Smoke 'em if you got 'em (again)?

The Fort Wayne City Council is moving forward on revisiting the citywide ban on smoking that the previous council passed.

The current ban was frowned upon (to put it mildly), by business owners and libertarians alike, who wanted the government to stay out of their business.

Today's newspaper has more.

WOWO mentioned in National Newsletter

Local talk radio station WOWO and Fort Wayne, was featured in Kim Komando's Saturday newsletter this weekend:

WHOA! WHOA! FORT WAYNE, IN!
Fort Wayne is the second largest city in Indiana after Indianapolis. The first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne on May 4, 1871, and the first practical gas pump was born there.

My affiliate is WOWO (yes, that’s pronounced whoa-whoa). It has been a proud affiliate of my show (1 p.m. Sundays) and Digital Minutes (in the 6 a.m. hour) since 1999!

Protect your computer with these tips

Some of us were fortunate to get a new computer over the holidays. Which can lead to "computer hand me downs", where you give or receive a used computer.

When ever you get a computer, new or used, there are certain basics you should do to protect it from the bad guys on the internet and to keep it running as smooth as possible. Kim Komando sent this link to her website in her weekly newsletter today.

Her tip covers firewalls, anti-virus software, anti-spyware, Windows Updates, and alternative web browsers such as Firefox which you should be using right now.

If all this is gobbley-gook to you, don't worry, Kim has a way of explaining it all that nearly anyone can follow. Do yourself a favor and click here to read more.

Oh, and here's her answer on a question that comes up in my family every once in awhile, "Should I keep my computer on all the time, or shut it down when I'm not using it? " Her answer.

What's a Hoosier?

One of the most famous Hoosier's was the now retired Indiana University Basketball Coach, Bobby Knight. Hoosier is the nickname for the school. But it also refers to people who live in Indiana, the state. You could Google it, but you'll get multiple answers.

Bonnie, our crazy Canadian receptionist, that's what it says on her business cards), sent me Jeff Foxworthy's list, and I found 13 of them apply to me although some of them occurred when I lived in Michigan:

Forget Rednecks, here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about

Hoosiers...

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you

may live in Indiana.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't

work there, you may live in Indiana.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in

Indiana.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who

dialed a wrong number, you may live in Indiana.

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of Muncie for the weekend,

you may live in Indiana.

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Indiana.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you

may live in Indiana.

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back

again, you may live in Indiana.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging

blizzard without flinching, you may live in Indiana.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave

both unlocked, you may live in Indiana

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife

knows how to use them, you may live in Indiana

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit,

you may live in Indiana.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and

everybody is passing you, you may live in Indiana.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled

with snow, you may live in Indiana.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and

road construction, you may live in Indiana.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you may

live in Indiana.

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you may live in Indiana.

Sounds like the Hoosiers are very nice people

Allegiant Air News about Fort Wayne

News from the Chamber's Blog, but what about those air flights to Vegas that are being canceled? Maybe I'll know more when I visit the Chamber this afternoon.... In a release from Allegiant Air Thursday morning:

Fort Wayne International Airport is flying high after being recognized by Allegiant Air for “Most Creative New Service Campaign” at the first annual Allegiant Air Airport Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. Fort Wayne was one of only five airports to be recognized for outstanding achievements at a special awards dinner held Feb. 6.

Tory Richardson, Executive Director of Airports, and Kristi Holmes, Community & Government Affairs Manager, of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority were in attendance and received the award from Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., Allegiant Travel Company president and CEO.

“I would like to congratulate the Fort Wayne International Airport and thank them for the support they have shown us,” said Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. “The airport management team and Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority have been a pleasure to work with and we look forward to a successful, long lasting relationship.”

The airport was recognized for their outstanding marketing campaign to encourage Allegiant Air to bring low-cost nonstop service to Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the Fort Wayne community. As part of the innovative campaign, the airport launched an election race between two characters, Nick Phoenix and F.T. Lauderdale. These clever candidates could be seen around Fort Wayne campaigning for their destination.

Each candidate made quite an impression; the airport received more than 150,000 emails voting for their favorite candidate. On Aug. 28, 2007, Allegiant Air announced they would bring service to both destinations.

The low-cost airline inaugurated service to Phoenix on Nov. 21, 2007 and began flights to Fort Lauderdale Dec. 14, 2007. Allegiant began serving the Fort Wayne community Feb. 16, 2007.

The Allegiant Air Airport Conference invited airports currently served by Allegiant Air and airports that would like Allegiant’s low-cost nonstop service in their respective areas. Airports had the opportunity to meet with Allegiant representatives and attend workshops that cover a variety of airport related topics. More than 100 airports were in attendance for the conference that was held at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Feb. 5 through 7, 2008.

Inspiration from Pravs World

The weather here has been crappy. Rain, Snow, Flooding, fortunately no tornado's like our neighbors to the south.

Whatever you've been going through, here's a bit of perspective:

No need to retire... Keith Edwards of 21 Alive

I just discovered former WPTA anchorman, Keith Edwards now has a blog. Welcome to the land of free speech called the internet.

Fort Wayne's Smoking Ban

With the new mayor, & new council members, there is talk about rescinding the smoking ban we have in Fort Wayne. This blog you are reading is not a political blog. I have another one devoted to my personal politics.

But for those of you who do smoke......

Before you light up, spend 4 minutes watching this:


Still Smoking? Watch This !! - Click here for funny video clips

Flood Wayne is back and you can help

The City of Fort Wayne is asking for volunteers to help fill sandbags. Volunteers are wanted this afternoon and evening.

Please consider helping. Many of the areas in need of sandbagging are along the St. Mary's River.

Click here for details and a map of where to go to fill sandbags

More free internet tools

Need to send a BIG File to someone? I needed to have the ability to send a 1 hour radio show which was a 100mb wav file to an advertising agency on a weekly basis. After searching on line, I found the website www.sendspace.com does the trick, free.

Is this the Luncsford family on vacation?

Unless you are one of the 8 Luncsfords or knew them in the 1950's or 60's, you have no idea what this is about. But that's okay.

Do you really Care?

Here's a challenging story that was part of an email I got recently from Art Sobczak to start your week:

The Handshake
(Excerpted from "The Richest Man In Town")
By V.J. Smith

It's amazing what can happen just by paying
attention. Besides, I never thought I would
have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.

I don't remember the exact date I met Marty
for the first time. Up to that moment,
nothing that day seemed particularly important--
certainly not what brought me to the store
in the first place.

Like a lot of people who want to get through
a checkout line, my thoughts were on speed,
nothing more. The line I was standing in
wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I
glanced toward the cashier.

There stood an affable-looking man in his
seventies. Slightly stooped and of average
build, he wore glasses and a nice smile.
I thought, well, he's an old guy and it
probably takes him a little longer to get
the chores done.

For the next few minutes I watched him.
He greeted every customer before he began
scanning the items they were purchasing.

Sure, his words were the usual, "How's
it going?" But he did something different--
he actually listened to people. Then he
would respond to what they had said and
engaged them in brief conversation.

I thought it was odd, but I guess I had
grown accustomed to people asking me how
I was doing simply out of a robotic
conversational habit.

After a while, you don't give any
thought to the question and just mumble
something back. I could say, "I just found
out I have six months to live," and
someone would reply, "Have a great day!"

This old cashier had my attention. He
seemed genuine about wanting to know how
people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-
tech cash register rang up their purchases
and he announced what they owed.

Customers handed money to him, he punched
the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped
open, and he counted out their change.

Then magic happened.

He placed the change in his left hand,
walked around the counter to the customer,
and extended his right hand in an act of
friendship.

As their hands met, the old cashier looked
the customers in the eyes. "I sure want
to thank you for shopping here today." he
told them. "You have a great day. Bye-bye."

The looks on the faces of the customers
were priceless. There were smiles and some
sheepish grins. All had been touched by
his simple gesture - and in a place they
never expected.

Some customers would walk away, pause for
a moment, and look back at the old cashier,
now busy with the next customer. It was
obvious they couldn't quite comprehend
what had just happened. They would gather
their things and walk out the door smiling.

Now it was my turn. As expected, he asked
me how I was doing. I told him I was having
a good day. "That's good", he said. "I'm
having a good day, too." I glanced down at
the name tag on his red vest, the kind
experienced Wal-Mart cashiers wore.

It read, "Marty."

I said, "It looks like you enjoy your
job, Marty."

He replied, "I love my job."

Marty told me how much I owed and I
handed him some money. The next thing
I knew he was standing beside me, offering
his right hand and holding my change in
his left hand.

His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling,
and with a firm handshake, he said, "I
sure want to thank you for shopping here
today. Have a great day. Bye-bye."

At the moment I wanted to take him home
and feed him cookies. It was as if Sam
Walton had come back from the dead and
invaded this old guy's body.

I left the store, walked through the
parking lot and got into my car. On the
drive home I couldn't shake what had just
happened. I had been in the store a
hundred times and had never walked away
feeling like that.

Who was that guy?

You can read about Marty in "The Richest
Man in Town," a true story that
captures the important things
in life in an unforgettable way. It is
beautifully written and will make you
laugh, make you cry, but most importantly,
it will make you reflect on what life is about.

Get it here or paste this entire link in
your browser:
http://www.motivationinaminute.com/-p-27.html?MIAMSRC=W080130

(Reprinted with permission of Simple Truths,
LLC. Copyright 2008, all rights reserved)

Superbowl TV Commercials, 2007 version

Last years SuperBowl Champs were THE COLTS!

This year, their QB is watching his brother Eli play. (As I watch this there are 59 seconds left to play!)

Here's a recap of last years TV ads: