I had one of the very first computer radio talk shows in the known universe.

Back in 1988, I was editor of ComputorEdge magazine in San Diego. The publisher purchased an hour block of weekend time on a local radio station, KVSD. The station was located in north San Diego County. It was squished into a brick, cinderblock building. I believe it broadcasted at 5,000 watts, which meant you could barely hear it anywhere outside of Vista, the tiny town it where it was situated.

Every Saturday, I drove the 50 mile round trip to do one hour of computer talk. The show was called Not Another Computer Show and it became quite popular. I jazzed it up with fake commercials and sound effects. In fact, I did a lot of naughty things on the air. Most of the “Monday Minutes” (notes from the program director) were intended for me.

For example: Don’t play other show’s theme songs. Don’t make fun of the commercials. Don’t sing along with the commercials. Don’t impersonate people. Don’t do farting noises on the air. And so on.

One of my famous pranks was to play the Pain Guy commercials. He hosted his own show later that day. During his commercials, the Pain Guy would talk about people who were in “serious, chronic pain” in a very sincere voice. While he was speaking, I would play the sound effects of a woman screaming mixed in with the sound of a buzz saw.

Sadly, I never taped any of the shows. I tried to once, but the tape machine didn’t record. After 6 months, the magazine’s contract was up and the publisher didn’t want to extend it. I was offered a chance to revive the show on my own; it was very popular an the station wanted to continue. But the boss didn’t want to pay and I didn’t want to drive the 50 miles every weekend for a non-paying gig.

After that show I was a regular guest on other radio stations in town, and I enjoyed that. It was fun answering computer questions, but I never got to be the host and do the mischievous things I enjoyed on Not Another Computer Show.

This Saturday (tomorrow), I’ll be re-living the experience as I guest host on the Marc and Marsha show. You can listen live in the bay area (San Francisco) on KTRB 860 AM. Each show is eventually podcast on iTunes. If I can, I’ll post a link or copy of the podcast here on Wambooli as soon as I can wrangle one up.