I live by the philosophy, “Work Hard. Play Hard” Playing Harder is usually the case….
But meeting Grand Funk Railroad with the famed Mike Ryan…..
And Ryno….
Is all in a days work.
At A Glance....
I can’t remember when I thought that getting into radio would be a good idea. Sometimes, I’m not sure if that point has come yet! It was probably when I first walked into The Fox, and said, “Hey, this might be cool.” It might have been all the fun buttons to play with and the adventure of running a reel-to-reel. Hell, I was 20. I didn’t know any better.
I had started Dee Jaying for Jr. High Dances, and birthday parties, and weddings weren’t too far off. But quickly learned that the stress of freaked out brides wasn’t worth it, so hung up my mixer and now only do private parties, or on occasion outside PA wedding services. Now, just radio is good enough.
Currently, I produce the Bob and Tom Show starting at 5am. Early mornings are nice because there is no traffic driving in, I can run red lights, and generally speaking, it is just peaceful and I like easing into the day, rather then hitting the ground running at 8am like everyone else.
After the B&T Show, I take care of The Fox’s website, so if there is something you like or want less of, I’m your guy. Usually I’m at the mercy of Ken, but the Babe Homepage Takeover, yeah, that was all yours truly…unless you were offended... then it was Sarah!
When I’m not at work, I am finishing up my journalism degree at the University of Iowa. I only have 2 classes to go, and am looking at a summer graduation. That will be a 7 year monkey off my back! Winter, I’m usually up before I have to come in shoveling, and skiing at Chestnut Mountain is a new pleasure my wife has introduced me to. Spring and Summer I can be found on my mountain bike riding around town or Sugar Bottom, or vacationing at Fillenwarth Beach in Okoboji. Fall, is tied up with Hawkeye Football and getting every last minute of outdoors that I can afford, before the cycle continues….rinse and repeat.
Outside of those annual routines, I am a pizza connoisseur, always looking for the next non-franchise palace to indulge in, my wife and I love traveling to exotic parts of the Midwest, like Chicago, Dubuque, Grimes, IA, Rich Hill, MO (the home of the self-proclaimed, “World’s Largest Coal Bucket”), and of course Parnell. On Sunday nights, I have taken up city league softball, notably playing for the Lemstone Lemmings in 2007, for my initial appearance…that sounds so bad. How about - my debut as 2nd base. Unfortunately, in the next to last game of the championship tournament last year, I stopped a bad hop with my left one, and have been a little edgy around hitters ever since. Rounding out the top things that I do while I’m not doing what I have to do, is the laundry. Exciting huh?!
Jerry has entertained listeners through the overnights, days, and weekends for so long that classic hits play in his head even when he isn't on the air.
Some highlights during his radio career are: -- Getting married to Kayla - April 2007 -- Being apart of the Tornado of 2006 -- Singing "Take me out to the ball game" CR Kernels -- Working as a volunteer for Relay For Life and the ACS -- Driving a monster truck at Hawkeye Downs -- Playing trumpet in the Hawkeye Marching Band 2004-2007 -- Introducing .38 Special at the Taste of Cedar Rapids for 12,000 fans -- Getting his name on the wall at (the former) N. Country Steakhouse -- Hanging out with the Bob and Tom crew in Nashville, TN -- Pursuing his BA from the University of Iowa (only 104 hrs to go!)
Some lesser than highlights during his radio career are: -- Almost breaking a finger playing air Freebird during the overnights -- PJ from Checkers Jack and Cokes (actually, all Halloweens at Checkers) -- Pushing Denny in the pool before realizing that he was wearing new birks -- Driving a monster truck - the wrong way over the final jump -- Heading to Shambala -- Riding his bike in winter to the studio because his truck wouldn't start -- Shaving his head or dying his hair blonde - take your pick -- Being Carson Palmer and having oranges thrown 50 mph at him -- Introducing Meatloaf for 12 of his biggest fans -- Supporting Coke and No Doz stock
Don't you hate it when friends say, "That's going to be you someday." This one....might come true.... It's always the "nice" ones!
Thursday 07-10-2008 1:09pm CT
Good To Know
Tuesday 07-08-2008 10:01am CT
CNNMoney.com ATM breaches more likely at stores than banks Wednesday July 2, 3:23 pm ET By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
When hackers infiltrated Citibank ATMs at 7-Eleven stores, they revived the fear of everyone looking to get out a few bucks for a Slurpee - is using this machine safe?
Experts say the answer is that an ATM's safety depends on where it is. If it's at a bank, an ATM is somewhat safer than it is in a public place, such as a ballpark, a train station or a convenience store.
"You should never use ATM machines at convenience stores if you can help it because those are much more susceptible to tampering," added Avivah Litan, a security analyst with the Gartner research firm.
While consumers can't do much when hackers break into back-end computers that approve cash withdrawals in order to steal PIN codes - such as happened during last year's Citi ATM breach - the odds are slim that it will happen to you.
"It is possible to install malicious software on a banking server to capture an encrypted pin as it passes through, but it is extremely rare," according to Margot Mohsberg, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association.
There are other methods of getting scammed at the ATM, however, that are both popular and preventable.
Most often, thieves use a method called skimming, which means they insert a device into the card slot on an ATM that steals your data right off your card's magnetic strip.
When it comes to skimming, non-bank ATMs are far more susceptible, putting you at greater risk. There's less of a chance of skimming at your bank's local branch, because the bank is videotaping and maintaining that ATM, than at the ones in a convenience store that are maintained by a third party, said Ellen Cannon, managing editor at bankrate.com.
"There are thefts constantly," said Cannon.
To further decrease your odds of getting victimized, Cannon also suggests changing your PIN number regularly and using different PINs for different accounts.
Also, when shopping, opt for credit over debit. Chances are your credit card has 100% fraud liability, whereas your debit card may not.
"Basically, avoid using your PIN as much as possible," Litan recommends. Despite industry standards that call for protecting PINs with strong encryption, that doesn't always happen, so to stay on the safe side, keep transactions that require you to enter your PIN to a minimum.
And when it comes to online activity, never use your PIN under any circumstances. "There's no online use of PINs," Litan said, and any prompt to do so is just a scam.
Ultimately, the best thing you can do is check your account frequently and report any suspicious activity immediately.
Beyond that, there's really not much else consumers can do, according to Thomas Fox, community outreach director of Cambridge Credit Corp., a nonprofit credit counseling agency based in Agawam, Mass. "It falls to the bank to employ new ways to deter hackers."
But if you are a victim of theft, keep in mind that while it is a hassle, it is not necessarily a hardship.
"The bottom line is that consumers are not responsible for any fraudulent activity on their account," Mohsberg said.
Open Arms
Friday 06-06-2008 6:21am CT
P(re).s. Where is Obama's other hand, and WHAT is up with that "O" face on Clinton? Hey Milton, I think I found your stapler!
5:58 Am:So I’m not even through my first pot of coffee yet, and I’m strolling through the papers, and news wires and I come across a “secret meeting” between Obama and Hillary. I’m reading through the story….wait, let me back up. Before we go into the Bob and Tom Show Live at 6am, one song is usually played to get us right up to the top of the hour. Ok, picking up, I’m reading through this story, possibly about Obama picking Clinton as a running mate, and low-and-behold, Journey’s – Open Arms comes on. I just about spit my coffee all over the computer screen. My first thought was, OMG, that would make a great video short, of them embracing each other over the past few months, but then my second thought was, “Is it just early, and was that not as funny as I thought it was?” Either way, it continued my morning with a smile, and now every time I see them near each other, all I’m going to think of is all the lies, and inflated confidence that Clinton had over the past (well, really 20 years) but the past year, and chuckle silently with the fact that she is now, ready to work with Barack with of course – Open Arms.
© 2008