Seats 20-D and 67 Gates Difference

I'm back home safe after my trip to Michigan. I had a wonderful time and thank everyone there for another relaxing vacation. Erica, you're the best.

On both flights back, I sat in seat 20-D: second from the last row, on the aisle, right between the jet engines. I recommend you NEVER sit there. The jet engines are F*ING LOUD! Thank goodness for my in-ear headphones. They're the kind that plug up your ears, so I was able to get the edge off of the sound. It also helped the first leg back when I was right in front of these two obnoxious kids and their parents. The little boy, who was no more than 18 months, took great pleasure in randomly screaming. With my headphones and the sultry sounds of Dave Matthews Band, I just about completely blocked him out. The second flight wasn't so bad, yet the jet engines were still F*ING LOUD!

For the layover in Detroit, I deplaned at gate 71 of the 78-gate terminal. My next flight was set to depart from -- get this -- gate 4. My gates were at almost the extreme ends of the long-ass terminal. All I have to say is: Thank God for the tram (pictured). A little walk to the station, a short wait, and I was on my way to the other end of the terminal in style and comfort. The walk would have been good exercise, but after Captain Screamer I was in no mood.

But overall the trip was GREAT and I had a blast! I've posted a few pictures to my Web site, so check them out there in the Photos section. Now...back to work.

FLASH: Michael Eats at Big Boy

What a wonderful place, Bob's Big Boy. Only decent burgers and onion rings, but the atmosphere was nice. And you've got to love the statue...



The trip is going well. Half way done already! Argh!

Short story: On the flight from K.C. to Detroit, I was sitting next to this gal about my age. She and I both had iPods, but mine is a video version. I started watching an episode of Scrubs and then thought I'd ask if she wanted to watch, too. She said yes, and we ended up watching two episodes of Scrubs together on the flight! It was fun. A good way to kill time. Ah, technology.

How NOT to Mount a Program Switcher in a Control Room

Thanks to the new control room consoles that we're getting at work, we no longer will have to have our program switcher propped up by a cardboard box. Real picture:



The vendor asked, "How did the City ever approve that?" Nobody knew any better and they ran out of money. :-\ Now we're fixing that and I couldn't be happier. :-) Today I helped design the console layout that will house this humble switcher panel. More progress updates coming soon...

A Lot To Look Forward To.

Today was a good day. After more than a year of work and hope and stress, the City Council approved our purchase of a new routing switcher and related equipment for my job. We're talking almost $200,000 worth of equipment and related stuff. This will allow our video productions to go "to the next level," and basically set us up for proper expansion and upgrades in the future. It feels good to have had a hand in such a big project, especially knowing that the equipment is going to improve our jobs so much.

I also got in contact with an old friend again today. Glenda used to be a classmate and really good friend of mine in grade school and junior high. Unfortunately, our lives eventually took us in different directions and we fell out of touch. Well today at lunch I saw her parents again. After a nice chat I left my business card with them to give to her and she called me tonight while I was headed home from work. It was good to hear her voice again and it'll be nice to catch up with her as time goes on.

I'm headed to Michigan this weekend! Finally I'll be able to Erica and all my Journey House homeys again. It's been over a year since I went up there last. I always feel so loved and accepted when I head up there. It's like home a long way from home. I fly out at the butt crack of dawn Saturday and return Tuesday evening.

In other news, I got a new iPod this last weekend. Rach, it's EXACTLY like Paul: a 60GB black version with video capability. I'd been eyeing them for a while now. Since I do so much video work and my 40GB photo version consistently flakes out at random times, I figured this was a good time to pull the trigger and buy it. The 40 gig version will stay in the car most of the time as my commuter player while the 60 gigger will stay with me. It'll be especially nice around the airport and in flight this weekend. I can catch up on various TV shows, listen to music, and basically just relax in my geekdom.

I'm getting a little concerned that nobody reads my blog anymore since I moved. Maybe the folks who commented before just don't want to anymore, but it's feeling kind of like a ghost town around here. If you're here, please leave a comment...please.

EDIT: It was pointed out to me that comments HAVE been submitted, however they were waiting for my approval. Oops. I had a setting wrong here. Now anyone should be able to post comments without me having to approve them first. Sheesh.

Smiles.

Death is Far Less Complicated.

I finally did my taxes this evening, using that TurboTax thing that's supposed to make doing taxes easy as pie! Why do I feel like I'm going to get audited then...

"Mister Sterling, you miscalculated form 1023-C Amendment 2 wrong by $13. We are now going to audit you."

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Death and Taxes.

What a Pain in the Neck!

I am in pain. At some point overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, all of the muscles in my lower neck and upper back just tensed up and haven't let go since. It's painful to turn my head to the right, bend downward or upward, and moving just feels really sore.

I went to the chiropractor yesterday. He adjusted a bone in my neck and said that the muscles should start to loosen up throughout the day. They haven't. I'm just as tense this morning as I was yesterday morning. He wants me to come back Friday for another adjustment, which I'll probably do.

I've had pain like this twice before in my life. Both came after traumatic events: The first was when I slipped off a platform thing at my friend's house as a kid. I fell about six feet onto my back and had very similar pain, just a little lower on my back. The second came when I jumped off of another friend's swingset, lost my balance, and fell straight back onto my back. Same result. This time? I moved the wrong way while asleep. Oy.

If this doesn't start to improve soon, I may have to find some kind of massage therapist and/or muscle relaxants. Wow. It even hurts to yawn.

I May Just Blow You Away!

According to the "Fact Box" on this article from CNN, Michael is one of the names on this year's hurricane list. I'll dispense with the thinly-veiled play-on-word jokes that would naturally follow.

From the "That's a Lot of Money" Department...

I came to a startling realization tonight:

If Bill Gates were to liquidate his net worth (of about $50 BILLION) and spread it around equally to each and every one of the 7 billion or so people on earth, each and every person on the entire planet would get a little over $7. Yeah. Wow.

Skeered to Blow

This might sound a little silly, but I'm scared to blow my nose. See, I usually am very susceptible to nosebleeds in my right nostril. Ever since having 4 nosebleeds in 5 days a little less than two weeks ago, I've been really hesitant to blow ever since. I know my honker *should* be healed by now, but I just keep thinking about the potential for another nosebleed and another week or two to let it heal. It's a vicious cycle. Fortunately I become much less susceptible as the humidity moves in. Not too long now...

Vote Tuesday, April 4.

The election is nearly upon us, and I wanted to chime in on where I stand on the various issues. Obviously, those of you outside of the Kansas City area don't know the candidates or issues, so I'll try to fill you in as I go.

The hot-button item here in KC is the vote for or against the stadium improvements. One ballot item would provide a bunch of millions of dollars to make improvements to Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums, home of the Chiefs and Royals, respectively. The second issue would fund a rolling roof to go across one, the other, or neither stadiums. The idea is that Arrowhead could be covered for this event or the other, Kauffman could be covered for games where they know that bad weather is coming, or the roof could sit in between the stadiums, acting as a cover for a new pavilion of sorts going there. Reluctantly, I'm going to vote yes for both of these, even though I doubt they'll pass. My reasoning is two-fold: First, the stadiums DO need improvements, and I'm afraid that the teams really WILL leave KC if this issue doesn't pass. Second, the rolling roof was originally in the stadium complex plans. The picture I've included is an original rendition from when the stadiums were built. At the time, the project ran out of money and the roof was nixed. When all is said and done, I would most prefer that Arrowhead be rebuilt with a roof and money be spent to renovate Kauffman. That doesn't look like it's going to happen, though.

In Independence, voters will choose a new Mayor and two At-Large City Council members, I'm voting for Lois McDonald for mayor and Jason White and Jim Schultz for council. Both McDonald and her opponent, incumbant Mayor Pro Tem Don Reimal, would do a bang-up job as mayor, but I think McDonald has more energy and fresher ideas to bring to the Council. As for White and Schultz, the City has seen lots of progress in the last four years and I think they both do an excellent job to really decide what's best for all the citizens of Independence.

So there you have it: Yes, Yes, McDonald, White, Schultz. Now I just need to wait for Tuesday...

Rolling Out the Welcome Mat.

Greetings, and welcome to the new home of my blog! The whole Blurty thing was getting long in the tooth, so I thought I'd move elsewhere. This site will give me more options and functionality in the long run.

Some other news: I've added a blog to go along with this one. It's called The Media Situation Report 360, and it's been set up as a place for me to share my thoughts and opinions about all things media and entertainment related. I've got a lot to say and I've needed a place to say it, so check it out.

I've also moved my Web site to accomodate more content and easier editing. It's now located at web.mac.com/michaelsterling. Keep checking regularly because I plan to update it much more often than the last. I'm already working on more content for it.