SAN ANTONIO
EXPRESS-NEWS
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 20, 2007
SECTION E
Radio is
the most
personal
medium
For some of you, it might be
Ricci Ware, Judd Ashmore or
Bruce Hathaway. For others it
might have been Randy Car-
roll, Drex or Rio & Reyes. For
my little brother, it was Win-
ston & Alyce. For my little sis-
ter, it was Sonny Melendrez.
For my daughter it is Dave E.
Rios. For me, I can’t tell you
how many
tardy slips I re-
ceived in high
school because
I stayed in my
car to see what
John Lisle and
Steve Hahn
were going to
say next.
We all have
that one radio
MICHAEL
personality we
identify with
O’ROURKE most. Some of
us have more
than one. We
feel like we
know them personally because
they are the first voices we
hear when the clock-radio
alarm goes off. We feel like we
know them because their
voices fill the kitchen, emanat-
ing from the tiny pocket radio
that sits on the windowsill, as
we eat breakfast and pack a
lunch. They are already in the
car when you turn the key to
accompany you to work with
“traffic and weather together
on the (insert single digit
here).”
When they are hitting it out
of the park and firing on all
cylinders they are the voices
that keep you in your car a
few extra minutes before go-
ing into school or work. You
can tell when someone is
spending some quality time
with his or her radio friends.
The seatbelt is off, the back-
pack, briefcase or purse is in
the lap and the right hand on
the key about to shut off the
engine. But he can’t. The lis-
tener is waiting until what-
ever is transpiring on the ra-
dio completes. He is waiting
for the revelation, waiting for
the punch line or waiting for
the answer to the trivia ques-
tion he just knows he should
have known and will slap his
forehead when he hears it.
When I worked in radio, I
tried to explain that to man-
agement. The “about-to-turn-
the-key-but-can’t” moment is
what all personality radio
should strive for. Management
doesn’t get it. Of all the media
in which I have worked, radio
management remains the most
clueless about the product it
produces. Managers don’t un-
derstand their listeners, they
don’t understand their on-air
personalities and they don’t
understand the emotion of ra-
dio. There is a reason most
station managers come from
the sales department.
I love radio. The same could
be said for every San Antonio
radio guy mentioned above.
The reason the names reso-
nate in our collective souls is
because they are the tops of
their game. They “get” radio.
They “get” their listeners.
With all the advances in
See O’ROURKE/11E
MYSA.COM
Green, with envy?
South Texas gardeners
practice their hobby under
difficult conditions: the
weather’s either too dry or
too wet; the heat takes its
toll, then freezes come.
And there’s the soil or lack
thereof.
Those folks with four
distinct seasons and rich soil
have it made.
This week’s question:
If you could garden
anywhere else, where
would it be?
Keyword: Gardening
Spaces
Mementos gathered from a life
abroad fit perfectly
in a Mahncke Park home
PAGE 10E
A guide
to living
greener
‘Worldchanging’ has
tips, innovations for
eco-friendly choices.
D
BY CLAIRE WHITCOMB
UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
I
t’s a brave green world
out there. Every day,
someone is inventing
something for the home.
Like showers that recy-
TOSS IT IN cle the water you use, the
brainchild of a London design
GREEN (NITROGEN) student.
■ Vegetable and fruit peelings and Or Herman Miller’s uphol-
scraps stered Mirra desk chair, which
■ Coffee grounds is chic, ergonomic and 96 per-
■ Tea bags cent recyclable.
■ Fresh-cut grass
■ Plant cuttings
What some Or Vetrazzo’s eco-counter-
tops, made with ceramic aggre-
■ Egg shells might see as gate and recycled glass.
This sort of good news, along
■ Horse or chicken
manure a rotting with global innovations and a
sprinkling of very solid eco-
BROWN (CARBON)
■ Leaves
■ Twigs, wood chips
trash pile, tips, has been gathered into
“Worldchanging: A User’s
■ Dried grass gardeners Guide for the 21st Century”
(Abrams, $37.50). Edited by
■ Straw, hay
■ Stale bread
view as a Alex Steffen, co-founder of the
Web site WorldChanging.com,
■ Coffee filters
heap of trea- BUILD IT the book is billed as a “Whole
CUT IT UP LAYER Earth Catalog” for a new gen-
Chop or shred larger items such as
corn cobs, melon rinds, leaves and
sure. Refuse ■ Alternate layers of brown and green
materials.
eration.
Indeed it is. With a preface
sticks.
LEAVE IT OUT
from the ■ Keep the ratio at 2 parts brown to 1
part green.
by Al Gore, “Worldchanging”
is quirky, fun and full of sur-
■ Fats or oils
■ Meat, fish, bones
kitchen and ■ Water each layer to keep the pile con-
sistently moist.
prises, even for seasoned eco-
readers.
■ Pet waste (dog, cat, pig, reptile) lawn holds ■ Toss in a couple of scoops of compost
or soil to jump-start the microbes.
Flip through and you can
learn how to make iPod speak-
■ Ashes
■ Weeds that have gone to seed riches for the STIR
Mix with a pitchfork or compost turner
ers out of Altoid tins. You’ll
also be reminded that dim-
■ Diseased plants
soil. So pile to add air to the pile and speed the pro-
cess.
mers, automatic timers and
motion-detection sensors are
USE IT it up, WATER
■ Compost should feel like a wrung-out
among the top five things you
can do to conserve energy.
Compost can be finished in as little
as six weeks if the pile is turned fre- let it break sponge: damp, not drippy, not dry. “Worldchanging” introduces
you to permeable pavement
quently and the mix of ingredients is
ideal. Typically it takes about six down, then TROUBLESHOOTING that allows plants and grass to
grow through it. And it re-
months to ‘cook.’ Where to apply?
AROUND SHRUBS, TREES dig in. The compost pile will heat to about 140
degrees in the decomposition process,
minds you that a low-flow
showerhead — the fixture that
Spread compost around shrubs, pe-
— Tracy Hobson Lehmann resulting in a product with a rich, earthy mixes air with water and mi-
rennials and trees to nourish their
aroma. If the mix of ingredients is out of
roots. raculously produces a strong
balance, the microbes won’t be able to
ON THE LAWN break down the materials efficiently, and
spray — is a really good idea.
Top dress the lawn with a thin layer it might give off a foul odor or attract Indeed, Americans could save
of compost and watch the grass pests. 5.4 billion gallons of water per
green up. day simply by installing low-
IT STINKS
IN THE GARDEN Keyword: Gardening Foul smell: Could be too wet or lacking ox- flow fixtures and toilets.
Work compost into the soil in flower ygen. Add dry material and mix well. If you want to join those
beds and the vegetable garden in More about composting
Ammonia odor: Likely caused by adding who would rather make it
spring or fall. too many grass clippings, which form a themselves than buy conven-
dense mat. Add carbon to the pile and tional products, “Worldchang-
THE BIN mix it up. ing” directs you to
PESTS
BUILD IT Fruit flies: If the pests are attracted to
See HOME/12E
■ Make a square bin from discarded your kitchen pail, make sure it has a tight-
pallets or a round container from fitting lid and empty it frequently. In the
wire mesh or chicken wire. bin, cover kitchen scraps with a thin layer
■ Ideal size is 1 cubic yard, 3 by 3 by of leaves or soil.
3 feet. Fire ants: Pile could be too dry. Keep
BUY IT
■ Choose from tumblers, twin bins
moist, and make sure it has the proper
mix of materials to heat sufficiently. GOOD
or simple wire containers.
Varmints: Raccoons, skunks and other
critters might come looking for a meal. To TO G R OW
PLACE IT discourage them:
■ Choose a location that’s con- ■ Bury kitchen scraps in the
venient for adding waste. middle of the pile.
■ Site should drain ■ Avoid food with fat, meat
well. or dairy.
■ Keep the
door se-
cured.
TRACY HOBSON LEHMANN
Philippine violet
(Barleria cristata)
The trumpet-shaped purple
flowers on the Philippine violet
are attention-grabbers. They are
about 2 inches long, and they
bloom in abundance this time of
year. Set against the deep green
foliage of the root-hardy peren-
nial shrub, the flowers stand out
from their shady spots in the
landscape.
The plant likes tropical condi-
tions and will freeze back in
harsh winters. Trim back to the
ground, and it will sprout from
the roots in spring.
The common name of Philip-
pine violet is a bit of a mystery, as
it originates in India and Myan-
mar, and it’s not part of the violet
family.
Plant in a perennial bed, and
give it plenty of space.
■ Light: Part shade to part sun.
■ Size: 4 to 5 feet tall; 3 feet
wide.
■ Water: Moderate.
■ Bloom: Late summer through
fall.
ABOVE PHOTO, COURTESY ‘COMPOST’ BY KEN THOMPSON (DK PUBLISHING; $18); ■ Cultivation: Mulch to protect
TOP PHOTO BY AKEYA DICKSON/WASHINGTON POST.
roots in winter.
SOURCES: ORGANIC GARDENING, EARTHMACHINE.COM, TEXAS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION