Tag: Alka Seltzer

Judging’s Not For Me

Right now, I would like to take a nap. My whole body is bloated. I wish I had some Alka Seltzer

I did a live shot on-the-air this evening. That’s become more of a rarity as my boss strives to separate ‘Fun Geoff’ from ‘Weather Geoff’.

PIC-0088This was the annual “Taste of the Nation,” which benefits the Connecticut Food Bank and other charitable endeavors. It all took place at the Omni Hotel at Yale, in Downtown New Haven.

The live hits were fun, for a variety of reasons. First, I enjoy having the opportunity to play around a little while on-camera. Second, I tried to solve a techno challenge and succeeded.

Until now, there was no way to control my weather equipment from the field. I’d cue the director, who would cue the floor manager, who would push my weather graphics button. Often, there was missed communication, which took me out of sync with what was on the screen.

This evening, I brought in a laptop, connected using the venue’s wireless Internet cloud, and used logmein.com to bring my weather computer’s screen and controls to the laptop in the field. Though it won’t show me the actual high-res graphic I’m displaying on the air, every other part of the system’s back end was there.

This was a huge burden off my shoulders. It worked perfectly.

PIC-0090After the news, I assumed my second job of the evening – judging the food. I had been volunteered for the job. Who knew how difficult judging is?

I’m not talking about the qualitative judgement. That’s not the tough part of judging. The tough part is the shear quantity of restaurants and food. I had to sample some of everything!

Right now, I would like to take a nap. My whole body is bloated. I wish I had some Alka Seltzer.

I guess I’m the wrong guy to recommend for Iron Chef.

Christmas With A Cold

My cold continues to blossom. Last night I felt it make its first move, escaping from my throat. Today, I’m sneezing.

I took some Sudafed this morning, which made a difference for a while. Tonight, it was capped with Alka Seltzer cold tablets. The jury’s out on how those work.

Originally, it was going to be an easy day. Sit. Relax. Forget about work. That was not to be.

We’re very short at the TV station. One of our meteorologists is out of town. Another was injured jumping out of a second story window in a fire (Mostly bruised, he’ll be back shortly)!

I’m in, again, tonight. I’ll be in, again, tomorrow too! I’ll be working 13 in a row and 20 of 21, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Don’t cry for me. It’s not as if I don’t like my job.

PIC-0175Between shows I went with Helaine and Stef to a little pre-Christmas get together at our neighbors’. The tree is up and the house is decorated. It’s really pretty. Dinner was served on Christmas plates.

Yeah, we’re jealous. Having a tree and all the accouterments of the holiday is very appealing.

People always ask, “Why don’t you just get a tree?” It wouldn’t be right. It’s not our holiday. We still enjoy celebrating with our friends.

Our neighbors have the two best behaved, most polite, boys I’ve ever seen. They’re almost Stepford like. I’ve known both these kids since they were born and they both call me Mr. Fox.

They were brought up like that. Respect is a lost art for most 21st Century kids.

Amazingly enough, the younger one, now in the 4th grade, was the bartender! I’m not talking about pulling a beer from the cooler or pouring wine. He had a handwritten set of instructions and was measuring out some pretty fancy concoctions. Martini glasses were frosted and filled.

Maybe it would be wrong under different circumstances, but not here. He was helping his parents and doing a pretty good job of it! This was all about being a team player. It had nothing at all to do with the liquor.

Mr. Fox did not imbibe.

David Letterman

I’m going to say bad things, so let me start by saying nice things. It’s part of my inherited guilt.

I think David Letterman is the king of talk show hosts. I have been watching him for at least 25 years – maybe more. He has always been on edge, always been witty, always been funny.

Back in Buffalo I kvetched and complained until our program director, Vicki Gregorian, began running his NBC late night show. Did I have anything to do with our finally clearing it? Probably not, but it still felt good and was the right thing to do.

Before I left Buffalo, I threw a party and sent an invitation to Dave. He never answered. I never thought he would, but it was an expression of the depth of my admiration for him.

There have actually been times when I’ve purposely not watched Dave because I felt I was ripping him off. I didn’t do it on purpose, his influence was that strong.

At home, I have the DVR set to record his show every night. I only watch once or twice a week and then I skim. The truth is, Late Night with David Letterman has gotten stale. It hurts me to say that because of all the respect I still have for Dave.

Tonight was a perfect example of what’s gone wrong. Much of the first half of the show was taken up by tired, reused bits like “Will It Float” and “Know Your Current Events.” This is the antithesis of what made Dave what he is – unpredictable, off-the-wall material. This is the guy who jumped into the water wearing a suit of Alka Seltzer, crushed items with a steamroller, and dropped watermelons off a building.

The show can be saved, but someone’s going to have to shock him into it. I don’t know Dave personally, but everything I’ve read says that won’t be easy. It’s time to scrap the repetition and move on.

Who has the guts to tell him?

As it is, a much less astute, less intellectual, but harder working Jay Leno cleans up in the ratings. It just shouldn’t be. Dave has to take a fair share of the blame. Now it’s time to move on and regain what once was.