You’ve just been informed that there is another Covid 19 stay at home order. You venture out anyway…

You’ve just been informed that there is another Covid 19 stay at home order. You venture out anyway and see them. They are all in the same place as you, except they’re wearing black clothing with a red cross on them. “What do we have here?” one of them asks. “A new recruit.” The leader says. “We don’t usually get to see these types until after they’ve proven themselves in combat, but I thought it was time to give this one a chance. He’s got potential if he can only show it.” “I’m not sure what to say, sir,” the man replies. “Well, first off, your name isn’t ‘John Doe’. You have a family somewhere; you should consider yourself lucky that the Syndicate allows you any sort of freedom. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be able to visit them. For now, though, you will address me as ‘Brother’ or ‘Sir’ or ‘Captain’ and you will do exactly what I tell you to. I am your superior for the duration of this little exercise. “Yes, sir. I’ll try to remember that.” “Good. Now then, let’s get to it. We got us a new house to clean.” The leader leads the man to the front door and you follow at a distance. When the man sees the state of his house, his face drains of all color. You’ve never seen a ‘Svelk’ face a bloody battle, but you have read about it and seen paintings of their kind. They have very pale skin so the man’s face looks even more deathly pale under all the blood. “By the gods…” He utters. “Don’t worry, we’re not gonna kill you,” The leader, ‘Brother Gray’, says. ‘We’re just going to use you as an example of how we do things around here.’ Your new ‘mentor’ steps out of the shadows and makes his introduction. “This is your new neighbor, John. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He just got lucky compared to the others. Now let’s get to work.” The leader begins barking orders at the man as you watch from the shadows. You don’t catch everything, but it looks like he’s telling him to clean his house, pretty simple stuff. As you’re watching, the man suddenly realizes where you’ve been seen and who you belong to. He begins to run, but only gets a few yards before Brother Gray stops him with ease. “Stop! Where do you think you’re going?” he says as the man turns and stares at him in terror. “Please! I don’t want to die!” he begs. “You’re not dying. You’re just getting your house clean. Now get back here.” The man shakes his head and mutters something, but Gray just grabs him by the collar and throws him to the ground. “What was that?” “I said I’m not an animal!” the man says. “I have a family!” Gray draws his fist back, and you step in to block it. “Stop! Let’s just stop!” Gray turns to you. “What? Why should I listen to a lowly ratling?” “I’m no ordinary ratling, I’m a Shadow Broker. I’ve dedicated my life to the art of stealth and information gathering. You have no idea how much you’ll regret calling me a ratling.” The man stares at you in terror, but Gray just sighs and shakes his head. “Fine. Ratling. Tell us what you were doing before we found you. And don’t try to lie to me. I can see your memories, remember?” The man is silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating his options. He finally speaks.

“I was gathering intel for the Felkan Kingdom,” he says. “Specifically, for the spymaster there, Mr. Mol.” “How did you manage to get into the sewers?” you ask. “I have my ways,” he says. “I was supposed to meet with a contact, but I got the information wrong and it took me through the sewers. I got lost, and I’m not really familiar with them. I’ve never been this far west before.” “What was the info you gave him?” you ask. “I told him that the Shadows are getting ready to attack the Syndicate. This is false, of course. We’re planning on attacking the Felkan Kingdom. The Shadows don’t even have the military strength to mount an attack on the Felkans. They’re a religious group, not a warlike one. But my information was wrong, and I got lost in the sewers. I tried to stay ahead of them so they wouldn’t find me, but I obviously lost track of time and eventually came across this… residence. I was going to just leave and head back to the Syndicate, but these heretics spotted me.” “These heretics?” you ask. “There’s more of them?” “A few, I think. They’re not very well organized. Just a few cells here and there. I don’t even think they like each other.” “Hmm… well you saw what getting found by the them does to someone. I’d say you’re lucky to be alive.” “I’m not lucky,” the man says. “I’m dead. They killed me.”

Just a Quick Update

Just a quick update, we have been working hard on the technical flow of the station and have finally  made some progress that is noticeable when listening.  We have solved the problem of id’s getting cut off and have made more smooth the transitions between songs, ID’s and commercials.  There is more to do, but we appreciate your patience.

Thank you!

RecRadioNation

1973 Van Halen Performance Contract to Play a Backyard Party for just $150.00

Sponsored by Finest Power Tool  and Supreme Kitchenware

When a major celebrity passes away, never seen before memorabilia often pops up almost immediately.  Eddie Van Halen is no exception.  Below is a redacted copy of a performance contract for Van Halen, then going by the group name Mammoth, to play a backyard party (redacted) for just $150.00.  Actually, that price was about the going rate for an up and coming local band in those days. In today’s dollars adjusted for inflation that’s around $907.00.  What is very interesting is how the contract is written, making it appear that “Van Halen”  is performing even though the group was not going by that name until 1974.  Also, note that Eddie using his full legal name as the payee and as the representative for Van Halen.  We were told by the contributor of this contract that the group did use the name Mammoth during the performance, but being that the date of the party was December 29, 1973, was it possible that the future name change to Van Halen was already in the works?  One can only speculate.

 

Listening to RecRadioNation in Your Car

For simplicity’s sake, let assume the following:

  1. You have a vehicle with a Bluetooth equipped 6 speaker radio/entertainment/information center including a 3 band equalizer.
  2. You have a smart phone with Bluetooth that is paired to your vehicle.

Now, streaming has different fidelity requirements to sound its best verses those of a HD signal on the radio.   Let’s include what to do for that in these step by step instructions.

  1. Go to a google page on your smart phone and search for RecRadioNation.com
  2. Click on the red logo to open up the streaming player.
  3. Press the play button on the player page to activate it on your phone.
  4. When the player opens up.  Find the options button and click to find the volume setting.
  5. Increase the volume to all of the way up.  Then set your phone volume all of the way up.  You do all of this so you don’t have to crank your car system way up as well to get a decent  volume from RecRadioNation.
  6. Now, set your car system to Bluetooth
  7. Click the play button on the player in your phone.
  8. Open up the settings for your 3 band equalizer.  Set the far left band known as the bass band to flat, which is at the thicker often black line right in the middle of this vertically shaped band.  Then, set both the middle and right bands to three bars each above the flat line.

Depending on your car sound system, you should be able to hear the song lyrics along with every musical instrument used on the tracks, well.

If you get any distortion, adjust accordingly until it sounds as described in the preceding line.

After you’re done, crank it up and don’t forget to keep your hands on the wheel.

 

What You Might Have Done if You Were Around 50 Years Ago When the Beatles Broke Up

You’re not sure what to make of all this, but you do know that it is time for you to leave. You’re going to have to find a place where you can live and work without any problems. There are several places you could go, but one in particular catches your eye. It’s called the “City of Angels.” It was apparently founded by a man called Jim Dandy Williams who dreamed of a place free of crime and violence. It’s located in a far away land called “California” Its climate is mild all year round and you would love to live there if it wasn’t for the fact that it is so far away. You pack some belongings in a bag and walk out of your room. You find a coin under your pillow and slide it into your pocket. You then catch the first coach out of town. After a few hours you find yourself in a forest. The trees are so massive that you can’t see the sky or anything else for that matter. You feel as if you’re in a “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. After a few more hours of travel you find yourself at the City of Angels. When you step into the city you’re stunned by how beautiful it is. Everything about it is perfect. The buildings, the flowers, the people walking around. It’s like a scene right out of a fairy tale. You’re actually standing in the middle of it all. It’s hard to believe this place exists.
It looks a lot like London, only a lot newer and cleaner. The people are dressed very similar to the ones in London too, except they’re of different culture. There are women dressed in long elegant gowns and suits. They wear fancy hats and walk with a confident stride. There are also women dressed in pants and shirts like you, they don’t seem to possess any sort of culture. You’re guessing that they are the “regular people”,  but are these regular people Beatle fans? They start to approach you, staring at you as if you are a stranger. “Have you come from another dimension?” a man dressed in rags asks. You aren’t sure of how to respond. Suddenly a woman dressed in a short red dress runs up to the man. “Hurry, get inside!” she shouts and points at the doorway behind you. You hadn’t noticed it before, but there is a door there that leads inside the building. You smell food cooking and hear noise coming from behind the door. “Thank you!” you say and quickly run inside. The building is a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside and there are several other people here. A old man stands behind a desk and smiles at you. He points to a seat in front of him. “I’m sorry about all that, my Elvish friend overacted,” he says to you. “I’m sure you’re all hungry and tired after your trip. I’ll try to get you some food and drink as soon as possible.” You are famished and simply nod in response. You didn’t expect this old man to understand your language, let alone your situation, but you’re happy that someone is taking the time to care. Soon a girl wearing an apron comes in carrying a large bowl of soup and three pots of tea. She has long curly red hair and the most welcoming smile you’ve seen in a while. She sets the bowls of soup down in front of the three of you and leaves the room. “Thank you,” you say to the old man. You instantly start shoveling the soup into your mouth with a spoon. It’s delicious. You haven’t eaten anything since last night and it feels great to have that full feeling again. The red headed girl comes back with three more bowls of soup for the others. She puts one in front of you and the old man. “Thank you,” you say to her. She gives you a quick glance and smiles. She leaves the room without taking anything else. “So you must be starving,” the man says. “We have been feeding you to sustain ourselves, but now that you are out of danger we can eat again. Would you like some wine with your soup?” he asks. You would love some wine, but you don’t want to seem like you’re sucking up, so you decline. After everyone else has eaten, the old man speaks to you again. “Did you listen to the Beatles?”, he asks. “What did they do to you? Everyone seems to be so busy talking about them this week.” You didn’t know there were other Beatle fans out there, let alone other nations. “Well, I know there are Beatles fans in every nation,” you say. “I didn’t know there were other Beatle fans in this building.” “There are more than you know,” he says. “It’s been crazy around here this week. There are fans from all over the world visiting us.” You think about that for a moment. “Are you sure you’re not British?” you ask. He has a very calm but pleasant voice. “I am American,” he says.

Why it Makes Sense to Listen to Online Radio During a Pandemic

Why it makes sense to listen to online radio during a pandemic. You look at the clock and realize you have about an hour before the virus takes over completely, so you decide to head back home. You walk down the street for a while, but then you start hearing voices again. They sound like they are coming from inside your house. You try calling out to see if anyone is there, but no one answers. So, you decide to just head inside and get it over with. You open the door and there in the entry way is your wife. She is standing near the stairs that lead up to the second floor. As soon as she sees you, she bolts past you and out the front door. The look in her eyes is a mixture of fear and anger. “Kelso! Get away from me!” You can’t recall the last time you saw your wife look at you in such a way. It makes you feel both guilty and afraid. “Please, it’s me! You know it’s me.” She keeps walking. “I don’t know who else would be here.” She stops and turns around. “I’m scared Kelso. If you really are the plague, then how do I know if you aren’t the other one? The real one.” You don’t have an answer to give her. “If I come with you, will you prove to me that you are not the plague? Will you promise me that?” Her eyes are wide and swimming with tears. You nod and she puts her hand in yours.

“Alright, let’s go. ” You start to walk up the street, but you both quickly realize that you are not going to make it very far. “We’ll take public transportation from now on.”