A Plume of White Smoke
Posted at 4:55 AM on January 8, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(41 Comments)
The official time-honored processes and elaborate, inexplicable ceremonies have all been completed. The balloteers balleted. The electors elected. The sifters sifted through the results while the scrutineers scrutinized everything from top to bottom and we now have a name for the computer who runs things at Radio Heartland.
It is ... Jasper!
Jasper is a good, solid reliable name. It was submitted as part of a blog posting on December 19th by Radio Heartland listener DanT. Thanks, DanT, for the assist! Jasper is a name that is held by a number of fictional characters and actual places (including a town in southwestern Minnesota). The name also describes a kind of gemstone that was thought, in medieval times, to give the wearer the power to cure those who were possessed by devils.
Yesterday, our computer needed that kind of Jasper related mojo.
Our voter turnout (200) was a record for computer-naming conclaves and the number of posts on the blog (68) when voting closed this morning at 5 a.m. was impressive, though critics say that total was artificially inflated by the fact that our Windows media stream started the day broken, thereby giving people a reason to feel bitter and betrayed, which always bolsters turnout in an important contest.
We will proceed as if this is totally legitimate.
Feel free to file your challenges with the court of appeals.
So long Hal, and hello Jasper!
Comments (41)
So Jaspar it is - something new and unique. Not a retread from the 70's.
Prior to reading this announcement this morning I was actually thinking about the computer and wondering how the music selections are actually programmed.
Do you (Dale and Mike) physically put together a list of music for each day, placing everything in the order that you want? Must be a daunting task with 24 hours of programming (at least 21 that is not repeated)
Or does the computer give some input so that genre's are mixed?
However it is done, I am enjoying it.
Jasper always reminds me of Laura's pet raccon on Little House, and how she trained it to do a trick in exchange for an egg. I can't hear the name Jasper without thinking, "Cover your eyes, Jasper!" But maybe that's because I watched too much TV as a child. :)
Welcome to the family, Jasper!
Fred,
Glad you're enjoying the programming!
The music on Radio Heartland is programmed by Jasper (formerly "HAL"), but based on CDs that Dale and I selected from The Morning Show's eclectic library. All of the music was categorized by sound, era, genre, smell, moisture content and so on. Then, Jasper was given rules to follow about when tunes can and cannot be played.
We're still going through the library to further tweak the sound, and adding new music that comes in from various record labels.
Hope that helps!
Good Morning Dale, Mike, JASPER and fellow RHers:
So, Jasper it is -- I like it. Not my first choice, but Jasper was right up there. Like many elections in my life, I accept the results and hope for the best. While the 2000 presidential election was stolen by the Current Occupant (as GK says), things are definitely looking good for Jan. 20.
Cheers to you Jasper -- May you live long and prosper along with Radio Heartland!
Your Friend, Joanne
Dale,
Your are doing a great job!
Thanks to you (& Jasper), their are many happy listeners out there in HD radioland.
Jasper works for me!
Just have to share that the song I was trying to remember yesterday with the doot, de-doot doot-doot rhythm was the one Dale and Mike uncovered- Save Myself by Willy Mason. It
was a joy to hear it again. Magicians - that's what they are! I didn't know about it until last night because I, like some of you, work where streaming is prevented. It's a real shame.
Morning Heartlanders! Like others, Jasper wasn't my first choice, but I did ponder it (I had a hard time choosing actually). I've never known a Jasper in person, but I embrace the name wholeheartedly, especially if it means no re-count and no lawsuit! Happy the "stream" is working this morning.
Dale...you're doing a great job. I do miss my morning drive with you and Ed. I'm not hip enough to have an ipod. I wonder if this was a good thing going HD. The elderly and outstate can't hear you now. Hmm. Anyway, glad my Heartland radio works today at home. Something very wrong yesterday. Thanks and have a great day.
Looked up some of the characteristics of the stone jasper on the internet, too. One site mentioned that jasper is "a good stone for working with shy or timid people who need change." I am getting a strange vibration -- do you think Jasper read the thread written by shy folks the other day and then tampered with the results of the voting yesterday? Maybe...
While I miss listening to The Morning Show during my commute to work each day, I enjoy my new routine, which includes checking the latest blog entry at the beginning of each work day. Thanks!
It's been called to my attention that today is The King's birthday, so perhaps we could hear something from his discography this morning.
The Jasper I'm familiar with is from the song 'Jasper and the Miners' by Paul Siebel ,better known for the song 'Louise' covered by Leo Kottke.
Chuck
A little Youtube research led to the discovery that it is indeed Etta James singing with Taj Mahal on Mockingbird.
Good morning! Happy to know we have settled on Jasper as a name for the automated music library system.
Also glad RH is running smoothly again. Any chance Sly and the Family Stone could help us celebrate that today? In the meantime I will look for my platform boots and sequin studded tie and get ready to groove : )
Good morning, Dale! As usual, thanks for being there. Jasper is good. And doesn't Johnny Irion sound like Neil Young? Nice sound.
I'm wearing my string of yellow jasper beads to celebrate the results!
Mary, I agree. Johnny Irion DOES sound like Neil Young - so much so I almost played something by Mr. Young right afterwards, but then I thought that might be too much breathy vocalizing.
Jasper didn't have an opinion, so I went in a different direction. But you and I were on the same wavelength.
Jody--Thanks for your concern about us "elderly" not being able to hear the show now. I guess I qualify as one of the "elderly"--I'm 77 and can hear the show just fine on my newly-purchased HD radio. One of the advantages of my age is that I was able to enjoy the delights of the original MDRNING SHOW with GK and Jim Ed and then the transition to the worthy Dale! I'm so grateful for the bright sounds they bring to us!
Where are the voting totals? How close was it? Automatic recount? Double voting?
Hi Dale,
I came late to listening to The Morning Show, and I was one of those people who grumbled at first when the Current was new on the scene.
I remember when your show won me over; it was three years ago, and I'd have it on driving to work. First of all, one of your creative comical sketches with Jim Ed Poole had me laughing and intrigued, I think it was something longer around Christmas time.
Once, I was taken completely off guard when one song had me bawling in the parking lot before going in to work. The point is: you have made me laugh; you've made me cry. The music you've played exposed my poser hipster self to a variety of music that I didn't previously know, and the show broadened my horizons. It also made me feel like I was starting my day with my family, Jim Ed being kind of fatherly/grandfatherly, and the interplay between you two always so friendly and real.
I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was at hearing the demise of the show, and I still think that the powers that be at MPR made a mistake; they obviously seem to have underestimated the number of people who actually listen. The HD and online thing is small comfort (this part here is for them to hear) as apparently an HD radio is prohibitively expensive--I just went to your link on MPR.org--and I've been to two Best Buys where about 4 blueshirts at each place had me running in circles. Not only did they not know what they were talking about, but they didn't actually know they didn't have any in their stores, and they couldn't tell me where to go to find one. (Nor did they seem to care.) Big frustration. Listening to you and the morning show (Heartland) music is a HUGE quality of life issue for me. HUGE. Thanks for letting me rant.
But at least first I raved. If you can offer any advice on air or on your web page about an affordable radio, let me know. I don't have wireless internet, and I can't listen to your show well when I get ready for work, because my computer is hooked up in the living room.
God bless you, Dale. Thanks for making the show go on.
Peace,
Anne
I look forward to getting to work and "turning on" my radio. Love hearing Dale and miss Jim Ed. Love Dale's encouragement to be involved and give feedback. Thanks for keeping up the community of listeners!
I was perusing the balloon archives and went to the song of 2008 (12/29). Dale, Goodbye to My Stepstone is one of my all time favorite songs I haven't thought of for such a long time - and when I thought about where I know it from...well, we all know the answer to that question. I didn't see it on the playlist that day. If you haven't played it, I'd love to request Jasper to throw it in the mix.
Jasper was my grandfather's name, a shy man who grew up in an orphanage until the age of 12, when he ran away to make his way in the world. A very quiet man, he married my grandmother and was lovingly embraced by her larger-than-life family.
He worked as a machinist, getting up everyday to walk to work, never missing a beat, never being overly angry or excessively happy. He was a satisfied plodder, proud of his work and wife and children, but not distracted by the chaos of the family that surrounded him.
I think it's a perfect name for the computer that will every day every day every day bring us the music that sustains us, without complaining or asking for time off, but simply and silently delighting in the task.
Anne, I share your opinion about how The Morning Show was the ideal way to start my day - friendly without the aggressive noise or dismal news that so many other stations have to offer. Thank heavens for Dale's commitment and Radio Heartland! As for an HD radio, my boyfriend found me one at Radio Shack for Christmas. It's a smaller store and the staff seemed more knowledgeable. And with regard to price, amazon.com has a decent selection, although their prices seem to start around $70 and go up. I recommend you read the descriptions carefully to see if the model you ultimately choose has the features you want - like speakers! My new radio started my New Year joyfully!
I started Listening to the morning show in Garrison K. days. I was sad when I moved away from MN and didn't have Jim Ed and Dale to listen to. After all it got me through college (although I can't count how many times I stayed in bed to listen rather than go to "intro to Marketing" at 7:30). Imagine my thrill when I discovered it online (2 months before it was done!), however, now I can get all this great music all day long. I don't have to flip between a dozen internet radio stations to suit my mood. Now Jasper can just set my mood for me...Thanks Dale, Mike and Jasper
To all Radio Heartland Listeners, Bloggers, Employees, Announcers, Producers and Computers:
While this post does not relate to the subject at hand, it was inspired by the idea of anthropomorphizing and naming a computer that plays our favorite music all day.
I think I mentioned in one of my first posts, that I've never understood or got involved in blogging, chat rooms, facebook, etc. -- until now. Every morning I feel drawn to starting up computer and streaming in RH while reading EVERY post on the blog; laughing, pondering, disagreeing, feeling poignant, agreeing and generally amazed at all these people that are as weirdly obsessed with anything Morning Show as I am ... and am at a loss to explain it.
One of the skits during the Final Broadcast of LGMS was comparing Morning Show listeners to members of a cult -- which seems uncomfortably true in some aspects -- but we know it's not so (which was why it was such a funny skit).
However, it's true that we're all lovers of a wide range of musical styles and it took LGMS to help us see that. Although we are few and it takes a while to convert others (my husband still doesn't get it), we still keep hoping others will see the light.
Meanwhile, as a minority compared to the mass market radio offerings; we cling to each other, come together in Blog, Praise Dale, Mike and Jasper in the comfort of Radio Heartland, wait for the Second Coming/Return of Jim Ed, supplicate for our favorite songs/artists to be played and financially support the Mighty and Powerful MPR that makes it all possible.
And oh, our delight when Dale finds favor with our blog post and mentions us on the air -- our lives are uplifted and complete. The ecstatic joy when Dale and Mike respond to our supplications and play our request with appropriate dedications. And most miraculous -- during the rest of the day with no human intervention -- Jasper will play a song that speaks to our soul, generates a dancing frenzy or answers a request we haven't even had time to enter in Blog.
So, until the time of our glorious rise to the top of the ratings, we gather around whatever device brings in the airwaves of RH between 6am-9am Mon through Fri, and listen to the Chosen One Left Behind, Dale, as he weaves our tale of hope and have fun together.
That being said, it is my hope that the Overseer Bill Kling of the Mighty and Powerful MPR will bring Radio Heartland to the masses by broadcasting across more airwaves so we may overcome. The HD Radio necessary to hear the RH airwaves are still too expensive for some -- although I do still support the Mighty and Powerful MPR (just so you know).
I hope this analysis has helped others to cope with and understand these strange compulsions to Blog, Praise, Wait and Supplicate (and donate) to our Beloved Radio Heartland. Just writing (and confessing) this has certainly helped me.
Please enjoy the humor (and irony) of this post and forgive the length.
Your Friend, Joanne J
What's LGMS?
Dale, I so appreciate your wry humor. I generally don't have interest in blogs, but this is great. My first stop in the morning at work.
And Jasper's a great name!
Thanks for the good work.
LGMS is the moniker someone gave to the Late Great Morning Show -- sorry for the jargon we're already started to use in Blog.
Ha ha ha! just heard the song about "if i give up the saxophone"---so funny! cheered me right out of a mood dip due to work hassles...thx.
reminded me that i wanted to put in a plug for more quirky songs---a little more humor.....lest we get too uppity and serious and "deep" :-)
love the easter island heads, of course, and waltzing with bears, but also love mad dogs and englishmen and the ann bolyn song, and even (sorry) actual dogs barking out jingle bells....and generally just being surprised by something silly and joyful.
For devotees of The Simpsons (a demographic I am sure intersects with the listeners of Radio Heartland in all sorts of fascinating ways) Jasper is a cartoon character usually seen in the company of Grandpa Simpson. He's the one with the long square beard. Like much of the music on the playlist, Jasper is a relic of a bygone age. Hopefully the similarity ends there since the cartoon Jasper is also senile, stubborn, and a bit of a lecher.
Just heard 'Birds of Belfast' again on the rebroadcast - WOW. That is a fantastic song. Thanks so much for introducing me to it! This morning I decided that, rather than leave right away at 7, I should finish my coffee and listen to one more song on RH. I'm so glad I did. 'Birds of Belfast' made it into the Radio Book, which is the little moleskine notebook I keep on top of it to record songs that I want to track down on iTunes or Amazon. Thanks again for the new favorite!
Thank you all for these fascinating comments.
Anne, I wish I could give you better news about high quality, affordable HD radios. Unfortunatley, there is a frustrating lack of knowledge about HD radio generally. And having a wider, less expensive selection in the stores would certainly be appreciated.
The HD radio I use at home is a Jensen model 525 that I got at Target for around $100. One person posting on the blog mentioned that this radio can be found in the stores, but you have to look in the area where they keep the iPod docks, rather than the tabletop radios.
The HD radio in my car is made by Dual and I bought it online for $130 through www.crutchfield.com. The website walks you through a process to determine which radio (if any) will fit in your car. They also provide advice on installation.
I did it myself, and it was surprisingly easy.
Some people who use Apple computers have also reported success using the Airport Express to connect their computer to an existing stereo system. There are also add-on receivers available to bring HD radio to your stereo components if you live in the Twin Cities and can receive our signal.
There are also devices called "internet radios" which work like a "normal" radio to listen to online music streams in a WiFi area.
And I just read today about efforts moving forward to develop and market internet radios for your car. These devices would link up through your cell phone plan, much as Apple iPhone users can hear MPR stations when they download a special application.
It's all very complicated stuff for a "mature" brain like mine, but I'm encouraged to see that broadcasters and web stream providers seem to be exploring every possible pathway that leads into your house and/or your car.
Before long, I expect municipal sewage providers to be offering DSL and Broadband service on all your porcelain fixtures, so hang on!
On the gizmo front ...
If you have an iPhone or iTouch you can download an application to run your iTunes on your computer by remote control. So you could use it to play radio heartland from Bed. This assumes you have your iTouch next you your bed and it is charged up!
I wonder if the MPR iPhone application could include an alarm clock. That way could wake up to RH. My radio is still on the current and I think the Current DJs assume you are already awake!
Jasper will be a great name. Thanks to the other blogger that suggested we hide Jim-ed in the name somewhere. I am sure our Jasper will be nothing like the grouchy Jasper Beardsley Simpson character. I picture a well intended, literally minded intern, that tends to get confused. Especially if Mike is making Jasper consider the moisture content of the songs he plays!
I must be in the great minority of RH listeners, as I could never see the point in trying to name the computer formerly known as "HAL" after Jim Ed. While I miss Jim Ed dearly, I never felt like he could be replaced by a computer. I wonder how he feels about it?
1. Is it possible to hear Heartland online with a dial-up modem?(i,e, no broadband connection)
2. KCCM is listed as an HD station but doesn't carry Heartland. Is it oonly available in the metro area HDs?
Meanwhile I enjoy reading Dale's blog and really look forward to hearing him again on Saturday.
I am so glad you have this new show! It has won me over. I even bought an HD radio in order to hear it at home.
(Hint, if you have a receiver, get the Sony HD tuner/adapter at Amazon.com for less than $100. If you want an HD radio go to Cambridge Soundworks online for a fantastic radio for about $150.)
This music selection is actually what I thought we were being promised on "The Current!" I'll take this any day.
Jasper isn't named after Jim-Ed. Someone just suggested we sneak in a subtle memorial. Jasper stands for
Jim Ed Announcer Substitute Programmable E-Robot
Jim-Ed retired and they substituted Jasper :-) Jasper works longer hours for less pay, but needs work on his sense of humor. Jasper's pirate impression is abysmal!
Pretty cool to be given a Sat show too! I think it is a good idea and it'll probably draw more people in to 24 hour Heartland programming. You could hardly decline the offer, but I'm concerned for you. You need some R&R time too. Don't burn out on us!
I have successfully Googled-searched the perfect song to play to honor the re-naming of Hal!
The Jasper Song by Alice Weiler
You can listen to a sample of it at:
http://bitmunk.com/media/6593245
jasper national park in canadian rockies is my favorite place on the planet. you drive through the pristine beauty of the banff nation park with lake louise and the calendar posed looking ice cream cone topped ohmygod thats the most beautiful mountain i've ever seen foreground and around the corner to the next ohmygod thats the most beautiful mountain i've ever seen mountain. then there is a drive of about an hour wher slow but noticabally the mountains change from pretty to rugged to gnarled and then you hit the town of jasper which is like a throwback to tourism in 1940. no slick presentations no glitz no pretense. you can walk easy and breath deep and soak it up.
just like radio heartland. perfect
Thanks Dale
We Love the show
Sally
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock
