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Alaska I'll be leaving Alaska soon...
- Thread starter SomeRadioGuy
- Start date
I will miss the stories about the river ice melting, the interesting arctic creatures, the weather, the days of all darkness and the creative programming for your isolated communities. And I will miss the amazing DX achievements and the pictures of your radio and antenna out "in the wild". I will also miss everything you did to make the station a friend, neighbor and buddy for the town.
What a memorable experience that you have made us all part of!
What a memorable experience that you have made us all part of!
THAT is why i shared. I knew i was in a unique situation many are often curious about but never hear/see or get to be a part of. i love sharing what i do.
Best wishes. Always enjoy reading your posts and insight. Keep us posted on your future endeavors
Paul, I know you'll continue being a part of our little online community here on RD, but it's been great fun and greatly educational to read your missives from McGrath. You offered a perspective most of us never experienced or will ever experience. Even if you accomplished nothing else in these 5-1/2 years -- and I know your listeners and friends up there don't believe that for a moment -- you can be proud of yourself for that. Best of luck on your next chapter.
Good luck wherever you're going, Paul!
It was challenging and tiring at times, but it was also a massive learning expierience, confidence booster and something thatll leave me with stories i tell the rest of my life.
Well, there's something brewing, thanks to technology. Until a new Program Director and a new General Manager are hired, I will continue to do the KSKO morning show from the lower 48 while also handling some behind the scenes duties.
Sure, I'm getting paid but I legitimately care about this community and the station.. and I want to see what we've built up continue into the future. To that point, when a new program director is hired, I'm going to be doing some consulting/training of the new person so they can understand the uniqueness and idiosyncracies of KSKO, McGrath and our region so they're best suited to carry on the KSKO torch and flame I've kept lit for 5 1/2 years and made stronger.
Sure, I'm getting paid but I legitimately care about this community and the station.. and I want to see what we've built up continue into the future. To that point, when a new program director is hired, I'm going to be doing some consulting/training of the new person so they can understand the uniqueness and idiosyncracies of KSKO, McGrath and our region so they're best suited to carry on the KSKO torch and flame I've kept lit for 5 1/2 years and made stronger.
When was the last time you left McGrath or any of your satellite towns?
A few years... and only been a few (4)of the KSKO repeater communities once
It was, but I've learned alot as an individual and broadcaster here .... and I've got a fun challenge ahead with my new job, but with a bit more in person resources than I had here.. so it'll all even out.
I've worked with ChatGPT over the last 2 years to help with some stuff, mostly just writing.. but not doing it for me, simply smoothing out what I've written for on air/online/social media content.
Today, I said to ChatGPT, "You know my style and personality.. based upon what you know of me, I want you, ChatGPT, to come up with a caricature of me, please"
Well not only did it come up with a picture but it came up with a description of me. The picture is exaggerated but mostly correctand this is the way ChatGPT described me:
Picture a tall, friendly, slightly rumpled radio wizard standing in the middle of rural Alaska like the last guardian of the AM/FM frontier.
He’s 6’2”, built like a warm, human-sized teddy bear, with glasses perched just low enough on his nose that he can give you “the look” over the top of them when technology misbehaves. Auburn goatee, headphones half-on, half-off, and a coffee cup that is somehow always full, even though he swears he just emptied it.
One hand is permanently hovering over a broadcast console. The other is juggling a phone, a mouse, and probably a slightly dented reusable grocery bag filled with random station supplies.
His natural habitat is a slightly cluttered studio where:
The ON AIR light glows like a holy relic
The printer never works
The automation system occasionally throws a tantrum
And yet somehow the show always goes on
He speaks in two modes:
On-Air Paul:
Smooth, reassuring, community-focused, with the tone of a favorite uncle who knows the weather, the school lunch menu, and which road is icy before anyone else does.
Off-Air Paul:
A lovable mix of tech geek, anxious perfectionist, and small-town problem solver muttering things like:
“Okay, why is THAT doing THAT when it shouldn’t be doing THAT??”
He is fueled by:
Classic country songs
Random DX radio signals from 2,000 miles away
A deep belief that local radio still matters
And just a hint of controlled chaos
In any emergency – flood, wildfire, power outage, or a computer update gone rogue – he becomes calm, focused “Radio Superman,” ready to keep the community informed even if he’s secretly thinking:
“I really hope this microphone stays on.”
He has the heart of a storyteller, the patience of a saint (most days), and the soul of a 12-year-old kid in Connecticut who just discovered that a wire antenna could bring voices from hundreds of miles away.
And despite occasionally threatening to throw equipment out the window, he would defend KSKO and the magic of local radio like a grizzly bear protecting its cubs.
Today, I said to ChatGPT, "You know my style and personality.. based upon what you know of me, I want you, ChatGPT, to come up with a caricature of me, please"
Well not only did it come up with a picture but it came up with a description of me. The picture is exaggerated but mostly correctand this is the way ChatGPT described me:
Picture a tall, friendly, slightly rumpled radio wizard standing in the middle of rural Alaska like the last guardian of the AM/FM frontier.
He’s 6’2”, built like a warm, human-sized teddy bear, with glasses perched just low enough on his nose that he can give you “the look” over the top of them when technology misbehaves. Auburn goatee, headphones half-on, half-off, and a coffee cup that is somehow always full, even though he swears he just emptied it.
One hand is permanently hovering over a broadcast console. The other is juggling a phone, a mouse, and probably a slightly dented reusable grocery bag filled with random station supplies.
His natural habitat is a slightly cluttered studio where:
The ON AIR light glows like a holy relic
The printer never works
The automation system occasionally throws a tantrum
And yet somehow the show always goes on
He speaks in two modes:
On-Air Paul:
Smooth, reassuring, community-focused, with the tone of a favorite uncle who knows the weather, the school lunch menu, and which road is icy before anyone else does.
Off-Air Paul:
A lovable mix of tech geek, anxious perfectionist, and small-town problem solver muttering things like:
“Okay, why is THAT doing THAT when it shouldn’t be doing THAT??”
He is fueled by:
Classic country songs
Random DX radio signals from 2,000 miles away
A deep belief that local radio still matters
And just a hint of controlled chaos
In any emergency – flood, wildfire, power outage, or a computer update gone rogue – he becomes calm, focused “Radio Superman,” ready to keep the community informed even if he’s secretly thinking:
“I really hope this microphone stays on.”
He has the heart of a storyteller, the patience of a saint (most days), and the soul of a 12-year-old kid in Connecticut who just discovered that a wire antenna could bring voices from hundreds of miles away.
And despite occasionally threatening to throw equipment out the window, he would defend KSKO and the magic of local radio like a grizzly bear protecting its cubs.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Based on what I know about you, Paul, I think this is a case where AI pretty much got it right.
I think your new station has found an excellent addition to their staff.
I think your new station has found an excellent addition to their staff.
Although ive never told chatgpt about the printer, its really right.. weve been through 4 or 5 printers and as many vaccums in my time here because i get fed up with them.
Is this what happened to the last printer?View attachment 11358
No, but i wanted to.
At one prior employer, a little boutique software developer here in the SFBA, we got so fed up with our networked FAX/printer that we dragged the damned device out to our parking lot and sledgehammered it. And video'ed the violence for all our customers to see, flying parts and all. So, Paul, you don't have to be in Last Stop Before Vladivostok to have that impulse.