It's Over Until Next Year

Yep, it's over. The turkey and dressing, family visits, eating too much. Whew! Next up is Christmas and it's a bit more complicated. It seems that it comes so slow and when it finally arrives it's over in a matter of hours. Then.....New Years Day, we get to start over, lose weight, starve, and make promises to ourselves that we can't keep. What a great life, because everything in between is just icing on the cake.
Hey, are you listening to me? Wake up. Oh! who won the game? I don't know, I was getting some dessert during the last play of the game. Oh well, I'll just watch it on the news or ESPN.
If you read my blog, please send me a short e-mail and put this line in the subject line. Cut and paste the one that applies.

Yes, I read your stupid blog.

No, I don't waste my time on you. ( Yeah right )

Send e-mail to rstroope@gmail.com

Merry Christmas,....Happy New Year..

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Howdy,
I've been really busy lately working on my podcasts and other projects. My podcasts are coming out about twice a month now and I really haven't taken a lot of thought in creating them. Shame on me, but life has really gotten busy. I'm working almost everyday now so that really drains my energy. By the time I get home, I'm ready to take a nap and just kick back. Peyton, my oldest grandson had his tonsils removed Monday and he stayed with us for the past few days. My wife is off on vacation and I took off Monday for his surgery, worked Tuesday, off today and the rest of the week. I bought him his first BB gun. Oh well, he already has a deer rifle so I guess I didn't really make a big impression but it's the thought that counts. Right? He wanted to shoot the neighborhood squirrels and birds but I stepped in and explained that I liked my animals. So, he shot me....no not really..just kidding, but I think he probably thought about it. Well, it's Thanksgiving so I know you don't want to waste time reading this so I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day and can spend time with your friends and family. Thanks for listening...or is it reading..whatever, you know what I mean.

Ron

Podcasting, Hurricanes, and Who Knows What's Next

I've got to make this quick. First, hello to Shelia Kidd in Austin, Texas. Shelia is the sister to one of my dearest friends, the late Quinton Grace. She is a very talented singer and song writer now living in Austin, TX. It was a thrill to see your note. Call me the next time you come to Shreveport. Wow, how exciting...only on the internet. Shelia, please check out my podcast, zip71101 found at www.zip71101.com. It's about the music you love.
There have been lots of things happening over the past 2 months. In September, as you know by now, the Gulf Coast had a visit from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I interviewed several of the refugee's from the New Orleans area on my podcast. I sent a note to Adam Curry, the Pod Father, and a link to my podcast. He used a portion of it on his show which is out of Gilford, England. It was picked up by podcasters in Amsterdam, Los Angles, London, NYC and lots of other podcasters talked about my reporting and played a portion of my interviews. My audience suddenly grew and I estimate that several hundred thousand listeners heard my interview and comments all over the world. I had 676 hits to my site last month which was more then anytime since I've been podcasting. I hope I'll gain some listeners from it. My orginal idea for the podcast was to interview some of the orginal performers that were on the Louisiana Hayride during the 50's and 60's. Then my idea changed to feature all the musicians in the Ark-La-Tex area as well. Now it changing even more to music, talk and news. Please visit my site, even though it needs to be updated, and listen to a few podcasts and read the infomation there.

For Darrell Evans Fans

Darrell's new podcast called, WorshipPodcasting in now linked in iTunes. He and my son, Shawn Stroope ( bass player ) are preparing to launch it very soon. There's lot's of interesting things happening with Darrell but I'll let him tell you about it, so keep an eye out for it in the very near future. By the way, today is the one year wedding anniversary for Shawn and Sarah. They were married in NYC on year ago today. The day after a 3 month tour with Darrell. They wed in Central Park and Darrell sang. Daniel Nelson, drummer and youth pastor performed the ceremony and the rest of the band and family members looked on.

Parker, Peyton and Caitlyn

Parker, my new grandson is now 3 months old, growing, laughing, smiling, eating and doing the things new babied do....pooping. Peyton (7) and Caitlyn (5) love their new little baby brother. Caitlyn just turned 5 years old on October 5th. I told here she was still our baby girl...or durel as she says. She was featured on podcast # 10, so if you get some spare time, it's worth a listen.
Peyton's getting interested in playing the guitar and music suddenly...thanks to Uncle Shawn who bought him a little guitar not too long ago.

Shreveport Sound Syndicate

Back to the music for a moment. I was asked to speak to the Shreveport Sound Syndicate group last week about podcasting and podsafe music. I recorded my talk and might feature some of it on a future podcast. I met several muscians, producers, songwriters and artists and got some possible interviews from some of them. The latest podcast, made today, is about Jason Ashley and features some of his music from his new CD called Coming Up Clean. I think this young man just might be a new bright country star in the future.

Books I've Read Recently

I just read the book, Chronicles, volume one, by Bob Dylan. I found the book to be more then what I expected. Dylan turns out to be quite a good writer. It's an autobiography that will leave you asking for more. If you have an interest in Bob Dylan, I recommend it. You'll find the "real Bob Dylan" in these pages. I also saw most of the new Martin Scorsese picture about Bob Dylan, NO DIRECTION HOME. I also, picked up the soundtrack a few days later. It's got some early home recordings and live recordings that are interesting. It's called No Direction Home: The Soundtrack....The Boodleg Series Vol. 7.

I'm also a big Wynonna Judd fan so I bought her new book, Coming Home to Myself. I haven't started reading it yet but I did see her on Larry King Live. ( I also just read Larry's book, How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere..The Secrets of Good Communication.)

Now, ask me, " What have you been doing for the past 2 months?"

Answer: Podcasting, reading, speaking, working and helping out some friends and family.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm looking forward to making more podcast in the future with some great interviews. Check out my podcast, ZIP71101 at www.zip71101.com and if you feel inclined to vote, please follow the directions it the right top corner of the webpage. I'd appreciate it. Also, you can listen to the show in streaming audio by going to the top left side of the page and clink on the Listen Now button.

No time to check spelling or grammar so you'll have to figure it out on your own.

Later...

A Long Month

It's been a long month. Parker is growing and doing just great. He's gained about two or three pounds and grown about 1/2 inch. Like all babies, he eats, sleeps, and poops. He looks like Peyton more and more each day. AJ, my wife, and I got to keep him for about 5 hours while Chris and Brandi entertained guests from out of town. He likes his grandmother now but when he gets a little older he'll hang with me. Peyton, his big brother, has been using a computer since he was about 2 years old. I bought games for him and when he got older showed him how to connect to the cartoon network. He's 7 now and loves video games and the PC, baseball, football, riding his 3 wheeler, and skateboard. Caitlyn on the other hand is loud, rough and roudy. She's 100 percent TomBoy. At 4 years old she loves competition and no one had better beat her at something or fist will fly. But she does have a soft side. She loves to wear her mom's heels and play dress up. She gets into her mothers make-up and puts on a dress and heels. She's Papa's girl.

We've kept Peyton and Caitlyn almost every weekend since Parker was born so their mom and dad could get some rest. Every weekend is full of chasing after them to keep them from fighting, Grammy and Caitlyn making cookies, and Papa and Peyton playing on the computer and Playstation II. Sometimes it's a challenge but well worth every moment they are with us.

The Bad News

Over the past several months I noticed my vision going wacky and then back to normal. I've also been getting very tired lately. About 2 weeks ago my back was bothering me so I went to the doctor to have it checked. I got a couple of shots it was fine. Since it's been about 2 years since my last blood work, my doctor wanted me to have it done. The results, my cholesterol was high, my glucose was really high but everything else checked out okay. So what does that mean? A diet to lower my cholesterol, exercize and weight loss. My glucose was really high so that means I'm more than likely to have diabetes. Since I'm 55 it also meant a trip to the cardiologist for a checkup and stress test. So, I went yesterday for the first visit and went through the routine things and was told to come back in two weeks for a stress test.

The Good News

What ever the outcome of the stress test, I've decided that it's all good. I'll have my health under control and will be around to see my great grandkids hopefully. One word of advice to everyone. Watch what you eat, exercize everyday, drop any bad habits such as smoking or overeating and make it a lifestyle while you are still young. Otherwise, you'll regret when you are older and too tired to do anything.

ZIP 71101 Podcast

I'm going to make maybe 2 more podcast before I have the stress test and based on the test findings, I'll either continue making the podcast or put it on hold for about a month. I'm canceling all interviews until later on as well. I'll put the info on my website www.zip71101.com when I find out more from the doctor.

I'll also put my blog on hold for a while if necessary, so until then keep me in your prayers.

Parker Chase Stroope Has Arrived

He's here. Parker Chase Stroope was born to Chris and Brandi Stroope on Friday, July 1, 2005 at 4:52 P.M. in Shreveport, Louisiana. He arrived weighing 7 lbs 4 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long. He has dark blonde hair, not sure about the eye color but probably will be blue or brown based on family history. He was alert and can already raise his head a bit. He's cutie and I'm the proud grandparent. My wife, A.J. is all smiles. He's our 3rd grandchild. We have Peyton 7, Caitlyn 4 and now Parker. In about an hour, he'll be coming home from the hospital so we're about to take some food and desserts to the kids. It's been an exciting July 4th weekend for us.
One more thing, PLEASE, go to my website, www.zip71101.com and vote for my ZIP 71101 podcast. Go to the top right hand corner and put in your e-mail address and follow the instructions. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the top left icon. Soon, you should be able to get the podcast from iTunes Music Store. My latest podcast will update you about the podcasting world and was made in a delivery truck.
More soon.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Busy is right. Lot's of ideas going through my head, making lot's of phone calls, e-mails and lot's more. I'm working on several projects at the same time and it gets a little cofusing sometimes. First there's my podcast, ZIP 71101. I'm contacting local talent about coming on the show. So far I have one yes and a maybe. Next, I'm contacting some Louisiana Hayride stars and waiting for their replys. I'd hoping to do a series about the history and stars of the hayride. Oops!, just remembered, I need to go to the library to get a book I was told about. Well, missed that one. They just closed for the weekend. Also, working my new business. That keeps me on the phone a lot too. If you're a diabetic or know someone who is, please contact me. I have some information that could possibly help them. Just go to my website www.zip71101.com and check out the left column.

 

It's so hot outside and we haven't seen much rain in several weeks. Rain all around us but none at my house. My grass is dying and I have cracks in the earth. Yesterday, an official drought was announced by the state or was it the parish?. So now they have to make it official. I guess that's so local farmers can get some help. So, where ever you are, pray for rain...we need it.

 

July 1, 2005 is coming up and on that day, If all goes well, our new grandson will be born. Although he could come sooner, that's the new due date. I think his name will be Parker. My grandson, Peyton, thinks he's being named after Peter Parker...aka SpiderMan. Well, that's okay with me.

 

I'll try to keep up this blog better then I have in past days so stay tuned.

 

Gotta go.

 

 

 

 

LOT'S OF LITTLE STUFF

Here's a quick rundown of what's happening in my life. Made a podcast but not of Sonny Rambin as planned. The recording was cutting in and out and there was not time to edit so maybe I'll work on that for a later time. Darrell was back in town for Refuge but the crowd was small due to graduation ceremonies and other functions but that's okay. He's starting a series called "Knowing Jesus" starting next Friday. Coming up we will have a cookout, a baptism, and a retreat, all before the end of Summer. I'll announce everything a couple of weeks before it happens.

I recently started a new business. I'm in the nutrition business. Don't worry, I promise to never hound you here or in person. If you know of anyone that's a diabetic who might be interested in becoming healthier, please have them contact me. I've found this fantastic resource that really does help. It's based on the Nobel prize winning " Food Matrix " technology and 50 independent clinical studies confirm its superiority. Again if you want to know more e-mail me and I'll direct you to a recording to listen to. If you want to know more my e-mail is ron@impactas.com . Again, I'll only talk to you about this at your request. That's all for now about that.

Coming up on the zip71101 podcast more music from Jarrett Carter, Gary Pitts, The Critics and Darrell Evans. In the near future I hope to have some more info about the history of music in Shreveport. I have an appointment with some folks in a couple of weeks and hope to be giving you a good report about the future of music here.

 

All for now, see you in a couple of days

Podcast Info

If you are waiting for my latest podcast, it should be out by late Thursday night or Friday A.M.. I'm having cable connection problems going up and down. I just hope this gets fixed soon. If all goes well, I'll have a short interview with Sonny Rambin, my long time friend, at a music jam session and some live music. Then an update on our trip to Cozumel, Mexico and some new music by Jarrett Carter. If you've not listened to my podcast, it's called ZIP 71101. You can visit my site at www.zip71101.com .

Copy this feed and paste it into your ipodder software.

 

http://www.zip71101.com/zip71101/zip71101.xml

 

If you are new to podcasting go to www.podcastalley.com and look under "What Is A Podcast" and you'll find everything you need there to get started. Okay, I've got to upload this before the cable crashes again. Opps, it just went down. I'll just have to wait until it comes back up. See you soon.

Back From Mexico

Whew, I just got home from a whirlwind cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. It was lot's of fun but the time went by so fast. I'll have all the details this week but for now it's time to rest. Oh, I know the cruise was suppose to provide the rest. Are you kidding, we were so busy that resting was out of the question. Tonight, it's catch up on listening to some podcasts I missed and a lot of nothing else.

Visit my website

If you like music and podcasting and talk, please visit my site http://www.zip71101.com

Refuge Recording

For some strange reason the mini-disc recording of this past Friday nights Refuge deleted itself. For those of you that missed hearing Steve VanZant be sure you come the next time he's here. We are trying to record all the Refuge services for future podcasts and also to make them available for those who can't attend. I'll let you know when these are available. Darrell Evans will be back this Friday, May 13th, so please don't miss it.

Refuge, Tee-Ball and Mother's Day

Refuge 5/6/2005

 

Wow, what a weekend. After work on Friday it was home for a snack and off to Refuge. Darrell and the band were in concert in El Paso, TX so Jarrett Carter led the worship with Jimmy on bass, Chad on drums and John on guitar, backing him up. Jarrett has a new CD call Waking and he is an excellent worship leader. If you need someone for your event please consider this young man. He's a great guitarist and vocalist. The music was so good.

After the worship music I turned the service over to Steve VanZant. He's Darrell's father-in-law and pastor ( wispher )of the Christian Center of Fort Worth. He was a terrific speaker and spoke openly of how he dealt with the death of his daughter, Leah. He had to face the driver of the car that took her life. In fact, the man visited the church and went down front and started weeping. Steve saw him and went to pray with him not knowing who he was. The man looked at him and told who he was. Steve had to make a decision and it was to let God's love take over. He hugged the man and together they wept. Steve forgave him and helped him get a lesser prison sentence. The man is serving ten years instead of twenty. It was totally awesome. Everyone, all 17 that were in attendance, were blessed.

Again, thanks to Steven Gilliam an his sound team for a great job.

 

Saturday 5/7/2005

 

Saturday was Tee-Ball at 10:30 a.m. with Caitlyn our 4 year old granddaughter. She was so funny. She played pitcher, catcher, first base and right field. She batted twice and made 2 runs. She has freckles across her little nose and is aggressive as a little boy. Her brother Peyton played at 1:15  p.m. and he also made a couple of runs. He played pitcher and first base and did a great job. He's seven years old and a straight A student in the First Grade. After the games it was home to change clothes and then to the grandkids house where Chris, my youngest son and I, worked on his truck. I got home around 8:00 p.m....whew got a super sunburn on my old bald head.

 

Sunday, Mother's Day 5/8/2005

 

Today was very special. Around 1:00 p.m. my wife, AJ (Anna) and I drove across town to pick up my mother. We took her to A.J.'s sister's home for a mother day meal of fried fish, hush puppies and lot's more. A.J. mom and dad were there as well as Chris and Brandi and the grandkids. After dinner, which was cooked by my brother-in-law Larry, the kids played outside catching lizard and tree frogs. Vicki, my sister-in-law, was led by the hand or should I say drug outside to help. The grandkids love her to death. We visited a while and then took off to Targer and The Bass Pro Shop. My mother had never been to either so she was amazed. Since my father died four years ago she hasn't gotten out much but she's coming around now. I love you Mom.

 

Monday, 5/9/2005

 

Didn't work today, slept late, ate late, and had Caitlyn for a couple of hours. She's a handfull and is begging for me to go outside. So, see ya later

TGIF

Wow, what a rough night. The school across the street from my house installed 6 mercury vapor lights in their parking lot. The problem is they were facing the homes across the street and lighting up the neighborhood. You could see the tops of pine trees it was so bright. So, I was awake until 3:00 a.m., got up at 6:30 worn out. I called the school and explained and was treated like dirt so I called the school board. I was rude and angry by now after being transferred 6 times to the wrong person. The security department didn't even know they had been installed. Finally got to the right person and they were already on the site trying to adjust the lights. I could see everything in my bedroom with the blinds closed. I spoke to one of the security guys the 2nd night they were installed but nothing was done. I'm sure they'll get it adjusted but it sure takes a lot to get anyone in government to do anything. Well, I just needed to vent a little and now I feel better. Whew...I hope my employer won't mind it I take a nap.

One Last Thing

One important thing I forgot to mention. Around the 10th of July there will be another grandchild. It's a boy...and I think his name will be Parker. Peyton, my oldest grandson, he's 7, thinks he's being named after Peter Parker....aka Spiderman. So, one more little future Tee-Ball player. Okay, now it's

 

THE END

Part II

I listened to Adam Curry's podcast and it was over one hour long. Lot's of good information today about the future of podcasting. Nothing different than I expected but just some thoughts about how things could work out for all podcasters once the elements are in place. More on this later perhaps. I suggest, if interested, that you go to www.dailysourcecode.com and subscribe to his podcast or just listen to the streaming audio. Click on the mp3 logo to listen.
Okay, it was a nice day, but the lawn didn't get cut. I just hate to cut a living plant. It's like giving the earth a flat-top haircut. The truth is that I was just being lazy and had other things to do. For example, I called the cable company and complained about not having internet access this weekend and now it's up and down today. It's working now but I made an appointment anyway for next week. They don't tell me when it's not working so I might just let them come out anyway. Of course, I won't be here, and it will be a wasted trip but I'll have my revenge for the weekend without it...he..he..he! But, if it stops working, I'll make arrangements...( for my sake ).

I cut the tip of my finger on a cheese grader tonight. Makes typing a little difficult but I will survive thanks to my teeny weeny band-aid.
I need my rest after staying up late last night so I'm off to shower and then to bed. I have to work tomorrow, then have plans for tomorrow night so it will probably be a pretty long Friday. Saturday I'm off to the Tee-Ball games to see my grandkids, Peyton and Caitlyn play. They are so funny to watch. They are both the best players on their teams ( the truth ) and get frustrated at the first timers. Most of the little girls on the team just watch the ball go past them and the guys play in the dirt or just lay down in it. It's a blast.

Well, I'm going to have to read some of the other blogs so I can figure out how this is suppose to work. I can't continue boring you with my rants. But, if I weren't bored I wouldn't be doing this and you wouldn't be reading it. I guess we can be partners in bordom. ( I hope the spell checker is working )

Have a good weekend, because I don't think I'll be back until Monday. If you find you can't get by without my posts.....you need to see a doctor, so just go to the emergency room and they'll calm you down, give you a goofy shot and send you home.

The End

Sunny Day

9:30 a.m.
I've been up for about 20 minutes and I'm about to listen to the Daily Source Code with Adam Curry. Off again today because work is slow but back again tomorrow. So, today I'll mow the grass jungle and then kick back for a while. I stayed up too late last night but if I had gone to bed there would be no blog for me. I would have missed finding this site. Well at least for a few days. I kind of fell into this by accident. The sun is shining and it's in the 60's outside. So nice and the perfect day for working outside. I'll finish listening to Adam Curry, grab a bite to eat and then it's time to mow. I hate mowing but now there are weeds coming up that are taller then the grass. Maybe I'll be back later today for blog part II.

My first blog

It's 1:40 a.m. and I'm off from work tomorrow so I stayed up late. Earlier tonight I recorded my podcast, ZIP 71101. It's about music and talk. I enjoy all kinds of music but because I'm live in a music city, I'm interested in the local music makers and the music history of Shreveport, LA.

The Louisiana Hayride produced lots of the early country music stars and is also famous for launching the career of Elvis Presley. A few others were, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, and Slim Whitman. Currently I'm featuring Christian singer, songwriter Darrell Evans and a local band called The Critics. If you'd like to listen to my podcast visit my website and click on the current mp3 link or copy the xml file into your aggregator. I hope you enjoy what you hear. Here's the link http://www.zip71101.com .

That's enough for now. My eyes are closing and I just might fall asleep on you...