GeekOfTheWeek: Recent Episodes
John MaGuirk
Piano Music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church.
Late breaking News 06 - 02 - (20-23) A Chinese spokesman admits that the Covid-19 virus “escaped from their lab”. I guess that puts the lid on the coffin “Wuhan Virus is racist.”
In a startlingly surprising announcement wind advocates claim to be able to recycle turbine blades There's not a bit of truth in that statement
It’s a hoax designed to give them environmental cover!
Currently, wind turbine blades are made of wood with a fiberglass cover which is the real culprit. There’s nothing to reclaim except the wooden interior & wooden paddles would have to be re-glassed after a good cleaning so the new coating would adhere.
It was stated a chemical product would be used to dissolve the FRP, but the resulting soup would be a hazardous waste. The glass component of FRP is sand, potash & heat, and coated with a petro’-based resin.
None of these ingredients are recoverable—any more than you can make a cow from hamburger.
Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church,
Earlier this year during weekend weather programming on FNB the mouth of the Hudson River was identified as “Hudson’s Bay” (in the crawl).
FYI/in TV terms that’s the name for information that scrolls across the bottom of your screen (not to be confused with closed captioning).
This same sort of thing is happening in the movie synopsis. On POSTIV TV Stalag 17, for example, depicts life in a POW (Prisoner Of War)camp, not a ‘Nazi Death Camp’. There is a difference.
The same problem exists over at TCM, which presumably should know better. The opening scenes of Giant occur in Maryland which is not a New England state.
The family depicted in Friendly Persuasion are humble Quakers, not poor. Those words are not synonymous.
Banjo Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut -- Waiting For The. Robert E. Lee
I enjoy talk radio & if I’m not listening to my current podcast I’m tuned to WTNN/FM
Thursday morning's first guest was an economist & he had a problem. His task was to explain CryptoCurrency. Problema/Sp He didn’t understand it himself he tried to explain BitCoin.
He should have started with this statement CryptoCurrency is a misnomer Nothing about Bitcoin has anything to do with currency at all.
To be “money” or currency it must be generally accepted. You would have a tough time buying a Big Mac at your local Mikey D’s. Since one Bitcoin is currently worth more than $16,000 making change would be a problem.
Elon Musk made that discovery when he found he couldn’t buy Twitter with BitCoin, he had to use US dollars. A blockchain was created by a person (or group of people) using the name (or pseudonym) Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008[6] to serve as the public distributed ledger for bitcoin cryptocurrencyThank You, Wikipedia
We don’t even know who invented BitCoin. It was the birth of BlockChain technology.
Theoretically speaking no one is in control, although there is something called BitCoin mining, which involves the creation of new “coins.”
Opening courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church,
The election is over and the pundits are scurrying for cover to explain the red wave which wasn’t!
It’s been a mystery to me just what motivates Senatorial concerns. I can’t picture Fedderman as a Senator he looks more like a thug. On the other hand, Chuck Schumer (NY) may look like a Senator but he’s a dunce.
In my precinct, early voting was a big success. The concept was created to increase turnout, by the third day my box had counted more than 3000 votes. It seems like the majority of ballots were cast by those “under 40 crowd.”
It’s pretty much the same all over younger voters are going to the polls, and they are making a difference in many states. Take GA for instance, in two successive elections a statistical tie for the senate seat. In 2020 a tie in two Senate races. Senatorial terms are six years designed so no state elects both senators in the same cycle. It happened in GA because a senator died in office, GA law requires an election to fill “the stub term”.
Closing courtesy of Steinway & Sons Spiro plays The Entertainer recorded by iPhone Green Hills Mall 2014 used with permission
Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut Civil War medley
Another member of my circle has come down with Covid, and we are in year three of a pandemic with the most virulent virus known to us, it must be virulent because we are entering “the flu season” of year four.
I guess our initial reaction was too effective in postponing the so-called herd immunity — like the famous game of “kick the can,” which I am sure most people alive today have never played.
In terms of dealing with Omicron if masks have been effective it’s like playing Kick The Can
I doubt there are many of my listeners who have played Kick The Can. I know my wife didn’t she was raised in the suburbs “No sidewalks Herr Mozart”
I was raised in a more urban setting although to my cousins in Brooklyn I was strictly a country mouse.
Kick the can is best played on a not-very-busy street. Usually on the way to or from school. It plays best with one can and two players taking turns. The object is to kick that empty tin can as far as you are able. Hopefully in a straight line.
Of course, someone traveling in the opposite direction is free to kick it back toward you. The object is to keep the can low and it’s bad form for the can to get above your waist. It’s strictly a boys' game. In my grade school, the girls thought it silly & undignified.
As I said its entertainment value is limited, but it serves a good analogy for our current circumstance: two things are possible — we were so effective in delaying the onset that it’s lingering longer.
The second is that Omicron is more virulent than previous versions. Either way, it’s no longer a fun thing!
Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church,
Nineteen Eighty-Four has become a classic literary example of political and dystopian fiction. It also popularised the term "Orwellian" as an adjective, with many terms used in the novel entering common usage, including "Big Brother", "doublethink", "Thought Police", "thoughtcrime", "Newspeak", and "2 + 2 = 5”. Thank you, WikipediaThe delta variant occurred after only 18 months, not four years as if it were on an arithmetic scale as claimed. We should have gone thru Alpha Beta Gamma but we went direct to Delta then Omicron We skipped Beta/Gamma just as we skipped eta, theta, iota, kappa & epsilon! The alphabetical him-a-cane her-a-cane naming sequence has nothing to do with storm severity FYI/The last time WHO announced a pandemic (1921) They declared that pandemic two years after it was over.
Opening music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, Jazzy Jerrico -- Closing music courtesy of Blair String Quartet - each recorded live via iPhone.
KK is on a streak of appearing in the print edition of USA Today for two consecutive weeks. This week she talks about managing your online subscriptions. I have a better idea, I’m over creating accounts. I oppose the idea that; “it's smart to pay to shop…”.
In this podcast, I’m going to read a chapter of Spade & Archer©(2016) a prequel. Spade & Archer A Prequel©(2020) for $6.95 (e-book) or as a printed PDF for $12.95 plus $5.95 S&H and Priority Mailing $8.00. Billing by PayPal Invoice — you don’t need the PayPal account I have the PayPal account. If you would like to send me a check for $19.95 the priority mailing is on me.
I will make the novella available on a Thumb drive for three subscribers for $15.00 each subscriber — it’s eight episodes plus Priority mailing for $8.00.
You may text a request to 615/584-2717 or email me
S I D E S H O J at AOL dot com — for check orders send to my home 757 Myhr Drive Nashville, Tennessee 37-221
Every PodCast Is Three ”C’s”
- Concept -- Your idea / elevator speech
It’s your podcast! - Create -- A podcast is a VOIP - MP3
- Connect -- MP-3 files can go anywhere
In the blogosphere
There’s confusion about MP-4 / Video & MP-3/audio -- Videos are difficult to edit & may lack “music”Your Media Is Not Your Message
Telling Your Story Well Is Your Message
Banjo music courtesy of Banjo HangOut The Entertainer.
This is a continuation of my series The Five Podcast essentials
Interview shows are popular with audiences & may seem easy to produce which leads to podcast essential number four:
Any interview may create more content than you may need!
The best podcast interviews are edited to capture that premium content
In the companion video, I will highlight ten simple hacks to make your next interview great!
The manuscript for The China Clipper Mystery is now complete — you may order a printed PDF proof copy for $12.95, not including priority mailing of $8.95 plus $5. Shipping & handling, these proof copies contain a further special offer.
Or
You may order A copy of the e-book for $7.95 — these copies may include illustrations.
I will make the audiobook available for a minimum of four subscribers on a thumb drive for your best $15.95 including the cost of the thumb drive or a set of individual (9) DVDs plus the cost of priority mailing $9.95.
Opening music courtesy of Stevens Valley Brass Quintet, Closing music courtesy of Blair String quartet.
Here are some rules of a circus, which any business can apply:
Each element of the show is either in use or put back in storage, (circus performers put away their toys)
"There is no 'royalty' in a Circus everyone's a performer and a worker” there are only troupers!
Every motion counts, The famous circus parade, moves the menagerie from the freight yards to the circus grounds,
The most important man in the tent, has his back to the performance, The band leader.
Piano music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, Down by The Riverside!
If you have tuned in expecting Geek Of The Week The Magazine, it will return next week.
This podcast will be BridgeMaven returns from the original series Know Your Member, my interview with Mark Leventhal when he discusses Two Over One bidding.
A brief mention in the saving electricity department, during this period of high usage — look at your electric dishwasher controls and toggle off “extended heat dry” if you see that on the control panel. Especially if you have followed my advice and run your dishwasher off-peak hours.
Order The China Clipper MysteryThe manuscript is now complete and you may order a printed PDF proof copy for $12.95, not including priority mailing of $8.95 plus $5. Shipping & handling, these proof copies contain a further special offer.
Or
You may order A copy of the e-book for $7.95 — these copies may include illustrations.
Music by Stevens Valley Brass Quintet -- Consider this latest headline “Crisis in the classroom”
How can we have a classroom crisis when schools are not in session?
Answer Simple we are finding out “teachers” are not teaching!
Or Perhaps Nashville students are remarkably stupid?
Since their parents elected John Cooper it may be the latter.
On the other side, we are told the drones from Bransford Ave can’t afford to live & work for that city which increased property taxes by 40%. You know that bunch that received a FULL paycheck, while you didn’t.
Music by Blair String Quartet -- recorded live via iPhone at Harpeth Presbyterian Church, used with permission.
Another news outlet advised me that we are hiring a consultant and paying 500,000 Taxpayer dollars to study the problem at the Lowes Parking Lot in Madison.
Here’s a better idea: Assuming they're 200 squatters, let’s give them a check for $2000 and a $500 bus ticket to their destination.
It’s a way to spread the wealth, and it won’t cost any more.
Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church & Steinway & Sons The Entertainer played by Sprio, recorded live by iPhone at Green Hills Mall, used with permission.
Speaking of Wuhan what-you-may-call-it It took 28 months to reach 25% of the original prediction of deaths.
President Trump did the right thing by sending the hospital ship Hope to NYC. You may not recall but we turned the nation inside out to protect the constituents of the son of Mario “the pious”
Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian church & Dr. Ming Wang, used with permission.
Find Nun on The Run on Amazon dot com.
Music courtesy of Blair String Quartet, recorded live by iPhone at Harpeth Presbyterian Church used with permission.
Re Tomato reference in How The World Really Works — .25 cents worth of diesel in production — if not in production certainly in transportation — Last Spring I picked up a Tomato @ $1.95/lb in Publix — labeled produced in Canada, which meant that tomato traveled from Canada via truck to Lakeland Florida & then from Lakeland by yet another truck to Nashville, Tennessee.
Opening piano music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, closing The Entertainer courtesy of Steinway & Sons, both recorded live via iPhone used with permission. (Spiro plays the entertainer).
Pancakes & Maple Syrup A Match Made in Heaven - Perhaps a little mite "south" of there
The highest grade is Grade A amber. My personal preference is the grade used by Cracker Barrel Grade B Amber bottled in St. Johnsbury, VT. What’s unique about St Johnsbury is it’s the last Vermont town in America. When I was growing up my mother's preferred brand of commercial syrup was Vermont Maid. It did not claim to be maple syrup it was much too dark. But it had a pleasant taste and a strong “maple” flavor.
Of course the ultimate consumer of things Maple is Bob Newhart’s boyhood friend the old peeper Cliff Murdock who drenched his Steak & Oysters in Maple Syrup, Yum.
FYI/since I wrote this pre-pandemic hard times have befallen Cracker Barrel’s supplier — the most recent production is still labeled 100% Maple Syrup but may contain an amount of cane sugar.
Piano Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, recorded live by iPhone, used with permission.
Forget recycling — reduce first use instead.
We have managed to do what alchemists of an earlier era couldn’t do. No, we have not turned base metal into gold we went the other way. Turning natural substance petroleum into something permanently durable ie plastics which includes Styrofoam fiberglass & carbon fiber.
FYI/Why can’t I submit a carbon credit invoice of $25 for sending biomass (branches & sticks) to the landfill? Carbon Credits were invented by Al Gore who won a Nobel Prize.
Piano music courtesy of Steinway & Sons Spiro plays The Entertainer recorded live via iPhone at the Green Hills Mall in December 2018 used with permission.
I purchased USA Today & was disappointed my pal Kim Komando didn’t cut this weeks’ print edition.
Just another one of those stories about someone arguing with the police which turned out badly. Indeed, a traffic stop shouldn’t result in death on either side.
It’s not about justice, it’s about jurisdiction, he has it, you can see his badge and you know he’s armed.
When I was in the Army the first lesson I learned was I’m not in charge. It’s the same way when stopped by an officer of the law.
It’s time for a military response:
“Yes, sir, no sir three bags full sir”, end of the lesson.
Justice is not a street commodity, however, Jurisdiction is a police responsibility. Save any argument for a judge. Police officers don’t dispense justice, that’s not their job they have jurisdiction.
It’s wonderful to be appreciated
A token of my thanks is winging its way to the weather guys at Newschannel 17. Their little Saturday piece about weather superstitions. It was a hoot.
I prefer the term folklore. Believing in global warming is a superstition. Trusting the Punxsutawney Phil is folklore. Because gentle listener PP couches his predictions in such vague terms just like many politicians he’s always right.
Ground Hog Day is always February 2 & the first day of spring follows six weeks later.
As a character on Hogan’s Heroes once remarked, "H..... has lost control of the present it would be a great comfort to him to know the future.”
Piano music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, used with permission. Jazzy Jerico
Dr. Ming Wang plays the two-string Chinese violin, used with permission recorded live via iPhone.
This week's Feng Shui by Shelf -- Waging War on unnecessary plastic -- Kendell Jackson Chardonnay uses plastic corks, leave it on the shelf.
Is it April Fool? — No It’s Arbor Day — First Among America’s Lost Holidays — A New Department of GeekOfTheWeek. Earth Day is a Fraud — It’s Arbor Day We Need!
Join me on Monday 03 - 28 (20-22) for my nomination of the ten most valuable iPhone Apps on The Wizard of iPhone Speaks, find us in Apple Podcast or "Google" podcast name WizardOfiPhoneSpeaks (all one word).
What Doe’s BitCoin Lack?
Answer those memorable words of US notes:
“Legal Tender — For all debts public & private…”
While enjoyed the recent piece on BitCoin from Commerce Bank, which I read on my smartphone, it does reinforce some misconceptions about Crypto Currencies.
Such as being accepted by some merchants BurgerKing for example. With one BitCoin trading at $39,000 making change would be kind of difficult, even if you take "fries with that?”
If I visit a merchant and offer him US dollars, he’s bound to accept it, assuming it’s not a counterfeit note.
The main cause of BitCoin’s rise is twofold, first, it confirms Gresham’s Law & second, BitCoin was the birth of BlockChain technology. It gained its ascendancy by use on sites like “SilkRoad”, being untraceable for illegal transactions.
With the fluctuations of the “market” accepting BitCoin for any transaction is chancy at best.
Gresham's Law states "Bad money drives out good!" Economics 101
No, she’s got metabolism confused with appetite, and here’s the unscientific part:
“Drink a half of a liter of water each day to increase your metabolism….”
That’s going to be very difficult because water has zero calories….
Next, she opines “Walk 8700 steps daily….” Or nearly twice as far as the Heart Association 5000 steps daily.
If you put those two recommendations together you get one colossally bad idea — it’s called dehydration.
Fact — My fitness band recommends a daily water intake of 64 ounces which is four times her recommendation. Be wary of so-called “experts” who are products of our system of “outcome-based education….” Two plus two is never five, no matter how good you might feel about it.
The PodCast Doctor is IN -- piano music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church recorded live via iPhone. A case study
Banjo Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut - The Entertainer
Join me on The Wizard of iPhone Speaks on Monday when I explain computer programing to those geniuses at WQXR.
Not so many years ago a member of the state legislature pitched a HiSpeed rail connection but the Cumberland Mountains are a barrier.
The Hoosac Tunnel (Massachusetts) remains our nation's longest rail at just over a mile.
Yes, I know The Chunnel is longer than the Cumberland Plateau is wide. It’s also built-in softer chert unlike the more solid limestone of our modest mountains.
Yes, we have the technology all we lack is the need, the will, and the dollars.
Music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church -- 02 - 27 - 2022 Amy Grant makes an appearance at in-person worship this Sunday and you're invited.
Today's avatar a photo from the New York Times December 2018 — Embargoed plastic scrap not headed for Chinese “recycle” — reason; their landfills were full.
Forget Plastic Recycling - We Need To Reduce First Use Instead!
Here are something you can do — right now:
- Have your prescription filled at Walgreens, they use paper bags,
- Buy stick margarine in the carton, not the whipped product in the plastic tub,
- Pitch your Kureg in the trash, buy a French Press & reward yourself with good coffee for a change!
- Publix stocks Ketchup in a glass bottle, it’s labeled “no added sugar”….
- I have crossed mayonnaise off the shopping list (no glass jars) — peanut butter is next.
- Eschew designer eggs in the foam carton, visit Krogers. Buy ordinary eggs in the cardboard Pullman.
- Don’t ever even think about accepting a plastic bag!
If we had stopped producing plastic bags, yesterday at 2 PM we would still never run out of plastic bags!
Closing BanjoMusic courtesy of Banjo HangOut. Here’s today’s digital tip of the week — Visit the Digital USA Today App, & learn how to save $29 or the increase in your Prime account.
I’m going to go USA/Today one better save $129 & don’t sign up at all. — If enough users leave Prime Amazon may take the hint!
In 2014, the state of Tennessee increased vanity plates by $5. to $50 yearly, so many users failed to renew, there was a drop in gross revenues, they dropped the extra five dollars the following year.
Banjo Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut The William Tell Overture.
Meanwhile on the same page in the department labeled Well. I find this headline “Best Time to Exercise? Ask The Mice.”
No, it’s not what you might think; exercise after hours when the club is closed. Lab Mice “recommend” using a treadmill since lab mice get up earlier that’s also a good thing.
It was not reported but results may be more precise when mice are trained to bench press tiny weights & do chin-ups on tiny bars.
PodCast Doctor Productions is seeking clients
To celebrate 2022 we propose to produce a weekly podcast at the introductory rate of $49.00/episode for a ninety-day “trial” rate.
Episodes are to be 18 1/2 minutes or less. The file format shall be MP-3 and shared through a cloud service (DropBox recommended) 24/36 hours before the production date.
PodCast Doctor Productions is not responsible for hosting or otherwise distributing any PodCast or episode.
MP-3 Files may be edited for stumbles & glitches but not content — they may be embellished with Jingles (royalty-free music) & stingers (these may include stingers produced by PodCast Doctor Productions) as time permits
Files will not be archived and will be erased from The PodCast Doctor’s server after 30 (Thirty) Days. Text a request to 615 - 491 - 1099 including contact info.
This is a Red Envelope Offer
To celebrate 2022, we propose to produce a weekly podcast at the introductory rate of $49.00/episode during a ninety-day “trial” period.
Episodes are to be 18 1/2 minutes or less. The file format shall be MP-3 and shared through a cloud service (DropBox recommended) 24/36 hours before the production date.
PodCast Doctor Productions is not responsible for hosting or otherwise distributing any PodCast or episode.
MP-3 Files may be edited, for stumbles & glitches but not content & may be embellished with Jingles (royalty-free music) & stingers (these may include stingers produced by PodCast Doctor Productions) as time permits
Files will not be archived. They will be erased from The PodCast Doctor’s server after 30 (Thirty) Days.
No renewals at this trial rate. One renewal accepted at the rate of $125.00/episode for additional sixty days.
Closing music courtesy of Banjo HangOut, The William Tell Overture, Prelude courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian, recorded live via iPhone --
The PodCast Doctor Is IN! Does Your PodCast Headline/Title Deliver #2? If it doesn’t all it can cost you is listeners.
The Wizard of iPhone returns on Monday 01 - 24 with my review of the app MileIQ.
Every podcast is premium content, and to be successful, it should be thought of as extra content. Each podcaster is talking to one listener at a time. That's how your podcast is consumed. Be generous, share something new. It won't cost you anything, but will reward your listeners. To schedule at one on one with The PodCast Doctor text a request to 615 / 491 - 1099 include contact information.