John Biggs - blog

A Challenging Day

Crazy, challenging day for me - and my family - yesterday.

The story is here: http://jb-justnoodlin.blogspot.com/

What it may mean for me is that I'll miss my chat this coming Tuesday on our 820 CHAM webpage, because I'll need to take my little boy to the fracture clinic. I'll keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, our family - and hopefully you, and yours - are going to enjoy the extra day off on Monday. Talk to you soon.

For Moms Everywhere

I was 13 when my Mom died of a heart attack, at home. It was a horrible and frightening time for a 13-year-old boy. My Mom and I were very close. My Mom doted on me. I was very lucky to have such a wondeful Mom, and very unlucky to lose her as early in my life as I did. She was only 48.

Conversely, I was 48 when I first became a father. Two and a half years later, I see my wife becoming a such wonderful Mom to our twin boy and girl, and can't imagine my life without any of them, and can't begin to fathom the twins ever being without their Mom.

My Mom was born in Scotland, but her family emigrated to Canada when she was five years old, and she grew up in Quebec. Her early years were spent in Levis and Lauzon, Near Quebec City, on the St. Lawrence River, because my maternal Grandfather built ships at Davy Shipyards for a living. Then, when he retired, the family moved to Montreal. My Mom's growing up there, and her love of that city, is why I'll always be a Montreal Canadiens. Sorry, Leaf fans. My Mom trumps any other reason I'd ever have to root for a hockey team.

I've always had a soft spot for all my friend's Moms, and have even chastised a couple of my closer friends when they've been ...less than ideal - toward their Moms. Knowing what it's like to not have a Mom for so long gave me a greater appreciation for how important having a Mother is, and I tried to instill that in any of my friends who would listen.

The Cat House On The Kings

Guys usually don't like cats. Guys are usually dog people. So sue me. I love cats. Grew up with about 20 cats through my childhood. My Mom loved 'em. Our cats were 'outdoor' cats, for the most part, because we lived rurally. Not that I don't like dogs. Just made friends with cats first, and I just happen to think they're cooler. Smarter. Not as 'needy' as dogs. But, like any 'housepet', they do need love, attention, and a safe place to live. Which brings me to this. Check out this video on You Tube about an incredible cat sanctuary. The woman who runs this place is not your stereotypical 'cat lady'. Just a concerened human being and animal lover with some space and a lot of common sense and good will.

Don't Forget! Tuesday Is Chat Day!

If you're around at 11am or so on Tuesday, log into our sister station 820 CHAM's chat page. I'll be there - as I am every Tuesday at 11am - to just talk ...about whatever, really. Just click on the 'chat' tab (it's on the far right), click "I agree" and sign in. I'll see you there!

Almost Over It

Completely astounded by how long this particular virus has been hanging around my family.

Our kids (although partially due to being repeatedly misdiagnosed at a walk-in clinic to which we'll never return) were sick for a month, and it caught up with both my wife and I. At one point, I thought
I was over it, but then it turned into a sinus infection - which turned into a double lung infection!

I was having trouble catching my breath just walking up stairs, and decided (finally) I'd better go see my family doctor, having at this point given up on getting a correct diagnosis from any walk-in clinic. After examining me, my doc almost immediately handed me TWO pieces of paper. One for a very powerful prescription, the other a note to take a couple of days off! Not JUST for my OWN sake, but because I was also highly infectious. I didn't have to cough to spread germs at that point. Since both my lungs were infected, just breathing on someone could make them ill...so I dropped into the boss' office on the way back from my doctor's, explained the situation, and went straight home.

The Top Floor

We work on the TOP FLOOR of our building, here at 880 Upper Wentworth St.
Quite often, we complain about how slow - in this little 4-story building -
the elevator tends to be - but, honestly - if it were THAT bad...
...four stories up or down? Come on. Not that much trouble to take the stairs, right?

HOWEVER - in an effort to spin this top floor existence in an even more positive light
(he said, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek) -

Here are THE PERKS of Working on the Top Floor of Your Building...         

Chattin' Up A Storm

Tuesdays at 11am is "my time" for chatting on here somewhere, and although it wasn't what you'd call "busy" in here last week, I'm going to try it again tomorrow morning at 11...

Now, I actually run my version of the chat over on our sister station's web page at 820cham.com, so feel free to join me there tomorrow morning at 11. Click on "chat" after you've surfed over to the 820cham.com page, and take it from there.

Come on by, we'll talk...about (almost) whatever you want.

See you then!

Got A Cold? No? Want Mine?

Just feeling horrible today. Whole family is sick with a bad flu.

Listen: If you're suffering, watch this. Might pick you up a little.

Be Happy!

Back In The Swim

Hi!

With the weather improving by the day, I thought I'd try put an even bigger smile on your face with a little polar bear swim.

Literally.

A little polar bear, going for the first swim of his young life. It's pretty cool.

It's amazing how the creature known as the most violent on Earth can start off so sweet and cuddly. 

Enjoy!

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/04/baby-flocke-tak.html

Tipping Toward The Weekend

Something to mull over while you're thinking about heading out to a restaurant on your Friday night. 

YOUR TIP REVEALS YOUR PERSONALITY
(According to Dr. Judith Meyerowitz)

Small tipper (Under 15 percent) - You have good business sense and you're good with figures.
You're also an excellent planner - you always look before you leap.

Average tipper (15-to-18 percent) - You know what you want. You have strong opinions about how to behave in different situations. You don't go overboard on anything, or let your heart rule your head.

Desktop Personality

Here's a little fun for you.
Maybe you'll look at everyone's desk in your office in a slightly different way after reading this...

WHAT YOUR OFFICE SAYS ABOUT YOU
Your desk isn't just a place for pictures of your family. It's a public relations tool, saying as much about your work ethic as your work does. Thomas Becker, Ph.D., A university management professor, helps evaluate your office as follows:

Your office: Trophies, letters of praise, pictures of you with celebs.
Your personality: You want to excel, and everyone can tell.
You're probably a: Salesman, trial lawyer, stockbroker.

Back To Normal?

So, there's normal, and then there's 'radio normal'.

Today, I'm back to my 'radio normal' schedule.

For the last week-and-a-half, I've been filling in on the morning show for Jason Farr on our sister station, 820 CHAM, and also busy catching a nasty cold from my son, Liam. There's really nothing like the feeling of being able to comfort your two-year-old baby (or, in my case - one of our twin two-year-old babies) when they're scared in the middle of the night because they can't breathe through their nose, or their head hurts, or they ache (the way I'm aching while I write this). It really does feel good to know you're helping to make them feel better in some small way. Unfortunately, both Liam and Morgan decided to come down with something during the same period when I needed every extra ounce of sleep I could get, trying to quickly switch my body clock around to make it easier to get up at 3:30am and slog in from Brantford. Oh, well.

Worth Every Penny

I always come away from our Radiothon for McMaster Children's Hospital wishing that we could have done more. We got past our total from last year - but we would have actually been pretty close to the same number, had it not been for Taylor DeCoste - a young boy on a mission to help the hospital which has helped him so much over the years. Taylor went out and got the backing of Wal-Mart for a project he headed up called Change Bandits, and - together with the Retail Giant - managed to add $41,438 to our Radiothon totals. Amazing kid, Taylor. I was privileged to meet him last Friday. If you take away Taylor's efforts, we would only have been about 5,000 dollars above our total raised from last year, so we owe Taylor and Wal-Mart a deep debt of gratitude for making us look so good.

Because of the great care and expertise McMaster hospital's staff used to take care of my wife when she arrived there in October of 2005, at risk of giving birth at 28 weeks, and even more incredible care and expertise to help bring our twins, Liam and Morgan, into the world, our Radiothon for Mac Kids will always hold a strong personal meaning to me, and I consider Dr. Peter Steer, his wife Glenys, and Foundation employees Pati, Marg, Colleen and Angel - my friends. We hug when see each other. I also couldn't possibly have stronger feelings for the woman who was our primary care nurse, LouAnn Elliott. She looked after our babies when they arrived in the best Level 3 NICU in the world at MacKids. I saw her Wednesday, and we can't help but shed a couple of happy tears at the sight of each other. It's like seeing a member of your family after a long time away. She's a wonderful person - but also wonderful at her job. 

Gearing Up For Radiothon!

Hi!

You may notice I'm not on the air on CKOC today or tomorrow - and that Ted Yates is capably handling the continuance of our Big 1150 Countdown, the biggest countdown ever, as we now head into our Top 500.

The reason I'm not there is because we are all, in our respective positions (one of mine being Music Director for sister station, 820 CHAM), getting ready for our annual Radiothon for McMaster Children's Hospital. I think it's my favourite part of being a radio announcer - or at least of being someone who has the opporunity to reach out to people - and let them know about what we have here in our region - or, as I like to say, in our own backyard.

Another Great Game In Hamilton!

For years - back in my hometown of Halifax, I had the privilege of playing hockey every Thursday afternoon with some of the best players in the city - a group of "black aces", most of whom had a history of some level of hockey fame (or in a couple of cases, infamy). Without dropping too many names, the group often had 'special guest stars' - guys who'd visit the city on business from time to time - and subsequently show up for our Thursday 4:30-6pm skate. Murray Wilson was one of my favourites (Murray is still involved with The Habs - who've always been my favourite team - as a colour commentator with our sister station, CJAD in Montreal) to play against. Incredibly smooth skater. and a great shot - very fast, and along the ice, which, when placed expertly as NHL'ers tend to do, are very hard to stop. (I played nets in those games, by the way, just in case I hadn't mentioned that.)

One thing Murray Wilson CAN'T do? He can't comfortably wear all his Stanley Cup rings at the same time, which is pretty cool.

Blowin' Up Satellites

I'm sure you heard the story, but just in case you missed what it (supposedly) looked like while you were gazing at the total eclipse of the moon, here's a link to a graphic representation of it:

Blew It Up Real Good

 Cool, huh?

Have You "Heard" This Yet?

I've included a link to a video on YouTube today.
The video is silent, but it's worth watching - at least, it was worth it when it first came out as a song on the radio, because it raised money for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was released in New Zealand - and it went to NUMBER ONE - ON THE RADIO. I'm making a big deal of this, you're thinking? Okay, I haven't made my point about it yet.

Humans CAN'T HEAR IT!

Only dogs can hear it, and dog owners all over New Zealand reported their dogs reacting to it when it came on their radios. The dogs would either wag their tails, or bark, or 'dance around' a bit...and other dogs DIDN'T like it, and would attack their radios!

Hey! It's My Brand New Blog!

How's it goin', eh?

Nothing fancy for you today.
It's Tuesday - and you're back at work.
Hopefully, you had an awesome long weekend, and did something family-oriented, as our new provincial holiday's name would suggest, but if you didn't - if you just hung out at home, and watched movies on DVD (or even VHS - remember VHS?), or just checked out something on TV -
as long as you got a little extra battery charge for having the extra day, that's what counts.

Can you believe this month's weather?
It seems like winter really wants us to hate it this year. My driveway still has snow under the ice
under the new snow that fell last night and this morning. Sheesh. Enough already!