Birthday shout-outs

Happy Birthday to Woodge who's age now represents the Answer. Happy birthday to my Dad, who I will start calling "Pop" any day now.

And happy birthday to Air America, who will turn one tomorrow. Especially since after a couple of months, the initial money had vanished and their survival was in doubt. Recently, they started being carried on-air here in Boston - in fact, simulcast on two different AM stations!

Of course, the two stations each only have sunup/sundown licenses, and broadcast at such low power that when somebody turns on their hair dryer in Peabody I get interference driving over the bridge to Beverly. But I've got 'em both on my AM presets in the car, and it's nice to have an alternative to the usual in-your-face right-wing talk radio. Right now, I listen to WEEI most of the time (since I'm a sports nut), except when Dennis & Callahan are on (who I despise - instead of a righty and a lefty like some shows do, they go righty/Cro-Magnon) or any non-Sox game (including preseason Sox). So other than Imus, I haven't had many alternatives to Right-Wing Radio in the car until Air America.

Imus' station is OK until 1 PM, when they give it over from the slightly right but populist Mike Barnicle (from 10 to noon) and the slightly left but funny Eagan and Braude (noon to 1) to O'Reilly and the utterly vile Jay Severin, with worse afterwards. Other than that, talk is a wasteland until 8 PM when raging moderate Paul Sullivan goes on at WBZ

I'm glad they made it this far. Now, if only Air America can get on a station with a transmitter more powerful than a Glade Plug-In, I'll be all set.