J.P.

Distant Ringy Dingy.

I’ve adopted a new stance on driving while using your cell phone. In the past, I’ve always scolded people for yakking on their cell phone while they’re driving, mainly because they become major asshats while doing it. But I’ve found something worse.

A person scrambling for his/her headset to connect to said cell phone to talk while they’re driving.

I now say that if you’re going to talk on your cell phone while you’re driving, go ahead and do it. I’m still going to terrorize you on the road, but at least you’re being practical about it and just holding the phone up to your ear instead of trying to look like Madonna with a ridiculous headset wrapped around your noggin.

The “handsfree cell phone law” in New York State is pure, unadulterated bunk that does nothing to make the gabby driver safer. I believe the law states that you can’t have a cell phone up to your ear while driving. Apparently you can be typing in a text message on the tiny keypad, take a photo of the cop chasing you with your cameraphone or talk on your speakerphone, the one that you still have to push buttons to dial on.

I think talking on a cell phone while driving is dumb. Yes I do it myself, but I don’t have any friends so it’s not like I’m constantly yakking on the phone. And no, I’m not bitter. However, I think it’s less safe to be talking on your cell phone while simultaneously keeping an eye out for Mr. Trooper so you don’t get caught. So I’ve adopted the “pay to play” philosophy.

Politicians can’t stay out of our bedrooms. Apparently they can’t stay away from our ears either.

15 August 2005 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Friends of Distinction.

It was on July 1 that I mentioned that I had a song stuck in my head. Well, as they say, patience is a virtue because I heard the song on the radio over the weekend and it allowed me to get more of the lyrics. Whereas I thought the song went “Raise A Little Glass”, it was actually “Grazin’ in the grass, it’s a gas, baby can you dig it.”

Shakespeare, it’s not.

“Grazin’ In The Grass” by The Friends of Distinction, it is.

Thank the universe that I am now able to download this song on iTunes.

###

Earl and I spent the weekend in beautiful Buffalo hanging out with some bear friends. We went out for some fabulous barbecue with our friends Steve and Tim and I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant we went to!* The food was awesome and the company was great. Afterwards we went to Buddies for bear night. It’s always good to be with like-minded guys. It was “sports night” and while a bunch of guys were wearing football jerseys, baseball uniforms and the like (and looking very hot), I went in my cycling outfit minus the helmet. I won a prize for “best costume”. Yay!

Today we went to a pool party with a bunch of friends before taking the Thruway for the trek home. We didn’t let the misty weather and cool temperatures cloud the festivities and we spent the afternoon eating, swimming, hanging out in a hot tub and doin’ some grab ass-ing.

It’ll be an extra little perk going to work tomorrow with a smile on my face. Gosh I love the weekend.

*08/15 @ 10:41 p.m., Earl just yelled out “It was Fat Bob’s!” Now I remember the name of the restaurant! Go to Fat Bob’s in Buffalo – fabulous food.

14 August 2005 by Why. 0

We’re Back.

Never fear, jpnearl.com is back online again. I logged on from our hotel suite here in Buffalo and to my horror, discovered that our domain name registration had expired! A few frantic keystrokes of credit card numbers and voila, it’s back, and renewed until 2015. The world is suppose to end in 2012, so now we’ll be able to give up to the minute coverage of armageddon.

13 August 2005 by Geek 0

There’s Nothing Spooky About Erie.

Earl and I jumped on the freeway this morning and made the trek across Indiana and Ohio, arriving in Erie, Pa. this evening around 7:00 p.m. We’ve installed ourselves at the Holiday Inn Express on Peach Street near I-90. It’s a nice little hotel with internet access. Unfortunately they don’t have any Ethernet cables available for sign-out, and I seem to be missing my ethernet cable from my backpack, so I’m typing this blog entry in TextEdit and will upload it later.

It’s August 12 – I have to say “Happy Birthday, Mike”. I can’t remember if your birthday is the 12th or 14th, so I’ll just play it safe and say happy birthday tonight.

We had a great dinner at “Quaker Steak and Lube” which sounds kinkier than it really is. Mother Nature treated us to an awesome thunderstorm toward the tail end of our supper. After we finished up we drove through downtown Erie and along the lakefront, looking for signs of a gay bar. Not that we were going to go in or anything, well, maybe for one drink. Unfortunately the last time I was out and about in Erie was 1990 and gay bars barely stay put for one year, let alone 15. So no booty shaking tonight.

So now we’re catching a little television before calling it a night. Tomorrow we’re taking the short drive to Buffalo, doing some shopping and then meeting up with some friends for the night.

12 August 2005 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Love, Lightning and Chick-Fil-A.

Well after driving for 12 hours last night, with only a 1/2 hour catnap in a Rest Area in rural Ohio, I knocked on Earl’s hotel room door in Indianapolis this morning at 4:30 a.m. He bounded out of bed to let me in, where I shucked my clothes off and jumped into bed, ready for some sleep.

Last night’s drive was uneventful. I was operating on a mix of elation and sugar… I was excited about seeing Earl and I opted for Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts with a Pepsi chaser instead of the Slim-Jims I was talking about yesterday.

Earl went about his business responsibilities while I slept. I got up around noon, got cleaned up and drove around Greater Indianapolis. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of the Central Time Zone. I know it sounds very strange, but my body just feels more at ease here. I don’t know why, as it’s simply us human’s assigning a value to the current moment of the day, but I just feel better in the Central Time Zone. Perhaps I’m crazy.

While I was driving around, I spotted a Chick-Fil-a and leaped at the opportunity for a “proper lunch” of a Chicken Club Sandwich, waffle fries and fresh brewed Iced Tea. Chick-Fil-A is definitely the créme de la créme of the fast food set.

Mother Nature treated the area to a typical Midwestern thunderstorm. Lots of wind and rain, punctuated with some thunder and lightning. The flat topography lends itself to easy storm chasing, and I jumped around on the 465 in Jeep while trying to keep up with the fun.

I then headed back to the hotel as Earl was expected back. We changed our clothes and headed to downtown Indianapolis. This is a lovely city! For some reason it reminds me of Oklahoma City a little bit, with the typical central U.S. pacing. We took a stroll around the Circle Centre mall downtown, then walked the streets a little bit, taking in the sites. It started heating up a little bit so we hit the Jeep and drove around a bit and then went to the local Texas Roadhouse for supper. Great food and conversation. And Earl dumped iced tea in my lap right before that picture of me holding the beer was taken. It didn’t ice my spirits at all, though.

All in all my first trip to Indianapolis has been wonderful. I’m glad I had the opportunity to get out here and join Earl on a business jaunt.

Tomorrow we start heading home, probably staying somewhere in Ohio.

11 August 2005 by Fun and Games Dept 0

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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