March 2013

Changes.

People, gay men in particular, that hyperventilate and get downright evil when a man decides to shave his beard down to a goatee or grow a beard or change it up a bit and go with just a mustache need to calm the hell down. It’s not the critic’s face and quite frankly it’s none of their business. When I read comments from others about someone’s decision to change it up a bit and they scream in anguish usually reserved for the likes of nuclear explosions, plagues and famine, someone needs a reminder to keep things in perspective.

When I shaved off my handlebar mustache for charity last fall you would have sworn I had just slapped my grandmother and sold her into slavery. Shaving off that monstrosity of a mustache boosted my self esteem ten-fold and it made me feel good about myself. Will I grow another one? Perhaps.

A fellow blogger recently shaved his big beard down to a mustache. The cries from the peanut gallery sound like he just betrayed his country and sold the launch codes to the Russians. Calm down people, it’s only facial hair and odds are he’ll grow another beard someday.

I enjoy looking at beards. I also enjoy mustaches and clean shaven faces. But what’s more important is the person inside. There’s a lot of beautiful people out there and they all look different and can choose to change how they look without needing to hear judgment and the like.

I was recently chastised by a beard fan because my charity “promoted the destruction of facial hair”. No, my charitable efforts helped raise money for homeless kids, and if losing a mustache for a while was going to help a teen sleep somewhere other than the streets then I’m going to shave it off and raise the money.

This has been bugging me for a while and I finally felt the need to get it off my chest. It’s only hair. It’ll grow back when the owner wants it to.

He’s still the same guy inside.

19 March 2013 by Why. 6

Spring.

So I’m seeing these Facebook updates about people being disappointed that winter weather is still upon the place we call home.

Last check of the calendar, it’s still winter.

Even though you’ve all convinced yourself that it’s spring by setting the clocks ahead a couple of weeks ago, Mother Nature knows best. It’s not spring. It’s winter.

And that’s why we travel to Florida at this time of year, to find some spring. Because as much as we think it’s spring because it’s light until 8 pm, it’s not really spring. Not yet.

Next time I’ll tell you why the trains don’t run on time.

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19 March 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 2

Tuesday.

So today we are doing something at Disney that we have never done before. We are not going to a park today. Instead of getting on a bus/boat/monorail train, we are going for walks, relaxing by the pool and just taking a few moments to slow down, breathe a little bit and just chill out. Later tonight we’ll be headed over to Downtown Disney for dinner and a little bit of strolling amongst the shops.

The weather has been gorgeous thus far. My spirits have lifted considerably with seeing all the sunshine. It feels good. I walked a couple of miles through the woods this morning and organized some of the extraneous thoughts in my head. I had a brief conversation with a woodland friend.


Sunday upon our arrival we carried on our tradition with our first stop being Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. We always ride the TTA first and we enjoyed our annual ride. Afterwards we stopped at the Carousel of Progress (which is starting to show a couple of technical difficulties that I’m sure that Disney will correct soon) and then we were onto Space Mountain. For the first time ever we rode the ride on the “right” side instead of the “left” side (using the line into the attraction as a guide), even though we didn’t use FastPass. The lines at all the attractions thus far have been less than 20 minutes. Riding Space Mountain felt like an entirely new ride because it was assumedly a mirror image of what we’re used to. It felt faster, but I think technically the ride is the same regardless of the which side you ride on.

We had dinner at the Crystal Palace for the first time and was able to hang out with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore.


Yesterday we went to the World Showcase at Epcot. This was the first time that we took the Monorail instead of a bus. Since we are staying at Wilderness Lodge Villas instead of Saratoga Springs, we took the boat to Magic Kingdom, then the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then a second monorail train to Epcot. It was kind of exciting for me because I had never ridden the Monorail through Epcot before. Even though this is my ninth time here there’s always something new happening. I love it.

World Showcase is one of my favorite attractions in all of Disney and we toured it clockwise this year. Like at Magic Kingdom on Sunday, wait lines for the attractions were less than 20 minutes; we were able to get on most of the attractions immediately. In the past we’ve usually waited 45-60 minutes for the ride at Norway but not this year, however, I was able to sneak a quick picture of the Norway Cruise Line lady; I take her photo every year. I don’t know why I do this.


While walking through China I snapped a photo of a Happy Cat.


Another first for me this year was enjoying one adult beverage while in Germany. I didn’t snap a photo of the Altenmünster Oktoberfest I enjoyed, but it was quite enjoyable. One is enough though, after all, we’re at Disney.

Of course we made a stop at Canada where we enjoyed the “O, Canada” film in 360 Circlevision. This is my favorite film in World Showcase and the geek in me enjoys the fact that many elements of the original film from the 70s are still present in the new version that was produced in 2007. Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila rerecorded the beautiful “Canada, You’re a Lifetime Journey” track at the end of the presentation.

Last night we went to Downtown Disney for dinner at Earl of Sandwich. I bucked the trend and went with a salad. It was delicious.

The stress has melted away considerably and I’m finding my solid footing again. Ah, the magic of hearing the words “Welcome Home”.

19 March 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Savannah, Ga.

So this morning we left Harrisburg, Pa. and made our way down to Savannah, Ga. in around 11 hours. The drive was not unpleasant; I changed up the route a little bit and opted to try out something called “E-ZPass Express” in the Washington, D.C. area. This helped keep things interesting.

As we got closer to our hotel, we decided that we needed to get some supper. Ruby Tuesday usually has a decent salad bar so we decided on finding the nearest one. Apple consulted Siri on his iPhone 4S. I consulted Google Maps. Both agreed on the location right around the corner from our hotel. Earl used Apple Maps for navigation.

The billboard said Exit 104.

Siri said Exit 102.

We decided to get with Exit 102. I exited, turned right onto US 80 and went 1.6 miles. I was then told to turn left onto Pooler Parkway. So far so good. Once on the parkway, we were promptly told to make a U-turn. On the parkway. I found a spot and spun the car around.

Proceeding in the direction we had just arrived from, Siri loudly proclaimed that we reached our destination. We were on top of the bridge over US 80. There was no Ruby Tuesday anywhere to be found.

To illustrate, see graphic below. We start at the yellow dot. We are going to point “A”. Siri took us along the makeshift red-line.

Screen Shot 2013-03-16 at 10.24.20 PM

When we finally arrived at Ruby Tuesday, courtesy of Google Maps, I banished Apple Maps from Earl’s phone and installed Google Maps. I declared that no one in my family shall ever use Apple Maps again. Those who are smart will obey.

Apple really needs to get its act together.

Just for kicks, while relaxing in the hotel lobby, I asked Siri where Embassy Suites was located. Mind you, I was sitting in the lobby.

Siri told me that the closest Embassy Suites was quality Quality Inn Suites and was located on a road called International Blvd. 87 MILES AWAY.

Oy.

Tomorrow we shall continue the trek.

16 March 2013 by Let's All Rant. 2

Harrisburg, Pa.

So tonight we made it the farthest we’ve ever gone the first night on this trek to Florida. We are in Harrisburg, Pa. for the night. Tomorrow morning we’ll be making our way down US Route 15 into Maryland and finding our way over to Interstate 95, where we will undoubtedly join many others as they head south.

It is 20 degrees warmer than it was at home when we left this afternoon. This has already brightened my mood.

Tomorrow we have 11 hours of driving ahead of us. This keeps my mood bright. I’m looking forward to the drive.

For now, we sleep.

15 March 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Countdown.

2013-03-15 12.50.16

In four hours we will be on our way to a warmer climate. I haven’t started packing yet, but the pet food is in place and Tom has instructions on how to torment the house sitter.

Judging by the weather today, we need to get the hell out of here.

15 March 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Do No Evil?

Chances are that if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably reading a feed of it, whether it be via a Twitter link, via Facebook or Google+ or by what is called an RSS feed. Many folks that follow blogs and the like via RSS use a service from Google called Google Reader.

Google announced today that they’re sunsetting their Google Reader service.

In the interest of trying not to use salty language, I won’t type what I said when I found this out. To say this is disappointing would be accurate. There are worse things in the world, but I keep up on all those blogs in the right hand margin via the Google Reader service. Using Google Reader, and apps that use the API, I am able to keep up on news from many sources and I’m also able to read the blog entries of many fellow bloggers that sit down and take the time to write out their thoughts in spurts that are longer than 140 characters.

By the way, I added a new blog to the blog roll today. Hello Tom Whittaker!

I’m bummed (but not about Tom’s blog).

Since Google has randomly decided to end support for Google Reader, and judging by the outrage on Twitter and the like, I’m not the only person that’s bummed, I begin to wonder what other services Google might kill in the future. Tired of supporting Gmail? Kill it.

Tired of supporting Blogger? Kill it. (That’d be hard for many bloggers, including the very popular Joe.My.God..

Tired of supporting Google Wallet? Kill it.

They’ve done the same thing with countless other products and quite frankly, Google is just erratic enough to make me stay solidly in the Apple/iOS walled garden. Apple might be thought of as evil by some, but at least their evilness is complete and solid.

Google’s mantra has always been “Do No Evil.” I hope that someday they live up that mantra. Because right now they’re failing at it.

13 March 2013 by Geek 6

Safety.

The sounds of helicopters were heard a little while ago. They were on their way to nearby Herkimer and Mohawk, where a gunman shot six people today. Four of them are dead. Four people were shot at John’s Barber Shop in Mohawk, the other two were shot at a car wash in Herkimer. The gunman apparently set fire to his house before heading over to the barbershop.

It’s kind of weird knowing that this is happening so close to home. What’s really weird is that I know John the barber. He used to cut my hair back when I had hair. Earl and I have both been to his shop on many occasions. He has a really great singing voice. I hope he is safe.

The area schools are in lockdown. The story has made it to the national news.

Though the shootings took place 10 miles away, I’m still locking the windows and doors. It never hurts to be cautious.

13 March 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 2

Why.

I eat dry toast and cardboard that is scented like bacon. My sandwiches are devoid of bread at lunchtime because the carbs are bad for me, so they say. Any soup I have tastes and looks like it is just rinse water that was ran over a cow. I count calories, compute body fat and bargain with the scale every morning.

I want a cheeseburger. I want a double Big Mac with a super-size fries and a Gloomberg-defying 32 oz diet pop (must watch the calories, after all). I want to relax for a moment. I want to consider a bloomin’ onion without the masses shrieking in horror. I would kill for a hearty soup. I would rejoice over a reuben made with corned beef instead of a healthier turkey substitute. And pile on the sauerkraut while you’re at it, honey. And yes, double the Russian dressing, double it.

The old scale and the new scale are arguing over four pounds. The new scale won’t budge on his number. He’s a mean, spiteful, son-of-a-bitch that goes and tattles to the world what he just read my numbers as via a nifty wi-fi connection. Who’s friggin’ idea was that? Why does my phone care as to why I weigh? Old scale, always filled with the fear of another dropkick, gives me a number that I can deal with.

I went to the gym last night and spent an hour working out at a pretty good clip. It was a cardio experience. There was lots of sweat, horrible infomercials on the screens and toothpicky people working out for a mere 5 minutes all around me, all so they could go enjoy an evening snack consisting more of inhaling the cat’s food vapors. Not me. You better work it, boy. You might earn a dried grape if you work off 800 calories. I’d rather eat a dog biscuit. I did my tricks.

Somehow I gained 3% body fat in my sleep last night, according to the new scale. Well the new scale can go suck it, as far as I’m concerned.

And today I will soldier on. Cheers to you with a piece of dry, toasted cardboard!

13 March 2013 by Fitness. 3

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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