I have invented a lot of things over the years. Well, maybe I have thought about a lot of things before they actually hit the marketplace. Most were not well-received by my friends (I still think colored tires would sell if properly marketed).

One of my “ideas” is an undeniable success, though. Sometime in the early 90s, I brought up the idea of cable radio to my friends. Television had a bunch of new channels thanks to cable, so why couldn’t that concept be tweaked, allowing new stations to reach the radio airwaves? As expected, my friends (Louie, among them) scoffed at the idea. Apparently they thought we had enough stations and people didn’t spend enough time listening to radio to demand more stations.

I disagreed. We had enough television channels, too. Then cable changed that. I also thought it was a great time, since people seemed to be spending less time in the traditional office. Besides, radio was becoming terrible, with the morning zoo concept taking over all time slots.

Recently, I purchased a new vehicle (doing my part for the economy, as Fran would say). It came with free Sirius Satellite Radio for one year. At first, I resisted the urge. I had 20 FM presets and 10 AM presets to enjoy. Additionally, I didn’t drive very far the first week or so. Then, I took the two-hour drive to my parents in Indiana. After scanning through the 20 FM options and finding dreck, I went to AM and found much the same. One more loop through FM and I reached my point of no return.

I begrudgingly hit the Sirius button. I immediately found Elvis Radio. You really can’t go wrong with an Elvis song. After a while though, I got bored with the King and ventured out. I found 70s rock, acoustic rock, Sinatra and more. I didn’t go for more than a minute without landing on something good. Of course, there is also the Howard Stern channel.

So, now I am hooked. With pricing at a pretty low $12.95 per month, I am sure I will be continuing my service after the free trial expires. Who would have thought I would be purchasing the very thing I invented so long ago? -John Wroblewski, distribution specialist