The Recent Passing Of Pope Benedict XVI Is Disheartening, But Not Unexpected, And Not Surprising Given His Age And Health Condition.

The Term ‘Deeply Saddened’ Is An Understatement With Regards To How I Feel About The Recent Passing Of NBC and ABC News Journalist Barbara Walters.

When Barbara Walters was hired away from NBC by William “Bill” Sheehan (who was Roone Arledge’s direct predecessor as the President of ABC News) to work for ABC; all of the male News Reporters who were working for ABC at the time had loathed her. In due time, Barbara Walters had earned all of the respect that she deserved from her male colleagues at ABC, and then some.

After Barbara Walters was hired by ABC, and after a failed attempt by ABC to compete with Walter Cronkite’s CBS Evening News with ABC’s own Evening News Program, prior to Roone Arledge creating “World News Tonight” with Frank Reynolds, Peter Jennings, and Max Robinson; Bill Sheehan had paired Barbara Walters with Harry Reasoner (who was recently hired away from CBS) to jointly anchor an earlier ABC Evening News Program.

This earlier ABC Evening News program was a failure, mostly because of much of the nation’s audience being dyed in the wool with regards to their viewing habits consisting of Walter Cronkite’s CBS Evening News; but also because of Harry Reasoner wanting to co-anchor the program with another journalist who was into Hard News, Hard News was not Barbara Walter’s forte, Harry Reasoner had an anathema towards Barbara Walters, this earlier Evening News program by ABC had folded, and Harry Reasoner had gone back to work at CBS; where he would report for “60 Minutes” right up until his retirement in 1991.

Our first get together since COVID struck. It was nice to see some old faces and to meet some new faces that we’ve only heard on our morning Coastal Ham Radio Fresgo Healthcare net on 147.360 (Surrey Repeater.) A few others joined us but left before I remembered to take the pic. From the entire […]

2022 Christmas Get Together — Coastal Ham Radio

On the heels of his project in the Town of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Bob Vila should have also had a project in the coastal Town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine for his own Television Series “Bob Vila’s Home Again”.

Especially during the early ’90’s, a time much better than the late 1990’s, and any time during the 21st Century (including the present time, as of writing this post).

Where is the coastal Town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine; may you ask? Well, let’s just say it is about halfway on the Eastern Seaboard and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in between Martha’s Vineyard, and the Canadian Provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador.

A project that Bob Vila could have had in the coastal Town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine would have been just as pleasant, if not more pleasant than his project on Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Especially if this project that Bob Vila could have had in the coastal Town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine was on anywhere from 2-30 acres.

Ah, yes; the literal good, old days of the 1980’s, and the early 1990’s. Young radicals were either Infants, Children, Teenagers, or were not born yet; the Internet was in its infancy, no Tiny Homes, environments covered entirely of a Black and Gray two-tone paint scheme, minimalist decor, decor also consisting of fake patina, Smart Devices such as Smartphones, Tablets, Doorbells, and Thermostats; Video and Audio Streaming, the presence of Sports and Fitness being a main pillar of society, people covered in tattoos; and people with little or no moral standards.

And, ah, yes; the literal good, old days of the 1980’s, and the early 1990’s where Malls, Supermarkets, and Five & Dime Stores still existed in great quantities, Sears and Montgomery-Ward were still in business, Ham Radio was more popular and didn’t have as much of a problem attracting fresh blood, Standalone Digital or Film Cameras, Commercial Broadcast Radio (including Commercial Shortwave Radio Stations), Terrestrial, Over The Air Television; decor consisting of wood paneling, Wallpaper, Mirrored Walls, and Dark Blue, Dark Green, Fern Green, and Mauve Decor all still existed; and people who have a great amount of respect for history, and principled people with high moral standards existed in great quantities.

And, ah, yes; the Korean Automotive Industry still being nascent, the Japanese Automotive Industry still not having as much of a presence, and a share of sales in the North American market; and the American automakers still holding the lion’s share of sales in the North American market in the 1980’s and the early 1990’s.

The same goes for the European Automotive Industry during the 1980’s and the early 1990’s, where they produced rare and precious machines for consumption in the North American market; were purchased by those who admire and respect these European machines, and the European Automakers didn’t try to become as mainstream in the North American market as the American automakers historically have been, and the Asian automakers since the beginning of the 21st Century.

Projects in the vicinity of Old Orchard Beach, Maine like these in the links below; only they would be derelict, and would need restoration:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/880-New-County-Rd-Dayton-ME-04005/326132924_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Milliken-Rd-Scarborough-ME-04074/299862105_zpid/

When it comes to sports, few topics are as polarizing as that of TV sports announcers. Now I’m not saying that the resulting disagreements are anything like political arguments have become lately, where friendships end and some people refuse to get together for Thanksgiving; but the variety of opinions on TV announcers are wide-ranging. For […]

Celebrating a Return — Oilpressure

The other day I was hunting for the U of MN site that offered access to a library of historic aerial images and found several different views of the farm my grandfather bought back in the early 1950s. (https://apps.lib.umn.edu/mhapo/) That property was called “Intervale Ranch” and the name became the inspiration for our choosing “Wintervale” […]

Thrown Back — Relative Something

I don’t often write about NASCAR. I used to follow it a lot closer than I do now, but it was seldom anything more than a late-winter distraction as I waited for the IndyCar season to get cranked up. But something happened over the weekend that has stirred feelings I rarely experience. In the 1970s, […]

An Unthinkable Tragedy — Oilpressure

Are you listening carefully ? Then I’ll begin. Once upon a time, and a long time ago it was, there was no television, no CITV and no cartoon channels on cable. Radio (what they called the wireless) was all there was and it was definitely for adults. You knew this because father had the headphones […]

Children’s Hour — The Iron Room

I finally had my knee replacement surgery a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been singularly focused on recovery and physical therapy. As a result, I haven’t been on HF since before my surgery. This weekend, however, I finally ventured down into the basement where my HF gear resides.  The Straight Key Century Club […]

I’m Back – Sort of — WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

My (far) better half and I like to keep a radio in our little travel trailer. When we’re camping, we often listen to baseball games in the evening (go Phillies!) while sitting around the campfire. It’s also handy to have a weather radio on hand, when the cell service is unreliable or non-existent. I bought […]

The Raddy RF750 Multimedia Music Player — WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

The following monologue from former KCBS Radio newsman, pre-eminent Earhart researcher and best-selling author Fred Goerner appeared in the November 1997 edition of the Amelia Earhart Society Newsletters.  It’s a snapshot of Goerner’s thinking in 1987, just seven years before his death from cancer in 1994.  He’s clearly learned much since his 1966 bestseller The […]

Fred Goerner holds forth in 1987 radio broadcast — Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last

The vortex claims its sacrifice. Double-sided full-size Toni styling model – 1979. Image: (c) Steve Saxty Despite what Uwe Bahnsen later stated publicly, both he and his design team were placed squarely in the firing line as Sierra’s disappointing early sales figures were thrown in their faces, as Patrick le Quément recalls: “Design was the […]

Into the Vortex – Part Three — Driven To Write