Good Morning,
Ditka and Da Shuffle
I hope all of you don't have The Superbowl Shuffle stuck in your head this morning. We played it quite a bit. Keith got a chance to talk to Coach Mike Ditka yesterday. He asked about the video that made the 85 team even more beloved by the Windy City. Check out Keith's interview on 13 RAW. It's funny. Is Ditka cleaning something out of his teeth when Keith is talking to him. This is why I love the man. He really doesn't care what anyone else thinks of him...He's just Da Coach.
It's SO stuck in my head! My brothers and I played that non-stop back in 85. I even got extra credit in gym class for performing a verse in front of everyone!
To the actual News of the Day.
Overnight Arrests
In Great Britain, they've arrested eight people on suspicion of terrorism. The early reports indicate this was a plot to kidnap someone and cut off their head.
Overnight in Iraq we learned of more car bombings, police injured, and the US military announced the deaths of two more US soldiers and a Marine.
On this subject we also brought you the story of Sen. Barack Obama taking The President's challenge: "If you don't like my plan, come up with an alternative". Obama has done just that. Say what you want about the Obama plan and it's merits, at least he is meeting the president to debate actual alternatives instead of just criticizing the Administrations new plans.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is back in the US after a visit to Iraq. She was not pleased at what she saw.
Sunshine Good or Bad:
We've heard both. A new study shows a little Sunshine isn't bad for you and might actually help protect your skin. I fall on the side of common sense. It's not bad to be out in the sunshine. If you're going to be in intense sunshine for time periods longer than say, 20 minutes... protect your skin. It seems pretty simple.
Back court of Joy:
This won't mean much to a lot of you but I got a call last night from my friend Tim Payne. He and his wife just had twin baby boys Tuesday. Both of the boys are healthy as is Mom.
Two funny stories.
First, Tim and Amy already have a beautiful daughter who, a hearing the news she was going to have twin siblings, told her parents, "I'd like a sister, and a puppy." Jilly is apparently warmed up to the idea of twin baby brothers.
Tim was also the best player on our HS basketball team. He says he's now going to be referring to his twin boys as, "the back court". Congrats TP and Amy.
Have a good day and stay warm out there.
I'm running off to start a busy day - haircut, workout with a friend, a school meeting, lots of time playing with the kiddos, AND a special night-time news assignment. I'll let you in on just the topic I'm cooking up for tomorrow - it involves a behind the scenes peek at Phantom of the Opera! The theatre geek in me is loving this assignment ...watch in the morning to see more!
Trish
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Budget Buzz, New Jail, and Do You Want Fries With That?
Good morning!
I'll start with the speech that's going to make the most headlines in Iowa today...and it doesn't come from a presidential candidate...a welcome break.
The Governor will be laying out his budget proposal to a joint session of the legislature. He's going to be asking for funding for a stem cell research facility. He's going to ask for a higher cigarette tax to fund health care costs and he's going to ask for a teacher pay increase.
I am going to stick my head in the lion's mouth on this one and say...I'm skeptical about the teacher pay increase.
Most of you would probably agree, you'd have to be stupid to say teachers don't deserve to make more money...so before you fire off a nasty email to me...let me explain.
I remember when I was in school a lot of people I knew didn't know what they wanted out of a career, or just couldn't make it in their chosen major...many of them turned to teaching.
Should it be that easy? Shouldn't we expect our kid's teachers to go through as much or more training, education and hardship as (for instance)lawyers do to get their license.
Shouldn't we make it hard? Shouldn't certification be a weeding out process with the best teachers in the country setting the standards?
Right now, the best teachers put in the time and effort to be excellent. They go beyond the standards or requirements but they only do it because they're motivated to be excellent for kids, not because the schools make them do it.
Teachers are committed, dedicated, and generally unappreciated bunch. But for a cultural change in the way we look at teachers, it might take a shift in who we allow to teach kids.
Maybe if you started there, the pool of teachers would shrink, and the demand would go up. Theoretically, the pay would need to increase as well to attract the best teachers.
I'd put the teachers I had up against anyone in the nation. Most were incredible people that served as mentors and pushed me to my potential when I wasn't hearing that message from my parents.
Today, the teachers I know are some of the best people in my life. It is a calling, and a public service that is as important as any our society offers. It should never be someone's second choice...
But the burden will fall on teachers to help this process. Unions will have to stop being so protective of all teachers and agree to weed out the ones who just aren't qualified. Teachers know who those people are. I bet if you went into any school the faculty could come up with a consensus list of people that aren't up for the job. Teachers need to help weed out bad teachers.
If that happens there's no reason teachers shouldn't be making six figure salaries.
I remember looking at the salary book for my high school. Some of my teachers were making six figure salaries. My senior year English teacher to be specific. He was incredible.
I know my parents got a headache every time the property tax bill came, but they were happy to pay it, because they were nearly guaranteed that I'd have an excellent teacher. If the state of Iowa is asking us to happily pay for more teachers...we need to ask administrators, teachers and parents to demand that the teachers receiving that salary be excellent.
Just my nickel's worth.
You can disagree, and I know some of you will. I respect the opinions.
Governor Culver will also make his first executive order this morning...It will ask all flags be lowered to half staff today to honor CSM Marilyn Gabbard. We received a few emails upset over the governor's order. I am sure I can't imagine the pain and grief of a family who loses a loved one in combat. I also can only imagine the pride they must feel is more intense that the rest of us who admire, but are emotionally detached from that soldier. So, I can understand that some of them feel it's a slight that the flags weren't lowered for the soldiers who've already been killed. There's only one problem with that line of thinking. This Governor has only been in office a couple of weeks. This is, I believe, his first opportunity to institute this policy. I can't imagine anyone intentionally disrespecting Iowa's soldiers or their family's sacrifice.
Remember that jail we voted to build in Polk County? The way it was sold to voters...the jail was going to save taxpayers money. I'm not sure anyone would argue that it won't at least stop money from going to other counties...or to Missouri to house the hundreds of overflow prisoners Polk County is dealing with every day.
But this week, the County Board of Supervisors is asking some questions of the Sheriff about the new jail. It will be operation by April of 2008. That falls under this year's fiscal budget. But the Sheriff' hasn't put any figures into his budget to reflect staffing or operations at the jail. The Board Members want to know how much it's going to cost to run the jail and how many people it will take to operate it.
Some County officials say the Sheriff's office is throwing out numbers as high as 17 million dollars for staffing costs. That would be significantly higher numbers than the Sheriff was talking about when he asked taxpayers for permission to borrow the money. I asked a couple of county officials if they felt like the rug had been pulled out from under them. "Yes" was the simple response.
Both the Supervisors and the Sheriff are going to answer some questions. Did anyone mislead the voters? Were the numbers miscalculated? Should voters and the Supervisors been asking a lot more questions of the Sheriff? As one county official told me yesterday..."There's enough blame to go around on this one."
Stay tuned.
I had a long day yesterday and still have a lot to do this morning. Hope I've given you something to comment on. I think Trisha is having a hard time logging into the site, so she may just contribute as she did yesterday.
Thanks for reading,
I'll start with the speech that's going to make the most headlines in Iowa today...and it doesn't come from a presidential candidate...a welcome break.
The Governor will be laying out his budget proposal to a joint session of the legislature. He's going to be asking for funding for a stem cell research facility. He's going to ask for a higher cigarette tax to fund health care costs and he's going to ask for a teacher pay increase.
I am going to stick my head in the lion's mouth on this one and say...I'm skeptical about the teacher pay increase.
Most of you would probably agree, you'd have to be stupid to say teachers don't deserve to make more money...so before you fire off a nasty email to me...let me explain.
I remember when I was in school a lot of people I knew didn't know what they wanted out of a career, or just couldn't make it in their chosen major...many of them turned to teaching.
Should it be that easy? Shouldn't we expect our kid's teachers to go through as much or more training, education and hardship as (for instance)lawyers do to get their license.
Shouldn't we make it hard? Shouldn't certification be a weeding out process with the best teachers in the country setting the standards?
Right now, the best teachers put in the time and effort to be excellent. They go beyond the standards or requirements but they only do it because they're motivated to be excellent for kids, not because the schools make them do it.
Teachers are committed, dedicated, and generally unappreciated bunch. But for a cultural change in the way we look at teachers, it might take a shift in who we allow to teach kids.
Maybe if you started there, the pool of teachers would shrink, and the demand would go up. Theoretically, the pay would need to increase as well to attract the best teachers.
I'd put the teachers I had up against anyone in the nation. Most were incredible people that served as mentors and pushed me to my potential when I wasn't hearing that message from my parents.
Today, the teachers I know are some of the best people in my life. It is a calling, and a public service that is as important as any our society offers. It should never be someone's second choice...
But the burden will fall on teachers to help this process. Unions will have to stop being so protective of all teachers and agree to weed out the ones who just aren't qualified. Teachers know who those people are. I bet if you went into any school the faculty could come up with a consensus list of people that aren't up for the job. Teachers need to help weed out bad teachers.
If that happens there's no reason teachers shouldn't be making six figure salaries.
I remember looking at the salary book for my high school. Some of my teachers were making six figure salaries. My senior year English teacher to be specific. He was incredible.
I know my parents got a headache every time the property tax bill came, but they were happy to pay it, because they were nearly guaranteed that I'd have an excellent teacher. If the state of Iowa is asking us to happily pay for more teachers...we need to ask administrators, teachers and parents to demand that the teachers receiving that salary be excellent.
Just my nickel's worth.
You can disagree, and I know some of you will. I respect the opinions.
Governor Culver will also make his first executive order this morning...It will ask all flags be lowered to half staff today to honor CSM Marilyn Gabbard. We received a few emails upset over the governor's order. I am sure I can't imagine the pain and grief of a family who loses a loved one in combat. I also can only imagine the pride they must feel is more intense that the rest of us who admire, but are emotionally detached from that soldier. So, I can understand that some of them feel it's a slight that the flags weren't lowered for the soldiers who've already been killed. There's only one problem with that line of thinking. This Governor has only been in office a couple of weeks. This is, I believe, his first opportunity to institute this policy. I can't imagine anyone intentionally disrespecting Iowa's soldiers or their family's sacrifice.
Remember that jail we voted to build in Polk County? The way it was sold to voters...the jail was going to save taxpayers money. I'm not sure anyone would argue that it won't at least stop money from going to other counties...or to Missouri to house the hundreds of overflow prisoners Polk County is dealing with every day.
But this week, the County Board of Supervisors is asking some questions of the Sheriff about the new jail. It will be operation by April of 2008. That falls under this year's fiscal budget. But the Sheriff' hasn't put any figures into his budget to reflect staffing or operations at the jail. The Board Members want to know how much it's going to cost to run the jail and how many people it will take to operate it.
Some County officials say the Sheriff's office is throwing out numbers as high as 17 million dollars for staffing costs. That would be significantly higher numbers than the Sheriff was talking about when he asked taxpayers for permission to borrow the money. I asked a couple of county officials if they felt like the rug had been pulled out from under them. "Yes" was the simple response.
Both the Supervisors and the Sheriff are going to answer some questions. Did anyone mislead the voters? Were the numbers miscalculated? Should voters and the Supervisors been asking a lot more questions of the Sheriff? As one county official told me yesterday..."There's enough blame to go around on this one."
Stay tuned.
I had a long day yesterday and still have a lot to do this morning. Hope I've given you something to comment on. I think Trisha is having a hard time logging into the site, so she may just contribute as she did yesterday.
Thanks for reading,
PWD
Finally, I'm back in! Gotta love computers.
I have to comment on the nasty WIND that's blowing today! I am officially sick of winter. And especially sick of tracking down the kids' hats, boots, and mittens which always seem to vanish when we're trying to get out the door.
I have a lot to get done today, but quickly here are some photos from the weekend that I promised to share. Ian and I took the kids to Dubuque, where we met up with my parents for a weekend at an indoor water park. (Grand Harbor Resort) Calvin and Clara had a great time.
The waterslide contraption is a kids' paradise but an adult torture device. You have to climb up ropes and through tunnels with kids shooting water at you from every direction, just to get to the top 
of the slides. And every five minutes a bucket the size of a school bus dumps down from above and practically drowns you. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. Ian was actually sore from so many rounds with Calvin up and down the slides!
of the slides. And every five minutes a bucket the size of a school bus dumps down from above and practically drowns you. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. Ian was actually sore from so many rounds with Calvin up and down the slides!
Clara spent most of her time in the baby pool climbing up the steps to the baby slide all by herself and laughing hysterically as she splashed into the water! Here we were going down the lazy river in a raft. That's the only swimsuit picture I care to share, especially in all my mid-winter pale glory!Grandma and Grandpa spoiled Ian and I too. (My parents rule, for the record.) They took the kids overnight Saturday, and sent Ian and I out on t
he town with my brother Kevin and his wife Kim! We ate at one of those Japanese restaurants where they 
torch the table right in front of you. The cook was a true artist - but the company was the best part. Oh - and sleeping in until 10am. Unbelievable.
he town with my brother Kevin and his wife Kim! We ate at one of those Japanese restaurants where they 
torch the table right in front of you. The cook was a true artist - but the company was the best part. Oh - and sleeping in until 10am. Unbelievable.It felt really good to have a mini "getaway" - even if we didn't leave Iowa!
Cal wants to go back already.
Stay warm, everyone!
Trisha
Monday, January 29, 2007
No smoking, Hillarypalooza and Deep Freeze
Good morning,
I'm going to be brief because I'm going out on a story.
The Great Iowa Smoke Out
The idea of a smoking ban in all public places has been thrown around in cities all over the state. The legislature is talking about a much more sweeping ban. Interesting, my wife's uncle is a restaurant owner in Chicago and led the push for a ban in restaurants there. I've always heard people argue that they should be able to do what they want, and generally I agree with that. I think a lot of us would, right up to the point that it hurts someone else. If you want to smoke. It's your choice.
The point made by proponents of the smoking ban is that you are hurting other people by smoking in an enclosed place. A non-smoking section, they'll tell you, doesn't cover the risk to others because in a bar, for instance, you still have to have servers in those areas. What if they don't smoke? Second hand smoke is a health risk for non-smokers too. That's the argument lawmakers are going to use to try and push this thing through.
Hillarypalooza
I wasn't here this weekend so I didn't see a lot of our coverage, but I watched CSPAN replay the East High rally last night. Candidate Clinton's camp is saying mission accomplished in Des Moines and the rest of Iowa this week. She made a big splash, she met a lot of people, and she's shown she can draw big numbers to an event. The catch to this was pointed out by WNBC(New York) reporter Jay DeDapper. He asked people when they were leaving the rally have you ever gone to a Caucus before? He said 90 percent of them said no.
Ask Howard Dean how that went last time...big excitement, national headlines, rally's with throngs of young voters...Third place in the Caucuses. This time may be different, but the point is(and I don't think it's lost on the candidate), you have to get people to commit to caucus for you...not just commit to support you.
Big week at the Golden Dome
The Gov releases his budget this week. Should be interesting to see the reaction from members of his own party. Governor Culver says no surprises, but we'll see.
Finally for me We had a great weekend in Chicago. My parents treated us to a wonderful dinner
to celebrate their 40th anniversary (see friday's post). Here's a 
few pics of the family, and the food. I had Loin of Lamb with a really tasty brazed lamb shank sauce over it. Sally and my sister split the Prime Rib. I've also never had a souffle. It was pretty good.
I'm going to be brief because I'm going out on a story.
The Great Iowa Smoke Out
The idea of a smoking ban in all public places has been thrown around in cities all over the state. The legislature is talking about a much more sweeping ban. Interesting, my wife's uncle is a restaurant owner in Chicago and led the push for a ban in restaurants there. I've always heard people argue that they should be able to do what they want, and generally I agree with that. I think a lot of us would, right up to the point that it hurts someone else. If you want to smoke. It's your choice.
The point made by proponents of the smoking ban is that you are hurting other people by smoking in an enclosed place. A non-smoking section, they'll tell you, doesn't cover the risk to others because in a bar, for instance, you still have to have servers in those areas. What if they don't smoke? Second hand smoke is a health risk for non-smokers too. That's the argument lawmakers are going to use to try and push this thing through.
Hillarypalooza
I wasn't here this weekend so I didn't see a lot of our coverage, but I watched CSPAN replay the East High rally last night. Candidate Clinton's camp is saying mission accomplished in Des Moines and the rest of Iowa this week. She made a big splash, she met a lot of people, and she's shown she can draw big numbers to an event. The catch to this was pointed out by WNBC(New York) reporter Jay DeDapper. He asked people when they were leaving the rally have you ever gone to a Caucus before? He said 90 percent of them said no.
Ask Howard Dean how that went last time...big excitement, national headlines, rally's with throngs of young voters...Third place in the Caucuses. This time may be different, but the point is(and I don't think it's lost on the candidate), you have to get people to commit to caucus for you...not just commit to support you.
Big week at the Golden Dome
The Gov releases his budget this week. Should be interesting to see the reaction from members of his own party. Governor Culver says no surprises, but we'll see.
Finally for me We had a great weekend in Chicago. My parents treated us to a wonderful dinner
to celebrate their 40th anniversary (see friday's post). Here's a 
few pics of the family, and the food. I had Loin of Lamb with a really tasty brazed lamb shank sauce over it. Sally and my sister split the Prime Rib. I've also never had a souffle. It was pretty good.We stopped for out Bears jersey's. The whole city is Bears crazy. People are sitting out in the cold selling Bears t-shirts and stuff on every corner. It's kinda crazy.
Sally was as good as her word. I'll bring it my new jersey in Friday to wear on the air. Go Bears!
Sally was as good as her word. I'll bring it my new jersey in Friday to wear on the air. Go Bears!
PWD
Friday, January 26, 2007
Afghanistan, Hillary to Iowa, and caffeine During Pregnancy
Good morning,
It's about 5:18 and as evidence of Trisha's post yesterday, Jeriann just asked for a cookie. Liz's mom bakes us cookies sometimes. They're AWESOME! So I wonder if Liz got any of her mom's baking skills? If so her husband to be is going to be a very happy guy.
5:45: Maytag is looking for a new repairman and I had a flash of brilliance this morning. BRAD! It's going to be an open casting call...and since the Maytag repairman never has anything to do...We can still keep him as our traffic guy.
It's Trisha - I agree, Brad would be a good repairman! I also think my dad should try out for the role. He can fix absolutely anything, even if his only tools available are a gum wrapper, duct tape, and a paperclip. But if Dad were the bored Maytag guy with no appliances to fix, I'm worried he'd start tearing apart toasters, radios, vaccuum cleaners, anything he could find - just to have something to work on!
5:50: Coffee and caffeine is the subject for mom's to be this morning. A new study out of Europe says pregnant women don't need to go cold turkey on their morning coffee or diet coke. This as Trisha knocked over my coffee and spilled on the little table behind the desk. You never see it but I'm amazed this doesn't happen more often. I'll go get some more after the news at the top of the hour.
I can't believe this hasn't happened sooner! I dumped Pat's whole coffee cup off our little hidden table, seconds before we were on camera starting the 6am news block. Oops.
I'm notorious for spilling - not just little spills, but big, dramatic, hilarious ones. Like spilling an entire pot of soup onto the floor, dropping a bottle of wine in front of the exit door of the grocery store during their after-work rush, and the worst incident that my husband will never let me live down... I spilled the wax from a big candle I was blowing out onto Ian's head. While he was sleeping. It took forever to pick all the wax out of his scalp.
I know I have a problem. I doubt I will ever overcome it though. TS
6:00: anyone see the flash frame of the McDonald's logo in Iron Chef America? What do you think...Subliminal marketing or simple mistake. Apparently it's on YouTube.
6:23: A school in Rhode Island is making kids stay quiet during LUNCH. The school says it's because of a couple of "choking incidents". I guess the school administration thinks it can hear the kids a little better if everyone is quiet.
Ok I understand that you have to be concerned about kids...but how about the lunch monitors
just watch the kids while they eat. I can't imagine a scene, especially at a private(and presumably smaller) school where a choking kids wouldn't be pretty obvious.
One question - how are kids supposed to learn social skills if they're never allowed to talk to each other? Silly and short-sighted policy.TS
6:30: We're in the home stretch...
Speaking of Home...My parents celebrated their 40th Wedding anniversary this year. We're headed to Chicago to celebrate with them.
I say this because my parent's marriage is something I am intensely proud of(if a kid can be proud of his parents).
I appreciate it more and more, each year I am married. I say that because along with the obvious happiness I saw in my parents marriage over the years, the most important lesson it taught me was how hard it is to be married.
They didn't fight, but I never got the sense that they were coasting through their life together. It was important for me to see my parents make time for each other, to back each other up and to challenge each other. The conclusion I was left with, If I'm going to be married it's not going to be all wine and roses.
I learned to appreciate this when I got married. Sally and I had known each other for 13 years. We quickly found out that if our marriage was going to be successful, there was a lot we still had to learn about one another. We had to work at it.
Knowing that there was a reward for that hard work was a gift my parents passed on to me. I knew even if it got hard, the pay-off would come down to road.
I also found myself immitating a habbit I saw in my parents as a kid. Every night ehen my Dad came home it was always straight to my mom for a hello, a quick kiss and a hug. It left me with the secure feeling that they were always first in each other's lives. It also stuck. I try to do the same with Sally when she comes home every night.
I hope they both feel like this celebration is acknowledgment of all the life wisdom they've passed on, and reward for all their hard work.
We're headed downtown for a fancy dinner and some family time. I'll try to get some pictures and post them Monday. That's if I can remember the camera.
Have a good weekend all,
PWD
My parents also have friends who share the same values in their marriages. It was noticeable reinforcement.
7:44 UPDATE: I just interviewed former Wisconsin Gov Tommy Thompson. He's going to do some radio talk shows today, have lunch with Governor Ray and then He'll be at the Iowa/Wisconsin game Sunday. Just wanted to let you know if you'd like to see/hear more from him. Retail politics...it's our trademark here in Iowa...so get involved. I'd say the campaign
season is fully kicked off....
I was excited to meet Thompson! I'm a former cheesehead (went to college in WI) so I remember him as the motorcycle riding governor. Thompson told me he's in the motorcycle hall of fame at Sturgis - that's kind of cool! TS
The Shepherds are getting ready for an exciting weekend too... I'll bring back the scoop Monday!
Yesterday I got Cal a new microphone for his rock-band obsession. He does all the hand gestures, jumps around - it's like watching American Idol. The only problem was it's a
crappy mic that runs through an FM radio, and trying to get a frequency that worked was IMPOSSIBLE! I think we might be back to the good old fashioned Mr. Microphone next time. 
I let Clara pick out a toy at the store too - I'm not trying to steer her toward "girl" toys, but that's the first thing she got excited about - "baby dollies!" She got a couple of fake bottles to feed her dolls. (Here she is feeding the doll Calvin named "Drippy." )
Now that Clara is off the bottle and onto sippy cups, getting to pretend she's still drinking from a baby bottle is about the most exciting thing ever. Must be fun to be 1.
8:53am
I have one more traffic-news update to do then I'm off to plan some stuff for the news next week!
See ya'll Monday!
It's about 5:18 and as evidence of Trisha's post yesterday, Jeriann just asked for a cookie. Liz's mom bakes us cookies sometimes. They're AWESOME! So I wonder if Liz got any of her mom's baking skills? If so her husband to be is going to be a very happy guy.
5:45: Maytag is looking for a new repairman and I had a flash of brilliance this morning. BRAD! It's going to be an open casting call...and since the Maytag repairman never has anything to do...We can still keep him as our traffic guy.
It's Trisha - I agree, Brad would be a good repairman! I also think my dad should try out for the role. He can fix absolutely anything, even if his only tools available are a gum wrapper, duct tape, and a paperclip. But if Dad were the bored Maytag guy with no appliances to fix, I'm worried he'd start tearing apart toasters, radios, vaccuum cleaners, anything he could find - just to have something to work on!
5:50: Coffee and caffeine is the subject for mom's to be this morning. A new study out of Europe says pregnant women don't need to go cold turkey on their morning coffee or diet coke. This as Trisha knocked over my coffee and spilled on the little table behind the desk. You never see it but I'm amazed this doesn't happen more often. I'll go get some more after the news at the top of the hour.
I can't believe this hasn't happened sooner! I dumped Pat's whole coffee cup off our little hidden table, seconds before we were on camera starting the 6am news block. Oops.
I'm notorious for spilling - not just little spills, but big, dramatic, hilarious ones. Like spilling an entire pot of soup onto the floor, dropping a bottle of wine in front of the exit door of the grocery store during their after-work rush, and the worst incident that my husband will never let me live down... I spilled the wax from a big candle I was blowing out onto Ian's head. While he was sleeping. It took forever to pick all the wax out of his scalp.
I know I have a problem. I doubt I will ever overcome it though. TS
6:00: anyone see the flash frame of the McDonald's logo in Iron Chef America? What do you think...Subliminal marketing or simple mistake. Apparently it's on YouTube.
6:23: A school in Rhode Island is making kids stay quiet during LUNCH. The school says it's because of a couple of "choking incidents". I guess the school administration thinks it can hear the kids a little better if everyone is quiet.
Ok I understand that you have to be concerned about kids...but how about the lunch monitors
just watch the kids while they eat. I can't imagine a scene, especially at a private(and presumably smaller) school where a choking kids wouldn't be pretty obvious.
One question - how are kids supposed to learn social skills if they're never allowed to talk to each other? Silly and short-sighted policy.TS
6:30: We're in the home stretch...
Speaking of Home...My parents celebrated their 40th Wedding anniversary this year. We're headed to Chicago to celebrate with them.
I say this because my parent's marriage is something I am intensely proud of(if a kid can be proud of his parents).
I appreciate it more and more, each year I am married. I say that because along with the obvious happiness I saw in my parents marriage over the years, the most important lesson it taught me was how hard it is to be married.
They didn't fight, but I never got the sense that they were coasting through their life together. It was important for me to see my parents make time for each other, to back each other up and to challenge each other. The conclusion I was left with, If I'm going to be married it's not going to be all wine and roses.
I learned to appreciate this when I got married. Sally and I had known each other for 13 years. We quickly found out that if our marriage was going to be successful, there was a lot we still had to learn about one another. We had to work at it.
Knowing that there was a reward for that hard work was a gift my parents passed on to me. I knew even if it got hard, the pay-off would come down to road.
I also found myself immitating a habbit I saw in my parents as a kid. Every night ehen my Dad came home it was always straight to my mom for a hello, a quick kiss and a hug. It left me with the secure feeling that they were always first in each other's lives. It also stuck. I try to do the same with Sally when she comes home every night.
I hope they both feel like this celebration is acknowledgment of all the life wisdom they've passed on, and reward for all their hard work.
We're headed downtown for a fancy dinner and some family time. I'll try to get some pictures and post them Monday. That's if I can remember the camera.
Have a good weekend all,
PWD
My parents also have friends who share the same values in their marriages. It was noticeable reinforcement.
7:44 UPDATE: I just interviewed former Wisconsin Gov Tommy Thompson. He's going to do some radio talk shows today, have lunch with Governor Ray and then He'll be at the Iowa/Wisconsin game Sunday. Just wanted to let you know if you'd like to see/hear more from him. Retail politics...it's our trademark here in Iowa...so get involved. I'd say the campaign
season is fully kicked off....I was excited to meet Thompson! I'm a former cheesehead (went to college in WI) so I remember him as the motorcycle riding governor. Thompson told me he's in the motorcycle hall of fame at Sturgis - that's kind of cool! TS
The Shepherds are getting ready for an exciting weekend too... I'll bring back the scoop Monday!
Yesterday I got Cal a new microphone for his rock-band obsession. He does all the hand gestures, jumps around - it's like watching American Idol. The only problem was it's a
crappy mic that runs through an FM radio, and trying to get a frequency that worked was IMPOSSIBLE! I think we might be back to the good old fashioned Mr. Microphone next time. 
I let Clara pick out a toy at the store too - I'm not trying to steer her toward "girl" toys, but that's the first thing she got excited about - "baby dollies!" She got a couple of fake bottles to feed her dolls. (Here she is feeding the doll Calvin named "Drippy." )
Now that Clara is off the bottle and onto sippy cups, getting to pretend she's still drinking from a baby bottle is about the most exciting thing ever. Must be fun to be 1.
8:53am
I have one more traffic-news update to do then I'm off to plan some stuff for the news next week!
See ya'll Monday!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
CIETC in Court, Minimum Wage, and Ads on your belly
Good morning...
It's 6:15am before I could get to this...It's the first time I generally get a break.
So, with a third cup of coffee in me..I'm ready to Blog!
By the way, comments questions and concerns are always welcome. I hope the discussion about the tone of the comments hasn't stopped anyone from blogging with us. We're open to most anything...just keep it clean and civil.
CIETC...
It's back in the news, and as far as we know this morning, some of the key players will be in court to answer the charges against them...they're facing more than 70 counts of fraud, and obstruction.
Minimum Wage
The minimum wage gets a boost this afternoon when the Governor signs a bill passed by the Iowa Senate late last night. I'll be interested to see how this effects the business community. I guess I'm much more on board with the concept of a "living wage" rather than minimum wage. I know you have to have some base, but I think employers should think a little harder about who they hire, and then invest more in that employee. If you have somebody working for you that isn't making enough money to pay the bills, feed their kids etc, isn't their life much more unstable? I'm not suggesting you should get a higher salary just because you have kids, but there's a mutually beneficial relationship to making sure employees are secure in their job and their finances. I know that's simplistic, and that there are other considerations...but I think that kind of argument should enter more into this discussion...What do you think?
Tax Break
You get an extra day on your taxes this year. The 15th of April is a Sunday, so you'd at least get until Monday to have your taxes dated, but this year Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington DC on the 16th. No one is going to be in offices that day so we all get one more to turn in taxes.
Vote Early and Often
Our Nashville Star is on USA tonight as Joshua Stevens tried to stay alive in the elimination contest. He's from Churchville Iowa, and he needs your votes. The show airs at 8pm on USA.
I heard him sing and he's good! Check him out! TS
Superfan
Did you hear about this woman in Chicago trying to sell her stomach for Bears Tix to the Superbowl? We've seen this act before, but I thought Trish might not like this one. She was
fired up last week when a Chicago woman induced labor so her husband wouldn't miss the Bears NFC Championship game.
Now, we both grew up there, but I get the sense that I was closer to the "crazy fan" side of town.
Bears games were, as I remember them, family affairs on Sunday. And my family is in fact...Crazy.
We are the people Andy Fales described on Soundoff. We're hard to watch a game with.
My Mom shrieking at every close play, any one of us complaining loudly that the refs are bums, or my Dad just giving his patented left hand wave to the TV when he's just disgusted.
By the way, we're the same way in live sporting events. My family, especially my mother's side of the family, has been asked to either behave, or leave several High School sporting events in the Chicagoland area.
My Dad was part of this gang of fathers that would all sit together at our basketball, baseball, or football games in High school.
They were an intimidating bunch, yelling... "Ducks on the pond...Let's get em home" or, D up now 3-4( no one was ever called by their real name...it was always a number or a nickname, including Dixie, TP, Bu, Goonie, Spanky and Bubs).
Some of those parents became friends outside of their common interest in their kids' sports. In fact, my Dad still golfs every Saturday in the summer with two of the guys.
What's the point of this crazy tangent? I'm not sure except to say I think Trish looks at me a little crazy when I talk about being this passionate about a game. I come by it honestly.
Sounds pretty over-the-top! My family only gets that nuts for Cubs games. And I think they're more "enthusiastic" than totally nuts.
About the woman who had labor induced - I did get pretty fired up about that - I think inducing for any reason other than your health is pretty ridiculous! There's nothing more important - a sports game, a business trip, a family member coming to visit - nothing is more important at that point than giving that mom and baby the best chance for a problem-free delivery. And inducing labor is not as simple as it sounds! There are so many complications that can arise, I say, save that option for when it's really medically necessary! Just my opinion, and admittedly I'm in favor of taking the most natural approach to birth that's possible - that's what worked best for me and a lot of moms I know. I think messing with mother nature for the sake of your physical comfort or the baby's health is one thing, but for the sake of a football game just strikes me as incredibly silly and, dare I say, reckless.TS
I Write the Songs...and Reason 634 that Pat is an old man:
Sally came home and announced she and one of our friends had hatched a plan to go to Vegas to see Barry Manilow in Concert. Her husband and I are invited as well.
Now before all of you start bagging on Barry...Admit it...you know the songs...you could even throw out a few of the words if you had to. I think it'd be fun. Plus, you don't have to ask me twice to go to Vegas.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
We didn't win the Powerball this morning...and when I say we...I mean the collective we in Iowa. Somebody in Missouri is holding the winning ticket. I forgot to get tickets on the way home from the gym last night. There was a serious debate about going out and getting some after we were already ready for bed. Turns out 250 million bucks isn't enough motivation when you have to get up in five hours.
I'm gearing up for tomorrow's blog which has to be both eloquent and quick.
My parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend, so we're headed to Chicago. I've been thinking a lot about what their marriage has meant to me...I'll try to put that into words tomorrow...
Anyway...Sorry about the lack of comments yesterday...Just didn't have anything.
PWD
Trisha again.
I just read someone's comment saying they want more about Jeriann.
She never knows what to say on the blog, so here's what I can tell you about her.
She never seems tired or grumpy even when I know she must be.
She LOVES to forecast weather and gets really fired up about storms.
She admires Oprah. Enough to start eating yogurt, even though Jeriann doesn't really like it, just because she found out the brand Queen Oprah recommends!
And she LOVES talking about, thinking about, and most of all eating food.
Seriously, any time someone MENTIONS food, Jeriann's ears perk up. A cheeseburger commercial comes on and she starts to drool.
She routinely tries to persuade our morning photographers to make donut runs while we're stuck on the news desk during the Today show.
We all marvel at the fact that someone so tiny and petite has such an appetite. I think it's all the running she does... and all the energy she must use up just being her cheery self.
Jeriann talks about and thinks about FOOD more than anyone I know
except my daughter, Clara. We've nicknamed her "Piglet."
Here she is last night with her mouth STUFFED full of cornbread when we went to eat at the Flying Mango in Beaverdale. (Great little place! Good Caribbean food, really cool ambience and kid-friendly especially since we went nice and early.) It should have been date night for Ian and I, but we couldn't get a sitter, so it was a family date instead.
Anyway, little Clara has no "off" switch when it comes to hunger. If you want to get her attention, all you do is say, "Clara, want a snack? Something to eat?"
Somehow she burns it off though...at this age they never stop moving! Ian's Canadian brother, Scott, thinks we should stop calling her Piglet when she gets old enough to be sensitive about that sort of thing. Since he and his family all speak French as well as English, he suggests "Cuchon" instead (little piggy, I think.) That sounds kind of cute - but I think she'd catch on!
I wanted Cal to get a picture taken with me at the restaurant, but he would only pose if he got to make a "mean face." So here we are looking as mean as we could.
Calvin was most impressed by a weird old mannequin in the front of the restaurant who was missing a bunch of fingers. (I sense a throwback to the zombie phase) He named her Mrs. Pencil because the waitstaff had stuck a pencil where one of the fingers used to be. We made up stories about what happened to the missing digits (an alligator bite, an elevator door, she got hungry and ate them, etc.)
Good times, deep conversation.
Back to work for me -
See ya tomorrow!
Trish
It's 6:15am before I could get to this...It's the first time I generally get a break.
So, with a third cup of coffee in me..I'm ready to Blog!
By the way, comments questions and concerns are always welcome. I hope the discussion about the tone of the comments hasn't stopped anyone from blogging with us. We're open to most anything...just keep it clean and civil.
CIETC...
It's back in the news, and as far as we know this morning, some of the key players will be in court to answer the charges against them...they're facing more than 70 counts of fraud, and obstruction.
Minimum Wage
The minimum wage gets a boost this afternoon when the Governor signs a bill passed by the Iowa Senate late last night. I'll be interested to see how this effects the business community. I guess I'm much more on board with the concept of a "living wage" rather than minimum wage. I know you have to have some base, but I think employers should think a little harder about who they hire, and then invest more in that employee. If you have somebody working for you that isn't making enough money to pay the bills, feed their kids etc, isn't their life much more unstable? I'm not suggesting you should get a higher salary just because you have kids, but there's a mutually beneficial relationship to making sure employees are secure in their job and their finances. I know that's simplistic, and that there are other considerations...but I think that kind of argument should enter more into this discussion...What do you think?Tax Break
You get an extra day on your taxes this year. The 15th of April is a Sunday, so you'd at least get until Monday to have your taxes dated, but this year Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington DC on the 16th. No one is going to be in offices that day so we all get one more to turn in taxes.
Vote Early and Often
Our Nashville Star is on USA tonight as Joshua Stevens tried to stay alive in the elimination contest. He's from Churchville Iowa, and he needs your votes. The show airs at 8pm on USA.
I heard him sing and he's good! Check him out! TS
Superfan
Did you hear about this woman in Chicago trying to sell her stomach for Bears Tix to the Superbowl? We've seen this act before, but I thought Trish might not like this one. She was
fired up last week when a Chicago woman induced labor so her husband wouldn't miss the Bears NFC Championship game.Now, we both grew up there, but I get the sense that I was closer to the "crazy fan" side of town.
Bears games were, as I remember them, family affairs on Sunday. And my family is in fact...Crazy.
We are the people Andy Fales described on Soundoff. We're hard to watch a game with.
My Mom shrieking at every close play, any one of us complaining loudly that the refs are bums, or my Dad just giving his patented left hand wave to the TV when he's just disgusted.
By the way, we're the same way in live sporting events. My family, especially my mother's side of the family, has been asked to either behave, or leave several High School sporting events in the Chicagoland area.
My Dad was part of this gang of fathers that would all sit together at our basketball, baseball, or football games in High school.
They were an intimidating bunch, yelling... "Ducks on the pond...Let's get em home" or, D up now 3-4( no one was ever called by their real name...it was always a number or a nickname, including Dixie, TP, Bu, Goonie, Spanky and Bubs).
Some of those parents became friends outside of their common interest in their kids' sports. In fact, my Dad still golfs every Saturday in the summer with two of the guys.
What's the point of this crazy tangent? I'm not sure except to say I think Trish looks at me a little crazy when I talk about being this passionate about a game. I come by it honestly.
Sounds pretty over-the-top! My family only gets that nuts for Cubs games. And I think they're more "enthusiastic" than totally nuts.
About the woman who had labor induced - I did get pretty fired up about that - I think inducing for any reason other than your health is pretty ridiculous! There's nothing more important - a sports game, a business trip, a family member coming to visit - nothing is more important at that point than giving that mom and baby the best chance for a problem-free delivery. And inducing labor is not as simple as it sounds! There are so many complications that can arise, I say, save that option for when it's really medically necessary! Just my opinion, and admittedly I'm in favor of taking the most natural approach to birth that's possible - that's what worked best for me and a lot of moms I know. I think messing with mother nature for the sake of your physical comfort or the baby's health is one thing, but for the sake of a football game just strikes me as incredibly silly and, dare I say, reckless.TS
I Write the Songs...and Reason 634 that Pat is an old man:
Sally came home and announced she and one of our friends had hatched a plan to go to Vegas to see Barry Manilow in Concert. Her husband and I are invited as well.
Now before all of you start bagging on Barry...Admit it...you know the songs...you could even throw out a few of the words if you had to. I think it'd be fun. Plus, you don't have to ask me twice to go to Vegas.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
We didn't win the Powerball this morning...and when I say we...I mean the collective we in Iowa. Somebody in Missouri is holding the winning ticket. I forgot to get tickets on the way home from the gym last night. There was a serious debate about going out and getting some after we were already ready for bed. Turns out 250 million bucks isn't enough motivation when you have to get up in five hours.
I'm gearing up for tomorrow's blog which has to be both eloquent and quick.
My parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend, so we're headed to Chicago. I've been thinking a lot about what their marriage has meant to me...I'll try to put that into words tomorrow...
Anyway...Sorry about the lack of comments yesterday...Just didn't have anything.
PWD
Trisha again.
I just read someone's comment saying they want more about Jeriann.
She never knows what to say on the blog, so here's what I can tell you about her.
She never seems tired or grumpy even when I know she must be.
She LOVES to forecast weather and gets really fired up about storms.
She admires Oprah. Enough to start eating yogurt, even though Jeriann doesn't really like it, just because she found out the brand Queen Oprah recommends!
And she LOVES talking about, thinking about, and most of all eating food.
Seriously, any time someone MENTIONS food, Jeriann's ears perk up. A cheeseburger commercial comes on and she starts to drool.
She routinely tries to persuade our morning photographers to make donut runs while we're stuck on the news desk during the Today show.
We all marvel at the fact that someone so tiny and petite has such an appetite. I think it's all the running she does... and all the energy she must use up just being her cheery self.
Jeriann talks about and thinks about FOOD more than anyone I know
except my daughter, Clara. We've nicknamed her "Piglet." Here she is last night with her mouth STUFFED full of cornbread when we went to eat at the Flying Mango in Beaverdale. (Great little place! Good Caribbean food, really cool ambience and kid-friendly especially since we went nice and early.) It should have been date night for Ian and I, but we couldn't get a sitter, so it was a family date instead.
Anyway, little Clara has no "off" switch when it comes to hunger. If you want to get her attention, all you do is say, "Clara, want a snack? Something to eat?"
Somehow she burns it off though...at this age they never stop moving! Ian's Canadian brother, Scott, thinks we should stop calling her Piglet when she gets old enough to be sensitive about that sort of thing. Since he and his family all speak French as well as English, he suggests "Cuchon" instead (little piggy, I think.) That sounds kind of cute - but I think she'd catch on!
I wanted Cal to get a picture taken with me at the restaurant, but he would only pose if he got to make a "mean face." So here we are looking as mean as we could. Calvin was most impressed by a weird old mannequin in the front of the restaurant who was missing a bunch of fingers. (I sense a throwback to the zombie phase) He named her Mrs. Pencil because the waitstaff had stuck a pencil where one of the fingers used to be. We made up stories about what happened to the missing digits (an alligator bite, an elevator door, she got hungry and ate them, etc.)
Good times, deep conversation.
Back to work for me -
See ya tomorrow!
Trish
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Bush anchors - Quick blog day!
Morning, everyone!
It's 9:56 am and it's Trisha here.
Pat and Liz handled the show this morning so I could spend the day on assignment! I have a couple minutes free right now between my next shoot and Pat is crazy busy with an assignment of his own, so being the caring, considerate, and eager-to-help colleague I am, I told him to sit back while I got a little bit of blogging done for today!
Today..... in......Iowa
I missed a good technical glitch this morning - it seems the intro to our newscast kept getting stuck somehow - so you may have noticed some very unnatural pauses in the opening.
Pat says Liz didn't miss a beat. When the camera opened up to the two of them he said "Good morning, I'm Patrick Dix. " She said, "And I'm Elizabeth............... Klinge." Gotta be able to laugh at yourself - I think the really obvious glitches on the air usually seem worse when we try to pretend they didn't happen! Acknowledge with an apologetic smile, and then move on... that's the way to go.
State of the Union
Okay - be honest, how many of you watched beginning to end, even the Democratic response afterwards? What did you think? I caught almost all of it - my favorite part is usually watching who applauds and stands for what issues, and who sits on their hands. It was really interesting watching Pelosi's reactions over the President's shoulder. I felt he had a strong performance, but there was obvious tension with the other party now in power, and many Republicans in obvious disagreement with him over some of the major issues (Iraq and immigration, most notably.)
Iowa Sens. love ethanol talk!
In case you missed this part of the speech, Sen. Chuck Grassley nearly lept up to the ceiling when the President talked up a push for more ethanol! Afterwards, I saw Sen. Tom Harkin also have a 5 second handshake exchange with the president, and that was the one thing he mentioned as well. Today our news team will be doing more follow up on how Iowa could be affected by a nationwide increase in ethanol production and demand.
Polk City Soldier Death
Our news team brought the sad news that a reserve soldier from Polk City was among the troops killed Saturday in Iraq in the Black Hawk helicopter that went down. The soldier's name was Cmd. Sgt. Major Marilyn Gabbard. She's the second Iowa woman to die in Iraq. She leaves behind a husband and reportedly a stepdaughter. We expect to learn more official news from the National Guard today.
Can't beat em, join em!
The snow's not going anywhere, so this is the time of year when you have to either go somewhere warmer,become a terrible whiner, or just embrace the "winter wonderland".
Here's an awesome Iowa winter moment: Tuesdays are my day to read with kids at Calvin's preschool. When I showed up at 2pm, the clasroom was empty. All the coats and boots were missing too.
I looked out the window and found the kids all out sledding down a hill in the schoolyard, under a really pretty light snowfall. Luckily I had my
boots on so I could go see this magical little moment for myself. (Here's Cal with a classmate so bundled up I couldn't even tell who was inside!)
Anyway, I was so refreshed to see his teachers weren't afraid to throw their "studious" plans out the window for a precious hour of wintertime fun! His teacher told me, "this was too good to pass up!" The kids LOVED it. For just a few minutes, I actually liked winter again.
Back to work - have a good Weds. everyone!
Trisha
It's 9:56 am and it's Trisha here.
Pat and Liz handled the show this morning so I could spend the day on assignment! I have a couple minutes free right now between my next shoot and Pat is crazy busy with an assignment of his own, so being the caring, considerate, and eager-to-help colleague I am, I told him to sit back while I got a little bit of blogging done for today!
Today..... in......Iowa
I missed a good technical glitch this morning - it seems the intro to our newscast kept getting stuck somehow - so you may have noticed some very unnatural pauses in the opening.
Pat says Liz didn't miss a beat. When the camera opened up to the two of them he said "Good morning, I'm Patrick Dix. " She said, "And I'm Elizabeth............... Klinge." Gotta be able to laugh at yourself - I think the really obvious glitches on the air usually seem worse when we try to pretend they didn't happen! Acknowledge with an apologetic smile, and then move on... that's the way to go.
State of the Union
Okay - be honest, how many of you watched beginning to end, even the Democratic response afterwards? What did you think? I caught almost all of it - my favorite part is usually watching who applauds and stands for what issues, and who sits on their hands. It was really interesting watching Pelosi's reactions over the President's shoulder. I felt he had a strong performance, but there was obvious tension with the other party now in power, and many Republicans in obvious disagreement with him over some of the major issues (Iraq and immigration, most notably.)
Iowa Sens. love ethanol talk!
In case you missed this part of the speech, Sen. Chuck Grassley nearly lept up to the ceiling when the President talked up a push for more ethanol! Afterwards, I saw Sen. Tom Harkin also have a 5 second handshake exchange with the president, and that was the one thing he mentioned as well. Today our news team will be doing more follow up on how Iowa could be affected by a nationwide increase in ethanol production and demand.
Polk City Soldier Death
Our news team brought the sad news that a reserve soldier from Polk City was among the troops killed Saturday in Iraq in the Black Hawk helicopter that went down. The soldier's name was Cmd. Sgt. Major Marilyn Gabbard. She's the second Iowa woman to die in Iraq. She leaves behind a husband and reportedly a stepdaughter. We expect to learn more official news from the National Guard today.
Can't beat em, join em!
The snow's not going anywhere, so this is the time of year when you have to either go somewhere warmer,become a terrible whiner, or just embrace the "winter wonderland".
Here's an awesome Iowa winter moment: Tuesdays are my day to read with kids at Calvin's preschool. When I showed up at 2pm, the clasroom was empty. All the coats and boots were missing too. I looked out the window and found the kids all out sledding down a hill in the schoolyard, under a really pretty light snowfall. Luckily I had my
boots on so I could go see this magical little moment for myself. (Here's Cal with a classmate so bundled up I couldn't even tell who was inside!)Anyway, I was so refreshed to see his teachers weren't afraid to throw their "studious" plans out the window for a precious hour of wintertime fun! His teacher told me, "this was too good to pass up!" The kids LOVED it. For just a few minutes, I actually liked winter again.
Back to work - have a good Weds. everyone!
Trisha
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Bold Proposals, Special Election and Tuesday Wednesday...
5:00am- Every once in a while we just skim over a script...even as we write it. That's the case this morning when I wrote the "open" to our show. I put the date in correctly...the 23rd. But I wrote the day of the week as , "Tuesday, Wednesday".
Here's the telling part about Trisha, she laughed it off. I've worked with a lot of people in the past who would not have been laughing. Sometimes we take ourselves a little too seriously in the TV news business. That is not the case with my co-workers.
To the News:
The President's seventh state of the union address will begin tonight at eight...but it will be a first for the president. I wonder what kind of reception the now Democrat controlled congress will give him. Maybe the address will take less time. For the past seven years the president has been interrupted about every thirty seconds for applause. Maybe they'll just sit and listen.
Also, I'm reminded of watching the State of the Union a few years ago and laughing at the announcer coming on before the speech started. "The State of the Union...brought to you by Dodge!"
Hmmm...I may have missed this one in Mr Miller's eight grade civics class but isn't the State of the Union brought to us by...The Constitution?
Couldn't we just air the speech as a public service? I wouldn't even mind it so much if the news anchor reminded us at the end of the coverage that we watched that 45 minutes commercial free thanks to the sponsorship of Acme Autoparts.
But that wouldn't be profitable...So if we're going to go with this one...go big or go home....
We could have an applaud counter at the bottom corner of the screen brought to you by Jergens Hand cream...or an applause sound meter brought to you by Belltone Hearing aides. A standing ovation count by Dockers wrinkle free pants?
You get the point.
This is one of those speeches we should just watch without the distraction of advertisement.
Special Election:
Dallas County voters go to the polls to elect a new sheriff this morning. This all stems from the resignation of former Sheriff Brian Gilbert and the accusation that he stole money from a traffic stop. Polls open at seven and close at nine. I'd be interested to hear what any of you in Dallas County have to say about this one. Dallas County is still a very interesting place. On the east side of the county it's one of the fastest growing/developing places in the state. On the west side, the county is still largely rural. I wonder who's radar this special election is on? What concerns the sheriff will the sheriff need to deal with?
5:53am-I'm an idiot
Ok ok I know...Park is not down by all the parking lots on MLK...It's up by Principal. I knew it as soon as it left my mouth, but the video looked wrong... Anyway. They're cracking down on jay-walking up on park this morning.
6:45: We just showed you a new billboard that ClearChannel advertising put up in Des Moines. It's at a busy intersection so are any of you concerned you'll be distracted enough to get into an accident? In Minneapolis they are. The City of Minnetonka is going to court to get ClearChannel to shut this thing down. Not sure if there's any kind of a move to do that here in Des Moines...but someone's going to have to explain the difference between this billboard and that enormous Terrible's Casino sign on I-35 new Osceola. If we can drive past that thing going 70mph...Can't we manage 30 mph at 63rd and Grand?
Other thoughts...
I'm either turning into my parents or my grandparents...take your pick.
Sally and I spent the better part of ten minutes last night discussing what kind of bird showed up this weekend on the bird feeder outside our kitchen window.
I'm not making fun of my parents...I'm really enjoying this...
Also we officially signed up for Bridge lessons last night. There's a place out in Clive or Urbandale...I forget which, where you can take lessons. Our parents all play bridge as do some friends in the Metro. Sally's grandma Penny is a take no prisoners bridge goddess! My parents (and Sally's)played with their parents when they were about our age.
We've tried a few times and haven't been overly successful. We liked it enough though that we're going to try to take some actual lessons.
It's a social game and I enjoy it because there's lot of thinking through the cards. I'm not sure I'm going to be that good at it because I don't count cards well. I'll count on my partner for that. I'll be more of a guts and glory kind of bridge player. I think this is just what my partner is worried about.
Anyway, we're either thorwbacks to a bygone era or just super lame thirty somethings. I already know what Jeriann and Trish are going to say.
I'm going to go get my dentures fit and pull my pants up a little higher on my waist.
PWD
Here's the telling part about Trisha, she laughed it off. I've worked with a lot of people in the past who would not have been laughing. Sometimes we take ourselves a little too seriously in the TV news business. That is not the case with my co-workers.
To the News:
The President's seventh state of the union address will begin tonight at eight...but it will be a first for the president. I wonder what kind of reception the now Democrat controlled congress will give him. Maybe the address will take less time. For the past seven years the president has been interrupted about every thirty seconds for applause. Maybe they'll just sit and listen.Also, I'm reminded of watching the State of the Union a few years ago and laughing at the announcer coming on before the speech started. "The State of the Union...brought to you by Dodge!"
Hmmm...I may have missed this one in Mr Miller's eight grade civics class but isn't the State of the Union brought to us by...The Constitution?
Couldn't we just air the speech as a public service? I wouldn't even mind it so much if the news anchor reminded us at the end of the coverage that we watched that 45 minutes commercial free thanks to the sponsorship of Acme Autoparts.
But that wouldn't be profitable...So if we're going to go with this one...go big or go home....
We could have an applaud counter at the bottom corner of the screen brought to you by Jergens Hand cream...or an applause sound meter brought to you by Belltone Hearing aides. A standing ovation count by Dockers wrinkle free pants?
You get the point.
This is one of those speeches we should just watch without the distraction of advertisement.
Special Election:
Dallas County voters go to the polls to elect a new sheriff this morning. This all stems from the resignation of former Sheriff Brian Gilbert and the accusation that he stole money from a traffic stop. Polls open at seven and close at nine. I'd be interested to hear what any of you in Dallas County have to say about this one. Dallas County is still a very interesting place. On the east side of the county it's one of the fastest growing/developing places in the state. On the west side, the county is still largely rural. I wonder who's radar this special election is on? What concerns the sheriff will the sheriff need to deal with?
5:53am-I'm an idiot
Ok ok I know...Park is not down by all the parking lots on MLK...It's up by Principal. I knew it as soon as it left my mouth, but the video looked wrong... Anyway. They're cracking down on jay-walking up on park this morning.
6:45: We just showed you a new billboard that ClearChannel advertising put up in Des Moines. It's at a busy intersection so are any of you concerned you'll be distracted enough to get into an accident? In Minneapolis they are. The City of Minnetonka is going to court to get ClearChannel to shut this thing down. Not sure if there's any kind of a move to do that here in Des Moines...but someone's going to have to explain the difference between this billboard and that enormous Terrible's Casino sign on I-35 new Osceola. If we can drive past that thing going 70mph...Can't we manage 30 mph at 63rd and Grand?
Other thoughts...
I'm either turning into my parents or my grandparents...take your pick.
Sally and I spent the better part of ten minutes last night discussing what kind of bird showed up this weekend on the bird feeder outside our kitchen window.
I'm not making fun of my parents...I'm really enjoying this...
Also we officially signed up for Bridge lessons last night. There's a place out in Clive or Urbandale...I forget which, where you can take lessons. Our parents all play bridge as do some friends in the Metro. Sally's grandma Penny is a take no prisoners bridge goddess! My parents (and Sally's)played with their parents when they were about our age.
We've tried a few times and haven't been overly successful. We liked it enough though that we're going to try to take some actual lessons.
It's a social game and I enjoy it because there's lot of thinking through the cards. I'm not sure I'm going to be that good at it because I don't count cards well. I'll count on my partner for that. I'll be more of a guts and glory kind of bridge player. I think this is just what my partner is worried about.
Anyway, we're either thorwbacks to a bygone era or just super lame thirty somethings. I already know what Jeriann and Trish are going to say.
I'm going to go get my dentures fit and pull my pants up a little higher on my waist.
PWD
Monday, January 22, 2007
Presidential Pile-up, Iraq Violence, and Super Bears
Good morning sports fans...We'll get to the Superbowl Bears in a minute along with some other thoughts from the weekend but there's more pressing news.
Iraq
In Iraq this morning we got word as the show started of some 78 deaths from a car bombing. News of violence like this is all too common, but it comes on the heels of one of the deadliest weekends for American service members. 27 total died over the weekend, most in a Black Hawk helicopter crash.
I wanted to tell you about an email we received asking why we update the U-S soldier deaths in Iraq, and, "don't tell more of the good stories coming out of Iraq".
We have. I'd argue when the opportunity presents itself, we offer those opinions. Certainly the news out of Iraq that we reported this morning, that the government is cutting off its protection of one of the most radical clerics in the country...Has to be seen as "good news". But the two are not mutually exclusive in my mind. Reporting the "good stories" does not make the deaths of US soldiers go away. It is still news.
I'm not advocating an anti-soldier, anti-war position here. I am simply saying it's not our job to ignore the news coming out of Iraq every morning.
When a US soldier is killed it is, unfortunately...News.
Presidential Pile-up
I picked up the paper to find the presidential field doubled on the Democrats side by Sunday morning. No surprises here as far as names in the race...Clinton and Richardson were expected to announce and Obama was a definite maybe.
Sen Clinton will be here next weekend to kick off her campaign. A lot smarter than those who announced and tried to make a big deal Sunday. Really? This is one of the biggest football weekends of the year. Clinton is going to be about the only thing in the news next weekend when she shows up in Des Moines.
Meanwhile the clip that everyone plays this morning from Sen Sam Brownback will be the one about following "the yellow brick road to the White House".
Really? That's the impression you want to leave as you introduce yourself to voters? Comparing the White house to OZ?
I know, I know...He's from Kansas. It's their thing...
Vilsack didn't drop a "food on a stick reference", or a hog joke into his speech did he?
It will be hard enough for some of the lesser known candidates to be taken seriously. It's even harder when you give people around the country something that's so easy to joke about.
I'm really curious who Iowans will support in the caucuses! Any of you want to weigh in on your favorite Repub. and Dem. Candidates and why you like them? TS
Cheap gas
Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw gas for less than a dollar 90 a gallon. It has to be at least a year and a half since we've seen that price. Pre-Katrina I'm thinking. Anyway it's making it easier to fill up the new 20 gallon tanker truck.
Let it Snow
Started to shovel out again this weekend, but this time I had the assistance of my lovely bride. We were about halfway done, when our neighbor came over and asked if we wanted to use his snowthrower(yes ours is still in the shop). I did, and for the kind gesture, I also did his driveway for him. This is one of the things that keeps us un Iowa. I'm not saying it doesn't happen other places, I just think it was a very Iowa moment. We're glad to call this place home.
I also enjoyed my four wheel drive vehicle this weekend. Makes the snow a lot easier to deal with.
Trisha now -
I guessed 6 inches by eyeballing it - Jeriann says DM got about 5 inches overnight Saturday. I have a saintly neighbor who cleared our driveway with a snowblower since Ian was out of town and it's pretty tough for me to get any shoveling done with two kids in tow!
We went out sledding at Waveland Golf course with our friends..
Here's Cal with his "girlfriend", Lily, and little Clara all bundled up like the kid in Christmas Story. She seriously could not stand up if she fell down. I pretty much had to carry her everywhere!
There's Mary giving Matt, Lily, and Calvin a big shove down the huge hill on the tobaggan.
And the two littlest ones, 2-year-old Macy with Clara - I just love the little red cheeks!
AWESOME exercise - I think I'm done for a while. Jeriann said on the air today that she'd come over and sled with the kids today - I'll definitely take her up on it if she's serious!TS
From the Weekend:
We had a great weekend, just what the doctor ordered. Saturday Sally and I had the chance to go up to Ames for the Iowa State K-State game. Unfortunately the Clones lost but I was struck by the number of fans that showed up for, what I think everyone would admit, wasn't the premiere game of the weekend. I was also struck by how excited Cyclone fans are about their teams. They just flashed Gene Chizik's(sp?) picture up on the scoreboard and the fans went nuts. I haven't been to a good college basketball game in a while and it was cool to see. Also, Jamie Pollard is workin it up in Ames. He used time-outs, Halftime, pre-game, anytime he could get to promote Iowa state, get big sponsors in front of the crowd, and get fans involved in the action. I'm not expressing myself well here, but the whole place had some good energy.
Super Bears:
The reason I had a good day Sunday doesn't need much of an explanation. My Bears won the NFC and are headed to the Superbowl. I found myself laughing at my reaction to a lot of the
game. I'm a Bears fan, not a fan of NFL football in general, so if the Bears weren't in it I don't think I'd be watching at this point. But I was honestly, tense, my blood pressure was up, and there were several times my wife 
reminded me it was just a game. I know I shouldn't put that much importance on a game, but I just really get into it when it's the Bears.
The game also produced the worst promotion of the weekend. Fox ran a five second promo at 2pm(gametime), afterr an hour of Pre-game saying, "watch the Bears and and the Saints in the NFC Championship...today at two on Fox! Really? I thought I was going to see a re-run of The Courtship fo Eddie's Father.
Speaking of my wife, We were discussing Valentine's gifts Sunday...should we get each other something...You know...
She proved again why I think she's the best wife in the world by suggesting after the game that we exchange Bears jerseys. Awesome! Now that's a Valentine's gift.
I'm sure there are a few things I'm missing and I'll add if I think of it, but have a good start to the week.
PWD
One more note - because of the quantity of inappropriate comments on this blog our webmaster and managment have decided to only allow comments from those with registered blogger accounts. It's easy to set up an account, and we encourage the tasteful comments to keep coming in! Hopefully this will help us keep this blog clean and fun.
Thank you for understanding!
Trish and Pat
Iraq
In Iraq this morning we got word as the show started of some 78 deaths from a car bombing. News of violence like this is all too common, but it comes on the heels of one of the deadliest weekends for American service members. 27 total died over the weekend, most in a Black Hawk helicopter crash.
I wanted to tell you about an email we received asking why we update the U-S soldier deaths in Iraq, and, "don't tell more of the good stories coming out of Iraq".
We have. I'd argue when the opportunity presents itself, we offer those opinions. Certainly the news out of Iraq that we reported this morning, that the government is cutting off its protection of one of the most radical clerics in the country...Has to be seen as "good news". But the two are not mutually exclusive in my mind. Reporting the "good stories" does not make the deaths of US soldiers go away. It is still news.
I'm not advocating an anti-soldier, anti-war position here. I am simply saying it's not our job to ignore the news coming out of Iraq every morning.
When a US soldier is killed it is, unfortunately...News.
Presidential Pile-up
I picked up the paper to find the presidential field doubled on the Democrats side by Sunday morning. No surprises here as far as names in the race...Clinton and Richardson were expected to announce and Obama was a definite maybe.
Sen Clinton will be here next weekend to kick off her campaign. A lot smarter than those who announced and tried to make a big deal Sunday. Really? This is one of the biggest football weekends of the year. Clinton is going to be about the only thing in the news next weekend when she shows up in Des Moines.
Meanwhile the clip that everyone plays this morning from Sen Sam Brownback will be the one about following "the yellow brick road to the White House".
Really? That's the impression you want to leave as you introduce yourself to voters? Comparing the White house to OZ?
I know, I know...He's from Kansas. It's their thing...
Vilsack didn't drop a "food on a stick reference", or a hog joke into his speech did he?
It will be hard enough for some of the lesser known candidates to be taken seriously. It's even harder when you give people around the country something that's so easy to joke about.
I'm really curious who Iowans will support in the caucuses! Any of you want to weigh in on your favorite Repub. and Dem. Candidates and why you like them? TS
Cheap gas
Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw gas for less than a dollar 90 a gallon. It has to be at least a year and a half since we've seen that price. Pre-Katrina I'm thinking. Anyway it's making it easier to fill up the new 20 gallon tanker truck.
Let it Snow
Started to shovel out again this weekend, but this time I had the assistance of my lovely bride. We were about halfway done, when our neighbor came over and asked if we wanted to use his snowthrower(yes ours is still in the shop). I did, and for the kind gesture, I also did his driveway for him. This is one of the things that keeps us un Iowa. I'm not saying it doesn't happen other places, I just think it was a very Iowa moment. We're glad to call this place home.
I also enjoyed my four wheel drive vehicle this weekend. Makes the snow a lot easier to deal with.
Trisha now -
I guessed 6 inches by eyeballing it - Jeriann says DM got about 5 inches overnight Saturday. I have a saintly neighbor who cleared our driveway with a snowblower since Ian was out of town and it's pretty tough for me to get any shoveling done with two kids in tow!
We went out sledding at Waveland Golf course with our friends..
Here's Cal with his "girlfriend", Lily, and little Clara all bundled up like the kid in Christmas Story. She seriously could not stand up if she fell down. I pretty much had to carry her everywhere!
There's Mary giving Matt, Lily, and Calvin a big shove down the huge hill on the tobaggan. 
And the two littlest ones, 2-year-old Macy with Clara - I just love the little red cheeks!
AWESOME exercise - I think I'm done for a while. Jeriann said on the air today that she'd come over and sled with the kids today - I'll definitely take her up on it if she's serious!TS
From the Weekend:
We had a great weekend, just what the doctor ordered. Saturday Sally and I had the chance to go up to Ames for the Iowa State K-State game. Unfortunately the Clones lost but I was struck by the number of fans that showed up for, what I think everyone would admit, wasn't the premiere game of the weekend. I was also struck by how excited Cyclone fans are about their teams. They just flashed Gene Chizik's(sp?) picture up on the scoreboard and the fans went nuts. I haven't been to a good college basketball game in a while and it was cool to see. Also, Jamie Pollard is workin it up in Ames. He used time-outs, Halftime, pre-game, anytime he could get to promote Iowa state, get big sponsors in front of the crowd, and get fans involved in the action. I'm not expressing myself well here, but the whole place had some good energy.Super Bears:
The reason I had a good day Sunday doesn't need much of an explanation. My Bears won the NFC and are headed to the Superbowl. I found myself laughing at my reaction to a lot of the
game. I'm a Bears fan, not a fan of NFL football in general, so if the Bears weren't in it I don't think I'd be watching at this point. But I was honestly, tense, my blood pressure was up, and there were several times my wife 
reminded me it was just a game. I know I shouldn't put that much importance on a game, but I just really get into it when it's the Bears.The game also produced the worst promotion of the weekend. Fox ran a five second promo at 2pm(gametime), afterr an hour of Pre-game saying, "watch the Bears and and the Saints in the NFC Championship...today at two on Fox! Really? I thought I was going to see a re-run of The Courtship fo Eddie's Father.
Speaking of my wife, We were discussing Valentine's gifts Sunday...should we get each other something...You know...
She proved again why I think she's the best wife in the world by suggesting after the game that we exchange Bears jerseys. Awesome! Now that's a Valentine's gift.
I'm sure there are a few things I'm missing and I'll add if I think of it, but have a good start to the week.
PWD
One more note - because of the quantity of inappropriate comments on this blog our webmaster and managment have decided to only allow comments from those with registered blogger accounts. It's easy to set up an account, and we encourage the tasteful comments to keep coming in! Hopefully this will help us keep this blog clean and fun.
Thank you for understanding!
Trish and Pat
Friday, January 19, 2007
School assault, Snow, and Friday morning!
I've started this several times and haven't been able to put together a coherent thought.
It's Friday so I'll let it go, but I also was a little flustered by the comments on yesterday's blog. Call me what you like, but one thing Trisha is NOT is sloppy.
The Travelocity interview we did yesterday was valid and here's why. If you've ever used the service, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, all offer convenience.
It's been my experience that you're going to find the same prices on all of those sites. That's not the point. It's about offering consumers extra conveniences when they're looking for travel.
To our blogger's comment: Travelocity does offer a unique convenience for consumers here and that's what we pointed out.
I am the one that suggested the interview run again in the 5pm news. I thought it was interesting, and as people are planning a winter getaway or even a spring break trip, I thought you might like to hear it. Simple as that.
I admit, It probably fit better in the context of the full interview and on the morning news, but our only intention was to give people some ideas about where to start some research for vacations.
I'm sorry someone felt the need to get all over us for the story...It's the word sloppy I am having a hard time with. Trish works hard to try to get us some of these extras so if I sound a little protective...I won't apologize.
Please question, please debate, and even criticize. We're always willing to answer a viewers complaint or question. That's what we're here for. Just try not to judge it until you've heard what we have to say.
Thanks, Pat, for going to bat for me - that's what makes you a great parnter. All I can say is we were having fun and showing people just one of many internet tools that are cool, unique and useful. We were not doing an investigative piece for Dateline. I'll say no more. TS
To the news.
Recall Recalled
We talked a lot about this Consumer Reports story this morning. If you haven't heard, the testing they did of baby car seats was apparently flawed. In the original article CR said 9 of the 12 baby seats failed disastrously. Now the magazine is saying the tests weren't carried out the way CR thought they were. The seats were tested in crashed of 70 miles and hour...The magazine thought it was 39 mph. Expect lawsuits.
Also Liz did us the favor of finding a link to Des Moines SafeKids. They can help with questions or concerns about car seats.
It's too bad there's no way parents can really tell how safe a seat is aside from these consumer tests... if you can't trust them, how the heck do you know? I'm glad to see the NTSB re-tested the seats and said they all came out okay.
by the way - getting a kid in a winter ccoat strapped into the car seat buckles is one of my least favorite chores. Kind of like wrestling a wild baby alligator wrapped in a parka that keeps bunching up in all the wrong places.
TS
School News
In Des Moines, a 14 year-old is being charged with assault (among other things) after an incident in a classroom with one of his classmates. The story is complicated...I suggest you watch online. The District is also being sued by the people who want the former Rice school property to stay green space. We've talked about this already on the blog. I still don't get it.
I support the right to protest a decision by the Board. I can remember no fewer than four or five meetings, at which this group had the chance to make it's case. The board voted the other way. If you don't like the decision...vote them all off the board next election.
Instead, in the course of fighting this lawsuit, the rest of us are going to pay the District's portion of legal bills.
That reminds me: Please remember to make your donation of paper, klenex, pencils and other school, supplies we can't pay for at your local elementary school.
In Ankeny the plan to build a second High school didn't meet any serious resistance according to the crew that went up there for WHO. Seems like people an Ankeny are acutely aware of the fact that their town is growing fast. I imagine we'll hear some opposing viewpoints before the vote.
She Drives me Crazy
apparently men are the ones getting onto accidents...not women. As Trish put it...we';re crushing those old stereotypes. Anyway this is a little research that finds men are 77% more likely to be killed in a serious car crash(not sure how I feel about that), and 82 year-old women are more likely to be killed on the road than 16-year-old boys. Again not sure where to go with that. The final statistic we gave out...the most dangerous time on the roads? You guessed it...right about the time we're getting up and going to work 2am.
But here's the thing, we come out to talk about this and Trisha is trying to get Brad and I to say something about women and driving....
The phrase, discretion is the better part of valor came to mind and we both were silent. There is nothing I could have said about that study that wouldn't get me in a lot of trouble with someone. I choose discretion.
My very favorite moment of today's newscast - and our producer Heather's favorite too! Any time I can render Pat and Brad totally speechless out of fear they'll say something to embarass themselves, it's a grand moment. I'm sure Pat knew anything remotely sexist he could've said would have earned him a tounge-lashing or worse from Jeriann, me, and his wife Sally!
Here Come the Ads
Can you believe it? The ads are already out slamming John McCain. Now politics aside here...be it the Swiftboat Vets or MoveOn.org, these groups should have to say political affiliation. We're not talking about the issues or letting the candidates (or in this case potential candidates) debate. We're just going to try to cut him off at the knees before he ever gets running.
I'm reading Barack Obama's book right now (The Audacity of Courage). Read nothing into the selection on my reading table...it was a gift.
The book is well reasoned and well written. One of the things he talks about is the tendency to get to Washington and make sure you're never photographed with any kind of extreme facial expression...the McCain ad is a good example of why.
They took video and caught McCain in the most ridiculous positions and facial expression so they could make him look, evil, bumbling, foolish and sinister. No one who runs for office deserves that kind of treatment. Let me say that again...No one. Obama is critical of that kind of treatment in his book. He'd score a lot of points with me by actually criticizing MoveOn for doing it.
How about we actually let them say something (like: I'm running for President) before we start criticizing?
Powerball is back up over 200 million. Here's hoping your weekend is filled with dreams of what you might do for your friends and families if you hit the jackpot. I love those conversations.
Have a good one
PWD
NASHVILLE STAR
Joshua Stevens from Churchville, IA moved on in the reality show from USA network last night. Anyone see his performance? The judges like his voice. It'll re-air Saturday morning at 8am on USA if you want to see him.
Let it Snow!
Jeriann is fired up about the forecast - I'll let her explain her prediction.
It's Jeriann here!
Great news for kids and bad news for travlers. A winter storm is developing to the south and west. The heaviest snowfall will move across the southern border of the state by early on Sunday. A winter storm watch will go into effect for areas south of Ames at 6 PM Saturday and last through Noon on Sunday. I think the entire state will see at least 2" of new snowfall. Here in the metro the heaviest amounts of 3" to 5" will fall south of I-80. Areas north of the interstate will see around 2" to 4". This snowfall should be wet enough to stick. Temperatures won't be as cold as last weekend so it should be warm enough to play in by Sunday afternoon. Great news if you want to make a snowman.
I'm actually excited about the snowfall prediction too. I love the timing - snow starting on a Saturday night when I plan to stay in with the kids, light a fire in the fireplace and watch movies with a big bowl of popcorn!
Then - Sunday, it will be warm enough to actually play in the snow and build a snowman that will stick together! If I have the energy I'll maybe take the little buggers out sledding - free entertainment for the family!
I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend -
Until Monday,
Trisha
It's Friday so I'll let it go, but I also was a little flustered by the comments on yesterday's blog. Call me what you like, but one thing Trisha is NOT is sloppy.
The Travelocity interview we did yesterday was valid and here's why. If you've ever used the service, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, all offer convenience.
It's been my experience that you're going to find the same prices on all of those sites. That's not the point. It's about offering consumers extra conveniences when they're looking for travel.
To our blogger's comment: Travelocity does offer a unique convenience for consumers here and that's what we pointed out.
I am the one that suggested the interview run again in the 5pm news. I thought it was interesting, and as people are planning a winter getaway or even a spring break trip, I thought you might like to hear it. Simple as that.
I admit, It probably fit better in the context of the full interview and on the morning news, but our only intention was to give people some ideas about where to start some research for vacations.
I'm sorry someone felt the need to get all over us for the story...It's the word sloppy I am having a hard time with. Trish works hard to try to get us some of these extras so if I sound a little protective...I won't apologize.
Please question, please debate, and even criticize. We're always willing to answer a viewers complaint or question. That's what we're here for. Just try not to judge it until you've heard what we have to say.
Thanks, Pat, for going to bat for me - that's what makes you a great parnter. All I can say is we were having fun and showing people just one of many internet tools that are cool, unique and useful. We were not doing an investigative piece for Dateline. I'll say no more. TS
To the news.
Recall Recalled
We talked a lot about this Consumer Reports story this morning. If you haven't heard, the testing they did of baby car seats was apparently flawed. In the original article CR said 9 of the 12 baby seats failed disastrously. Now the magazine is saying the tests weren't carried out the way CR thought they were. The seats were tested in crashed of 70 miles and hour...The magazine thought it was 39 mph. Expect lawsuits.
Also Liz did us the favor of finding a link to Des Moines SafeKids. They can help with questions or concerns about car seats.
It's too bad there's no way parents can really tell how safe a seat is aside from these consumer tests... if you can't trust them, how the heck do you know? I'm glad to see the NTSB re-tested the seats and said they all came out okay.
by the way - getting a kid in a winter ccoat strapped into the car seat buckles is one of my least favorite chores. Kind of like wrestling a wild baby alligator wrapped in a parka that keeps bunching up in all the wrong places.
TS
School News
In Des Moines, a 14 year-old is being charged with assault (among other things) after an incident in a classroom with one of his classmates. The story is complicated...I suggest you watch online. The District is also being sued by the people who want the former Rice school property to stay green space. We've talked about this already on the blog. I still don't get it.
I support the right to protest a decision by the Board. I can remember no fewer than four or five meetings, at which this group had the chance to make it's case. The board voted the other way. If you don't like the decision...vote them all off the board next election.
Instead, in the course of fighting this lawsuit, the rest of us are going to pay the District's portion of legal bills.
That reminds me: Please remember to make your donation of paper, klenex, pencils and other school, supplies we can't pay for at your local elementary school.
In Ankeny the plan to build a second High school didn't meet any serious resistance according to the crew that went up there for WHO. Seems like people an Ankeny are acutely aware of the fact that their town is growing fast. I imagine we'll hear some opposing viewpoints before the vote.
She Drives me Crazy
apparently men are the ones getting onto accidents...not women. As Trish put it...we';re crushing those old stereotypes. Anyway this is a little research that finds men are 77% more likely to be killed in a serious car crash(not sure how I feel about that), and 82 year-old women are more likely to be killed on the road than 16-year-old boys. Again not sure where to go with that. The final statistic we gave out...the most dangerous time on the roads? You guessed it...right about the time we're getting up and going to work 2am.
But here's the thing, we come out to talk about this and Trisha is trying to get Brad and I to say something about women and driving....
The phrase, discretion is the better part of valor came to mind and we both were silent. There is nothing I could have said about that study that wouldn't get me in a lot of trouble with someone. I choose discretion.
My very favorite moment of today's newscast - and our producer Heather's favorite too! Any time I can render Pat and Brad totally speechless out of fear they'll say something to embarass themselves, it's a grand moment. I'm sure Pat knew anything remotely sexist he could've said would have earned him a tounge-lashing or worse from Jeriann, me, and his wife Sally!
Here Come the Ads
Can you believe it? The ads are already out slamming John McCain. Now politics aside here...be it the Swiftboat Vets or MoveOn.org, these groups should have to say political affiliation. We're not talking about the issues or letting the candidates (or in this case potential candidates) debate. We're just going to try to cut him off at the knees before he ever gets running.
I'm reading Barack Obama's book right now (The Audacity of Courage). Read nothing into the selection on my reading table...it was a gift.
The book is well reasoned and well written. One of the things he talks about is the tendency to get to Washington and make sure you're never photographed with any kind of extreme facial expression...the McCain ad is a good example of why.
They took video and caught McCain in the most ridiculous positions and facial expression so they could make him look, evil, bumbling, foolish and sinister. No one who runs for office deserves that kind of treatment. Let me say that again...No one. Obama is critical of that kind of treatment in his book. He'd score a lot of points with me by actually criticizing MoveOn for doing it.
How about we actually let them say something (like: I'm running for President) before we start criticizing?
Powerball is back up over 200 million. Here's hoping your weekend is filled with dreams of what you might do for your friends and families if you hit the jackpot. I love those conversations.
Have a good one
PWD
NASHVILLE STAR
Joshua Stevens from Churchville, IA moved on in the reality show from USA network last night. Anyone see his performance? The judges like his voice. It'll re-air Saturday morning at 8am on USA if you want to see him.
Let it Snow!
Jeriann is fired up about the forecast - I'll let her explain her prediction.
It's Jeriann here!
Great news for kids and bad news for travlers. A winter storm is developing to the south and west. The heaviest snowfall will move across the southern border of the state by early on Sunday. A winter storm watch will go into effect for areas south of Ames at 6 PM Saturday and last through Noon on Sunday. I think the entire state will see at least 2" of new snowfall. Here in the metro the heaviest amounts of 3" to 5" will fall south of I-80. Areas north of the interstate will see around 2" to 4". This snowfall should be wet enough to stick. Temperatures won't be as cold as last weekend so it should be warm enough to play in by Sunday afternoon. Great news if you want to make a snowman.
I'm actually excited about the snowfall prediction too. I love the timing - snow starting on a Saturday night when I plan to stay in with the kids, light a fire in the fireplace and watch movies with a big bowl of popcorn!
Then - Sunday, it will be warm enough to actually play in the snow and build a snowman that will stick together! If I have the energy I'll maybe take the little buggers out sledding - free entertainment for the family!
I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend -
Until Monday,
Trisha
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Early buzz: TJ Maxx, Character Counts and Hamburger History
Good morning.
4:00am here's the link to Character Counts.
(We had a guest from Drake University Law School come to talk about ethics, in light of the CIETC scandal. Drake's law students are involved in Character Counts.)
And here's the phone number if you're worried your information was taken out of a TJ Maxx computer: 866-484-6978.
Much warmer when you step outside this morning. Everything is relative right. It felt better walking from the car into the building anyway.
4:10am: That's ten minutes of my life I'm not going to get back. I just read a dissertation on the history of the Hamburger in America. This is apparently quite a debate and no one can pin down the exact origin. Here's the website I found some information on. Here's Wikipedia's explanation. Is your hometown the actual "home of" anything? Mine...Not so much. The only claim to fame for Wilmette, IL is that it was mentioned in that creepy book, Devil in the White City It's about the Chicago World's Fair and the murderer's that happened the summer of the fair. The murderer had a house in Wilmette. I don't think they can make a postcard out of that.Mine, Wheaton, Illinois, is supposed to have more churches per capita than any other U.S. City. It's also the hometown of John and Jim Belushi - they went to my high school! TS
4:20am: Here's a snapshot of what a lot of morning's are like around here. Fifteen minutes ago our producer Heather updated the casualties from an overnight bombing in Iraq. Trisha just saw...The count went up again in the last fifteen minutes. When we hear about Iraq...this is generally the way we're hearing about it.
We get these numbers from the Associated Press wires. We also check around to other websites just to confirm. The problem is, most of those websites are looking at the same AP wire we are...
5:17am- I'm glad to see our Move It family getting back on the fitness kick after a tough holiday season. Haven't we all been there?
Jeriann just told us she finally broke down and joined a gym.
Curves, just like me! You go girl!TS
Now, I don't think she actually needs it for cosmetic reasons but we all need to keep moving in the winter months.
I say that this morning...No doubt this afternoon, I will be cursing the throngs of people who've joined up at my gym.
You need a reservation a week in advance to get a treadmill in the afternoon. I applaud all of the people who decided to get in shape. It's really fun to see people who are losing weight or getting in shape over the weeks and months.
It's also brave to get into shorts and a t-shirt when you feel like you're overweight...Especially when you're running next to someone who look
s like a Guess model in spandex.That's what I like about Curves - no guys to impress and come as you are. (Here's one of their cheesy PR photos - who smiles that much while working out!?) Anyway, I've never seen someone who looks like a spandex model type there. I wear scrubby old t-shirts and sweatpants. Pretty hot. TS
A couple of extra thoughts.
First, the parking lot of the gym is a funny place. Keep in mind that the people parking here are arriving to run, walk, workout, and in general exert a lot of effort. So it's a little curious that there is a Indy-500-like dash to the parking place next to the door when it opens up. We're working out here people...take the first space you see and walk to the door. By the way...I'm the worst offender.
Second-
There are rules here people.
Without them the gym deteriorates into chaos...Ok not really, but I get annoyed.
SIGN UP FOR THE TREADMILL.
If you are at the gym at 3:30 and you're going to run until five...I don't care that all of the treadmills were empty when you showed up. Sign up anyway!
And you only get a half hour. There are exceptions to the rule that I will explain...If someone is signed up...and doesn't get on the machine at their assigned time...Give em ten minutes...then it's fair game. If you are signed up for the next time slot...feel free to stay on the treadmill. But if someone keeps walking back and forth looking at you...you might want to check the time. Follow the rules people...Don't let the gym deteriorate into chaos. And stick with it!
5:45-Joe, our Director was just asking about my wardrobe for tomorrow...Asking if I was going to wear my Bears colors. First...yes, I will be. But I will be wearing the secondary Bears tie. My striped tie of Bears orange and blue will be saved for my Monday morning celebration of the Bears victory Sunday. If you're thinking...secondary tie? Yes, I am that big of a geek. Brad was saying someone bought him a Cadillac tie when he was selling cars.
Here's a tip to everyone who wants to buy someone a tie...the themed tie is usually not a good idea if you want the person to actually wear the tie a lot. They're fun for stuff like...the Bears game...but usually not good for everyday use.
5:54: I get a break! Trisha has an interview for us this morning on Business ethics. Appropriate with the headlines these days. I'm going to get a cup of coffee.
6:14am If Brad looked a little funky...It was the camera. He's standing next to me with a Gray scale reflection chart. It's what they use to tell the camera what the colors are supposed to look like under the lights. I think they'll get it fixed for his traffic hit in two minutes. These are the kinds of things that distract us from Jeriann's gripping forecast explanation.
6:46am Coolest interview we've had in a long time...Trish got on the phone with Travelocity and showed us some of the good deals you can get to a warmer destination this time of year.
I'll let her explain:
It's 7:45 and I'm blogging in between the Today show news updates. They always seem to interrupt what I'm doing at the worst time!
TRAVEL FANTASY
Okay, I know in my mind that I really can't just jump on a plane to Cancun tomorrow even if I find a great deal - but some sick part of me is fascinated with that fantasy!
I'm so desperate for a little sun and a sandy beach, that today I got a Travelocity editor on the phone during our show to walk me through the best ways to find THE CHEAPEST deals to hot places.
Here's what I found out - search under "Last Minute Packages" and the broader your search the better chance of finding an awesome deal. Th
e Travelocity gal had me click on this Sun & Beach icon with the starfish to search by interest, and up popped a long list of warm sunny locations with plane/hotel deals within the next week or two. Even cooler - you can arrange to MEET A FRIEND FROM ANOTHER CITY at the destination of your choice, and Travelocity will split the bill for you! You just pick two starting cities instead of one when you start your trip search. On the air we talked about getting Steve Templeton to fly from his new home in St. Louis and meet all Pat, Jeriann, Brad and I in Cancun for a little work "retreat!"
I'm still waiting for the boss to sign off on the idea. Any donors want to come forward and finance this worthy cause? We'll bring back great video, I guarantee it!
Pat thought the interview with Travelocity was so cool he wants me to re-work it for one of the evening newscasts... so you may catch it later tonight depending on how our news day goes.
Today we'll be saying goodbye to Grandma Susan and Grandpa Paul after a really nice visit! Susan and Cal played in the snow all afternoon yesterday, then we went out for margaritas and fajitas, etc. at El Rodeo last night and left behind a huge mess thanks to Thing 1 and Thing 2!
It's been a fun and busy week - and hey, tomorrow's Friday!
TS
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Indictments, Dinner with Lance, and Pollard Standing His Ground
Good morning,
It's 5: 16 and Jeriann is giving us a slightly improved weather forecast. At least the thermometer didn't register below zero this morning.
We've got a lot to talk about this morning, and at the top of the list has to be the CIETC indictments. (pictured to the left is former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham who was indicted on 27 counts including fraud and conspiracy.)
Kudos to the crew here at channel 13. You didn't see any of it on the air yesterday, but it was nothing less than a technical wonder, getting that news conference on the web live. The people who worked hard behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit.
To the actual story...You knew it was coming...but I heard a few people say that it restores a little faith in the system that these five people will face some sort of consequences for what was at best negligence, and at worst...all out theft of people who were out of a job.
5:44- Brad is in as we let Jeriann give you another forecast.
Sally and I went to the Greater Des Moines Partnership dinner last night to hear Lance Armstrong speak. I am still trying to wrap my brain around some of the things he said.
First, I should say it was a great event. There were some things I would have changed, including the sound system as Wells Fargo president Mark Oman tried to speak to the group.
I liked Governor Culver's welcome.
It's one of the best speeches I've ever seen him make. He seemed more comfortable and threw out some good jokes. In the past some of his stump speeches have seemed forced. Maybe winning the election loosened him up a little. I hope we see more of the real guy and less of the canned candidate.
6:18am- To Lance's speech now. I heard him talk about Iowa, the Caucus and the effect Iowa voters can have shifting the candidates focus to cancer research. He reiterated some of the same themes I've heard before.
He gave us all a reason to think about how we're spending our resources but, he didn't go too far, pretending cancer is the only problem the US is dealing with.
That said, Armstrong makes a compelling case for more research and funding.
I agree. I'd love to see politicians give more attention to fighting cancer. It's touched my family as it has most families - I lost my grandmother to cancer - young - and our niece has successfully battled leukemia. Cancer frankly scares me a lot more than most things in life, including crime or terrorism which seem to command a lot of public attention and dollars. I'm so glad to see Armstrong giving a voice to this enormous health issue! TS
I wonder how far he can push the state and it's voters to actually change the kinds of conversations Caucus candidates are having.
I wonder how many times he'll come back.
And I wonder which politician will effectively attach him or herself to Armstrong's cause.
One more thing...before anyone thinks we went to last night's dinner on some sort of VIP pass...We were paying customers, in the back and about the least important people in the room....this was the best picture I could get of our keynote speaker.
I can't feel bad though, the former School Board President Connie Boesen was right next to us.
That photo's a keeper, Pat. Did you try selling it to any magazines?
6:44- I caught a little of KXNO's afternoon talk show where Jamie
Pollard (ISU Athletic Director) was interviewed yesterday. Pollard stuck to his guns saying if you want to see the Iowa/Iowa State game in Ames next fall...you better buy a season ticket. Now I don't want to stick my head in the Lion's mouth here, but I have two thoughts. First, The guys one KXNO are way off base....They berated Pollard for making the policy change.
I can't understand this.
Pollard is keeping ISU in the headlines, He's hiring coaches who are raising expectation levels, and it might be about time he does the same for his fans. It sounded like the only ones criticizing Pollard for his decision were Hawk fans...
The second point?...It's time for a little tough love. Go buy a season ticket. If you were going to pay 80 bucks for a ticket to the Iowa/ISU game...why not spend the extra 50-100 bucks and get season tickets that give you the option to go to all the games. It's not like he's asking fans to mortgage the house for tickets.
I looked up season ticket prices for some other schools...Ohio State? $300-$400 average....Michigan 350 bucks average. Heck...Missouri charges 260 bucks for season tix!
Buck up and support your team!
Hope everyone has a good day. Sound off on the CIETC stuff. I'd like to hear what everyone has to say.
PWD
Trisha now -
First, thanks to all of you for hanging with us through the CIETC indictments. Trying to explain everything in just enough detail without OVERWHELMING you with details has not been easy. I hope you've found it all easy enough to digest - it's a very intriguing case of apparent public corruption, greed, and insider politics.
Second - thanks for those of you who sent nice wishes about my silly eye injury! It's all better now. Still had to bust out my glasses this morning, just because I had trouble gettting my contacts in and I ran out of time!
A nice viewer from Beaverdale actually emailed to ask where I got the glasses because she wants similar ones! It's funny how glasses on a news anchor seem to cause such a stir... I used to wear them, then got advice to DITCH them, but now anytime I do wear them I get lots of positive comments. All I really care about is being able to see what I'm reading!
SPOILED WITHIN AN INCH OF THEIR LIFE
Ian's brother actually coined that phrase, and I think it's perfectly true when it comes to how the grandkids get treated by Grandma Susan and Grandpa Paul. Cal and Clara will never want them to leave. 
Yesterday they went out and got Cal his own grown-up drum set. Yes - it's big. And loud. Very loud. AND - he absolutely loves it. Daddy of course encourages the hobby, and like a good mom I have to be supportive, of course, of Calvin's budding musical talent.
Of course a teeny weeny little part of me secretly wishes he'd get obsessed with a quieter hobby. Maybe chess. Or meditation. Miming?
It's 5: 16 and Jeriann is giving us a slightly improved weather forecast. At least the thermometer didn't register below zero this morning.
We've got a lot to talk about this morning, and at the top of the list has to be the CIETC indictments. (pictured to the left is former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham who was indicted on 27 counts including fraud and conspiracy.)Kudos to the crew here at channel 13. You didn't see any of it on the air yesterday, but it was nothing less than a technical wonder, getting that news conference on the web live. The people who worked hard behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit.
To the actual story...You knew it was coming...but I heard a few people say that it restores a little faith in the system that these five people will face some sort of consequences for what was at best negligence, and at worst...all out theft of people who were out of a job.
5:44- Brad is in as we let Jeriann give you another forecast.
Sally and I went to the Greater Des Moines Partnership dinner last night to hear Lance Armstrong speak. I am still trying to wrap my brain around some of the things he said.
First, I should say it was a great event. There were some things I would have changed, including the sound system as Wells Fargo president Mark Oman tried to speak to the group.
I liked Governor Culver's welcome.
It's one of the best speeches I've ever seen him make. He seemed more comfortable and threw out some good jokes. In the past some of his stump speeches have seemed forced. Maybe winning the election loosened him up a little. I hope we see more of the real guy and less of the canned candidate.
6:18am- To Lance's speech now. I heard him talk about Iowa, the Caucus and the effect Iowa voters can have shifting the candidates focus to cancer research. He reiterated some of the same themes I've heard before.
He gave us all a reason to think about how we're spending our resources but, he didn't go too far, pretending cancer is the only problem the US is dealing with.
That said, Armstrong makes a compelling case for more research and funding.
I agree. I'd love to see politicians give more attention to fighting cancer. It's touched my family as it has most families - I lost my grandmother to cancer - young - and our niece has successfully battled leukemia. Cancer frankly scares me a lot more than most things in life, including crime or terrorism which seem to command a lot of public attention and dollars. I'm so glad to see Armstrong giving a voice to this enormous health issue! TS
I wonder how far he can push the state and it's voters to actually change the kinds of conversations Caucus candidates are having.
I wonder how many times he'll come back.
And I wonder which politician will effectively attach him or herself to Armstrong's cause.
One more thing...before anyone thinks we went to last night's dinner on some sort of VIP pass...We were paying customers, in the back and about the least important people in the room....this was the best picture I could get of our keynote speaker.
I can't feel bad though, the former School Board President Connie Boesen was right next to us.
That photo's a keeper, Pat. Did you try selling it to any magazines?
6:44- I caught a little of KXNO's afternoon talk show where Jamie
Pollard (ISU Athletic Director) was interviewed yesterday. Pollard stuck to his guns saying if you want to see the Iowa/Iowa State game in Ames next fall...you better buy a season ticket. Now I don't want to stick my head in the Lion's mouth here, but I have two thoughts. First, The guys one KXNO are way off base....They berated Pollard for making the policy change.I can't understand this.
Pollard is keeping ISU in the headlines, He's hiring coaches who are raising expectation levels, and it might be about time he does the same for his fans. It sounded like the only ones criticizing Pollard for his decision were Hawk fans...
The second point?...It's time for a little tough love. Go buy a season ticket. If you were going to pay 80 bucks for a ticket to the Iowa/ISU game...why not spend the extra 50-100 bucks and get season tickets that give you the option to go to all the games. It's not like he's asking fans to mortgage the house for tickets.
I looked up season ticket prices for some other schools...Ohio State? $300-$400 average....Michigan 350 bucks average. Heck...Missouri charges 260 bucks for season tix!
Buck up and support your team!
Hope everyone has a good day. Sound off on the CIETC stuff. I'd like to hear what everyone has to say.
PWD
Trisha now -
First, thanks to all of you for hanging with us through the CIETC indictments. Trying to explain everything in just enough detail without OVERWHELMING you with details has not been easy. I hope you've found it all easy enough to digest - it's a very intriguing case of apparent public corruption, greed, and insider politics.
Second - thanks for those of you who sent nice wishes about my silly eye injury! It's all better now. Still had to bust out my glasses this morning, just because I had trouble gettting my contacts in and I ran out of time!A nice viewer from Beaverdale actually emailed to ask where I got the glasses because she wants similar ones! It's funny how glasses on a news anchor seem to cause such a stir... I used to wear them, then got advice to DITCH them, but now anytime I do wear them I get lots of positive comments. All I really care about is being able to see what I'm reading!
SPOILED WITHIN AN INCH OF THEIR LIFE
Ian's brother actually coined that phrase, and I think it's perfectly true when it comes to how the grandkids get treated by Grandma Susan and Grandpa Paul. Cal and Clara will never want them to leave. 
Yesterday they went out and got Cal his own grown-up drum set. Yes - it's big. And loud. Very loud. AND - he absolutely loves it. Daddy of course encourages the hobby, and like a good mom I have to be supportive, of course, of Calvin's budding musical talent.
Of course a teeny weeny little part of me secretly wishes he'd get obsessed with a quieter hobby. Maybe chess. Or meditation. Miming?
Clara scored big with a new collection of adorable clothes. She's our little dress up doll, parading around in the new duds, down to the shiny shoes and the "pretty" (barette) for her fair hair!
And they spoiled Ian and I too with an amazingly indulgent home-cooked meal! I stayed up a little later than I should have and I'm paying for it today, but it's not often they're around, so we have to make the most of this brief visit!
See you all tomorrow!
Trisha
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
CIETC, Back to work and Ohhh my back!
Good morning...
4:30 and we're getting a little bit of a late start. We all came in a little early to help write the show this morning...it wasn't late enough for me. I'm having a hard time raising my arms. As predicted, I went outside yesterday and found my snowblower not working. So I went to work with the shovel. Three and a half hours later, I was done with the driveway and the walk.
I'd also soaked a shirt, sweatshirt, scarf, and one of those pull over ski masks right through.
I must have been a sight to see.
I was sore last night and I'm even more so this morning. Who's bright idea was it to buy a house on a corner lot anyway?
More on the news in a few minutes, but it's time to go get ready for the show.
5:43- It seems like this morning is flying by. Cup four of coffee may be helping that pace.
We expect the headlines could me dominated locally by the CIETC salary scandal today. Remember this?....Leaders at the job agency took huge salaries over a few years and are accused of mis-using the federal funds that were supposed to help people who were out of a job. The US Attorney's office called a news conference this afternoon and the indications point to news about CIETC.
Fidel Castro is supposed to be on his death bed again. This time reports are coming from a Spanish paper citing doctors who treated Castro... What is the saying...Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
6:19-Breaking news. There's a housefire going in Mingo and Chopper 13 is on the way. Look for pictures in a couple of minutes...This story came in as a tip on our newsline. First thanks to the viewer who called in...second, feel free to call in a news tip like this anytime...or blog about breaking news...We'll see it as we check the blog all morning.
6:41-Golden Globes talk: The girls threw down on Monday and told me to look for the best and worst dressed. So I did my homework and watched as late as I could. I come to work this morning...neither of them watched!.
So here it is...imagine me doing my best Joan Rivers:
-Angelina Jolie...nuff said...I'm a converted fan and she doesn't need to do much to look good.
-Brad Pitt-Wear a tux man...the tie makes you look like a stunt double in Men in Black.
-Meryl Streep- Bad dress...good speech
-Eddie Murphy- Looked good, bad speech
-Sheryl Crow- Wowza...Classic Dress and I like the blonde hair.
-E Channel coverage-Bad bad and bad. I would think you'd have some questions for the people who come up to talk to you. It was pretty bad.
Trisha's 2 cents' worth: I did forget to watch, but in looking at the pictures, I think Jamie Foxx looked great, so did Jennifer Hudson, Penelope Cruz and my hubby's crush, Evangeline Lilly from Lost. I hate to admit it but she looked stunning, as usual! Liked Reese Witherspoon's bangs too - they're definitely back in style!
6:57: An update on that fire...Liz is on her way to Jasper County. We're hearing there are some buildings close in the area...Firefighters are doing a good job of keeping the flames contained to just one building. We'll get more details to you as we get them.
PWD
8:03 It's Trisha adding a couple of things.
IF this announcement ends up being about CIETC as we believe, we're in for one heck of a news day. Taxpayers understandably get very fired up about greed and fraud involving their money.
UTERUS transplants??
I did a double take when I first read this story this morning. The ethics board for a hospital in NY has given them clearance to let women get a uterus transplant from a deceased donor, so that they can give birth.
I have so many questions about this. Given the enormous job a uterus has during pregnancy, I'd imagine there'd be huge risks using a transplanted womb! I'm all for people using medical miracles to become parents, to a certain point, but this, for me, seems to cross a line I'm not comfortable with.
8:17 Just got some new info on that fire near Mingo - a mother and daughter got out safely (good news!) but this is interesting.. fire crews were called out YESTERDAY to check problems with a chimney from a wood-burning stove. The fire is out, but crews are still out there watching for hot spots.
I'm about to go do another update for the Today show and tape a "News at Your Desk" newscast (do any of you ever watch that?)
The fun never stops around here!
OOOOHHHH, MEXICO
I have that James Taylor song in my head. I'm definitely dreaming of a warm sandy beach right now. It's so bitter out there today I just want to put on 10 layers of fuzzy warm clothes and sit in front of a roaring fire with a huge mug of hot coffee and a cat on my lap. Doesn't that sound like a dream?
Calvin on the other hand is probably already bugging Ian to put on his snowsuit.
Yesterday the little bugger was out in the snow for about an hour while Ian shoveled. (Clara and I were smart and cheered them on from inside.) I had to practically force the red-cheeked little guy to come in, peel off his icy clothes, and drink hot chocolate to warm up.
No preschool today, but luckily we have even better entertainment - GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!
They are totally crazy about the grandkids, and spent hours making them giggle yesterday.
Grandma Susan taught Calvin how to use a balloon to make farting noises in the bathtub. He was screaming with laughter, and stayed in there until his hands were prunes! Susan is amazing with kids. She never runs out of patience when her grandids find something fun. Calvin just lights up around her.
"Papa" Paul let Clara climb up in his lap to read a book. They're impressed with how much better she's awlking and talking since they saw her just 3 months ago.
Grandma and Grandpa say they came armed with snow gear, and I'm sure Cal will want them to put it on and get out there with him today! We'll see how long the Georgia natives can hold up in this weather!
See you soon!
Trisha
4:30 and we're getting a little bit of a late start. We all came in a little early to help write the show this morning...it wasn't late enough for me. I'm having a hard time raising my arms. As predicted, I went outside yesterday and found my snowblower not working. So I went to work with the shovel. Three and a half hours later, I was done with the driveway and the walk.
I'd also soaked a shirt, sweatshirt, scarf, and one of those pull over ski masks right through.
I must have been a sight to see.
I was sore last night and I'm even more so this morning. Who's bright idea was it to buy a house on a corner lot anyway?
More on the news in a few minutes, but it's time to go get ready for the show.
5:43- It seems like this morning is flying by. Cup four of coffee may be helping that pace.
We expect the headlines could me dominated locally by the CIETC salary scandal today. Remember this?....Leaders at the job agency took huge salaries over a few years and are accused of mis-using the federal funds that were supposed to help people who were out of a job. The US Attorney's office called a news conference this afternoon and the indications point to news about CIETC.
Fidel Castro is supposed to be on his death bed again. This time reports are coming from a Spanish paper citing doctors who treated Castro... What is the saying...Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
6:19-Breaking news. There's a housefire going in Mingo and Chopper 13 is on the way. Look for pictures in a couple of minutes...This story came in as a tip on our newsline. First thanks to the viewer who called in...second, feel free to call in a news tip like this anytime...or blog about breaking news...We'll see it as we check the blog all morning.
6:41-Golden Globes talk: The girls threw down on Monday and told me to look for the best and worst dressed. So I did my homework and watched as late as I could. I come to work this morning...neither of them watched!.
So here it is...imagine me doing my best Joan Rivers:
-Angelina Jolie...nuff said...I'm a converted fan and she doesn't need to do much to look good.
-Brad Pitt-Wear a tux man...the tie makes you look like a stunt double in Men in Black.
-Meryl Streep- Bad dress...good speech
-Eddie Murphy- Looked good, bad speech
-Sheryl Crow- Wowza...Classic Dress and I like the blonde hair.
-E Channel coverage-Bad bad and bad. I would think you'd have some questions for the people who come up to talk to you. It was pretty bad.
Trisha's 2 cents' worth: I did forget to watch, but in looking at the pictures, I think Jamie Foxx looked great, so did Jennifer Hudson, Penelope Cruz and my hubby's crush, Evangeline Lilly from Lost. I hate to admit it but she looked stunning, as usual! Liked Reese Witherspoon's bangs too - they're definitely back in style!
6:57: An update on that fire...Liz is on her way to Jasper County. We're hearing there are some buildings close in the area...Firefighters are doing a good job of keeping the flames contained to just one building. We'll get more details to you as we get them.
PWD
8:03 It's Trisha adding a couple of things.
IF this announcement ends up being about CIETC as we believe, we're in for one heck of a news day. Taxpayers understandably get very fired up about greed and fraud involving their money.
UTERUS transplants??
I did a double take when I first read this story this morning. The ethics board for a hospital in NY has given them clearance to let women get a uterus transplant from a deceased donor, so that they can give birth.
I have so many questions about this. Given the enormous job a uterus has during pregnancy, I'd imagine there'd be huge risks using a transplanted womb! I'm all for people using medical miracles to become parents, to a certain point, but this, for me, seems to cross a line I'm not comfortable with.
8:17 Just got some new info on that fire near Mingo - a mother and daughter got out safely (good news!) but this is interesting.. fire crews were called out YESTERDAY to check problems with a chimney from a wood-burning stove. The fire is out, but crews are still out there watching for hot spots.
I'm about to go do another update for the Today show and tape a "News at Your Desk" newscast (do any of you ever watch that?)
The fun never stops around here!
OOOOHHHH, MEXICO
I have that James Taylor song in my head. I'm definitely dreaming of a warm sandy beach right now. It's so bitter out there today I just want to put on 10 layers of fuzzy warm clothes and sit in front of a roaring fire with a huge mug of hot coffee and a cat on my lap. Doesn't that sound like a dream?
Calvin on the other hand is probably already bugging Ian to put on his snowsuit.
Yesterday the little bugger was out in the snow for about an hour while Ian shoveled. (Clara and I were smart and cheered them on from inside.) I had to practically force the red-cheeked little guy to come in, peel off his icy clothes, and drink hot chocolate to warm up.
No preschool today, but luckily we have even better entertainment - GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!
They are totally crazy about the grandkids, and spent hours making them giggle yesterday.
Grandma Susan taught Calvin how to use a balloon to make farting noises in the bathtub. He was screaming with laughter, and stayed in there until his hands were prunes! Susan is amazing with kids. She never runs out of patience when her grandids find something fun. Calvin just lights up around her.
"Papa" Paul let Clara climb up in his lap to read a book. They're impressed with how much better she's awlking and talking since they saw her just 3 months ago.
Grandma and Grandpa say they came armed with snow gear, and I'm sure Cal will want them to put it on and get out there with him today! We'll see how long the Georgia natives can hold up in this weather!
See you soon!
Trisha
Monday, January 15, 2007
Snow, Da Bears, and the Binky(ie)
Good Morning
2AM: pulling into the parking lot at 1801 I'm glad to have 4 wheel drive for the first time. The roads weren't bad...Even the ones that weren't plowed. There is still a sheet of snow under the plowed areas...So I'd think you'd need to take it easy even four hours from now when the commute starts. The coffee's brewing, the oatmeal is hot and we're just getting started.
2:30am: I'm re-living the stressful afternoon in our house as I re-write some of the highlights from the NFL games.
I am not the person you want to watch a Bears game with. There's a lot of yelling...some language questioning the lineage of certain players and there isn't much that can distract me from the TV. Sally was great. The cats were hiding under the bed. Bears win in the end and I can pull out the Bears tie this morning.
2:45: Jeriann just came into the newsroom giving us her best Steve Templeton Boo-Yaaaaaa.
apparently, while filling in on the night shows, she and John Bachman had a running dialogue about snow totals from this storm. For the record, Ms. Ritter forecast 4 inches...official totals from the airport in des Moines...4 inches. People are pretty hard on our meterologists when they miss the forecast...Even by a little. No one seems to write in when they get it spot on. It's not like doing the news. That's easy...it's already happened.
The prediction of Iowa weather is difficult to say the least. Getting it right a week out is worth a Boo-Yaaaaaa .
I say this mostly to the man who wrote in and berated Jeriann for her storm prediction. Oops! Guess you should have waited to press send on that one.
Trish is here talking about some study dealing with pacifiers...I'm way out of my league...
3:30: It's all coming together...We think. Calls around to about six or seven of the county and city agencies show no significant overnight accidents. That's good...it also means a lot of people are listening to the forecast and staying home for now. I'd expect a slower than normal trip to work if you have to go...but it could be a lot worse. More during the show.
Just hunting around for any new stories I stumbled across this one...It's about a camper stranded for a month in the woods in New Mexico. Wow. Liz is on her way out the door. It is not fun getting the outdoor assignment this morning. Time to go get some make-up on and read the news.
5:45Am We're on the air and this was the first time we could take a deep breath. It's a busy morning a lot of schools delaying...Southeast Polk even closed today. Not sure why. It doesn't seem like it's that bad out there by Iowa standards. One accident early but it was cleared up quickly. I mention sleep in the headlines here...There was a new study about a gene that allows people to go to bed early and wake-up early. Trish and I are looking for a little gene therapy.
6:16-It's snowing again...before you get nervous...Jeriann assures us this is going to be an additional half inch at the MOST. Just had another update from Bill Stowe at Des Moines Public works. His plows are out and clearing major roads, but don't think that the road is in good shape just because they've plowed it once. Remember the freezing rain we had Saturday night? It's under all that snow. Slow down and be safe.
6:37 We're wrapping up the show so just a few thoughts from the weekend. Had two great dinners this weekend with friends.
First, Friday we hit a "new" restaurant in the east village. Luca is an Italian place right next to The Continental. I loved the atmosphere and I have to say the service was some of the best we've had in Des Moines. The pricetag with a bottle of wine makes this one a special occasion only kind of dinner for us. It's a price fixed menu, meaning you get an appetizer, a main course, and then a cheese plate at the end of the meal.
Thge company was four-star. Our friends Jeff and Melinda always make a late Friday night worth it.
While we were at dinner Friday, Trisha and Jeriann called to ask if we could go out to dinner Saturday. We all met up a Trostell's Dish in West Des Moines.
First...it looks like they're giving it away in this place...the wait is always long...but you understand why after you eat. We all picked out items off the tapas menu and picked at each other's plates all night.
A woman I know stopped me as we were all walking out and commented that it was nice to see us all out together...she commented that she wasn't sure if we all actually liked each other. We do. Smart people are fun to hang out with. More than being with each other...I think we all enjoy the company of our significant others, as well. I'll just leave it at, I'm a lucky guy. I have great colleagues.
7:05am: I better let Trish have a go at this. Have a great morning. I'm going to fire up the snowblower.
PWD
It's 8:03 and it's Trisha now!
I'll agree with Pat - we had a great night out! It is cool to have the spouses/significant others along for a different perspective. I can usually get Sally to dish at least a few embarassing stories about Pat that I can use for ammunition- and Ian had a field day with Jeriann - even making her do a shot (which she forced me to share!) As we always say, we should really do that more often.
Right now I'm trying to keep track of all the crashes on the highways for our updates during the Today show! With all the snow, this is exactly what I expected - a pretty ugly commute. Not as bad as it could be, but not pretty either. In a little while I'm putting on the snow gear and going out to do a little on camera demonstration in the snow - I plan to be fast and efficient so I don't lose any digits to hypothermia!
The Pacifier stuff is interesting - it goes along with what all the recent studies have said - Binkies ain't that bad. A huge Dentists' association says they don't cause permanent damage to kids' teeth and jaws if they quit by age 2. Pediatricians now RECOMMEND pacifiers for newborns because they reduce the risk of SIDS. Clara is still hooked on hers at naptime and on car rides. I know she'd walk around all day with that thing in her mouth if we let her, but we draw the line. We have several, but she only likes the pink one for some reason.
I know getting her to give it up will be hell. I can't believe we survived that phase with Calvin. It is literally like watching someone kick a terrible addiction. Painful and ugly.
Anyone have good nicknames for pacifiers? Both my kids shortened it to "bink." Ian and I also use it as a verb (as in, "would you go bink her, please?") I've also heard nuk, dudu, paci, soother - and apparently I called it a "poppy."
I wasn't too camera-happy this weekend but I did catch one shot of Clara in her Tinker Bell Halloween costume again. Cal wanted to dress up like Peter Pan, so we improvised with green pajamas and a belt.
Right now I'll bet he's pacing the house because he can't wait for Grandpa Paul and Grandma Susan (Ian's mom and stepdad) to arrive from Atlanta! They should make it in this afternoon... and they say they brought their snow gear so they can play with the kids outside! I'm glad they're fired up about that - I'd rather be inside in a fleece sweatshirt and warm slippers sipping hot chocolate!
Stay warm - drive carefully - see you tomorrow!
Trisha
2AM: pulling into the parking lot at 1801 I'm glad to have 4 wheel drive for the first time. The roads weren't bad...Even the ones that weren't plowed. There is still a sheet of snow under the plowed areas...So I'd think you'd need to take it easy even four hours from now when the commute starts. The coffee's brewing, the oatmeal is hot and we're just getting started.
2:30am: I'm re-living the stressful afternoon in our house as I re-write some of the highlights from the NFL games.I am not the person you want to watch a Bears game with. There's a lot of yelling...some language questioning the lineage of certain players and there isn't much that can distract me from the TV. Sally was great. The cats were hiding under the bed. Bears win in the end and I can pull out the Bears tie this morning.
2:45: Jeriann just came into the newsroom giving us her best Steve Templeton Boo-Yaaaaaa.
apparently, while filling in on the night shows, she and John Bachman had a running dialogue about snow totals from this storm. For the record, Ms. Ritter forecast 4 inches...official totals from the airport in des Moines...4 inches. People are pretty hard on our meterologists when they miss the forecast...Even by a little. No one seems to write in when they get it spot on. It's not like doing the news. That's easy...it's already happened.
The prediction of Iowa weather is difficult to say the least. Getting it right a week out is worth a Boo-Yaaaaaa .
I say this mostly to the man who wrote in and berated Jeriann for her storm prediction. Oops! Guess you should have waited to press send on that one.
Trish is here talking about some study dealing with pacifiers...I'm way out of my league...
3:30: It's all coming together...We think. Calls around to about six or seven of the county and city agencies show no significant overnight accidents. That's good...it also means a lot of people are listening to the forecast and staying home for now. I'd expect a slower than normal trip to work if you have to go...but it could be a lot worse. More during the show.
Just hunting around for any new stories I stumbled across this one...It's about a camper stranded for a month in the woods in New Mexico. Wow. Liz is on her way out the door. It is not fun getting the outdoor assignment this morning. Time to go get some make-up on and read the news.
5:45Am We're on the air and this was the first time we could take a deep breath. It's a busy morning a lot of schools delaying...Southeast Polk even closed today. Not sure why. It doesn't seem like it's that bad out there by Iowa standards. One accident early but it was cleared up quickly. I mention sleep in the headlines here...There was a new study about a gene that allows people to go to bed early and wake-up early. Trish and I are looking for a little gene therapy.
6:16-It's snowing again...before you get nervous...Jeriann assures us this is going to be an additional half inch at the MOST. Just had another update from Bill Stowe at Des Moines Public works. His plows are out and clearing major roads, but don't think that the road is in good shape just because they've plowed it once. Remember the freezing rain we had Saturday night? It's under all that snow. Slow down and be safe.6:37 We're wrapping up the show so just a few thoughts from the weekend. Had two great dinners this weekend with friends.
First, Friday we hit a "new" restaurant in the east village. Luca is an Italian place right next to The Continental. I loved the atmosphere and I have to say the service was some of the best we've had in Des Moines. The pricetag with a bottle of wine makes this one a special occasion only kind of dinner for us. It's a price fixed menu, meaning you get an appetizer, a main course, and then a cheese plate at the end of the meal.
Thge company was four-star. Our friends Jeff and Melinda always make a late Friday night worth it.
While we were at dinner Friday, Trisha and Jeriann called to ask if we could go out to dinner Saturday. We all met up a Trostell's Dish in West Des Moines.
First...it looks like they're giving it away in this place...the wait is always long...but you understand why after you eat. We all picked out items off the tapas menu and picked at each other's plates all night.
A woman I know stopped me as we were all walking out and commented that it was nice to see us all out together...she commented that she wasn't sure if we all actually liked each other. We do. Smart people are fun to hang out with. More than being with each other...I think we all enjoy the company of our significant others, as well. I'll just leave it at, I'm a lucky guy. I have great colleagues.
7:05am: I better let Trish have a go at this. Have a great morning. I'm going to fire up the snowblower.
PWD
It's 8:03 and it's Trisha now!
I'll agree with Pat - we had a great night out! It is cool to have the spouses/significant others along for a different perspective. I can usually get Sally to dish at least a few embarassing stories about Pat that I can use for ammunition- and Ian had a field day with Jeriann - even making her do a shot (which she forced me to share!) As we always say, we should really do that more often.
Right now I'm trying to keep track of all the crashes on the highways for our updates during the Today show! With all the snow, this is exactly what I expected - a pretty ugly commute. Not as bad as it could be, but not pretty either. In a little while I'm putting on the snow gear and going out to do a little on camera demonstration in the snow - I plan to be fast and efficient so I don't lose any digits to hypothermia!
The Pacifier stuff is interesting - it goes along with what all the recent studies have said - Binkies ain't that bad. A huge Dentists' association says they don't cause permanent damage to kids' teeth and jaws if they quit by age 2. Pediatricians now RECOMMEND pacifiers for newborns because they reduce the risk of SIDS. Clara is still hooked on hers at naptime and on car rides. I know she'd walk around all day with that thing in her mouth if we let her, but we draw the line. We have several, but she only likes the pink one for some reason. I know getting her to give it up will be hell. I can't believe we survived that phase with Calvin. It is literally like watching someone kick a terrible addiction. Painful and ugly.
Anyone have good nicknames for pacifiers? Both my kids shortened it to "bink." Ian and I also use it as a verb (as in, "would you go bink her, please?") I've also heard nuk, dudu, paci, soother - and apparently I called it a "poppy."
I wasn't too camera-happy this weekend but I did catch one shot of Clara in her Tinker Bell Halloween costume again. Cal wanted to dress up like Peter Pan, so we improvised with green pajamas and a belt.
Right now I'll bet he's pacing the house because he can't wait for Grandpa Paul and Grandma Susan (Ian's mom and stepdad) to arrive from Atlanta! They should make it in this afternoon... and they say they brought their snow gear so they can play with the kids outside! I'm glad they're fired up about that - I'd rather be inside in a fleece sweatshirt and warm slippers sipping hot chocolate!
Stay warm - drive carefully - see you tomorrow!
Trisha
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