Memorial Day Double Feature - Why I Lost My Job And No - It Has Nothing To Do With The Fact That I Let My Employees Play Solitaire At Work!

I've told this story countless times, but for the many of you who do not work in the radio business, my former colleague, Chris Core, has published an article in The Washington Post that clearly explains the economics of commercial radio (and, by extension, WMAL) that led to my untimely demise. It's an excellent read, and I recommend it as a primer for anyone who wants to know why I'm on the beach!


But onto happier topics, such as this article from Slate Magazine, in which it is revealed that the all-time number one video game of all time is not the latest version of "Grand Theft Auto" or "Guitar Hero 3" or "Super Mario Bros", but lowly old Windows Solitaire! In fact, the article reveals that Solitaire is the single most-used program in the entire Windows Universe! Apparently, Microsoft developed the solitaire game as a way to teach computer novices how to use a mouse... And sure enough, I can still recall directing oldtimers like Bud Steele to spend a half-hour at a time playing cards on a computer! This for a guy who was still smoking Camel unfiltereds and using a manual typwwriter when I arrived at WMAL in 1982! 25 years and one lung lighter, Bud is still happily clicking away at Leisure World!

I remember encouraging my first News Director, Len Deibert, to get a PC shortly after I got my first 386-SX back in 1991. Len asked me - "Why would I ever need a computer!" Why, indeed! The world has certainly changed in ways we never saw coming... Just read topic number one of this blog entry!