A recent study shows a 30% increase in teenagers with hearing problems. The study says that iPods have a lot to do with it. Teens nowadays, more than ever, are listening toiPods and other devices that use headphones. And they aren’t listening quietly either. Apparently, the volume pumped up day after day is taking it’s toll.

I don’t remember using headphones that often as a kid. The only time would be at night, when mom and dad were sleeping. I’d put on the cans (that’s a “cool” term for headphones) and crank up my Kiss albums and lie in bed for hours.

Other times I’d just crank up the stereo until my dad would come down, open my bedroom door and tell me to “turn that crap down. That stuff will warp your mind!” He was wrong. It wasn’t crap and it didn’t warp my mind, but it was loud.

I still love cranking up a great song when I hear one on the radio. At least after the song, I turn the radio down to a respectful level, unlike some of the kids out there. You know the ones I’m talking about. You can hear them coming your way from blocks away. The bass speakers pounding like 20 cops going in on a drug bust! Those are the kids that should be using headphones! Hey kids, if you want to go deaf, that’s your business. But, if your car stereo is making me go deaf, then that’s my business. At least crank up the volume when you’re playing some good music. Not this rap junk. That’s not music, it’s noise.

At 47, I still like my music loud. But, if you ever hear me coming up a block behind you, please tell me to turn it down. I won’t mind, really. After all, I’m not a teenager anymore and my dad lives too far away to tell me!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years to the day since I started at Harvard Broadcasting. Boy, have I seen changes here over the course of 15 years!

When I started, Harvard Broadcasting consisted of only 2 radio stations. Country 92 was our FM station and CKRM was on the 980 dial. When I came here I found it odd that one company would have 2 country radio stations competing with each other. I didn’t think it would last and it didn’t. After that Country 92 went through many transformations before setting down as the successful Lite 92.

When I started here I was hired to work the 11 A.M.-3 P.M. shift to fill a vacancy created when Dan Broderick went over to try his hand in the car business at Capital GMC under the tutelage of Bruce Axelson. We’ve both lasted at our respective companies, but I’ve got a feeling that Mr. Broderick is making ALOT more money than I am. Good move Dan!

After 1 year I jumped into the “Flea Market” chair vacated by the retiring legend Fred King! I remember making Fred a cup of tea every morning and reading his joke book for him. His eyesight wasn’t at it’s best back then, so I would read him some one-liners from his book. If he liked them he’d laugh and say “I’ll use that one this morning.” Doing the Flea Market was tough going for the first year or so. It’s not easy slipping in to take over for a local legend.

Then in 2001, our former General Manager, John Huschi decided to bump me out of my 11-3 shift to do the morning show with Willy. Willy and I had to figure out how to do two separate shows. It would have been too easy to make our morning show and Flea Market meld into one. So, over time they became two different entities. Willy and I are the longest running morning team in Regina, and as the ratings tell us, the most successful as well. The morning show and Flea Market have generated a lot of revenue over the years, but not for us, of course.

Also in 2001, on my birthday, 980 CKRM became 620 CKRM, giving us the opportunity to bring our station to a much larger audience. It took all of us announcers a lot of practice to make sure we used “620″ CKRM instead of “980.”

Then 4 years ago we moved from Halifax St. to our new studios in downtown Regina. It certainly was a refreshing move.

The personnel changes alone, that I’ve seen in 15 years could fill a book.
CKRM was quite different in that way. We didn’t see much change at all. Willy, Perry, Colin and myself were the mainstays of Regina radio. You needed scorecards to keep up with all of the others. That IS NOT a good thing for a radio station.

Over the years Harvard Broadcasting has grown with the aquisition of many more radio stations. That means it’s also gone from a “family” to “corporate” business. But, that happens when anything grows. It’s nothing new and certainly not unexpected.

Is there another 15 years at Harvard Broadcasting in me?

Whew, that’s a tough one!

Well, here it is, 2:30 on a Friday afternoon and I’ve got about 4 hours left to broadcast for the “Smiles Per Mile Lotto.” I broadcast lottery cut-ins 3 times an hour and will be doing so until 7 P.M., so obviously I’ve got a little bit of time to kill.

With time to kill, I decided I would write up my Monday blog today. The topic? What goes on at Harvard Broadcasting on a Friday afternoon.

I’ll be honest, it’s not very exciting. Actually, I’m glad that I usually leave early in the day. Here’s what’s happening right now. I hope you’re not easily bored.

First off, Dan and Evan are talking about going out for a few beers tonight. Evan has to head to the Pump Roadhouse for a bit, so he won’t be able to link up with Dan and his new bride until 9 at O’Hanlans. 9? At night? How do these kids stay up so late? I’ll be sound asleep by then. That’s probably why they didn’t invite me.

Darrell Gibson is collecting $5 from everyone who wants to be in the pool for the $50 million lottery tonight. He asks if I want in, so I decide to walk over to the bank machine and grab enough money, and for $10 I secure a spot for Willy and I in the Harvard lottery pool.

Julie, our human resources guru, is at the front desk today because Laura has the day off. I ask her if she wants a coffee because I’m heading next door to “Agean Coffee” for something other than the instant coffee I’ve been drinking since 3:30 this morning. She tells me what she wants, so I go next door and spend the change I had left over after getting into the lottery pool.

Ok, I’m back with coffee. I check my watch. It’s only 2:52. Argghh! This day seems to be getting longer by the minute!

The boss just walked by and he doesn’t look to be in the best of moods, which is odd, considering Friday is the only day he ever seems to be in a good mood!

Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot going on here. It’s actually quite boring and I’m happy that I’m usually out of here before 11 each morning!

Oh, it’s almost 3. I have to run into the studio and do another live cut-in for the Lottery!

Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

The term was first used by I.H. Coriat in “Abnormal Psychology”.

There you have it. The word that sticks out the most, probably because it’s the only one I can pronounce, is “abnormal.” Although the fear of the #13 is “abnormal,” it certainly isn’t rare. I’ve known people over the years who have absolutely avoided the #13. They wouldn’t even leave their homes, not even for work!

I have never been superstitious. I’ve always believed that everything we do has already been mapped out well in advance and we are just playing out our roles. I also believe that “deja vu” is the cosmos way of letting you know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be at that exact moment. I haven’t experienced “deja vu” in quite a while, so I’m guessing I’m a little off track from where I should be.

At least I’m not superstitious! It would be pretty hard getting back on track while hiding in my house until the 14th!

I love running into our faithful listeners outside of the radio station. My wife is always ribbing me about not being able to go anywhere without bumping into somebody I know. Many times, people I don’t even know, but who listen to Willy and I, will come up and introduce themselves. That’s the best part of this job.

When people come up to me, it seems I almost always get asked the same questions. The most asked is always “how’s Willy?” The second is “what time do you go to bed? and “what time do you get up?”

Well, number one, last time I checked(about 5 minutes ago), Willy is just fine. Number two, I go to bed at 8 P.M. and I’m up by 3 A.M.

99% of the time I’ll be asleep by 9 or 9:30. After being up for 18 hours or so, I’m usually dead to the world by then. The odd time though, like everyone else, I’ll have a sleepless night. You know the ones, where you toss and turn all night but never get to sleep.

Tuesday night was one of those nights. I was in bed at the usual time and finished my nightly reading by the usual time, but when it came time to sleep I just couldn’t do it. I tossed and turned and got up a few times through the night, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. I watched the clock all night long. Finally at about 2:50 A.M. I just got up, had a shower, and came into work. It’s happened before so it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

Aside from my on-air shift yesterday morning, I was also broadcasting for the “Smiles Per Mile Lotto” for the Assiniboia Southern Rebels hockey team from 7 A.M.- 7 P.M.

By the time I made it home at 7 last night, I’d been up 37 hours and was looking very forward to relaxing on the couch for a 1/2 hour or so before hitting the sack for what I was hoping would be a wonderful sleep.

It was. I was sleeping by 8:15 and even slept right through until 4 this morning! I let myself sleep in an extra hour!

Everyone in this business has done that. Willy Cole has been doing this for more than 32 years here in Regina alone! Colin Lovequist has had many 12-15 hour days. Michael Ball, from our sister station The Wolf, and our voice on the “Touchdown Club” on the Rider broadcast will be on the go from 4:30 this morning until he wraps up on Rider Radio at around 11 tonight. Just another 18 hour day.

If you want to get into radio, you might want to think about getting an office job. Those people work from 8-5 Monday through Friday. They don’t have to put in any extra hours. They show up for work 1 minute before they’re supposed to and leave at the exactly 5 P.M., yet they seem to enjoy all of the same benefits of the hard working on-air people. How does that work? And who allows it to happen?

I hope we have an opening here for an office job soon. I think I’ll apply.

I’ve often wondered, as most of us have, what in the world makes us dream the things we dream. I’ve had some strange ones over the last couple of nights.

A couple of nights ago I dreamed that I spent a night partying and running around with Stephanie Courtney. For those unfamiliar with the name, you know her better as the character Flo on the Progressive Insurance TV commercials. Wherever we went, people would say to me, “wow, you actually know Flo?” We’d head to the bar for a drink and share a couple off kisses before scooting off to another party. Maybe she was just trying to sell me insurance. You know these insurance agents!

I guess that dream is easy to figure out. I’ve seen her a million times in those commercials, so she’s obviously stuck in my mind. Advertising works.

The dream from the night before that was a little more strange. My buddies and I were heading up to one of their houses in the wee hours of the morning. It was an eerie sky and an ill wind was blowing. Just as we got out of the car and got ready to head up the steps to the house, out of nowhere, came this woman with one leg, bouncing quickly from one side of the house before disappearing on the other side. She wasn’t missing a leg, she only had one! Next thing I know is I’m in my friends house, alone, when this woman appears out of nowhere in a nighty and told me she was supposed to look after me. For what, I didn’t know. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out either. As I headed up the stairs to get the heck out of there I suddenly woke up. It was one of those times when you feel so happy to wake up, yet you still have a feeling that something might be lurking in the bedroom. I stayed in bed until I was sure that the one-legged lady was nowhere to be seen and then got up and headed into the bathroom.

I have no idea what that dream was all about. I certainly don’t recall seeing a one-legged woman doing any commercials on TV.

The next time I dream something strange, I think I’d rather hang out with Flo again. She was a lot more fun than the other lady!

I try to put off a haircut for as long as possible. I have a trimmer at home which is good for the goatee or trimming off a few hairs here and there.

That’s what I was doing the other night. I hate it when the hair on the back off my head gets long and starts curling up and sticking out under the ears. I call them “wings” and I hate them. So I grabbed my newly charged trimmer and went to work. It’s hard cutting your own hair in the mirror because everything is backwards, but it worked. No more wings.

The next day I noticed the hair above my ears was getting a little longer than I like. My wife told me to get off my butt and go to the barbershop. “I will next week” I told her. This is the easy part. Just cut off the hair even with top of the ears and follow the curve of the ear with the trimmer. Done. I noticed another little spot over the ear that needed to be touched up. This is where I should have stopped. I do have attachments for the trimmer that will always keep the device a certain distance away from your head. That way you can never cut off more hair than you want to. I don’t use that. Maybe I should. I put the trimmer to my ear and dug in. Oops! Now I’ve got a loonie sized bald spot just above my left ear! Plus, now that I’ve trimmed everything else, I have nothing to pull over that bald spot!

So if you see me before my hair has a chance to grow back in that area, remember, it’s not a new style. It’s a mistake.

At least now when I go back to the hair stylist and she asks, “oh my God, who cut your hair last time?”, I can honestly tell her. I will look her in the eyes and say “my wife!”

Well, here I am, back again!

Had an enjoyable, if not exciting week off. I did actually do something I had never done before. I rented a Rug Doctor and steam cleaned the carpets.

I usually get my buddy Kevin from Cardinal Cleaning to come over. It takes him less than an hour and only costs me $60.

This time though, seeing as I had nothing to do, I thought I’d head down to the local hardware store and rent myself a machine. The rental was $27 for the day plus taxes. Plus I had to buy a bottle of cleaning solution, which was another $18.99. So far, with taxes included, I haven’t saved myself a lot of money. Let’s see if I can do this as quickly as Kevin can. Of course, he only has a hose to run over the carpet. His big machinery is in his truck. I’ve actually got to push and pull this heavy machine. Plus the water reservoir needs to be emptied quite often. I can see for the $7-$8 savings, I think I’ll be at this for more than an hour.

By the time I’ve finished, some 2 hours later, I’m sweating like a pig, not to mention smelling and looking like one as well. I don’t even bother to shower before I take the machine back to the hardware store. Worst case scenario there, is that I’ll smell just like everyone else in the store!

Some things just aren’t worth the savings. Next time my wife and I decide to clean the carpets, the most work I’ll do is call Kevin and set up an appointment!

I thought that I’d let you know that what you’re reading, is my 200th blog on this site! 200!

I remember when we were told, not asked, to write a daily blog, I kind of bristled at the idea. I told Willy there was no way that I was doing a blog every single day. Willy, knowing me all too well, didn’t say anything. He knew I was just blowing off some steam and, after revisiting the idea, he knew I’d do it and do it to the best of my ability. He was right!

I think the reason I didn’t want to write a daily blog was because I didn’t know what in the world I could write about on a daily basis that would be of any interest to anyone. It still amazes me that anyone would take any interest in what I have to say.

I have no idea how many people read this blog. I certainly do appreciate all of the comments that I receive and I read them all. I wish more people would disagree with me and tell me what an idiot I am for some of my beliefs. I guess if I’m not making some kind of waves I don’t feel like I’m leaving my mark.

Sometimes a blog will write itself, other times writing one is like pulling teeth. Sometimes a blog will make a point and other times a blog will ramble on in no certain direction with no ending. Sometimes I’m not satisfied with a blog and other times I am. It all depends on the mood and the situation.

I am off for a 1 week vacation. When I return I’ll have blog #201!

I hope something happens over the course of my week off so I have something to say!

Have a great long weekend. I’ll be back on Aug.9th!

Again, thanks to all who read this thing we call a blog. I appreciate it!

Well, it sounded like a pretty good concert at Mosaic Stadium last night with Bon Jovi and Kid Rock. We could actually hear it from our deck!

I’m not a big fan of live concerts and haven’t been for years. I can’t understand someone actually driving all the way to Winnipeg, Calgary or even Toronto just to see a 2 hour show. It befuddles me. I wasn’t always that way.

I still remember seeing Kiss and Cheap Trick at the Lethbridge Sportsplex on July 28, 1977. I don’t know why, but I’ve never forgotten that date. The anticipation was incredible. A band that we had read about in all of those rock magazines of the day was actually coming to Lethbridge. To me Kiss was the greatest rock band ever, from the costumes, to the blood spitting, to the smoking guitar solo by my hero (even today) Ace Frehley. His guitar would actually start smoking while he was in the middle of some great solo. Cool! The show had everything. Explosions, lights, strobes, a drum set that rose 20 feet in the air at the end of the cocert! I’d never seen anything like it.

I remember the afternoon of the show, me and about 4 or 5 buddies actually hung around the back of the Sportsplex waiting for Gene, Paul, Ace and Criss to get off a bus and head into the arena. We stood there for hours hoping to be the first people to catch a glimpse of the boys without their make-up.

We just couldn’t wait to get into the arena. The atmosphere was magical. It smelled kind of funny in there. Must have been the american cigarettes everyone seemed to be smoking!

Now that I think about it, maybe I can understand people driving a long way just to see a concert. If that night is as magical for them as it was for me on July 28, 1977, then they’ll have that memory forever, just like I do.

Maybe they’ll even remember the exact date some 30 years later.

I hope they do!