ThunderRoad's Blog

Watched Andy Banker's story last night. 

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jse
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Let me get this straight.  A PRIVATE institution wants the prestige of hosting a Vice Presidential debate... but wants federal, taxpayer-funded homeland security money to pay for the security for the event.  I applaud St Clair County Chairman Mark Kern for pointing out that homeland security funds should be used for sandbag machines and other items which can benefit the entire area.   Don't kid yourselves... Washington University is big business.  Judging by the brick and construction at that campus... I would say this big business is more than able to foot the security bill itself.   I heard that some who approved the money said it was worth it because of the prestige the St Louis area will get.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Not in this economy.  Homeland security funds for items that benefit everyone locally.  Not the elite who can attend a Vice Presidential debate.

So, today... someone called and asked the following question:  "What is today's date?"  Someone here replied with the correct answer, and the caller said thanks and hung up.  It seems it was easier to call than to actually look it up.

Yesterday, someone called here and asked for the phone number for a local business.  A staff member asked how they found our number, and they replied they found us in the phone book.  So the natural response was why couldn't the caller look up the number they wanted in the phone book.  The answer:  I didn't know how to spell it... and figured you did. 

So to quote Paul Schankman... What's The Deal?

Do you folks get these crazy calls at your place of business.

Last night a St. Louis television station broke it's own stated policy.  KSDK-- which has previously stated it won't report the names of Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck because they are minors and victims-- reported a story on Ben Ownby.  Has the station's policy changed?  I would assume it has not.  It is a policy-- by the way-- which I don't agree with.  It's a little disingenous to have the policy quoting journalistic ethics when the whole world knows the name of the victim.  And then last night the station said the words "Ben Ownby".  Why?  Because The Today Show had Ownby and his parents on the air this morning in an exclusive interview.  Seems awfully self-serving and transparent to change your policy when it could increase your ratings. 

Watched the men in the dark SUV's escort the US Attorney General over the bridge today.  The four car entourage cruised through stop signs, cut people off in morning rush hour traffic, and flew up the Route 3 bridge... cutting into the Poplar ramp traffic at the last minute.   Since I watch Illinois commuters do this same routine every morning... I'm thinking there's a second career for some as a Secret Service driver.

There once was a Fox 2 reporter who went to Mizzou

But oh the humanity, her kid went to KU!

Was the result-- the throwing of rocks and sticks?

You'll have to tune into Fox 2 News at 6!!

Anyone who worked with Andy Werner at KTVi has a story about Andy.  He was truly one of a kind.  He forgot more about television news than most know.   He'll be missed.

Andrew T. Werner III Pioneering TV news cameraman in St. Louis


Monday, Nov. 19 2007

Andrew T. Werner III, one of the first television news camera operators in St.
Louis, died Sunday (Nov. 18, 2007) at his home in Florissant. He was 87.

Mr. Werner retired in 1994, his 34th year as a cameraman with KTVI. He began
his career in 1948, as a cameramen at St. Louis' first TV station, KSD-TV
(Channel 5), now KSDK.

Mr. Werner grew up in St. Louis, graduated from Beaumont High School and joined
the Army. He was stationed in Germany during World War II.

His assignments as a television cameraman included capturing the completion of
the Gateway Arch. In 1997, he won a Silver Circle Award by the St.
Louis/Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences.

The year he retired, Post-Dispatch columnist Jerry Berger wrote how Mr. Werner
used to be a five-pack-a-day smoker until he covered a story about cancer and
smoking. When a medic showed Mr. Werner a lung X-ray of a five-pack patient,
Berger wrote, Mr. Werner quit cold turkey.

After he retired from KTVI, Mr. Werner worked as a park ranger for the city of
Florissant.

Mr. Werner was preceded in death in 1989 by his wife, Eleanor Werner, a former
local television producer and director.

A memorial visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 21) at Hutchens
Mortuary, 675 Graham Road in Florissant.

 

Tim Ezell will tell you it's Michael Jordan.  He's rather passionate about the argument.  I'm going with Tiger Woods.   Simply, I believe what Tiger can do with a golf club is more impressive that what Jordan did with a basketball.  I'm probably the only one, but I'm sticking with the argument. 

I'll give you this one caveat, though:  the night I was born Ali fought Floyd Patterson.  My dad wasn't in the delivery room because he was watching the fight with other dads in the waiting room.  And my mom tells me the doctors sent word they wouldn't deliver the baby until the fight was over.  Gotta give a vote to Ali if he can cause that much of a stir.

My fifth grader plays baseball in the Khoury Leagues in Illinois.  In a nutshell, last weekend his team played for the championship in Dupo Illinois.  They lost.  The game lasted six innings, rather than seven-- because the time limit for the game had expired.  There were no other games scheduled after our game so we asked the other team-- from O'Fallon IL-- if they would agree to play the last inning since it was the championship game.  The coaches refused quoting the time limit rule.

I will never understand how grown men make the decision to stop kids from playing the game.  When I was growing up I started looking forward to the weekend baseball games in the middle of the week.  I got my gear together and played catch everyday.  When the game came along I stood out there and wished we could play 100 innings.  Getting to play was the most important factor.  Sure it mattered if we won or lost... but I loved just getting to play. 

30 years later I find myself wondering how anyone can tell these kids the most important thing is winning... even if it means not playing a full game.  As I was coaching first base during our last at bat, I overheard the other teams first baseman tell the second baseman that coach said "If we make this inning last long enough, we won't have to play another".

I'll never understand it.

Anyone is St. Louis practice hypermiling?  I'd be interested in knowing your results.  I was looking at this website >> www.hypermiling.com << and some of the tips make sense.  Others seem like more trouble than they're worth.  Still, anything to get better gas mileage. 

"The Boss" releasing what could be an interesting album. Not your classic E Street band members, but some classic E Street songs.

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

Did anyone see the story Chris Regnier did on the man who made quite a career of stealing cars.  He talked with one of the man's victims.  Any other victims out there who saw the story.  If you look at the St. Louis County crime summary each day, it's littered with stolen crime reports.

>>watch story<<

I live in Illinois and cross the Poplar twice a day.  As I approach the bridge in the morning on the Route 3 ramp, many drivers stay in the right lane (toward East St. Louis) and merge into traffic at the last moment.  At night, those same rude drivers stay in the Last Missouri Exit lane until the last moment and then merge.  It's frustrating.  Once they merge it causes everyone behind to tap the brakes.  It makes the traffic jam worse.  Hey folks here's an idea... why don't you get in the lane you want to use before the jam.   Folks have actually studied the problem:

http://times.discovery.com/convergence/drivingameri
ca/interactive/interactive.html