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Here at News 4 we have a show called San Antonio Living that runs Monday - Friday, and it is geared toward women.
But this past Monday, they decided to have a "Man Episode" for once, and they asked all of us guys at the TV station to contribute a brief report from the "Man Perspective".
So I put together a short segment that has really resonated with men... in fact... they re-ran the piece in last night's sports report on News 4 WOAI at 10pm with Don Harris.
It all stems from an on-going debate between my lovely wife and I. She always gets angry at me because when she walks into the den and tries to tell me something while I'm watching football, or some other sporting event, I often don't catch some of what she says.
Sometimes, I don't even realize someone is talking to me because I'm so focused on the action.
Apparently, this is a common situation for many couples. So I put together a demonstration to help women read their man's "communication signals".
You see, football, like most sports, is comprised of short, 10-second spurts of action, surrounded by huge gaps of time when nothing is happening. During these ample lulls in the excitement, you can communicate with your man easily, and he'll catch every word.
The problem comes, in my opinion, when women don't take a moment to assess the situation before starting to talk. Look at the screen: are the guys in uniform running around? Are they poised at the line of scrimmage about to start running? Or are they just standing around talking between plays?
Ladies, you want to target the times when they are just standing around. If you just walk in and start talking in the middle of the play, your words will go unheard, no matter how important the message is. You see, DURING THE PLAY, your man enters what I call a "zone of concentration". It cannot be penetrated by anything, until the play is over.
I know, it sounds silly, maybe even cold, to some women. But let's turn the situation on its head.
If we walked into the den and tried to tell you something just as they were announcing the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, or the ultimate champion of the Dancing With The Stars Of The American Idol, we would get shoosh'd bigtime.
I have to say, women are usually more observant, but not when it comes to TV. I know when I have something to say to my wife that I want her to respond to, I don't march in during an episode of Grey's Anatomy and blurt it out. I check the screen first to make sure they aren't in the middle of some intense, cliff-hanger type scene.
You know, like the scene where the main, girl-doctor character is riding in the elevator with her head down and the elevator doors open, and the main, boy-doctor character is standing there and they lock eyes for a few seconds, utterly shocked that a co-worker at the same hospital would be using the same elevator, and they stare intensely at one another in awkward silence?
Wait... that scene is in every episode.
Anyway, the bottom line is, there would be harmony between the sexes if we all just waited for a commercial break, a time-out or the two minute warning, to talk to each other.
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Did you hear the story we had this morning on News 4 WOAI Today about the woman who dumped someone's cremated remains inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride?
Seriously, the Disney people actually shut down the attraction for a time because they saw this woman tossing out some kind of power, and they thought it might be harmful. They were unable to find the woman, and there wasn't enough of the powder left over to test, but they believe it was someone's ashes.
Someone she loved must have been really crazy about the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Or, maybe the deceased requested that their ashes be spread out into the REAL CARIBBEAN, and the woman just decided a trip to Anaheim was easier.
I'd love to know the real story behind that.
My father's ashes were dumped into the bay near the Golden Gate Bridge, because he worked in San Francisco for many years and loved that city.
Me, I would probably want to be spread out on the in-field at Dodger Stadium, since I've been a huge fan of that baseball team since childhood. That way, every time the ball takes a weird bounce in the Dodgers' favor, the announcer could blame it on "Avila's ashes".
My wife would definitely choose the Texas Hill Country, where she grew up.
And no, a ride at Fiesta Texas would not be an acceptable substitute.
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This morning on News 4 WOAI Today we reported that the FDA is considering a proposal to create a new class of drugs that your pharmacist could write you a prescription for, and you wouldn't need to go see the doctor.
The drugs would be long-term, recurring medications, like birth control pills, cholesterol drugs and migraine medication.
Part of me thinks that would be a great idea, because you wouldn't have to go through the hassle of scheduling a doctor appointment and forking over a visit co-pay, when all you want is to renew a prescription.
But the pessimist in me thinks it is a recipe for disaster, since the FDA, and the drug companies do such a horrible job of approving medications. You basically need a doctor supervising you if you so much as take an aspirin, because nobody has done unbiased testing to see what long term effects even the most common drugs have on a person.
Plus, with people taking so many drugs these days, don't you want a doctor monitoring for interactions?
I know, pharmacists are pretty good at that... many would say they are more qualified than MD's in that regard. I personally have had some really good experiences with pharmacists, who seem to pay very close attention to my orders.
A friend of mine joked that the pharmaceutical companies are behind this, because they think pharmacists will write way more prescriptions.
To which I replied that the pharmaceutical companies are probably against this proposal... it would create a whole new class of people for them to bribe with samples and cheesy notepads...
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These days it is getting tougher and tougher to find people willing to speak up when they witness wrong-doing.
Plenty of people are willing to complain about corruption or injustice, if they can remain anonymous, or if the wrong-doing has already been exposed, and the threat of speaking out no longer exists.
I'm talking about true whistle blowers, who despite the risk of being retaliated against, report dishonest or unfair behavior, provide proof, then stand behind their information no matter how many people try to get them to shut up.
Last night on News 4 WOAI at 10pm, we aired my investigation into a local school district accountant who appears to have been stealing from the special education fund, which is of course, taxpayer money.
So not only are students with special needs being denied that money which was supposed to go toward their education, hard working taxpayers who provided that money for the school district are also being taken advantage of.
Yet it might never have been uncovered, and the accountant might never have been stopped, if an eyewitness hadn't stepped forward, told us what was going on, and agreed to go on camera to explain the scheme.
In this case, the whistle blower was a young cashier at a book store. He had no connection to the school district, and no ax to grind against anyone who worked there.
He simply noticed that this school official had purchased about $10,000 worth of DVD's from the book store, and charged it all to the school district account. The DVD's included R-rated movies, heavy metal rock videos and Japanese animation, some of which was not recommended for young audiences due to violent or sexual content.
The book store employee also found the school officials behavior and comments to be suspicious, so he contacted the News 4 Trouble Shooters.
He stood nothing to gain from this, but he had witnessed something that didn't seem right and he decided to do something about it.
I can't tell you how rare and refreshing it is to have someone act like that... and it shouldn't be so unusual.
That book store employee wasn't the only one who witnessed what was going on, other workers at the store noticed as well. They had discussed it among themselves. But our tipster was the only one to take the initiative to stop it.
As I mentioned, I often get contacted by people who get upset one day and decide to "call the TV station" and rant about something that makes them angry. But they won't go on the record, identify themselves, stand behind their claims, etc...
In many cases, they stop cooperating with us once we start looking into the matter because they are afraid of what their family, co-workers, spouse, boss, doctor or school will say if they follow through.
Sometimes they decide not to go through with exposing something, because they are worried about appearing on television.
Of course, they are within their rights to change their mind, and let the matter drop.
But thank goodness there are courageous, people of integrity out there who refuse to stand by and let wrong-doing or corruption continue. They make my job easier, of course. But the important thing is, their efforts and strength lead to positive change.
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Wednesday morning on News 4 WOAI Today, we discussed a new survey by Men's Health Magazine, which never misses a chance to slam San Antonio for something. This time they rank us as one of the worst cities when it comes to drivers and car crashes.
We were talking about what factors might contribute to that, like all the construction around town, for example. But the one topic that really led to a heated debate, as it always does, was those freeway off-ramps that dump exiting drivers right on to the frontage road going highway speed.
Drivers who are already on the frontage road are instructed by signs to YIELD to these exiting drivers. But what exactly does that mean?
The situation seems pretty clear-cut if your car is perfectly even with the exiting vehicle, you just tap the brake a bit, let it outpace you, so it can ease into your lane directly in front of you.
But what if the exiting vehicle is a car-length... five car-lengths... or a full city block behind you, coming up fast? Do you have to slam on the brakes, or come to a complete stop, and WAIT for it to catch up to you, so you can then YIELD to it?
Or, is your duty to yield negated by the fact that you are in front of the exiting car, giving you the right of way, even if it does catch up to you a few seconds later and have to slow down slightly in order not to rear end you?
It is a no-win situation if you ask me.
If I come to a stop, or slow down to a crawl and wait for the exiting car to pull in front of me, I risk being rear ended by other drivers behind me on the frontage road, who weren't expecting me to do that, or who don't follow the same YIELD philosophy.
If I refuse to slow down or stop, I risk the wrath of the exiting driver, who is usually flying down the off-ramp in a huge truck, and is so offended and disgusted at my presumptuous failure to make way for him, that he immediately rides right up on my back bumper, while making intimidating hand gestures, and screaming so furiously at me that specks of spittle land on the inside of his windshield.
Shelly Miles and Leslie Bohl Jones, who are on the morning news with me, vehemently disagree on which is the correct course of action. Without getting too specific, one of them feels you most definitely SHOULD NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN for cars exiting the off-ramp if they are behind you, but you should instead hit the gas and show them who's boss of that frontage...
The other thinks it is your solemn duty to relinquish your lead, by braking and coming close to a stop if necessary, in order to YIELD to the privileged "off-ramp class", and maintain a harmonious pecking order on the frontage.
I now YIELD the floor to you, for your opinion on this.
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Tonight on News 4 WOAI at 10pm, we'll be airing our months-long investigation into "San Antonio's Worst Apartments".
We literally sorted through tens of thousands of city records, to find out which complexes have had the most violations in the past 3 years. The inspection records are pretty disgusting: sewer backups, rodent infestations, garbage left uncollected for months, water leaks, no air conditioning for days at a time in the summer heat, flies, etc...
Along the way I heard some pretty heart-breaking stories: a young woman trying to recover at home after abdominal surgery forced to do without working air conditioning all summer long. The result: months of misery in sweltering heat, which caused her wounds to became infected.
Another tenant with a young daughter suffering from asthma found herself in a leak-prone apartment where mold was covering the walls.
A couple moved into an apartment only to find the kitchen so infested with gnats, they have had to eat out for every meal. Even though they keep one of those bug zappers on the counter!
All of these apartment tenants claim they can't move, because the management won't let them out of their lease, without it costing them more money and damaging their rental record.
One thing you'll take away from our report: these problem properties are all over town, and they are not always easy to identify from the outside. Some look pretty good, but you have to talk to actual tenants to get the real story.
For those of you already dealing with a rental nightmare: make sure you keep paying rent, as unfair as it may seem, otherwise you will lose your rights! Put all your complaints in writing, including dates and who you talked to. If your case ever ends up in court, you will need written records.
We will also tell you how to find out how many code compliance complaints have been filed against your apartment complex. Hope you will watch!
Do you have an apartment nightmare? Click here to tell us about it...
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We've been talking about this for weeks on News 4 WOAI Today. The Colorado Rockies baseball team has made a gracious, compassionate gesture that should have all of us cheering for them to win the World Series.
Players voted to give a "playoff share" to the widow of Mike Coolbaugh, the San Antonio man who was a coach in the Rockies minor league system. Coolbaugh, you may remember, was killed when he was struck by a line-drive during a game this summer. He left behind a wife, Amanda, two young children, and a third child who is on the way.
Now his widow stands to get a cut of the special bonus money that the Rockies receive for making the playoffs and advancing to the World Series. According to the Denver Post, it could end up being as much as $362,000.
No amount of money can replace a father and a husband, but the move shows that the Rockies players have big hearts and care about Coolbaugh's family. Many of the team's biggest stars are young players, who were in the minor leagues not long ago, knew Coolbaugh, and benefitted from his advice and coaching.
To top it off, the Rockies have been huge underdogs. The team surprised a lot of people by even making the playoffs. Now they've become the Cinderella team of October, winning every playoff game so far.
I am a huge L.A. Dodger fan, as most people who watch the morning news already know. My Dodgers are in the same division as the Rockies, so I should be the last person rooting for them to do well.
But I have been pulling for them and will continue to, both because of what they are doing for Mrs. Coolbaugh, and because it is nice to follow an uplifting sports story, when there haven't been many this year.
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If I walked up to you and said, "Great news! You just won an Oscar!", you would no doubt give me a funny look, and either wait for a punchline or wait for me to figure out I have the wrong person. You wouldn't take me seriously for a second.
Do you know why? You aren't an actor, or a member of the academy, you haven't been in a film and you have never been nominated.
Same if I told you that you had won the U.S. Open or the Tour de France. You can't be the winner because you didn't participate. Simple common sense.
So why are so many of you contacting the Trouble Shooters here at News 4 WOAI... asking whether that letter or e-mail you just received, congratulating you for winning an over-seas lottery or sweepstakes, is legitimate?
These scams are absolutely overloading the internet and the postal system right now. Why? Because they are working! People are falling for it! The government just confiscated thousands of bogus checks that were being sent out to people across the country as lures in these ridiculous scams.
There are many variations, but basically the scheme goes like this: the letter claims you have won a huge amount of money, say $2 million, and it comes with what looks like a check for a much smaller amount, usually around $5,000.
The letter says the $5,000 has been deducted from your winnings to pay for taxes and entry fees, and all you have to do is deposit the 5K into your bank account, then send them back a smaller amount, like $2,500 to cover those taxes and fees, and once they receive that from you, they can release your $2 million prize.
Of course, people who follow those instructions find out a few days later that the bogus $5,000 check has bounced, but the check they sent back to the scammers for taxes and fees has been cashed and is gone forever. The $2 million dollar prize never existed.
First off, doesn't it seem the least bit odd that an organization with $2 million to give away would need you to dish out some money up front first?
And isn't it a bit backward to send you a check, have you run it through your account, then send a check back to them?
But as I pointed out, the biggest red flag of all is the simple fact that YOU DIDN'T ENTER ANYTHING! HOW CAN YOU BE A WINNER?
Still, the lure of coming into sudden, unexpected riches is so strong, normally intelligent, critical thinking people find themselves thinking, "Maybe this is legit. Maybe I was entered into a sweepstakes automatically when I bought something, and I just don't remember. Maybe they did just go through the phone book and select my name at random...".
Sure... and maybe I'll pick up an Oscar next year for Best Supporting Actress.
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 As most of you know, if you watch News 4, or visit WOAI.COM, yesterday we had live coverage of the funeral for San Antonio Police Detective Mario Moreno, who was killed while working on an undercover sting one week ago. We also streamed the funeral live on the website.
Leslie Bohl Jones and I anchored the coverage, along with David Cruz who was reporting from outside the church. I've had similar assignments in the past, but they always make me apprehensive, because I worry about saying or doing anything that might take away from the significance and the dignity of the occasion.
We've all been to funerals for friends and loved ones, and had that awkward feeling when talking to surviving family members, even if you know them well. You want to be comforting and respectful, while avoiding any comments that might add to their suffering. You want to be uplifting, without seeming flippant.
Now imagine doing that delicate balancing act on live television for 2 hours. Adding to the pressure was the fact that Mario Moreno, by all accounts, was the type of man who deserved the most respectful of tributes. An outstanding father, husband and community servant.
You want to do right by him, his family and his closest friends at the police department.
I felt relieved this morning, when I came in and read an e-mail from one of Detective Moreno's co-workers at SAPD, who said many of the officers who were on duty and unable to attend the funeral watched it on our station and our website. It was a very important occasion to them, and they were able to feel a part of it.
Another viewer who was not in law enforcement left a phone message thanking us for carrying the funeral live because it made her feel like she knew Moreno and his family, and gave her an opportunity to pay her respects, although not in person.
There will always be some who feel such events do not belong on television or the internet. But if we broadcast the funerals of presidents and other dignitaries, why not give the same honor to a man who was born in San Antonio, and spent his adult life protecting this city?
Anchoring that funeral was a difficult and humbling job, but when I think of what Mario Moreno's job required of him, I feel embarassed to even have mentioned it.
Click here to comment...
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We've all seen people walking around with a bunch of tattoos, or maybe body piercings, and thought, "they may think it looks cool now, but wait until they try to get an office job, or worse yet, wait until they get older and start losing the battle with gravity... they'll wish they no longer had those droopy, wrinkly tattoos!".
But now there is another possible down-side to body decoration, that may confront tattoo and piercing enthusiasts.
Last night on NEWS 4 WOAI AT TEN, I did a story about a San Antonio couple that was not allowed to rent an apartment because the complex has a policy banning tattoos, and the husband has several of them on his arms.
The tattoos do not depict obscene images, profanity or gang symbols. But they do cover his entire forearms, and are thus visible when he wears short sleeves.
The apartment complex, The Villas at Medical Center, prohibits tattoos that are visible on the neck or head, or that cover 40% of the upper/lower arm. It has also banned eyebrow and tongue piercings, more than one stud/ring in the nose, or having more than five earrings. Oh, I almost forgot, you can't wear those "Grillz" things over your teeth. (I have to say I agree with that last one, I support a nationwide ban on those dumb things.)
But the tattoo issue struck me as interesting. Even if you are not a fan of body art, most people are surprised that it's not illegal to ban tattoos at an apartment complex. The couple told me they feel it is discrimination based on personal appearance.
When we checked with fair housing officials with the city and the federal government, however, they told us it is not considered discrimination, unless the tattoos somehow have religious or racial significance. It may be unfair, but rejecting prospective tenants because of tattoos or piercings is not illegal.
The apartments are owned by a California family that invests in complexes in San Antonio, Dallas, and other cities. They don't like talking about it, but they told me the tattoo policy is enforced at all their properties.
Might we see more landlords adopt such policies?
Something to consider the next time you add the name of your current girlfriend/boyfriend to the canvas that is your body.
Or else be sure to wear a long-sleeve turtleneck when apartment shopping.
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This morning on NEWS 4 WOAI TODAY, we talked about how a recent study found only 77% of men and women in America wash their hands after every visit to the restroom.
They estimate the percentage is lower for men, and I have to agree based on what I have "heard" in public restrooms over the years.
Come on, we all do it... we listen to see if that other person who is on the way out, is going to stop and wash up before leaving. I would estimate that 50% of men do not.
While it doesn't rise to the level of running a red light or smoking on an airplane, there's just no excuse for this.
I don't care how brief , or "uncomplicated", your stay was in the restroom, you need to take 20 seconds and mix in some soap and water.
Being in a hurry doesn't get you a pass either. No football game, phone call or occupational responsibility is so urgent that you can't delay it for a few moments while you do some quick manual sanitizing.
I anchor a 2 hour morning newscast, while drinking lots of coffee and water, and the commercial breaks average about 2 minutes. There have been times when I sprint back to the news set while patting my hands dry with a towel, and barely make it in time to read the next story, but I don't skip the sink routine... ever.
I'm one of those people who, on occasion, if the restroom is kind of messy, will use a paper towel as a barrier so I don't have to touch the door handle on the way out, after washing my hands.
Now, after reading about this survey, I feel like I should use the paper towel whenever I shake hands with someone. If they act insulted, I could tell them about the survey, and tell them that you never know, I could be part of the 23% who don't wash their hands, so I'm really protecting them.
It would cut down on colds and other illnesses as well.
Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go pour some bleach on my keyboard.
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One of the cool things about being an investigative/consumer reporter is that you get to "test out" many of the suspicions that we all have as consumers.
We put cameras inside a car and ran it through area car washes to see if employees rifle through your interior looking to steal things. Sure enough, most of them did. We caught one guy lifting $40 out of our wallet and $5 from under the mat.
Another time we went through the shelves at area grocery stores to see if we could find old food still for sale long after the expiration date. We found grocery carts full of stuff, some of it months old, that had the potential to make you really sick.
Our carpet cleaning investigation caught crews on camera stealing money, short-changing us on the cleaning job, even poking through our refrigerator.
Last year we cut open what was supposed to be a brand new mattress, and found so much hair, mold and stained padding, that it was obvious we had been sold a used mattress, which had been slept on for years.
What have I learned from doing all these stories: trust that uneasy feeling you get when you let someone into your home or car to perform a service. Check expiration dates. Check receipts. Look at your doctor's disciplinary record with the State Board of Medical Examiners. Ask lots of questions, pay attention and watch closely.
Human nature being what it is, you can't just take for granted that someone will treat you fairly and honestly.
That's not being pessimistic. That's being a smart, aware consumer.
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Today we ran the shocking story that a flavoring used on microwave popcorn has been linked to lung disease.
Conagra, the world's largest producer of microwave popcorn, now says it will stop using Diacetyle to simulate the flavor of butter.
As a rule, if I can't pronounce something, it can't be good... and I don't want it on my popcorn.
Here's a question: why not just use butter in the first place?
Remember when butter was portrayed as an evil, hurtful food? We were told to eat margarine and all kinds of chemical imitations, that as it turned out, were worse for us than the real thing!
I read a story about 2 months ago where some researchers tested butter, and discovered that when you put it on vegetables, something about that combination actually increases the health benefits of the veggies!
So please... corporate America... quit covering our food in "healthier, easier alternatives" to things that were already good.
We shouldn't need an oxygen mask after munching on a bag of popcorn.
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Last night on News 4 WOAI at 10pm, I did a story about how the latest batch of math textbooks the state is buying contains hundreds of ridiculously simple errors. [related story]
On top of that, we learned NO ONE with the state goes through these books line-by-line, looking for errors in order to have them corrected before the books reach the classroom.
We are talking about books students from kindergarten through 5th grade will begin using next fall, and that the state of Texas is paying more than $114,000,000 for!
Under the current system, a group of volunteers, mostly teachers and administrators, is given 1 WEEK to look over the books for any problems. These volunteers use their vacation time to do this, and they perform a great service.
But when we interviewed volunteers who looked at the math books, most admitted that 1 week was barely enough time to make sure the books covered TAKS test material, which was their first priority.
Most told us they had little or no time to scan for any factual errors or typos, except for the ones they stumbled across. So the books could contain many more errors than the 464 they made note of.
The Texas Education Agency, which seems eager to defend the textbook publishers, says between now and August 2008, when these books go into the classrooms, no one else will be checking for additional mistakes.
The books have been made available to individual school districts, but the districts too are mainly looking to see which books do a better job of covering TAKS material.
Bottom line: unless a group of parents, teachers or students decides on its own to make a thorough, page-by-page examination of these books, looking specifically for misspelled words, incorrect math and typos, it won't happen.
The TEA says don't worry; the publishers will probably do another check for accuracy before giving us the final versions of the books next year.
Isn't that kind of like letting a student, who already failed a test, grade his own paper the next time? Click here to comment...
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Our most outrageous video today came from Philadelphia, where a TV news reporter knocked on the door of a man accused of committing a crime, hoping to interview him.
He came to the door wearing a robe, (there's the first red flag), and asked gruffly, "Is that camera on?". When the reporter said yes, he opened his robe wide to reveal his completely uncovered man-suit, and snarled, "That's what I think of TV news!".
Hilarious TV moment! We showed it twice on News 4 WOAI Today. Click here to watch it.
Now I realize accused criminals are often not the brightest people, but think for a moment about his motivation for flashing that reporter: He obviously didn't want to be on the local news. Perhaps he thought by exposing his naked body, which can't be shown on broadcast television, he would force the reporter to cut him out of the story. At the same time he could show his disdain for the news.
Instead, the local station simply blurred-out the man's naked body from the chest down, and if he wasn't the lead story before the confrontation, you better believe he led the newscast after his little stunt.
Not only that, he guaranteed himself even more "coverage", pardon the pun. Now, TV stations outside Philadelphia, like ours, will be showing the clip of this idiot exposing himself. Not to mention network newscasts, blooper shows and YouTube.
My point is this: flashing a news crew, cursing at them or taking a swing at the camera never works, infact it has the opposite effect. It just results in your being on TV even more than you would have if you had politely asked the reporter to leave you alone.
Maybe some of the lesser-known presidential candidates who can't afford TV commercials, should hold their news conferences in the nude, and maybe attack the cameras in the front row.
Wait a minute... I've seen what all the candidates look like. Forget the nude part.
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