R and V Aftermath

Believe it or not - vinyl is not dead. This past weekend was a testament to the sustained popularity of this old-school musical medium. For two days, the KPBX Recordings and Videos Sale had hundreds of people lined up early to get first grabs at all the pristine vinyl they could buy. As the new kid on the block who had never participated in the event (and who knows relatively nothing about vinyl) I was amazed at the continuous flow of record groupies all day in the Spokane Masonic Center Auditorium, where the event took place.

I lent my time as a volunteer for several hours on Saturday and was given the duty of putting rogue records back into boxes and helping buyers carry their stuff out to their cars. I soon realized why no one else wanted the task: vinyl records are like carrying lead when you get dozens of them stuffed into a box. If I were asked “what is humankinds’ best invention to date?” - I would have to say the dolly. While loading records, equipment, and other dusty treasures, I got a chance to converse a little with sale-goers about the items they purchased. You would have thought that they had discovered gold with the way they described all of their stuff! One gentleman bought a load of old 78s, and as we were putting them in the cab of his ’69 Chevy truck (another potential conversation piece), he told me that it’s a hobby of his to keep “the good stuff of the past.” I guess he gave me the nostalgia fever, because at the silent auction I decided to bid on a turntable that, surprisingly, I won.

Finishing up all the duties for the day with the rest of the volunteers and staff who worked long hours to make sure the event ran smoothly, I felt invigorated. Placing equipment on the tables for the next day’s auction, I now understand why vinyl continues to survive even if digital allows you to access thousands of songs in the palm of your hands. Sure, it could be the quality of the sound or the artistic album covers, but the sense of community and the history are what make it even more special. I’m not quite there yet to join the vintage LP fan club, but I am enthusiastic about next year’s sale. Especially because I can bid on that receiver I forgot I would need to go with my new turntable.

New View 2

You may have recently observed that some major updates have occurred to the SPR blog. While many of the updates over the past several months have been intentional, changing the entire layout on Tuesday was not. With one click of the mouse, I managed to alter Making Noise forever by deleting the template that organizes the design of the blog. Originally, I thought I had deleted all the content on the site as well. Thankfully, after several panicked minutes, I realized that everything was not lost. This created an opportunity to further tweak Making Noise and design a layout that could better handle new interactive features such as the weekly poll, picture of the week and the Photoshop designed header. When I started interning at SPR last October and took over responsibilities for the blog, I had no clue how to manage it. With a modest amount of HTML and website design knowledge from a college class I took a year ago at Gonzaga, I had the ambition to give the blog more pizazz. With the recent changes, I feel as though Making Noise is one step closer to that goal. In the coming weeks there will be more minor changes as I fiddle with the aesthetics. If there is anything you would like to see added to the blog feel free to leave a comment.

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me

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With a great deal of hype surrounding Watson, the IBM computer that can play Jeopardy, I thought that Making Noise should jump on the quiz show bandwagon and ask the staff some questions. Just like the title of the NPR quiz program Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, many of them tussled with the deep, thought-provoking questions asked. Here are a few samples:

Choose a movie title that is the story of your life?

Jerry Olson, chief engineer – “Sleepless in Seattle.”

Reason behind answer: Not getting enough sleep

If you could only see in black-and-white and one additional color, what color would you choose?

Brian Lindsey, operations assistant and Weekend Edition host – “Gray, the world is not always back and white.”

Can you name four words that rhyme with pencil?

Mary Cravens, membership coordinator – “Stencil, tinsel, utensil, and pencil (Wait… that shouldn’t count!).”

If you could go on a road trip with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Verne Windham, program director – “I would like to take a drive with Dr. X, who is down on Obama-care.” Verne felt in order to properly address all the issues surrounding the subject, the length of the road trip would need to be similar to the amount of time it takes to drive to Seattle.

What do you think the greatest invention is in your lifetime?

Ann Torigoe-Hawkins, underwriting representative – “The GPS. Good or bad it’s amazing we can find out exactly where we are in the world at any time.”

If you would like to answer some unique questions NPR's, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me has an interactive question section. Link: http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/

Also, if you have a question you would like anyone at the station to answer, leave a comment and we will added it to the post.

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Car Talk

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Wow! I was wrong that gas prices would remain low during and after the recession. Washington now has the seventh highest gas price in the country, with a gallon of gas costing nearly $3.25 according to gasbuddy.com, and it’s only February! What is a driver to do to save at the pump?

With the economy recovering and car sales up, it seems that the manufacturers are gearing up to take advantage of drivers’ smaller pocketbooks. Just look at the Super Bowl, where there were over a dozen advertisements for a variety of new models: electric, diesel, hybrid, there is so many options to choose from these days to save energy and money.

I grew up listening to Car Talk with my dad on Saturdays and I still find Click and Clack’s advice helpful when I’m trying to find ways to save gas money since I drive a Jeep Wrangler, essentially a vehicle that is a brick on wheels. I am always looking for ways to improve my estimated 15 MPG (which it rarely is). Recently on their show, a caller asked a question about whether having a full or half filled tank is better for keeping gas costs down? After much debate and shared stories of how callers were able to beat the system and drive on fumes for hundreds of miles, it was determined that more gas equals more weight, thus causing worse mileage. So, I guess that means that even the pennies from my ashtray will get me where I’m going.

If you’re looking for something to listen to this weekend, my recommendation is to turn the dial and enjoy some ‘Car Talk.’ If you're a fan of the show leave a comment about your impressions.
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Catchy Converations

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Strolling into the SPR office each morning you don’t quite know what to expect. I find it similar to playing Roulette, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. Take for example, last Tuesday. It was a peaceful time at the station; it felt like few were in attendance. Then the blackout occurred. With the station without juice for nearly an hour, it was interesting to see how the noise level escalated as people emerged out of their offices, some of which I still have no clue where they're located. Even with the computer monitors turned black and the sound of typing hushed, the noise of multiple conversations still echoed. All the action focused to the lobby and the studios, thanks in part to a generator that kept the lights on. One of the first perceptions I had when I first started interning at the station was the welcoming environment, where it seemed that striking up a conversation was effortless. Now I wouldn't go as far as to say that its like the Who’s in the Grinch Stole Christmas after they all got robbed, but it’s great to see all the interactions that occur each day between staff. I know it’s a consensus that some days it can be distracting and just when you think that nobody will be in for the day that everyone suddenly does arrive and the decibels start to rise. According to a Cornell study just recently released that looked at 40 clerical workers, the impact of low level office noise dramatically reduces productivity (it’s true). Those studied in a noisy environment made forty percent fewer attempts to solve an unsolvable puzzle and made half as many ergonomic adjustments to their workstations. (I always knew Rubik cubes were unsolvable puzzles). One thing the researchers noticed was that the subjects typing wasn’t affected. While a quiet environment would be great, apparently I have no excuses when it comes to typing blog posts. My slowness is probably related more to the archaic hunt and peck method of typing I use.
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As far as my perfect work environment, I wouldn’t have it any other way than to have a sporadic mixture of conversation and noise. It makes every day a new adventure.
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