Chak's Editorial: Adam Swords - The Best Person from Great Britain Ever Met in California?

SPOILER ALERT: Contains British terminologies; I will note some terms that I hear a lot. Unless permission is given, I may not be using any logos other than my own, which is traditional for me.

You probably heard about Adam Swords somewhere. His motto for many of his videos posted on YouTube is to "find your everyday adventure." The same can be said for my own adventure, except for two things: I use a variation of another YouTuber named Mavirik Joos (Minnesota native), who I also subscribe to on YouTube in addition to Adam Swords. Second, instead of Mav's "keep on truckin'," mine is "keep on movin'", which is my personal reference to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) motto on their buses in their ongoing campaign for transit and vehicle "solutions that move you." 

As Santa Clara County is in the background for all of my video content, local music is important, even though they may be from outside the county but have played within the county before. The music I selected for my video reflects are only a handful of people who I met in the past. In my video on Adam Swords, my background music includes Alwa Gordon (from Santa Cruz), Bennett Roth-Newell (from Redwood City), and the music group named Sweet HayaH (from San Jose; consists of Nehal Abuelata, Kosuke Okamura, Ryosuke Ryo Sakurai, etc.). All released soundtracks may be streamed via their favorite music app, and are available in the iTunes store for a small fee.

The story on Adam Swords can be traced back to his United Kingdom roots of which he grew up in a small town within the UK (specifics are top secret unless permission is given to say it, and thus is undisclosed in my blog for the time being). One of his YouTube videos mentioned his move from the UK to Orange County, California. Of course, it's the same state as where I am (the difference is that I'm still living in southern Santa Clara County - San Martin specifically), though one of my uncles and aunts live in Orange County, specifically in Anaheim Hills. Adam's two "XX" indicators are prominent on selected videos and in his merchandise. As a kid, his mother uses those "XX" indicators on wherever his mom would put it - text messages, birthday cards, personal notes, and so on. The "XX" indicators are a historical reference to the viking rune known as "Inguz."

Given the unique design of the "XX" indicators, I've decided that in the long term, I'm going to get his merchandise. For me, I'm wanting a transparent version of both the "Swords" and the "XX" indicators in both white and black forms on hats, T-shirts, sweats, shorts, and pants. I looked up Adam's merchandise store and unfortunately, that only comes in black sweats, hat, and long pants ("joggers") in the form of a "stealth" version. I'll have to wait until he does eventually release a stealth version of his merchandise in both black and white versions on various form of clothing. Furthermore, I'm also interested in his lineup of phone covers that utilizes the "XX" indicators on the back of the phone, in both stealth (transparent) and normal modes, plus the availability of colors such as yellow-green (used in his "XX" logos), black, and white and phone compatibilities and evolving technologies (mine is an iPhone; but Android phones should be made available too for those that want it). 

I personally met Adam Swords at Precision Motorworks in Santa Clara, California. Note that Santa Clara is a county, but Santa Clara is a city of it's own - not a county seat (the county seat is the 10th largest city in the United States - San Jose). Adam and his crew at Precision Motorworks have taught me what is right and what is not. For example, Adam didn't want me to take visuals of what is under the engine bay on his Volkswagen Golf R. His setup is very unique, and I want to take as many appropriate visuals as I could before he went back to Orange County. Upon meeting Adam Swords, I immediately felt safe without the fear of dangerous stunts conducted on public roadways like sideshows (street takeovers) and street racing. At least a few of my future episodes will revisit some of the places that I found to have problems, and explain why I felt better at car meets involving responsible people like Adam Swords over being involved in dangerous stunts involving dangerous drugs, alcohol, and illegal weapons or fireworks.

I also had my schedule that I had to confine to as well, continuing on my streak of a busy weekend schedule that includes the annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, the Gilroy car show in mid-June, and some grand openings within Santa Clara County. Getting there is a challenge using only my two feet and VTA transit to get there, hence my video feature that has the settings in San Martin (at my residence), along East Middle Avenue (including to cross highway 101 as an overpass), and the stop on Monterey Highway at East Middle via VTA bus line 68 (note that while I am allowed to drive as defined by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV/DMV), I still cannot drive or use a bike for insurance reasons related to an accident back in August 2021 until I'm cleared). In fact, all of my trips start with a 22-minute walk from home followed by a bus ride. I plan to mention Adam Swords in many of my future video releases as he is considered as my mentor (along with some help from the Precision Motorworks staff), and I have plans to continue learning from him in person the next time he plans on having another public meet-and-greet, or upon his request via either messaging me on social media or via iPhone/FaceTime (yes, I can give him my number upon request). Who knows - I might even treat him and his friends to something affordable to eat, as long as the eatery is local or regional and not seen anywhere else - and I do plan on paying for his meals (yes, seriously; and up to 3 of his friends).

My meet with Adam Swords also gave me a reminder of the past that I'm also long exposed to British terminology dating back to when I was in Hong Kong and Macau to visit my relatives as a child. I've been there for many of my vacations and back then, I wasn't used to the British terminologies such as "lemon squash" (lemonade in American English), toilet ("restroom" in American English), and programmes (program in American English). In one of my visits to Hong Kong (1998 specifically), I was diagnosed with a type of neurological disorder (in turn a type of autism), which still reflects in my documentation of when I first applied for a Clipper card (the Bay Area's transit card) and in an old letter by the Morgan Hill Unified School District. I'm always required to carry my wallet at all times when using transit as mine is discounted (in the Bay Area, the card for the disabled is known as Regional Transit Connection, or RTC Clipper).

I was slightly nervous at first when I met Adam Swords and his dog named Diesel at Precision Motorworks. However, Adam was very nice to me and he did show me both his Ram truck and VW Golf R. At the time I met him, I also surrendered one of his "favourite" drinks called Liquid Death (it's a water brand) to Adam as well, as I felt that he may not have brought some Liquid Death of his own. The Liquid Death water brand I got for him is a sparkling water (without the bad stuff), not plain water. 

The VW Golf R that Adam Swords has reminded me of a few Hong Kong trips, in which my cousin currently owns a standard VW Golf of a previous generation. I hope that one day, I will own one of the last versions of the Golf R (automatic transmission), and perhaps modified to Adam's specifications (minus the seating interior which will remain leather and the exhaust, which will be kept stock to California standards except for replacement when broken) so as long as those meet or exceed California's specifications and cost restrictions. I also plan to have all the interior and exterior have LED lighting as well, plus a black "stealth" version of the "XX" indicator on the top corner of the vehicle, depending on Adam's current position. Two of my other favorite vehicles are also under my consideration as well; one is a 1992 or 1993 Buick Roadmaster (wagon or sedan) and the other is a GMC Yukon (1997 GT, 1992, or 1993 2-door models only).

Having said about Adam Swords, I plan on having a series on YouTube that is focused on my journey via my two feet and transit use that centers on my variation of Adam's theme, "find your everyday adventure" - without bikes or vehicle driving. Many of my videos will have some mention of Adam Swords. It can be a variety of things from the best places to get something to eat in Santa Clara County to problem areas that many neighbors may be complaining about. The final episode in my initial series will only occur the next time Adam Swords is in Santa Clara County and only when he wants me to be at his "favourite" places or announces a public meet. 

There are simply way too many reasons why Adam Swords to me may be the best person from Britain that I've ever met so far, and among them is that I feel safe knowing that Adam is a responsible and respectful person without ever performing dangerous stunts, making me feel like that Adam is an idol and a legend. I also believe that Adam should most importantly credit his parents and siblings for teaching him something positive.

I'll be surprised if Adam Swords decides to respond to my blog and/or video with his own blog and/or video using any of my visuals (he must credit me if he uses my visuals). If he wants to reach out to me regarding my blog and/or video, he may contact me. Both my Twitter and Instagram use the same handle - I'll be surprised if he wants to actually follow my adventures on social media and on my YouTube channel. The only downside is that whenever Adam Swords does come to Santa Clara County, he may forget about me...

EDITOR'S NOTES: 

• Bonus images follow my blog. The images were formatted in 16:9 format for YouTube for upcoming viewing. Full sized images are available; please inquire with me. These are also seen in my video.
  
• San Martin (pronounced SAN MAR-TEEN) is a small town in southern Santa Clara County, nestled between Gilroy and Morgan Hill. As it is a Spanish pronunciation, it's never meant to be pronounced as names like Ricky Martin. 
• Some of my YouTube videos contain Chinese characters. Those 3 Chinese characters are my Chinese name followed by my name below the Chinese name, hence may be reflected in my notices at the beginning of some videos or series. 
• Special thanks to Adam Swords and Precision Motorworks for allowing me to film the visuals for my video.
• Adam Swords has his own website and merchandise section. Follow him on social media (@adamswords). The links to his website and social media are available here.

Kyle Chak

Email: chak5953301@gmail.com

On Social Media: @KyleSChak 

ONLY ON KYLE - Chak's Editorial: The Valley That Was In This Blog - KRTY Radio Personality Passed Away

If there was a Kris Rowberry producing "The Valley That Was" in 2022, this would be the episode. And speaking of which, I dedicate my blog almost in the format of his voice, but consisting of my own take on local country music on the radio.

Randy Jones was certainly a guy that loves Silicon Valley and the national country music scene ever since he joined local country music radio station KRTY in 1999 at their former building on Story Road, in the present-day Little Saigon neighborhood of San Jose. At the time, Empire Broadcasting was (and still is) one of the very few local independent small broadcasting companies around headed by Bob Kieve, who he passed away the year before. Back in the days, when Silicon Valley news was available on the radio as KLIV, there were numerous news personalities like Kim Vestal (now at KCBS radio doing traffic), Kris Rowberry, George Sampson, and many others helming local news. On the country music end, there is Gary Scott Thomas (Alabama native residing in South San Jose), Tony Michaels, "Indiana Al" Breiten, Michael Moore, and others. The news that Randy Jones passed away on November 29, 2021 was a surprise to the local broadcast industry that knew him at community events around Santa Clara County. Randy's bio on KRTY's website reminds all of us who listens to his show that he thanks all of his listeners for tuning in to his show on KRTY in between the morning and afternoon commutes. 

While country music is not necessarily in my blood, I find those acceptable to many people living in rural areas of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Martin. There are many characteristics of the southern part of Silicon Valley that is definitely ripe for tuning in to country music on the radio, and KRTY is certainly the dial. No known call letters have existed of what KRTY stands for, but could those call letters mean "Radio CounTrY"? That's only my guess, but I'll let the guys at KRTY say that. There is one thing for sure: Randy does know our communities in Santa Clara County from Gilroy to Los Altos, and from Los Gatos to Milpitas. I may not have met Randy before in person, but I did hear him on the radio dials from time to time when on the road. I do often have a hard time tuning in on my home's radio if I want to hear Randy's voice (and others), but online listening on the mobile website is my next best thing, given the technology many like myself have today. 

Kris Rowberry certainly knew Randy when I read his social media post, and often would chat during breaks just a couple of doors between within the former KRTY and KLIV studios on Story Road. I wish that I would love to hear Kris talk about KRTY's announcement of Randy's passing on the same dial, which his past stories are available on YouTube. Those days, however, social media have a lot of reach potential since the beginnings, and thus are reflected in an individual feed's viewing. 

Randy Jones will be best remembered for lending his own local country voice on the radio, although not as extensive as Gary Scott Thomas on the morning show. He certainly made announcements on local events where he plans to be around the local community, and that too will be miss. Until next time, Randy Jones, may you rest in peace. 

And until next time, I'll see you on social media, whether on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Just look for me on those below. 

Kyle Chak

Email: chak595301@gmail.com

On Social Media: @KyleSChak

Chak's Editorial: KCRA Chief Meteorologist Mark Finan Coming Up on 30 Years of California Weather

"TODAY'S RAIN WAS JUST AN APPETIZER; THE MAIN MENU YET TO COME." - Shelly Monahan, KCRA alum from 1995

KCRA president and general manager Ariel Roblin may not be new to California in the past, but the station itself is new to editorials. In my last blog, I told my readers of how KCRA has yet to explain why it took more than 20 years since Hearst Television took over operations from the Kelly Brothers in 1999, who trademarked the slogan, "Where the News Comes First" back in 1980. Remember that fellow Hearst station KSBW started editorials not long after Hearst took over the operations by their former president and general manager, Joesph W. Heston in 1999. Since Heston's retirement, KSBW has yet to resume editorials under current president and general manager, Laura Williamson (also a former KCRA personality as general sales manager) - I personally would love to see what Williamson is saying about the editorials sooner than later now that KCRA president and general manager Ariel Roblin started editorials just recently. I would keep in mind that Ariel Roblin's mission of the editorial, according to Heston, should state that "editorials are not part of the news, but they are part of our commitment to serve the public." 

While I'm still waiting to see KSBW resume their editorials as a regular viewer myself residing in San Martin, California, I would like to take the time in advance to say cheers to KCRA chief meteorologist Mark Finan, who this November will be his 30th year of telling viewers about the California weather since his first weather forecast on November 11, 1991. Although Finan may be from New Hampshire, he may have established a huge fan base for viewers from all over the state of California to ask him informative questions about the weather or to cheer him up in hard times via Facebook (soon to be "Meta"). The rise in accessibility to access local or regional news in the past decade may come from out-of-market stations that is now viewable anywhere a person goes no matter the location. I can best describe Mark Finan as the Sacramento variation of KSBW's former lead weather forecaster named Jim Vanderswaan, who he retired from the station in 2015. KSBW's current weather team is helmed by their chief meteorologist Lee Solomon with AMS-sealed meteorologist Gina De Vecchio in the mornings. There are too many clips on YouTube that feature KCRA's old newscasts or a portion of an old video featuring Finan before even YouTube was invented, which was uploaded by various users that remembered watching a newscast. 

Over the years, Finan had seen a lot of meteorologists come and go, including 2 of NBC Bay Area's current weather team consisting of their chief meteorologist Jeff Ranieri and meteorologist Rob Mayeda (both of them are AMS-sealed). I'm just hoping that there will be a time that both Rob and Jeff will come together and say a message to Finan on his 30 years of California weather around California's capital city of Sacramento. This to me have already given a taste of watching KCRA's online newscasts from any mobile and tablet devices even outside their media market, even though I watch both Jeff Ranieri and Rob Mayeda regularly on social media & on TV as a viewer. I feel that both Raineri and Mayeda often mimic each other's messages to viewers in times of severe weather in the Bay Area despite not being on social media often to interact with viewers, with an added bonus of their own mobile live doppler radar (on wheels, that is), something that neither KCRA (despite their own live radar at Walnut Grove) or KSBW have. While weather graphics under Finan's command have changed over the years, Finan noted that his commitment to his weather coverage that presently included fellow meteorologists Dirk Verdoorn, Elleen Javora, and morning meteorologist Tamera Berg remains unchanged. 

Until meteorologists Lee Solomon, Gina De Vecchio, Rob Mayeda, and Jeff Ranieri offers Facebook live chats on a regular basis, I will sadly be tuning in to Mark Finan's live weather chats on Facebook most Tuesday and Thursday evenings around 8pm (Pacific Time). I'll be very surprised if both Rob Mayeda and Jeff Raineri will be typing his words to congratulate Finan on 30 years of California live on Finan's Facebook page on November 11, 2021. 

My message to Mark Finan: See you on the Facebook chats and congrats on your 30 years of California weather in California's capital city. Until then, I'll leave you with this quote below...

"William Randolph Hearst founded our news and information company way back in 1887. One thing you quickly learn about working for Hearst: you don't get to be a successful 133-year-old company without managing and embracing change." - former KSBW president and general manager, Joesph W. Heston, in an editorial in 2020

Kyle Chak

Email: chak595301@gmail.com

Social Media: @KyleSChak 

Chak's Editorial: KCRA's Editorial by President and General Manager Ariel Roblin is a Recent Addition?!

I can certainly recall watching editorials as a kid, and it's their voice of the communities they serve. KSBW, a Hearst Television station on the Central Coast covering Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties on California's Central Coast, certainly started their editorials back in 1999. The first editorials were offered by then-president and general manager Joseph W. Heston, who he mentioned from the beginning: "Editorials are not part of the news, but they are part of our commitment to serve the public." The editorials on KSBW were offered after Friday's 6pm and weekend newscasts, except for special events like "Share Your Holiday," a KSBW tradition for more than 30 years held each December. When Heston announced his retirement in an editorial, he mentioned this quote at the time:

"William Randolph Hearst founded our news and information company way back in 1887. One thing you quickly learn about working for Hearst: you don’t get to be a successful 133-year-old company without managing and embracing change."

But for KCRA? Like KSBW, KCRA is a Sacramento station is also owned by Hearst Television. However, I personally have never seen an editorial covering issues affecting the Sacramento or the San Joaquin Valleys of both Stockton and Modesto until the recent into on KCRA's editorial that started around August 29, 2021 with current president and general manager Ariel Roblin. That's more than 20 years since being owned by Hearst back in 1999, the same year that KSBW started their editorials. This makes me ask: What took KCRA so long to broadcast their editorials until now? I've been watching both KCRA and KSBW's newscasts on demand many times on the go, but I did notice a striking difference. By the time KSBW ended their editorials with Heston's retirement, KSBW has already recorded 1086 episodes of short editorials while KCRA has still never offered editorials at that time. 

I hope that Ariel Roblin will address to viewers why it took more than 20 years after Hearst took over ownership of KCRA to offer editorials, as well as learning from KSBW's past editorials. I also hope that KSBW will have editorials from their current president and general manager, Laura Willamson, sometime in the future. 

Until then, thank you for letting me and the general public watch editorials. I do look forward to them wherever I watch them, from the comfort of the TV to smartphones and tablets. 

Kyle Chak

E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com 

On Social Media: @KyleSChak 

BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Nik Tzimas Hatziefstathiou's Delayed Release of "Watts Family Tapes: A World Exclusive with Chris Watts & Family" Due to Facebook Glitch and Scammer Reports

Fans who want to watch Your Content's special video release was delayed due to a video glitch combined with multiple scammers attempting to promise free viewing from unsuspecting users. That turned out to be a scam, orchestrated by at least 32 scammers who were identified as from outside the United States. The special is called "Watts Family Tapes: A World Exclusive with Chris Watts and Family," produced by the Your Content team that includes Nik Tzimas Hatziefstathiou and Erik Norton.

The glitch may have started just before the scheduled start time at 6PM. During the more than 1 hour delay, this blogger counted at least 32 scammers who attempted to post the same links multiple times in an attempt for Facebook users to lure them into the so-called free links. The links, according to many users, turned out to be a scam. After clicking on the link, scammers attempted to ask for credit card information from unsuspecting Facebook users. 

It is unclear how many of the Facebook users fell for the scam, but most people were advised to not click on the links or provide credit card information. Out of the 32 scammers reported, none of them were taken down by Facebook so far despite clearly being a scam link.

Meanwhile, the glitch reportedly lasted until 7:20PM, when the special started. However, Your Content has promised to have a better quality version following the initial screening.

In a statement by Your Content at 7:28PM to Facebook users, they said, "Facebook is aware about a national situation with a glitch - including pixelated video and a green bar on the right. We apologize for the glitch - but we simply could not hold off until tomorrow. A clear version will follow this overnight and remain on Facebook indefinitely. Also, if you gave a credit card to any service to watch this, contact your card provider immediately - our newsroom line is not for car cancellation requests. Anyone who provided a CC is urged to inform their bank immediately."

EDITOR'S NOTE: ALL TIMES ARE PACIFIC STANDARD TIME (PST) UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE IN THIS BLOG, AS THE BLOG IS BASED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

If you have any inquiries, please get at me on social media (preferred; available on Facebook for existing users) or email.

Original Work: Kyle Chak

E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com

Twitter or Instagram: @KyleSChak