The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: radio

  • Shortwaves and Numbers Stations

    Shortwaves and Numbers Stations

    It’s like coming home to a place I could never really understand.

  • Our 23 Favorite Podcasts Plus 7 More

    The podiverse is filled with stars.

  • Drawbridge FAQs

    So, there’s actually a person making the bridge open and close? Yep. I get that a lot. Nice to meet you. While there are some automated drawbridges out there (mostly railroad bridges in remote locations with little or no pedestrian traffic), the vast majority of drawbridges have a human operator. Safety is our primary concern,…

  • How to Piss Off a Bridgetender

    I have spent a great deal of time writing about how much I love my job. I really do. I swear I do. Just… not today. Perhaps it’s because we are marinating in the last, bitter dregs of the holiday season, and everyone is getting cranky. Perhaps I’m the bitter one, because everyone is out…

  • I’m Wide Awake, Here!

    I recently had a blind date with a guy, and when he discovered I was a bridgetender, he got this smirk on his face. I knew what was coming next. The stereotype. Few people even know we exist, but those who do seem to assume that we all sleep through our shifts. This assumption drives…

  • My Brain on Cruise Control

    With an 8 hour drive ahead of me from Seattle, Washington to Missoula, Montana, I wondered what my brain would do with all that “down time”. So I decided to take a digital recorder with me and whenever I started to think about a new subject, I’d take note. I have no idea whether I’m…

  • Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

    I used to make it a point to stay informed about current events. I read newspapers, magazines, and watched the news. Then as finances got tighter and life became more hectic, I dropped my subscriptions. And at some point, probably during my billionth move in a two year period, I left my television sitting on…

  • Andy Johnson: A Boil on the Butt of Jacksonville’s Progressive Community

    One of the reasons I’m thrilled to be out of Jacksonville, Florida is that it’s an extremely conservative community. I often felt like a lone voice shouting in the wilderness when I lived there. Unfortunately, the most strident progressive voice in that town belongs to Andy Johnson, the moral equivalent of a scum-sucking catfish. Strong…

  • Not All NPR Stations Are Created Equal

    I am a loyal listener of National Public Radio. It is my main source of news and entertainment. It often inspires topics for this blog. Whenever I travel by car, I look up the NPR station for the area in question so that I can stay connected. It fascinates me how different one NPR station…

  • Andy Johnson is a Heel, but I’m NOT Achilles

    The downward spiral that has been my life for the past 5 years really started when Andy Johnson, former member of the Florida House of Representatives, stole $3,500.00 from me, and despite the fact that I won the court case and have a lien on his house, he refuses to pay me back. Looking back,…