Archive for November, 2005
As you may recall, on the weekend I reported that George Gibson had been replaced by Stuart Bocking on 2UE’s New Day Australia, I also said that I would endeavour to find out what happened to George.
It turns out that I jumped on 2UE management prematurely. Given the recent changes at 2UE and the “no notice given” approach which was used for Stuart Bocking taking over the show, I was under the impression that George had been dumped by the station. Fortunately this is not the case, George retired after becoming a grandfather for the (1st?/2nd?) time. George may return to radio in the future, but after nearly 15 years at 2UE and even longer elsewhere, he has called it a day.
John Kerr presented a rather moving tribute to George Gibson this morning.
My sincere apoligies to 2UE management if I have caused any undue concern or criticism. I take it that Stuart has wanted to do the overnight show for a while, so good luck to him, I’m sure he will settle in and do a good job.
Best of luck George Gibson, at least you don’t have to go home and have reheated pizza for breakfast any more!
Samuel
November 16th, 2005 at 12:26pm
Well, with my current employer treating me like an idiot, I am starting applying for other jobs.
Here is the basic rundown of what has happened without breaking any kind of confidentiality agreement etc
A few weeks ago my SNAP (School Based New Apprenticeship) contract ran out and I was urged by my bosses to sign up for a School Assistant Level Two position which would enable them to continue employing me. I was given the distinct impression that they would continue employing me, but things changed in the time it took for the paperwork to be processed. When I finally got my employment papers back from the Department of Education I notified the college, the person I notified gave me an unusual reply of “We’ll ring you when we need you”, which was a completely different line to what was being said just a couple weeks before…I let it go.
About a week later I had a need to go into the college for an event, and I bumped into one of my bosses who said the exact same line as the other person had said, he also said for me to give him some contact details, which I did.
That was close to a week ago, and I still haven’t heard anything. I rang my direct boss today who was more or less clueless to the whole proceedings, he said he would make enquiries and I’ll ring him tommorow to see what is going on. Today on the phone he suggested that I might be needed in late December…late December??? And just what do they expect me to do until then without an income?
This isn’t the first time they have played silly games with me, and I am truly sick of it. If they don’t have this sorted out by tommorow they will lose me, and as I am under no obligation to inform them of it they will find out the hard way…when they need me in late December (or probably early next year when some major work is scheduled), they will just end up finding out that I am working elsewhere and I have no interest in working for them any more.
I would prefer for this to all be sorted out in a calm and positive manner, but at the rate things are going, I will be surprised if it is. Personally I would be glad to get out of there and go somewhere where I am appreciated and respected…as time has gone on they have treated me worse and worse and the conditions have gotten worse, I’ve put up with it until now, but I am reaching my wits end…we’ll see how things pan out.
Samuel
November 15th, 2005 at 09:12pm
Yes, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire did give away another million dollars, and no cheating was involved! Well done!
EDIT: Hmmm, forgot to put in the winners name…well done Martin Flood!
Samuel
November 14th, 2005 at 09:27pm
I currently have plans, which are still in their formative stages, of starting a podcast which will be known as Samuel’s Persiflage. The plan at this stage is for an interview based program, with interviews on various subjects with various people.
The podcast will probably contain other things, and I have a potential jingle in mind at this time, but it probably won’t contain music other than that of my own creation due to licencing issues.
The long term plan (if this idea ever gets off the ground and becomes a success) is for it to have a sponsor to help cover costs (which would probably fix the music licencing issues) and/or make it available in a radio friendly format. At this stage there won’t be any set length for the podcast, although I’m aiming for approximately half an hour per episode…in future, a radio friendly format would force limits, but that is a long way down the track yet.
Samuel
November 14th, 2005 at 08:55pm
Last week one of the tabloid newspapers of Australia (either Daily Telegraph or Herald Sun), in it’s partially reliable entertainment gossip section, said that Who Wants To Be A Millionaire have another million dollar prize winner, who will be screening tonight. But they also said that Channel 9 were investigating excessive coughing, with audience members commenting on the amount of coughing, and also on the way the contestant suspiciously managed to get answers from nowhere, in the same way the UK Who Wants To Be A Millionaire cheat did.
Anyway, the episode is going to air tonight, so accusations of cheating have probably been proven false. Do we have another millionaire this week? The gossip says yes, and the way they have had a long discussion about strategy on the show, and not a single question, and now gone to an ad break indicates to me that the answer is yes…but we’ll just have to wait and see!
Samuel
November 14th, 2005 at 08:46pm
John B1_B5 is in the lead this afternoon with 8 correctly spelled words in 60 seconds.
There are four more places left in the spelling competition, and the rules are simple. Listen to Mike Welsh on 2CC and wait for the cue to call, there will be another one next hour and another one in the hour after that, and when you hear it, be one of the first two callers through on 62554444. The person who spells the most words correctly in their 60 seconds wins tickets to an exclusive 2CC movie screening (I think).
EDIT: Whoops, forgot that you can also win a holiday.
Samuel
November 14th, 2005 at 03:46pm
That’s a large drop, Schnappi is down from 23rd to 36th on the ARIA singles chart this week.
November 13th, 2005 at 11:35pm
This week’s Musician Of The Week award goes to Tom T. Hall, who would have to be one of my favourite country singers. I’ve enjoyed listening to various songs of his in an effort to decide which song to make the feature song, and I have finally (after about half an hour of decision making), chosen A Week In A Country Jail. It was a tough choice as he has so many fantastic songs, some of which include I Washed My Face In The Morning Dew, Ballad Of Forty Dollars, I Like Beer, Pamela Brown & That Lucky Old Sun, anyway here is the feature song of the week.
One time I spent a week inside a little country jail
And I don’t guess I’ll ever live it down
I was sittin’ at a red light when these two men came and got me
And said that I was speeding through their town
Well, they said,”Tomorrow morning you can see the judge then go.”
They let me call one person on the phone
I thought I’d be there overnight so I just called my boss
To tell him I’d be off but not for long
Well, they motioned me inside a cell with seven other guys
One little barred up window in the rear
My cellmates said if they had let me bring some money in
We ought to send the jailer for some beer
Well, I had to pay him double ’cause he was the man in charge
And the jailer’s job was not the best in town
Later on his wife brought hot bologna, eggs and gravy
The first day I was there I turned it down
Well, next morning they just let us sleep but I was up real early
Wonderin’ when I’d get my release
Later on we got more hot bologna, eggs and gravy
And by now I wasn’t quite so hard to please
Two days later when I thought that I had been forgotten
The sheriff came in chewin’ on a straw
He said, “Where is the guy who thinks that this is Indianapolis?
I’d like to talk to him about the law.”
Well, I told him who I was and told him I was working steady
And I really should be gettin’ on my way
That part about me bein’ who I was did not impress him
He said, “The judge’ll be here any day.”
The jailer had a wife and let me tell you she was awful
But she brought that hot bologna every day
And after seven days she got to lookin’ so much better
I asked her if she’d like to run away
The next mornin’ that old judge took every nickel that I had
And he said, “Son, let this teach you not to race.”
The jailer’s wife was smilin’ from the window as I left
In thirty minutes I was out of state
Samuel
November 13th, 2005 at 10:48pm
Just when you think sanity has prevailed, you find out that Weekend Magazine is a Saturday only show, so whilst Canberra is saved from Sydney real estate, we are not saved from Sydney Gardening, and considering we have two hours of Canberra gardening in the morning, 2CC could be the new home for horticultural experts. At least we know where to turn when the petunias start talking. On the other hand, why not have another two hour show on 2CC from midday to 2PM on Sunday, perhaps Kevin Woolfe talking about sport, not just the major sporting events, but the local games as well, or maybe Weekend Welshy…catchy title…
Glenn Wheeler is starting to sound pretty good, he seems to have settled in nicely, and is certainly happy at 2UE. I still miss George and Paul, but I guess the 2UE webstream is there if I need it. I’m very unhappy with 2UE for removing George Gibson from weekend New Day Australia and placing Stuart Bocking in his place…strange decision in my view.
On another note, when I turned on the Trading Post this afternoon, I just happened to turn it on at the time when John B1_B5 was on there…interesting coincidence if you ask me!
Samuel
November 13th, 2005 at 08:00pm
Oh boy, just when I thought some sanity had returned to my life, 2UE pull some strange changes out of a hat and make my 2CC listening odd.
It started when I turned on the radio this morning at around 12:30am before going to bed and noticed Stuart Bocking, after a bit of research I have discovered George is gone and Stuart has taken over the show (eek!). I reported back in June that Stuart was moving to middawns and leaving Lawsie’s show, which seems to have come true. Stuart only seems to be doing racing tips once a week for Lawsie now, which is a large pity in my view, he was always a welcome and fun addition to Lawsie’s show when he entered the studio out of the blue.
Thankfully 2CC haven’t lost their minds, and Weekend Magazine was back today, with Mike Frame running a mostly snappy and entertaining show, well done Mike! Thankfully Weekend Magazine is on 2CC to save us from Sydney realty and gardening.
As previously reported, Mike frame also ran the Trading Post and the Saturday morning show which used to be the domain of Kane Bond, who has left 2CC.
Glenn Wheeler (Apoligies for spelling his name with one N previously) seems to have settled in to his afternoon show and was pretty good today, although he (presumably at 2UE’s discretion) has launched a 5:30-6PM trading post…ye gods, this brings that dreaded program format repetition back to 2CC…saved from Sydney gardening…driven nuts by Sydney Buying, Swapping and Selling. 2UE management are collectively insane if they think getting listeners from Canberra, Sydney and wherever else Glenn is heard to all ring in and try and sell stuff to each other…yes 2UE, everyone wants to drive for three hours or more just to buy a table…
I suppose this means that I think 2CC should move local programming to the afternoon to avoid loony 2UE segments…but I doubt they will.
Samuel
November 12th, 2005 at 05:16pm
This is taking the changes too far, George Gibson has been replaced by Stuart Bocking.
Regular readers may remember that in June I reported that there were rumors flying about Stuart Bocking taking over the weekday version New Day Australia from John Kerr, whilst what would happen to John Kerr was unclear. Fortunately this didn’t happen, but it looks like there was some truth to the rumors as Stuart Bocking has taken over the weekend version of the show.
For those who are wondering about the fate of George Gibson, I don’t know, but I will endeavour to find out.
Back in June I did say (perhaps not on this site) that I didn’t think Stuart would suit middawn where lengthy conversations are normal, and listening to some of his show this morning, I would have to say I think I was right…maybe he will adapt, but he is no George Gibson, he doesn’t have the same level personality and he doesn’t have the same fun demeanour. I hope he will adapt as I like middawn talk programs.
Just like last week’s surprise changes at 2UE, this change was a complete surprise, with listeners given no warning that George was going. This is very poor form 2UE, you are treating your listeners with contempt, and if you keep playing games of Schedule Scrabble you will lose an awful lot of listeners to stations like 2GB who seem to be able to maintain a schedule for more than one moon phase.
Samuel
November 12th, 2005 at 05:05pm
There’s nothing like a dream about a strange bicycle race in an unknown suburb.
The three things I remember of the dream
1. I was a professional cyclist (could anything be further from the truth?)
2. The race started in a funny version of Manuka on top of Red Hill
3. We had to cycle through cafes…and kitchens…and parks….and on rooftops…
Don’t ask….
Samuel
November 11th, 2005 at 04:04pm
Last night when I had a shower it proved to be a fairly scary experience, allow me to explain.
Before entering the bathroom I could hear footsteps on the roof…human footsteps (unless the local cats have lost half their legs)…whoever it was cleared off fairly quickly, so I suspect it was one of the local loonies.
When I entered the bathroom I went to lock the door, and it would not lock, it felt like someone was holding the door handle on the other side of the door just out of position so that it wouldn’t lock. A minute later it would lock…
During the shower (by which time I was semi-convinced there was someone in the house) the clock downstairs chimed…the first tone from that clock sounds like a human voice which scared me, but then I heard the rest of the chime and all was OK.
After the shower whilst getting dressed the rack hanging from the shower head slipped and made a large bang…needless to say it made me jump…just after that I felt something on my leg, I looked down and saw a big black thing on my leg, I jumped and shook it off and realised that it was a butterfly…by this time my heart was ready to stop beating…oh what a shower.
Samuel
November 11th, 2005 at 03:49pm
I just had a look at the statistics for this site and noticed that it has broken its records. It has already surpassed 1000 visitors for the month (quite an achievement when you consider the previous record for an ENTIRE month was 818 visitors) and the page views so far this month is on 4578, which is far in excess of the previous record of 2807.
Thankyou to all of you for reading and a special thankyou to all of you who have contributed.
Samuel
November 11th, 2005 at 02:57pm
I stumbled across an unusual and interesting website last week about Australian buses, Bus Australia, something I found interesting is that they seem to know more about the ACTION fleet than ACTION do. Including the fact that some of the new green buses (which I’m not a fan of) were originally detined for King Bros, but for one reason or another were never delivered, and were probably really cheap for ACTION as a result. The site also shows some of the old ACTION buses (the models before the current oldest models…I loved those buses…also shows some of the old leyland buses), and shows some ex-ACTION buses being used elsewhere.
It actually shows just about every bus from everywhere in the country…and even some ferries…well worth a look.
Samuel
November 11th, 2005 at 12:26am
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