay tuned

Fresh Air

Today marks a new era with this blog; started in March of 2009. Along the way it has gone through numerous changes: layout, title, focus, and now a new home with the domain name www.myaircheckblog.com 

What will not change is its author. Not that I won't change. That is a "given." The new domain name reflects the shift to a more generalized world view Aircheck has adopted. Some time back we dropped the "Gospel" from our name. I feel that implies that this a a weblog about religion. Don't put me in that box, thank you very much. Aircheck is simply my perspective: my testing of the air, so to speak. A view that is topical, opinionated, and reflective. My beliefs are presented from time to time. How can you separate a man from his beliefs? I do promise that one thing will never change: I will keep it real.

Stay tuned

Black Eyed Peas

Happy New Year. So we begin 2011 with a traditional southern feast of collard greens and black eyed peas. Yum. The main course: Italian Chicken (breaking away from tradition a bit.) I am hungry. Dinner will be served shortly, so today’s Aircheck post will sign off for now.

Stay tuned

©2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

My Wish

Aircheck is an emotional clearing house; valuable, free therapy throughout the year for me, the writer. Right now, I'm listening again to a popular  Raschal Flatts song from 2006:

"I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,

All the ones who love you, in the place you left,

I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,

And you help somebody every chance you get,

Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,

And you always give more than you take."

I do not glean all my advice from Country songs; today it is apropos. The My Wish lyric speaks my resolution. In 2011, I resolve not to "look back" as much while remaining keenly aware of my lessons learned the hard way. In yet another Country hit from 1993; Vince Gill sharpens my point singing, "There ain't no future in the past."

Better now than a year ago, twenty-eleven promises abundant topical, opinionated, and reflective Aircheck posts that evolve as this blogger does. Happy New Year.

Stay tuned

©2010-2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Snowy Vista

I woke up this morning to a majestic view of the Great Smoky Mountains. There  is nothing I could add to God's creation, so here's a glimpse.

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Holiday Zoo Crew

Today marks the 25th anniversary of a show from my personal aircheck archive. It features me and two co-hosts in an impromptu chat show, post Christmas 1985. Click play below or down load here.

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©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All righs reserved.

Sunday Grazing

It is a little unsettling having a major holiday like Christmas on the weekend.  It throws my internal clock out of sync. As a remedy Angie and I took down the tree early this morning. Church services were called due to snow and possible black ice on the roadways. We're getting the house ready for New Years: throwing up a new Chick-fil-a "cow" calendar, tossing away boxes, and general housekeeping. Here's to a happy 2011.

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White Christmas

What a difference a day makes. After a typically chaotic Christmas Eve with my other relatives, today is an amazing celebration of the 25th with the kids, my wife, and our mothers. And a bonus to boot: snow! For the first time since 1882, we have a white Christmas in Atlanta (rare indeed.)

Stay tuned

©2010-2011 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

White Elephant

Tonight around our household we officially celebrate Christmas with some early gift-giving with the extended family: my younger sister, the nieces, my four, mom, dad’s two surviving sisters, and whoever else we can cram into the party. Of course there will be plenty of room at my youngest sister’s place. The deafening sound of all the little ones unwrapping their treasures simultaneously makes the place only seem smaller. 

My wife, Angie, was introduced to our clan’s frenzied attack of unsuspecting gifts some 9 years ago. Her family opens each present individually with quiet respect; each child taking his or her turn. How weird, it turns out my family are the strange bunch: go figure. Thankfully, I adopted her more sane approach with our kids when Santa’s surprises are unveiled Christmas morning.

For the adults, it is a relatively new tradition of a gift giving game called “White Elephant.” Each participant draws a number, keeping and trading wrapped items until satisfied to have found the most appropriate or valuable thing (higher drawn numbers are an advantage.) It is all in good fun. None of the items cost more than $10. This year my thrifty Angie is re-gifting; costing us zero.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Rise Up

This commercial sure fired up this Falcons fan for 2010.

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone from the Aircheck family. We've got some great ideas for posts coming very soon, so keep it here for the details. 

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Dynasty in the Making

My beloved Atlanta Falcons are number one in the NFC and tied for first place with the New England Patriots of the AFC—both teams 12 and 2. The Pats are supposedly the better team, as most of the northern biased sports press would lead you to believe. Well, I disagree. At the risk of being labeled a “Homer”, I think the Falcons have a better chance because they are the underdogs. Even us loyal fans have gone through an inferiority complex over the years. We have been conditioned to lose. It’s high time to change our thinking. The Mike Smith era has brought about the necessary paradigm shift, just like Bobby Cox did in the early 90’s for the Braves.

Whether the Falcons will become the dynasty the Braves organization has become remains to be seen; our new coach has brought a winning attitude to the club not previously known in these parts. And that includes Dan Reeves’ team of the late 90’s and our sole Superbowl appearance on January 31st, 1999.

Wait. In my excitement, I got way ahead of myself. There is a small matter of  the playoffs. Neither we nor New England are guaranteed a Superbowl appearance. Aircheck will refine its forecast as the playoffs begin.

Stay tuned

©2010 (text only) Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

 

Google Me

Man, am I excited! Today I just received my new Google notebook computer. I and many others are trying out the device as testers for the new Internet based Google operating system. Right now I am learning the highly intuitive device; my new toy. Did I mention it was free? More to come.

Stay tuned

  ©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

The Hi-Fi

Back in the late 1950’s or early 60’s my paternal grandparents bought a new General Electric stereo. It contained an automatic record changer, AM/FM stereo tuner, amplifier (not solid-state, but genuine tube electronics), and loudspeakers. All of these components were housed in a massive, handsome wood veneer cabinet.

Flash forward to Independence Day 2009 my dad’s younger sister asked me if I wanted the Hi-fi that their parents owned. I had been eying the unit for many years: in its various homes, near and far. Honestly, I was afraid the console had been lost over the years but was surprised that it had found its way into my Aunt Bonnie’s storage shed.

Long story short, that fourth of July, I became heir to the stereo. I was not expecting the nearly 50 year old relic to even turn on. To my surprise, after replacing the frayed power cord, the old GE energized and was soon filling the air with high-fidelity music. The FM and AM worked well. The Turntable was a different story. Records played off-speed and faint. Ever the tinkerer, over the next weeks, I disassembled the electronics. The “head” unit (pre-amp / tuner) was problematic. Most of the contacts needed cleaning. The wiring was suspect. I discovered that the record player was rim-drive. The “tire” (illustrated above) that turns the platter was way out of round; a part probably not currently available. The left speaker sounded cracked. Sure enough, it had some irreparable moisture damage. I decided the the cabinet was the only part worth saving, so I gutted the ancient electronics. Most purist collectors might cringe, but I replaced the tube amp and speakers with (relatively) newer solid-state electronics: a 100 watt Sony receiver, belt-drive turntable, and dropped in a pair of Yamaha bookshelf speakers inside. The one remaining original speaker, which I kept as a souvenir,  is in fairly good shape. Besides the cracked woofer, I did not throw away anything. I just threw the old parts inside. I intend to make future improvements to the Hi-fi. I consider this project a restomod, similar to the way car builders take a rust bucket, add modern performance speed parts and produce a classic with new guts.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Keep it Simple, Stupid

At this point in my life one thing has become clear: it is time to simplify. For most of my adult life, shoot all my life, I have been a packrat. Well, it is time to purge. Most of my mess is in small things I’ve kept such as audio cassette mix tapes, tiny electronic parts (patch cords and adapters galore), the list goes on: hand tools, doo-dads, and what-nots. I justified all this clutter by saying, “It’ll come in handy or be worth something some day.” Well, it seldom did. Today, while browsing my Netflix queue I stumbled upon a show that is right up my alley called American Pickers. A new show featured on the History Channel, it follows two guys on a mission to buy junk that they can later sell for a profit. They go around the countryside of the American Mid-west finding individuals willing to part with some of their clutter (for a price). Sign me up for their jobs. I identify both as a hoarder and a seeker.

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This brings me to my mission with this particular blog. The statistics feature in the backbone software of Aircheck and the Peanut Whistle weblogs has been a marvelous tool. It has directed me in the types of posts that you, the reader, like to read. In fact, the number of readers and how they discovered this little blog is part of the Blogger software. I have not quite learned how to interpret all the numbers, but I have a pretty good idea that we’re not setting the blogosphere on fire. That is why big changes are coming to this site in the next few days or weeks. Look for my two Blogger blogs to consolidate into one. The Peanut Whistle will become part of the Aircheck instead of  a separate site. I had considered shutting down both altogether. Merging the two is the more logical course. “Less clutter, more sanity” is my new motto.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Nerd-feast

It is hard to believe that we’re winding down another year. Twenty-eleven: I like the sound of that. It seems like yesterday that this blog posted a close-out message for 2009. At the risk of sounding trite, time flies.

Let’s get to today’s point. There is a new feature to the Aircheck main page. Written especially for techno-nerds such as myself is the Aircheck Knowhow page, listed right below the header. It is (almost) all the detail I could throw into the topic of recording an aircheck, along with one of my harebrained ideas that might find use among like-minded folks.

Thanks dear readers for a fantastic 2010. There is some life left to this year, along with a few more posts, should inspiration strike.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved

Cloak and Dagger

In what seems to be a segment on one of those Saturday Night Live fake commercials the CIA is now openly recruiting through television ads. About a month ago I saw one of their commercials for the first time and thought it was a joke—the production values of the spots are first rate, like a mini-movie. Maybe it is part of some new transparency in our government. Recently I visited the website and found out that the American international clandestine service, the Central Intelligence Agency is in fact looking for new recruits. Bravo.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved

Stage Freight

Yesterday was a blast. At the risk of bragging, my kids really did their old man proud. First, Sunday morning, my four year old daughter was superb as a singing “bible girl”. Although she was a statue for most of the performance, my little Mattie glowed. She knew her part very well but succumbed to stage freight.

Later, in the evening performance, the first through sixth graders had their Christmas play, Arrest These Merry Gentlemen. My two middle kids then had a turn. My daughter Abbey, 7, delighted us with an uninhibited solo of an original song, He is the One, from the play. My son Luke, who is six, played multiple roles singing and signing (as in, using American Sign language) like an expert, without fear. I can’t wait to see how these talents develop over the years; their dad (just like my baby daughter) never mustered up enough courage to perform live, especially as well as they. Congratulations, little ones.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Duh

About this time every year—at least here in the Northern Hemisphere—it gets cold. To most thinking people this climate change comes as no surprise. The mercury drops naturally in late autumn into winter. This would seem logical to most people. That is what we call “common sense.” The news media treats the transition as if this is something completely novel. This morning I was watching my local ABC affiliate pronouncing, “It’s cold, but it’s really colder than that.” What on Earth does that mean? Yeah right, Wind Chill Factor must have been the meaning of this charming non sequitur. Give me a break. I know it is cold; just walk outside.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle Weblogs. All rights reserved.

Rabbit Ears Updated

A repost from the Peanut Whistle:

Wow! I love the new technological age we live in now—especially High Definition TV. What I like about it is, digital TV returns free television—truly no cost—back to all of us with just old fashioned “rabbit ears”.

With digital the signal is delivered with astounding picture and sound quality never experienced in analog.

One thing Washington got right for a change was mandating the Switch to DTV last year.

Living in the Metro Atlanta area we can receive over 30 channels of free over-the-air TV—most of them in HD. This is all without a cable bill. I said, “Goodbye and good riddance” to Comcast months ago when I discovered this secret cable companies don’t want us knowing. Plus, suppose I install an honest to goodness roof-top setup—I believe many more channels would come in. You see, each TV station has the ability to transmit one or more additional channels along with their primary signal. There is one local station that has 10 or so extra “virtual” channels. For example our WSB-TV transmits their primary signal on virtual channel 2.1 in HD along with “Retro TV” on channel 2.2 in standard definition. Your new digital set “sees” WSB (now actually reassigned on channel 39) as 2.1 and 2.2 respectively. Through the magic of digital technology, “Channel 2” (their name since 1950) WSB retains its identity although their frequency flipped.

Digital TV has a few minor quirks; signal strength is important. Make sure your antenna is pointed correctly. Go to the FCC’s website for exact compass directions of local TV stations from your address. The site includes very helpful information. This aiming process is fairly easy, though. In addition, search YouTube for more information under, “Homemade HDTV antenna,” as well. I opted for Walmart™ and a less than $50 price point. For other programming such as sports and  movies we have opted for the Internet and Netflix (more on that in a future post.)

Before I go, here is one more thing about cable you should know. You’re not getting real High Definition TV on any of your channels, when you subscribe to basic service; true HD costs extra with an additional cable box. Simple rabbit ears feed genuine HD to that new plasma or LCD screen when the stations’ signal allows, 100% of the time. Put some extra cash in your wallet this holiday season, cut the cable cord.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Get a Job, the Final Chapter

A short while back in the Whistle I wrote about a job interview that I participated in. It has come to my attention that the individuals who interviewed me for the position had done very few, if any, of these sessions where a panel of four would ask questions. They were pre-written inquiries that each department head asked. With due respect to the job, its requirements were less of a challenge to me than almost anything I had ever done. I believed that the job would be a shoo-in.

My qualifications were more than enough. My answers were quick, concise and honest. But the company, call them “Acme”, went another direction. They didn’t even have the courtesy of a return phone call. In times past, I was on the other side of the interview being the one who hired. My training dictated that we remain neutral during the process—not giving up hope or despair to an interviewee, no matter how good or bad he seemed. We were instructed to say to each applicant at the close, “Thank you for coming in, we are interviewing others and we will make a decision soon. If you have not heard from us in five days then assume that we decided to hire someone else.”  That is one policy my former employer got right. Finding a good job seems impossible these days. Acme Corp needs to get their act together. In fact, corporate America should invest in the best person for the job without regard to age (especially) or any other factor. I say damn the quotas! Get some experienced individuals in position.

Now I’ll step down off my Acme® Soap Box.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle Weblogs. All rights reserved.

God Must Be a Steelers Fan

I have put up with athletes for years thanking God for a fine performance; a touchdown, a homerun, a GOAL. This past weekend in the NFL takes the cake. I have had enough of the God crutch these players rely on. No question of their free exercise of faith; what I do take issue with is blaming the Almighty for dropping a pass in the end zone. It was an easy catch that would have won the game in overtime for the virtually winless Buffalo Bills against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson bitterly blamed God for the loss. Later he “tweeted:”

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO...

Blasphemy!

Next time I see someone “cross” themselves in the end zone, I am changing the channel.

Stay tuned

©2010 Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.