Chris Boylan .com
-
Bonnaroo 2009!!!!
Alright, so I was supposed to post a bunch of legendary photos and video from Bonnaroo by now - but I forgot to plan in the fact that I am unbelievably allergic to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I spent part of the week in bed just suffering. At least I am planning on handling being sick by taking a 20 plus mile …
-
And So It Begins...
Late as usual, but I am heading off for Bonnaroo and three weeks of a road trip. I'll be posting hundreds of photos here and blog posts when I get to Tulsa (mid-next week), but until then, you'll have to settle for Twitter updates. You can see my latest Tweets on the right column at the top. If you'…
-
The Agony of Defeat
For those of you who don't follow hockey - last night, my New Jersey Devils broke my heart. And now a quick break to ameliorate the pain: Craig Ferguson - simply the best host in late night. Seriously, how many people just have the TV on as Letterman ends, and then this comes out without any explana…
-
Best Investment Ever
At the dinner table today, the meal was spaghetti and meatballs. As per usual with spaghetti and meatballs, it was served at the same temperature as molten lava. When I sat down in front of my plate, the spaghetti and sauce were steaming. I hate burning my mouth with intense passion, so there …
-
Sometimes I am afraid for America
(*and by sometimes I mean all the time) I was talking to someone I know recently, when she looked at me quite seriously and said she wanted to ask me an important question. The background is that we had talked politics quite often over the past year, so I was her go-to for political information an…
-
Using phpBB as your Joomla Comments Engine
Note: if you were looking for my old article on this for phpBB 2.0 and Joomla 1.0, it is unsupported, but available here. New release: version 0.21 New name: Now plugin is called "Boylan Comments" There was a mistake in version 0.2, which has been fixed in 0.21. Please upgrade to 0.21 if you have no…
-
Look, Ma! I'm posting through XML-RPC!
Ah, good times. I've been battling this site on a few fronts lately - and one finally succumbed to my incessant beatings. One of my long-term goals was to be able to post to this site outside of the Administrator function. That way I would no longer have to worry about being timed out or have to…
-
President-Elect Obama's Approval Rating Keeps Rising
It's weird, just a little over a month ago, I was walking around Stroudsburg, PA canvassing for the Obama campaign on election day, trying to get people out to vote. Even though the people on my list were supposed to be Democratic voters (who had missed voting in a recent election), there was still …
-
A week of frustration
I had high hopes for last week. It started off with me officially becoming an old man, celebrating my 30th birthday. It ended with me laid up in bed for the better part of 4 days with a nasty cold. Good times.On the plus side, I had more satisfying nose-blowing experiences in the last 48 hours…
-
Derrick Ward vs. Brandon Jacobs
As a sometime game charter for Football Outsiders, I get to submit a few words at the NFL mid-season about whatever is on my mind, relating to the games I've watched. Since I'm a huge Giants fan, I wrote about the Giants big off-season decision at running back - do they keep Brandon Jacobs or Derric…
-
Pardon Our Appearance
If you are returning to this site after a long absence, you may be confused by the new look. If you are merely arriving for the first time, you may be confused because this site is pointless and confusing.Either way, I've spent a bit of the last week overhauling ChrisBoylan.com. Normally, I'd do…
-
I saw a guy get hit by a car today
Well, that's not completely true. I didn't see him get hit by the car, I merely saw a line of cars slamming on their brakes and a guy lying in the middle of Route 22, legs in the fast lane and torso in the middle lane. It happened as Deirdre and I were coming home from seeing the very funny Forg…
-
It's time
When today started, I found out I owe about $7K more in taxes than I originally thought. That's a bad way to start a day. When today ended, I caught up with a few friends I hadn't seen in quite awhile, may have found a solution to my living in NJ problem, and got to see the Mike Doughty (check out…
-
Asses and Elephants
Independent Talk Click to Download the Audio MP3 Demo Contact Chris or Albert directly or email us through our contact form to express interest in Asses and Elephants.
-
Giants Win Super Bowl XLII - 17-14
Holy crap. I knew they could do it all along, but I still can't believe it. For only the 3rd time in my 30 years on this planet and the first time since I was 12, it actually happened. In one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, the New York Giants beat the previously undefeated New England Pa…
-
Giants ROOL!
div#main{overflow:visible;}
-
I am the Hip-Hop-opotamus!
I am the Hip-Hop-opotamus. My lyrics are bottomless. ... ... I am quite enjoying Flight of the Conchords on HBO this summer. See for yourself what you are missing: I'd have to imagine that if I were in a hip-hop/rap group, it would look and sound a lot like that. Oh, and New Zealander is now officia…
-
Personalized Internet Radio
With CBS's announcement that it has purchased Last.fm, I figured it was high time to take a look at some of the Personalized Internet Radio providers. When most radio people think of the concept of a "station" or online streaming - they draw the analogy to terrestrial radio. One station programmed b…
-
Seeing Your Site Through Others' Eyes
When you are evaluating your website for its effectiveness and appeal (and you should do this from time to time, just like PDs critically examine their on-air product), the thought process that many people undertake is to look at the site with their own eyes and then to imagine how the site appears …
-
Resizing Images
If you can remember back to a time when you weren't involved in radio and were just a civilian, you likely didn't notice all the small mistakes on the air that now drive shivers up your spine. Nowadays, you can't listen to any station, let alone your own, without breaking it down and picking out the…
-
Internet Royalty Update
The Net Untangled has spent some time looking at the SoundExchange / Copyright Royalty Board / Internet Performance Rates Controversy earlier this year. If you've followed the news all over the internet, some of this may be repetitive, but this week will be an update of the current situation. The Ne…
-
Public Radio Quest
Yeah, so there's this contest on PublicRadioQuest.com to find the next great Public Radio Host. After listening to NPR for a lot of the past three years, I figured - there's no way they'd want someone like me (not that commercial radio disagrees with them). I spend my time hopping back and forth…
-
A Little Dash of YES - Part II
Last week, I wrote about how to add a YES banner to your site so that visitors could see what song is currently playing on-air without having to build an interface with your music scheduling software or your audio system. If you are unfamiliar with the YES banner, I suggest you read last week's colu…
-
A Little Dash of YES
For music stations, trying to keep your website up to date with your playlist is both valuable and tough to keep up with. New artists may pop up every week, and keeping your website in sync with what's playing on air is time consuming. Of course, since your audio system and music scheduler are compl…
-
Affiliate Programs
The long relationship between the music industry and the radio industry has been based on the knowledge that radio's ability to give exposure to artists was very beneficial to the music industry. The exposure to a larger fan base led to greater album and single sales as well as greater concert atten…
-
Search Engine Optimization
Last week we looked at some basics of Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimzation is the practice of tweaking a website to make it appear higher in search results through Google, Yahoo and similar sites. First, a little warning. Whenever you are optimizing your website, keep in mind that y…
-
A Screen Door on a Subdomain
What's a good column without a bad pun for the title? Answer: a better column. We're going to geek it up a bit this week and take a look at canonical URLs, subdomains and "PageRank". Those terms may be foreign to you, but if you want your site to show up near the top of search rankings, then you sho…
-
A Gracious Host
While the internet performance licensing fight rages on, I've written about it last week and the week before, so its time for a good old website break. I was in a conference call with a potential web design client when the topic of web hosting came up. This is one of the most fundamental pieces fo a…
-
The Search for the Perfect Host
While the internet performance licensing fight rages on, I've written about it last week and the week before, so it's time for a good old website break. I was in a conference call with a potential web design client when the topic of web hosting came up. This is one of the most fundamental pieces of …
-
Sound Exchange Has to Be Stopped
Last week, I wrote how the recent large increase in performance royalty rates for digital streaming music were bad for radio not only because it would make the radio industry's forays into the online sphere slower and more expensive, but also because the rate increase was only the first battle for S…
-
Sound Exchange Coming for Radio Next
Last week , we looked at keeping your websites fresh with Preppermint . This week, I had planned on continuing with ways to make your website easier to maintain, but the news regarding internet royalties has taken precedence. As you've hopefully read in some of my The Net Untangled Daily Tips or the…
-
Preppermint Fresh
As I wrote last week, the single best way to increase page views for your website, and thus the value of your website, is by providing fresh content on a regular basis. If your site does not change, then you will lose out on repeat visitors. In order to keep up page views, you'd have to keep drawing…
-
Keep it Fresh
As a web designer, the top two things that clients always want in a site (besides looking cool) are 1) A better search ranking in Google - and 2) More traffic (page views). That goes for almost every website, whether it's an online store, an informational site, personal blog, or radio site. I tell t…
-
Another XM/Sirius Merger Column
What's more fun that beating a dead horse? I don't know, I'd have to stop beating this one to find out, and I have just one more shot in me. Although I promised myself I would write more about the technical details and design patterns of good websites in these next few weeks, the XM/Sirius merger (n…
-
Video is Radio's New Star
A bit over 25 years ago, Video Killed the Radio Star, or so we were told. Well, the tables have turned - or so The New York Times tells us. Yes, web based video is drawing quite a lot of attention in this Times article, and it is also drawing a lot of attention from website visitors. Web-based video…
-
Peer to Peer to the Rescue
Peer to peer traffic on the internet has always gotten a bad rap. It has been associated almost exclusively with file sharing, or as the RIAA prefers to call file sharing - "The Destruction of Everything Good in the World, like Hugs... and America". But as I explained last week, peer to peer actuall…
-
Broadcasting on the Backs of Your Listeners
This week all of us here at The Net Untangled will be looking at internet streaming for radio stations. Over the past few weeks, I've written about how it is time to get into the streaming game if you're station hasn't already. With wireless internet becoming more ubiquitous and soon available to pi…
-
The Mooninites Hate Your Freedom
Oh sweet Lord, I cannot possibly get enough news about the bomb "hoax" that threatened Boston on the day that will never be forgotten - 1-31-07. For more info - visit Aqua Central. Basically, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of my favorite TV shows. To explain it is almost impossible other than to …
-
The Gathering Storm - Part 4
The Gathering Storm is my look at the future of internet audio and the opportunity and threat it presents to broadcast radio. It started off by splitting the comparison between the two media into three parts – output, delivery method, and content. In the first column, I covered how internet audio,…
-
The Gathering Storm - Part 3
The Gathering Storm is my look at the future of internet audio and the opportunity and threat it presents to broadcast radio. It started off by splitting the comparison between the two media into three parts – output, delivery method, and content. In the first column, I covered how internet audio,…
-
The Pussycat Dolls are 'inspiring to women'?
The CW had a press conference for its new show "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" - another crappy reality talent search show. That's a little funny on its own - but it gets a lot better: --- "Dolls" creator Robin Antin insisted that the program -- a talent-search show for a …
-
Interview with David Simon of 'The Wire'
If you haven't noticed, "The Wire" is a critically acclaimed but somewhat ignored TV show on HBO. If you're not watching it, you are both not alone and horribly misguided. On a scale of 1 to 100, The Wire is a 98, Arrested Development is an 82, Sports Night is a 70 and just about everything else…
-
The Gathering Storm - Part 2
This is the second column in my New Year’s look at the future of internet audio and opportunity and threat it presents to broadcast radio. As I explained last week, I’m breaking it down in three parts: output, delivery method and content. The parts intertwine somewhat, but are worth looking at i…
-
The Invisible Hand of the Market
So, I finally got around to fixing my site so I could again make entries (over the last few months, the Joomla backend had been messed up and I never bothered to fix it, so when I wanted to make a new entry, I had to manually insert it in the database via PHPMyAdmin. I am so lazy.) Anyway, this ev…
-
The Gathering Storm - Part 1
While this is mostly a column about radio industry web sites, I figured I’d take some time in the New Year to take a look at the broader internet picture for the radio industry. Everyone else seems to take the first few weeks of the year to prognosticate, so why not jump on that bandwagon? We’ll…
-
Links! We Dont Need No Stinking Links!
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. Last week, we explored a few options for morning show websites. This …
-
Unskilled Musician Edits Song Together
This kid apparently cannot play any instrument, so he shot himself playing one note at a time and edited it together to make a song. I'm impressed.
-
Your Own Morning Show Website
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. We took a look, last week, at the reasons why someone might consider …
-
Being a Geek is a Good Thing?
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. Since then, we’ve looked at a few ways to make your site better, in…
-
Get in the Loop
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. Since then, we’ve looked at email addresses, domain names and some …
-
Have Someone Touch You
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. Since then, we’ve looked at domain names and some quick fixes to ha…
-
The Master of My Domain
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. You can read the Introductory column for a look at how to approach site design, and how to think critically about your site’s presentation. Last week had some quick fixes to handle easy to solve problems with …
-
The Low-Hanging Fruit
The Net Untangled is a weekly column looking at the Internet side of the Radio Industry. Please read last week’s column for an introduction. Before you answer the question of whether or not your website is a good radio website, you first need to know whether or not it serves “The 3 Needs” ever…
-
We Welcome Adam Wilbur
We here at Preppermint are exceedingly happy to announce that Adam Wilbur is now our Affiliate Relations Director. Adam has a lot of experience in taking radio prep services to the next level, and we are excited that Adam will now be doing the same for us. This means that Adam will now be the m…
-
Same As It Ever Was
The radio landscape has changed dramatically in the past ten years. Ownership limits were removed and we saw the emergence of 5 or more stations in a cluster. Program Directors and Operations Managers now run more than one station at a time. With automation, one air talent is able to be on multiple …
-
I'm Now Writing for AllAccess
If you haven't noticed yet, I (Chris), am now a columnist for AllAccess, in addition to all of the things I do here. I write the new column "The Net Untangled" as well as provide a daily radio-based web tip, cunningly entitled "The Net Untangled Daily Tip". Yup, I spent a lot of time thinking th…
-
1990 NFC Championship Game
Actually the game was played in '91, but it was part of the 1990 season. The Giants started off the season 10-0, but then finished 13-3, including a loss to the 49ers. Phil Simms was lost for the season due to a foot injury, so Jeff Hostetler stepped in. This team was nowhere near as dominant …
-
I had a cold.
Yup. That's it.So, the forum is gone - thanks to Turkish hackers. It will return - all the posts and data were saved, but the forum itself was still vulnerable so it had to be removed. Thus, comments don't work either. So, I'm going to install an external forum. That should fix it.However,…
-
Welcome to the Future of Travel
I just got back from a three week trip to Ireland and the UK. It was great, but I was stunned at the almost non-existent visa and customs control. There was no person in customs landing in Ireland twice and the UK once. There wasn't even a person checking passports in the UK! Come on in, eve…
-
Hope you had a nice 4th
Hope you had a nice July 4th week/weekend! I know some stations and shows got an extended weekend or even a full week off, so it was nice to take a break and stretch our legs. I attended a free concert and saw some aerial maneuvers from our Armed Forces at Ft. Bragg. The paratroopers jumped o…
-
Submitting a Local Story
Sometimes, you'll find a story that has local interest and you'll want to submit it to Preppermint so you can put it on your site. Well, that's real simple to do! Once you have logged in, click on the "Submit" button at the top. This will take you to the submit page. There, enter a title for t…
-
Prepping a Story
Hello again! We've been busy, knee deep in creating new ways to improve what we think is already the best Prep tool out there, but before I get to describing what we have in store, I first want to talk about tools we already have in out toolbox. The feature that gets most people excited is the "Mint…
-
Welcome to the Preppermint Blog
Thanks for stopping by Preppermint and checking out our blog. We (and by we I mean Chris) will have updates, ideas and other ponderations here for your perusal. We want you to know that this is not just another prep service. Other prep services are one-way streets. They do some work, and you…
-
Preppermint Welcomes Rocky Allen
We would like to welcome the Rocky Allen as a Preppermint affiliate! Rocky, Blain and the rest of the crew can be heard weekday afternoons from 3-7 PM on 95.5 WPLJ-FM, New York. Rocky has been nominated multiple times for both Major and Large Market "Billboard Personality of the Year" and been #1 in…
-
Mohammed on South Park
Been real busy with the project, still a few days from launch. Last minute bugs and all that. Still had enough time to catch Wednesday's episode of South Park - Cartoon Wars - Part II. After watching Comedy Central censor an image of Mohammed after an hour of plot highlighting the reasons why do…
-
What is Preppermint?
Great radio makes people talk. You should have heard what they were talking about this morning! Great radio websites show listeners what's coming up and what just happened. How many times have you had that great story that people keep talking about - and you want to put on the website, but the we…
-
Everybody with a job in radio take one step forward...
Not so fast Chris.Yes, your lovable web host has lost his job as the afternoon jock for Thunder1069.com. In a format change, I was laid off. Now, I know you are now worried for me. Don't. Well if you were actually worried for me you don't have to be.Because I didn't quit - and I have gotten …
-
I like how boogers smell
I just want to warn everyone right off the bat that this is not a metaphor or something. I actually like the smell of boogers. I suspect it comes from the same place where you like your own farts, but not those of others - but I don't hear people talking about this as much, so maybe not.I am cur…
-
WV Mime Fire Leaves Town Speechless
Marceau, WV - A town stands speechless, their empty top-hat at their feet, after news of another mime fire spread from house to house. A silent vigil is being held at the town square a mere 72 hours after the mime fire that killed four broke out. News travels slowly in this small mountain town. "A…
-
Preppermint Example
This is a quick example of Preppermint. Not sure what that means? Then find out.
-
Sunday is Launch Day
We try again Monday. It looks like we are ready to go tomorrow. We froze the code and were ready for launch today, but we forgot to setup the database on the production server, so that was today. Tomorrow (Sunday) we should be ready to kick off the Alpha. I've gotten a few emails from interest…
-
Where's Kevork?
For long-term readers of the site, you may recognize the name Kevork. Back when I worked on the the Rocky Allen Showgram in it's first go-round in afternoons at WPLJ in New York, Kevork was the man-on-the-street and the holder of the chair that I some day wanted to sit in. Eventually, I kinda di…
-
The Coolest Thing on the Internet
No, I'm not dead. I'm actually in the final stages of something else I've been working on. Well, more like the final stages of the pre-beginning. But with a little luck, I'll have a link to it in about two weeks. I think it's gonna be pretty damn cool, but nowhere as cool as Pandora. Do you li…
-
Speed Limit: 17 MPH!
Many people have wondered what the Speed Limit 17 sign to your left means. I'm guessing some haven't even noticed.If you look under the menu to the menu of the page on my 2005 design (I'll probably change it again after awhile -- I also didn't get to make my site all Christmas-y, which is a shame.…
-
Awk-ward!
So, I'm a man who used to cut my own hair. Yup. Just took a pair of electric clippers and buzzed it to about 1/4" and then got out the vaccum cleaner. It was satisfying too. If I didn't have my goatee (circle beard, technically) I would no longer get to enjoy the satisfaction of making every…
-
My Name is Earl
While I was totally in love with the concept of My Name is Earl before I heard about it (as well as with the title), I've not been overwhelmed so far. I like the Crabman and Earl's ex-wife, and find it impossible to not have a man-crush on Jason Lee (I would watch him read a phone book, just to se…
-
Chris has a new job!
Calm down, it's basically the same as the last one. You affable and occasionally absentee Web dude is now the afternoon personality for Thunder 106.9. I am on from 2 to 7 every afternoon, playing music (some country, some not), taking requests, doing wacky phone calls, and working on three station…
-
Throw the Jews down the well!
I first read the news on Justjared.com and part of me thought it couldn't be true. Then I scuried on over to Mtv.co.uk and read it again. Everyone's favorite Khazakstani TV journalist Borat is this year's MTV Europe Music Awards host. Borat did have one request: Borat: If I host here, can I…
-
Mike Myers is scared
My computer works now. I had to get a new motherboard, but it's all good now. I've RMA'd (returned) the board (or will tomorrow). So I guess I'm up a motherboard I don't need. It sucked too, because I was only in the middle of three web projects. Hopefully, I'll be able to knock two fo t…
-
ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!
So, Tuesday night, both my computer and internet connection go down simultaneously. Good times. A 9 month old motherboard flat our refuses to boot. So that should be good.Anyway, Amber and I are off for a four-day weekend of whitewater rafting in the mountians of West Virginia. There will ca…
-
I'll Take Billy's Pancreas and Alec's Spleen
My sister, Allison sent me this picture and I'm glad to see that the Baldwin brothers are giving back to the community, especially ever since they were killed in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Based on my interactions with the First Aid squad in my town (it's the local voting place and wher…
-
Too Late with Adam Carolla
I cannot wait for this show to start tonight. I absolutely cannot wait. But I will wait until tomorrow because I have to go to sleep early.Adam Carolla finally gets his own TV show, and it follows the Daily Show at 11:30PM on Comedy Central. I was a little pissed when Tough Crowd with Colin Qu…
-
What is the deal?
The title to this post is funnier if you say it Jerry Seinfeld stizz. Monday Aug. 1, 2005 shows Duncan Rooke, 32, left and Stephen Buss, 30, as they haul in a record-breaking catfish in the River Ebro, near Barcelona in Spain on July 6, 2005. The 7ft 7in, 212lb female fish is the biggest freshwater …
-
Cool Things You Should Know
From the Found by Erik Jaeger Dept. -- "Amabuddy is a free price checking service. When you are at a store, call 888-WE SIGNAL, enter the ISBN code (above the barcode), and an automated voice will tell you the current price on Amazon. Next time you are at a computer, go to the site, enter your num…
-
You go in the cage, cage goes in the water
"You go in the cage, cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water, our shark." -Quint Fisherman on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. display a massive 1,100-pound tiger shark Sunday, July 17, 2005. Unfortunately, the fisherman failed to capture first place in the monster shark derby beca…
-
Now we're cooking
As you can see, the fabulous staff at ChrisBoylan.com has added a new staff member, my sister, Deirdre. As she gets more acquainted with Mambo there should be all sorts of fanciness. Check out her first story. You'll see that it includes the newly installed Gallery link, a feature I have been wa…
-
Chris is not dead. I think.
Chris made the horrific mistake of giving me passwords and access to his site. For those that don't know me, I'm Deirdre, one of Chris' sisters. I can say that I have actually talked to Chris on the phone since his last post. So I'm pretty sure he made it back from the beach. Also, Amber has made se…
-
Myrtle Beach
Amber and I are heading to Myrtle Beach this weekend for some beach fun. The good news is that I should have a new gallery with three or four dozen new pictures by the end of the weekend. And a car keys / toilet update.
-
What has Chris been doing?
So what has Chris been doing the past couple of weeks that has kept him so busy? This: The New Website of the Fayetteville Swampdogs. You can visit their old one to compare. The really good news is that it is teaching me even more about how Mambo works, and has convinced me that the move to Mambo fo…
-
YES! YES! YES!!!
First, The Wire Returns. It was unlikely, but still possible. Then the impossible. Arrested Development 99.9% renewed for TWO SEASONS!!!Two seasons? Are you kidding me? They cut this last season short, and the main guy behind the show left FOX. This show was dead. And now it's back!! FOR TWO SEASONS…
-
My Greg Prindle story
For those of you who know him, you know what to expect from a Greg Prindle story. Greg is a college friend of mine for whom life is a trial, consisting solely of a parade of demeaning events meant to frustrate him. His only joy is to be known as this guy and to be mentioned when things like that hap…
-
HG2G
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-
PhpBB/Joomla Comments
NOTE: This method of integrating PhpBB and Joomla/Mambo is no longer supported. For the new, updated method, visit Using phpBB as your Joomla Comments Engine. This article remains published only for historical purposes. OK - that was annoying. The PhpBB component in Joomla was laughably insecure. So…
-
Muse
Amber and I are off to only the second concert we have bought tickets for since moving to Fayetteville. To see whom, you ask?Muse, of course.I thoroughly expect my head to explode from how great this concert is going to be. Too bad that will make going to work and getting up at 4:30 in the morni…
-
Mitch Hedberg
If you haven't heard, Mitch Hedberg passed away yesterday. He was a really good stand-up comic, kind of in the mold of Steven Wright, with bizzarre one-liners. You can read a few Mitch Hedberg quotes for yourself and see what I mean. It pretty much sucks because he really made me laugh. Howeve…
-
The Wire Returns / Malcom Gladwell
A bit of quick business, as the Wire has been oh so thankfully renewed for a fourth season. Apparently it will focus more on the mayoral race and the rising power of Mario, the remaining major drug dealer. It's going to be a year until it is seen again, but it will be well worth the wait. On ano…
-
So, I'm a Stand-Up Comic
Sunday Night I made my stand-up comedy debut at IT'Z in Fayetteville, NC. I was hilarious. And by hilarious I mean more nervous than I've ever been in my life (except for the time when I was negotiating for my salary for my first job in radio). My clammy hands freaked out all who dared to shake them…
-
Updates
Alright, so things have been fairly busy around here the last few weeks. I'm struggling to do my taxes (options trades are confusing to file), work has been fairly ridiculous, and I've been preparing for fairly heavily the last week for my debut. Debut of what? Well, I hope to make my debut in sta…
-
Over 75% there.
Well, it looks like I've gotten most of the bugs worked out, and most of the remaining stuff is just small fixings. Overall, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this thing. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone had some suggestions/comments/frustrations that they could pass along. Just do so via t…
-
4 Bumpers
4 Bumpers: These are four bumpers. We also tried to cram a little comedy in any place we could find it to strengthen TSL. The first bumper uses the voice of Shawn Polito, our news person at the time. {mmp3}ShawnObviousPSABump.mp3{/mmp3} Obvious PSA - Shawn {mmp3}BaconBump.mp3{/mmp3} Bacon {mmp3}Brea…
-
4 Phone Solicits
4 Phone Solicits: These are four solicitations for callers. The Rocky Allen Show was very caller driven, so we wanted funny and unique signals to notify listners it was time to call. {mmp3}NancySolicit.mp3{/mmp3} Nancy {mmp3}TimeSolicit.mp3{/mmp3} Time {mmp3}EdwardSolicit.mp3{/mmp3} Edward {mmp3}Sho…
-
Approach the Bench
Approach the Bench - 1:21 - 637KB From our studios at WDVD, we often watched the unwashed lounge around on the park benches. So, we created a game (like the Match Game) where a caller had to finish the phrase in the same way as one of these park dwellers for 3 out of 5 questions.{mmp3}ToothChowMein.…
-
Post Office Pennies
Post Office Pennies - 3:29 - 1629KB When the price of stamps went from 34 to 37 cents, I took action and handed out pennies at the Post Office. {mmp3}PostOfficePennies.mp3{/mmp3} (Studio: Rocky and Blain | Phone: Me and others)
-
Lunatic Lotto
Lunatic Lotto - 4:45 - 2232KB As the "Big Game" multi-state lottery grew bigger, we decided to get our numbers from someone who heard voices. {mmp3}LunaticLotto.mp3{/mmp3} (Studio: Rocky and Blain | Phone: Me and Rudolph)
-
Beach Report
Beach Report - 1:37 - 1518KB One day in January, it got up to 50 degrees in Detroit, so I wrote and produced this beach report for all those who caught the spring fever. {mmp3}BeachReport.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices: Shawn and Rocky | Bit: Me)
-
The Crisis in the Middle Ear
The Crisis in the Middle Ear - 1:10 - 1016KB Blain thought of this one after seeing too many CNN graphics with "Crisis in the Middle East". We laughed at the idea, so I wrote a bit. {mmp3}CrisisofMiddleEar.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices: Shawn and Me | Writing and Production: Me)
-
Funny, Not Funny
Funny, Not Funny - :58 - 922KB I didn't voice this little gem, but I did write it and am responsible for it running quickly astray. {mmp3}FunnyNotFunny.mp3{/mmp3} (Voice: Scott Vertical | Writing, Production: Me)
-
Saddam the Musical
Saddam the Musical - 3:37 - 3395KB Saddam Hussein wrote a romance novel that was turned into a play in Baghdad. Rocky said there was no way I could write a funny bit about a Saddam Hussein musical, so I proved him wrong. {mmp3}SaddamtheMusical.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices: Rocky, Blain Ensley, Me | Bit: Voice…
-
Winona Ryder and Pete Yorn
Winona Ryder and Pete Yorn - :16 - 125KB Other times, sitting in the studio means dropping a half-liner. {mmp3}WinonaRyderThrowaway.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices: Rocky and Me)
-
Old Man Climbs Mt. Everest
Old Man Climbs Mt. Everest - :13 - 106KB Sometimes, sitting in the studio means dropping a one-liner. {mmp3}FanofGravity.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices: Rocky and Me)
-
Carneys
Carneys - 1:11 - 556KB While everyone loves a carnival, no one really wants to be a Carney when they grow up. Instead, they want to grow up and get a job that lets them point and laugh at the carney-folk. {mmp3}Carneys.mp3{/mmp3} (Voices are Rocky Allen and Me - Rocky's the deep one)
-
Chris Boylan Radio Demo
This is a example of work I've done, including on-air, production, bits (written and voiced), and street clips. 4:30 - 6555KB {mmp3}ChrisBoylanDemo.mp3{/mmp3}
-
We've passed the 50% mark.
At this point, you can probably begin to see what I have in mind. The template still needs some heavy work as I think I'm going to go with a 1000px fixed width. The Menu needs some spiffification. The color scheme is a little bland, but I'll probably keep it for the next month or so. The gallery is …
-
We're 33% There!
Good news! This place is approaching the 1/3rd mark towards completion. Now, you may think - "Hey, Chris. What the hell is taking you so long? Shouldn't you be done by now?" No. Still on the hitlist --Finish the templateBring over audioBring over picturesSet up new blog and import old post…
-
IT WORKS!!!! (I think)
Unbelievably, it looks like I have got this comments thing to work almost perfectly now. It rocks so hard. What does this mean? It means I can now focus on design and porting over the audio, image gallery and blog sections. Basically, become a real site again. Except this time, I'm not going to be t…
-
Welcome to Chris Boylan.com
We're just getting started. Look for more changes in the next week. Don't worry, it won't look like this for long. In the meantime, visit the forum. The link is on the right now. Or you can visit the news feeds for the five latest Fark.com headlines. It's still kludgy, but things will be getting bet…
-
THE LAST BLOG!!!!
Well, at least using movable type anyways. Tomorrow, I'm going to flip over my site if I can get two or three little bugs worked out. As a result, the site will be in all sorts of error message hell for awhile. It's probably best that you don't check it out, because it will just be confusing and uns…
-
Monk and Dave Show
Hey, I'll be all lame and stuff tonight on the Monk and Dave wacky internet radio show. Check out MonkandDave.com for details.
-
New Site
Yes! I've got the comments thing to work in its entirety, but it keeps posting the comments link at the top of articles, not the bottom. That may take a day of research, followed by figuring how to move over the current content, and some minimal design, but I see no real reason for it not to go live…
-
I hate UPS
They randomly and without warning demand a signature in person for some packages and do not let you waive that requirement. They also never give you a delivery time. Thus, sometimes you are basically forced to take a day off to get anything delivered. Thus, I had to drive out 20 minutes each way to …
-
GIANT WIN!
YES!!! I was telling Amber that a Giants win, especially if Tiki got the record and Eli played well would be the difference between a sucky six month offseason and a happy one. I have been pretty positive on this team, as they were decimated by injury (17 players on Injured reserve) and had no good …
-
Happy New Year
A Happy New Year to all. I am back from Jersey, and only had my bags delayed one flight, leaving me luggageless for a few hours. I had a great time, but also miss not seeing everybody out in Detroit. I think a visit out there may be in order soon. I think I may flip to the new site overhaul in the n…
-
It's Christmastime
And tonight thank God it's themmmm...... Innnstead of youuuuuuuuu!!! U2 and Bono rock it hard at Christmastime. That song plus, "Baby, Please Come Home" = Good Christmas. I am off to the land of Jersey for the Christmas Holiday. Good progress is being made on the Mambo site overaul. I have a big pro…
-
I'm Sick
While I am that kind of sick, I am also of ill health these past five days. I've been coughing, sneezing, post-nasal dripping, and fighting off the demon fever. While this has left me with quite a lot of free time, it has also unfortunately left me with little willpower to accomplish anything with i…
-
Chris Boylan, consumer.
After laying back for much of the Thanksgiving weekend, I joined the fray, making an electronics purchase today in celebration of my upcoming birthday. My parents have generously funded the purchase as a present. The selection? An Iriver HP-140 Digital Audio Player. It is becoming harder and harder …
-
I'm off to Delaware
I'm leaving at 6 to U of Del. to hang out for the weekend with my family as we all attend the Villanova/U Del. game on Saturday. Ill be back late Sat. / early Sun. Watch the Amazing Race on Sat at 8 on CBS.
-
Well, that sucked.
It's taken me a long time to sit down and actually write this. As Tuesday night rolled into Wednesday morning, and it became apparent that Kerry was going to lose, I found myself being overwhelmed by a huge sinking feeling. It was deep in my stomach, and it made me feel sick for most of Wednesday in…
-
Happy Halloween!
It's time to wish you all a Happy Halloween from Bob Ross, PBS's favorite painter. That's actually Ron Smerigan, of Ron Runs the City. When he and Liz came by Fayetteville, we watched some episodes of the "Joy of Painting" that I had TiVo'ed. For those of you who don't know, "The Joy of Painting" is…
-
I'm on the (internet) radio!
Check out Monk and Dave at 7PM ish to listen. Or not. At least make sure you check out South Park's season premiere tonight at 10PM.
-
Election Links
Hey, want to waste time obsessing about the upcoming election? Do what I do every morning! Visit these two sites for more info than you can shake a stick at. Fancy Clickable Electoral Map with Polls I love this one, its so fun and easy to play. Not wonkish enough for you? The check out The Note. Upd…
-
I'm so TiVo sexy
Just finished hacking my new SDTiVo, to go along with my hacked HDTiVo. Good times. Well, at least mind-numbingly frustrating times. So, that's how I spent my Giants-free weekend. Now, after I finish watching all the shows on my old SDTiVo, it goes on EBay. I just checked the pricing on the old TiVo…
-
Chris on the Internet Radio
One of my friends at Cumulus, John Lloyd ( who was also recently crowned Fayetteville Idol), has a weekely internet radio show. It starts tonight at 8PM. He has graciously asked me to be a part of the show and if you want to hear it, go to Shoutcast and search for Monkeyspunk. The show is an hour an…
-
Ron and Liz Away!!! ...maybe.
Ron and Liz are hopefully on their way home to the big MI after spending a spendiferous weekend here in the NC. (Referring to states by their postal codes... catch the fever... treat it with antibiotics...) We did very little this weekend in the exciting department, but we did watch Saved! and Super…
-
New Audio
I posted a little ditty about the Olympics and a man in a tutu. It's, well... definitely sound. As usual, I await your feedback or stampeding indifference. Check out the Audio Gallery for the cut. It's in the top section. I'm getting a haircut soon. Ron and Liz are coming. For them, I hope my hair i…
-
Everybody With A Morning Show, Take One Step Forward
Not so fast, Chris!!! Yes, Yes, Yes... Chris is not unemployed, quite. However, he no longer will be co-host of the Kix 106.9 Morning Crew. I'm not sure if I can post the details, so you'll have to wait til the weekend, but rest assurred that Chris's life has taken an abrupt and bizarre turn. The Ki…
-
The Wire IS BACK!!!!
CHECK IT OUT!!!!!! It'll also be on Mon on HBO2 and Tue and Wed on HBO. CHECK IT OUT!!!!!! I've muddled the audio category around a bit, so just go to the Image Gallery for now. I've added a second audio bit, so hunt around and you'll find it. Don't worry, I'm still fixing the gallery, so if you hat…
-
Audio
I had hoped to have set up the new audio file organizer by now, but it looks like I'll have to wait until later in the week. However, I promised some audio, and that I give unto you. The audio quality is awful (see earlier post about how we were recording the show on cassette), but the story is mild…
-
Duane comes through
Just when I finish complaining about how little love I get at work, Duane, our engineer, comes through. Duane scratches together 3 weeks of minidiscs for us, allowing us to now record our show in a digital format and archive it for at least a little while. What does that mean for you, the home reade…
-
Just how much am I worth?
I have been listening to cassettes of shows Tracy and I have done recently to throw together a best-of show for Labor Day. In the listening back, I have discovered three things. 1 - I hate my voice. 2 - My laugh is awful, pathetic, and makes me want to vomit. 3 - If you record on one cassette about …
-
I Know... Two in a Row?
As if I needed another reminder that corporate America really doesn't have my best interests in mind (besides the whole you get no health insurance until you've worked here for three months, and the whole "Are you really leaving for the day after only having been here for eight hours? Your workday o…
-
Football!
I cannot possibly express how psyched I am that the football season is starting. I get to see all of the Giants preseason games this year, with NFL network and DirecTV, and I get to see Eli manning slowly but steadily beat out Kurt Warner for the starting job. In addition, I just found out a great n…
-
Last Comic Standing
I know, I promised myself that I'd stop watching after the first few episodes clearly revealed the show to be nothing more than a sham. However, when you have a girlfriend who knows how to operate the TiVo, you don't have as much control over you viewing habits as you thought you would when you got …
-
Busy, busy.
In one Kurt Vonnegut novel, any time there was a coincidence, the main character would always repeat, "Busy, busy" as if the gods were hard at work connecting things throughout the cosmos. This has nothing to do with anything. I am trying my damndest to post here at least twice a week, but the gods …
-
It was Pneumonia.
My cold was a little worse than originally thought. It may have been a small virus at one point, but by the time I saw the Doc, it was pneumonia. I'm better now, but really tired. I will type more tomorrow.
-
Cold in July
We're right in the middle of a non-stop commercial free block of 3 months of your favorite summer weather! The forecast for the next month is Hot and Humid, with a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon, High of 95. Who needs weathermen when you can just repeat yesterday's forecast? The irony, ho…
-
Redneck Olympics
Well, well, well. It appears that I have arrived on the scene as a local D-list celebrity. This Saturday, I appeared in the local newspaper as "WKQB-FM personality Chris Boylan". Although I am never actually mentioned in the article, I appear in the main picture and am referred to in the caption. I'…
-
Butter Fight
Amber and I are yet closer to actually making our apartment livable. In the mean time, I have this job thing. Sometimes, I even produce something that I can share with others as proof that I am actually working. Now is one of those times. Butter Fight A bold combination of strong writing and bad act…
-
Chris gets paid for this
Yes, for reasons unknown, I do get paid for doing a morning show. Well, actually - as I believe Rock said, "I'd do the show for free. They pay me to get up at 3:50 in the morning." Well, they don't pay enough for that. Ever. There is no amount of money that is worth feeling tired and miserable all d…
-
Having a Job Sucks
I mean, besides the whole getting paid thing, what is with having to be somewhere EVERY DAY at a CERTAIN TIME!!! Come on, people! I'm human, not a robot! It's truly astounding how much stuff you can accomplish in a day when you don't have a job. All of the sudden, if you take away 8-10 hours a day, …
-
Kix 106.9
Welcome to Kix Country! Starting tomorrow, Friday morning, I begin as co-host of the Kix Morning Crew (or something like that). Every weekday morning from 5:30 to 10 AM, Tracy Taylor and I will be offering up wild and wacky nuttiness on "The New Kix 106.9". What lies in store? I have absolutely no i…
-
Good Times on the Floor of the Market
That's a tag line from one of my ill-fated street bits from DVD, but it is also what is going on here in New Jersey. The youngest of the clan Boylan (Allison), graduates from Watchung Hills Regional High School today, so I am at my parents' house, fixing up their TiVos and rewiring the dish. However…
-
TV News
Yes, it's too late to make anybody watch it, but the season finale of Deadwood is on HBO tonight at 10PM and at 8PM the best show on television, The Wire, returns for an encore of Season 2 at 8PM. Don't worry, if you miss it, it will rerun Saturday night on HBO2. Make sure you catch the best-written…
-
Radio Times
I had hoped by now to have been updating the move to Fayetteville in much more detail, but between Time Warner Cable's reluctance to install my cable modem, the simultaneous failure of the garbage disposal and dishwasher, and this whole new job thing, I've been a little busy. Tomorrow morning, I'm g…
-
Moving
There won't be much in the way of updates here as Amber and I frantically pack for our quickly approaching move. Give me a week or so as I close up shop here in Michigan and reopen back down in North Carolina. I plan on being up and running shortly - or as shortly as Time Warner installs my modem. I…
-
Employment!
And so ends my ridiculously short time on the unemployment dole. Amber, my lovely girlfriend and I have both acquired jobs working for Cumulus Broadcasting in Fayetteville, NC. Yes. That's Fayetteville, NC. Market #128 is located about one hour south of Raleigh, NC and two hours northwest of Myrtle …
-
Life keeps getting weirder
After finishing a 6,000 mile plus trip to explore the Western United States, Amber and I have decided that one 16 day road trip a month just isn't enough. So, Saturday morning we hit the road again, but this time, we head East, to the shores of the Atlantic! Well, not quite. We will be stopping an h…
-
Arrested Development RENEWED!!!
In the best news of the TV season, Variety.com is reporting that Arrested Development will be renewed by FOX. Unfortunately, Variety is a subscription-based service and I can only read the headlines. I suspect this is not an official report, but rather info they have gotten from insiders. Thus, it m…
-
Server Goodness, I think
I've been a busy man this weekend, as it looks like I've acquired a new server over to which I can transfer all the hosting accounts. All of the downtime the past few months has sucked, and I've been looking for a way to get us out of Nocster. Well... I found it. If everything goes through tomorrow …
-
More pictures coming
I'm wading through the last of the pictures. I've sorted through another 200 and have the same to go. Good thing we had a digital camera. They aren't posted yet. Maybe by tomorrow. In the meantime, stop and enjoy the useless Google Ads in the middle of my front page. Just a test run here. It will so…
-
The End.
We're back. We returned Tuesday evening at 9:45PM. We put over 6,000 miles on the car over 16 days, and I still have about 250 pictures to sort through and post. Amber and I have been on a "media blackout" for the past three days as we have been trying to not find out who won Survivor. When we left …
-
In SF, meeting the family (extended)
I'm about an hour away from meeting my cousins, Conroy and Mike for the first time in two years, (closer to four for Mike). SF has been much cooler temperature-wise than So Cal. It's always temperate here which agrees with me but may be a little too cold for Amber, who despite being born in Michigan…
-
Leaving L.A.
I sit again atop the stairs at the Travelodge LAX South, this time posting around two dozen pictures to the Images section. The pictures are now caught up until Coachella. With around 200 pictures from Coachella, that's going to take quite some more time. Maybe I'll do it in the car tomorrow as we r…
-
The City of Angels
I currently sit atop a flight of stairs outside my room at the Travelodge Motel (which turned out to be the best room we've stayed at), just south of LAX (LA airport). I am getting internet access from somebody's house across the street (I think), and it blinks in and out, but I think I'll be okay. …
-
I am so tired.
Who would have thought that Las Vegas would have been a town that was hard to find Wifi in? Well, maybe if we looked harder, but Amber only has so much patience to drive up and down the Strip with me in the passenger seat, yelling "Here! Turn Here! ... Wait.... nope, it's gone." Then, when I drive u…
-
We made it!
Despite some doubts to the contrary, we arrived in Flagstaff at about 11:30 PM last night. That puts us about an hour away from the Grand Canyon - where we will spend the day - and end up in Las Vegas. There are pictures for you to see so far. No descriptions yet, but they will come in the next few …
-
Go Time
It's 9:30 AM, we're walking out the door, and Amber is already fed up with me. Sparkling. Oklahoma City here we come.
-
Oh Sweet Jesus!
In my hasty attempt to update the site before I left for the Road Trip, I mangled everything for a few hours. Good times. I seem to have sorted it all out for now, but please tell me of any problems you might be having. You can post them in the Forum. The basic quirks are that user information (your…
-
Only days remain
Again, both until the NFL Draft on Saturday and until Amber's and my departure on Monday. If you haven't checked the forum in the last day, a flurry of activity erupted in relation to the possibility that the Giants may trade up to the first overall pick in the draft. I think it is not an overstatem…
-
It's coming!
And by that I mean the NFL Draft. No, while I am excited about the upcoming NFL Draft this weekend, (and praying that the Giants pass on Eli Manning and pick up Gallery or Sean Taylor) I am much more excited about this Monday's coming departure for the "Chris Across America Trip". Alright, I need a …
-
Stocks and plans
Today was expiration day in the options world, meaning the day that comes once a month when options have to be exercised or they expire worthless. Basically, it is time to take a look at how you are doing and make a few trades. After one month, I made about $200 on one covered call on IMM. Through a…
-
Stellastarr*
Attended Stellastarr* at the Shelter. It was a somewhat weak performance as feared as lead-singer-with-weird-voice-guy (that I'm too lazy to look up) was unable to maintain the odd 80s british thing over the cacophony of the rest of the band. Having never been to the Shelter before, I was blown away…
-
Deadwood and The Wire
Caught both The Sopranos and Deadwood tonight on the HBO. First off, it looks like The Sopranos is really starting to hit its stride this season after a lackluster effort last season. I'm starting to remember why I liked the show in the first place. After last season, I felt I was just watching out …
-
Hospital Stay
No, no.. not for me. However, Amber's Dad spent Monday and Tuesday getting to know Crittenton Hospital after getting sidelined by a kidney stone. I'd attempt to explain it, but why bother when Amber did a much better job. So that plus cleaning up Rock's basement is what I've been up to the past few …
-
New Tires
On Tuesday, I finally got around to doing what I had been planning on doing for a few weeks now, changing my oil. Well, not so much me doing it, as my car is a Nissan Altima and has a ground clearance of about 8 inches, but instead the fine folks at my local quickie oil place. I say "fine folks" in …
-
The Darkness
On Sunday night, I was witness to true Rock Incarnate! The Darkness came to Clutch Cargo's and rocked the house down as only a band like themselves could. For some cool pictures, check out whatevs.org. Go to the bottom of the page, and you'll see a small review with a picture of Justin taken by Big …
-
O TiVo, why must you vex me so!
Just when I think I've got a handle on this TiVo thing, it goes and bites me in the ass. I've been attempting to extract two shows for a few days now, to no avail. The worst part about this is that the information on how to do this is readily available. For all those who are interested, the site to …
-
Ugh
Being largely unemployed can lead to long sections of nothing important happening in your life. So it has been for a few weeks. When you throw in a little March Madness, specifically the orgy of games from the first round this past weekend giving you no reason to leave the house, you can end up with…
-
Amber Pillowcases
I think that by this point, we're all aware that my girlfriend, Amber, is completely crazy. She suffers from some kind of modified OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) whereby everything that possibly involves me has to be clean, but anything involving just her - not so much. (See similar stories of …
-
Television, not Amber
Remember - there's a special new episode of "Arrested Development" tonight at 9:30 on FOX! Make sure you catch this show as it is absolutely hilarious. Jason Bateman is a wildly underrated comic actor and the show is suberbly written. I don't have enough space here to properly describe how funny thi…
-
New Computer
I finally got my new computer! And yes, Greg, this is not an anecdote. (I was going to post a pillowcase story mocking Amber, but she was in rough shape today - so I felt bad about kicking a dead horse in the mouth. I love mixing metaphors. Tomorrow, she will rebound, and I will mock anew.) So, on T…
-
Taxes
I'm in the process of doing my taxes this evening and it has been a chore to say the least. Not that it is easy for everyone, but I have to also balance three W-2s from two jobs and unemployment. I was overwithheld from Disney (last Jan) and withheld nothing from unemployment. Throw an IRA conversio…
-
The People Have Spoken
Well.. apparently my little talky-talkys aren't funny enough anymore. Then, I shall try anew... Being a shrewd observer of human nature and spectactular multi-tasker, I find great comfort in seeing people struggle with seemingly simple tasks. It also helps that I'm evil, but I digress... In middle s…
-
Getting closer
Every day, I've been putting in a little more into the revamp. You can always check it out at index2.php. I want it to do a better job of parsing the blogs, (mine, Ron's, etc.) as I'm thinking the front page should be more of a "portal" if I may use a lame buzzword from five years ago. Then, it's ba…
-
Broken Record
I feel like a friggin broken record here... somehow I have managed to turn nothing to do every day into something that takes up so much time that I don't have time to do the things that I want. I swear that I am justthisclose to making this site all new and fancy and pretty, but then my TiVo croaks …
-
A Wistful Rememberance
For reasons I shall not go into, in addition to the whole server thing / helping out MotorCityRocks.com with web design, etc / learning how to get rich by trading stock options - I have been listening to old DATs of The Rocky Allen Show, including days in which I appeared often. I say "appeared" bec…
-
Freddy Mercury is Alive!
For the first time in about four years, I bought a music CD. For a long time, I've been content to not seek out music and it hasn't been a particularly large part of my life. Then I met Amber. My beautiful girlfriend is borderline obsessed with music and after forcing me to listen to many of her CDs…
-
Caucus and Butthead
Saturday was a day like any other, excepting two events - one great and the other mediocre. The first, and mediocre, was participating in the Michigan Democratic Caucus. It was mostly comical in a sad, postmodern sort of way. I have more about this, but I took pictures and the camera isn't agreeing …
-
Unfinished Post About Robert Moses
1964 - Moses was finished with highwaybuilding, NYC area had 899 miles of roads. LA the highway city had 459. Everywhere you went required a car, greatly increasing traffic Lane of expressway 1,500 cars per hour, in 1955 requiring 60 new lanes by 1985 just to handle cars in Queens. By allowing for r…
-
The Power Broker
As I wrote before I recently finished The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Originally published in 1974, The Power Broker is the impeccably researched true story of Robert Moses, the most powerful man in the history of New York. It starts in 1909, recounting Moses's college years, where he was the no…
-
To-Do List
One of the repeating themes in my life is that I have all these goals and ideas of things I want to do or achieve. However, they often occur to me while I am busy, so I write them down so that I will get to them when I have the time. Only one problem... even when I have the time, I find myself putti…
-
Book Review
For the last six months or so, I have been plodding through one 1200 page book. The book: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. The quick review: This book is hands down, the best book I have read in my life! The long review: To come. I will be posting ideas and …
-
Virus Warning
Just a quick note to all you wacky kids out there: There's a new email virus that is making quick inroads into people's computers. I believe that it works like the virus that came about a few months ago - it comes from people you know who have been infected. I've been sent it twice already. The body…
-
The Car
As Greg pointed out to me over the phone, I realized I had never told what happened to my car. In case you didn't read earlier, my car had sporadically stopped starting. I had resumed it was related to the cold outside, but it turns out that $250 later, it was just something really dumb. My car is a…
-
Just when I was making progress
I had finished my X-Box, installed a network card on my TiVo, got my new MX-500 Universal Remote mostly programmed (relieving me of the 7 plus remote mess on the coffee table) and was working towards finally making this site pretty. I even managed to get some new pictures up (which many of you have …
-
Chicago Pictures are Up!
I finished captioning the Chicago pictures, so I opened the album in the Images section. Please check it out and leave comments. Remember that you have to login before leaving comments, but anyone can see the pictures without logging in. The login is the same as for the message board. If you like th…
-
Making Progress
I'm up way too late, so I'll keep it brief. I finally got the digital camera working, so I have edited and uploaded the Chicago pictures. They are not available yet, as I will be captioning them this weekend, but the time draws near. In more good news, I successfully modded my X-Box yesterday. It wa…
-
Picture Frustrations
I had planned on starting to upload all of my backlogged pictures yesterday, when all things USB apparently stopped working on my computer. As of now, i still have no idea what's going wrong. Both my scanner and the digital camera are not connecting to the computer. Being understandably frustrated, …
-
Back In the Fattest City in America
In case you haven't heard, Detroit has added another fine honor to its already overflowing basket of awards: Fattest City in America. In the interest of fair and balanced reporting, unlike our fine friends at Fox News - or any other form of mass media for that matter - I will provide some context. N…
-
Holy Crap-a-moly!
It's been quite a good few days as I return back to Michiganland. Let us review: 1. The Circuit City fun I had a week or so ago. (Check my last post.) 2. I left my driver's license at my parent's house when I went to the airport to come home Saturday, stranding me in Newark for four fun-filled stand…
-
Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night
Christmas has passed, so now I can relay my lovely shopping story. Not that it was paticularly horrific, as I am sure others have had much worse, but since it happened to me, I'm much more interested in my story. Since I live in Michigan, shopping for my family is a little hard - I can't buy anythin…
-
Planes and Delaware
As you may or may not know, on Friday my brother was lucky enough to be doing play-by-play for the University of Delaware Blue Hens as they captured the NCAA Div I-AA Football Championship. They did so in decisive fashion - which would make you think he had a good time. But apparently, he was held u…
-
Fassel is dead, Delaware is alive!
As I'm sure you've noticed, the man that was the bane of my existence, Giants Coach Jim Fassel was kind of fired. He asked if he was going to be fired at the end of the season, and the answer was yes - so he asked for that to be announced and to let him finish the season. For the next two weeks, he …
-
Fantasy Football
I was planning on redesigning the site's colors today, but I got wrapped up in Fantasy Football. More importantly, I got sick and tired of adding up all of the points, so I created this Yahoo Fantasy Football Calculator. It currently only works for my Fordham league, but I plan on opening it up to o…
-
Ain't This Fancy
I've integrated my Movable Type's comment feature into the PHPBB Forum. Aren't you excited!?! Yeah, well it took a lot of work, but it fulfills a dream i had a while ago to more closely wrap the forum into the site. There is still a lot of cleaning up to do, in both web design, graphics, forum style…
-
Poker Times
I did indeed see the Celebrity Poker back on Tuesday on Bravo. Having watched both the celebrity version, the Travel Channel World Poker Tour, and the granddaddy World Series of Poker on ESPN, it becomes pretty obvious that the celebrity version is the weakest of the bunch. The other two have real p…
-
Dov Davidoff
Anybody heard of this guy? I saw him on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and he was pretty funny. He dropped one joke about Michael Jackson that I shall repeat, but only after the disclaimer that I don't actually endorse pedophilia. (That was just for those who are unfamiliar with humor.) (Also, I will …
-
Happy Birthday to Me!
Today is my birthday. I completed my 25th year on this planet at some point earlier this morning (I think at 9:19 AM, but that time is probably only a result of my parents making up a time so that I'd stop asking them about it.) and I feel only about a day older than I did yesterday. I find it a bit…
-
Thanksgiving
Although I am still a bit sick and hocking up huge amounts of mucus, tonight I head home for Thanksgiving. Going back to Jersey. Not that that's particularly newsworthy. But, if you read the rest of this site - you'll notice that nothing else here is either. N.B. The define button has returned. If y…
-
I Have a Cold
I have not been able to breathe out of my left nostril for a few hours now, which is much more annoying than I remember. My lovely girlfriend, Amber brought this miscreant virus into our apartment a few days ago. I've had a sore throat for about two days, but I only started feeling like real crap in…
-
Almost Thanksgiving
Why should that be exciting? Simply because I get to go home and see my family for the first time in a long while. I have not had the proper outlet for venting just how badly the Giants suck, and they will provide just that. Speaking of outlets, I just provided a new one. If you look to the left, yo…
-
Vacuum Cleaners
No, this is not a joke about vacuum cleaners. Or how the Giants are like a Shop-Vac - so versatile they can go from suck to blow with the flip of a switch. No, this is about how you should NEVER EVER buy a vacuum cleaner that is bagless. Always buy the one with the disposable bag. The bagless contai…
-
Jessica Lynch
I usually don't put up two posts in an evening, allowing them to properly breathe. However, I forgot about this earlier and it needs it's own time. Have you seen the promos for the putrid piece of filth that is the "Jessica Lynch Story"? NBC figures, let's quickly set up a pointless and more importa…
-
Irish Day
Apparently, it's high Irish Times here. Two Deirdres and two Chris Boylans. If you check out the comments from the previous post, you'll see that "Big" Deirdre stopped by and left a message. It is somehwat uncommon to have the name Deirdre. (With the "R". I believe, the other spelling, Deidre, is mo…
-
Good Genes
For those of you who checked out the comments from the last post, you see how I have mutant genes. My sister, Deirdre, has two different length legs. For those of you who are confused about that last statement, let me explain it for you. It's really, really funny. Yeah, two different length legs is …
-
Photos
As you may or may not have noticed, two days ago I installed a new photo gallery (coppermine). You can get to it the same way you got to the images before, by clicking on the "Images" link to the left. I'll be adding captions to all of the pictures over the next few weeks, hopefully an album or two …
-
Eddie Izzard
Sorry to inform you, but it appears that Eddie Izzard's "Dress to Kill" was lightning-in-a-bottle. This weekend, I saw "Sexie" at the Music Hall in Detroit, Eddie's recent stand-up/monologue/performance, and it was - okay. It was maybe even good, but nevertheless a letdown since I was expecting some…
-
Baseball and The Strokes
Last night was a good night. It started off with The Strokes in concert (well actually Kings of Leon, but they weren't very good). To put it simply, the concert kicked ass. The crowd was rowdy, Julian (the lead singer) was visibly drunk, and they sounded good. Quite a few times he jumped out into th…
-
Baseball
I can't believe I've actually been watching baseball these playoffs. I'm sure that it has had much to do with watching the hard-luck Cubs in their quest to fight off history. Apparently the rest of the country feels much the same as baseball ratings are way up.Tonight the Yanks take on the BoSox in …
-
The Office, Season 2
The Office - the hilarious British Comedy that I fell in love with back in the spring - debuts its second season this Sunday at 9PM (as well as about 20 other times during the week). The show is shot like a documentary of the inner workings of a small British paper company and the dialogue is improv…
-
More Tweaking
When I get time, I've been touching things up. The Contact Page actually works now. You can type stuff in and it will be emailed to me. Good times.As you can also see the main blog page now fits in with the rest of the site. The child pages (Archives, Comments, etc.) have not been updated, but are n…
-
Changes
I've moved (I believe) the whole site over to PHP, as I accidently started last night. I'm really tired and have probably missed something, so if I have, I apologize. Any emails pointing this out would be greatly appreciated.As for work, it still is hard, but good things are coming. I should have so…
-
I'm late, I'm late...
I'm off for NYC to celebrate the nuptials of one Harry Kapsalis and Robin Ostrowski(sp?). It will be a whirlwind time of New York goodness. Hopefully I shall return with NYC pix and stories of whimsy. The Giants and Fordham Rams both have the weekend off, so I had to fill the tremendous football vac…
-
It's Fall and All Is Good
Well, it is now officially fall, the best season of the year. The air gets a little crisper - when it's cool enough to be comfortable, but warm enough not to freeze your nostrils when you inhale. Football is there, comforting me every Sunday - taking me on a roller coaster ride of emotions (being a …
-
I'm getting close
I've gotten pretty damn close to finishing the script that will put excerpts of my blog on the frontpage - which is the first step of my redesign. (I originally had it backwards. I was going to pretty it up, and then work on content. After some thinking, I realized if I don't get more content up, th…
-
I stayed up til 1:06AM for this?
I have to get up in three hours. I stayed up to watch the Giants beat the Cowboys, but instead they get beat up early. I lose hope, but the Giants come back and take the lead with :11 to go. I am ecstatic and will sleep happy.BUT WAIT!!!! Matt Bryant kicks the kickoff out of bounds, the Cowboys move…
-
Opus is BACK!!!!
My favorite comic strip while growing up was Bloom County. The exploits of Opus, Milo, Portnoy, Hodge-Podge, Steve Dallas and of course (the response to Garfield) Bill the Cat. Unfortunately, in 1989, Berkely Breathed, the Pulitzer Prize winning author discontinued the strip as he was getting burned…
-
Giants Win
I am a very happy man this week as mine own New York Football Giants were victorious over the hated St. Louis Rams. Not as strong a victory as I had hoped (the offense only picked up one touchdown), but still impressive nonetheless. Next week, they take on the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football…
-
This is my 50th entry!
Well, I certainly thought my interest would have waned by now, but look at me! I'm still typing!Anyway, the reason for the week gap in entries has to do with the hectic nature of the last week at work. Starting Monday, The Rocky Allen Show - the place of my employ, will begin broadcasting live to ou…
-
Mail from Chris Boylan
Hey, I posted this as a comment to an earlier blog entry... but in case you don't see it, here it is again. P.S. I'm the bastard. Hello, Other Chris Boylan. I was ego-surfing an found your site. Nice domain name! In reference to your comment about being ranked 147th on Google for "chris boylan" - we…
-
CDs and Diamonds
I received an interesting email from Christopher Boylan earlier and was going to share it, before I stumbled on to this: Manufactured Diamonds. It is an old article, but very interesting nonetheless. It shows how diamonds are soon going to be cheap and readily available. Aren't they too rare to be c…
-
Car Wash
Well, it happened. This Sunday afternoon - on opposite corners - two high school bikini car washes set up shop, each trying to lure the sexually frustrated out of their homes for a little automobile cleansing (not a sick metaphor). One is disturbing enough... but two is just a sign of the impending …
-
The Wire - Finale
As many of you may know, I am a huge fan of The Wire, which has surpassed Sports Night as my favorite TV show of all time. This Sunday, season 2 comes to its climax - a moment I have been anticipating since early June when the season began. Season 1 was simply outstanding. A complex, interwoven plot…
-
Blackout et al.
Lots of things have occured in the last week. There was that whole blackout thing that reached all the way out here to Detroit, knocking out power from Thursday afternoon until late Friday night/Saturday morning. Then, to top it off - there was some sewage problems that forced us to boil our drinkin…
-
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race moves closer to its finale tonight, at 8PM on CBS. Check it out. Secondly, this page probably won't look like it used to until the weekend. Im real busy keeping the computers at work safe from the MS Blast worm that's taking down computers everywhere. I can't even get through to the…
-
Getting there
I'm cleaning up the blog section of the site, so that's why it looks a bit weird. I've also lost the link back to my main page, so if you want to get there, Click Here. As I have indicated many times before, I am working on a new design. If you have any requests as to what you would like to see, Ema…
-
Successful Migration
I'm close to completing the move over to the new server. It all seems to be functioning fairly decently, but I still have to pretty it up. That should happen tomorrow. On a side note - I have noticed a trend, but I cannot decide if it is good or a sign of trouble. About a mile from my apartment, the…
-
Off to go play poker.
I'm off to go play poker this fine evening, so wish me well. Secondly, the site should begin transferring over to the new server tonight, so there will be connection issues for the next 2-3 days. I'll be sure to post something new and fancy when it's done.
-
Amazing Race
Tonight, 8PM CBS
-
Site troubles
Have you ever had trouble getting to this site? Like how it wouldn't load, or it would, but only after a long wait? Well, soon no more. Chris Boylan .com is moving to a new server some time in the next week. The change should be fairly transparent, but the blog may disappear for a short period. Rest…
-
Giants Report to Training Camp
All is well with the world. In two weeks, I'll get to see the Giants take on the Patriots (I believe) in the glorious debut of Sunday Night Football on ESPN High Definition. Football plus HD makes Chris a happy camper. Big Blue Interactive
-
Google Update
Well, it appears I've entered into the world of Google for the search term "chris boylan" - space included. I currently am ranked 147th of all pages containing the phrase Chris Boylan. Does this mean anything? No. Does it fascinate me? Yes. Is it pathetic that the guy who owns chrisboylan.com ranks …
-
Few quick thoughts
Airing on Thursdays at 8PM on CBS, The Amazing Race(hereafter referred to as The Race), is a contest between a dozen pairs (Father/Son, Married, friends, etc.) as they race around the world, trying to overcome various obstacles. For instance, they are released from their hotel in India with only $80…
-
Second Site
No, not the awful movie starring Val Kilmer (note: voted the actor in Hollywood people least wanted to work with). Instead, this refers to the second site I am designing. You can check it out at www.rockyallen.com. Oh, wait - there's nothing there yet. Ha - ha. But soon there will be pictures and au…
-
Google Search
AS I said a long time ago, I'm trying to get my site to the first result when you type in "chris boylan". Unfortunately, due some poor coding on my part - I am nowhere to be found under the search for "chris boylan". --- HOWEVER !!! --- try searching for "chrisboylan" all one word. I come in first p…
-
Alright, so it isn't fully done.
The first site I am working on, Utopiamedia.net is at least online. The design is primitive, but at least functional. Unfortunately my other work has kept me much too busy to spend a lot of time on it. For the last few weeks, I have built 11 computers from parts ordered through one of the best compu…
-
Chris is hungry
Yes, he is. Very hungry. Too often, when Chris gets busy he forgets to eat. Right now is one of those times. The other sites will be up tonight, and Ill put up the links.
-
New Sites are almost up
I'm nearing the completion of the rough dimensions of the two new sites I'm designing. I will need feedback if that's at all possible. On Monday or Tuesday I will post the links here so you can check them out. Remember though, they are rough designs and should be viewed as such. Mostly what I need t…
-
I've Almost Moved In
At this point I am one carload away from having moved all of my stuff to my new apartment. New for me that is. The apartment itself is older than myself and my soon to be former residence. My computer will be up and all sorts of web fun will begin. Ill put links to the other sites Im designing here …
-
I'm employed
In addition, we plan to be available on the web in the near future. I am in charge of our website www.rockyallen.com. As you can tell, it needs some work, and I hope to have it at least cleaned up by launch. Since I am also in charge of streaming audio - I can guarantee that it won't be available fo…
-
Mea Culpa
Sorry DD, you are right, I did not properly acknowledge your birthday this Wednesday. On Wednesday, June 18th, my sister, Deirdre, turned - if my math is right - 22 years old. I hope that this public admission of my forgetfulness will in some way abate her looming explosion via telephone. However, s…
-
Im busy
Sorry for the infrequent updates, but as I have said, I am very busy. I am currently designing two other websites as well as other technical things and will be remarkably busy for the next few weeks. I will still post to the Blog every other day (hopefully), but my new pictures and design changes ar…
-
I Stand Corrected
Although I am currently exhausted, it is no excuse for factual mistakes on my part. This is especially the case when I am describing events that I have actually attended in person. For instance, the 2000 World Series, which the Yankees won - I attended in person. Also, the 2001 World Series, which I…
-
We are the champions!
Yes, it's cliche, but it's Queen - so shut up. The New Jersey Devils are Stanley Cup Champions, and I am a happy Panda. I am somewhat surprised that all of North America did not hear me scream upon the first goal (which I thought didn't have a chance). Not much else to say about it, other than it wa…
-
The Big Game
This evening, The New Jersey Devils take on the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in one of the greatest events in sport - Game 7 of the StanleyCup Finals. I have no idea how this one is going to turn out, as the first two games were Devils shutouts, the next two were Ducks defensively dominated (3d's, huh?) and…
-
Are you serious?
The New Jersey Devils won 6-3 last night in a ridiculous offensive onslaught, sending the series to Anaheim for Game 6, where the Devils will have a chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Good Times. P.S. I know I promised pictures. They are developed, and I have them in my possession, but they require…
-
Devils lose... Again
Well, the Devils lost their second straight overtime game, tying the series at 2-2. That means that there are three games left, and the first team to win two wins the series. The only good news is that the two teams are almost even when in Anaheim (the last two games) and the Devils kill the Ducks i…
-
Hey.
Hey! Why hasn't Chris typed anything in a while? Because he's busy. Doing what? Isn't he unemployed? Don't you worry your pretty little head what Chris is doing. Devils still lead 2-1, and the rest of the games are on ABC in High Defintion. Good times.
-
Devils and Pictures
Saw two movies over the weekend A Mighty Wind - Best in Show this is not. A weak movie, maybe worth renting. Best in Show, by comparison, is a must own.The Matrix Reloaded - It is rare that a sequel is actually good. This one managed to live up to my expectations, which was a most pleasant surprise.…
-
Server Troubles
I nearly made my HDTV (the center of my universe) completely worthless. While playing with the color decoder by hooking it up to my computer, my whole place lost power. It is not wise to be reprogramming its EEPROM (the RAM ((like a computer's RAM)) where the TV's instructions are stored. As in, "Wh…
-
Functional Update
I have a remarkable tendency to use words that are a bit out of the ordinary and to explain things in a superfluous manner. A plethora of words when few will do. So sue me. However, for those who try to read my ramblings but are turned off by the words, I have added a new feature. To the right of th…
-
News to come
That's right. This is out of character. However, the background of the story makes the cockles of your heart warm. You see, Chris is a ruthlessly cheap bastard. However, his girlfriend (the lovely Amber) is not. She gets her hair colored every few months at a price that send Chris into the fetal pos…
-
I'm Back
The Devils lost, sending the Eastern Conference Finals to a sixth game, where the Devils will again have a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. I drove home (to Michigan) and arrived safely, but tired. My trip home (to Jersey) netted for me three back checks that will probably finance the pu…
-
College Graduation
Apparently people like to waste money just like me as evidenced by the replies to the last entry. Good to know. As for now, I haven't been able to write much as I am in Conneticut for my sister's college graduation. She will matriculate from Quinnipiac University this Saturday (not sure if you matri…
-
Stuff
Somehow, despite the fact I am unemployed and must make a telephone call to an automated phone system every other week to justify my check, I have recently been overcome by the urge to consume, to purchase, to make myself poor through gluttony. Even though I do not have a job, I see the main obstacl…
-
Check this out
I don't know why, but this fascinated me. Click here for the time. I also got around to editing the blog template, so it should look a little more like it fits in the site. What do you think? Either comment or contact me - at my newly fixed contact page
-
Damn the air
At least I won. (Giants over Titans) You see, a month ago I bought a plane ticket for my sister's college graduation. Unfortunately, her college graduation is actually a week later than I thought it was. So, I bought a ticket for which I had no need (Yes, I rewrote that so it wouldn't end with a pre…
-
I Am Not THAT Alone
Quite often, when I am alone for periods of time, I start to get the feeling that not only am I alone physically, but I am alone on a far greater scale. I am alone spiritually and the void will never be filled. That there is no one in this world who will ever understand me... with whom I can connect…
-
Small updates
Spanish Prisoner -- A spectactular David Mamet mystery/thriller. I love Mamet (i.e. Glengarry Glen Ross, The Edge, The Heist), and he gets it done here by creating a twisting movie like The Usual Suspects - except this one actually makes sense the second time around. Kingpin -- Bill Murray and the w…
-
Sold!
Some wonderful news in the "Is Chris Boylan Going to Be Broke?" Department. Yesterday evening, I sold my condo. Come June 30th, I will no longer be held under the oppressive fist of the Countrywide Home Loan Corporation. In addition, it's a pay week from the Bureau of Workers Unemployment Compensati…
-
New Pictures
Nevertheless, upon viewing this movie (which I had presumed would be good and simple like Hughes's others) I was utterly confused. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT - DO NOT READ ON. For what reason on earth did Duckie (Jon Cryer) simply give away Molly Ringwald at the end? A quick recap - Blane (Andrew McCart…
-
Condo News - Kind of
Well, not much to report on yet, but it looks like I may be shortly selling my condo. Let it be known that on Friday April 25, I was unemployed and owned a condo I couldn't afford (let the record also show that I still like the place, just that I can't afford it - being unemployed and unw***ing to w…
-
Site Updates
Still working on the site. I think I'm gonna change the font to Arial, which would have been remarkably easy if I had used style sheets to start. Lesson learned.I have posted three clips to the audio page. They are mp3s of bits I produced or in the case of Lunatic Lotto, times in which I was the "st…
-
hennifer lopez
As an unemployed young man (not yet 25), I have had more than my lot of spare time. As I fill it with tasks such as starting this site, I am drawn to things that fill me with any sort of inspiration - anything to stop me from realizing that A) I have no source of income other than the State of Michi…
-
Welcome One and All
Well, apparently things are up and working now on my fancy new website. It has begun after many a false start. That is not to say by any means that it is finished. In all likelihood, it will never be finished - not so much due to procrastination as to being a perfectionist. On the wall next to the c…