Average Joe Radio Episode 35: Audio Feedback

New this week on

Average Joe Radio

Episode Thirty-Five: Audio Feedback

Recorded using a new microphone on a Windows Vista notebook computer. No more handheld recording device. Still need to get the audio levels adjusted properly.

"Last Goodbye" from "Aaron"
by Aaron
Buy at Podsafe Music Network


"Not How the West Was Won" (mp3) from "Age of Vipers"
by Tin Foil Phoenix (C4 Records)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
More On This Album


"Movie Date" from "RTM"
by Redefining the Moment



"Fifty Cent Millionaire" from "Stripwired"
by Stripwired
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"Undone" from "Clockwork"
by Tim Blane
Buy at CDBaby



"The War Is In Color" from "Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat"
by Carbon Leaf
Buy at CarbonLeaf.com


"No Heart Ache" from "Schoolbus Window Paper Heart"
by Phil Ayoub
Buy at CDBaby



"Man of Constant Sorrow" (mp3) from "Age of Vipers"
by Tin Foil Phoenix (C4 Records)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
More On This Album

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Birthday Cake

Check out this birthday cake my wife made for me. She got me a new grill for my birthday, then won an even nicer one on eBay (which I hope we can pick up this week), and made this grill cake to go with it. The hot dogs and cheeseburgers (and the little orange flames) are all hand made out of fondant.

This is by far the most creative, and coolest, cake she's made since she got really into this cake-making thing. If you think the hot dogs and cheeseburgers look realistic in this picture, you should have seen the cake.

Joe

Album Art Giveaway

Just a reminder, even though the Average Joe Radio Song of the Day is on hiatus, the Album Art Giveaway contest lives on, with great free music from Truckee Brothers, Dead Rock West, and William Brooks.

To enter, simply study the album art from each episode of Song of the Day and make your best guess of what they have in common. Then send me an email, call me (206-600-4JOE), or use the Odeo recorder in the sidebar to send me a voicemail online, and tell me what you think the album art has in common.

Time is running out. Submit your entry today! Here is a sample of some of the album art.

Take your best guess.

Joe

The Zero Diet

So Coca-Cola has come out with a new zero calorie soda: Coke Zero. Okay, so it's not exactly new. According to Wikipedia, the product was launched in July 2006, making it just over a year old. But a new product -- especially one vying for consumers in the soft drink war -- takes a little time to get a toehold.

My wife, who has been a Diet Coke drinker for some time now, has converted to Coke Zero. It's a zero calorie cola that truly tastes very much like original Coca-Cola. I'm a serious skeptic when it comes to cola claims. For one, I cannot tolerate the sugary sweet taste of Pepsi-Cola, and can only barely tolerate Royal Crown Cola. Coca-Cola has long been my choice. If we find ourselves eating at a restaurant that only serves Pepsi products, I'll choose Mountain Dew, but never Pepsi!

So my wife, maybe a week or two ago, challenged me to try Coke Zero. As a skeptic, I had held out for quite some time, until one day with a serious Coke craving and nothing else in the house, I opened one of her cans and took a drink.

At first, I noticed a mild aftertaste. Now, I have to say, the aftertaste of Coke Zero was nothing compared to that of other calorie free soft drinks (namely Diet Coke). The taste of Diet Coke stays with you for hours. Coke Zero has a very mild aftertaste that fades away rather quickly and, believe it or not, seems to actually enhance the flavor.

So I've become sold on Coke Zero. I haven't had any other soft drink for almost two weeks now. In fact, I told my wife that I could switch to Coke Zero and, making absolutely no other changes to my diet or activity level, actually lose weight. I believe that my metabolism is such that it is completely possible to lose weight just by eliminating the 160 or so calories I consumed in each serving of a soft drink that I had.

Well, I never actually hit the scale to test this theory until tonight. As of this evening, I weigh 190 pounds. I won't guess what I weighed two weeks ago when I eschewed all other soft drinks. But I will keep you up to date on the progress of this Zero Diet of mine, with updates several times a week.

In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to pop the top on a can (or bottle, though I prefer the taste from a can) of Coca-Cola Zero and take a swig. It really does taste just like The Real Thing!

Joe

President Bush's Weekly Radio Address

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In his weekly radio address President Bush said, “Good morning. This week I visited with troops at Charleston Air Force Base. These fine men and women are serving courageously to protect our country against dangerous enemies. The terrorist network that struck America on September the 11th wants to strike our country again. To stop them, our military, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals need the best possible information about who the terrorists are, where they are, and what they are planning.”

Average Joe Radio Episode 34: William Brooks - UPDATED

The original file upload was missing approximately 4 minutes of my interview with William Brooks. It has been added. I encourage those who have already listened to the original upload to revisit the first twenty minutes for the interview content they missed.

Joe

New this week on

Average Joe Radio

Episode Thirty-Four: William Brooks

This week's special episode, as part of the Song of the Day Album Art Giveaway, is sponsored by William Brooks and Magnatune.com. Special thanks for their sponsorship.

To find out how you can win an autographed copy of the William Brooks album, Silent Wings, click here.

Songs featured in this episode:

• Hard Left sung by Robin Hackett
  
• Maybe Meagan
  
• Land of Lincoln
  
• Justified
  
• Silent Wings
  
• Hideaway
  
• The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
  
• The Hanging of Allen Scott Johnson
  

Featuring a special interview with the artist.

With insight into the inspiration behind the songs, how he got into music, and how you, too, can write a song. William Brooks goes into detail on his tried and true songwriting method in his book, "How To Write A Love Song." You'll get a special sneak peek in this episode.

Feedback Line: (206) 600-4JOE

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Another Audit Mishap

It was last November when I ranted about failing an audit at work. Well, it has happened again. I know, if I'm the one who has failed the audit, of course I'm going to gripe about it, and say it wasn't fair, and that my store should have passed. But, the thing it, that's true. Click the link above to read about last year's audit. Then read on. Go ahead, I'll wait......

Okay, so out of nearly twenty stores in my District, only one has passed this LP audit so far this year. Only one. My turn came around this week. And we scored several of the points that no other store has been able to score the points on. Several very difficult categories to pass, and we hit them on the head and passed them. We had a couple of stupid mistakes in two areas that cost us some points, but even with those we would have passed the audit. Until points were deducted for an inventory discrepancy on an item that is actually not missing. The item is open and has been slightly used in my store, and was added back into inventory because I had planned on using it as a display unit. After the item was cleaned up, it was clearly not clean enough to be a display unit, so I decided not to put it on the sales floor. This item is here, in my store, just as my inventory says it is, but the Auditor decided to deduct the points because it was not on the sales floor. Nowhere on the audit does it say that the item has to be on the sales floor in order for the points to be awarded.

I had this audit passed, until these points were unfairly deducted for an item that was never missing.

There, I griped about it. I'm frustrated, but I got it out of my system.

Thanks for listening!

Joe

Phil Ayoub - No Heartache

Check out Phil Ayoub on YouTube. Thanks to Jersey Joe for the link.



Joe

President Bush's Weekly Radio Address

Sorry it's a little late this week.

20070721.a.mp3
(audio/mpeg Object)

In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "The men who run al Qaeda are determined, capable, and ruthless. They would be in a far stronger position to attack our people if America's military, law enforcement, intelligence services, and other elements of our government were not engaged in a worldwide effort to stop them. We will meet the responsibility that history has given us; we will adapt to changing conditions, and we will not let up until our enemies are defeated and our people are secure."

Average Joe Radio Special Episode 3: Clay Aiken Live in Columbus

New this week on a Special Episode of

Average Joe Radio

Special Episode Three: Clay Aiken Live in Columbus

This was some difficult audio to get from Clay Aiken's recent concert at Chemical Abstracts Service (yeah, really) in Columbus, Ohio. The venue had very, very tight policies about taking pictures, recording video, and recording audio. It has been reported that more than one concert-goer was escorted from the venue for refusing to follow the policy, while others were forced to move from coveted table seats to lawn seats with a more restricted view.

The concert took place as part of the Columbus Symphony's Picnic With The Pops series, sponsored by Fifth/Third Bank. Gates opened at 6:00 pm, and there was a mad rush to get the best lawn seats in the place. My wife and I had reserved lawn seats, though there was apparently some mistake and our group was placed several sections further away from the stage than originally promised. But our wonderful hostess, Cindy from Rhode Island, wouldn't settle for such treatment. Relentlessly she demanded that we be moved forward, and got just what she wanted. The group was moved two sections closer to the stage, which turned out to be pretty good seats.

Shortly after the opening of the gates, a picnic lunch was available. To those who purchased table tickets, a box lunch was available. To others, there were vendors throughout the venue with food offerings. We had some Donato's Pizza and Graeter's Ice Cream (a Cincinnati tradition -- if you haven't tried Graeter's, it is absolutely the creamiest ice cream made).

We met up with some new friends who just happened to be from our home town. Their company during the two-hour picnic period before the concert was very enjoyable. It made the whole experience just that much better.

At 8:00, Aiken and the Columbus Symphony took the stage, and the crowd of Claymates took to their feet. It was the largest crowd the Columbus Symphony has ever seen in their Picnic With The Pops series.

The concert lasted just barely over two hours and was quite enjoyable, even for someone like me, who isn't really a Clay Aiken fan and was only along because I wanted my wife to have a safe, enjoyable time.

The music in this audio file contains some excerpts from Aiken's TV show theme song medley. The audio quality isn't the greatest because, as I said, recording was prohibited. I had to use a small handheld device that I had to keep hidden throughout the recording. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy.

How many shows can you name? Comments below.

Joe

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