Pop. Jiffy Pop.

I always find it amazing how much crap goes through my brain. Especially when I’m cycling. I get into this whole “athletic zone” and think about a myriad of subjects, all of them unimportant.

On my ten mile jaunt this evening, I decided that I need to change my nickname. This line of thought came about because I was asked what “J.P.” stood for*. Most people know me as “J.P.” Its the name I tend to use except with doctors and dentists and such and that’s only because they don’t know better. I do a lot of talking on the phone at work, especially with a really big telecommunications company that rhymes with “Horizon” and when I say my name they always mangle it. “J.B.”? “J.Z.”? “Chippy?” “J.T.”?

So I’ve decided that from now on they can call me Jiffy. Like Jiffy Pop. I’ve always been a big fan of popcorn. I like Jiffy Pop, especially over a campfire (which you’re not suppose to do). And as I think about it, Jiffy Pop is probably better than “Jiffy Lube”. Jiffy Lube sounds kind of kinky. If I were to do porn movies, then I could be Jiffy Lube, but at the family reunion this weekend it would be kind of odd to have Earl introduce me to long lost relatives as Jiffy Lube. People would blush. Including me.

I once toyed with the name “J. Bear”. But I don’t really feel the name adequately describes me. I’m not a big fan of labels, anyway. Besides, I think it would subconsciously give me permission to gain weight. And we all know how I feel about that.

So the next time I’m asked what “J.P.” stands for, I’m going to tell them Jiffy Pop. “Oh.”, they’ll say with an odd look on their face. Then they’ll try to normalize the conversation… “How’s your day going?”

“Just Peachy.”

# # #

I met an online buddy face to face (for an appreciable amount of time) for the first time today. I mentioned Mike a couple of months ago. We’ve been chatting back and forth on e-mail, and since he had the day off we decided to get together for lunch. It was good fun. We talked old department stores, roads, cycling and rollerblading, beards, the fact that we’re exactly a month apart in age and that he grew up just around the corner from my aunt and uncle’s house and we’d probably seen each other as kids. It was cool and it’s nice to have a new friend. Earl and I will probably get together again with him soon, if I didn’t spook him today or anything.

22 June 2005 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Mac Mini Activate!

I’ve decided to utilize the Mac Mini a little bit more in my daily computing routine. I’ve been waiting for the USB interface that will allow me to record audio into the computer from my mixing board to arrive, but it’s been on back order for the past two months. So the Mac Mini has just sort of been sitting there. Then I realized that I can record audio easily on my PowerBook, so I’ve swapped the two to see how I like it.

Right now it’s a little disconcerting, because I’ve grown very attached to my PowerBook, but I think the Mac Mini is enjoying stretching his legs.

I really shouldn’t get so personal with inanimate objects.

21 June 2005 by Geek 0

Colored.

Whose idea was it to colorize classic movies and television shows anyway? Today marks the DVD release of the first season of “Bewitched”. It’s being released in two sets – one in the original black and white, the other with colorized episodes.

I watched the colorized episodes when they ran on the Hallmark channel a couple of years ago. They don’t look bad. They look much better than most colorized media. Back in the early days of colorization when Ted Turner colorized the first season of “Gilligan’s Island”, it was downright painful to watch the end result. With these colorized “Bewitched” episodes, they look almost natural, but there’s some inconsistencies that you can’t help but notice. For example, if you watch a couple of episodes in a row, you’ll notice that Samantha wears the same dress, except it changes color from episode to episode. Also, even though Endora’s robes were shades of green in the later color episodes, in the early episodes they were shades of purple and lavender. However, the colorized episodes show them in various hues of green.

Another thing that I’ve always noticed with the colorization projects is that when a character opens their mouth, their teeth and tongue are always in black and white. Was their breath so bad it knocked the color right out of the rainbow? I don’t think so.

Part of the charm of the classics is the beauty of black and white. Just because we have the ability to colorize these old films doesn’t mean we have to do it. What’s even more appauling is that while I wanted the black and white DVD set of Bewitched, it couldn’t be found at any of our local retailers. In fact, the kid at Circuit City asked, “Why would you want black and white anyway?” Thank the universe for yesterday’s dream/spiritual awakening, or else I would have gone off on him.

21 June 2005 by Why. 0

The Path.


The sky was a mix of rose, mauve and a pale blue. I could smell the scent of lilac on the gentle breeze. Off to my right was a beautiful body of water. The waves gently lapped at the shore. Below me was a beautiful sandy beach. On my left appeared a beautiful silouette. An apparition. A spirit. A soul. Human words can not express the beauty, the vibrance or the essence of the figure that appeared. I instinctively knew her name as “Amanda”. She was recognizable beyond doubt as soon as I sensed her.

“You’ve asked for my help in the past. I’m always here for you, in the past, in the present and in the future.”

Lying ahead of me in the sand was a well defined path. The path stretched ahead for what seemed an eternity. I could see no end.

“You are on the right path. You have your doubts, but not to worry, for you will know when you’ve veered off course.” As she said that, I saw myself walking down a rocky path. There was a yellow and brown snake along side, not threatening, but frightening me nonetheless. There was no breeze, no scent of lilac. There were bushes with thorns. None of this was frightening, but it was disconcerting and gave me the sense of “wrong”.

My consciousness brought me back to the sandy beach, the body of water, the gentle wind. I saw others effortlessly walking in the distance. They were each walking their own path, intersecting with one another. But I couldn’t walk. My feet were heavy. I could barely lift my legs. The sand was holding me down.

“Your own negativity is holding you down. It’s preventing you from walking your path easily. You have many gifts. You bring joy to others, through laughter, through the sparkle in your eyes. But you complain about life. You never seem happy. You’re making the walk much more difficult than it needs to be.”

I continued to try to walk forward. The sand was still heavy, my feet were heavy, but I managed to take to steps forward. Along side me, on my right, appeared another spirit or soul. I instantly recognized him as Earl. He was a little younger looking, but it was definitely Earl.

“He’s here for you, as you are here for him. You’re walking the path together. Your guides are always here, watching over you. Lift your feet. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be lazy. Walk your path. Just stop complaining about the journey. Look around, there’s beauty everywhere.”

“Walk your path, John. Clear your mind of negativity. Focus on all the positive aspects of life. Share your gifts with others. Then walk your path with confidence. Just stop complaining about it.”


And with a final scent of lilac, I awoke, feeling absolutely wonderful this morning. I believe someone is trying to tell me something.

20 June 2005 by Spiritual Stuff. 1

Happy Fathers’ Day

My dad is cool. A man of few words, he still gets his point across and his feelings know. He’s a “good ol’ boy” and I mean that in every good way possible. His memory is astounding (something I happily inherited from him). His outlook on the world is definitely his own. When many men in my position would find their paths diverging from their father’s, I’m finding myself closer than ever to him. It gives me a great deal of pride to say “that’s my Dad.”

Happy Fathers’ Day, Dad.

J.P. and his dad - '98
Here we are at my 30th birthday party in 1998. He had just announced to the entire party “That’s my boy!”

19 June 2005 by Flickr 0

Everything But The Uniform.

Earl and I spent the day today preparing for our upcoming Big Camping Adventure. We set up the camper in the driveway so we were sure we can do it, no matter the weather. We were able to get the whole thing set up in less than 10 minutes. Not bad for our trial run!

We then shopped at any store in the area that had a hint of camping supplies. Vinyl tablecloths, bug repellent wipes, mountain pie makers, lawn chairs, you name it, we found it and bought it. We were having difficulty locating the things we needed and found ourselves rather stumped after visiting Wal*Mart, Target and K-mart. Then we realized that we had our very own Gander Mountain so we went wild in there. Always good fun.

To cap off the evening, we brushed up on our crime-fighting skills by watching Batman Begins. It was a good movie. We both agreed it was the best of the Batman movies to date. Not quite as good (at least for us) as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which we saw last night, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Now we feel completely prepared for our camping adventure coming up in a couple of weeks. I’m looking forward to it.

19 June 2005 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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