Fun and Games Dept

Relaxation.

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It’s a picture perfect day here at our merry little household. I had a grand plan of taking Earl on one of our adventures in the Jeep but the weather is just so breathtakingly gorgeous that we are enjoying some down time. I’ve spent much of the afternoon being a geek on the back patio, drinking in the sunshine and sipping iced tea.

The weather today is picture perfect at 72 degrees with mostly sunny skies. There has been a slight breeze which is gently announcing the anticipated arrival of severe thunderstorms starting tonight and lasting for the next 36 hours or so. How I do love my thunderstorms and wild weather. I start my first round of on-call on Monday, I might as well start it off with a bang. I’m filling in for another tech (he wants to get married without his pager going off, the crazy guy) so it’s only for a couple of days. It’ll be good to get back in the swing of things.

I’ve been keeping busy catching up on tech news and chatting with friends on IM. I’ve been messing with Windows Vista a little bit. I really like the way it looks. I wish it came with a better AIM chat client that can handle video, much like the way iChatAV does on Mac OS X. I don’t like the AIM program at all. I guess that’s why Microsoft wants Windows users to use the Windows Live Messenger program. I enjoy that except that I wish I could pay a small fee to get rid of the ads. I really dislike ad supported software.

My basking-in-the-sun routine has been kept interesting with progress on the mound of laundry sitting in front of the washing machine. This morning the mound was higher than the washer itself. We have now made it down to the towels.

I feel some satisfaction in conquering that task today.

Earl and I have been making our travel plans for vacation next year. We want to get a jump on the process so we can get the best airfares. It looks like we are going to do a little “pond jumping” again. I’ll know more once we make the plans.

As I snapped a photo on my computer for the beginning of this blog entry, a certain person of the feline persuasion heard the sound of the software snapping my photo. He had to get in on the action too.

Photo 69.jpg

9 August 2008 by Fun and Games Dept Geek Ponderings and Musings 0

Look Out Pittsburgh.

Earl and I are in from our evening on the town on Pittsburgh. We went back to Station Square (“Anything but Square”) where we enjoyed a nice dinner at Buca di Beppo. It’s a hodge podge of rooms on multiple floors where you enjoy Italian food family style. The server’s name was Connie. She was very friendly and I enjoyed her demeanor very much. She looked like a Connie though. Big hands. A hearty woman. Perhaps she enjoys what she serves.

There is a body-building convention going on. At first I thought there was some sort of transexual convention going because I saw a guys dressed up as women but lo and behold, they are body building women. They could wipe the deck with me in about two seconds. Huge guns. Huge legs. And not a feminine trait to be found. If they didn’t have thick layers of makeup on I wouldn’t have known they were women. I guess it’s whatever supplements they use to enhance their body building performance. I don’t get it, but hey, to each their own.

After dinner we went down to the main square where we enjoyed a performance of the dancing fountains. We had done the same thing five years ago, it was fun to see it again.

Here’s a quick video I made while we were walking around.

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After the dancing fountains we walked up and down this “strip” a couple of times, where we stumbled across Karaoke Night at the bar in front of the comedy club. There were quite a few people in there doing their thing. We stopped by to hear some of the performances. A couple of beers later, I was on the stage performing “It’s A Miracle” by Barry Manilow.

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No one threw anything at the stage and I had some applause so I guess I didn’t do too badly. I didn’t show Earl how to use the Flip Camera on purpose, so there’s no video, but behind door Number 2 Anitra Ford is pleased to show you the complete eight minutes of the dancing fountain performance we watched. It won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t watch the whole thing.

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19 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept Video. 1

Pittsburgh, Pa.

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This morning Earl and I awoke in suburban Cleveland, Ohio and took a look at the weather forecast. There was a chance of showers if we headed north, but if we headed south it looked like clear sailing. We were originally going to head to Indianapolis, Indiana, but the drive home tomorrow would have been about 11 hours, plus we wouldn’t have arrived in Indy until mid afternoon.

We opted for Pittsburgh instead.

I’ve been to Pittsburgh a couple of times over the years. Back in 2003 we meandered through Pennsylvania on a ride and ended up here for the fourth of July. I distinctly remember the trip because I got a little tipsy at dinner and was enthralled with the fountains on Station Square as they danced to “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross. The fireworks in the background made me misty. The fountains are still there. This afternoon they danced to some heavier rock stuff. I remained sober.

We’ve been scouting around the city doing the tourist thing. We rode up the Duquesne Incline, walked around Mt. Washington a little bit and then rode back down on the Monongahela Incline. I think I like the first one better for the simple fact that it has open air cars in the summer and it is wicked hot here today.

We also milled about the festival atmosphere of Station Square and did some walking around downtown. We are taking a brief respite from the heat before heading out tonight for a night out on the town. I’m looking forward to the experience.

There’s a few random pictures in my shiny new MobileMe gallery. You can find that by clicking here.

Oh, I’ve also been getting tips from folks on Twitter as I update our location from time to time. This is why I love technology.

19 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 3

Willoughby, Ohio.



Navigator., originally uploaded by iMachias.

Earl and I are settled into the Days Inn in Willoughby, Ohio tonight. Earlier this week he proclaimed to me that it had been entirely too long since we went on a weekend long road trip so when he got home early from work today, we hopped into the Jeep and headed west.

I was originally going to head us into Michigan so that we could meet up with blogger friend Terry, but Terry is out of town on work so we are going to save that trip for the fall. Therefore, I have no idea where we are going tomorrow. The only constraint is that we have to keep the ride home on Sunday under 12 hours.

Earl is the principal navigator and has been wired with GPS. As you can see in the photo, he is very attentive to road signs and other important markings.

18 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 3

Always Right Behind Me.



Brother and Sister., originally uploaded by iMachias.

My sister is two years and five days younger than me. She’s my lifelong friend and has always stood behind me in both good times and bad. When we were kids she always joined in on my schemes, whether we were driving through town in a snappy crap-brown Vega, organizing a “parade” of our cousins and such for the grown-ups or riding bikes to town and back.Today she celebrates her birthday.

Happy birthday sis!

18 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 3

Kool-Aid Anyone?



I love my PowerBook G4, originally uploaded by iMachias.

Alright, after my Apple rant from earlier today, I have to come clean. Since I got all my frustrations with MobileMe/.Mac and the iPhone 2.0 release I’ve been using my MacBook Pro all afternoon and evening. I love my Macs and I think that’s why I am feeling a tad bit passionate about the snags that occurred at the end of last week and last weekend.

I love my Ubuntu Linux machine. And yes, I still love my Macs.

All is right with the world.

17 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 0

A New Decade.

Today is my birthday. And I am going to type this with a strong, confident voice: It was FORTY years ago today that I made my first appearance. That’s right, as of today I am officially 40 years old. My parents were young when I was born: my Dad had just turned 21, my Mom was 20. I am the oldest of two. My sister is two years and five days younger than me.

Back when I was in my early 20s I thought I was on top of the world and knew everything. Looking back, which was halfway to this moment, I realise that life has only gotten better as time has moved on, because NOW is when I feel like I’m on top of the world. Life is grand and I have no complaints. I complain from time to time, but that’s all trivial stuff. It’s bellyaching that I really shouldn’t indulge in.

Looking through pictures last night I found a couple of shots from various birthdays. I thought I would share them. First up is 1974. This is my sixth birthday party and if memory serves correctly I was sharing the party with my sister, who was celebrating her fourth. We had a few friends and distant cousins over for the festivities. I’m the one with red hair. My sister is sitting to my left. My mom is taking the picture, that’s a cousin once removed on my father’s side helping out with the festivities.

Next up is 1978. In the late 1970s my father was taking lessons to become a private pilot, so most of our Sunday afternoons in the summer were spent at the local airfield. If you look closely you can see a Cessna 172 parked in the background. We’d have a picnic with the pilots association and my sister and I would join our airport friends climbing trees or scaling the wall between airplane hangers or picking wild strawberries along the runway. The woman making sure I’m not falling off the picnic table is named Lavinia. We called her Vinnie. I always thought that her named implied an southern accent, but I don’t recall her having one. There’s felt tip marker marks all over the photo. That sometimes happens.

In 1991 I worked for The Resource Center in a community residence for developmentally disabled adults. I worked on my 23rd birthday and then went out to the local bar that night alone. The folks at Hunt Road CR had a little birthday cake for me; here I’m given my birthday kiss by one of the ladies that lived there.

In 1997 Earl and I drove to Walt Disney World that July. We ended up at his folks on the way home right around my birthday. I was turning 29 years old. We were a little more than a year into our relationship and still getting to know each other. The honeymoon lingers on today.

I feel great as I start this new decade of my life. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.

13 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept Ponderings and Musings 9

Gig.



Gig., originally uploaded by iMachias.

I found the perfect t-shirt for my mood tonight.

11 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 1

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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