Outta Here!

   Yep, I'm going away for the next couple of weeks, and will not be updating this platform. But that's not to say I'll be bored. far from it. in fact, my wife (who has managed to coordinate her time off to go with mine for the first time in years) and I plan on taking a few day trips, starting with tomorrow.
   We're heading to Regina for the Pile 'O Bones Tattoo convention (where I may just get some fresh ink) and, more importantly for her, to garden centres so she can finish buying plants for her garden. Which, as regular viewers may have noticed from previous posts, usually turns out very well.
   We also plan a few more day trips around the area, but no long-range getaway. I had proposed we take a trip to Calgary and area to visit family we haven't seen in years, but she said "no" at this point. She really wants to get going on the garden, and felt that long a trip would cut into those efforts.
   The other aspect is, of course, the cost. Not that we'd be hard-pressed to find a place to stay, but simply the cost of getting out and back. As for anything ever further afield, well; I still haven't won the lottery.
   Still, there are a lot worse places to spend the next 2 weeks off than Home Sweet Home. Other that staying out of my wife's way while she tends to the garden, I think maybe a fishing trip or 2 could be on the radar screen. Or just pottering around the house. And I'm still thinkin' maybe some new ink.
   I'll be back June 12th, but until then:

TTFN

Been Sick

   And it was a doozie! It takes a lot to knock me out of the game, and it takes even more to keep me down. I started feeling lousy about this time last week and, by Friday it had hit. Big time.
   Not being smart, I decided to "play hurt" last Friday, with barely any voice, and feeling terrible. Saturday, I had no voice at all. Same Sunday. And Monday. And most of yesterday (Tuesday). Since I couldn't make anything other than croaking, raspy noises (not conducive to working in radio), I did the thing I don't like to do and called in sick.
   As of this posting, I still don't feel 100%, but I'm 100% better than I was even yesterday. The voice has started to come back, although again it's not 100%.
   Should I have taken today off? Probably, although time will tell. I had the option, and decided to come in today. All things pass, and so to will this nasty bug I caught. And I know I'll feel better tomorrow, so that's something to look forward to. But DAMN, I hate getting sick.

TTFN

The "Black Screen Of Death"

      That's what I faced this morning when I got in to work. Not initially, as our main newsroom program did start up. But when I tried logging on to the 'net, I was met with "Connection Failed" messages. I hit "restart", which did not work. I powered off and on again. That did not work. Thinking it was just my workstation affected by an update, I went into the news booth and tried there. "Black Screen of Death". I ever tried a different workstation. That did not work.
   Now entering full 'panic' mode, I did the one thing I do not like doing. I called our engineer at 04:30. He managed to walk me through a re-boot of one of the servers, and it worked! He had us back up and running before 05:00. For a while.
   The whole she-bang started acting up again at 07:30, and by 08:00 internet was down again. By this time, our engineer was in station, and had us back up again in short order.
   What caused the problem? He mentioned something about an upgrade to the server or whatever. I'm a tech dunderhead, and admit it. I can start and power off a computer, work with some social media, etc. But when it comes to the guts of these things, you might as well hand me a quill and parchment.
   Have a happy weekend!

TTFN

Close, But No Duck

   It was, however, a great night, even without the win. Our GX94 "Hey Porter" bar-b-cue sauce came in 2nd. The winning sauce (for the 2nd straight year) was produced by Craig and Nik from our sister FM station.
   The food was fantastic, and a lot of money was raised for Ducks Unlimited in the event. Organizers did make a few changes this year, most notably not letting any of the 5 media entrants into the competition talk about their sauces, which is something I'd like to see change. Not as a "vote getting" opportunity, but just a chance to talk about the creative process that went into each sauce.
   As for next year, GX94 Morning Show host (and I'm proud to say my partner) Danny Ismond has already got his apron on, thinking about what to do.
   So, Congrats Nik and Reader, and be warned: We ARE coming after you in 2018.

TTFN

It's Tonight

   It is the "big night" as Ducks Unlimited holds their annual fundraising dinner and, more importantly for us, the "Saucy Duck" bar-b-que sauce competition. GX94 morning show host Danny Ismond and myself came up with what we think is a good sauce. One stipulation all competitors had was the entry had to include one of the craft beers from the Back 40 Brewery. And since we're a country station, and since Danny is known as our "man in black" (he likes black tee and golf shirts), and since the beer we chose was a dark porter, we decided to call it "Hey Porter", in tribute to the old Johnny Cash song.
   Aside from the porter, there's lime zest and juice, ketchup, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and Jerk blend seasoning in it. The recipe I don't have at my fingertips right now. All I do know is it's got quite a kick to it! Will we regain the title? I hope so. Out of the 4 competitions so far, Danny's won one, I've won one, our sister station Fox FM has won, and so has our local CTV station.
   Whatever the outcome, it's going to be a delicious night with ribs, chicken etc on tap. I'll have an update Monday.
   Happy Cinco de Mayo!

TTFN