Today

Guess who's birthday it is today! Happy birthday to me. Here's an Astrology Profile. It's all true, lol.

This week both WETA and WAMU are running their pledge drives. Usually they try to offset it by a week. It's kind of interesting to hear their different pledge goals: WAMU is asking for a lot more money, no doubt because now they are 24 hours news/talk and all those NPR shows aren't cheap. It's funny to think about how this shuffle of programming happened last spring in the wake of the end of commercial classical WGMS. What kind of annoys me is they run these drives twice a year, but they try to act like they are only doing it once a year, almost as if they are trying to trick you into ponying up 2x a year (hoping you'll forget), when this is supposedly for a 1-year 'membership.'

In unrelated news: Potty Python: Woman Finds Snake in Toilet. Yikes! Though it reminds me of a few years ago (and 3 jobs ago) when a co-worker came out of the basement men's room to report that while he was on the throne, a rat swam up into the bowl. YIKES!!! He said he frantically flushed until it was gone. But, things swimming up the sewers, icky.

And, I've been hearing more and more scare stories about the drug-resistant bacteria... they warned us not to use that anti-bacterial soap, cause it was just making the little buggers mutate. Of course it could all be a plot by the drug companies, who will produce new, effective and expensive antibiotics.

Still Grateful

Have I mentioned lately how little I miss my 6-month stint as a Mac Consultant? Yes? Well too bad. Walking home yesterday on the bike path, enjoying the chilly windy weather and the classical music from WETA on my iPod with FM tuner, I was thinking back on that difficult time and all the weird stresses. It occurred to me how odd the work environment was. It was a very small office: 3 other consultants, the boss, and an adjacent area where the bosses' ex ran a design firm with two designers working for her. Everyone was nice enough, but no one was actually very friendly except the ex. All the other consultants were kind of reticent, and the boss was best described as quirky. So when I wasn't being sent out on stress-inducing client calls, I sat in my little corner with my little laptop, surfed the web and chatted online. That can get old after awhile, especially when you are sitting in a not-that-comfortable chair and could be sent out at any moment to try to deal with a stay-at-home graphic designer in a panic cause her Mac crashed.

The other consultants were usually out of the office after the awkward morning meeting, and when they were there, they rarely talked. So it was a weird environment. The new place is bustling and busy, a big kind of industrial space with normally 10-15 people all running around and talking and working. Even I, the loner, like this better than the awkwardness of the last place. Though I am looking forward to them installing the rubberized floor and our cool cubicle spaces in the next few weeks.

Traditions

I've got nothing against Mary Cliff. Really.

But her show, which they are still playing on Saturday night on the "new" Classical WETA, is like fingernails on the blackboard to me. Traditions is folk music, and her announcing local concerts, and it goes on for an interminable 5 hours on Saturday night. It is not classical, and it's kind of homespun style is incredibly grating to me. I think she should move to WAMU with the bluegrass music and Prarie Home Companion. But, her show is produced by WETA, so maybe not much chance of that. She certainly doesn't belong on an 'all classical music' station.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - WAMU 88.5 picks up Traditions with Mary Cliff Yay, everybody wins. And at least one announcer from WGMS--John Chester--is starting at WETA today. Now about Diana Hollander...

The cooperation between WGMS/Bonneville, WETA and WAMU has been quite fascinating to watch.

Random WETA news

They still haven't updated their schedule beyond a basic thing (though it does load faster), but this morning as I woke around 5am, I heard the announcer mention that this was 'music through the night.'

This was an enjoyable overnight NPR syndicated program (saves the local stations from hiring a DJ) with smooth-voiced announcers who I very much enjoyed. I missed MttN when WETA went all talk, and I'm glad it's apparently back.

So WETA has bought at least one program, and they are boldly playing vocal music sometimes in the evenings.

But I really would like a playlist, and a schedule. And WTF with Newshour? I know WETA produces the TV show, but it sucks on radio. Take it off. Thank you.