End of an Radio Era
Mark Stevens & Jim Pruett - Radio Gawds
Last week, Mark Stevens of Stevens and Pruett – Radio Gawds from 101 KLOL, left this Earth. WOW – what an end to an era. Those of us that have lived in Houston in the late 70′s and 80′s (40ish), grew up with these guys. Even though I’ve always listened to country music, I always woke up to those clowns and listened to them when I was getting ready for school OR on the way to the pool. Coach Nelson, Klein High School swim coach in the 1980′s, listened to Stevens & Pruett on the deck during morning practices. Can I just say – that would NOT be allowed on any campus anywhere now. MAYBE college. HA!
They were bawdy, gross, suggestive……to me, they were the Howard Stern of Houston radio. They were hilarious. I remember being shocked. I remember wondering what on earth they were talking about. I’m not really sure my parents knew I was listening to them. Right after we got married, Gary and I got an invitation to the Stevens & Pruett “Holiday Ball” – one of the “Leather and Lace” Balls. We said, “SURE!” Boy – was I NOT prepared for that one. Fresh out of A&M, I had blinders on. I’m pretty sure some of my friends would say that I still do. I wore a really cute, black-n-white, gingham check short formal. One of the girls we went with…….well, let’s just say, had VERY interesting view of “formal.” This was a BLACK (being the operative) tie event. She wore the Victoria’s Secret body stocking with a blazer over it. ONLY a blazer. I guess I was a bit over dressed. I saw things that night that support the comment, “I grew up with Stevens & Pruett.”
As luck would have it, we are TOTALLY blessed with awesome neighbors one of our neighbors just happened to be Jim Pruett’s son. What a hoot! Just a calmer, fly-under-the-radar, version of Jim. I remember the day our oldest came home from Jim’s son’s house and said, “I just shot guns with Sam’s granddad.” We just stopped and said, “What?” At this time we did not know that Jim Pruett owns a gun store in Houston called “Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo” – over off 290 in Houston. They’ve just moved into a new location and are currently planning a Grand Opening of sorts. Will keep you posted on dates.
This Houston gun store has personality plus. Just like Jim. With barbed wire decorating the walls and all the guns hung on chain link fencing for your viewing pleasure, it’s totally worth a visit. The staff is entertaining to say the least, and incredibly knowledgeable on your gun and ammunition needs. They even have an on site gunsmith that can handle just about anything. Jim has collected quite a few military “antiques” and has them displayed in his “museum” of sorts and LOVES to tell you about them.
Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo has all makes and models of guns, including military style weapons. He boasts the tag-line, ” Your Anti-Terrorist Headquarters.” Upon visiting the store the first time, and meeting the staff, one thing was very evident. They are all about safety. While everyone has to fill out the required gun permit, they have another questionnaire on top of the required one. Another statement that is said quite often is “guns don’t kill. People do.” That is SO true. While we were visiting, I bet 5 police officers came in to buy things like sights, holsters, and other items. That’s impressive. To have the confidence of the Houston Police Department, says something about the gun store and their staff.
Jim & Joy Pruett should be really proud of what they’ve built store-wise. The staff acts like family, very protective of the Pruetts – just like Mark Stevens was. God rest his soul!
New iPhone App for Accidents
Since I’m in the Houston SEO business, I have to keep up with “what’s new” with our clients. One client, the Larry Jones Insurance Agency, Houston car insurance quote service and provider, has just shared with me a pretty cool iPhone app. If you’ve EVER been in a car accident, did you get all the info you needed at the scene of the accident or did you have to play phone tag with the other driver(s)? I was in a small fender bender when I was about 20 – luckily it was not my fault, but the fault of a sobbing 16 year old that had GREAT insurance. But that was without kids…………
I’ve been very lucky to NOT be involved in any car accidents since I’ve had kids. They seem to add a new element to just about everything however. Think about it. We all had these cute little cars in the beginning – now most with kids of us are driving tanks for some sort. That being said, I can’t complain because my “tank” is “pimped out” as my oldest son explains it. SO, in the event of an accident, I would want to make sure that I get all the information that I need from the other driver (because naturally the accident will NOT be my fault – ha!) so I can restore my beautiful white diamond tank to it’s original condition.
Now…assume the kids are with you and you are involved in an truck accident. What are you going to be worried about, the car or the kids? I would imagine that I would be so incredibly wigged-out about the kids and making sure that they are okay, that I might only collect HALF the info necessary to file a proper claim. That’s where my client comes in. Mr. Jones is a Nationwide car insurance agent in Spring, TX. His agency services all of Houston, including Spring and the Woodlands. He has shared this new iPhone app with me – Nationwide Mobile. This FREE iPhone app features an “accident toolkit” complete with agent phone numbers, your insurance policy numbers, and your vehicle information. This toolkit has a list of all the info you need to share with the other driver (especially the truck driver)………all the little specifics you are NOT going to remember if you are rattled in the least.
When you have left the accident scene (or before), you can peruse the app’s suggestions for towing companies should you need to be towed. It also offers Nationwide’s Blue Ribbon Repair Facilities as well as the numbers of the closet agent. Information available at your fingertips to help you get your claim processing as fast as possible. COOL! They (Nationwide) are quite impressed with the flashlight feature also.
So…….you might want to call (or visit their website – it’s pretty good – plug plug) Larry Jones and get an auto insurance quote today….and this handy-dandy app….the other insurance companies aren’t offering apps for phones. Call for a quote today.!
3D TV & Alcohol don’t mix – REALLY?
OK – I’m a mood today – it’s Friday. I think I might be starting something new – FUN FRIDAYS (that’s what we call it in the swimming world). One of the newest forms of in-home entertainment, is the 3D TV. Just now hitting the market and becoming available to consumers, Samsung comes out with a HUGE warning viewable to all (click the Samsung link just prior) – but here’s the paired down,low-down: (and I quote)…”We do not recommend watching 3D if you are in bad physical condition, need sleep or have been drinking alcohol.” REALLY? It goes farther…”If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) lightheadedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults.” Really? Makes me want to run out and buy one.
To borrow from SNL – REALLY? If you don’t know what I’m referring to, look it up on YouTube.com. Didn’t your mom always tell you NOT to sit to close to the television or it would ruin you eyes? What about causing epileptic seizures? Mom missed that one – I’ll have to talk to her about that. I’m thinking we probably won’t go buy a 3D TV for a number of reasons:
Number 1: We’re not in BAD physical shape – but define “bad shape” for me just in case. What if someone comes over like my kiddos’ friends. Do I need to ask them – are you in good physical condition? Seriously, that rules out a lot of my kids’ friends (unless they are swimmer friends – that’s different). Realistically, this rules out a TON of my friends……so I’m thinking, buying a tv like this might not be a great idea.
Number 2: Don’t watch if you need sleep? OK – seriously, I only watch tv at night (unless it’s Aggie Football) AND I work AND have 3 kids. I’ve been falling asleep during LOST lately. Need sleep, really? I always need more sleep. Don’t all moms?
Number 3: The alcohol thing. Well, gee, that rules out Friday and Saturday SUSHI nights with my IN SHAPE friends. Now I have to monitor drinking prior to watching tv? Really?
This is obviously sort of funny to me. The guys at work say that there are epileptic seizure warnings on some video games…..haven’t read them, but that’s pretty serious to me. I don’t recall any warnings being posted while walking into Wild West (Dance Hall and Bar in Houston) or Mo’s Place (same but in Katy) – they have flashing lights AND alcohol AND lots of REALLY “not-in-shape” people (brother-in-law calls them “muffin tops” – hee hee! ) Should they be posting something to? What about these new “red light cameras” in Houston? They flash……I know, that one is a stretch.
Oh well – I think we’ll just a buy a tv at J&K Electronics in Houston – they’ve normal, beautiful, big screen tv’s that WON’T KILL YOU or MAME YOU FOR LIFE. Ours is about to blow – it’s only 19 years old. That’s a good life for a television, right?
Now kids remember, workout BEFORE you watch 3D TV, be well rested, and never, NEVER drink alcohol prior to 3D TV viewing……….you might die!
Houston SEO – New Website Design
Well – it’s finally here! We’ve almost finished the new and IMPROVED Bizopia – Houston Website Design and SEO – website. It’s been hard for us to find the time to revamp OUR own website. I am now finally to the point where I’m updating the text and tags. We’ve added so many new services since the last redesign – which I think was 7 years ago – I know, it’s been WAY TOO LONG. We’re updating the profile page to show some of the newer sites we’ve recently designed. Like Burwell Nebout‘s Jones Act and FELA sites. They are REALLY great – well, actually I like the Industrial Explosion site the best. Just like the colors – it has some serious visual POP. One of my other favorites is J&K Electronics – Houston Computer and TV Repair specialists – actually, the owner Gus is in the office right now discussing the a totally new site on televisions alone. It would be great for all if we could separate the two. The site has gotten REALLY big.
We’ve added a social media marketing and optimization page (SMO & SMM). This is SO important these days. Everyone NEEDS to do it. You really HAVE to do it. We have long-time, technology and social phobic clients (that really is NOT a behavioral slam) that are really against it, but once we set everything up for them, train them, and hold their hand through the initial trials, they actually have a good time posting, tweeting, and blogging. Now -seriously – some are having more FUN than others, but still, we are convincing most to do it themselves with our professional “hand-holding.”
The SEO page……well, it still needs tweaking and defining. I get so many calls still asking “what on Earth is SEO?” For those reading this that are still a bit unsure what exactly SEO is – it’s search engine optimization. Basically it’s optimizing a webpage for the user as well as the search engines. Pages NEED to be “seo’d” (my new word) so when someone is searching for a keyword, you’ll pop up under the correct word. You don’t really need to be found under “buy a televison in Houston” if you only “repair televisions in Houston.” Make sense? Who needs the extra phone calls? Emails?
Just wanted to let you know that it’s finally here and we are excited. Look for changes daily over the next few days, if not weeks. Depends on how fast I can finish another site I’m working on – derivatives accounting software..…..this is NOT a “quick” copy-write!
Houston Gun Shop
I am cracking up. I try to not to get political here, but I just have to today. I was actually reading the Houston Business Journal a minute ago and read an article on the front page about a gun shop. My interest was totally peaked because we’ve finished our newest website for a Houston Gun Shop – Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo – so naturally I’m very intrigued with gun stores now, especially the gun shops in Houston.
The reason I’m cracking up is because the title of the article is “Gun Shop gets a straight shot of stimulation.” It seems Obama’s stimulus package for small businesses is aiding a local gun store in its expansion. They are moving in to an old Circuit City (which is HUGE) – this move is giving them an 844% increase in square footage. Since Obama has been in office, this store has seen its business grow 600%. Now do you REALLY think he meant for a GUN STORE to have that kind of growth? I know some of you are saying, “Sure he did. They are a small business.” I’m still smiling.
Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo is rockin’ along also. They are moving into a larger space this spring some time. Check out their new website – it shows all the brands of guns they sell, the types of clothes (it’s called Tactical Apparel), it even has a Stevens and Pruett page – remember the Rock Gawds of 101 KLOL? Yes, it’s the same Jim Pruett. We are started to collect old pictures and post them on the site. They also have a new Fan Page that reflects the new site url – you can get there by http://houstongundealer.com or www.jimpruett.net – both url’s will get you to the same place. Facebook wise – if you don’t have a Facebook page you can see their page at www.facebook.com/houstonguns .
It’s been a really fun site to work on for so many reasons. One being that Jim Pruett’s energy level has NOT changed a bit since the 80′s. I visited the store on fact finding missions a few times and got to handle an AK-47 – didn’t know THOSE were legal. Now I have ammo against my oldest son. He is SO into guns – hunting guns – that I can fire off stats, and talk “ammunition” now.
This houston gun store carries all types of handguns, military style rifles, and has quite a collection of OLD war guns (called militaria – see my vocabulary has even grown) displayed “museum” style. It is an experience in itself – definitely worth a trip over. Another vocab word I learned is “less-than-lethal.” Mr. Pruett’s daughter-in-law carried quite the container of pepper spray. But for something more exciting, you can peruse the tasers.
The really nice thing is that they REALLY care and ask questions of the gun buyer. Questions over and beyond the scope of the “gun application.” They teach CHL – concealed handgun license – classes as well as defensive handgun classes. They DO care that you learn how to use your gun.
I’m really looking forward to watching this site grow traffic wise, fan wise, and the Facebook page – well that’s up to you. Become a fan – NOT a business plug – it’s a riot watching what people post. Go ahead – try it!
And I guess I should thank Obama for allowing these Houston gun stores to grow – to borrow from the article – now THAT’S a shot of stimulation………still smiling here!
