A little before midnight last night I ended a grueling cross-country trek and touched down in Twin Falls. I can honestly say that as the plane taxied toward the terminal, I was ready to get out and hug the tarmac.

My day started in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I was shuttled to Philadelphia International Airport where I departed for Detroit. Less than 40 minutes after arriving in Detroit–and a bit of running across the airport–I boarded a four hour flight to Salt Lake City, and finally boarded my connecting flight to Twin Falls which was, of course, delayed by about 40 minutes.

I was in Atlantic City for a Digital Managing Editor Conference with my counterparts from around the company and our corporate leaders. I’ve never been to the east coast before, and actually saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time on this trip. It was an enjoyable stay in Atlantic City, but if I was choosing a gambling/casino destination for a vacation my money would always be on Las Vegas.

Here are the top 10 things I learned on my trip

1. Air travel bites.
2. Taking off your shoes and belt at the TSA Checkpoint feels demeaning.
3. Being stuck in the “B” row on your flight for five hours really bites.
4. Atlantic City smells… odd.
5. Having no Wi-Fi at a digital conference is really uncool.
6. Having to pay $50 for Wi-Fi in your room is even more uncool.
7. When the CEO of your company offers you a drink, you drink it. Dammit.
8. Calamari is chewy.
9. Not only do they have seven billion pidgins and seagulls on the Atlantic City boardwalk, but feral cats as well. New Jersey actually spays and neuters the animals, and feeds them on the beach.
10. I really love Twin Falls.

I was so happy to be back in Twin Falls last night that I drove all the way up Blue Lakes before heading back out to Buhl. It just felt good to see my home town. I really did enjoy my time in Atlantic City, and meeting my counterparts was great, but I am so happy to be home.

The nice thing about Idaho is that you don’t have to go far to enjoy the outdoors.  I was reminded about this during a Sunday visit to Dierkes and Shoshone Falls.  It’s one of my favorite spots because there is so much to do in one place.  You can swim at the lake, hike back to hidden lakes, fish, let the kids loose on the playground or just take in the scenery.   I also like that it’s close to home… and the parking lot.  And food -  They have a snack bar.  Now THAT’s roughing it.

As I headed home last night, I turned on to Highway 30 and started toward Buhl. Immediately I could see huge plumes of smoke that appeared to be coming from somewhere right outside of Twin, but as drove I found the smoke was actually emanating from Filer.

Several fields were on fire almost directly across from Filer High School, and smoke was choking the city of Filer. The poor track athletes were actually out practicing in all of that smoke.

I understand that burning stubble off is a low-cost method to make fields ready for seeding, but there has to be a better way. For people like me with asthma and allergies, the smoke adds to the already high pollen count and makes breathing a nightmare.

In 2007, SAFE (Safe Air For Everyone) actually won a legal battle to have Idaho’s field burning program shut down. Burning resumed in 2008 following a mediated agreement between SAFE, growers, and the state, but that agreement is being altered further now to allow weekend burning. SAFE is once again threatening legal action on behalf of those of us who’s breathing conditions are aggravated by the smoke.

I know there are other alternatives to burning, but I also know they cost more and are more labor-intensive. There has to be some kind of compromise. What can we do to help the farmers so they don’t have to burn anymore?

My lungs thank you in advance.

Facebook eat Instagram. Yum.

That audible gasp you just heard from the Internet? That was the reaction to Mark Zuckerburg’s announcement that Facebook had purchased Instagram for $1 billion dollars.

In case you’re not already one of the 30 million users of Instagram, here’s the skinny: it’s everyone’s favorite, little photo sharing and social media service. Until recently it was only available on the iPhone, but last week it launched on Android as well.

I love Instagram. It’s fast, compact, and if you want to upload a photo from your smartphone to any of your social networks, it does them all in one swoop. I have mine set up to post to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, and an email distro. Plus there a host of built-in filters to make your photos looks totally hip with no effort.

In his announcement Zuckerburg promised to leave Instagram alone, and to do their best to “learn” how to properly manage and cultivate a photo-based social network. I certainly hope that’s true. I really don’t want Instagram ruined like everything else Facebook touches.

Here’s a gallery of my favorite Instagram photos.

It started Saturday while cleaning out the shed: I found my two old Apple iBooks, dead, but still resting comfortably in their cases. My 12″ iBook suffered a motherboard failure five years earlier, and the iBook G4 14″ lost its mind when the hard drive crashed. At the time it was too expensive to get either repaired as both had gone out of warranty, so they were banished to the shed.

Then it hit me: why couldn’t I use both iBooks to create one, working laptop?

Of course the idea is fundamentally flawed, but it was Easter weekend and a time for resurrections.

I set out with my tools and a guide from iFixit. Taking apart any computer is challenging, but when dealing with an Apple product it becomes doubly so. It isn’t a matter of just taking out some screws and lifting the case off, you have to use a spudger and spreader to pry the case apart. It’s terrifying not knowing if you’re making progress or about to completely break the thin, plastic clips that hold everything in place.

Here’s the amazing part: I actually managed to get both iBooks apart without breaking them, recovered the hard drive from the working unit, and installed it in the iBook G4. I tapped the power button… and it turned on and booted up!

IT WORKED… For about an hour.

I must’ve shorted something when I put the iBook back together because now it won’t power on at all. But for sixty glorious minutes I had performed an Easter Miracle: I resurrected my Apple iBook G4 from the dead.

The Prototype Glowy LED Easter Egg

It’s Easter! That means it’s time for brightly colored Easter Eggs hid all over the house, which you may or may not ever find (until they start to smell). Instead of using real eggs this year, why not tech up your Easter a bit by creating your own LED Glowing Easter Eggs! The project is really simple, and once completed the glowing eggs look pretty decent. My son Jack, who is three, helped me build six of the little glowy eggs, and had a good time.

Here’s the step by step tutorial to make your own LED Easter Eggs!

Jack making his own glowing Easter Egg of doom.

Parts You’ll Need and where to get them:

• An assortment pack of LEDs. I picked up a 20 pack at Radio Shack in the Magic Valley Mall for less than $3. They came in two sizes and three colors (red, yellow, and green).
• Batteries. I used model number 2032 from Radio Shack. It’s a little over-kill, but the LEDs will stay lit for days. These are the most expensive part of the project. A three-pack cost a little over $11.
• A pack of plastic Easter Eggs to house the LEDs.I picked up a pack of eight at Shopko for about a buck-fifty.
• Electrical Tape to hold the whole thing together.
• (Optional) Cotton Balls to keep the LEDs and Batteries from rattling inside the egg.

Let’s get started!

STEP 1

Take two LEDs and one battery and slide them together. The LEDs will only work if the longer prong is touching the positive side of the battery and the shorter prong is touching the negative side. As soon as you touch the LED to the battery, if you have it aligned right, it will immediately start working.

STEP 2

Wrap a little electrical tape around the LED prongs and battery, holding them in place. You just need a little.

STEP 3

Place the battery and LED into the plastic egg. I used a little bit of cotton to pad the electronics so it won’t rattle in the egg, but this is optional.

STEP 4

Turn off the lights and admire your new Glowy LED Easter Eggs!

Note: There’s no “Off” button for the LEDs, so if you want to turn off the lights just simply pull the LEDs off the batteries.

There you have it! You’ve created your own Glowy LED Easter Eggs. The project cost about $25 and took almost 45 minutes to complete, and that includes the time I had to chase my two-year-old down and get the tape, LEDs, and eggs back.

Its a fun and geeky way to celebrate Easter this year!

Made you look.  Hope you’re having a safe and fun April Fools.  Enter the code CHICKS in the VIP Club for some extra EZ Bucks.  Enjoy!

Check these out.  I was on ebay looking for a replacement cable for a pair of headphones and just happened upon some awesome old postcards from Twin.  I dunno, but there’s just something fun about looking at these and trying to place the location or see how much things have changed.  If you want to see  more, check them out on ebay.

I am sporting a huge patch of road rash on my left arm this morning, and it stings, but I’m wearing it like a badge of honor. I took my son Jack to Hop 2 It for the first time last night ad we had a blast. Hop 2 It is like heaven for kids. It’s a huge play area filled with the coolest bounce houses and slides, and kids can just have fun.

At first Jack played cautiously, getting his sea legs under him as it were, and once he realized he could bounce off everything there was no stopping him. Two of his favorites were the bounce house at the front, and the huge slide at the back. While other kids his age had some problems climbing the bouncies, three year old Jack made short work of them.

The cool part? The parents of the child can play at Hop 2 It as well–for FREE! That’s how I got the aforementioned road rash. It was a race. I won.

Parents: this is a great place to take your kids to play and run off some energy. Plus it’s really inexpensive. There are no time limits at Hop 2 It.

Admission

• Children under 1: Free
• Children 1-23 months: $1.88
• Children ages 2-3: $5.66
• Children 4 and older: $6.60

2042 4th Avenue, Twin Falls

Phone: (208) 733-0409

Hours: Monday-Thursday 11am-8pm Friday-Saturday 10-9pm

If you our your business would like to have your windows painted, call Carol at 732-5557

Over the weekend my family adopted a dog that my son Jack named ‘Marmaduke’ (yes, I know the real Marmaduke is a Great Dane, but try having that conversation with a 3 year old). Marmaduke is a one year old brindle Boxer who just needed a good home.

Marmaduke, who we usually call “Duke,” is smart, has a great temperament, and has more energy than everyone in my house put together–including the toddler. He’s been absolutely fantastic with the kids, especially the little one Jack, and it hasn’t taken him long to get along with the current dog in residence, a Boston Terrier named ‘Piggy.’

I’m glad Marmaduke is in our life, and I’m happy that we could rescue a very sweet dog.

Most horror stories begin with the line ‘it was a dark and stormy night,’ and that was certainly true of Trick or Treat on Bish’s Street 2011. The wind howled, there were scattered showers, but still over 3,100 intrepid trick or treaters came and had a wonderful time.

My family and I love Halloween and this year we may have gone a little overboard on pumpkin carving. Last night–at about 12:30 as I tried to finish my last pumpkin–my wife and I concluded that we brought home and carved over 20 pumpkins this year. In fact, some were carved and gone before October even arrived.

Here’s a gallery of a few of my favorite creations this year. From a happy little Jack O’ Lantern that my son Jack helped me create to an intricate Jack Skellington from ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ to the beloved little droid R2-D2 from the ‘Star Wars’ saga.

Happy Halloween!

We had a huge turn out for Trick or Treat on Bish’s Street in 2010! We had a record breaking 4,754 Trick or Treaters through the gate!

This year promises to be just as big for the 2011 Trick or Treat on Bish’s Street! Join us from 4 to 6pm at the K-Mart parking lot for the safe, fun, and easy way to take your little ghosts and goblins Trick or Treating for Halloween!

Here’s how it works:

• Bish’s RV provides the RVs.
• We arrange them in a big circle in the K-Mart/Grocery Outlet parking lot.
• Local business decorate and sponsor each RV.
• Your child can Trick or Treat the safe and fun way!

Trick or Treat on Bish’s Street is free! We’ll see you this Halloween, October 31st, at the K-Mart parking lot on Addison in Twin Falls.

We have had  an amazing response to our Halloween Baby Pic Contest and a lot of great entries! Check out all the submissions in the gallery. These pictures will go before a panel of judges who will select three finalists today. The finalists will be posted in the VIP Club during the week leading up to Halloween for VIPs to vote on and the winner will be announced October 31st!

Which ones do you think should be in the Top 3?

UPDATED! Check out all the amazing Halloween Baby Pic submissions we have so far!

Time is running out to enter your Halloween Baby Pic for your chance to win $100 in Cinema Cash for Interstate Amusement. Entry deadline for submissions is Sunday, October 23rd, 2011. The pictures will then go before a panel of judges who will select three finalists. The finalists will be posted in the VIP Club during the week leading up to Halloween for VIPs to vote on. The winner will be announced October 31st!

Use the form below to submit your Halloween Baby Pic and good luck! Go here for a complete list of rules. Happy Halloween!

Submissions for this contest have closed.

The final push of the Stuff the Bus campaign happened Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium. A huge, heartfelt thanks to everyone who came out, saw us, and donated schools supplies!

Today only, you can get a 50 piece Chicken McNuggets at all Magic Valley McDonald’s for just $9.99.

It’s unclear where the idea came from–It could have been KOOL 96.5′s Nate Bird, or News Radio 1310 KLIX’s James Tidmarsh–but 95.7 KEZJ’s Brad Weiser answered the challenged and 95.7 KEZJ’s Terry Morgan tagged along for the ride (despite not having a gallbladder) and there was a Chicken McNugget eating contest.

The rules were simple:

1. Each contestant was presented with 50 Chicken McNuggets.
2. We had 30 minutes to finish.

How did we do?

It turns out that 50 Chicken McNuggets is actually a lot.

Terry Morgan wussed out first with only 25 nuggets down (hey, the guy doesn’t have a gallbladder, give him a break). Nate Bird and Brad Weiser held on to tie for second place with 37 nuggets. And the skinny guy, News Radio 1310 KLIX’s James Tidmarsh, trounced everyone else with 47 nuggets eaten in 30 minutes.

Here’s the video of the whole sordid event.

Several hundred Magic Valley residents turned out to remember the attacks of September 11^th last evening at Twin Falls City Park. The event was organized by local first responders and the Times-News. It was broadcast live right here on News radio 1310 KLIX and on our sister stations. During the ceremony, Idaho State Senator Lee Heider took time out to recognize the men and women of local law enforcement who put themselves in harm’s way every day.  The ceremony included a full color guard, a 21 gun salute and several numbers by the CSI Symphonic Band.  Twin Falls Mayor Don Hall also took time to honor those in the military who have made sacrifices abroad in the years following the September 11^th attacks.   Meanwhile, Governor Butch Otter and First Lady Lori Otter spent Sunday morning remembering Idaho’s fallen military heroes. During a ceremony in Boise, the Otters read aloud  all the names and the places the soldiers had died and the date they died. A bell tone followed each name. Meanwhile at the Idaho Fallen Firefighter Memorial three names were added to the monument… the three soldiers who lost their lives since September 11th of last year. Those are Sergeant Devin Daniels of Council, Sergeant Nathan Beyers of Coeur d’Alene, and Specialist Nicholas Newby, also of Coeur d’Alene.  Navy reservist Ron Vaulk of Nampa was killed on September 11^th 2001, during the attack on the Pentagon. So far, 55 Idaho soldiers have been killed in the War on Terror.

Bacon Day is not one of those obscure American or International holidays, this is purely a celebration of all things bacon. The genesis of the idea came from the air staff of 95.7 KEZJ, News Radio 1310 KLIX, KOOL 96.5, and 98.3 The Snake discussing what foods would could be made better with bacon. It was our theory was that everything could be made better with bacon.

It turns out we were so right.

Today was declared ‘Bacon Day’ and all staff were asked to bring a bacon-themed dish for all to try. Dishes included:

• Bacon Topped Apple Pie
• Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos
• Devils on Horseback (Dates wrapped with Bacon)
• Maple Bars with Bacon
• Potato Salad with Bacon
• Bacon Cookies
• Bacon Cake
• And more!

It’s true: bacon does make many of our favorite foods better. This was a lot of fun and a great eating experience for the entire staff.

Happy Bacon Day!

UPDATE: Thanks to John from Falls Brand for bringing us more bacon!