.

Bus to nowhere.

2012-01-27T18:18:00.000-06:00

This Montgomery bus is on its regular route to a nonexistent location.
The Montgomery Mall no longer exists, at least as far as being a mall.
The city in buying portion of it for a Fire and Police facility. A church
is buying the other end of it. And the middle is being developed by a
private company that hopes to give it a medical theme.
So what should be on the bus sign instead of Montgomery Mall?

Here Come The Killer Bots!

2012-01-27T07:03:00.000-06:00

An amazing story tells of The Pentagon developing the first drone that has no pilot...neither in the plane nor on the ground. Shades of Terminator!!

Dissin' The Presidency

2012-01-26T17:16:00.001-06:00

The C.S. Monitor asks if the Arizona Governor's finger-in-the-face was a few inches too far when it comes to disagreeing with the President.
The story doesn't mention it, but the in-your-face book she wrote has suddenly jumped in sales by about two-thousand per cent. So instead of an insult to the presidency, was it just a cheap sales stunt to pump up sales?

Inflating Page Views

2012-01-26T12:39:00.000-06:00

     Am I the only person around who hates it when websites force you to look on multiple pages to see a list of some kind? Take Travel and Leisure Magazine, for example. Their list of the least and most tourist-friendly cities* caught my attention.
     But each of the cities is on its own page, forcing visitors to click on a link to see each page...and the page is so loaded with ads and animations it can takes forever to load. Why not just print the list on one page? Because they want to increase their page views, that's why. It's artificial manipulation of Internet traffic.
     Now, if you want to see the rest of this timlennox.com rant, click here. (just kidding).

*Washington D.C. was listed as the worst

NASA and The Blue Marble

2012-01-25T19:08:00.001-06:00

NASA says this is the most spectacular photo ever of our planet from space. Hard to disagree!

MMMM # 183 -- Machine and WRONG News Decisions

2012-01-23T01:00:00.003-06:00

As some journalism processes have become automated, more and more examples of why a human touch is a good thing have cropped up. For example, MSNBC's Travel page last Wednesday includes this sub headline

"Getting there is half the fun, so the saying goes. MSNBC.com's travel team examines the issues of the day and, of course, the joy and hassle of traveling."

Immediately below was a huge picture of the broken cruise liner off the Italian Coast. Oops.
The computer programs that select photos to go with stories on journalism-lite sites like Yahoo and Charter (and, apparently MSNBC) often chose appallingly bad examples...pictures or sketches that really don't really go with the story, but which were probably "selected" by the computer.

In a world in which all media are interconnected, from websites like timlennox.com, to the TV Networks, a tiny error can quickly be magnified. That's what happened on Saturday when a small student newspaper reported the death of Joe Paterno...who was still alive at the time*.
CBS Sports picked up the story and ran with it, apparently without considering the source was a student paper. Pack journalism at its worst.

Even more serious was the fake CNN News Alert that looked legit, but was not. The email made a false claim about Newt Gingrich on the day of the South Carolina Primary, which he went on to win. No media outlet apparently went with that incorrect report.

News consumers must remember that many news sources online are reliable, others not so much, and some are outright frauds.
The media needs to remember the same thing.

*Paterno died on Sunday.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of http://www.timlennox.com/]

Poor Tuscaloosa Under The Gun Again

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000-06:00

The overall threat of severe weather covers the area in the yellow box, which includes Montogmery. Let me recommend CBS 8 as a good source of information later today and for the next 24 hours as this system moves through.

After last April's deadly tornadoes, you know Tuscaloosa folks will be watching the skies very carefully.

ASU Stadiium Cost Up by $12-Million

2012-01-22T05:00:00.011-06:00

The New ASU football stadium can be seen above the school's new softball complex.

The Montgomery Advertiser has the story. Lots of rumors about money for the stadium being used elsewhere on campus, which the paper quotes ASU officials as denying.

There's been a building boom of sorts at ASU, new student structures, new entrances to campus, the softball and football facilities, the Selma to Montgomery March interpretive Center and more. Some of the building may come from the reduced cost of construction right now, when companies are hungry for any work and will cut prices. But The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees looked at the economy and rejected a proposed Football stadium stadium for the Birmingham campus....or maybe there was more going on in that decision. Read this story by The New York Times Regional Newspapers' Dana Beyerle. He writes of a virtual rebellion by the system's Birmingham and Huntsville campuses.
Meanwhile at ASU, it's full steam ahead. The stadium is scheduled to be finished in time for the 2012 Turkey Day Classic'

"And The Oscar (Does NOT) Go to...."

2012-01-22T05:00:00.009-06:00

     The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to make the list of nominated documentaries shorter by imposing new restrictions.
      One of them: If your work wasn't reviewed by The Los Angeles Times or the New York Times then it is NOT eligible.
     So at the exact time that the world of big screen media is opening up to more and more creative folks because the price of "prosumer" video equipment has plummeted, the Academy has decided to virtually eliminate those new bodies of work.
     Opined The Washington Post:

But the rule might diminish the prospects of those who make smaller and less prominent movies; these filmmakers have often qualified their documentaries without the kind of commercial release that typically leads to reviews by the two news organizations

     If there are just too many entries, name panels of regional judges and let them select the ones that go to the final judging by the members. Or something. But don't give those two papers the power of life or death, the ability to shut up new emerging artists.
     Oh, that's the way it was done before the changes? I see.
     The Oscars air live on ABC February 26th. Here's a cute promotional trailer for the broadcast, hosted by Billy Crystal.

Military Records

2012-01-21T22:23:00.000-06:00

Now that Newt Gingrich has won South Carolina, let me ask if Ron Paul's criticism of him in the last debate before the Primary had merit.

In case you missed it, Paul presented Gingrich as a military chicken hawk who never served. Gingrich said his father served, and he had a deferment because he was married with kids. Video of the exchange is here.

Has anybody seen a fact check on the question of military service by the two? Our last three Presidents have had no military service (other than Bush's National Guard service, which virtually guarenteed he would not serve in Vietnam. In my own Basic Training in--ironically, South Carolina--the Drill Sergeants referred to National Guard members as "N-G, as in No Good", and mocked them.

Nowadays, the opposite is true. National Guard troops have been almost assured a tour or tours of Iraq or Afghanistan for the past decade.

I expect the next crew of presidential hopefuls in 2016 and 2020 will include at least some veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coming Up Sunday on TimLennox.com

2012-01-21T17:44:00.001-06:00

One positive from the Great Recession: construction costs are down. Is that the reason for the building boom at Alabama State University in Montgomery?

PLUS: Just as the lower cost of almost-professional video equipment has made it possible for an average Joe or Jill to make an Oscar worthy documentary, The Academy has changed the rules.

Barbour's Bias?

2012-01-21T09:18:00.000-06:00

The Christian Science Monitor has raised and sought to answer to an interesting question about Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's pardons. Why were they so disproportionately issued to white inmates?

The story goes below the surface answer (Mississippi is a racist state).

Friday Notes

2012-01-20T15:06:00.000-06:00

A few notes I've wanted to post, but time, as it sometimes does, got away.

Etta James has passed. I blogged about her poor health recently, with her sons being hopeful, but alas and At Last, it was not to be.
We aired a story on CBS 8 News that gives a peek into the building process at the site on Harrison Road in Montgomery in which CBS 8, ABC 32, and The CW will share quarters later this year. You can watch it here if you are so inclined.
My question about what if the Bourbon Street tea-bagging incident had a women as the victim? Well late last night the suspect was charged with sexual battery and obscenity, despite comment like "oh it's just frat boy pranks."
And who knew that President Obama could sing? He did Al Green one better---well, not really, but just as the rich man's jokes are always funny, the leader of the free world's entertainment is always entertaining.

Have a great weekend! Spring is right around the corner!

Red Tails

2012-01-19T16:45:00.002-06:00

The movie, which opens Friday, tells the story, more or less, of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black combat pilots in the U.S. Military.
The folks at Alabama Heritage Magazine offer up their non-dramatized story of the airmen as a primer before you go see how Hollywood handles it.

The movie is doing quite well, despite critics, like this one for The Associated Press, who finds it a poor telling of the real drama behind what the men accomplished in the air over the theater of war and back home on the ground in America. He did, however, like the aerial scenes.

The Boston Globe review finds the making of the movie depressing because he believes moviegoers will be foreced to support it, despite the fact that it is not a very good movie. And he writes that it stalls in the aerial scenes.

My Father was in The Army Air Corps in World War II, the all-white Army Air Corps.

He and I never talked about that aspect of the war, in fact not much about the war at all. But my Mom told the story of traveling to Florida from New York to visit him during one part of his training.

She got on a city bus in or near Miami and grabbed a seat at the back. You guessed it, the driver told her to move because that wasn't where she belonged. I would love to finish that tale with a reverse Rosa Parks moment, but alas, Mom did as told and moved to the white section.

[NOTE: The CBS 8 Newsroom reports Red Tails sold out at The Rave Theater Friday night.]

SCOTUS says No to Alabama Prosecutors

2012-01-19T07:48:00.001-06:00

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a new hearing for an Alabama Death Row inmate who was never informed of a court decision against him, because his lawyers had left their firm and never received word of the decision. Corey Maples (left) missed an appeal deadine because of the miscommunication.
Alabama prosecutors seem to have really gotten their backs up about this, appealing it all the way to the highest court, at who knows what expense. Why the state didn't simply agree to a rehearing is beyond me. Clearly the inmate was treated unfairly through no fault of his own...why not admit that, espcially in a case in which the inmate's life is at stake?

[PLUS: The Atlantic magazine has an interesting article looking at the Scalia vs Ginsburg arguments in the decision.]

Ink NOT

2012-01-19T03:26:00.001-06:00

A Cobb County, Georgia ten year old asked his Mom if he could get a tattoo with the name of his brother, who had been killed in a car wreck, on him. She thought about it and said yes. The State said Oh No You Don't and sent her to jail.
I mean, really? JAIL? What ever happened to small government staying out of people's lives?

Birmingham vs Atlanta Economy

2012-01-18T11:31:00.000-06:00

The Brookings Institute has a new study of global large city economies, and it ranks Birmingham higher than Atlanta.

Birmingham was the only Alabama city included in the study.
Follow the link for an interactive map showing the other world cities that were included.

Obit: Kim Price

2012-01-17T17:11:00.000-06:00

     The publisher of The Wetumpka Herald has passed, and journalism has lost a steady, reasoned voice.
     I'd known Kim Price since my earliest days in Birmingham, when he was an AP reporter and I was a fledgling member of the Alabama AP Broadcasters Association.
     Kim was a regular and always welcomed guest on the old For The Record on APT too, and I could always count on him bringing a passionate and thoughtful commentary to the table.
     Kim leaves behind his wife and three children, to whom I send my deepest sympathy. He was 57.

Crimson (Faced) Tide

2012-01-17T16:24:00.000-06:00

     Is it just some intoxicated Alabama fans having fun at the expense of a barely conscious LSU fan on Bourbon Street...or evidence of a sexual assault?
     That may depend on the report you read. Here's WWL-TV's report on the incident at a Krystal following the Alabama victory...an incident being investigated by the New Orleans Police. Here's an AP report in The Tuscaloosa News.
     The Alabama fans toss food and trash on the LSU fan, stick fingers in his ears and nose, and then one man in an Alabama Jacket unzips and simulates a sex act, touching the unaware LSU fan with his genitals in the process.
     That WWL report does NOT include the video. You can however find it here and elsewhere online. The apparent Alabama fan is perfectly identifiable, though I have not seen him named anywhere so far.
     And here's a question: if the passed out LSU fan were a female, would there be any doubt that a crime occurred? So why not now?

Governing by camera.

2012-01-16T09:03:00.053-06:00

Starting today, tickets will be issued to the owners of cars caught speeding by hidden cameras in Montgomery.

It's an extension of the red light cameras now in use at numerous intersections in Montgomery, Selma and other Alabama cities.

Red Light Camera

In both cases the tickets go to the owner of the vehicle, not the driver. Does that not seem like a violation of due process? (Proof, if any was needed, that Tim did not attend law school?)

The speed-cameras will be "hidden" inside out-of-service police cars, so city officials argue that you deserve the ticket if you're so stupid as to speed past a marked police car.

Speed Cameras

The red-light cameras have a mixed history, with some cities tearing them out after citizen complaints, and after studies suggested the companies that collect the revenue had an unfair incentive to interpret the photos against drivers and for the city (and themselves).

If Montgomery residents are unhappy about the use of the cameras, there is a rather simple way to eliminate them. Start mobilizing like-minded citizens, send petitions to members of the council and the mayor, and make sure they know that they will be unelected if they don't pull the plug. They're betting people will forget by the time the next election comes around, and there is no power of recall in Alabama that would allow them to be removed before the election.

But a patient electorate, and a campaign of ads against those who voted for the spy cams, could work.

Warning Signs

Or the voters could do the opposite, rise up in support of the cameras and demand even more be installed, to catch jaywalkers and litterers and people cursing or violating the new ban on smoking in public buildings and....

MMMM # 182 -- They know It When They Hear or See It

2012-01-16T01:30:00.008-06:00

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over nudity and/or "obscene" language on broadcast radio and TV. Think Janet Jackson (and why is Justin Timberlake always left out of the telling of that Super Bowl incident?)

Among the points made:

"...the FCC had received complaints about the opening episode of the last Olympics for showing statues with bare breasts and buttocks."

Yet cable TV channels, one click away on virtually all TV's from their broadcast cousins, can show virtually anything they want. Watch some True Blood or Shameless for examples.

The only real difference between one channel and the other is that you pay to bring cable in, while broadcast is free. Does the public really see a significant difference between cable channel 4 and channel 400?

"...I know it when I see it..." (Justice Potter Stewart, 1964, in an opinion on what "hardcore pornography is".)

Nonetheless, the current Supremes seem inclined to not only maintain the current FCC regs, but maybe even expand on them, probably on a 5-4 vote, as usual. And the cable companies hope that is exactly what they do.

ALSO: a reader spotted what certainly seemed like a great story for the MMMM...it said a Christian Talk Radio Network had been airing the same programs over and over on a 365 day cycle, since 1988. On first read I though, hmmmmm. On reflection, I recognized it as satire. All things online are suspect, including this one.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of http://www.timlennox.com/]

Ships At Sea

2012-01-15T05:34:00.002-06:00

Twice recently, really big ships, presumably with the latest in modern navigation, have run aground.

First it was a container ship that broke up off New Zealand several months ago, and now, of course, the cruise ship that capsized off the Coast of Italy.

At least Titanic--- almost exactly 100 years ago---lacked most of that modern equipment.

According to last night's CBS News, the company that owns the passenger ship has had a history of problems, and the Captain is in police custody for abandoning ship before many of the passengers were evacuated.

If we ever need proof that life is fragile, that even the most routine activities can go bad, stories like those are more than ample.

[UPDATE: The best navgation equipment in the world won't do any good if the Captain intentionally steers close to shore so the family of one of his crew can see the ship from their coastal home.]

Paula's Diabetes

2012-01-14T13:24:00.001-06:00

The Queen of Southern Fried Foods has joined the large per centage of Southerns who are diabetic.

Sure, genetics play a role, but diet---and weight--play a bigger part.

We loved Paula Deen's fried-everything, but can we have seconds now please? Second thoughts?

King quote to be changed.

2012-01-13T20:56:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post, ABC and others are reporting that the disputed quote on the MLK Memorial will be changed to better reflect what he actually said.

Monday is the King Holiday, of course...as well as the Alabama State holiday for Jefferson Davis. The inscription on the left is part of the Civil War Memorial in Montgomery.

We love our dichotomy here in Alabama.

Honor and Decorum for Dead Terrorists

2012-01-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

     When soldiers of any nation are trained, they are trained to kill.
     To kill.
     That's not exactly something that comes naturally (or is it?).
     Even in my very Basic Training in South Carolina a while back, the Drill Sergeants expected me to be fairly unthinking in my ability to open fire on people with an M-16 or grenade ( and I wasn't even going into The Infantry).
     Now comes the story of U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of some Taliban terrorists who they had killed, and the Pentagon is in an uproar and high level government officials are demanding their heads.

     So let's see. These are men--U.S. Marines no less---trained to kill in whatever vicious manner we've selected, trained to hate the enemy so much that a blade to their throat or a bullet to the head at close range is more than they deserve. But once the children-killing, puppy-gutting, WMD-making bastards are dispatched to wherever it is they are going, our military is supposed to treat them like saints or little children and give them a reverential funeral and wire flowers from FTD?
     If it had been the other way around, I'd be calling for the heads of every Afghan alive, but I would also understand that war is a crappy institution in which people are trained to act against the best instincts of humanity.
     We're supposed to be angry enough to kill 'em, but not to disrespect 'em?
     The Marines didn't help the peace process, or U.S./Afghan relations. But in the killing part of armed diplomacy, that's not their job.

The Death Penalty

2012-01-12T08:19:00.000-06:00

If you listen to opponents of Capital Punishment, the tide is turning against the use of the death penalty.
But a new Pew study finds little change in recent years. A majority still favor it.

Russia points a finger at The U.S.

2012-01-10T14:07:00.001-06:00

All of those problems the Russians are having keeping space-craft going in the right direction, and staying where they are supposed to?
Maybe it's the CIA or The Pentagon, or the Boy Scouts of America! The Russian space folks are hinting that outside forces may be to blame for some of their failures. No, they really don't name the Boy Scouts, but they may as well. When things to awry, it seems to be a particularly Russian reaction to blame others. Maybe you just screwed up Mr. Cosmonaut?

Not in Alabama, for Sure!

2012-01-10T11:00:00.001-06:00

ESPN: LOWEST RATINGS EVER FOR A BCS CHAMPIONSHIP.

What's going on here? Bias against the SEC? Did viewers expect the same result as the previous Alabama-LSU game so they didn't need to watch? Was Monday night a bad night?

[PLUS: Read USA Today's take on what it is about Alabama that makes it such a college football powerhouse...(though I'm not sure they found an answer as much as they asked the question in-depth.)

MMMM #181 The New Year

2012-01-09T01:00:00.005-06:00

2012 is going to be a landmark year for the media in Montgomery.

The gathering of WAKA CBS 8, WNCF ABC 32 and WBMM CW 22 under one state of the art roof will offer tremendous opportunities. Construction is progressing and we'll be in the new HD facility on Harrison Road in plenty of time for the Fall 2012 TV Season.

TV and just about all other media continues to flow to smartphones, keeping people in touch all day every day.

The challenges that have faced print aren't going away. The Montgomery Advertiser saw additional layoffs in 2011, a shrinking of the paper's width, and a tightening of the overall operation.
Prime Montgomery Magazine published for its first full year in 2011 (The 2 year anniversary is in April) and is going strong.

Alabama Public Television closed its Montgomery Studio and production facility on Madison Avenue in 2011, firing all but one employee, an engineer. I understand APT has started hiring some people in recent weeks to operate its studio in the Alabama Statehouse when the Legislative session begins next month. It's unclear what programs they will air and when. Their website appears to be down this Sunday evening.

     Online media continues to grow, though profits are another story. Some local Montgomery sites are doing a good job covering events in the Capitol, like MidtownMontgomeryLiving.com
     Radio is still struggling too, with the usual format changes and consolidation of stations (not unlike what's underway with CBS 8).
     In the Fall of 2012, this website will celebrate its 5th Anniversary...Lord willing and the creek don't rise. Which on a rainy night like tonight seems like a distinct possibility!

[ADDENDUM: The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to stop regulating speech on Broadcast TV tomorrow. Broadcasters argue in a multi-media world, they are being treated unfairly.]
[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website!]

The Long Haul of Joblessness

2012-01-08T14:52:00.000-06:00

The Wall Street Journal says the impact of the U.S. unemployment resulting from the Great Recession will be felt for a long time, pehaps for generations.
And since Alabama's unemployment rate has been higher than the national average....

When Getting There is NONE of the Fun.....

2012-01-08T07:57:00.000-06:00

     Picture this:you are walking in one of the urban areas of Alabama...Birmingham, or Montgomery..maybe Huntsville or Mobile, and you are not familiar with the streets.
     So you ask your GPS enabled smart phone-pad-flash-drive-cassette to create a route for you. And you want it to include a stop at a hot dog place.
     Microsoft has patented a program that will do just that...avoiding "bad neighborhoods" and giving preference to hot-dog places that just happen to be advertisers on the program.

     There will be some unhappy business owners if the smart-machine decided their hot dog stand is located in a "high-crime" area and sends the user away...conveniently to the competition.
     I'm actually surprised there isn't already a program identifying homes for sale where violent events, criminal or otherwise, or even just plain natural deaths, have occurred (for the poltergeist phobic among us)...and that rate various neighborhood blocks on a ten scale for the number of break-ins that have occurred to homes or vehicles.
     Programs like this tend to have a self-fufilling feature. Like the Top-Ten Stories list in newspapers, which increase the rankings for those stories by attracting more readers, insuring they will stay in the top ten longer.

Equal Protection Against The 5 Iron

2012-01-07T06:55:00.001-06:00

I overheard two women talking on Friday about Elin Nordegren using a bulldozer to tear down the Florida mansion she and Tiger Woods lived in before the cheating and the divorce. The comments were positively gleeful, picturing her driving a huge yellow machine of destruction through the multi-million dollar home to punish her cheating spouse. You go Elin! Then one of the women added how happy she was when Elin had attacked Tiger with a golf club too, and the other agreed. When I raised a question, they were "just kidding", of course.

     I had not read anything about the mansion destruction at that point, but as I usual, I started asking myself questions. Does she own the place? Fine, tear it down, burn it, do whatever she legally wants to. But if it's jointly owned with her ex? No way.
     And about the golf club assault...which as far as I know was never verified...if the situation had been reversed, and it had been Elin cheating on him, would it have been a cause for celebration if Tiger had taken a club to her? Of course not.
     I'm not advocating or excusing cheating, just suggesting equal treatment.
     The subject of spousal abuse was fresh on my mind because of an interview I did over the holidays with the Executive Director of the One Place Family Justice Center in Montgomery. He told me about the percentage of men who are abused physically and verbally by their wives, and how difficult it is for them to report it. With some folks cheering the beating of a male spouse, cheater or not, I can understand why.
     When I finally did read the mansion story, it was much less dramatic. There was no vengeful hard-hat wearing Elin, her fist raised in victory as she drove a bulldozer through the home. Instead, she's tearing down the 1932 house that had termite damage to build a new one. And it was a demolition company doing the destruction, contributing whatever could be salvaged to Habitat For Humanity.

Welcome to New Orleans (NOT)--UPDATED!

2012-01-06T19:30:00.000-06:00

New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Ted Lewis has a welcome to The Big Easy article for the Crimson Tide and fans today. It places Football in Alabama (or, Alabama Football, if you will) and The Civil Rights struggle, on parrallel time tracks. He quotes Historian Taylor Branch:

"Football and segregation were parallel manias in Alabama in the 1960s," Civil Rights Era historian Taylor Branch said. "And they were so imbedded with the idea of segregation, they couldn't find a way out of it except through football.

To his credit, Lewis mentions that LSU had it's first black player after UA.
Roll Tide?

UPDATE: Not to be outdone, The Wall Street Journal has a story about LSU with the headline "You Can't Spell Lush Without L-S-U." Really!

Weight Watchers PR Problem

2012-01-06T07:37:00.004-06:00

The problem's name is Charles Barkley....a paid spokesman for the company who describes the company as a "scam" in on off-air but recorded chit-chat during a game. I'm sure there's a PR way to turn it around that doesn't involve the obvious...firing Barkley. Suggestions?

Business

2012-01-05T08:56:00.000-06:00

     ~~BEST~~ BUY Executives must be having a terrible morning after this morning's online Forbes article.
     Ouch....the story of a retailer who was perfectly positioned to slide into the online environment, and yet, according to the writer, failed.
     What other companies have taken the same journey to online failure?

Gene Bartow

2012-01-04T19:33:00.000-06:00

     I'm not a sports reporter (there's an understatement!) but over the years I've covered a variety of sports stories, mostly because I was the last person left in the newsroom. (Remind me to tell you about the time I filled in for Eli Gold on the old WERC "Calling All Sports" show.)
     The death of Gene Bartow reminded me that I had covered the announcement that the was leaving UCLA after just two seasons and coming to UAB to launch a basketball program. It was 1977, and I had been in Birmingham for about a year when the news conference was called. The details are fuzzy, but it was such a big announcement that even sports neophyte me could sense the impact it would have. The room was packed with reporters from everywhere.
     I hadn't thought about that event probably at all since it happened, but today's story of his passing brought it flashing back. If there were negative stories or controversies about him (other than leaving LA for Birmingham, of all places!) I don't remember them. He brought a ton of class to sports in Birmingham, and helped put UAB on the sports map. Rest in Peace, Coach.

Terrorism Tower Directory

2012-01-04T17:45:00.000-06:00

Taliban agrees to open office in Qatar.

Debt.

2012-01-04T08:34:00.000-06:00

Don't miss Paul Krugman's column today about debt and the deficit. His message: the situation isn't nearly as bleak as you may think.

2012

2012-01-01T13:47:00.000-06:00

Heading now into the new year...and as usual for me, I find it hard to believe it is 2012. The 20's always sound like something out of a Scifi movie (perhaps the influence of 2001 A Space Odyssey?).
It will be a Presidential election year, either the end or a second term for President Obama. And perhaps I have been paying a bit too much attention to politics? Google tell me:

You've read 61 articles about Politics. That's 6 times more than most readers, and it earns you a Platinum badge!

     Oh my! And of course that only counts the ones I read through their news gathering site.
     Most folks pay scant attention to politics, and after the do-no-business year in Washington, and the Immigration debacle here in Alabama, it's no wonder.
     Yesterday I found myself embroiled in an online back-and-forth with former high school classmates over a religious issue and I was amazed how quickly it became a name-calling match! As I wrote to them, now I remember what I didn't like about hosting talk radio shows.

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

2011-12-31T16:48:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! Tim

WARNING!

2011-12-31T16:15:00.000-06:00

There are reports that some decorations being put away for the year....

Are making a run for it!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Consumer Wars on the Eve of 2012

2011-12-31T07:42:00.000-06:00

The WSJ has a story about the increasing number of customers fleeing expensive cable TV plans, or at least negotiating their own rates downward. From the article:

Although cable operators don't widely market it, a federal law requires them to allow consumers to tack on premium channels such as HBO or Showtime for roughly $17 a month, even if they only have the most basic cable package.

Really? In my last negotiating session, I spent time arguing with the agent about the benefit (to customers) of cafeteria pricing..letting us select what channels we want and paying only for them. I told him I wanted basic plus one HBO and one SHOWTIME, but was told that wasn't possible. He insisted it would be more expensive for customers. Hmmmm I'll have to look into that Federal regulation to quote it next time around.
Related: by now I'm sure you've read of Verizon's capitulation of it's $2 a month fee for customers who pay online without setting up an account or who pay by phone. I loved the tortured language used by the CEO to make the announcement that they were listening to customers:

"Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time."

     How many suits and lawyers does it take to say we screwed up? About a hundred, if that's the best writing they could agree on.
     And Verizon isn't alone...as I've blogged about before...AT&T charges a $5 fee if you want to pay your bill by phone using an actual real-live person. How is that not discriminatory against seniors, who may be more likely to need assistance with the complex bills companies use these days?
     Add the bank's retreat from their monthly debit card fees and the lesson for 2011 is this: Social media is teaching companies how quickly their customers can turn on them.

The Most Ridiculously Priced Stuff

2011-12-30T19:01:00.000-06:00

     There are a number of articles and lists like this one on the web that list the most overpriced things we buy.
     Curiously*, the one linked to above omits the top item on many other lists: printer ink. One site estimates the ink cartridges costs the equivalent of $64,000 a gallon!

     Other lists also include mattresses. In fact I found a site devoted to that one topic: how not to get ripped off buying one!

* maybe not so curious. It is an AOL page, and AOL is owned by....Time-Warner, which owns, well, so much stuff that it's not possible to figure out if there is a conflict of interest in their ink page.

A Leaf Drives in Montogmery

2011-12-29T18:16:00.002-06:00

     I met the owner of the only all-electric car in Montgomery today...at least she's pretty sure that's the case. She had to buy it in Auburn at the Nissan dealership there after a wait of a couple of years. The local dealer has not had any to offer to far.
     I learned long ago to be careful about any news story that includes a superlative...best, oldest, only...so if someone else does have one, my apologies.
    The owner runs a committee that promotes, appropriately enough, planting trees in the Capitol City!

A N.Y. Times Oops

2011-12-28T19:26:00.000-06:00

I thought something was up when the NY Times emailed and offered a special 50% off rate if I would not cancel my home delivery subscription.

Continue your subscription and you’ll keep your free, unlimited digital access, a benefit available only for our home delivery subscribers. You’ll receive unlimited access to NYTimes.com on any device, full access to our smartphone and iPad® apps, plus you can now share your unlimited access with a family member.†

     First off, I haven't had a subscription to the NY Times since...well, even when I lived in Manhattan I didn't have a subscription. So then I figured it was a scam, or perhaps their email list was compromised. But there was no stern warning, or suggestion that I click on a link and provide my credit card info to a guy in a hut in Nigeria.
     Turns out I, and 7,999,999 other folks had received the message by mistake. It was supposed to go to just 300 people. Oops.
     But thanks for the offer anyway.

The 1% Don't Give a Crap

2011-12-28T17:15:00.000-06:00

That is not the title of the Bloomburg article out today, but it may as well be.

The wealthiest Americans have had it, and they're not going to take it anymore.

Really.

Hour(s) Lost

2011-12-28T16:03:00.001-06:00

     We're used to losing and gaining an hour when we switch from Daylight Savings to Standard Time (and back) each year. But in Samoa Thursday night at Midnight, they'll lose 24 hours.
     Chief editor, ~~speler~~ speller-guy and supporter of charities Jay pointed it out to me.
     Samoa has decided to move to the other side of the nearby International Date Line (which always sounded to me like a bad game show name). They'll go from 12:00:00 PM Thursday to 12:00:00 AM Saturday. So long Friday!
    NPR explains why here.

[PLUS: There's also a plan being proposed elsewhere to change the calandar so your birthday would always fall on the same day of the week, as would all of the holidays. And an extra week would be added every 5 or 6 years to make it work!]

The Mall of Ameriterror

2011-12-27T16:52:00.000-06:00

     It doesn't take much, really to kill a Mall.
     Some fear, and an alternative will do it.
     That's what emptied out the Montgomery Mall for a decade, leaving it to be twisted soon into some kind of city-controlled combination police and fire station cum church + other stuff.
     Maybe.
     Eventually.
     The events in the early 2000's that helped bury it started with young people, some fighting, a police riot force surrounding the property, blocking all goers, and fear.
     Now the Mall of America in Minnesota has had its own fright session...bigger, naturally, than anything that happened in Alabama's Capitol. The Monday night events come (of course) with their own homemade shaky cell video, making it all seem bigger and worse, like something from that fake/real-looking witch movie.
     Was it just an out of control flash mob having fun? A mass-robbery attempt? A glimpse of an unhappy future? Kids looking for a rumored free concert?
     Doesn't matter really.
     Because all it takes to kill a mall is an equal measure of fear and rumor and overreaction and lack of communication (MOA management issued its first statement about 9:00pm. An eon in social media time.)
     Alternatives like buying online next time. Or a new Mall down the highway.

The Right To Work Un-unionized

2011-12-26T13:21:00.001-06:00

Forbes Magazine includes an interesting piece that tries to answer this question: How do German firms manage to build more cars than U.S. companies, while paying the autoworkers in Europe twice what they pay workers at their U.S. plants? And they're profitable to boot!

Quiznos

2011-12-24T18:30:00.004-06:00

I don't much care for restaurants that force you to make too many decisions just to order. If a menu is overwhelming, it just feels like more work than it's worth to order!

Quiznos has always been like that to me. Too many kinds of items, and too many sizes and combinations of those items, prepared in too many ways. I'm exhausted by the time I get through the process!

Now comes word the Quiznos chain is close to bankruptcy.

I've never managed or even worked in a restaurant, so what do I know! But perhaps a simplified menu might have helped?

Er, NASA.....

2011-12-24T10:24:00.001-06:00

     ...are you really, really sure you want to continue sending U.S. Astronauts up on Russian ships to the International Space Station? At the rate their space agency is failing to launch correctly, it's only a matter of time.
     Pieces of the most recent failure dropped on a street named for the Russian Cosmonauts.
     I know, if we were to ask the NASA head that question at a news conference, he would assure us that everything is just fine.
     But at home, where nobody can hear him...he has to be thinking WTF?

Bring back the shuttles! At least the US had 133 successful ups and downs with them.

[UPDATE: on 1/7/12, a Voice of America blog raised some of the same questions, but they got in touch with folks who should have the answers. Here's the blog entry.]

Under The Tree (NOT). The Nay-pad

2011-12-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

     I was asked if I would like an eye-pad for Christmas, and I said no...vaguely wondering if, deep down, I really did want one?
     I have an admitted anti-apple bias (the opposite of the pro-apple cultish and slavish affection some folks exhibit, and just as acceptable), but even if I did not, I have just not been able to figure out what I would use an eye-pad (or any pad) for!
     This morning: The the L.A. Times to the rescue. No, not explaining why I should have one, but a columnist who feels the same ambivalence as I!
     Anyway, the pads are another chapter in the subscription economy that I try so hard to avoid. Pads and a billion other products try to force you to continue buying things assoiated with the main purchase.

This is the best razor in the world...buy it for just $5 (but the blades will be $6 each for as long as you use it!)
Just using a mop on the floor is not good enough, but this great cleaning devise (and buy our overpriced pads for it forever!)
The eye-pad is the next best invention in the world (and you have to continue to spend money for "apps" and subscriptions from then on!)

No thanks. I'd rather not quarter and dollar myself into bankruptcy, though I can assure you, there are many aps for that.

Media Noise

2011-12-23T17:11:00.000-06:00

     On this eve before The Eve, there's the usual amount of noise being broad and narrow cast, though I suspect only the deepest die-hards are paying much attention to the media babble or the media rabble.

     Do you care that kind-of-bizarre Ron Paul spouted some racist and paranoid nonsense to sell a newsletter thirty years ago?
     ...that Kim Jon ll is changing the weather from beyond the grave?
     ...that the pigeon is as smart as chimps when it comes to understanding math?
     ...that for a family hit by a home invasion in Montgomery, it was the third time?

I could go on. But let me just suggest you take a deep breath and relax for the weekend. Best wishes to each and everyone of you! In this case, no news is good news.

Tim

2011-12-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

Are North Koreans brainwashed, or just plain stupid?

     Millions of North Koreans have starved to death in famines resulting from the policies of the "ruling" family, yet the people go blindly along, now busy adopting new fantasies about them, believing them somehow "divine". If ever there was a regime worthy of toppling, it's them.
     South Koreans seem to be astute businesspeople, well versed in arts and language, science, food production and sports. But a stone's throw away it's a Stone-Age blind obedience to a demi-god.
     Then again, we have candidates for the U.S. presidency who say they are answering a divine calling by entering the race, and people will vote for those "Dear Leaders" too.

EPA vs Power Plants

2011-12-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

The EPA is out with it's long expected rules limiting the release of mercury and other toxins from coal-fired power plants.

Coal-ash is only one of the problems resulting from burning all that coal to produce electricity. And some health experts say what goes out the smokestacks is much worse that what falls to the bottom. At right is the cleanup of the TVS coal Ash spill three years ago tomorrow.
Alabama Power and other Southern Company subsidiaries have lots of coal-fired plants, six in Alabama, and had battled against the regulations for decades.

.4 % growth in Alabama Population

2011-12-21T16:56:00.001-06:00

     The Census Bureau out with data showing the population gains and losses by the states between 2010 and 2011.

     Texas is proclaimed the population winner (I guess these would be people who live to inhale smoke 24/7?) while Alabama showed minimal growth...4/10 of a per cent. Perhaps those fleeing "illegal" immigrants hurt our numbers?
     Michigan and a chunk of other Upper Mid-West states lost population...that might be all of those unemployed folks fleeing the Rust Belt? Despite Alabama's new status as a car-manufacturing magnet, the former Detroit residents aren't coming to Bama. That may be because of the difference in their (former) union jobs and the new (very-much non-union) jobs here.
     Look at the map..the light-green-shaded states had the least increase, while the dark-green-shaded states attracted the most new folks.

     (More maps here.)

   It's interesting that, except for Mississippi (TGFM), Alabama is surrounded by States that had better population growth in 2010-2011.
   And those folks going to Washington State can't have seen that new TV series The Killing, in which it rains rain and blood 24/7.

   Coincidentally, United Van Lines is out today with their own annual migration study, based on the number of people moving to and from various states. Their study agrees Alabama is...flat, but North Dakota is losing folks. So go (or come) figure.

WIRM

2011-12-21T13:00:00.002-06:00

What It Really Means: This sign is promoting a carpet cleaner, but there are thousands of other like it in the right-of-way across Montgomery. And what they are really saying is this:

...we don't much care about the looks of our community. We'll put up this litter-on two metal sticks anywhere...we'll keep your carpets clean but your streets dirty!

Where you find one of these, others soon pop up. And they are illegal! Ironically, a top city official told me the biggest violators are non-profit groups. One had a sign advertising an event right near the commercial sign shown above, and ever more ironically, that non-profit is located in a beautiful setting where signs like this are banned.

[WIRM is a regular feature of this website. It's an effort to point our the less-than-obvious message some signs and other things send.]

2011-12-19T16:36:00.000-06:00

By age 24, what percentage of young Americans have been arrested at least once other than for minor traffic offenses?

41% !!!

reports ABC news.

And What Will YOU Do Next Weekend?

2011-12-19T12:36:00.000-06:00

Survey by the religion polling company PRRI shows more people will watch It's A Wonderful Life than go to church:

Americans who celebrate Christmas do so in a variety of ways. Among Americans who celebrate Christmas:

* More than 8-in-10 (83%) say they typically watch Christmas movies like “It’s a wonderful life” or “A Christmas Story.”

* Roughly two-thirds (66%) report that they usually attend religious services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Roughly 6-in-10 (59%) say they sing Christmas carols as part of their holiday celebration. Only about 1-in-4 (26%) say they light advent candles.

* Roughly equal numbers say they read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” (43%), the famous Santa Clause poem, as read the biblical story about the birth of Jesus (40%) as part of their traditional Christmas celebrations.

Another poll result provided by The Montgomery firm Anzalone-Liszt shows historic low opinions for Congress (11% approval) so lumps of coal for all of them!

MMMM # 180 Size Does Matter!

2011-12-19T01:00:00.005-06:00

This is a reproduction of the Doonesbury from a week ago or so in The Montgomery Advertiser.
I saved it to illustrate the incredibly shrinking newspaper cartoon. I've tried to make is as accurate in size as possible.

Honest: can you read Doonesbury without zooming (a feature my eyes lack)? I included a portion of Foxtrot below it for comparison.

I've worn glasses since 8th grade, but my corrected vision is close to 20/20. and the captions have shrunk to a size where they are unreadable!

As newspapers have diminished in income over the last few years, they've gotten narrower too, to save ink. That's forced editors to squeeze stuff in, but if readers can't read it, what's the point?

I'm sure the Advertiser gets lots of complaints about Doonesbury's content anyway---way too liberal here in the Deep South---so just eliminate it if it's going to shrink to microsize anyway! Or attach plastic magnifying lenses each Sunday!
Is this another step toward the inevitable elimination of newspapers in printed form?

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website. My editors have insisted I take next Monday off, thinking my eyesight and temperment might improve. So the MMMM will be back on 2/2/12.]

Appeals Court Rejects Mail Bomber Walter Leroy Moody Jr.

2011-12-17T19:12:00.000-06:00

On Friday, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals rejected an appeal by Walter Leroy Moody, the man convicted of assassinating U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Vance in 1989. The judge was killed, and his wife seriously injured, in their Mountain Brook, Alabama, kitchen when the judge opened a package disguised as a Christmas present. Moody remains on Alabama's death row. The Friday decision came, perhaps coincidentally, exactly 22 years after the killing. This video tells the story of the murder, investigation, and arrest.

Geographic Misadventure

2011-12-17T10:07:00.006-06:00

I'm not sure what I did before GPS, other than get lost a lot. The service is a blessing, even if it does sometimes send us around the world to get around the corner.
I couldn't find a copy of it to include here*, but back in the day there was a distorted cartoonish map of New York City that made it appear the city was 99% of the United States. The rest of the world to the west was compressed into a sliver of land. It may have originally be a New Yorker magazine cover.

    It came to mind this morning when I heard about some event occurring in New York in which the woman being interviewed on the radio said visitors were expected from all of the city Boroughs, New Jersey and even Connecticut!
     I've heard news reporters express the same astonishment, saying such and such a person had traveled to Alabama all the way from California, as though that's another planet, as opposed to a State a few hours away.
     Everything is relative.
     Some people are coming to Alabama all the way from New York today to march from the Alabama State Capitol to the Governor's Mansion in protest of the Immigration Bill. I can only hope they've brought their passports.
     And a promo: I'll be anchoring the news on CBS 8 (6:00 and 10:00) and FOX (9:00) tonight, and we'll have coverage of the march and the rest of the day's news.

* (See comments)...here's a link to the map I was talking about, and it was a New Yorker Cover! Thanks Trent!

M (S) MMM # 178 -- Buy These Toy$!

2011-12-17T07:56:00.001-06:00

I'm a fan of On The Media, a weekly Public Radio program that critiques the industry I've made my living in for a lot of years.

This week's show included a segment on payola...the process by which individuals on TV are paid to promote certain items without any disclosure to the viewers. At one point, the hosts play a segment from the ABC program "The View" in which a "toy expert" named Elizabeth Werner and the guests are babbling on about the supposedly "hot" toys for kids this Christmas. On The Media asks guest/Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi if Werner is a legitimate expert or a shill for some toy companies, to which Farhi comments "It's hard to tell".
     Huh? Here's On The Media calling out Television with a clip and all, and then dropping the ball?
     Sorry Paul (And OTM hosts), it's not that hard. In 2.2 seconds worth of Googling, I found a Los Angeles Times article from last year in which that paper reports lawyer and "toy expert" Elizabeth Werner is paid--- $11,000 for each toy she promotes--- during her TV tour.
     As The Times also reports, the fact that she's being paid to promote specific toys is supposed to be disclosed to viewers, but sometimes isn't.
     And another point: The View is called that because it is NOT journalism. It's an opinion show to which the largely female audience tunes for opinion. Does OTM really consider it a news program?

[The Monday (and sometimes Saturday) Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website.]

Say what?

2011-12-16T22:45:00.000-06:00

Two references in news stories this past week had my head turning.

The Media Department of The Muslim Brotherhood

and The Aerospace Division of The Revolutionary Guard.

Honest. The scientific research divisions of TimLennox.com told me so.

Busy!

2011-12-16T22:41:00.000-06:00

Like most of you, for me this is an especially busy time of year, so please forgive my lack of posting on the site!
And to balance the sad news below about Etta James, a Christmas picture from my childhood.

The Christmas Tree at the upstate New York High School I attended.

Many of the students have been reunited online, and there have been reunions too, though I've not been to one. Just today one of my former classmates asked to be connected in LinkedIn.

Don't virtually all Christmas tree photos look alike after a while? And why did we have theater ropes keeping people away. Paparazzi?

Etta James - At Last

2011-12-16T22:09:00.001-06:00

Reuters reports that Etta James is terminally ill.

Collez une fourchette dans lui. Mitt Rommey fait !

2011-12-13T14:58:00.000-06:00

It's one thing to be a Mormon.

...or to sit down wtih a gay veteran in a coffee shop.

But speaking French?

Homeless Kids

2011-12-13T10:47:00.000-06:00

Bad enough to be a homeless child...just try not be be one in Alabama! The state is ranked 50th---worst in the nation---for child homelessness.

Schools & Hunting: too close for comfort

2011-12-13T07:42:00.000-06:00

Texas is not exactly a small state, yet apparently there isn't enough room to keep hunting areas away from schoolyards.

Two students were hit by hunter's bullets...and one of them is in critical condition. Did those kids playing basketball on an outdoor court look like deer?

The Movie Recession

2011-12-12T07:57:00.000-06:00

CBS is reporting a ten year low in movie attendance this past weekend.

Just what is wrong with you people???

Just because it is now an investment to take a family to see a flick? The national average in January of this year was $7.89 per, but prices are higher locally and for 3-D films.

Another source says prices dropped during the year. But none of that accounts for the hugely marked up snacks they sell.

Is it because the theater owners make you sit through fifteen minutes worth of commercials and reminders not to throw popcorn around before you see the first frame of the movie?

Are you disenchanted with the movies themselves? The best movie turnout of the weekend was for 'New Years Eve", which brought in a paltry $13 Million. Perhaps the fact that just about everybody who's seen it hates the flick has something to do with that?

And finally...are home TV sets now of such quality, with HD and huge screens, that's it simply easier and cheaper to stay at home?

MMMM # 177 --- www.CrimsonTide.xxx ???

2011-12-12T01:00:00.004-06:00

      The xxx extension for websites opened up last week, for companies or people who want to advertise their site's sexual nature.
     But before the average Joe was able to register names with an xxx on the end, businesses and institutions were given the right to reserve their own identifying names for two months, to block anyone else from using them. So http://www.auburnuniversity.xxx/ is blocked. So is http://www.universityofalabama.xxx/ . and http://www.asu.xxx/
    Yet not all. Someone named Zach Moffett in Ashburn, Virginia managed to reserve http://www.crimsontide.xxx/, and if you want it, you can register http://www.birminghamsouthern.xxx/ or http://www.samforduniversity.xxx/ or http://www.troyuniversity.xxx/
     http://www.girlsofthesec.xxx/ available (so is the version with boys).
     http://www.wareagle.xxx/ is taken, probably by the school.

     You could register some of those names, at least in theory. But they are also copyright protected, so you might have a legal battle on your hands if you tried to open a site using those xxx addresses you bought.
     Nonetheless, a lot of colleges have paid for the xxx extension with their names and nicknames attached just to prevent anyone else from using them.
     If you have time to waste, as I apparently do, go to this site and try filling in your favorite team or school names to see if they are available for x-rated sidelines web addresses.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website.]

Dog Bites Girl

2011-12-11T15:39:00.000-06:00

...make that POLICE dog bites girl.
A Police Dog that escaped from a patrol car.
A girl in her Arizona High School.
Who ran when she saw the dog.
Police say

"We were extremely lucky. The dog is trained to bite and pull," he said. "That didn't happen. It appears in this case the dog realized the girl did not pose a threat."

True. Once the dog had bitten her and she was on the ground. But are they trained to take down anybody who runs?

Humility key to effective leadership

2011-12-11T15:14:00.001-06:00

When is the last time there was an elected official in Alabama who you would describe as

HUMBLE?

Here's a story about a study that indicates humble people make better leaders.

The Worst Lies in The World

2011-12-10T21:20:00.000-06:00

1) A woman fakes her own rape so her husband will agree to move.

2) A man publishes his Mother's obit to get time off from work. She was alive.

Whatever happend to "the dog ate my homework" and "It's not you, it's me"?

Too Soft on Muslims!

2011-12-10T16:55:00.000-06:00

     The Washington Post reports that's the reason a right-wing TV watchdog group threatened advertisers who were buying commercials on TLC's All-American Muslim reality show.
     Had the show depicted Muslims as bomb-throwing radicals out to destroy America, I guess if would have been OK.
     But reality TV is never truly reality on TV anyway. Even back to the PBS's 1973 An American Family, the presence of cameras changes everything. And what is or is not on-camera diminishes or enlarges.
     How many times have you see a house fire story on TV, with the flames and the flashing lights and the fearful eyes...only to see if as a two paragraph story in the next day's newspaper?
     Are there hateful Muslims in America. Sure. There are also hateful Christians and Atheists. The dislike for a soft-handed presentation may say more about the complainers than about the program's subjects.

Rodents Care!

2011-12-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post has a fascinating article about a simple experiment involving--what else---rats! And it seems to prove that they exhibit empathy. That's better than some people!

WIRM # 3 ----&DG@%$%@((!!!!!!

2011-12-07T14:59:00.000-06:00

WIRM: Here's what we expect from the people entering our offices.

[WIRM stands for "What it Really Means". It's a regular feature on this website, explaining what stuff really means, frequently not at all what was intended, and often not the truth! Submission gladly accepted! Sent to timothylennox@charter.net]

Sweeeteet!

2011-12-07T14:49:00.001-06:00

Back in radio days, I remember interviewing two research/authors at UAB who had written a book (PyschoDiatetics? Something like that). I can't remember their names*, but I recall one shocking fact.

They talked about a study in which one group of rats were fed a common breakfast cereal, while another group was fed the box the cereal came in. You guessed it, the box was as good or better for them!

Today the Environmental Working Group has released a report on the best and worst children's cereals, which says the worst include cereals that are more than half sugar. More than half! Fruit Loops (original) was among the worst. at 41.4% sugar.
Makes me wonder if parent would be better off blending the box for breakfast!

* Google to the rescue. Here's the 1977 book for sale--used-- on Amazon. I had the title right, and the authors name's are: Dr. E. Cheraskin and W. M Ringsdorf Jr.

Inside the wreckage of The USS Arizona

2011-12-07T08:21:00.000-06:00

Another video to commemorate the 70 th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, 70 Years after the attack.

December 7, 1941

2011-12-07T08:07:00.001-06:00

A question:...in 2071, will people commemorate the 9-11 attacks with as much intensity as we remember the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor seventy years later ? More?

Outsider Alert! Outsider Alert!

2011-12-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

     The Tuscaloosa News reported over the weekend that the per-centage of students in the 2011freshpeople class at The University of Alabama that ain't from around these parts rose to above fifty per cent for the first time in the University's almost-forever history.
     What will we do?
     Those are Alabama Tax Dollars going to fund that ~~football~~ ~~team~~ university! Do we want our tax dollars funding educations for them foreigners from California and other heathen places? Some of them are even from other countries...like those Hispanics from Mexico and New Mexico that we're chasing out, except maybe legal. Some of them might even be from communist places like Cuba or China or...whatever other Communist places are left. Oh yea, Venezuala. And probably Rhode Island too.
     Come to think of it, those outsiders are probably also using our Alabama-tax-dollar-built interstate welcome centers too!
     Good thing the legislature will be coming to Montgomery on February 7th! They'll fix it!

MMMM # 177 ---Look, Up in The Air! A Reporter!

2011-12-05T01:00:00.003-06:00

     The Washington Post reported on Sunday about the inevitable use of drone aircraft by the media, including the fact that a website used a drone to report on the Tuscaloosa tornadoes.
     The FAA is scheduled to release regulations about the non-military use of the unmanned aircraft next month.
     Reporting on stories from above is nothing new.

Broadcasters have been using helicopters to cover news for decades, but as the story points out, the relative cheapness of a drone makes it a very attractive tool.

     The actual history of aerial photography dates to 1860! That's the first photo in the U.S. to the right.

   During the 70's and '80's, I flew in a helicopter for traffic reports on WERC Radio in Birmingham. When we saw a fire or other newsworthy event, describing it was part of the job.
     But drones are much smaller, quieter, fly much lower, and are less likely to be noticed by people on the ground. At what point will the use of drones violate privacy? Can a station's drone fly over an individual's deck and take video of...well, the things people sometimes do on decks. How about shooting through a window. Some of this is already established law, but the drone aspect kicks it all up a notch, into relatively uncharted territory.
    Which Alabama TV station will be the first to invest in a drone, once the FAA regs are published? Give it five years, and the top stations in every market will have one. Or two!

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]

Back on the streets

2011-12-04T19:24:00.000-06:00

     I'll be back out raising money on Tuesday, December 6th. It's part of the CBS-8 assistance for the Salvation Army this season.
     Many of the on-air and off-air employees at the station are spending time at the red kettles.
     Come by The Wall-Mart on Ann Street in Montgomery on Tuesday, between Noon and 2:00pm, and say hi! Our weather folks have rain forecast, but I'm pretty sure the kettle is under cover.

When's The Last Time You Paid This "Low" for Gas?

2011-12-04T13:15:00.000-06:00

This is a station on Norman Bridge Road in Montgomery today. According to one web site, it is almost the lowest average price this year. But again, it sure didn't take us long to get used to paying over $2 a gallon, did it!

Obama's Christmas Immigration Lesson

2011-12-03T08:53:00.001-06:00

TIME makes the connection between the President's Christmas remarks and the immigration debate.
Will his comments resonate here in the Bible Belt?

George McGovern

2011-12-03T06:41:00.000-06:00

The 89 year old former Democratic Presidential nominee took a fall near his home in Mitchell, South Dakota, just before an appearance on a CSPAN program Friday.
McGovern was in Montogmery this past week, and spoke at the new Cloverdale Playhouse theater.

Montgomery Christmas Parade

2011-12-02T22:12:00.000-06:00

I'm in good company on a CBS 8/WNCF ABC 32 entry in the Montgomery Christmas parade.

Meteorologist Marcy Novak, myself, and WNCF Reporter Lisa Blackwell, trying to stay warm and getting ready to throw candy to the crowds along the parade route.

For those who didn't realize it, WNCF, WAKA, and WBMM (The CW station in Montgomery) are now corporate siblings and will be in the same building in the Spring.

Immigration Critique

2011-12-02T20:43:00.000-06:00

     When even The Wall Street Journal is writing critical articles about a new state law, is it time to pay at least some attention to the growing discontent?
     The Journal's story today doesn't cover new ground, but tells of the arrests of the Mercedes and Honda employees for failure to produce a drivers license. And it discusses the looming impact on future economic development efforts.
     It also quotes Sen. Gerald Dial, a Lineville Republican who seems to be the only legislator willing to say the law was a mistake and we ought to "fess up."
    Proponents of the law are quick to seize on the small drop in the unemployment rate, saying it was the result of the illegals fleeing, opening up jobs for real Alabamians.
    Law enforcement has not been enthusiastic about the new law, and I found myself wondering if the high-profile arrests were a way for lawmen to illustrate the law's failures.
    When the legislative session begins, there will be a bill introduced to kill the new law completely. That bill probably doesn't have a chance, but at the very least, legislators are sure to change some aspects of it.

Why are 50% of new AIDS cases in The South?

2011-12-02T15:52:00.000-06:00

Here's a CNN report on the subject.

New State Cheer*

2011-12-01T16:20:00.001-06:00

We're 36th!
Go Alabama!
We're 36th!
Yay Mama!

According to the website 247WallStreet.com, Alabama is among the worst run states in the U.S., ranked 36th.

They write:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State debt per capita: $1,738 (7th lowest)

Pct. without health insurance: 14.6% (tied for 24th highest)

Pct. below poverty line: 17.4% (7th highest)

Unemployment: 9.8% (12th highest)

Alabama only has a AA credit rating, but it maintains one of the lowest debts per capita in the country, at just $1,738 per person. Also, foreclosures are near the average. Otherwise, the state performs among the worst in the country in nearly every considered metric. The state has the fifth-lowest median household income in the country, as well as a poverty rate of 17.4% — the seventh-highest in the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I might only add this:

a) Is pct. really an abbreviation for %?

b) I've never heard of the website before now.

And

c) the reason for the low per-capita debt is constitutional. The state charter requires balanced budgets, which is why we keep having to cut education funding mid-year.

Speaking of that, an auto dealer in Montgomery is conducting a paper drive for the area public schools. Bring in reams or boxes of copying paper so the students will have something to write on. As opposed to funding the schools properly in the first place. And let's get those kids out selling candy and magazines and whatever to help make up the difference too. It can be a lesson for them! No public trough for you, little boys and girls! And don;t forget to being your own toilet paper each day!

(*Thanks to Chief Editor Person Jay for locating this ranking.)

Immigration

2011-12-01T12:56:00.000-06:00

The Anniston Star publishes some of the finest written editorials in Alabama.

Many writers consider Alabama a dream assignment, because we always seem to provide ample material to keep editorial writers employed.

The immigration law has been mined repeatedly since it was a bill in the legislature. But the Star's latest effort deserves special praise for the message, and for the crafting of that message.

WIRM

2011-11-30T12:33:00.000-06:00

We all think "Spanish Moss" is romantic.

WIRM: Your tree is being weakened and made more likely to blow down in a storm. It is not a parasite, but it does block the sun and increases wind's potential to damage your tree.

Another favorite is Mistletoe, and it is a true parasite! If you see big clumps in it your trees after the leaves fall off, birds may rejoice for the food source, but it is draining nutrients from the host tree.

[What It Really Means is a new feature on this website. Submissions welcome!]

Such NICE people

2011-11-29T19:01:00.000-06:00

Lessons I learned during a rather cold two hours outside the Winn-Dixie on Carter Hill Rd. this afternoon:

People are TRULY nice. (OK, not fair. I knew that already. But it is nice to have it confirmed.) Website editor Jay came by and we were able to visit for a while, Always nice, even when he corrects my ~~speling~~ spelling.

Sometimes the people who look the least able to contribute to a good cause, do. One lady told me about being given a place to stay by the Salvation Army one year. She's now in the process of buying her own home. Sweet.
One of those knitted "beanie" hats would be a good investment for the season.
People are truly, truly nice.

Thanks to everyone who came by and gave change, dollars and checks. I have no idea what the total was, but at the end of the two hours it was getting difficult to push the cash into the kettle. And that's a good thing!

Bless you.

You Have Been Warned

2011-11-29T18:59:00.001-06:00

This email is the kinda junk people use trying to get folks to give up personal information! I mean, I know some of us are slow, but we're not STUPID!!

==========================================================================================
Dear XXXXX Internet Subscriber,

Due to the incessant rate of Spam we are currently upgrading XXXXXXXwith a hard spam protector, as such all XXXXX Account users must respond to this e-Mail immediately. Failure to comply with the above instruction will immediately render your e-Mail ACCOUNT deactivated from our database.

Enter your email here:

XXXXXXX.net e-Mail Address:

XXXXXXX.net Password:

THE SUPPORT TEAM

XXXXXXXX SUPPORT

=========================================================================================

To decide the above email is authentic, you would have to believe XXXXXX knows the word "incessant"...and that they really CARE about how much span I get through their crappy service.
Both of which are obviously false!

The Red Kettle

2011-11-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

     CBS 8 is working with the Salvation Army the year, with on-air and off employees volunteering to ring the bell and collect funds for the organization.
     Tuesday---tomorrow---, I'll be at the Winn-Dixie on Carter Hill and Country Club in Montgomery from Noon - 2:00pm taking part.
     Won't ya come by and say hi, and drop a coin or two in the kettle?
     Then I'll be over at the Wall-mart on Ann Street on Tuesday, December 6th, same time.
     I'm also going to set up an online kettle here...once I can work my way though the rocket-science computer work necessary to make that happen. (-:

BBC Nature: 'Brinicle' ice finger of death filmed in Antarctic

2011-11-28T10:11:00.000-06:00

Slow-motion photography shows a "Brinicle" forming underwater....and killing everything in its path. The Huffington Post has the background to the BBC video.

MMMM # 176 --- T-M-I.

2011-11-28T01:00:00.001-06:00

    I read---or at least quickly scan---hundreds of news stories some days. I watch dozens of hours of TV news each week. I hear lots of radio news too.
    Yet apparently it is not enough.
    I keep coming across stories that I feel I should know about, but don't.

The major mortgage foreclosure firm that held a Halloween party mocking the homeless! (it has now shut down due to all of the business it lost after the publicity)
A man in his 70's who was looking at stuff in the sporting goods department of a Wall-mart in L.A. about 5:00pm, when a homeless man grabbed an aluminum bat and proceeded to beat him to death.

     Even the relatively casual consumer of news has a flood of information arriving every day. Is it too much? Every now and then I go and cancel some of the email subscriptions I've signed up for. There may be good information in them, but T.M.I. And something has to go.
     Stuff that would never make it into the papers years ago now swirls around the net for half a day, and then is picked up by the papers and TV who can't ignore the noise the stories have generated online.
     Everybody is a publisher, even Tim Lennox! Most of the items I include on this site are much shorter than they used to be. If visitors are going to be here for two minutes or so, I want them to be able to take away as much as possible without having to wade through T.M.I.

The End

[Suggested Reading: a column about media pro-police bias over at The Huffington Post. Instead of being the cynical doubters we should be, too many journalists are siding with The Government, including cops.]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a SHORT regular feature of this website.]

The other shoe

2011-11-27T14:54:00.000-06:00

The AP voters put the Tide in 2nd place behind LSU after their victory over Auburn,so now the wait begins for next weekend's action to see what happens with the team's National Championship hopes.

Will there be a repeat with LSU, and will it include a more successful outcome than the first?

There were crowds buying Alabama victory shirts on Sunday at a Eastdale Mall store in Montgomery, with lines waiting to get in at one point.

Mr. Know It All

2011-11-27T09:11:00.000-06:00

     There are times when I can sound like a know-it-all. Truth is, I do know a little about almost everything, but not a lot about anything. It's those years to talk-radio and hunting for stories. There aren't too many topics someone can bring up that I haven't a) done an interview about, or b) read something about.
      I've done enough medical interviews on diseases of the world that I should hold a medical degree.
     Political issues? Paint me Lennox, Ph.D.
     Just don't go deeper than the first few questions.
     I mention it because of an interview I caught this morning on NPR's Weekend Edition.
     It was about a band, but I kept missing the name. Hotel? Nuro? WTF?
    Google to the rescue. The band was Neutral Milk Hotel.

     Who?
     Never heard of 'em.
     Yet the multi-trionaire author of the Harry Potter series described them as her favorite band! I found they even played a few block away from my Birmingham home in February of 1998.
     After reading some online material, I think I've figured out how I missed their ten-year career. It was like 1990 - 1999..the last years of my own radio career and my first in TV. It was a period in which I moved from Birmingham to Montgomery..blah blah blah.
     In other words, I was too busy rediscovering myself to pay much attention to an Indie band with a weird name.
     This rainy Sunday morning though, I spent time listening to samples of their work, and though I loved some of the lyrics, they probably wouldn't have been one of my favorites, even if I had been paying attention that decade.
     Neural Milk Hotel. At least I now know enough about 'em for that three-question-deep party conversation.

Saturday's critical times: 9:02 AM and 2:30 PM Central

2011-11-25T19:28:00.001-06:00

At 9:02, NASA will launch Curiosity, the most advanced machine yet to be landed on the surface of Mars.
Somehow I can't find much excitement about the mission from the people I've mentioned it to in recent days. Maybe it's a generational thing. They grew up with space as a ho hum kinda average thing, while I date to, well, the start of it all. Anyway I'll be watching the launch in the morning. And I'll be watching eight and a half months from now when she lands.

     As for 2:30 tomorrow afternoon, that's kickoff for the Iron Bowl, a game I always watch.
     This year Alabama's hopes for a National Title are on the line. Auburn would love to get in the way, although they are like a 21 point underdog.
     Oh, and those people who don't care about Curiosity, they'll be all over the game.
     Maybe if we could get NASA to land something on the 40 yard line...
     Different strokes, I guess.

[P.S. When the rocket carrying Curiosity blasts past earth orbit, it may come within shouting distance of the failed Russian Mars probe that is stuck in earth orbit instead of heading towards the Red Planet. It will likely fall back to earth in January.]