When I plug my iPod in to my computer, every song I've listened to is "scrobbled", that is submitted at the website last.fm where it tracks the artists I'm listening to, suggests similar artists, and creates a radio station based on my tastes.

It comes as no surprise this week that Michael Jackson is the most played artist on the site (and people's iPods) this week.

Top Artists and Top Tracks Charts – Last.fm

The chart shows this past week he had twice the number of listeners of the closest acts (Radiohead, Coldplay, and The Beatles).

And of the top ten songs played for the week, only two aren't Michael Jackson songs. For the record, "Billie Jean", and "Beat It" are the top two. You have to go to #247 to find a Kanye West song or #321 to find U2.

Family Force 5 Honors Michael Jackson's Thriller

Family Force 5 Honors Michael Jackson's Thriller, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

Soul Glow Activatur wears his "Thriller" shirt. And if you notice, his guitar has a Michael Jackson sticker on it too. This was from Cornerstone 2006.

Hooker for Jesus Founder Marries Christian Rocker

Whitecross & Oz Fox of Stryper, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

So Sara was sitting in the other room, checking out the headlines on CNN.com when this one caught her eye.

"Hookers for Jesus founder, Christian rocker wed in Vegas"
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/05/nevada.prostitute.wedding/index.html

Of course she had to tell me that, and I had to know who the Christian rocker was. I think I'm pretty well versed in Christian rock, and thought there was a good chance it would be a name I'd known.

Sure enough, it's none other than Oz Fox of Stryper. He's the one on the left who can still pull off the '80s metal hair.

Anyway, a former prostitute turned Christian who runs a ministry known as Hooker for Jesus married the Stryper lead guitarist this weekend.

Haleakala National Park

Haleakala National Park, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

Yesterday was the highlight of our Hawaii vacation for me. The one place I really wanted to go was Haleakala National Park. Now that I'm picking up on my Hawaiian language, I can tell you I think it's pronounced Holly-call-uh.

It's a massive volcano. No, you won't see any fiery lava steaming in the pit, but it's still spectacular. You get views you normally only see on an airplane. You see these huge clouds everywhere. Unfortunately, the cloud cover didn't give us a very good view of sunset, but if you're going to Maui, definitely check it out!

Surfer

Surfer, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

So we were posing for a photo when this guy walked right past us. Since he interrupted, I didn't feel bad snapping a few frames of him with his surf board.

Why I Twitter

Twitter's @ev at University of Nebraska, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

It's how I found out a plane had safely crash-landed in the Hudson. And how Lance Armstrong recovered a missing bike. CNN uses it to report breaking news.

And chances are you're sick of it.

So what's the deal with Twitter?

I like to say it's not blogging, but it's not instant messaging or email either. It fills some other void. Recently I had a chance to talk with Evan Williams, the Nebraska native who founded Twitter (and blogger.com before that).

But do you really want to know what Ashton Kutcher had for lunch? Celebrities have certainly gotten on the bandwagon. But so have a lot of normal folks.

Here are a few reasons I like it:

1. It allows someone to quickly and easily broadcast a short message to their "followers." Sometimes I'll post a link to a story I've done, or send a short blurb known as a "tweet" about some news item. On election night, I posted updates from the campaign headquarters of a US Senate candidates. That's useful, and I could get tweets out more often than I could on the air.

2. Networking. I've corresponded with the weekend anchor of ABC's World News. A lot of the people I follow are in the field of journalism, so I see what stories they're working on and how they approach them.

3. Solicit feedback. I might tweet that I'm going to be talking to the governor, and ask folks for subjects I might want to cover. Take advantage of what other people know.

4. It's not Facebook. You won't get invitations to join someone's "mob war" or take a quiz. And you won't read one of those "25 Things About Me" lists. If you like the status updates in Facebook, you'll like Twitter. That part is similar. But without all the other stuff.

5. Someone can follow you without you following them. On sites like Facebook and MySpace, you "friend" someone. With Twitter, if someone chooses to follow you, you don't automatically follow them back. For the twitterati like Ashton Kutcher, they might have 500,000 followers, but only follow 500 themselves. So you only follow the people you find interesting.

But there are some arguments against Twitter.

1. Some users think a little too highly of themselves. Those with a big ego will let you know how great they are.

2. The site itself is down a lot. As Twitter explodes, the site hasn't scaled well. A lot of folks don't use it on Twitter.com but rather from a dedicated Twitter app.

3. It's not Facebook. Posting pictures requires a third party app.

4. It can be a huge time suck. You can't be on all the time. And it's super annoying when you see ten messages in a row from the same person. That's a good way for me to unfollow someone.

All that said, follow me at twitter.com/stevewhitenews.

And expect another post on my blog soon with comments from Ev Williams' recent visit to Nebraska, as he talked about monetizing the site, rumors of selling to Google, and where he sees Twitter going.

Fire Foam Test

Fire Foam Test, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

I have seen the foam and it is wet.

Literally months of work and patience paid off today. More than five years ago, the National Guard picked Grand Island for a helicopter base.

First, it was going to have Apaches, then it became Chinooks. They did the design, but didn't have money for construction. Then the weather slowed things.

Chinooks are monstrous machines. I mean massive. Just huge. I understand why they're the army's heavy lifting workhorse.

Two years ago they broke ground on a 70,000+ square foot building to hold them.

Since then, I've done occasional stories on the progress. I mean, it is an almost $18 million building with 41 full time employees and room for up to 300 soldiers.

It was supposed to be done by December. I called probably November to do a story, but it wasn't ready yet. I've been checking back every few weeks since then.

I learned they had installed a fire suppression system where they were using that fire fighting foam stuff. I knew that was my opportunity.

But it's been delayed time and time again.

Today it all paid off. Here's you see the foam spraying down. I'll post a link to the video later. In about 90 seconds, the hangar filled with enough foam to put out the fire. It was pretty sweet!

Paul Harvey - 1918 - 2009

Paul Harvey - 1918 - 2009
Standby for news!

One of the pioneers of broadcasting, and a personal hero of mine has died.

Paul Harvey had been on the air nationally since 1951. He was 90.

I have fond memories of sitting at my grandparents' house in Iowa, enjoying a noon lunch at the kitchen table with Paul Harvey giving us his "news and comment."

Later, as a broadcaster myself, I'd listen to his reports to inform my own. Joe High, a photographer I worked with for several years and I would often plan our lunch breaks around Paul Harvey. And if the local station preempted him, we had a list of other stations we could catch him on.

He was known for his unique delivery, full of pauses, and the terrific story telling of his son, who wrote his popular "Rest of the Story" features. His wife, affectionately known as Angel produced his programs. She passed away last year.

He did his own ads, and how effective they were. It's been said he would only endorse products he himself used. And I'm sure his 25 million listeners were more than kind to his advertisers.

He spent time in Oklahoma and St. Louis before spending most of his life in Chicago, not New York or LA.

In many ways, he was the radio voice of middle America. He was a broadcaster not afraid to share his Christian faith, as he often did in this Lenten season, when he'd share the story of the man and the birds, a modern parable about Jesus.

It always struck me to hear how he wore not only a a shirt and tie, but a full suit on the radio, saying it made him stay on top of his game. I respect that.

It's been said he's the most listened to broadcaster in radio history.

He'd often close his program with a "kicker" -- a funny story that he himself would often chuckle at. Sometimes you'd hear the pregnant pauses as he either drew out the suspense, or held back his laughter. And always he ended with a hearty "Good Day!"

And now you know the rest of the story.

Muzak to be heard not listened to

"Music to be heard but not listened to --a new kind of music whose vitalizing influence subliminally satisfies the desire for sweet music."

So says an article in the KHOL-TV (now KHGI) Telecaster of August 15, 1960.

The headline reads "Muzak Music Emblem Symbolizes Quality."

Of course, now the headlines say "Muzak Files for Bankruptcy" -- just check out the links on Google News.

As synonymous as Muzak is with "elevator music" and soulless, bland background music, it's hard to think of a time when some wouldn't play pop music in their stores because it was too "irritating" (keep reading). But now we're bombarded with the likes of Lil' Wayne, Soulja Boy, and (shudder) Nickelback when we're grabbing a sandwich or shopping for trash bags.

Continuing in the 1960 promotional piece, it says "Muzak is functionally planned and specially recorded music that soothes nervous tensions and fosters the friendly feelings of customers and employees alike."

"Muzak dose not require active listening. It filters the irritating noises of the modern age. Customers feel better, more relaxed and more congenial when they're surrounded by Music by Muzak."

U2 opened the Grammys tonight, even if they aren't up for any awards until next year.

Nearly five years ago, I blogged by favorite U2 songs.

Now here's another try, probably much the same. Let's see how things change (or stay the same). In no particular order:

Until the End of the World
Beautiful Day
40
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Please
North and South of the River (favorite non-album track by far)
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
With or Without You
Desire
All I Want is You
Yahweh
City of Blinding Lights

U2 single most likely to skip: Stuck in a Moment

Other songs I can't quite put on my list but I would like to: The Fly, Mysterious Ways, One, Elevation, Vertigo, Walk On, Lemon, Stay, Pride.

Song I hope U2 closes their last ever show with: 40. No question about that one.

Lesser known songs I really like: Lady with the Spinning Head, Gone, When Love Comes to Town, Mofo, Dirty Day (Junk Day mix), Acrobat, Lemon

I do like the new single, Get On Your Boots. It's growing on me. I've been especially feeling the bass line. I think I was so caught up by the lyrics / delivery and guitar part to think about the bass part, but I like it more on each passing listen.