RTF 316 Early Times Kevin Ludlow Extra Credit Paper III Early Times RTF 316 History of Radio and Television Amanda Lotz December 3 1998 It is not often that I get the chance to talk to my 74 year old grandmother about anything that interests her so she was delighted to be asked about the radio She was born sometime in 1925 and has a recalled listening to radio broadcasts ever since she was a young girl I first asked her simply what it was like listening to the radio and her responses were certainly much more positive then mind towards radio My grandmother explained to me how although they were listening to the radio it was so similar to watching television but at the same time better She told me how the front of the radio had a large fuzzy screen on it that was often stared at like a picture was inside of it The best part of course was that it was all in the imagination She and her brothers would sit in front of the radio and stare at the blank screen imagining that there were really actors there to watch No matter what kind of show they were listening to they were always able to come up with a visual story to follow along with in their heads At times certain stories could stretch the images in their mind much more elaborately then today s greatest special effects can One of the biggest problems that they had was being allowed to listen to the shows that they wanted to She explained to me how the content of many programs restricted them from listening in on the radio Although we would probably view such content now as children s programming back in the 30 s she explained such content was much more regarded by parents Amongst her favorite programs was Tom Mix who was a movie star back then He played the role of a cowboy on the radio and was apparently quite popular The Lone Ranger was also a program that was broadcast in her household during that time period One of both my grandmother and grandfather s favorite programs was Jack Armstrong The American Boy which at that time which was sponsored by Wheaties I asked her if she recalled any comic shows that she may have watched during the time period and she told me about Eddie Couter He was a comic on the radio around the middle 1930 s to early 1940 s He was a household favorite as well On the weekends the radio was used more as what we understand today It simply broadcast musical programs during the peak hours of the day She recalled listening to the Metropolitan Opera every Saturday afternoon from 1 00 in the afternoon to about 4 00 in the afternoon They would broadcast whatever was being played that day at the Metropolitan Opera House On Sunday s she would tune into the Firestone Hour which was a musical broadcast sponsored by Firestone tires In order to gain a common point with my grandmother I asked her if she ever listened to the Orson Welles show She jumped into stories of him very quickly of how her and her brothers used to listen to his show weekly I proceeded to ask her about the infamous War of the Worlds she of course had heard it She explained to me that she remembered that October day very well Growing up in New Jersey the show was focused right around town She explained to me that she understood that it was only a show and that aliens were not really taking over the planet However at the same time she remembers being very frightened because of the incredible realism that Orson Welles used for that time My grandmother also recalled how the radio station got hundreds of calls the next day and how the newspapers made such an incredible ordeal over it because of the panic that it had caused Although the radio had always been a part of my grandmother s life she remembers when those days started to slow down In the early 50 s her father went out and bought a Muntz television set from the popular salesman Mad Man Muntz It was a simple black and white television and best of all it was brand new After that the radio started transforming into what it is today Radio shows slowly began to cease and musical broadcasts became more common

The Ginny I photo 298327 294557 300 right Showcasing the completed Ginny I photo The Ginny I is the loving name that I gave to the most recent rocket I built Caroline s family enjoys building homemade rockets filling them with a variety of flammable powders gunpowder phosphorus etc and setting them to launch I didn t build mine to blow up but instead to fly with some level of precision Unfortunately I didn t quite have the right engine for the job but it did manage to fly three different times The third time I knew it wasn t going to end well since we only had an E12 8 engine left The 8 designates the amount of time needed for the ejection stage to occur triggering my parachute It crashed long before that 8 seconds was up Here are the videos iframe width 520 height 390 src http www youtube com embed q5kWeTsAe98 frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe iframe width 521 height 293 src http www youtube com embed Xt6wma8Zn8c frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe If you re interested in building a rocket like this here is a rough approximation of the costs ul li Body 3 diameter postage tube from Office Depot br About 7 00 for a pack of two li li Nosecone paper m ch from Michael s trimmed to size br About 3 50 for one li li Fins 1 4 basswood from Michael s br One sheet for about 3 50 plenty for all fins li li Launch Lugs plastic shell remnants of firecracker 2 were used for stability br Free li li Parachute made from aluminum like wrapping paper with hearty rope tied to corners br About 1 00 li li Spray Paint red and black spray paint for the final look br About 3 50 each can li li Engine Mount shaped from postal tube ends li ul So the rocket only cost about 18 50 to build from scratch about 11 50 if you exclude the paint job Far cheaper than most of the sets you ll find in the store

Jimi Chords Nashville Tuning I ve recently been exploring with some sounds in a standard Nashville Tuning If you re not familiar with this it basically just means using the higher octave strings from a 12 string set in a standard 6 string configuration I ve gotten some particularly cool sounds out of a DADGAD Nashville Tuning but this was just a standard EADGBE There s a part in the middle around 0 46 where I run some scales up around the 12th fret What s interesting about this in a Nashville Tuning is that since the G string is an octave up making it the highest string on the guitar but the B and high E strings are standard per a 12 string configuration the 14th fret of the G string winds up being the same as the 17th fret of the high E string Basically this means that you can easily play multiple notes at the same time that would be impossible to play since they would otherwise have to be played on the same string This is recorded through my Ashdown Engineering acoustic amp with a standard compression pedal turned up pretty high iframe width 521 height 293 src http www youtube com embed GLpyZ_AMA1g frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe

R I P Party Bus photo 300770 258221 260 right The specially rigged up driver s seat photo One of the things I ve desperately needed to take care of this year has been the removal of a giant bus on my driveway I had really great intentions for starting the project last April It wasn t too expensive I thought it would help someone gain consistent income and I also thought it would be a fun project to share working outside drinking beer wood working etc While some of that proved to be true I d have to say that overall it was an abysmal failure Worse is that I ve been left to consider this abysmal failure virtually every time I arrive at my house I figured that I d have to fix the driver s seat before I could sell it but a few people convinced me that probably wasn t the case So after typing up the story of the bus on Craigslist and letting people know I was just trying to get back what I put into it I found a handful of buyers Thankfully one of those buyers purchased it this morning and drove it off The moral of this entire story is that projects are fun But if you re going to start a project with someone make sure that someone really wants to do the project with you All you really have to do is ask Sometimes failing to do so will leave you with a 10 500 lb vehicle that really only serves to explain what house is yours on the block photo 300765 258221 0 center My view of the bus as it drove off my block photo photo 300767 258221 0 center The first time my truck has ever been parked in my driveway photo

My Poor Fragmented Ankle photo 34584 754 0 right Vance Kotrla and me taking a buddy picture just a few weeks before I landed on the ankle This photo would have been in early March 1996 photo Just a few weeks after my 17th birthday I participated in the 1996 Katy ISD Junior Varsity district track meet I was not very fast but that only partially mattered I was a pole vaulter I wasn t a particularly great pole vaulter but as it happens nobody else was either The two leaders in the district were me and a guy named Jim Davidson Incidentally he went on to marry Vance s in the photo high school girlfriend I like to think I was favored to win I always warmed up in my heavy sketcher boots the iconic 90s leather boots with steel in the toes It was certainly unconventional but my logic was that if I could get my feet moving in those the feather weight track shoes with spikes would let me fly It s unclear if that decision affected what happened next but my coach certainly thought so After just as handful of warmups I took to the vaulting runway again My speed was good the pole hit the vault box right on the mark and I launched a good eleven feet into the air It was almost perfect Unfortunately instead of landing on my back I came down straight onto my right ankle The weight of my body from that height essentially bent my ankle 90 degrees inward I laid on the pad screaming in excruciating pain I was eventually carted away to the trainer on the school s golf cart My dad drove me to the hospital shortly thereafter The hospital told us that I had a very bad sprain but no broken bones I wore a soft ankle brace for the next two months Jim Davidson won the meet Fast forward 17 years Apparently after almost two decades of recurring injuries from football soccer tennis baseball and running my ankle said go fuck yourself I literally just stretched my ankle at my desk and it never recovered from that stretch I was immediately in pain I assumed I had just contorted it strangely and it would be fine in the morning Not so much It turns out that there are three bone fragments apparently referred to as loose bodies floating around in my tissue Over the years the ligaments have been pulling away from the ankle bone forcing these loose bodies into uncomfortable positions It s not clear exactly what I did but the end result is that two of my ligaments are torn and at least one of the pieces of bone has turned itself inward causing all of the pain This was confirmed with an ultrasound Adding to my month of international traveling home rebuilding moving and job transitions I will now be doing all of this from a boot and having surgery before long the bone fragments really need to be removed Since I ve apparently been exercising on the ankle of a 65 year old for the past 17 years I m very curious to see what my ankle feels like in a few months Thankfully my sister has graciously agreed to care for me

Comprehensive MEP Meeting 1 Yesterday we met with Tom Green Company our Axel Warehouse MEP Matt and Mary joined me from Cotera Reed in what was probably the longest single meeting I have had thus far about 4 5 hours overall We also met Jay Young an upcoming engineer at TG C as well as Sam Hammer a veteran LEED certified electrical engineer who will be completing the electrical systems for Axel After going over the complexities and intended uses of the project as well as further expounding upon the MEP Narrative that I had put together we spent a great deal of time detailing the desired mechanical systems for the warehouse These included PV installations geothermal connections HVAC throughout the site and what we could do if anything with the ground well on the property We eventually moved along to the plumbing systems of the site particularly discussing the various sink toilet and shower fixtures that would be needed throughout the property The final piece was to discuss the electrical systems that would run throughout the property It might seem like an easy task but when you re having to meet commercial standards with everything and also provide 24 hour lighting options across the entire property line it s actually a great deal of work Our hope is to incorporate as many environmentally sensitive features as possible Of course this also means factoring the bottom line over the most desirable aspects photo 311732 311912 0 center photo photo 311719 311912 0 center photo photo 311737 311912 0 center photo

MEP Engineer Meeting With the help of Matt from Cotera Reed we have located an MEP engineer for the project The company is called Tom Green Company Engineers and is incidentally run by a guy named Tom Green To those unfamiliar with an MEP engineer it stands for Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing Basically these guys are responsible for figuring out all of the electrical voltage and amperage requirements for the property space for designing conduit and electrical boxes for designing and calculating A C and heating systems and for handling all of the water and wastewater connections I haven t seen any of the quotes yet but I believe that the MEP is generally the 2nd or 3rd most costly part of this entire pre development process There are still a number of things to consider for the project with respect to green development standards We are definitely intending to utilize the large rooftop for photovoltaic connections solar also shortened as PV but we re also considering implementing a geothermal system particularly because I happen to have access to an existing well on the property Evidently under Texas State law I am free to use the water in this well as needed which could be a big help in this case for irrigation considerations photo 311705 311912 0 center A commercial geothermal system diagram The closed loop system is dug into the ground below or beside the building and acts as a giant thermal heat sync photo

THSC Endorsement Response photo 319493 740 0 right Texas Home School Coalition Logo photo On December 12th 2013 I received an email from the em Texas Home School Coalition em a href http www thsc org http www thsc org a The email read as follows div style clear both font size 12px font style italic padding left 20px border 1px solid cccccc background color eeeeee To the campaign office of Kevin Ludlow Mr Ludlow My name is Lisa Scott I m an intern with the THSC and I ve been authorized to send you this questionnaire that the THSC might consider an endorsement Please fill out this form as soon as possible and let me know if you have any questions regarding the THSC endorsement process Lisa Scott THSC Intern EMAIL HIDDEN The Texas Home School Coalition Association supports conservative candidates for the Texas legislature and state wide office THSC Association is dedicated to constitutional freedom economic sense and traditional values Tim Lambert President Directions for Answering the Survey Most of the questions in the survey are in a simple Yes and No format A few short answers are requested No trick questions are asked Feel free to call our office at 806 744 4441 if any clarifications are needed div ul li strong Please describe your philosophy of government and what practical steps you would take to implement your philosophy strong br br My philosophy of government is trivial the government is to be restrained and limited its powers Individual freedom and choices are the responsibility of the individual not the government The government can be and should be used an an arbitrator of sorts to address grievances between parties Further legislation need not be created as a result of arbitrated agreements br br Implementation of this philosophy is educational in nature It would be terribly contradictory to force the implementation of the philosophy I described above br nbsp li li strong Which of the following most closely describes your public policy views on social issues strong br br Social Moderate br nbsp li li strong Which of the following most closely describes your public policy views on fiscal issues strong br br Fiscal conservative br nbsp li li strong Please add any additional explanation concerning your public policy views strong br br I think the goal of my public policy views is to shoot for a very hypothetical restrained government ideal but to tactfully go after policies that do individual freedom a great harm on a large scale essentially prioritizing br nbsp li li strong Do you believe taxes are too high strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you vote under any circumstances to raise taxes strong br br No br nbsp li li strong If yes what circumstances strong br br Never br nbsp li li strong Will you work to lower taxes strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you support the introduction and passage of an amendment to the Texas Constitution requiring a two thirds majority vote in each house to raise taxes strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you believe that abortion is the taking of human life strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Do you believe the U S Constitution supports the right to have an abortion strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you support taxpayer funding of abortions strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Do you believe that an unborn child is a person under the 14th amendment to the U S Constitution strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Would you vote to prohibit abortion strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Would you vote to prohibit abortion in the case of rape strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Would you vote to prohibit abortion in the case of incest strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Would you vote to prohibit abortion to save the life of the mother strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Briefly explain how your view of abortion might impact your public policy votes strong br br I am not in favor of abortions and am interested in promoting REAL educational talking points around the topic rather than pursuing the never ending partisan black white discussion that we re engaged in br br That said I do not believe the government should intervene in this matter in any way at all perhaps other than to provide or at least promote the spread of information on the controversial topic br br I will not cater to any religious belief system I believe that radical left wing individuals on this topic need be more sympathetic to their counter believers and that radical right wing individuals need to be more pragmatic and compassionate to their counter believers br nbsp li li strong Do you favor adding sexual orientation as a protected minority under existing civil rights laws strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you favor conferring married tax status health care and other benefits to homosexuals through the legal recognition of homosexual marriages strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you favor allowing homosexuals to adopt children strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you favor laws that restrict the production sale and distribution of pornography strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Will you work to restore parents fundamental constitutional right to direct the care control and upbringing of their children by amending the Texas Family Code to stop the lawsuit abuse of fit parents under the grandparent access statute as related to HB 2547 in the 83rd Legislative Session strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you oppose any legislation that would result in the regulation of private and home schools strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Will you oppose legislation which transfers power from the elected State Board of Education to the Commissioner of Education strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you oppose efforts to change the elected State Board of Education to a board appointed by the Governor strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you oppose efforts to undermine parental rights in CPS investigations as attempted in SB 1440 in the 81st legislative session strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Will you support legislation allowing home school students to take part in extra curricular activities at public schools strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Would you support legislation to end the use of daytime curfews by cities and counties to circumvent state compulsory attendance laws strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you support the Second Amendment right to own and bear arms strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Do you believe gun control laws reduce crime strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Will you support the death penalty in appropriate cases strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Will you support the decriminalization of drugs strong br br Yes br nbsp li li strong Will you support efforts to have Texas judges appointed instead of elected strong br br No br nbsp li li strong Is there anything else you would like to tell us strong br br While some questions in this survey may not be trick questions as suggested by the introduction a number of them are simply not black and white yes vs no questions br br For example with respect to homosexual marriage I do not support any type of government intervention of marriage at all Therefore answering whether I would support homosexual marriage in essence is rather misleading for me I believe all people are given identical rights br br Additionally the question of Do you believe that abortion is the taking of human life is simply NOT a yes no question I answered no as it fits the political spectrum from which I believe Is a 1 day embryo life NO Is a 250 day old fetus life probably yes But this does not change my political stance on the matter br br Please call me with any other questions br nbsp li ul

Baba O Riley with Ghost of Paul Revere As part of my SXSW Broadmoor extravaganza with bands from all over the country my headlining band The Ghost of Paul Revere played an unplugged version of The Who s Baba O Reily It s definitely one of the better versions of the song I ve heard and sounds great with the banjo and harmonica filling in the background pieces To anyone interested they ll be playing on April 23rd 2015 at the Saxon Pub iframe width 521 height 293 src https www youtube com embed Npk65YPjlQk frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe

Getting my Thailand Tourist Visa photo 627425 629515 0 right A giant building in downtown Houston TX that houses the Thailand Consulate it s on the 20th floor photo Normally you aren t required to get a tourist visa to enter Thailand as an American but because the length of my trip is going to be longer than the standard 30 day on arrival visa I figured I should check with the consulate fortunately for me they have one in Houston just a 5 hour round trip from Austin and this is what I learned Frustrating as it is to hear a non binary answer when it comes to the laws of another country the woman at the consulate who was the nicest person ever by the way told me that while I could always just get a flight out of Thailand say to Vietnam and then come back in thus renewing the visa the officials frown upon this Again that s a pretty ambiguous thing to hear So it s not that they ll say no necessarily but rather that they frown upon you taking advantage of extending your 30 day window in Thailand simply by making what are called visa runs She told me that the first time you come back into the country they won t have a problem with it but if you do it two or three times that again they will frown upon it After doing some research and consulting with friends who have regularly visited Thailand all research pointed to the idea that it s entirely the discretion of the immigration officials Meaning if I took advantage of the system I could find myself stuck on the border between say Cambodia and Thailand unable to get back in Naturally that s not a position I d like to find myself in and so I got a tourist visa It normally takes them three to five days to prepare but since I drove in from out of town and am leaving this Sunday they managed to do it in just a few hours for me photo 629519 740 0 center My Kingdom of Thailand Visa in all of its glory photo br style clear both Unfortunately the Houston consulate is only able to issue one time entry visas instead of the multi visa that I would have been able to get in Washington DC Not AS ideal but this should at least give me the flexibility to do what I need to When I land this visa will be used to illustrate that I can stay in the country long enough to catch my return flight six weeks later When I eventually do travel outside of Thailand I ll be able to come back in provided that my exit flight is within 30 days of my entry back into Thailand So that would then be my first on arrival visa If I leave again and come back I ll then be at that point whereby they could frown upon my entry but provided I show that I m flying out of Bangkok within a few days of coming back I don t think it will be an issue The short of the story is that this should give me three entries into Thailand during my trip inclusive of my initial landing instead of just two The visa itself cost me 40 00 USD in cash but I also had to spend about 10 00 getting my photos printed out and then another 15 00 in parking fees in the garage Turns out they would have validated if I d parked in THEIR garage but I did not think to ask in advance Still 65 00 USD in total is a reasonable fee for peace of mind photo 627358 629515 0 center This is just a random sculpture that was outside of the Thai consulate office building photo