ROR Podcast v3.0

I just finished the 3rd Roemerman on Record Podcast. I hope you enjoy it.




Topics
*John Sullivan's announcement
*The Downtown Tulsa Ballpark funding/the Republicans that voted for it.

*Steve Chamberlin builds his own CPU from scratch.
*Phreakmonkey fires up a modem from 1964 and surfs the intertube.
*ATT announces an android phone

*I get excited about chocolate
*I give the thumbs up on two local exterminators.

Sullivan Checks in to Betty Ford for Alcohol Addiction

Today, Congressman John Sullivan released the following statement:

Last night, I checked myself in to the Betty Ford Center in California to treat my addiction to alcohol.

To ensure my success in this fight, I’ve decided to take a temporary leave of absence from Congress. I value my relationship with the citizens of Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, whom I am privileged and honored to have served for the past eight years. So, I wanted to be open and honest on this tough situation.

I ask for your continued support and prayers as I face the challenges that lay ahead. I look forward to returning to serve and work for you in the House of Representatives as soon as possible.

My family is going through a difficult time right now and I ask that you respect their privacy and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. With God’s help and strength, I will get through this most challenging time in my life.

The Ball Park Assessment Vote was 6-3

In my previous post, I implied that Councilors Martinson and Westoctt voted for the increase in the assessment district used to fund the construction of the ball park. I think I was confused by the unanimous vote for the creation of the ball park trust...for the record the following councilors voted for the assessment: Councilors G.T. Bynum, Bill Christiansen, Dennis Troyer, Eric Gomez, David Patrick and Jack Henderson.

Councilors John Eagleton, Bill Martinson and Rick Westcott voted against it.

Sorry about the confusion...I've removed that language from my previous post.

Christiansen’s Ball Park Fail Whale Sandwhich

***I was slightly upset when I wrote this...just in case you cant tell by my tone***

I just finished listening to an interview on KRMG with Bill Christiansen. The councilor was answering questions from Joe Kelley regarding the new ball park funding debacle. Last year, the Council voted to approve a new assessment district inside the Inner Dispersal Loop (IDL), which would essentially tax downtown property owners in order to pay for the new ball park. The reasoning was, I guess, that the ball park will be an amazing addition to downtown which will magically transform it into a land of lollipop streetlights, gumdrop sidewalks, and perfectly smooth sugar paste streets, while at the same time, providing peace and joy to all Mankind; or at the very least make the value of downtown property go up and/or provide the owners with improved business traffic. The only problem with the assessment is that, in many cases, it is oppressive, draconian, and unfair. For example, Christiansen pointed out that the OSU medical center will have to pay “over $84,000 a year”.

Question? How will the medical center benefit from a new ball park? Will there be more emergencies from muggings and drunken fights at the new ball park? Ohh nuts, I forgot, Downtown is very safe, very safe. So no, that cannot be it? What about warehouses and business that don’t have foot traffic, as Joe Kelley pointed out? How is the assessment fair to them? Drats, no good answer for that either. Ohh, but people that are upset with the assessment or want to appeal their assessment amount will have recourse with the City, right? Well, no, not really, not unless they want to go to court. Well Bill this sounds like a really well thought out plan, I’m very impressed with the back peddling, and attempt to turn this political lemon into sweet sweet lemonade. However, I think your going to need some more sugar…this still tasting pretty sour. Or is it bitter?…kinda bitter/sourish.

Councilor Christiansen tried to explain why he voted for this assessment district despite the fact that it’s legality is questionable, despite the fact that in many cases this assessment is unfair and burdensome, and despite the fact that the details on the benefit were sketchy. Although maybe I’d sing a different tune if I’d been flown around by the Mayor in her private jet all over the country so I could be sold on the transformational power of a downtown ball park paid for by TAX PAYERS!** (see disclaimer below)

“This KRMG morning show interview brought is brought to you by the FAIL WHALE!” I could have sworn that is what Rick Couri said just before the interview. Yeah, that’s right the Fail Whale! Because that is what this ballpark funding situation is, a huge, juicy, fail whale sandwich. The whale’s backbone was removed, and it is served on lightly toasted ciabatta bread with your choice of mayo or incompetence sauce…TASTY!


The Tulsa City Council should have done their due diligence before voting on this ball park. Instead, they let the Mayor pressure them into voting for something that they obviously didn’t fully understand. To that end, any Republican Council member that voted for this mess, will have to explain to my satisfaction how they can justify their vote. I will want to know why they didn’t stand up to the Mayor and demand more time before voting. I will need to know why they did not dig deeper and flush out all of the details before the vote. Also, assuming that they are self respecting and presumably conservative republicans, I will need to now how they could have justified voting to build a ball park for private benefit, with public dollars. Bill, Are you running for Mayor or not? Because I’m going to demand these answers from you if you are.

** disclaimer ** I don't know if Christiansen flew in the Mayor's jet or not, but several councilors did. It is my contention that this was used as a opportunity to illegally lobby for their support of the ball park. You can add this to the list of things I'll want to know from any potential mayoral candidate.

***In the first version I implied that Martinson and Westcott voted for the assessment, I had gotten their votes for the stadium trust confused with the vote for the assessment...

Councilors John Eagleton, Bill Martinson and Rick Westcott voted against the assesment...

ROR Podcast (2)

I had too much fun yesterday creating the first podcast...so I did another one today...hopefully it's not so soon that you wont want to listen to it. I promise I'll calm down and spread these out a little bit in the future. One small thing of note with regard to this latest podcast; I think I had some trouble with the mic so words that contain the Ssss sound, kinda bug sometimes...sorry about that, I'll do better in the future.

In this podcast...
* J.C. Watts decides to not run for Governor
* Tom Coburn running for the Senate again?
* PLANiTulsa...GO VOTE!!!
* My wife re-upholsters our chair.(pictures here)

1st Official ROR Podcast

I've finished the first episode of the Roemerman on Record Podcast.




* I talked about some economic data I received from the STOC
* My recent trip in Tulsa's newest police helicopter (pics here)
* My nick-name in College
* Terminator Salvation

ROR Podcast (Test Edition)

I've been influenced by Tyson Wynn, and Chris Medlock and have decided to try my hand at podcasting. Please to enjoy this test edition, I threw together to see whether or not I could pull it off.

My daddy ate my eyes

This story out of Bakersfield California literally makes me feel sick. Apparently a man in Bakersfield bit his 4-year-old son's eyes out. The Father who has a history of drug and PCP convictions was "displaying symptoms of being under the influence of PCP." The son later told police, "My daddy ate my eyes."

When I think of my 4-year-old girl, and how innocent and sweet she is, and then I think of this poor child who had to endure this horrible treatment from his wretched father, it makes me sick.

I heard former Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, on the Sean Hannity radio show yesterday spouting some nonsense about how drugs should be legalized. He tried to compare the deleterious effects of alcohol to that of drugs, and said that they should be legalized for the same reason that alcohol is legal.

Tell that to this 4-year-old kid with no eyes Governor. I've had a few drinks before, and I never felt compelled to bite someones eyes out. These hard-core-drugs, even in small doses, make you crazy. There is no moderation of crack or PCP and anyone who uses that argument automatically losses the debate in my opinion.

Got Termites?

I do, unfortunately, which leaves me with the unfortunate task of determining the best solution for killing these little bastards where they live…RIGHT THE HECK NOW!

We contacted a local pest control company who gave us a quote for a popular name brand baiting system. The quote was for localized treatment in the area where the termites were found and perimeter baiting stations around my house. That is what $1200 bucks buys me.

The idea is that the termites will somehow find the baiting stations and start eating the wood in the baiting system. Then, periodically, the exterminator checks the bait station for termites. If found, they are treated with poison and let go. Then, hopefully, they will take this poison back to the colony for distribution.

That seems like a nice idea, for protection, or as an ancillary approach for treatment. However, the idea that the bait method will get rid of the termites in my home now seems far fetched.

1. With this approach, we are only going to treat the area where we know for sure there are termites. What about the other areas in the house that might be infested but we can’t see them?
2. If the termites are in my house now. Why would they leave an abundant food source to check out sticks in the ground?

It didn’t make much sense to me so I did a little research on the intertubes and found a whole host of info that seems to validate my skepticism. Including a open letter by an exterminator in Oklahoma City, Harold Scheer.

Harold’s qualifications seem to speak for themselves

• Continuous professional experience in termite control business since 1976.
• Personally inspected over 50,000 homes in the metropolitan Oklahoma City area.
• Recipient of the Governor's Award of Excellence for Outstanding Service to the State of Oklahoma.

… and so on

Here is what he has to say about baiting systems.

I have read the data and the labels for all the termite bait stations. I have read the instructions. I have studied the purported results. I have seen the instructional videos. I have physically inspected some of the stations that have been installed around homes in metro Oklahoma City. I’m not impressed! Nearly every bait station I have checked is either full of water or full of ants.
...
• If the weather is too hot, they won’t work!
• If the weather is too cold, they don’t work!
• If the soil is too dry, they don’t work!
• If the soil is too wet, they don’t work!
• If every termite in the colony doesn’t eat it, they don’t work!
• Or, if the termites have an alternative food source (such as your house), they don’t work!!!
...
Termites are social insects, work as a team, and must construct above-ground earthen tunnels to reach the wood in your home. The building of these tubes or tunnels is a tedious, time-consuming process by an insect only a quarter of an inch long. To think that the colony would wake up one morning and decide to leave the studs in your wall and construct a new tunnel system to get to an outdoor stick in the ground is beyond comprehension to me. In thirty years, I have never seen termites leave a food source voluntarily!

I did a little more research and found a product called Termidor. It looked like it might be a good product. Read the following paragraph from this site which compares baiting to Termidor.

Termidor is so effective that a major pest control industry magazine recently speculated that its increasing use could eventually reduce overall pest control company revenues. This is because treating one house often eliminates the termite infestations in neighboring houses.

Sounds promising. Since I cant possibly do business with Mr. Scheer, I called Harold for his opinion regarding the two methods. I told him that I lived in Tulsa, and wanted his honest opinion. Here is what he said, “These baiting systems represent the largest organized scam of our time…in my opinion. Baiting don’t work…Termidor does. “

Well Harold, you convinced me. I’ve called two local pest control companies in Tulsa that use Termidor, and they will give me quotes tomorrow. Pray that it works. I want these termites dead!

(-=<>=-)

McAlester - Child rapist gets one year

Here is a sad story out of McAlester. On Wednesday, 64-year-old David Harold E. Earls, pleaded no contest to charges of rape and sodomy of a 5-year-old girl, and was sentenced to one year in prison.

Apparently the little girl did not qualify as a witness, and rather than lose the conviction all together they let Earls plead out.

Here is what Assistant District Attorney Mike Miller had to say about the deal.

We couldn’t keep her (the victim) in the chair long enough to get the questions out of her
...
We thought it was better to take a plea bargain to secure a conviction rather than risk not getting a conviction at all based on (the victim’s) inability to testify.

Earls will get one year in prison, and then be required to register as a level 3 sex offender, which will require him to verify his address every 3 months.

It's disconcerting that this had to happen, but I understand the prosecutor's unwillingness to let him get off scott-free. Sad news all the way around.

Wolfram Alpha

Have you heard of Wolfram Alpha yet? It's not a search engine per se. According to the website...

It's a computational knowledge engine: it generates output by doing computations from its own internal knowledge base, instead of searching the web and returning links.

In other words, you can do some cool things with it, as long as it knows something about what you are asking. Since it doesn't really search the internet, it wont give you any results if the internal database doesn't contain at least some facts about the subject of your query. This is an important fact to consider before passing judgment on Wolfram Alpha. I wasn't really all that impressed with it until I understood that.

It's useful for determining how many trees are used when you print a document with 5000 words (.0012), or how much Vitamin C is in 4 apples (31.3 mg)...stuff like that.

Ohh, and just in case you were wondering what the GDP of the United States, times the distance to the moon, divided by the population of Tulsa was...The answer is $ 8.944 trillion mi/(person yr)

What the heck is a Mile US dollar per person year? That's a freaky unit of measurement!

So try it out...just remember that it is not a search engine in the classical sense.

How to Cook an Egg (scrambled)

Since I knew you were sitting there thinking, "Gee, I wonder how Roemerman cooks an egg?" I made this video...just for you. Wasn't that nice?

Anyway, pardon my rambling in this video, It would take a bakers dozen eggs/takes to not sound like a jack ass, and I didn't have enough eggs for that...also I didn't have the patience. So with out further ado, please to enjoy this how-to-cook-a-scrambled-egg video in all it's unedited glory.

I WON A BOC

Play this before you start reading...


After several failed attempts and disappointments, I finally successfully ordered a Bag of Crap from the Woot Off! If you know anything about Woot, then you know that I should be revered and praised on the account of my incredible stroke of luck.

If you dont know what the heck I'm talking about...
Woot.com is a website that normally sells one thing a day. Occasionally they will have a "Woot off" where there are many things sold during the day...one after the other. Usually one of the items they sell is a Bag of Crap.... The BOC is a random assortment of unknown items. It could be a box of friendship bracelets, it could be a DVD player...you never know.

Bag of Crap
Also known as:
* Random Crap
* Bulgarian Olympic Committee
* Blinged-Out Cabbage
* Bandolier of Carrots
* Bananas or Cherries
* Bushels of Cooties
* Banjo of Consternation
* Baiting Other Consumers
* Other nonsensical names with the initials B.O.C.

A Bag of Crap, sold for $1 + $5 shipping, containing random stuff (crap). BOC's do not always contain the same crap, exact contents will vary.

The popularity of the Bag of Crap often makes it impossible to buy, as Woot's servers get swamped by requests to order.

Yea me!

Technorati Tags: Woot
Bag of Crap

Wash Your Hands

Hey you!..Yeah you; wash your filthy disgusting hands for a change will ya?



My only critique on these instructions, and what confuses me the most, is the first step. How did the water get turned on? When I go to the bathroom the water is never running, so I usually turn around and walk out of the rest room with unclean hands.

My guess is that the guy before me followed the steps and turned the water off. If they would take out step 5 I think it would work.


Technorati Tags: hand washing

Research Suggests Naysayers Hate Progress

On Monday a group of researchers from Hamburg’s School of Thinkology released a paper that concludes that naysayers hate all forms of progress and despise their fellow man. “It’s as if they never want anything good for the rest of us,” said Dr. Suresh in an interview with the Tulsa Whilrd.

Dr. Gupta Suresh, Senior Department Chair for the school's sociology department, found the earliest documented evidence of a group of naysayers in 2560 BC in Ancient Egypt. “We found evidence that there was a vocal minority opposed to being put to work to build King Khufu’s pyramid in Giza.” Ironically, Dr. Suresh found that in this first documented case of naysaying we find the most effective tools to combat them, “They were flogged and tortured as an example to all those who would stand in the way of progress.”

He continued, “What we must realize is that naysayers have absolutely no place in civilized society.” Suresh’s team has determined that the destructive influence of naysayers and their ilk have prevented us from curing Cancer, achieving World Peace, meaningful extra solar space exploration, and in our own neck of the woods, a vibrant and successful river development.

For more information on Dr. Suresh’s work email him at gupta.suresh@tnk.edu or visit his website http://www.tnk.edu/depts/sociology/

Technorati Tags: Naysayers
sarcasm
humor

Bike Riding With My Daughter

A couple of weeks ago, I won an award from my company for the work I did on an important project. The certificate came with a choice of several different awards ranging from different packages of steaks, to various kitchen appliances, to all kinds of electronics, watches, and bikes. I chose a single speed men’s bicycle.

Knowing that having my own bike would mean an opportunity to ride around the neighborhood with the 6-year-old, I suggested to her that now was the time to learn how to ride her bike. This suggestion did not go over very well. Remembering the trauma of trying to learn how to ride a bicycle with out training wheels several months ago, she was not interested.

On Saturday, I suggested that she get on her bike, “…just to see if your legs are long enough to touch the ground…not to ride…and I’ll totally hold you and not let go.” This sounded reasonable to her. About ten more seemingly reasonable baby steps and 45 min later, I had her riding up and down the street, without my intervention.

(image courtesy of www.aperfectworld.org)

Now, all of the sudden, riding a bicycle was cool, and she could not wait for mine to arrive in the mail so we could ride together. Fortunately for us both, it came via UPS last night. I put it together and we rode a circuit around our neighborhood. It was a great time of exercise and fellowship with my daughter; and for now is something that is special because no one else in the house has their own two-wheel-bike and/or the skill to ride one. After our ride, she asked me, “Daddy, that was so fun! Can we do it again tomorrow?”

I smiled and said, “Of course…”

Technorati Tags: parenting
bicycle

Union Public School Swine Flu Announcement

UNION PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Message sent - 5/9/2009
Cases of swine flu


This is Union Superintendent, Dr. Cathy Burden, calling to tell you we met this morning, Saturday, May 9th, with the Tulsa County Health Department regarding two cases of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus at Andersen Elementary School. The good news is both children experienced mild symptoms and made a full recovery prior to confirmation of the H1N1 virus. We are working closely with the Health Department to ensure the safety of all students and faculty in the district. Since most U.S. cases have not been severe and are comparable to seasonal flu, the Health Department recommends that we remain open and students who are not ill can safely come to school.

We are taking the following actions:
*Disinfecting the schools by thoroughly cleaning with a product formulated to kill germs
*Enhancing our daily routine cleaning procedures
*Monitoring absences
*Educating students in cough and hand-hygiene practices and
*Keeping you informed as information becomes available

We are asking for your help. Please keep children home if they exhibit any symptoms of the flu. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing them on Monday.

For more details go to www.unionps.org.

Thank you.

Technorati Tags: Tulsa
Union Public Schools
H1N1
Swine Flu

I found a Four-Leaf-Clover

I found a four-leaf-clover today. I was standing outside work, when a clump of clover cought my eye. I thought, "Hrm...I wonder if there is a four-leaf-clover in that clump?" As I approached the clump of clover one stood out amongst all the rest. I immediately saw and picked up the lucky talisman. From the time I had the thought, to the time I had the clover in my hand was less than 30 seconds! How awesome is that?

One of my co-workers is frequently unlucky; She broke her femur after being thrown off a horse, totaled her car, had her bank account hacked, had problems with the title on her house, her dog died, among many other things. We have dubbed the phenomenon Wilcher Luck, after her last name. I thought, that she needed the clover more than I did, so I attached the clover to the a piece of paper, laminated it, and presented her this award a few minutes ago.

We are going to turn that Wilcher Luck around!


Technorati Tags: luck
four-leaf-clover

KFAQ Boycott Update

This morning KFAQ 1170's Pat Campbell had Chris Medlock on his morning show to discuss State and local issues. Apparently this will be a weekly segment. As such, this partially meets the requirement necessary to lift my KFAQ ban.

They are on still on probation however. I'll listen to the PC show on Thursday but that is about it. For reasons of my own, I'm still convinced that their slogan "Standing up for what's Right" is nothing more than a cheap corporate slogan.

If you want to listen to Chris when ever you want, and not just on a weekly 30 min segment, you can listen to the Chris Medlock Show Podcast available on his website www.medblogged.com (first podcast here), or it can also be found on Facebook by becoming a fan of The Chris Medlock Show. (I'll put a link to that once I'm not at work).


Technorati Tags: 1170 KFAQ
Chris Medlock
The Chris Medlock Show
Pat Campbell

Cold War Unicorns...

...Commie Vs. Freedom.

Play out the intense struggle between two global superpowers in the majestic fantasy world of the Unicorn! Can the Communist Unicorn’s horn of classless social structure hold up against the Freedom Unicorn’s hooves of capitalist opportunity?

Locked out...Again

I locked my keys in my truck...again. I've done it enough that I've turned getting them out again into a science. I use a nail to pry open the beer window, then I use the antenna to retrieve the keys.





"Steven you are really stupid...and fat! Aren't you worried that you are telling people how to steal your car?"

Wow, no need for the pejoratives..And no, I'm not really worried about it.
1. I've had it stolen before, they didn't break in via the beer window, they stepped into a slim jim.
2. I'm pretty sure crooks and thieves know how to break into cars.


Technorati Tags: keys
locked out

Messing With Telemarketers

Have you been getting those calls on your mobile phone about the warranty on your car expiring? I’ve been getting those a lot, and since I have minutes to burn, I like to mess with them. I figure while I’m wasting their time, they aren’t calling anyone else.

When they ask me what the make and model car I have I like to give them old rare and classic cars.

TM : “Would you be interested in extending your car’s warranty?”
ME : “Ohh absolutely, YES!”
TM : “What make and model car do you have?”
ME : “I have a 1967 Corvette Convertible.”
TM : “I’m sorry we don’t cover that car, do you have a car that is 1990 or newer?”
ME : “No, but what about my, 1955 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing?”
TM : “I’m sorry sir, we will take you off our list, can you verify your number?"
ME : “Well, what about my 1967 Triumph TR4A?”
---click---
ME : “Hello, Hello? I really wanted a warranty on my cars…ohh well.”

I find it amusing, but nothing was as funny as the call my co-worker received today on his mobile phone. He was contacted by some debt relief company. He was instructed to press 1 if he had unsecured debt problems and wanted help. He did, and hilarity ensued.
(The following is the conversation my co-worker had over the speaker on his mobile phone…to the best of my memory)

TM : “Hello, I’m from XYZ Dept Company. How are you doing today?"
Co-worker : “I'm fine...”
TM : "Do you have problems with unsecured credit card debt, medical bills, or court ordered judgments?”
Co-worker : “Yes, I have all of those.”
TM : “Approximately how much debt do you have?”
Co-worker : “Ohh, about $465,000.00…”
There were snickers in our office, but we kept it together.
TM : “Is some of that, your mortgage?"
Co-worker : “No…No it’s all credit card debt….My wife likes to buy shoes.”
TM : “That sounds like a lot of shoes…”
Co-worker : “Well, she likes shoes…and fashion.”
More audible laughter starts to erupt around the office, but not so loud that it could be heard over the speaker phone.
TM : “Ok…do you have medical debt?”
Co-worker : “Yeah…I have some hospital bills. My wife and I got in to an argument, and I shot her…because of the shoes.”

At this point, my bald head turned bright red, and I could hold it in no longer. The office erupted in boisterous laughter. No longer able to maintain focus, with all of the hooting and laughing, my co-worker hung up. This was unfortunate, because it would have been interesting to see how long the telemarketer would have stayed on the phone.

If you get these calls, don’t get angry. Mess with them…it will make you feel better.


Technorati Tags: Telemarketers
prank

Tulsa Area Man Carries Cross along the BA

Jesse, a Tulsa area man, was carrying a cross along the BA this afternoon around lunch time. I stopped to take a few pictures and ask him some questions.

I asked him how he was doing and he told me that he was tired and that his cross was heavy. When I asked him what his motivation was and he told me that he was unemployed, "I can't store treasures here on earth, so I'm storing them up in Heaven."

He shook my hand and continued East toward Elm Street in Broken Arrow.





Technorati Tags: Cross
Broken Arrow
Oklahoma