Priorities: People and Numbers

No written record exists of the exact time when human beings began to demonstrate the abstract ability to think of things in terms of numbers. Carbon dating has revealed that prehistoric humans were able to count things some 37 thousand years ago when scientists recently used it to determine the age of what is believed to be the oldest evidence of counting—an African baboon bone with 29 distinct and deliberately cut notches.

Now, our very modern experience is flooded with numbers. Don’t get me wrong. Our unique fascination with numbers has more often than not has made life much less arduous in many more ways than we can readily imagine. What's more, one could consider that that previous sentence the understatement of all time.

However, many politicians and a complicit media collaboratively working for corporate interests seem to have manipulated our seemingly instinctive attraction to numbers in the recent ‘debate’ over the federal deficit. Somehow, many people are convinced that it’s more important for our government to balance its books with abstract numbers than it is to serve the unemployment, health care and infrastructure needs of tangible and real PEOPLE.

Folks, this debt deal ranks as one of the harshest pieces of legislation Congress has passed in my lifetime. (I’m 54.) It does nothing to address the country's immediate problem that has a direct impact on the quality of life for PEOPLE—joblessness. Shouldn’t the plight of PEOPLE be the government’s first priority? Abstract numbers reflecting a massive debt, while important,could have waited a year of two.

3M and the Golf Market

It seems 3M has hit the jackpot, once again, with another innovative and well-marketed product. Since initiating the Greptile Grip golf glove in 2004, 3M has earned millions of dollars from tapping into what was to them a new market. But, perhaps, some dark clouds lie ahead for 3M as the lucrative golf market may become a threat to future profits.

According to an article in the New York Times, fewer Americans are playing golf these days. The total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million, according to the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. The Times says one golf club owner blames the decline on the sport taking up too much time. Men, the owner says, don't won't to spend an entire day away from home anymore, especially when there are so many ways to be entertained there.

3M is lucky because this decline is offset by huge increases of golf's popularity internationally, especially in Asia. But 3M marketers, I'm sure, are keenly aware of this trend, and are working on ways to mitigate it.

Forbidding In-line Skating (Marketing 101)

Many parks and community laws forbid anyone from skating either on skateboards, in-line skates and kid’s scooters. This circumstance is an example that requires marketers to consider regulatory forces before making a business decision about skates. Because many governments have associated the use of in-line skates with skateboards and scooters, skaters are fighting for the very legality of their sport.

Many legislators wrote these laws forbidding skating before Rollerblades basically reinvented in-line skates during the 80s. It appears that lawmakers regard in-line skaters as nothing more than children playing with an unsafe toy.

Rollerblades has responded by teaming up with schools and initiating an exercise program called "Skate in School". It’s a program helps schools win much needed funding designated for physical fitness. Rollerblades reports that more than a thousand schools nationwide are using it.

Radio Days (Part III): Culture Shock and "What's the Barometric Pressure?"

During the mid 1980s, my radio career took a dramatic turn. From the vibrant and dynamic lifestyle of Florida's Gulf Coast, I suddenly found myself thrust in a rural, isolated and of course, conservative backwater located in Northwest Oklahoma. The following is the third in a series of essays about my life as a broadcaster. Time Frame: 1983-1985.

After Florida fizzled out, I more or less stumbled my way back to St. Louis. I was virtually penniless from basically binging and partying away the small amount of savings that I had acquired. My parents less than enthusiastically took me in for what turned to be the last time I actually lived under their roof.

After the first day or so of niceties, my folks quickly guided my attention toward getting a job. I honestly thought that at this point that my career in radio was over. So I was not offended when my parents began presenting me help-wanted ads for insurance sales jobs.

Nevertheless, I kept hearing this little voice in my head. It kept telling me, "the Broadcast Center offers lifetime placement for their students". I reminded my folks about this service, and they basically said, "go for it!" So, I paid the school a visit.

I must have struck while the iron was hot because the Broadcast Center called within literally hours after my visit about about an opening. They told me it was at a station completely staffed by Center graduates. They must thought that this was the stronger selling point about the job because they withheld its location until I asked.

"Woodward, Oklahoma", they said. "It's in the northwest corner of the state near the panhandle." I asked about the format. They said the station, KSIW, is a full-service AM station that plays Country that's coupled with an automated FM station, KSIW-FM, that plays Top 40.

For some reason I was reluctant. But I was quickly reminded that I was lucky to have this opportunity, and I took it. In about a week, I made the trip out.

It was kind of a dismaying trip to me. The further west I went, it seemed towns, trees and radio stations became fewer in number. After I got about 60 miles west of Enid, Oklahoma, my FM car radio went totally silent. I switched to AM, however, and I was reassured in the fact that I was still able to pick up a couple of "blowtorches" from Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

I finally pulled into dusty and desolate Woodward. The smell of manure was ample. Everyone wore Western attire and waved at you as you drove by. (This by the way is not an act as I later learned. The people in this area are really that friendly.) I really felt like I was on a different planet. I was able to pick up only two FM stations, and on one of them (KSIW-FM as it turned out), I heard an almost prophetic song telling me to turn around. It was Bonnie Tyler's 1983 hit, "Total Eclipse of the Heart".





I decided to stick it out, and settled into being gainfully employed at KSIW-AM and FM. This operation was run with quite the iron hand. Ed Ryan, an elderly Oklahoma cowboy, owned and ran the station, and it was his way or the highway.

When I came to town, a brand-new, 100,000-watt FM country station (KWOX-FM, K-101) just opened for business, and they were, more or less, taking the area by storm. Meanwhile, the folks at KSIW, who were used to having the market to themselves, continued along business as usual. It was their little money maker, and programming was a totally foreign concept.

KSIW had a number of peculiar rules by which on-air personnel had to abide.We were announcers, not deejays or air personalities. We were never allowed to say our names.

Also, we were never permitted to segue one song into another. Between EVERY record, we were required to back announce the song, give the complete weather forecast along with current conditions including the humidity, wind speed, temperature and barometric pressure. Finally,then, we introduced the next song.

Pity the poor announcer who forgot to mention the barometric pressure. It seems an elderly woman named Leona meticulously kept track of it. She would instantly call the station, and ask in her deliberate and elederly voice, "what's the barometric pressure?" I thought at the time that this lady needs to get a life, and it became somewhat of a running joke among us announcers. But I later learned Leona survived the infamous Woodward tornado of 1947,one of the worst in U.S. history. She was not as batty as I previously thought because before Doppler radar, the barometer was about the only tool around that gave people a little bit of a tornado warning.

Also, all the commercial production was done by the sales staff. There were many instances when I thought I wouldn't be able to further my broadcast career because I wasn't able to put together a decent air check or getting any experience learning audio production. It seemed to me that the the ownership should have automated the AM station considering all the restriction they placed on the announcers.

Despite these rules, I still managed to have fun, and I made some pretty good friends. As I previously stated, the people in this part of the country are very courteous. I joined a health club that offered a swimming pool. I swam laps there at least two to three times a week, and I was able to keep myself in pretty good shape. I also began spinning records at Woodward's one-and-only night club called "Chaps". Even though I played a mix of pop and country songs, the crowds were decidedly partial to two-stepping. They two-stepped to the likes of George Strait and Huey Lewis and the News.

Early in 1985, the owner, Ed Ryan, suffered a debilitating stroke. His daughter-in-law soon took over operations because of his illness. Because of this change and the realization that it was losing virtually all its business to the competitor across the street, KSIW decided to start giving its announcers a little more freedom. The station actually began promoting itself. I remember KSIW began giving a away bumper stickers that contained a coupon for a local pizza joint.

Now, the announcers were allowed to say their names, perform specific shifts (mine was 7 PM-to-Midnight) and create commercial production. It was definitely a change for the better.

Unfortunately for KSIW, this freedom enabled their announcers a chance to showcase their broadcasting skills on airchecks. One-by-one, each announcer came with the news that they were leaving for greener pastures. I was no exception. I soon got an offer to do afternoon drive at a 100,000-watt rock station in my home state of Missouri.

There are several songs, both country and pop, that I'll always associate with KSIW.

I remember airing these tunes on 1450 KSIW-AM, which was country.







Meantime, 93.5 KSIW-FM, our automated sister station, was the only outlet that played pop music within a 100-mile radius of Woodward. It was on this station where I first heard these tunes.









Coming up: Back home in Missouri

User Guide Project

My course project for "Advanced Technical Writing and Editing" is finally complete. It was an 8-week, course-long effort where four other classmates and me collaborated to produce a 40-page document called, Using MS 2007 to Create a Webpage: A User Guide. The following people helped and have my sincere gratitude:

• Cynthia Chretien
• Ricky Conner
• Lakiesha Cowans
• Tomeka Horton

Here's the user guide displayed page by page:

Therein lies the rub...

It’s amazing how many people who either fail or ignore the following concept:

• The rich have higher tax rates because they can more easily withstand the consequence.

I did a little researching, and from what I could gather, economists regard the average wage of the top 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans for 2010 to be nearly $1.5 million dollars. (I don’t believe you or I fall into this category. If you do, introduce me to your financial adviser.)

Now, if the government takes 35 percent out of a $1.5 million-dollar income, those particular wage earners will see their income reduced by some half-million dollars. However, that person will still have some $975,000 dollars with which to live. Yes, that’s a sizable drop, but I’m quite sure I could still live quite lavishly. I know I'm up for the challenge.

Now, consider a wage earner from the lower middle class who lives from paycheck-to-paycheck making about $30,000 dollars a year. Thirty-five percent of 30 thousand equals $11,200 dollars. No, it’s not a half-million dollars. While this amount is considerably less than what the government takes out on the top 1 percent, the loss of it is much more ruinous and devastating to the lower middle class wage earner. A lower middle class wage earner would suddenly find himself or herself not just eking out of living, but crossing the threshold into poverty. Earners would suddenly need to have supplemental entitlements, such as food stamps and Medicaid, to just to live.

I hope this information puts a little perspective on things.

Still Filling a Niche...

I think reports of print's death "are greatly exaggerated". Remember, back in the 1980s, many experts predicted that music videos will will kill the radio star.



While it's not a big as it once was, radio, nevertheless, is still a viable medium. It fills a niche.

E-books are wonderful. However, I believe printed books and documents, like radio, will fill a niche. Electronics, even with batteries and satellites, still has its limitations. The need and desire to read still exceed this technology, and I believe, this is where print has its niche.

By the way, I've yet to across any e-book technology that can turn pages as fast as I can manually with an old-fashioned, printed book.