Q2 Photographer IS Batman!!

Wednesday started out as any ordinary day... 3:45 AM tired and getting ready to add birthdays to the rundown for Montana this Morning. EXCEPT... all of a sudden as I walk to the receptionist desk to get the birthday book... I WAS ATTACKED BY A BAT! I screamed (Of Course!!) and ran to Director Rob Monaco. The Bat continued to dive bomb (yes in the Q2 building!) and Chief Photographer Paul Humphrey caught the Bat IN HIS HANDS and released it! Crazy Man!!!

I think this should be Me, Paul and Rob

Q2 Engineer Extrodinaire flies the Coop!

Another vital Q2 staffer Don Popelka is flying the coop here at Q2.

Don is our engineer extraordinaire and has accepted a job in Cutbank with Northwestern Energy as their telecommunications technician.

Don moved to Billings with his family three years ago and hit the ground running doing ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING for that time.

When I say everything... I mean it!

Since he is an engineer.... we take advantage of his MANY talents including, helping us convert to non-linear editing, transmitter up-keep and repair as well as camera and editing repair!!

PLUS.... the WEIRD non-engineering things: fixing toilets and door knobs.. but he says the grossest thing he has ever had to do is "fish" a three foot rat (nose to tail) out of a toilet up at the transmitter tower!! GROSS

BBBUUUTTTT..... the most non-job related thing Don has been asked to do at Q2 is FIX MY BROKEN NECKLACES!!!

Here he is saudering one of my many necklaces I begged him to put back together!

Richie tried to help but he did it all himself!

and this is no set up... While I was watching Jon fix my necklaces and taking his pictures (he really didn't like the whole picture taking/ interviewing process :) TRAFFIC REPORTER JON ARNESON asked if Don could fix his STOP WATCH!!

We don't know what were going to do without you Don!!

Q2 Employee Spreads His Wings!

KTVQ Newscast Assistant/News Department Internet Guru Kyle Rickhoff is leaving Q2 to work at the Billings Gazette. Kyle has been working at Q2 since he was 16... That's a lot of time at Q2. He started as a Newscast Assistant and worked his way up to the Lead Newscast Assistant... then Newsroom Internet Director. He is best known for his "vault" series where he takes viewers behind the scenes and BACK YEARS!!

These are pictures of Kyle and I one day last winter (about 4 hair cuts ago!!) when we showed up to work with the same outfit on!! It was a pretty funny day and Q2 Production staffer Rick Dunn thought it would be funny to take pictures... to me it just looks like siblings at Christmas with the matching outfits!!

Congratulations on your New Job Kyle... We sure are going to miss you and your cookey (lift up your shirt and dance) behavior in the newsroom!

Rob says the Newsroom will never be the same without the "Yellow Dart"!!

Good Luck...We'll Miss you!

Can't wait for the going away party!

America's Next Top Model Tryouts-- BILLINGS EDITION

The Beautiful girls came out on Saturday afternoon for their chance to represent Montana at the Billings Casting call for the CW's America's Next Top Model!
I had a tough job (believe me it WAS hard) along with Big J from Hot 101.9 FM and Rory from Fitness 19... Here's a look at the big event:

Between Big J and Rory from Fitness 19 (with a guest appearance by Q2's top models Dennis Lyle and "Pac Ten" Bill Ohlson in the background!)

Jennifer Johnson (Sales Extrodinaire) planned the event and is helping one girls dream come true!

Almost twenty girls waited until it was their turn to pose, catwalk and answer some tough judges questions (I don't even know how I would answer some of those questions) all while the audience looked on and cameras and lights were in place to get all of the action on camera!

OUR TOP THREE! Jessica from Cody, Wyoming (on the left) was our big winner and will get to meet with a casting director for the popular show... she said she is willing to do ANYTHING to represent Montana and Wyoming....Hopefully we'll be able to see a hometown girl on the show coming up very soon... Keep your fingers crossed!

A "Foreward" Message you'll WANT to check out!

I really don't like getting forwarded e-mail messages unless they are REALLY REALLY worth the time to read them... but usually when I see the title of the message as:

Fwd. FWD: Fwd FWd Check this out... pass it on!

I dont even open them... until my MOM sent me this one.... I think these are the coolest things and have even tried some out myself:

Some interesting hints and stuff to know about. Especially the thing about bread at the bottom.

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair. (interesting!)

2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish (gotta try this!)

3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes (what about beer and cool whip together?!?)

4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair (Beer, cool whip and MAYONNAISE...sounds like a good Saturday night for me ;)

5.Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any (kinda gross!)

6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea (If you don't drink your full glass....just dump your leftovers on your hair!)

7. Sunburn - empty a large size Ne stea into your bath water (that's A LOT of Tea!)

8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste (I've used toothpaste on zits... not burns)

9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!

10. Arthritis WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too (mmm...nothing smells better than spraying some automotive grease on ya!)

11. Bee stings - meat tenderizer (I think my Mom used to put Baking Soda on me!)

12. Chigger bite - Preparation H

13 Puffy eyes - Preparation H (Tried it!.. kinda weird but it works!)

14. Paper cut - crazy glue or Chap Stick...glue is used instead of suture at most hospitals

15. Stinky feet - Jello! (for some reason the the smell of stinky cherry feet comes to mind)

16. Athletes feet - cornstarch

17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub

18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff.. TRIED IT... it works!)

19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!

20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper (need to try this!)

21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray

22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands!? Keep a can in your garage for all your projects

23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls

24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on

25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar ! (like Director Rob Monaco says... this is just going to keep people FURTHER away from you!)

26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!

27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak (and HOPE it doesn't rain...right??)

28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years! (I have heard this one before)

29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!

30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste

31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.

32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel. (Q2 Sports Richie Melby spilled an ENTIRE BURNING RED CANDLE FULL of wax on the ground at his old apartment... wonder if he used this trick!!!)

33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!

34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also, you can use 2 Efferdent tablets, soak overnight!

35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!

36. Dirty grout - Listerine

37. Stains on clothes - Colgate

38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup

39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries! (wonder if Diet Coke works just as well.. if so..Rob just think about what this is doing to your insides!)

40. Fleas in your carpet 20 Mule Team Borax - sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours.

41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox! , or 2 Bayer aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.

AND THIS IS ONE I THINK COULD REALLY HELP YOU OUT AT THE GROVERY STORE:

42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Each day has a different color twist tie. They are:

Monday = Blue

Tuesday = Green

Thursday = Red

Friday = White

Saturday = Yellow

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue Green - Red - White - yyellow , Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in t he grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors.

You learn something new everyday! Betchya you'll try at least one of these helpful hints!

LONG week!

Its been a LONG WEEK for me... and even though I have only had a four day week.... it seems like it has been a 15 day week! Just wanted to share with you how I got through the last few hours of my week! Thanks to the amazing Q2 Photographer Jesse Kester... I finished up the day with a nice shoulder massage! Lets just say this NEVER happens... its worth the try to talk highly about it and see if it can happen on a REGULAR Basis!!

Heres another way we like to relax at Q2... in the back of a truck...on a love seat...in the Q2 parking lot... with some of my favorite people (Q2's Richie Melby and Jesse Kester) AHH How much better can it get :)

Relay For Life A Huge Success

Hello everyone, Q2's Richie Melby blogging at ya on this Monday. With Jennifer being gone I figured I should step up to the plate and let you all know what's going on at KTVQ. On Friday night myself along with fellow Q2ers Kyle Rickhoff, Jesse Kester, Pam Hofferber, Katie Schwend, and Katrina Heser (along with her little sister Karen) headed out to the Relay for Life at West High School. The event raises money for the American Cancer Society and this year it brought in $656,450 which is almost $11,000 more than last year! It was amazing to see the support that the community put forth. It was especially emotional during the Survivor Lap to see all of those individuals who have overcome the disease walk around the track as proof that there is hope in the fight against cancer. With every dollar the American Cancer Society receives researchers are that much closer to finding a cure.

Here at Q2 we went around asking you for Your Stories and why you were walking in the Relay For Life. Photographer Jesse Kester(Jesse is in the orange-->) edited a brilliant piece from the interviews we did so if you haven't checked that out make sure to take a look. It was touching to hear from you about your personal experiences with the Relay for Life and the fight against cancer so thanks to everyone who was willing to share!

All in all the Relay for Life was a HUGE success because of all of you that came out and took the time for such a worthy cause. It's nice to see members of the community come together and show that we are determined in finding a cure for such a terrible disease. Hope to see you all and more again next year!

-Richie

Interesting Gifts...

Every so often we get interesting gifts from viewers.... take these gifts I received from Wendell Wilson at the Kum & Go in the Heights this morning.

This is a stool sample....

Montana's First Fly Fishing

and the Norweigan Excercise Bloc... step one: place block on the ground... Step 2: walk around it twice... step 3: sit down and rest... now you have just walked around the block two times!!

THEN.... Someone sent me this pen during the Obama/Clinton days.... it really does laught just like Hillary... can you better believe i pushed that button a million times the first time I received it!

COURTNEY HANSON SAYS HI FROM HAWAII!!!! CAN YOU SEE HER?!?!?

Q2's RICHIE MELBY ON THE ROAD....

One of my favorite people... Q2's Richie Melby is on the road with internet extrodinaire Kyle Rickhoff brining us some AWESOME coverage!

They are following the Billings Mustangs on a two city tour... before bringing them back to the Magic City for their home opener IN THE BRAND NEW DEHLER PARK Tuesday~ If you were watching the coverage this morning you would have seen highlights from last nights game AND Richie in his hotel room (YES LADIES! ANOTHER REASON TO WATCH THE NEWS! :) and read HIS blog!!!

Let him Know you love his coverage! Have a great weekend I'm off to a wedding in Buffalo Wyoming..... see you next week!

~Jennifer

CHECK OUT THE MUSTANGS SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON...SEE YOU AT THE NEW BALLPARK!