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31 December 2006

State of Talk Radio in the Valley 2006

Furiously, I race to complete this 2006 roundup as 2006 draws to an end. With every passing year, the publish date for my annual roundup of radio talk show offerings in the Valley of the Sun comes later and later. Well, I've run out of buffer space, lest I completely omit 2007 from the ledger. And if I did cease to provide another account, will there be any listeners left to even notice? A big reason for the delay is that in 2006, with all the podcasting fare available (and a subject for a subsequent article) and a significant decrease in my commute time, it's been difficult to give a listen to all the shows reviewed here.

KTAR made the boldest splashes in 2006, culminating with a move to 92.3 FM, mirroring their AM programming at first, but starting in January 2007, 620 AM will morph into sports talk only leaving 92.3 FM as the Valley's flagship news/talk station. This move coming after a return to a live and local talk format, and the restoration of Pat McMahon to the talk host lineup. More lineup changes lie ahead, with McMahon jumping to afternoons and Bill O'Reilly clone Darrel Ankarlo assuming Mr. McMahon's morning position.

KFYI 550 AM keeps chugging along, led by syndicated conservative blowtorches Limbaugh and Hannity, along with a pack of junior wannabes and an uninspired Mister Komando and his faithful sidekick Cruella Michella Buffy Lee Larson. Although there are reports that KFYI's financial master, Clear Channel, is going to slash local programming even further.

Early in the year, Liberal Air America was booted off of KXXT 1010 AM in lieu of fire and brimstone style religious programming, but just a month later found a new home at 1480 KPHX AM. Missing from the migration was Charles Goyette, who instead landed at KFNX 1100 AM, nestled between colon blow informercials and entire shows dedicated to hawking silver and gold. KFNX itself is a gross disservice to the listening public, a waste of broadcast spectrum that should be providing the public interest, so much so that the FCC should revoke their license, but fat chance of that happening.

Back to the saga of Air Americaout the ashes of its bankruptcy and inevitable demise, arises a new progressive network, Nova M, with it's flagship KPHX 1480 AM. Hopefully, Sheldon Drobny, one of the original AAR backers, in tandem with Mike Newcomb, prospects for the new network are greater than the train wreck that was AAR. It does appear that Nova M management, unlike the lords of AAR, actually get radio and will program accordingly, instead of trying to do cheap imitation Daily Show knockoffs on the radio. While I think Mike Malloy's spiel is just as awful as Limbaugh and Hannity, I am encouraged by others filling slots now — Thom Hartmann, Peter B. Collins and John Loftus to name a few.

So onwards and upwards, or more aptly, downwards to the roundup.
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30 December 2006

Life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been abducted

Meantime, Saddam Hussein has been executed and as our state genuflecting media drones on, thought I'd share a few thoughts and links. First, an excellent history of how the U.S. enabled Hussein through the years.
The tendency to treat Saddam and Iraq in a historical vacuum, and in isolation from the superpowers, however, has hidden from Americans their own culpability in the horror show that has been Iraq for the past few decades. Initially, the US used the Baath Party as a nationalist foil to the Communists. Then Washington used it against Iran. The welfare of Iraqis themselves appears to have been on no one's mind, either in Washington or in Baghdad.

Next, a perspective from an Iraqi, along with an assessment of the state of Baghdad, circa 2006.

This last year especially has been a turning point. Nearly every Iraqi has lost so much. So much. There's no way to describe the loss we've experienced with this war and occupation. There are no words to relay the feelings that come with the knowledge that daily almost 40 corpses are found in different states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so out of ones hands, it borders on the ridiculous- like whether your name is 'too Sunni' or 'too Shia'. Fear of the larger things- like the Americans in the tank, the police patrolling your area in black bandanas and green banners, and the Iraqi soldiers wearing black masks at the checkpoint.

Again, I can't help but ask myself why this was all done? What was the point of breaking Iraq so that it was beyond repair? Iran seems to be the only gainer. Their presence in Iraq is so well-established, publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Has the situation gone so beyond America that it is now irretrievable? Or was this a part of the plan all along? My head aches just posing the questions.

What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.

This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).

Columnist and long time middle east correspondent Robert Fisk, on the questions not being asked in the wake of an execution of a dictator created then destroyed by America.

Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.

I'm a bit puzzled too, over how easily the following truths are swept aside, even amidst the non-stop chatter over Saddam's execution:

  • How can this execution not be perceived as directed and orchestrated by the U.S.? How can Iraq be possibly perceived as a "sovereign democracy" when foreign occupiers are in charge, and it's the commander-in-chief's desire to increase our presence there, not exit. Even though it's been established that the justification for the invasion of a country that posed no threat to the U.S. was fraudulent.

  • The crime Hussein was tried (in a sham court more concerned with revenge than justice) for aided and abetted by American leadership at the time. In fact, as Professor Cole and others have pointed out, the Reagan administration knew full well of Hussein's crimes, yet strove to cover-up and/or trivialize these events, and continued to funnel financial support and weapons to him throughout the 80's. Terry Nichols sits in prison for his role in aiding Timothy McVeigh for the criminal act of bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. But individuals at the top of power hierarchy are never to be judged by equivalent criteria. No, they aren't directly responsible, but they do deserve blame for enabling a butcher to carry out injustice.

28 December 2006

Like we needed another one of these

KTAR hires Texas Bill O'Reilly clone
Darrell Ankarlo starts his new show on KTAR-FM on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. If he stays true to form, he will be one of KTAR's most outspoken hosts.

Through much of KTAR's life, especially before it had competition from KFYI-AM, most hosts have been simply hosts, moderate voices who did interviews and took phone calls.

It has had some people with strong opinions as hosts. Among them are David Leibowitz, a former Republic columnist and the brilliant Tony Femino. For a while, they even branded the legendary Pat McMahon as "No More Mr. Nice Guy."

More recently, it appears to have gone back to having hosts rather than opinion makers. McMahon and Ted Simons have returned to interviewing newsmakers rather than being the stars of a show that concentrates on the hosts' monologues.

That could change with Ankarlo, whose website, www.ankarlo.net, shows him to be a flag-waving, Bush-supporting host in the mode of Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. With a liberal sprinkling of Bible quoting thrown in.

Ankarlo sells T-shirts that say "I am offended by...people who don't get illegal." The back of the T-shirt offers a handy definition followed by the word "Comprende?"

25 December 2006

Peace on Earth

Wars will stop when men refuse to fight.

--Albert Einstein

In a previous post, I asked if the U.S. was a warlike nation. I didn't draw a distinction, however, between the governments and the population at large. Granted, one could make an argument that for citizens under rule of a form of representative government, there is no difference. And it's commonly stated that warfare is an endemic part of human nature. Add it up, and the equation calculates to a sense that we are a "warlike nation".

However, the matter is not as simple as it seems when considering our civilization.

First, let's examine the notion that human nature favors war. To most human beings, killing another is an abominable idea. Even most soldiers are skittish about killing the enemy. So much that military instruction has embraced advances in psychology to lessen this natural aversion.

Studies of the killing of human beings by human beings are scarce with even less interest shown by the public or the media. Probably the best source of information on this subject is the book by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Killing, and the associated web site, "Killology Research Group." I would encourage any of you that are interested in this subject to take a look at that book and the articles at the web site.

According to Col. Grossman, ordinary soldiers are reluctant to personally and individually kill the enemy. He quotes the statistic that in World War II, only about 15-20% of American soldiers actually fired their weapons at the enemy. Similarly, in both the Civil War and World War I, there are indications that most non-professional soldiers elected to not actually try to kill the enemy. In fact, Grossman claims, ordinary humans experience a high stress level when put in the situation of having to kill other humans at close range which results in high degree of psychological trauma. It should be pointed out that of those who do their best to try to kill the enemy, there are many who kill for pleasure rather than just duty. Hopefully, those that get pleasure from killing are the professional soldiers and not employees of the Postal Service.

Two things have considerably corrected this situation to the point where most modern soldiers do, in fact, try to kill. One is the imbedding of the modern individual, from childhood, in a sea of violence in the form of movies, television and games, where killing humans is as routine as swatting a fly. The other is that the military has changed its training program to more effectively create a "killing machine" from the clueless civilian recruit.

By the time the Vietnam conflict came along, the conditioning programs (the military training as well as the unintended consequence of massive exposure to violent films and games throughout their young lives) was so successful that the percentage of soldiers that fired at the enemy had risen to 95% (see page 250 of Grossman's book).

Also, up close, face to face with another human being, the act of killing is often confronted in squeamish fashion. Not so when bombs are lobbed from great distances. When the carnage and destruction is hidden from view, one is more eager to inflict harm on unseen, nameless victims, where the realm seemingly shifts into something that more resembles a video game than war.

Governments embark upon propaganda campaigns and outright deceit to move nations to war. Our side is just, their side is vile barbarians. We are told that our cause is for truth and justice, their way is one of domination and enslavement. Even in "just wars", the opposing nation or alliance is demonized as subhuman evildoers. Just about every single war in the history of the United States has featured government deceit to justify a campaign for war.

Citizens are urged to submit in blind obedience to the state's edicts. That because our leaders pronounce so, reason and judgment are to be abandoned, and to question hawkish motives is akin to being unpatriotic. Individuals comply to satisfy the group.

I am no pacifist, and certainly recognize that at times, it is necessary to go to war to institute justice or save the oppressed. The choice for war is a heavy one, and it is depressing to see it packaged as a slick marketing campaign. Profits flow to corporate heads and government officers (who go in and out through a revolving door and some still own significant shares in the companies they headed that reap incredible gains from the business of war) while a stream of young Americans meet a tragic fate amidst a gushing river of slaughtered innocent civilians.

You may know this about the different ratio of civilian-to-military deaths in war, how in World War I, ten military dead for one civilian dead; in World War II, it was 50-50, half military, half civilian; in Vietnam, it was 70% civilian and 30% military; and in the wars since then, it’s 80% and 85% civilian.

My Christmas wish, this season and those forthcoming, is that we would band together and refuse to fight. Because while our leaders may be terrible war mongers, I believe most of us are not.

21 December 2006

Free-For-All Thursday

Questions clipped from the Andrew Tallman daily email, and I thought I'd bang out a few answers and maybe solicit some responses from you all also.

Should reporters mention the college a criminal attended the way they do when talking about someone’s good deeds?

Why not? Depends on the length of the report being given, I suppose.

Is it lying to use an excuse in declining an invitation that you would decline even if you didn’t have another engagement?

No. Sometimes, providing entirely too many details tangles one into bigger traps.

Are you afraid of your computer because of spam and viruses?

No, because I use Macs and Macs, unlike PCs, are free from viruses. Spam enrages me, but the mail client I use does an excellent job of weeding out the spam. And I'm not a big email person, I consider the state of email in 2006 to be broken.

Are Christmas lists a bad idea?

Depends on what type of "Christmas list" you are referring to.

How do you handle the “elevator conundrum?”

Don't know what exactly is denoted by elevator conundrum.

Aisle, window, or middle seat when flying?

Aisle, definitely. Sitting in window and middle seats will bring the onset of claustrophobia, and possibly panic attacks. I have an aversion to being squeezed into any small, closed-in space. Though sitting in the aisle on a plane will involve you in collisions with passengers making a dash to the restroom or flight attendants wheeling their refreshment carts.

5 CDs or a Concert: What’s the value of an experience?

When I was younger, no hesitation on choosing Concert over the CDs. Nowadays, I am not so certain — sensitivity to loudness and see above question for other considerations. Plus, once I rip the CDs into digital format, the music can last forever.

18 December 2006

Are we a warlike nation?

We elect presidents who go to war, belittle presidents who carry out efforts of peacemaking.

We celebrate warfare, we marginalize pacifists.

We cherish biblical references of conflict and downplay admonitions of love and forgiveness.

Or is it the result of slickly orchestrated propaganda campaigns that villanize foes and color our cause as righteous and noble? If so, does evil reside in our national leaders that compose such media blitzes or in us for easily falling under its spell, failing to apply proper scrutiny to the proposed campaigns for making war?

In a 2004 radio address, President Bush stated through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war.

Truly, are we a peaceful people, only dragged kicking and screaming into global conflicts? History suggests otherwise:

  • # of times the U.S. has bombed Serbia: 1
  • # of times Serbia has bombed the U.S.: 0
  • # of times the U.S. has invaded the Dominican Republic: 2 (1916, 1965)
  • # of times the Dominican Republic has invaded the U.S.: 0
  • # of human beings massacred by U.S.-backed death squads in El Salvador and Guatemala during the 1980s: 180,000
  • # of human beings massacred by Salvadoran and Guatemalan-backed death squads in the United States: 0
  • # of human beings murdered by U.S.-backed fascist governments in Uruguay, Chile and Argentina in the 1970s as part of "Operation Condor": 32,000
  • # of human beings murdered by the states of Uruguay, Chile and Argentina in the United States in the 1970s as part of "Operation Condor:" 2
  • # of human beings killed by U.S.-client Suharto in Indonesia in 1965: 600,000
  • # of human beings killed by Suharto in the United States: 0
  • # of times the United States has invaded Iraq: 2
  • # of times Iraq has invaded the United States: 0
  • # of children who died as a consequence of American bombing of civilian targets – chiefly the water purification and sanitation system – and sanctions from the Gulf War to Operation Iraqi Liberation: 500,000
  • # of children who died at the hand of Saddam Hussein in the United States: 0
  • # of Americans killed in the horror of 9/11: 2,800
  • # of Afghan civilians killed after Operation Enduring Freedom began: over 4,000
  • # of Iraqis killed as a consequence of Operation Iraqi Freedom: anywhere from 100,000 and counting.
  • We're the biggest arms peddler in the world.

    Is that really the model Jesus left for Christians to follow after him? While Christianity may not imply de facto pacifism, no way was Jesus an advocate for war and violence.

    16 December 2006

    John Gambadoro and Mark Asher have decided to end their 10-year run as afternoon sportstalk-show hosts for KGME (910 AM)

    Gambadoro, Asher end 10-year run on XTRA 910

    10 years is an eternity in sports talk radio. A feat not to be shrugged at.

    The two made the announcement as they signed off the air Friday afternoon, saying they wanted to pursue other opportunities.

    After the show, Asher said the two had a clause in their contract that allowed them to opt out.

    “We just kind of felt it was time to move on and explore other options,” Asher said. “It was a very tough decision.”

    Maybe they just need a little break before dashing off to a competing station in the local market.

    Never was a big fan of Gambo and Ash show, but for a great while, they were the only game in town, for sports talk radio. Others come and go, but they've been etched in that weekday afternoon slot for what seemed to be a permanent basis.

    14 December 2006

    Thought Crimes

    Last weekend, I caught an MSNBC Dateline rerun featuring host Chris Hansen and Perverted-Justice's quest to crack down on internet sex predators. A decoy pretends to be underage prey, using internet chat applications to lure suitors with suggestive nicknames and provocative baiting like text messages. A rendezvous is established, and when the unsuspecting "target" arrives at the meeting spot, he's treated to a smorgasbord of hidden cameras shooting, after the decoy slinks away and excuses herself (or himself). Then, the smug network host pops out and flaunting his moral superiority, drills into the "perp" verbally, slinging rhetorical bullets that stymies the shocked visitor into stammer-land. The would be predator, once excused, quickly makes for an exit. However, waiting outside is a team of armed law enforcement that quickly seizes the distraught and humiliated wannabe lawbreaker. Finally, a liberal sprinkling of wrap up commentary heaps more indignation on the unsavory sort who now has been netted and seemingly headed to a destination where said transgressor can do harm more.

    Wait a second, there is no victim here. This is probably going to go down as a controversial assertion, and far be it for me to defend outright sin from unsavory individuals, but again, there is no victim here. I understand that legislation is crafted to term these acts of nefarious intent as "crimes", no matter if the victim is imaginary or real. I also recognize that for a sizable segment of these offenders, this may not be the first time they've set out to arrange such illegal sexual encounters. And I applaud the proactive tract to nab these guys before they do damage. However, with no real victim and for those who've only just begun to act out in these pursuits, harsh punitive measures may be overkill. Especially, when the same behavior in other cultures and countries is fair and legit (age of consent), and even in our country, going back a hundred years or so. Essentially, the arrested individual is stamped out of society, disproportionately punished, and tagged forever as a sex offender. A tad bit harsh for what truly is a crime of intent only. For many, that is an apt societal response — lock 'em up and throw away the key!

    More importantly, though, we're on that slippery slope of adjudicating thought crimes. What's next? Somebody who creates art or images that are construed as child pornography? Or novels with passages of text describing adolescent sexual trysts? What about somebody expressing a desire to blow up a building belonging to a major newspaper? Yes, I'm stretching here, but where exactly is the line drawn? Or am I making much ado over nothing?

    While on the topic of prisons, a note on our prison population that is exploding beyond comprehension — One out of every 32 adults in the U.S. now is behind bars, on probation, or paroled — a rate that far exceeds the totalitarian nation of China. And prisons, despite the advance of civilization, are far from centers of restoration and rehabilitation for the criminally minded. And as a Christian, I see nothing biblical about the role of prisons, other than vengeance to settle the score for wrongdoing. Like this guy, I think prison is a terrible idea:

    In the Bible, the only prisons are in the empires: Joseph in an Egyptian prison, John the Baptist in a Roman prison, Peter and Paul in Roman prisons.

    There was no prison system in Mosaic Israel. This was no accident. There were punishments in Mosaic Israel: restitution to the victim, whipping, and execution for certain crimes. But there were no prisons. Why not? Because there was no need. The criminal owed no debt to society.

    If a person stole and then got caught, he paid double restitution to his victims (Exodus 22:4). He did not owe anything to society. He had not committed a crime against society. He owed money to his victims.

    …dealing with men who may have committed theft. …able to offer them the following option, do you think they would take it?

    First, you can serve your time here. Second, you will be released tomorrow, on this basis: you will pay your victims 25% of everything you earn until you have paid twice the value of what you stole from them, plus interest. If you fail to pay or attempt to flee, you will be put back in here for twice your original term.

    I don't have to guess. I know what 99% of them would choose: option #1.

    Now think of the arrangement from the victim's point of view. He has two choices:

    (1) Pay his share of the $50,000 a year it takes to house the thief, or (2) get double his money back plus a tax refund for his share of the saved housing money for the remainder of the man's term.

    This decision is called a no-brainer.

    But today’s criminal justice system is results orientated, not justice orientated.

    13 December 2006

    Has Barry Young jumped the shark?

    "Why do you ask?" you ask. Well, seems that "Cruella Michella Buffy Lee" Larson — Young's producer and straight gal — is out of town on vacation this week. Yet she's still slogging through two full hours with the Mouth that Bored every day ... by telephone! Barry can't hang for even a week without her?

    I sincerely hope this marks the end of the end for the "Nearly Famous Barry Young," a news talk-talk show that's taken way too long to die. You'd have to search dilligently to find a bigger waste of Phoenix air time — indeed, of Phoenix air — than Barry Young.

    7 December 2006

    The Tech Guy

    Saturday afternoons for me are typically devoted to errand running, crisscrossing across town in the car, guided by checklists of weekly purchasing needs and dry cleaning or other articles to pick up. And for some reason, Saturday afternoon is the dedicated time slot for computer talk shows on the radio.

    On the surface, computer chit chat over the airwaves seems as exciting as standing in line at the grocery mart. But I suppose there's quite a bit of computer brokenness to be addressed, and no shortage of callers who need help in restoring their machines to an operational state.

    The two leading talk giants in the Valley, KTAR and KFYI both feature such programming fare in the same time range. Both offerings pale in comparison to one that airs in the Los Angeles market on KFI, at roughly the same time, but is available for download and as a podcast to subscribe to. But first, let me assess the choices available on the local radio dial, as this article is structured on a worse to best sequence.

    Data Doctors (KTAR 620 AM/92.3 FM, Sat 12-2p)

    The KTAR (620 AM, 92.3 FM) showpiece is Data Doctors, hosted by Ken Colburn and Brandon Disney. Colburn and Disney oversee a burgeoning empire, centered on, but not limited to, providing computer repair and data recovery services. They also provide networking setup and consultation. So they are indeed very qualified to speak on matters of broken PCs. However, that strength is offset by the notion that everything on the show is a reflection of that fact. Basically, broken PCs, dysfunctional software, virus and malware epidemics, networking problems is what the show is entirely centered upon. I rarely hear the positive side of technology, or coverage of alternative solutions that would strike out 80-90% of most user problems. Like getting a Mac. Alright, seriously, even coverage of "technology in general", like PDAs, cellphones, digital music players, etc.… If your only tool is a hammer, I guess everything looks like a nail. I am probably being a bit harsh here, but all the negatives, including the over-geeky sounding hosts far outweigh all the positives. The hosts are extremely knowledgeable, but that knowledge seems pigeon holed a narrow frame of Windows PCs, and even there, a fraction of that realm. And when I listen, I can't shake the feeling that the show is just a crafted public relations funnel to siphon ailing Windows users into their financial fold.

    The Data Doctors offer up podcasts of past shows as well as some other resources on their web site.

    Kim Komando Show (KFYI 550 AM, Sat 12-2p)

    Strange that the competing show just down the radio dial airs on tape delay, despite the fact that KFYI is the flagship station for the WestStar Network. Mrs. Komando is the wife of Valley KFYI 550 AM talk host Barry Young, or Mr. Komando. Mrs. Komando runs a lively, fast-paced show, and like the Data Doctors, is very knowledgeable about the subject matter, though her expertise is a more user centric variety. And, she doesn't sound like a nerd either. While callers are treated to an endless grab bag of software and hardware giveaways, the canned sound effects are tediously annoying. Unlike the Data Doctors show, Komando applies a wider scope and technology in general is apt to be covered as well as mundane PC issues.

    One thing not so polished about the Kim Komando Show is the crap-tacular nature of her website. Most of the stuff there is stashed behind a subscription based "Kim's Club" setup. Even queries for listing the radio stations and times requires one to enter an email and the response is e-mailed back to you, not displayed. There is a message board available there though.

    The Tech Guy (KFI 640 AM, Sat/Sun 11a-2p)

    Yes, I know, I can't receive Los Angeles broadcasts (at least during daytime) via a standard AM/FM radio. But I cannot write an article on computer radio shows without mentioning the best there is in this category. How Leo Laporte, the host, is not a household name, baffles me. Leo might be recognizable to some as the former host of the The Screen Savers, a show that aired on the now defunct cable television network TechTV.

    Leo Laporte is amazing, in both the breadth and depth of knowledge imparted to listeners. On top of that, he's affable, patient, and in possession of a wonderful radio voice. In the opening monologue of the show, Leo stresses that he covers the entire gamut of tech, from cell phones to digital cameras. Honestly, I am amazed at Leo's ability to field caller questions and problems. And even if he is unable to formulate a solution, or even complete diagnosis, he's always able to provide a resource that can answer the question or resolve the problem. Although Leo has forged sponsorships with vendors like Dell and others, he's straight up and assesses tech affairs on what he believes is best for the user. He is a fan of Macs and Mac OS X, but he'll champion any product he believes is a good deal for the user.

    The Tech Guy is just one piece of a podcasting empire that Leo is a the center of. Checkout twit.tv and you'll now see over a dozen podcast shows, each featuring a different flavor of tech. Shows on open source, Macs, Windows, gadgets, biotech, tech law, media tech, security, and my favorite, This Week in Tech are available for your listening pleasure or to point your iTunes (or other podcast capable software) to and subscribe.