Wet.

So last night I joined Earl and the Cubster in Erie, Pa. for “Drenched Fur 5”, a gathering of bears from all over for a weekend of bear fun, including a private party at an indoor waterpark.

Earl and Jamie got there Friday afternoon and set up shop in the vendor mall area, where they sold Jamie’s bear clothing. Business was pretty good, from what I hear, and the two of them are coming up with even more ways to promote the business and such. I think my web development skills have been enlisted for a new website.

I took the long way there yesterday, leaving the house around 10:30 and getting there at 6. (It’s usually a five or so hour drive). I drove through many small villages in the Southern Tier and could have done so all night, but when I realised that it was getting a little late, I hopped onto the the Southern Tier Expressway at Olean and used the fast route for the final 100 miles or so.

There is always LOTS of food at a bear run and this weekend was no exception. Attendance warranted overtaking the entire Quality Inn in Erie, Pa. and the hospitality was quite impressive. The dinner buffet was quite nice and Earl, Jamie and I made new friends and visited with those that we know from the community.

After dinner was relaxed a bit and hopped on the shuttle bus to the indoor water park, which was opened exclusively for the bears from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Jamie and I rode every water slide in the park (some several times), including the “Hurricane” where you shoot down at 40 MPH and get thrown into this donut shaped thing, spun around and then you fall through the whole in the middle into a pool underneath. Like the staff at the hotel, the staff at the water park seemed to be enjoying all the ensuing merriment of the bear run. By 1 a.m. we were wiped out and headed back to the hotel, after someone was kind enough to take our photo.

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There was a late night buffet in place of the traditional after hours party. I had a quick snack and hit the hay relatively early for this sort of thing; Earl and Jamie lingered longer and came to the room a bit later, claiming that I was talking in my sleep when they got to the room. Unfortunately they won’t tell me what I was saying.

All in all it was a very good night and I’m glad I made the trek out there for the fun. I’m looking forward to next year’s Drenched Fur.

5 April 2009 by Bears. Fun and Games Dept 0

Big Flats, N.Y.

Photo 152.jpg

So I’m on my way to Erie, Pa. to join Earl and the Cubster for the evening. I spoke with Earl a little while ago and he said that the clothing sales were “okay” and that they were having a good time. I hope to be there by 6:00 p.m. or so.

I’m currently in the Panera in Big Flats, N.Y. in the Southern Tier. My plan of all back roads is holding. I’m not using any maps or GPS. I’m going on previous experience and intuition. So far so good.

I like the Southern Tier and I always have. It feels a little more prosperous in this area than it does further upstate along the Thruway corridor. I wonder if there is a correlation between the existence of a toll road vs the tax-supported Southern Tier Expressway and the disparity in prosperity. (Ha! I rhymed!) I’m sure that’s not the only reason but I’m sure it has some bearing on the situation.

The internet here seems to be uneven at best. I’m almost done with my tomato and mozzarella panini sandwich. It’s time to hit the road again.

4 April 2009 by Fun and Games Dept 0

1-2-3

Back when I first started DJing this song was very HOT. In fact, there was a little hustle type line dance that many did to it. I called the dance the “Homo Hop”. I can still do it.

Presenting “1-2-3” by The Chimes. 1990.

3 April 2009 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Bad Rap.

I’m curious. As a sci-fi and superhero geek, why did twins always get a bad rap in the ’70s live action shows?

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Points to the person that can identify the aliens that possessed these twins.

3 April 2009 by Geek 2

Fub.



062.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

Today I share with you a fub.

3 April 2009 by Fun and Games Dept 1

The Trail.

I hit the canal trail for the first time in 2009 tonight. It was good to get back in the saddle on my bike and I feel pretty good after doing about 15 miles when all was said and done. Aside from the fact that I can find my official cycling shoes and that I was accosted by a four-year old on a Big WheelTM, the ride went pretty smoothly.

The weather doesn’t look like it’s going to cooperate for cycling until next week, so I guess I’ll have to ride the exercise cycle in the basement in the meantime.

2 April 2009 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Cabling.



060.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

I hate it when they tell me the job is simple: “just move the blue cable to the new router”.

1 April 2009 by Fun and Games Dept 1

White Noise.

I have discovered that having the radio on in the office is really distracting. Especially when the radio station in question is one of those annoying “lite” stations that thrive on the likes of Delilah at night and play boring, down-tempo tracks 75% of the time and then claim to be all fun because they play “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” every Friday at noon. Unfortunately I have no choice in the matter: the station is selected by someone else and is pumped in over the intercom speaker.

I think the fact that the sound is barely audible and coming from a very low-fidelity speaker is part of the reason that I find the noise to be so distracting. I can’t quite figure out what song is on unless I take time out of whatever I’m doing to actually listen to it and then it usually turns out to be a really crappy song. No offense to Elton John fans, but how many times can you listen to “Candle In The Wind” in a given week? Every morning between 8 and 9 they play a Sheena Easton song, yesterday it was “Morning Train”, this morning it was “Modern Girl”. I dare them to play “Sugar Walls” tomorrow. I’m betting it’ll be “For Your Eyes Only”.

So I have installed a program on my work computer that gives me a wide selection of background sounds to play at my desk. Today I have been lulled into relative peace with the sounds of “Rehobeth Beach”. It isn’t just the sound waves crashing against the shore but it’s actually the Atlantic crashing against Rehobeth Beach. Now mind you, I’ve never been to Rehobeth Beach so I can’t verify the authenticity of this claim, but nevertheless there it is and quite frankly, while it’s quite pleasing it doesn’t sound much different than the waves at say, Marblehead, Mass. or somewhere along the coast of Nova Scotia for that matter.

I am enjoying the distraction from the distraction of the radio though. I like to think that the Rehobeth Beach sounds actually kept me calm as a woman called in a with a trouble because she was unable to open an attachment on her e-mail from a Prince somewhere in the Middle East that promised her a huge sum of money if she told him where to deposit it. Apparently she thought that the attachment provided the proper forms and documentation and any guidance from me wasn’t going to help matters, she just wanted to open the attachment.

I told her to take her computer to a specialist.

1 April 2009 by Ponderings and Musings 2

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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