Visiting
Mary
- A little hike to start the day up.
November 28, 2009
Becky
and I got out early this morning, and headed to Shenandoah for a little exercise.
We are both pretty out of shape,
though she is a bit worse off then me, so we have decided to get out a
bit more, get back on the trail, and do some serious hiking. We
had found out the hard way last week when we hiked about four miles in
Pennsylvania along the Appalachian Trail. We went up the AT on a
steep 700 foot climb to Chimney Rocks, a vista in Michaux
State Forest near Gettysburg. I felt pretty good
afterwards. I little stiff the next morning, but not too bad.
Becky, however, was hurting, and
was stiff for three days afterwards.
So
this week it was out to hike Mary's Rock in the Shenandoah
National Park. I looked over the maps and found there were two
ways to hike it, each about three miles round trip. I decided to
take the route with far less elevation gain and to take it a little
easier. She wanted to take the harder hike, but I reminded her of
last week and she agreed that maybe it was best to do something a little
less strenuous.
The hike turned out to be very
nice. There were no letterboxes to get, or at least I didn't go
looking for clues, this morning was all about the hike and the enjoyment
of it. The sun was out and the skies were blue, so though it was
cold and the was a bitter wind coming from the west, we still worked up
a sweat.
We
did not stay at the rocks every long. As soon as we got to the top
and rounded the last bend to the vista we were hit by some very strong
winds. It got cold pretty quickly then. I took a few
pictures and we headed down.
On the way down we decided we
had not had a long enough trip so we passed by the trail that led down
to the parking lot and continued on the Appalachian
Trail to the Crow's Nest shelter to see what there was to see.
We found the old stone shelter
with smoke billowing out of the chimney. Inside around the fire
were four men, and a dog, who had been out on the trail since
Thanksgiving. They were having a good time, and invited us in for
some coffee and we talked about different hikes and what we had been
doing. They, like us, had not seen another soul on the yet, despite
the parking lot being nearly full. We figured everyone else was
smart and went into the valley where it was warmer and without the wind.
We
bid farewell and took a shortcut down a fire road to the car. We
drove up along Skyline Drive to Front Royal, stopping at the visitor's
center, and got something to eat at Jalisco
Mexican Restaurant in town, one of Becky's favorites.
Thanksgiving
- Figuring I will start back up with a little
letter
November 26, 2009
There
is so much to be thankful for this year.
I am thankful each day when the
sun rises above the horizon and breaths life into this vast, wonderful
world.
I am thankful to live in this
great, free nation where I have the liberty to pursue life to its
fullest. In that vein I am so very grateful for the many men and
women who risk their lives so that I may remain free.
I am thankful that in this
complex world the simplest things are still some of the most
satisfying. A beautiful sunrise, the changing of the colors in the
fall, a stream as it cascades over rock ledges. These are some of
the simple things that lighten my heart and bring a smile to my face.
I am thankful to have a strong,
healthy family that has always loved and supported me and helped me grow
into the man I am today.
But most of all, I am eternally
thankful to have such a wonderful wife in Becky. I am thankful to
rise each morning and find her warm body next to mine, to find her hand
grasping for mine, to see the glow in her eyes and the smile on her face
when I walk into the house. Nothing can bring me more joy then to
hear her laugh when I tease her, or to hear her giggles when I wrap my
arms around her and kiss her on the back of the neck. She makes my
life an everyday pleasure and makes it worth living, she is the one I
cannot live without, and for that I am very thankful.
Oh man! Gag me with a wooden
spoon! What ever happen to your cold hearted posts? Just kidding man.
I am thankful that you are a not so bitter man now a days.
Hope you ate lots of bird!
David (Team New Hampshire)
1000?
- At least by my rough count
May 21, 2009
So,
about a month ago I did a rough count of my letterbox finds. I
don't often, but sometimes it is interesting to see how many I really
have found. Or at least how many I remember and fit the standards
of what I consider to really be a letterbox. It is amazing how
much grey area has developed over the last few years that make you
wonder.
Anyway, I finally looked over my
logbook on AQ, axed ones that I didn't think were really letterboxes in
my eyes and added some I did. I came out with a number in the
980's
"Hmmm," I
thought. If I really plan things right I could make something
special out of my 1000th find. Then, Becky and I were biking the
W&OD trail out towards Vienna. We went past an area called
Clark's Crossing.
"The first letterbox I ever
actually found was out there." She says to me.
"Is it still there?"
"I don't know, it is an old
box."
So I went looking for clues, and
found them in the letterboxing.org basement. That meant the clues
had been basically abandoned on the site, and there was no telling if
the box was still there as it is no longer being maintained. Well,
that has never stopped me from looking.
I worked my way up to 999.
I managed to find a bunch of mystery boxes over the last few weeks, and
Becky and I went out a few times as well. Last Friday, although I
was very ill, we decided to go looking for the box on the way out to get
dinner since we had some extra time.
It was a warm afternoon, none
the helped by my own raging fever, and humid. The trail was very
muddy and the bugs were biting, but the woods were pleasant and I none
the less enjoyed the walk with Becky.
When we finally reached the
final part of the very straight forward clue we were not sure we were in
the right place, but I peered around the tree I thought it was and sure
enough, there is a giant pile of twigs hiding a massive, old rubbermaid
container.
The box was soaked inside, but
the contents were sealed well in bags and somewhat dry. There was
a separate box inside that had the logbook archives, which were wet but
can be saved. We plan to restore the box and see about getting it
out of the basement to encourage others to enjoy it.
I do love these old boxes, to
look back on who has visited over the years. Not only way it
Becky's first box, but also Scarab's first so many years ago. I
would love for these boxes to last forever, but I also love to see them
stay as they are, and not replaced if they do go missing. This box
is a great piece of local letterboxing history, and I am glad to find it
and see it still where it was originally placed over nine years ago.
Feedback
- I know, I said I wasn't counting - Email me
Grocery
Store Wars - I
miss where I used to shop
May 12, 2009
I
know, it has been a while since I have written, I've been busy and this
blog has been a bit low on the priority list, but I figure I should take
some time every few days to say something, anything, so here we go,
again.
I hate those shopper cards the
grocery stores have. Really, please, I just want to buy what I put
in my cart, I want it at the sales price they list, and I don't want to
have to carry some stupid card around and be on a mailing list. Is
that so hard? Not for some places, they get it. Up in
Pennsylvania, Giant food stores, not to be confused with the stores of
the same name down here, have a shoppers card but have no problem if you
don't want one. They ring it through with a smile and never an
argument about it. Same with Acme.
Redners, which I dearly
miss, doesn't even have one and they advertise as such.
Here, I have two very close
stores, within walking distance. Both have the shoppers
cards. The Safeway is a nice large store that has
everything. The store is well stocked, has a deli and bakery that
is decent. It is a bit more expensive then the close by Bottom
Dollar, but the Bottom Dollar only has the basics.
Here is the big difference to
me. At Safeway I go to the
register and they refuse to ring a card through for me, telling me they
cannot, it is against company policy. I walked out of the store,
leaving a basket full of groceries the other night because of
this.
Bottom
Dollar, on the other hand, seems to have no problem that I don't
want a card, as I found out tonight, and I thanked the cashier and told
her this is just why I will prefer to shop there over the Safeway.
I don't understand what it is
that Safeway doesn't get? It is simple, if it doesn't cost the
company anything, and it will make a customer happy, then you do it,
because they will come back. I will be going back to Bottom
Dollar, but will be avoiding the Safeway from now on.
A
Handyman in Me - Lots
of work done, but much more ahead
January 6, 2009
I
have lots of work with the house to do, and it seems the list gets
longer and more expensive each day. I guess it is a "Welcome
to home ownership" type of thing. But, I did want a project,
and as I get things done, I have been happy with the results.
Over the past few days I have
gotten a good deal done. On Friday, with very little trouble, I
changed the locks on the front door. It had to be done, we had no
key for the deadbolt and the door knob was less then secure. It
didn't take anymore then an hour, but by the time I was ready to start
my folks had gotten here from Philly, I didn't expect them for another
hour, so after the usual nickel tour I went to work, with my father's
help (well, he moved some boxes around to get ready for the move in the
next day, which was a big help) while Becky and my mother headed to Arlington to do some
packing.
That
has not been the only project. I spent four hours and got a brand
new faucet installed on the kitchen sink. It looks great, and I
also installed new fittings and valves below it which stopped a slow
leak under the sink.
A new
cartridge in the bathtub stopped the slow dripping it was doing.
That was a job as well, as that thing just did not want to come out.
Becky
had simply tried to change the light bulb in the bathroom and that
fixture fell off the wall. So it got replaced too.
My
current project is the master bedroom. It was wallpapered and then
painted over, twice. So I am stripping, though just two
walls. The other two and going to be meeting the business end of a
sledge hammer within a year, so no sense in stripping them, I will just
paint them a third time for now.
Well,
just two weeks to her birthday party, and I think we are already seeing
light at the end of the clean-up tunnel for this thing.
Well,
we are finally in! Moving day came and went, and it went very
well.
I should start with our first
night in the house, New Year's Eve. We decided to stay at home,
enjoy some beer and play some pool. I got the radio going and we
danced and had a really nice evening. Next door they were having a
party, a good one from the sounds of it. At about ten after
midnight, though, the power goes out, with lots of shouts coming from
the party. Seconds later it was back on, only to go out for good
minutes later. We decided, after fumbling around to find a
flashlight, that it was time for bed, but it will be a first night to
remember.
On Saturday we got a gang
together to get Becky moved. She and I stayed in Arlington that
night to do some last minute packing. Becky has soooo much stuff,
lots of cloths and boxes and boxes of shoes. Well, I guess she is
a woman! Anyway, Karen came over and we got things ready to
go. We picked up the truck and I started to load the little stuff
while waiting for her cousins John and Tom to get there. By noon
we had everything out and loaded, and off to Sterling we went.
Tom had the wise idea to order
ahead for pizza, and Becky stopped to pick it up so we had it when we
got there. I already had a ton of beer in the fridge.
Karen had to leave, but we were
aided in Sterling by General Judy who said she had never hired movers to
help her. She was a big help getting things into the house and
situated. Within just a few hours we were all unloaded. Now
to just figure out where to put everything.
Fear - But
with that there is also joy
December 31, 2008
I
really don't know how else to say it. I have just made a huge
change in my life, one that I know is for the better, and it scares the
hell out of me.
Becky and I have finally bought
a house and are moving in together.
We settled on December 30, and
the first thing we did was drive to the house, carry our new pool cues
and balls in, and played a game. She was thrilled that the owner
left the pool table for us. It is not the best table, but it
works, and eventually we can get a nice one. As she says, we just
paid 270 grand for a pool table, but it came with this cool house for
free.
We are very excited by the
prospect, and very much looking forward to it. The house is a nice
place, but it also needs work, and we have decisions to make about what
needs to be done. While I would like to do some major renovations,
I think we are going to just start out with some painting and just
cleaning up. Neither of us like wall paper too much, and the house
is covered in it, so that alone is going to be a big project. But
at the same time, it will be fun to pick out colors and figure out what
we want to do with different rooms.
The house itself is a split
foyer. When you come in the front door you can go upstairs to the
living room, dinning room and kitchen. There are also three
bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms upstairs. Downstairs is
another bedroom, an office and a large family room. I think we
will spend most of our time there, since we are going to make that our
game room, with the TV and a pool table down there. Eventually we
want to install a fireplace, something she is dieing to have.
Out back is a very large deck,
below which is a screened in porch. It has a nice front yard and a
smallish backyard that is covered in ivy.
There is much to do, but first
we have to get moved in. I moved all my stuff in last night.
Becky's friend Matt and I took care of the truck pretty quickly. We
need to have the carpets cleaned downstairs, so we tried to keep it all
upstairs. Saturday Becky is getting moved in. So we have the
next few days to get her packed up and ready to go first thing Saturday
morning, though some stuff is moved already, and more will be done in
our trips to and from.
We are excited, but it is a huge
undertaking, and is very scary at the same time. I have left my
job in Philly, as well as my home there, and am transplanting myself in
DC now. I never thought I would do it, to be honest, but she is
just such a wonderful woman, I just have to be with her, I love her so
very much. Becky is worth the change, and in the end I know it
will be better. She is taking on a huge new responsibility
herself, home ownership. The mortgage is vastly more then her
rent, and while we can afford it, she has to carry us for a little bit
while I get settled in and get some work.
Then there is the emotional
toll. I don't want to feel like I am leaching off her. She
is stressed out over the mortgage, electric, the move, and the holidays
all at once.
But we both know that in the end
we both love each other far too greatly to let these things get in the
way. The the fear of owning that new home will be over come and we
will be better off in the long run for it. We have a lot of work
to do to truly make it our home, but we will face it together and have
fun while doing it.
A
Gloomy Morning - There
are dark clouds on the horizon
November 5, 2008
Thomas
Paine wrote in "The American Crisis" that "These are the
times that try men's souls." He was writing of the most
difficult days of the American Revolution. The days when it seemed
that all hope was lost, that America would lose in its fight for independence,
and that the ideas of the enlightenment would die. It truly was a
time of crisis, but his words brought hope, hope that the spirit of
America was still shining brightly through the dark, gloomy morning, and
that the forces of the monarchy and tyranny would eventually fail.
They did fail, and the soul of
the American spirit thrived. It sputtered along the way, lost
ground here and there, but continued on. Americans continue to
fight for that hope of liberty, hope of freedom from the tyranny of government,
and the belief that the individual man, without government intervention,
can do right for his family and his nation.
We have lost a great battle in
this struggle last night. The morning dawn revealed dark clouds on
America's horizon. The march of socialism, the belief that not the
individual man, but government, will do right by you and your family,
continues to plague this great nation.
But there is a glimmer of hope
on the horizon. Sometimes man must be taken through a dark storm
to realize just how bad things can be. When he goes into his
workplace and finds that he no longer has the right to a secret
ballot. When he opens his pay and finds that the government has
taken much of what he has earned. When the airwaves are silenced
so the opposition to the government cannot be heard. When the
state no longer has the ability to make laws to serve their own people
and federal law supersedes all. When the government forces him to
serve, watches over him at the point of a gun, takes his home so that
those that have not earned it may have it. When a man can no
longer arm himself to protect him and his family. Those are the
dark days, the storm that is hovering over America. Those will be
the days that will try men's souls, and those are the days that will
lead to the true hope that our founding fathers had for their fledgling
nation over two hundred years ago.
The war of ideas is still being
waged, and America will survive. It will be long and hard, but
America will be free again.
A
Truce? - There
was a war and I missed it?
October 16, 2008
First, let me set the record
straight on my involvement on the newboxers list. I had been a
member of that list for about three years, and in that time I had made
just 120 postings, hardly many, by any standard, for that time. None
of those posts have been derogatory towards other members of the
list. Most often I have posted helpful information, though
sometimes I have disagreed with things that have been said. Many
times I have totally bitten my tongue, preferring not to say anything
that would lead to an argument.
I
also feel there is a fundamental problem with the list. It is
great that there is a place for folks that are new to the hobby to go
and post questions that otherwise would be very, very repetitive in
other places. I think this was the goal of the list from the
start, but I think it has also turned into a place for the elitists to
groom new folks to their style of boxing, and I think this stifles
creativity. I do not think that the more veteran letterboxers
should be posting topics of the week, discussing office politics or initiating
discussion,
that should be left to the new boxers themselves to do. The
veterans should simply sit back and answer questions that arise in an
objective manner.
And
objectivity is something that is needed when a list or forum of any type
is being moderated. That is not something that you seem to get
with the newboxers list. It is clear that I had done nothing
wrong, and if there were complaints, which now I wonder if that is true,
then they should have been brought to me first, not simply moderating
and then minutes later banning me. I have always conducted myself
well on that list, and that is what Mark Pepe should have told those who
have complained. Instead, he let his own feelings get in the way
and. Further, he lied and tried to cover up for what he did, and
for his own hypocrisy.
dear cyclonic,
the moderators and owner of the newboxers yahoo group wanted you to know
that all posts referring to your moderation and banning have been
deleted from the yahoo group. the purpose behind this is to not
influence your reputation as an individual and letterboxer. while it is
true that many have already seen the posts there are those in the future
who will not. we are all truly sorry for what has happened and
wish you the best.
sincerely,
uneksia
This is called covering up,
and it is not for the betterment of my reputation, but for the
betterment of that of Mark Pepe's and Don's reputation. If they
were truly sorry then Mark would have personally apologized for his
actions and he would have removed himself as list owner and
moderator. Instead he has a poll to see if I should be allowed
back, and then ignores it when the majority of the respondents say yes I
should.
That list is not a place I
would recommend for new boxers, they are better off with their local
groups, such as the Mid-Atlantic list or the Great Lakes list.
There they can be welcomed, grow in the hobby, and see what it is truly
about, not what some people want them to think it is about. I wish
no part of that list, and every time I see it recommended to a new boxer
I will advise against it. Further, I hope that other list owners
who have Mark Pepe as a moderator take into serious consideration as to
if he is someone who can actually do the job correctly and not be
calling members names behind the scenes.
Finally, I would like to
thank all who have sent me their overwhelming support. It is
greatly appreciated, and shows that I am not alone in thinking this is
truly a travesty. The many comments have all been added in the
feedback section of the last entry.
Feedback
- You are allowed to disagree with me - Email me
Banned!
- Guess it is wrong to have a disagreement
with the elitists.
October 14, 2008
So,
I guess when you think one of the elitists is wrong you are not allowed
to say so.
Don posted on the new boxers
list:
How many mystery boxes are
listed, linked, or filed here?
Do not post where you have found them, only the number.
I took that to mean he would
like to know no who posted a box, or where it was posted, but
simply how many were listed. I also felt that was something he
should learn for himself. So I replied:
Is that not something you
should figure out for yourself?
I think that is reasonable, and
I thought I got a reasonable response:
Actually Nathan the
question was meant to try to get newboxers thinking
outside of the box, but to tell you the truth my guess is that no
one
knows exactly how many mystery boxes are hidden amongst the
various
areas in this chatlist's nooks and crannies.
While I have my own guess, it may be woefully short.
Part of this chatlist's concept is to help educate newboxers
rather
than to lurk about and toss out comments once in a while that
serve
little purpose. The main list has sufficient numbers of those types
of
comments. Thus you now have my explanation for the original
'question'.
I thought that the explanation would have been unnecessary for
most
letterboxers, but since you posed your own question about it I
figured
there may be others that needed a clearer explanation as well.
Thank
you for the opportunity for clearity.
OK, I get it. Dense
me didn't see his question that way, but I probably was not the only
one.
I would have been more
straightforward, but hey, I get it now.
Evidentally others thought
I was being mean somehow and complained about me. Perhaps even
Don.
First I get a note from
Mark saying that I was being put on moderation due to complaints.
I am confused, I don't really understand what there is to complain
about, so I ask what kind of complaints?
his attitude
seems like he's always picking a fight
why is this guy so angry
Those are 3 of the complaints.
This is the response I
get. OK, what was I angry about? Before I can pose the
question it is posted on the newboxers list that I have been banned:
Hi boxers,
I'm very sorry for the message that got through. I thought Don had
emailed me privately.
Cyclonic has been banned from this list after repeated complaints
from
many of you today and other times.
Again, I'm sorry for my post - it wasn't intended for mass consumption.
Mark
What? What
message. Then it posts to my email:
Don
I just put the SOB on moderation and sent him an email to that
effect.
Why are some people so disagreeable.
Anyway - we'll comb over his posts with a fine tooth comb.
I'm hoping he'll get pissed enough to just go away.
What more can I say?
What more needs to be said? I post a simple one line reply and get
banned, while Mark posts this to the list. Well, I don't think
that is a list I need to be a part of anyway.
But this should be a
warning to all out there. Don't disagree with the elitists, they
are always right. Always heap praise upon them, tell them how
wonderful all of their ideas and plans are. Hold your tongue
should you think they are wrong, for they will get you too.
Feedback
- You are allowed to disagree with me - Email me
pepe la
pue!
nathan,
what an ass!
oh wait, did i accidentually post this on your blog?
let me apoligy and make my mistake go away!
david (team new hampshire)
Sweetie! I An official
SOB and banned! I am so proud.
Can you help me become the official Letterbox SL%* and banned too? Maybe
you could write a book for us non-conformists on methods and irritating
questions to post.
So angry = ask a question to a question?
"Why are the skies blue?"
"Must we use lock-n-lock boxes?"
"Why are the moderators so wonderful?"
" Can I use ziplock or must it be glad freezer baggies?"
I know why I lurk and just look for those clues (linked or otherwise) on
the boards, but I admire your ability to provoke thought. Yes, you
irritate me at times and our views are not always parallel. But it never
angers me, makes me think and take a second look at something. That is
what I have truly loved about this hobby. The wide diversity of the
people. I have found so many people with differences (although there are
many similarities too) and backgrounds from my own. We can still enjoy
each other's company and conversation because of this lunacy we
call a hobby/sport/pastime. And I find that I love them anyway, despite
our differences.
Hugz to you and Becky!
Pink
(Who finds this whole thing both hilarious and sad at the same time. And
can think for herself what is right or wrong.....)
Nathan,
It's funny when I've talked with other letterboxers about you, they give
me the same reaction-- that you are mean-spirited and nasty.
I have never seen you that way. Yes, you can be a bit
abrasive but even when we disagree you are still 'nice'-- never
name calling, never reduced yourself to that. Then
again, I think that overall people are ruled by emotions rather than by
reason, therefore instead of engaging you in debate they get their
feelings hurt and think that you are mean. But perhaps since I
know you, I am able to understand your tone. I am a bit shocked by
the reaction from Mark Pepe-- it just seems kind of low, if you ask
me. I don't know what to say about that except something my
great-grandmother used to say, "May those who love you love you!
And those who don't may God turn their ankles so you will recognize them
for their limp!"
Take care,
Cherish
PS Say hello to the lovely Becky for me! How are wedding plans
coming along?
I've been thinking of you both lately and I hope all is
well.
Just saw that you have
felt the heavy hand of the post police. Some of us Ohioans have
been privately snickering at Don & Gwen for sometime for certain
snotty comments he sends to folks. That was the main reason I
carved the 'Cry babies' stamps a couple weeks ago, a direct dig at the
post police.
-Anonymous
Sorry you've been given
the boot from the PC police. Since you seem to not be able to see
the follow-up argument and posts, here's what's posted for your perusal
(including mine):
"Now that yesterday's fiasco is behind us, and everyone has had
achance to calm down, I wonder what everyone thinks of what
happened.Were multiple complaints enough to get Cyclonic banned? Did I
act inhaste?It seems I've been accused of wanting people to box my way.
I'vealways said this list is your list.Talk to me - do we invite
Cyclonic back?Mark"
From the time on this post, is this causing you to lose sleep?
I don’t know what all went on as I didn’t pay attention to the whole
thread. I only saw one response from him in the thread about Mystery
boxes. Were his other posts that raised complaints already deleted?
Was Cyclonic contacted before being banned by the moderators? Is it
possible he came into the middle of the discussion and really thought it
was an inappropriate subject. I don’t think the subject was
inappropriate and it in no way was asking people to reveal the location
of Mystery boxes.
This is supposed to be a learning place for newboxers, and understanding
things like Mystery boxes can be a mystery. Was Cyclonic stirring things
up rather than being helpful? Such behavior from anyone will scare away
people; there is a certain amount of responsibility that comes with
participating on a board for newcomers.
However…
This may be better addressed off the board directly with Cyclonic and
then the resolution brought to the board.
Baqash who is also up WAAAYYY to early
Several more basically, I think, misunderstood your intent, thought you
were being disruptive and agreed "for the sake of the group"
to keep you off the list.
You know... I don't think he's really going to care one way or theother.
As someone who has had a ton of experience as moderators onYahoo group
boards and within actual, honest-to-goodness,
meet-you-in-a-brick-and-mortar-building support groups, Cyclonic is the
type ofperson (sorry for boiling it down to a type) who is all around
us.Groups can be formed with the intent to discourage this, but 1:
theyare not going to stay away forever mainly because their actions
areusually not personal and they like groups too AND 2: those
groupsreally do themselves a disservice, especially in the cyber world
asyou can just choose, as this anonymous poster has wisely done,
toignore the things that make you jerk and learn everything they
canotherwise.Letterboxing IS a fun hobby. This is a personal opinion,
but it's funfor me because I get to get OUT with my flesh and
bloodfamily/children/friends and enjoy the interaction. Sitting at
thekeyboard/computer is a tool... sometimes a community... but mosty
notpersonal experience as most of us will never see one another inperson
or have anything else to do with one another. And certainlynot the meat
and bulk of this hobby, no matter how much you like tolurk on the boards
and research the online clues.I don't do a lot of posting on this site
either, because I do find ithighly opinionated and it's mask is
niceness. A PC kind of thing.It's the opposite extreme and I find it
just as hard to read/listento as the devil's advocate side. That's ok.
To each his own.Honestly, and it's hard, I try to adopt the ducks
approach and justlet disagreeable things slide off... cause there's
really too manyfights to fight already. But if this is your fight to
fight, I wouldsay "get OUT there and box", cause this one's
not going away, nomatter who you ban.Eeny Meany Miney Moe
The conversation is still going on. Sorry about that. But
again, since you have your own blog and ready access to Atlas quest, I
really don't think you care too much.
Feeling your "pain".
-EMMM
Hi Nathan,
Don't worry about the thought police, as I am sure that many of us have
been subjected to a "Drive By Pepe-ing" at one time or
another, be it in private or in public. It is kind of like getting
peed on or sprayed by a skunk - the annoyance is temporary and fades
over time. The hypocrisy of it all is that 'acquaintances' of his
have done far worse than anything, yet nothing happens.
With all good wishes, always,
-LB
Dear Nathan
I'm so sorry about the abuse you've received on the list.
Currently there's
a poll to find out if the members think you should be
"allowed" back. I
told them you should be invited, as opposed to allowed, since I doubt
you
want to be there - but you should be asked and apologized to.
I sympathize with your problems with Don. I've received a few
nasty emails
from him in the past for calling him on his hypocrisy. My favorite
was when
he admonished boxers that it was stupid to plant boxes in places with no
significance and to never do it. Followed by admitting that he
himself had
many boxes like that, but no one else should do it. God, he's such
an ass.
Even when you upset people, you're at least honest. I'm so sick of
the
two-faced attitudes and the veneration of the "famous"
letterboxers. Ick.
I hope to meet sometime in person! If you're ever in Oregon, drop
me a
line. We'll avoid the self-important, self-righteous, famous
boxers, I
promise. ;)
-Sam
I just want to say that
while I may not always agree with you, I think the whole post on the new
boxer list about the SOB and running you off the list and then banning
you was a little uncalled for. I really didn't see anything wrong
with your question. So after reading my email with all the newboxer
posts and reading your blog(to which I'm subscribed) I decided to leave
the Newboxer list. I really didn't want to be on a list where people get
banned for trying to get other people to think. Like I said I
don't always agree but you definitely make me think about stuff from
other angles. Just remember to get out there and BOX!!!
-HG
Weirdly, my first
thought was that y'all were taking those fake potshots at each other
that happens every so often under "Isn't it funny...they'll never
know" bs that rears its ugly head every so often, makes onlookers
not in the know uncomfortable, and passes along with the long-timers all
slapping themselves on their backs,laughing all the way.
More stupid stuff from online community fun.
People speaking for you were a nice surprise and a good collection of
folks, even if I say so myself.
-Patsy
From past experience
with Mark Pepe, I do not believe he received a single complaint about
your post. I personally believe the man is lying and made it up.
Here's why --
A similar thing happened in the past where I was only tangentially
involved. A friend of mine, and an up and coming powerful
personality in letterboxing (who Mark didn't realise was a friend of
mine, and who
Mark seemed to have a mission to disparage (for reasons unknown to me)),
made an offhand comment about one of my mystery boxes. As you may
or may not know, I dislike information leaks about my boxes (well, just
about everyone, including Mark, knew this at the time). The
comment was so innocuous that even paranoid me didn't think twice about
it. The person who made the comment knew what he or she was doing.
Anyway, Mark did not realise I was lurking on the list where the comment
was made. After the post, Mark sent me an e-mail asserting that
three different people had complained to _him_
about this person spoiling my box.
Ok, what is wrong with this picture?
"Those are 3 of the complaints." [from your blog]
Notice it is 3 in both cases. Ok, not much.
More importantly, not a single person complained to _me_
about this individual spoiling my box. Ok, why would three people
complain to _Mark
Pepe_ about person X spoiling my
box, yet zero people
complain to _me_?
(Mark Pepe was not a moderator on the list in question, nor did he have
any part whatsoever in the creative process behind the box).
Occam's Razor requires us to look for the most likely answer that
fits the facts. Occam's Razor requires us to posit that Mark was
lying about the fact that three people complained to him about spoiling
my box. That is the most likely answer that fits the facts.
Moreover, a motive can be posited, is that Mark wished me to view the
individual in question negatively, given the putative history (or
desire) of/to disparaging this individual, and (presumably), not wishing
them to be come part of the "elite cirque" (who Mark
presumably thought I was part of -- barf!).
Given that we have reasonable reason to suggest that Mark was lying
about e-mails received in my case, it seems reasonable to posit he was
lying about e-mails received in your case.
In the interest of fairness and intellectual honesty, however, we must
remember to be critical readers and separate the facts from conjecture
in my comments above, and make their own conjectures
based on the presented facts.
That said, I remain convinced that Mark Pepe lied about individuals
complaining to him about someone posting spoilers about my box, and lied
about posters complaining about you. Why? Who knows?
Well, I have an idea, but that is for another time.
BTW, I do not know you or Mark well at all. I have no reason to
support you and disparage Mark, and vice versa. I am simply a
neutral observer who worships at the altar of fact and logic, with no
agenda at all, and am simply trying to call this one as I see it IMHO.
-
Drive-by
Dilemma
- So many drive-bys, and they are boring!
October 9, 2008
Someone
recently posted on AQ about the dumbing down that seems to be happening
with letterboxing (I would say it was Don, and that it was on the
Premium Members board so I can't link directly, but some folks would
probably get mad at that). Mr X had taken their planting record
and reordered it according to the most recently found. He found
that 32 of the last 50 of his boxes found were drive-by boxes he had
planted, and he plants a full variety of box types.
This got me to thinking, and
everyone knows how dangerous that can be. Becky and I went to Charlotte
last month and I planed out a whole series of drive-bys to get. I
figured we would want to get the most boxes we could in the least amount
of time. Well, after that weekend we assessed what we had found,
what we liked and didn't like, and found that with the exception of one
of the drive-bys, we didn't really enjoy any of them. We found
more pleasure in the boxes we had to hike to, even if it was a short
distance. Clues and location are just as important as the stamp
and box itself, and turn a good box into a great box.
So what was wrong with the
drive-bys? Well, most were not in particularly nice locations, and
the clues were lackluster. Some had no real reason for being,
while others did but were just poorly executed. I don't know, but
if you are planting a box in honor of one of your favorite restaurants,
why plant it in the parking lot? Why not get permission to plant
it inside, so people have to go in and see the place, maybe even eat
there? Give it a clever hiding spot and clues that people have to
actually think about. Some of the best boxes are those that are
hidden in plain sight, with only the person finding it knowing about it.
What drive-by did we like?
Well, it was one that was just as I just described, Dilworth
Coffee Shop. Even with this box, more could have been done,
but the clues were clever, and the owners of the small shop loved having
us there. It is just like Becky's own Beanetics
box. It is hidden in a local shop to her and the owner, Amy Starr,
loves having it. She loves meets folks from all over as they come
in and search around the shop for the box. Further, the box is not
a box at all, but a mug with a fake mound of beans on it (I won't tell
where she got that idea, or who built it). It has clever clues and
a neat hide, and is what I love to see in not only an indoor box, but
also a drive-by.
Boxes that are indoors have the opportunity
to be truly creative and do more then you can do outside, and they
should because they don't usually have the walk involved. I can
only hope that planters are sparked to be creative in their planting,
and not just plant a box for the sake of having one there.
Feedback
- Go ahead, hit me with a drive-by! - Email me
Phallfest
Phun - Knoebels
Rocks
October 7, 2008
Boy,
has it been a while since I have written. I really have been
meaning to, but have had myself so busy I just have not sat down and
really done it. This past weekend has been no different, though it
proved to be a fun yet relaxed weekend.
Becky and I headed up to Knoebels
this weekend for Phoenix Phall Phunfest. It looked to be a very
nice, yet cold, weekend, though we ended up getting a little rain which
prevented us from getting a bike ride in to find the Natalie
Miner's series.
I
started out early Friday morning and headed to Lancaster. there I
found a few boxes and also planted my second box with a cuckoo
clue. Cuckoo clues are something you never see anymore, so I have
decided to plant a bunch of boxes in different places that use just
cuckoo clues in the hope of getting more folks to do the same. I
think finding a clue in a box is a great bit of trail serendipity, not
to mention they are easier to handle then hitch hikers as there is no
extra work, they are just there and are simply moved along, no stamping
required.
So I placed some clue cards in
some of the boxes I found and also left one for Princess
Lea and Amanda
From Seattle, who were staying in Lancaster for a convention.
I then headed north, meeting Becky at Memorial Lake State Park where we
got the local boxes and then headed for Knoebels.
We
actually got to Knoebels at a decent time. We set up camp and
relaxed a bit, walking around and taking in the Covered Bridge
Festival. The festival is just a giant craft fair, though we did
see some very neat things, including some cool banks made from old post
office boxes.
That evening we went into
Bloomsburg to find some dinner and the Wal-Mart. We never made it
to Wal-Mart, but we had dinner at Kristen's Pub, a nice little place in
downtown Bloomsburg. The food was very good, and while we thought
the entrees were pretty expensive, my sandwich and her salad were very
good and inexpensive. They had a nice tap too, but I decided I had
plenty of stuff back at the campground.
The next morning we woke to a
drizzle, which turned into a rain that lasted for about an hour or
so. We did not expect the rain, and so were putting up the tarp in
the rain to cover the site. A good thing we did as it would rain
again Saturday night. We went into the park for breakfast and then
headed to the Wal-Mart.
There
were some boxes to get. First up was White
Deer, and then we rode down the Lewisburg to find the coffee
shop series there.
The clues for the series stated
the the first box had been in place for a while and the rest would be in
by October 11. So after finding the first box we decided, since
the next box was only a few blocks away we would go see if it was
there. Sure enough, we enter the shop and there it is on the
counter. We continued to find the rest of the boxes in the
wonderful series. It offered a nice walk around the town and
through the campus of Bucknell. I really regret not carrying my
camera with me, as there were some great chances for some really nice
photos, including a bride and groom walking down Market Street toward
the theatre for pictures. It was just a great small town scene.
Back
to Knoebels we got ready for the event that evening. Phoenix Phall
Phunfest is one of the largest coaster events of the year and is open to
everyone. The park takes great care to get the rides in top shape
for the event, and the Phoenix and Twister were in top running
form. They also deck out the antique car ride as a haunted ride
with all sorts of stunts and things going on below the Phoenix.
It also is the only event I know
of where you can ride in costume so long as that costume doesn't interfere
with the operation of the ride. I brought out the horrible
sharkman costume, complete with dorsal fin and mermaid like tail.
Becky was a purple flying thing, we never did really come up with a name
for it, but she was very, very purple. My costume is a lot of fun,
defiantly weird, but does limit what I can ride easily. For some
rides I had to take part of it off to fit in, and I never did ride the
Flyers, I wasn't sure how I was going to get up in them.
We
walked in the costume parade too, and all of our neighboring campers, a
very large Indian family with four sites around us, cheer us on as we
passed. There was also a costume contest, which we had no
intention of winning, but one of the judges was Mick Foley.
Sunday we hung out at the park
the whole day, rode some more and checked out the festival further, especially
the food. There is no set checkout time in the campground in the
fall, so we left everything up through the day so that it mostly dried
out, and broke down, finally hitting the road at around 6.
It
was a nice weekend, we have camped a lot this summer and learned a good
deal about how to really get things organized and also learned about
each other. I find that I still love Becky dearly, and that love
has grown the more time I have spent with her. We may do one more
trip, returning to Hickory Run in November, but I think the search for a
house and getting moved will take up most of the rest of the year.
I look forward to the time when we are finally moved in together in a
new home. It will be a lot of work, but so very much worth it.
... immediately reminded me
of the character Arty in the decidedly bizarre book "Geek
Love". We read it early this year for a book discussion
group. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone else, but
found it oddly interesting. You can get an idea of what this
strange, grotesque story is about with a glance at the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_Love
Debbie (Wisconsin Hiker)
Do
You Get It?
- What is the point to it all?
August 27, 2008
I posted this early this morning
to the Premium Members board on AtlasQuest,
but I really think it bares repeating here, in a more public
place. I think I really get into some of my more recent thoughts
on some of the public forums and how people seem to more and more perceive
what letterboxing is and is not. I am not saying my thoughts on
it are the right thoughts, but rather there really are no right
thoughts, no right way, and that far too many people spend far too
much time talking about doing things rather then actually doing them
and being concerned about what others think of what they do.
Does that make sense? Maybe I worry too much myself?
Well, here it is:
Hey, you're catching on!
Basically, the way I look at it, there is only one rule, do no harm, or
at least, no irreparable harm.
If someone is padding
their logbook, that is something, that, in their own minds, they are
going to have to come to terms with. I see lots of folks posting event
boxes as traditional boxes, even when they are nothing more then table
toppers. Sure, it messes with searching for real boxes in the location
of the gathering, and it falsely adds to their total plants, and it may
even get a blue diamond when it is not really a traditional box, but
those folks must have come to terms with their decision, and that is on
them.
Those who practice poor boxing habits often pick up the hobby for just a
short time and then move on to other things. Often it is because they
know no better.
A few weeks ago I found a box that the person before me had used a gold
metallic ink to ink up the stamp with. I actually ran into the person
who had done this later on. She was boxing with her two children and was
very new at it. I politely explained, in an almost off handed manner,
that she should not do that and why. She did not know, and how could
she?
Not everyone does extensive reading and research before going out and
finding their first box. I sure didn't, what fun is that? The fun is in
finding the box. It is really the only way you learn.
Far too many people seem to go pointing fingers, telling people that it
must be done this way or that. They have no idea what is really going
on, that there are a ton of folks out there who never read a posting
here or on any of the lists out there, who never read a FAQ sheet or the
so called rules, who could care less about so called stealth methods,
and who simply go out to find the boxes and enjoy them for what they
are.
I often think there are too many here who have missed that point, and
who spend much too much time talking about it instead of actually doing
it? Have you found a box today? This week? This month? Did you enjoy the
hunt? The clues? The artistry involved? The adventure?
Or is it all about logging that find and worrying about it being done
"the right way?" Worrying if you are going to offend anyone if
you do it "the wrong way?" Complaining about the container, or
how well the last person hid the box, or if the clues were accurate and
precise to your liking. Too many of you seem to worry about such
nonsense as logging every single stamp, in the exact order you found it,
timed and dated and commented on.
I mean, what are some of you folks really here for?
I so loved this post. So
many don't get it. Suppose to be fun and not "you must agree
to my ways or I will not share my clues" or "you do not have
enough experience for my boxes", etc, etc. (ad nauseam). Oh well.
Guess I'll remain clueless....
No surprise there, huh?
Do what you want, respect nature, meet people, enjoy the fantastic
places this journey takes you!
-Pink Panther
Boxing
the Brandywine
- What took so long?
August 26, 2008
I
know, what took me so long to box the Brandywine?
In the past week I have been
down there actually boxing twice, and a third time to meet with Sheba
and Moon
Owl. Brandywine park is just a spectacular example of an urban
park, with a great landscape, bridges, canals, and five wonderful boxes
(two of which are mysteries).
On
Monday, August 18, I was headed home from Becky's. I left when she
left for work, and
came across at the Bay Bridge and up 301. This put me in the
Philly area right at rush hour, so I gave Sheba a call and she printed
off some clues for me, since I had none of my own, not really planning
on this side trip. So I spent the next two and a half hours
exploring Brandywine Park.
As for the boxes, I really
enjoyed FishMan's
Fish of
the Brandywine boxes. The clues were very clever, you actually
had to imagine that the park was underwater to follow the flow of the
clues. They took you to some less visited sections and trails on
the park, which is something I really enjoy. And the stamps were phenomenal.
The museum itself is very nice,
and free on Sundays. We wandered around a little bit, but not
long, before finding the box. I would like to return and actually
tour the museum at some point. The box was excellent though.
Across
to Alapocas Woods we now went. There are several more boxes there
as well that we will have to return for, as the Cliffhanger was enough
of a challenge for one day, that and also I was not paying much
attention to the other clues, though I should have. It was an
excellent walk looking for these great boxes on a beautiful day.
We even had a toad hop out from behind one of the boxes, much to Becky's
delight.
We ended up getting to the
bottom of the series and found a way to cut through to the neighboring
Brandywine Park. A trail is proposed to do this, but
there is about a 500 foot section of that trail still missing, and a
well worn path is in its place. From there we were able to get to
Becky's car, which we had parked there, and could travel back up the
hill to mine in Alapocas Woods.
I certainly hope to return
sooner, rather then later, to find the boxes I have missed, and maybe
visit the zoo.
I managed to take a bunch of
picture on my two visits. far more then can be placed here, so
feel free to visit the gallery.
Thanks to Fishman for the great
boxes and allowing me to post some images.
Still
Got It - I
guess I was just in a funk
August 18, 2008
Yup,
I've still got it. Lately I have been feeling in a funk. I
would go out boxing and just have trouble finding anything. I've
not had my head about me, not reading clues right, and just not with it.
Well, Becky and I biked to
brunch on Sunday in Shirlington. It is about a five mile ride down
the W&OD Trail and the Shirlington trail to get to a Mexican restaurant
that she likes. We enjoyed a great brunch on the patio, it was a
perfect day, lots of people about so I enjoyed some people watching,
another pass time of mine, and generally enjoyed each other's company.
On the return we went for a box,
the W&OD Trail
Letterbox. Becky had found it several years
ago, and was not totally sure it was still there. She also was not
feeling too well at this point, and was pretty tired. So, she
rested at a pavilion in Glen Carlin Park while I went to find the
box. It was not far.
I rode down the trail.
There was supposed to be a sign directing you to the nature center that
I was supposed to follow, but it was gone, so I figured out what trail
it was and followed it. Next I was supposed to follow a fence to
the end, but there was no fence in sight, gone. I did find the
next landmark, a metal culvert, but a storm drain that was supposed to
be there was gone, so I was not sure I was in the right spot.
I then looked up the hill and
there it was, the tree. It had to be it, it was large and looking
like it could well hide a box. I set my bike aside and headed up
the hill. I walked to the left around the tree, no hole, no hole,
and then there it was, a big hole in the tree and a box totally exposed
in it.
That moment of triumph is what I
so enjoy about boxing. The joy of finding a box that is difficult
or you think is not there is truly a feeling I get with no other
activity. It is this joyous, almost euphoric reaction. All
the counting, the clever gimmicky boxes, the kids crap, all that stuff
doesn't come close to making me as happy as I am when I am in the woods,
just me, Becky, and the clues, looking things over, working them out,
and finding the box. I think that is what it is really all about,
and I got it back!
Something
to Ponder - And
other odds and ends
August 4, 2008
Here is something
interesting that I thought worth thinking about:
"But isn't the clue
what the clue is? It will never change, or at least it should never
change. Things being what they are nowadays, what with every Tom, Dick
and Harry who can write code changing the game, people feel the need for
there to be an online record of what box has been found when and by who.
Isn't the whole essence of a treasure hunt the overcoming of the
degradation of the clue over time? With out doubt things in nature will
change, should I change my clue to keep up with these changes? I think
not, let the hunter figure out what might have changed and what they
need to do to overcome the obstacles presented to them. I got some
feedback on one of my boxes that said that rattlesnake's had taken up
residency in the rock formation the box was hidden in. All I could think
was "Awesome!! Have fun with that people." If a park makes
changes to it's trail system in the time between me writing my clue and
someone reading that clue, should it be up to me to make sure that info
is passed on? Again, I think not. Get an old map if that is what it
takes to find the box, or not, I could care less either way. I didn't
place the box so that I could enjoy you finding it, I placed it for you
to enjoy finding. If you find it or not means very little to me."
Brian
TeamGreenDragon
Now Brian is an old school
letterboxes, and I don't buy into all of his thinking, though I do
totally understand and agree on his wondering for the need for folks to
have to log everything in some online database. But, I digress,
and the matter at hand is really if clues should be updated to reflect
changes.
Personally, I think they
should, within limits. If there has been a dramatic change, one
that totally effects the finding of the box, then yes. Otherwise,
I am agreeing with Brian here. Letterboxing, in its essence, is
still a treasure hunt. You are still looking for something in the
woods, and part of the joy of it is figuring through the clues to find
it.
While clues can be
frustrating, the point where you finally figure it out, the "Ah
ha!" moment, it the moment that is worth it for me. And,
sometimes you fail, and that is an important lesson to learn as well.
Just recently there was
discussion as to why the National Park Passport cancellations are not
posted on AtlasQuest. After all, they are stamps, the writer
says. But, they are not letterboxes, and that idea was pretty well
thrown out, which is a good thing.
But, does everything have
to be logged online? Does anything? In the end, does
it all really matter. I record my finds so I can better keep track
of what I have and have not found, but I have pretty much stepped away
from logging anything else, except hitch hikers. Why?
Because it doesn't really matter to me. Event stamps, cooties,
personal travelers, there are so many that it, in the end, does
not make a difference. And as for the date, again, it does not
matter.
We had dinner with Wisconsin
Hiker and Martini Man a few months back. She said something about
letterboxing that I found pretty profound.
"Letterboxing is not a
kids game," she said, "it is an adult's game that kids
can learn to play.
I'll leave that one with
the reader until next time.
Feedback
- Email me
- Give me something more to ponder
Another
Weekend - The
more I see her, the more I love her
July 14, 2008
It
is true, the more I see her, the more time I spend with her, the more I
love Becky.
This weekend could be summed up
as wedding planning weekend. I worked Saturday morning, well, all
night actually, and knew I would be in no shape to drive down to Becky's
after work. So, I took the train.
I have been wanting to make the
train work, save fuel and some wear and tear on both the car and myself,
but the schedules just would not work for me. I finally figured it
out though. I could park at Sheba's house and walk to the local
SEPTA station. From there I could get to Wilmington in time to get
an early Amtrak train to DC. Reverse to get home, and I still get
back in time for work. With the cost of fuel I almost break even,
it costs a bit more, but saves me from actually have to drive all that
distance. That was, until they raised the fares on the train I
need to take. The train an hour before, which makes the same
stops, is $17 cheaper. I would like someone at Amtrak explain to
me how they are encouraging people to take the train if they don't at
least make it comparable? Well, I digress, it was still a good
ride down, and I could sleep, so even better.
I was greeted at the gate by my
Becky. She seemed to be shimmering in the light from the station
as I walked through the door, wearing the very pretty strapless blue
dress she had gotten the week before. She looked stunning.
She was holding some flowers she picked up for me. This is a kind
of role reversal, since I usually leave her flowers on my desk when she
comes up here to Philadelphia. I promptly presented her with the
flowers with a smile.
We met with the caterer that
afternoon and spent some time on the planning. We made some
changes to the servers and what we will be needing, and also the park is
charging the caterer a smaller fee, so we were able to knock about $2000
off the bill, which is huge. Further in the good news department,
her cousin John gave her a call the next morning and said he talked to a
photographer friend of his and she can do the wedding, and he is going
to pay for it as a gift. Becky was ecstatic, as looking at
photography it was looking to be really expensive, even though we really
didn't want to do anything elaborate. So things in the wedding
department keep looking up.
Sunday we took a ride over to
Glen Echo to really take a good look at things. I still need to
call the events manager over there, we have the date penciled in, and I
sent the preliminary form in, but have not heard back yet. I need
to know if we can or can't do some things, because, of course, the ideas
with the location abound.
We did, however, get to talk to the carousel
operator. My parents have offered to rent the carousel for an hour
so guests can ride. It also gives us a chance to get photos on it,
which Becky is very excited about. We asked a few questions about the carousel and what can be done
for the rental. I asked about the band organ, and if I could
request certain music to be played if they had it on rolls, which we
could. Becky was hoping to have some swing music on it, and we
were lucky in that he had a special roll for it made up, and it was
loaded that day. A few minutes later, swing started playing on the
organ, which was perfect. The organ can be loaded with two rolls,
each plays for about 25 minutes, so one will be the swing roll, and I
would like the other to be something patriotic.
The park was also very
pleasant. We stood up by the bumper car pavilion for a while, they
had a square dance going on in it. There was a pleasant breeze
coming across the park, and it was very comfortable there, so we are
hoping for the same a year from now.
Becky is getting really excited
about the whole thing now. We still have plenty of time, but we
already have a few of the important things moving along. We even
have a preliminary schedule worked out, though I think it will change
some what. We have a lot of neat ideas that we have to work on in
the next year, and I think that is where our time will really be spent,
but I think it will all turn out in the end, or at least that is what I
keep telling Becky. I tend to be the optimist. There is a
lot of work ahead, but the outcome is going to be great. Now to
just figure out who I am supposed to send save the date cards to.
She was
"shimmering" in the train station? Damn, bro--you start
getting that lyrical, it better be concealing clues to a box again....
Glad you guys had a good weekend! -Sheba
Floating
Apartments - I am
not the strange one here.
June 30, 2008
A
few weeks ago Becky says to me she left my house, looked down the
street, and saw an apartment building floating by.
"Huh?" I asked. She knew it was really a ship going down
the river and was amazed the first time she saw it. And they truly
are amazing. The freighters that move up and down the river are
massive, and as they are passing they basically fill the entire opening
to the river and wharf at the bottom of the street. I was
astonished the first time I stepped out and saw one too.
Yesterday
was Celtic Day here in Bristol. This is a great annual event, lots
of Irish and Scottish acts that entertain all day long in Lion's
Park. I was down enjoying an Irish band when one of these massive
freighters came rolling down the river, escorted by two tug boats maneuvering
around it. The crown moved toward the river and folks waved and
took pictures as the massive ship passed by. The crew was even on
deck waving and taking pictures in return, and the ship sounded its horn
in greeting. It was a neat moment that capped off an enjoyable day
in Bristol.
Time
To Fly - Sorry, not
the Flying Turns
June 23, 2008
While
I wish I could be writing about a ride on the Flying Turns, which seems
to have hit a snag, I am instead referring to another Flyer which has
been a long time in coming, the Ravine Flyer II at
Waldameer Park in
Erie.
After more then a decade of
litigation with a neighbor, Waldameer park was finally able to build
this spectacular new coaster that sits on the edge of Lake Erie high
above Presque Isle State Park. Becky and I finally got to ride it
a few weeks ago after Coaster Mania at Cedar
Point.
At first I was not sure I was
going to make the trip. Becky is not too good with long car rides,
and we would be going for Sandusky to Erie to Pittsburgh that day after
a very long day at Cedar Point. But a few weeks before hand I saw
a POV posted and decided I have to get up there and give it a
ride. Both of us were glad we did because it turned out to be the
best ride of the trip.
Yes, it was better then anything
Cedar Point had to offer! In fact, I would venture to say it is
the best Gravity Group coaster I have ridden, being more fun then either
Hades or Voyage. The key to this ride is rerideablity, which this
ride has loads of. It is just plain fun to ride, with a great variety
of elements that don't try to do too much.
Becky and I got to the park
early. I didn't think it was early, it was afternoon, but I had
forgotten from a previous trip that the park doesn't open until 1PM,
which is pretty late. We had just limited time, and did not want
to stay long, but ended up staying longer then planned, and could have
stayed all day, the park is just that nice and fun. We got our
wristbands and walked around a bit. We played some DDR in the
arcade (Becky is good at it, I am terrible) and finally headed over the
new coaster, getting in line to wait for it to open.
The wait was interesting.
There were some kids behind us who had never ridden a large wooden
coaster before. It was fun to listen to their fascination over
every aspect of the ride. It made me feel fresh again as well,
getting some butterflies while anticipating the ride, a feeling I have
not had in some time. I was actually very excited and thrilled to
get on this coaster, and it has been a very long time since I was very
excited about any coaster.
We got into the station and
headed to the frond seat. There was no line for it as they had an attendant
at the entrance to the station directing people where to go, but not
doing a very good job at it, and we just kinda ignored her and got into
the front seat queue behind one other couple.
The ride itself, well, it is
just amazing. You get to the top of the lift and are treated to a
fantastic view of Lake Erie, which you almost feel as if you are going
to dive right into as you make a turning drop down the ravine and across
Peninsula Drive. On the other side is an upward turnaround with a
real rib cracking snap back down and over the drive again before the
ride heads into a twisting mixing bowl behind the station that includes
another nice drop into the ravine. The ride is not too too long,
just the right length, and it packs a punch with loads of airtime and
some nice laterals, including a 90° banked turn for good measure.
I turned to Becky on the brake
run, who is beeming, "Wanna ride again?" A big head
rattle is her response. The coaster is very enjoyable and you can
ride it over and over again. It does not have the power or
intensity of some of the larger coasters out there, but it is just plain
fun, and I think that is the most important factor of any ride.
Sky
Meadows - There
is a reason they call it that
June 12, 2008
We were presented
with a choice for the end of May. We could go to Campin 'n Stampin,
which is what we really wanted to do, or we could go to her family's
reunion, which we really had to do. So we choose the later, figuring
if we are going to be getting married, it might be a good idea for the
family to get to know me. Well, we are still working on that part.
We even considered
doing the reunion and then driving the three hours to Tuckahoe State Park
for the gathering, but thought that may be a bit much and instead decided
to camp at Sky Meadows State park and do some hiking the next day.
The
reunion was in New Market, so we choose a few boxes to go looking for on
the way there and left early.
We first stopped by Shenandoah
River State Park. Becky planted a few boxes a few weeks before and
wanted me to check on her clues before she posted them. As it turned
out, the trail the boxes are on is now closed due to the construction of
some cabins nearby. In fact, most of the trails in the park were
closed.
I noticed a flyer
about a class on geocaching the next day, and said we should go and ask
about if permits are needed for geocaches, which would also translate to
letterboxes. As it turned out, permits were not needed, and the park
simply asked to know where the boxes were, and were delighted to have them
there. So the stop was not a total loss.
We had no luck
finding Lake
Arrowhead, but we did check out the picnic pavilion nearby where
someone was preping for a wedding. It looked very nice and they were
happy for us to have a look around.
We had better luck
with Carillon
in Luray. Becky actually found this one a few weeks earlier, and
loved Daughter
of the Stars a little bit out of town next to the old Katharine
Furnace. We left the box just in time to miss a heavy storm that
came rolling in.
Sky
Meadows was Becky's first try at backpacking, though it was limited, the
campground was less then a mile in from the parking area, and surprisingly
it was packed. There was a group of folks there from a hiking club
that all hike with their dogs. We ran into one of them in the
parking lot. She was out on the trail all day and got caught in that
storm. She said they thought it was going to miss them as the
watched it pass other another ridge, but then all the sudden it just
dumped on them. We did get lucky, as we would catch no rain all
weekend.
We hiked in, got camp
set up, and collected wood and got a fire going. After some coals
were laid down I fixed dinner, prepared tin foil dinners, which hit the
spot perfectly. The night was prefect, not a cloud in the sky, and
we spent some time just enjoying the stars and each other's company.
The next morning we
did not break camp right away, but instead headed out for breakfast,
finding a nice little diner not too far away. We then collected our
clues to do some of the boxes in the park, as well as check on one of her
boxes.
We
washed up before hitting the trail and visited the little gift shop and
visitor's center. The girl working the gift shop was more then happy
to tell all about various creatures they had on display, pulling their
corn snake out of its cage so we could get a closer look, and then handed
it to me. The snake was very pretty, a fiery red and orange, and
seemed to be having a good time crawling up my arm and onto my shoulder
and backpack, where it tied itself up.
We managed to
dislodge the snake and finally got on the trail. We first found her
box, Mystic
II. The stamp was broken in half but the logbook looked great,
but full. We would later return with a replacement stamp and a fresh
logbook, leaving the old for folks to enjoy.
On
the same trail is Trees
of Virginia, a four box series with very nice stamps. We then
headed up the mountain in search of John
Singleton Mosby. It was a good, long was up. Walking up an
open field in the heat was not easy, but the view was worth it, as was the
box.
We headed back down
the mountain and back to camp to break down and get our last box of the
day, Sky
Meadows Forest, which was planted right next to our site. It was
a store bought that made no sense, but that is OK, it was not out of our
way.
We returned home in
time for Becky's bell choir concert, another reason to stay closer to
home.
Hiking
in the Smokies - The
best part of our trip
April 4, 2008
Who
would have thought that taking a five and a half mile hike up a mountain
could be the best part of a vacation? I guess Becky and I are both
a little nuts, because we thought so.
We decided at least one good
hike would be called for on this trip. The rest of the trip was
spent at a gathering, riding rollercoasters, shopping, or enjoying other
extra curricular activities. The Rainbow Falls hike was one I had
wanted to do. I had gone up the trail about ½ a mile a few years
ago for a letterbox (which is no longer there), but was unprepared to do
the entire hike. This time I was ready, and had good company with
me, and Becky and I held hands for nearly the entire hike.
The
whether for the hike was not the best, but at least the temperatures
were still down, which made it bearable for me. It did start to
rain on the way back down, but we were pretty well prepared.
The walk up to the falls was
long and hard. It was up hill all the way, a full 1700 foot
elevation gain we would later come to learn. We made many stops
but did pretty well just trudging along. There were two other
couples of hikers which we would exchange places with along the
way.
One
was a pair of girls, who I dubbed the rabbits, they were young and just
seemed to fly along, stopping occasionally to take in the vistas or
other sights. They otherwise seemed to bound up the
mountain.
The other couple were a young
couple who were backpacking. We chatted with them for a little
while, but never got their names. The guy was a local who had
recent back surgery. The girl was actually from the DC metro
area. They planned to go the entire way up the mountain and stay
the night at the lodge at the top. They were training for a month
long AT hike in a few weeks time. They took our picture for us at
one of the falls.
We
passed others along the way, and I would say we bumped into maybe two
dozen or more people on the trail that day. I find that
interesting because I am so used to hiking here in Pennsylvania where I
rarely see another soul out there, maybe just another person or two
actually hiking. This trail, however, was well worn and people
from all walks of life were trudging along it.
We
even managed to see some nature up close, as some deer came within feet
of us when we rested along the trail at one point. Though, I had
actually hoped we would see a bear. Oh well, maybe next time.
The
payoff for reaching the falls was spectacular. You pass several
smaller falls until you finally reach the actual Rainbow Falls, water
dropping 70 feet from a cliff edge. Truly an amazing sight, and
one that the vast majority of visitors to the park never get to see.
This was evidenced upon our
return to the hotel, where we settled our aching feet and legs into the
hot tub. We told of our day to one one woman there, who could not
believe that we went on vacation to hike. Too much work for her,
she explained. Well worth it for us though.
Feedback
- I can finally feel my calves! - Email me
McLetterboxing
- Its real!
April 1, 2008
Well,
I laughed along with everyone else when I saw AtlasQuest
this morning. As usual, Ryan has some great wit for us on April
Fools Day.
Then, Becky and I stopped for
lunch. We are on our way home and pulled into the McDonalds in
Newport, TN. we walked in, and what did we find?
Letterboxing themed happy meals were plastered all over the place.
They seem to be very well done, cute images, and a great prize.
The kid's toy included a carving tool that seems pretty kid safe, some
really soft carving material, a logbook, and a combo whistle
compass thing.
What's more, on the counter were
clues for the kids to look for a box right there at the restaurant.
It was hidden outside near the playland.
I spoke to the manager, and he
said the letterboxing was just a test promo, and they would only have it
for a few weeks. The kids seemed to be having fun with it though.
BTW, we were first finders, and
it was a carved stamp on the MickyD's stuff.
PS, sorry for the poor
pictures, my camera battery died and my phone stinks at taking
photos. Will get a better shot of the box soon.
Real
Men... - Wonder
if Hallmark makes a card for this?
February 25,
2008
...Don't
hurt their women. Simple as that. I love Becky, would do
everything for her, and will never do anything to hurt her. It
saddens me that other men do not follow suit, do not love and respect
the feelings of the women that they are with, that they married and
vowed to have and hold forever. Women that they have had children
with. Real men do not leave their women on a whim, on the spur of
the moment because they think they have fallen in love with another
woman, or because they want something another man has. I strive to
be a real man, sometimes I don't live up to my own standards, but when
it comes to women, I do all I can, and there are some rules that are
never broken.
I was appalled that the Mid-Atlantic
list was used to announce an affair:
What else brought me back?.....Well i have been bombarded with emails
about my recent activities, and whereabouts. I hosted an event on
12/15/2007, where I met old friends and many a new letterboxer.
Oddly, here I met a letterboxer named "Trailing Emerson". Over the
next few days, we chatted via email, before meeting yet again, at
Cyclonic's Herndon mini-meet on 12/23/2007. Well....7 weeks later,
it has been an amazing ride, and it seems I have fallen deeply in
love with her. So weird to say that, but its true, and crazy at the
same time. She is by far, the most amazing person I have ever met,
inside and out. I have left out many details, but it has been the
most amazing weeks of my life. If there ever is a soulmate, this is
it....You always find the most amazing things where you least expect
them, and this is the case, with what i found with Trailing Emerson.
Yea, shocking, huh...
Bulldawg is not a
real man. Oh, I know, how can I state such a thing? It is
mean, insulting, but in my mind it is also very, very true.
His love for Jill,
true or not, is wrong and hurtful to others. How can he hurt Shell
in such a way? Moreover, how can he hurt his children like
this? To publicly display your love for another woman while married
is immoral and just plain wrong.
Shell and the
children are not the only ones being hurt by this:
Q: How did you first learn of letterboxing?
A: .....they now regret it, so screw em
I can only guess that
his neighbor, and the person who introduced him to letterboxing, Koyote,
had a few things to say about this as well, and this was his
response. It is a shame, as he has driven an old letterboxer pretty
much out of the hobby, and continues to hurt him as well.
It has even hurt my
Becky, who thinks that our love was a catalyst for this. I do not
believe that, and I have told her it is not so, but it is there in the
back of her mind. She came from a broken home, one where she never
saw her parents happy together, where they insulted each other in front of
her and used her to hurt one another. Even to this day that happens,
and it hurts her greatly. I do all I can to comfort her, to love
her, and it it hurtful when she calls me crying because of something one
of her parents has said about the other. I fear that his children
may forever be caught in that same trap, that they someday will be calling
their loved one for the same reason, seeking comfort after being so hurt.
Love is a wonderful
thing, but can also be a painful thing. It takes work to love
someone. I feel as if I am floating when I think about Becky, and
Jay maybe feeling the same when he thinks about Jill, but did he not think
the same way once about Shell? Does he not think so about his two
young children? And how can he do this so publicly, so soon, with
out saying anything about his wife or children.
I can only hope that
Jill can take full examination of this, that this is hurting people around
him, people that love him and helped him in his journey through
life. The damage may already be done. I for one will ignore
anything he says on any of the lists. I will never again attend one
of his gatherings, and he is not welcome at any of mine. I do not
approve of what he has done, as I don't think any real man would.
First of all, I want to say
that I value your friendship above everything. I do not want
anything I am going to say to interfere with our friendship either.
So, that being said, I think you are terribly wrong about the Bulldawg/Emerson situation.
You cannot judge someone else's decisions without knowing all of the
facts. You cannot know what his relationship with his wife was
like, they may have never been meant to be together. They may be
in very different places in their lives, and have grown apart.
For example, I am the child of divorced parents. Leafcutters and
my mother (who goes by knitknut) divorced when I was seven. It
was hard on us, but at the same time my parents should never have been
together in the first place. I am thankful they were because my
brother and I are alive, but staying together just for the
children is not the right thing to do. It makes the situation
worse. Thankfully, Leafcutters and my mom were able to put aside
their differences and concentrate on raising us.
I just find it very sophomoric
and ridiculous to keep this 'test of the wills' going on between you
both. I understand that you are perhaps hurt but Bulldawg/Emerson's
relationship. You don't think it is the right thing to do.
I understand that you are madly in love with Becky, and I am truly
happy for you both! Honestly very happy. But life is not
black OR white-- there are many shades of gray. I just feel that
by publicly blogging about this issue you are adding to the situation.
Bulldawg may be 'wrong' in your eyes, but not in his own eyes.
You can't force someone to feel guilt if they don't already feel
guilty, and that is what I think you are trying to do. Perhaps
this public outing is not the best venue? Perhaps privately
talking or emailing Bulldawg would have been more appropriate?
It just seems that the situation calls for understanding, not name
calling and finger pointing. No one is perfect, not you,
not me, not even Becky. No one, we all make mistakes and we live
with the consequences. Bulldawg will live the consequences of
his mistakes at some point, karma is a bitch :) but I would just ask
you to be level headed in this situation. Try to understand
what he's going through too.
- Lotus
I
understand your being upset by my posting. I knew it would upset
some people even though I do not intentionally do that. Maybe I
should have written it and left it at that, without the posting to the
list.
But I should at least explain how I got here. I had actually been
contemplating writing it for a few weeks. I was thinking along the
lines of I just should not say anything, to leave it be and it would go
away. It has nothing to do with Becky and I, or conflicts he and I
had in the past, but instead everything to do with how he is abusing the
list, and Atlas Quest for that matter, to announce his affair with
another woman. I find it morally reprehensible that he does this
in this manner, and that is what pushed me to write and speak my peace.
I would not have said anything, publicly at least, had he simply posted
once and let it go at that. But instead he rejoined the list and
has been posting over and over again about it. He updates his AQ
profile daily (yes, I scroll down to see who has updated), and continues
to use it to hurt not only his wife, but also other people, like that
direct slam at Koyote. He made it public, and he ignored
it whenever anyone hinted at his marriage, and I was not the first to
mention it.
Becky did write to him. I don't know what she said, she was
writing it and I left the room to leave her to her thoughts. She
still has not gotten a response. Today I wrote to Trailing
Emerson. I should have done it sooner, I know that now. I am
hoping she can give me a straight answer.
I know that marriage can be very difficult, and that sometimes people
just weren't meant to be together. You speak of your own parents
and how they simply were not meant to be together. But, at the
same time, would your father ever have done this to your mother? I
know the man, and I don't believe he would, and I don't know him nearly
as well as you do.
I thought maybe his wife left him, but that does not add up. He
was with his wife both times I saw him in December, at the same time he
met and supposedly fell in love with Jill. Michelle and the
children were both there. I can even understand falling for
another woman, but then reality should set in, and know that you are
married to a lovely woman and have two wonderful children.
I have just been appalled by the entire situation. Appalled that
he latch onto Sara's wonderful story to announce he is having an affair.
I consider myself a moral man. I am not a religious man, but moral
none the less, and to do this just angers me. No, there is no
black and white, but there is a right side and a wrong side of gray, and
I think Bulldawg has stepped onto the wrong side.
My only hope is that this is all some sort of game. If it is, it
is not a fun game though. It is a very hurtful game. I think
Bulldawg is very hurtful to everyone here, and a harmful force in the
hobby.
I hope I have better explained where I am coming from.
Nathan,
Your response was very well
said, very well said. I understand where you are coming for
better now, I think the further explanation helped me to understand
it. You are absolutely right on the morality of the issue, and I
actually agree with you on several points. I agree that my
father would never have done this to my mother, but my mother did do
this to my dad. So, I can understand both points there. I
also agree that if Bulldawg is abusing LBMA or AQ to further the
situation that would also be wrong. But I would hope that this
is a complex Bulldawg rouse rather than the truth. Nathan, I
like you- for your brutal honesty and your ability to confront a
situation. That, I think is commendable, but I would again argue
for constraint. It's a difficult situation for all those
involved. I don't' know Bulldawg personally, I have never met
him-- but I am against public 'outing' of anyone. I guess it's
just a difference of opinion. Thank you for sharing your point
of view, I appreciate that!
-Lotus
A
Helping Paw - The
Queen and her work.
February 1,
2008
The
Queen figures she can help out some with the clue solving:
Of course, I fully
expect this to be the scene when I get home tonight:
The
fire than destroyed Conneaut Lake Park’s historic Dreamland Ballroom
this morning is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police
Fire Marshal’s Office.
The
fire at the 115-year-old amusement park was discovered about 2 a.m. by
emergency medical technicians en route back to Conneaut Lake from a car
accident at Conneautville, according to George Deshner, the park’s
general manager.
More
than a dozen fire departments from the area were called to battle the
blaze.
He
said the initial call indicated the fire was at Hotel Conneaut, but that
turned out not to be true.
The
fire spread Dreamland Ballroom and the maintenance building down the
amusement park’s midway, stopping at the Skee Ball stand, Deshner
said. He said the Skee Ball stand will be demolished today.
The
midway is a row of connected, more than century-old, wood-frame
structures that house many of the park's games and food stands. Behind
the midway facades are important storage areas for rides, as well as
repair shops where amusement-ride cars are fixed, maintained and stored.
Jack
Moyers, chairman of the board of trustees which oversees the park
operations, said there was no fire insurance on the building.
Deshner
said the loss included maintenance equipment, parts, some ride motors,
food service equipment and other materials.
Moyers
praised the work of the fire departments who battled the breeze in
freezing rain.
Above is a picture of the
ballroom on a beautiful May evening in 2005. This is very bad news
for the park which has been struggling now for years to stay open and
did not open at all last season. I fear very much that this could
mean the end of the park.
Max
Patch Thoughts
- OK, does this make any sense?
February 1,
2008
So,
I was looking over this Birth
of American Letterboxing Event in April. I have no intention
of going at all, but saw some postings and figured I would see what all
the fuss was about. Something interesting caught my eye:
"THE MAX PATCH BOX
WILL BE REMOVED APRIL 24 2008 AND TAKEN TO THE GATHERING IN HOT SPRINGS.
IT WILL BE REPLACED ON APRIL 28. HOWEVER, TO "EARN" THE MAX
PATCH STAMP, WHICH EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THIS EVENT SURELY DESERVES,
THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF CLUES TO FOLLOW ALONG THE ALREADY-TRAMPLED MAX
PATCH TRAILS - SO, YOU GET THE MAX PATCH STAMP PLUS SOME MORE!"
Interesting, they are removing
the box and taking it to the gathering, but why do that? I
thought, well maybe it is because they don't want everyone out looking
for the box that Saturday on an otherwise busy trail. It is
supposed to be a historic box of sorts, one of the first, if not the
first, letterbox in America. I can understand the wanting to
protect it, but why not just close it for the weekend, or why have a
gathering there at all?
But then I read a little closer,
"HOWEVER, TO "EARN" THE MAX
PATCH STAMP, WHICH EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THIS EVENT SURELY
DESERVES..."
To me, that does not seem to be
right. It seems to go against one of the meanings of
letterboxing. Many times you hear people speak of not finding a
box but enjoying the journey none the less. Sure, everyone at the
gathering can get to the box, but have they really BEEN to the
box? Have they enjoyed the journey, the purpose of the box itself,
or is it just another F to add to their count?
I understand the current owner's
wishes to protect and allow people to get this box, but I am left to
wonder if the original placer's wishes are not hurt by this, and if the
historic significance of the box is not hurt as well?
My
Hat is in the Ring
- Cyclonic for President of Letterboxing
January 31, 2008
So,
on Atlas Quest there has been
much discussion and debate as to who should be President of
Letterboxing. I don't think it is an official role, more of a
ceremonial role, but everyone is having a fun time with it, goading
people on trash talking. Some have said I should run and
participate in the debate at Desperately
Seeking Sun.
After looking over the
candidates, I have decided there is a lack of a true conservative.
I feel I can fill this role, thus I am throwing my hat into the ring and
ask that you nominate me to run for President of Letterboxing.
I have many excellent
qualifications.
- I have a strong, vocal history
in the letterboxing community, not afraid to voice my opinions on
anything in a fair minded way.
- I have vast experience in hosting gatherings, even ones where there
are no letterboxes to be found.
- I have been successful on many Mapsurfer hunts.
- I have met my future wife through letterboxing.
- I strive for excellence in boxing, focusing on traditional American
boxing, fighting for truth, justice and the American way.
- I will work to make permission to plant easier to obtain, teaching
public institutions the benefits of letterboxing.
- I always make use of the Shift key.
- I will drink AT LEAST FIVE beers a week while in the service of
letterboxing.
- I am a Real Man of letterboxing, never sinking to boxing from home,
even when tempted.
- I will not make as much fun of Boxing Buddies, though I will encourage
letterboxers to find real people to box with.
- I will kiss all Letterboxing Babes and hug all the Broads, no matter
how sassy they may be.
So I ask you to take a moment to
drop
Lock Wench a line and ask that I be nominated. Even if you do
not totally agree with my platform, I ask that you allow the election
process to do its work in totally embarrassing me.
Feedback
-Come on, who wouldn't want me as President? - Email
me
Never
Expected It -
What have I been up to...
January 26, 2008
Well,
as many of you know, I started dating Becky back in September. She
had been pretty much chasing me all summer long. I knew what was
happening, but I excused it away. I would say to myself, "Oh,
she lives too far away," using that as an excuse to not date
her. Well, that worked real well, huh?
Well, we have been hitting it
off pretty well. OK, more then pretty well. She is a
fantastic woman, just amazing to be with. She is smart, funny,
silly and just fun. She is also astonishingly pretty, with these beautiful
golden brown eyes, little button nose and a smile that lights up the
room. I find I cannot help but hold her hand when I am with her,
to hug and kiss her and keep her warm at night.
Becky brings joy to my heart and
happiness to my life. I want to be with her forever.
That is why I asked her to marry
me.
I did not expect to ask.
It just kind of came up, popped out of my mouth. I had been
thinking about it. Thinking that if things kept going well, maybe
in the summer I would go find a ring and ask. I guess my heart is
stronger then my mind at times, and it happened.
"I want to be with you
forever," she said to me on the morning of her birthday. I
had made her breakfast, she asked that I would and I was more then happy
to do so.
"Me too. I want to be
that old couple you see in the park, walking down the path, still
holding hands after all those years," I replied.
"Me too."
"Then would you marry
me?" the words crossed my lips before I knew what had just
happened.
"Yes!"
I sought confirmation,
"Really, you would marry me?"
"Absolutely!"
I was overjoyed. Never, in
a millions years had I expected to be getting married. And not
only that, but I am wedding the most wonderful woman imaginable. I
get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Becky and I
will be together forever. I will take care of her, grow old
together with her, love her and cherish her for all my life. It is
daunting to think about, but I can't imagine a challenge that would not
be more rewarding and bring more pleasure.
Personalizing
It -
Making personal travelers personal again
December 11, 2007
I
have actually done a bunch of gatherings this year. It seems these
days there is one close by at least once a month. Well, anyway, I
have noticed something that I think really takes something away from the
meeting and greeting experience.
Personal travelers are very
popular, and it used to be that they were a treat for knowing something
about the letterboxer you are meeting. You might get just a few
personal travelers at a gathering because you had to fit the clue to the
person and then know an answer to the clue.
Now things have changed, and I
think they have really taken away the personal aspect of the personal
traveler. People now just print off lists and read them as they
meet each person. I really don't see the fun in this, it is just a
method to gain more stamp images. Heck, I print off the list too,
but I have been trying to just memorize a few of them and then as I meet
the person I can work it into the conversation.
I have, though taken things a
step further for my own personal traveler. I have now set up the
clue so it does not print off on a clue sheet. You have to visit
the clue to read it. I am hoping this will make the personal
traveler a little more personal again.
Installation
Complete -
Looks like there are no compatibility issues
December 10, 2007
After
a long, pretty negative blog entry I thought it might be nice to write
something good for once.
So, it gives me great pleasure
to congratulate Indigo Vulture for his installation as Pastor at the
Faith United Lutheran Church in Nescopeck, PA.
Mike has actually been preaching
there for a few months now, but last night Sheba and I went up and
enjoyed his official installation service. Mike it wonderful at
what he does, and you can tell that the congregation loves him too, it
was a packed house. He and his wife Heather were just brimming
with happiness, they were aglow, as well they should be, as it is a
great accomplishment to go though years of studying and soul searching
to take on such a task.
While he and I diverge greatly
on the subject of religion, I have the utmost respect for his hard work
and showing of faith. I hope he can spend many years at his church
bringing happiness and joy to his congregation.
Sorry
I Mentioned It - But,
yeah, the Podcast stunk
November 28, 2007
I made a
mistake this week. I know, me, make a mistake, never, right?
Well, even I am human. I enjoy the Letterpod
Podcast. Since Jackbear has taken it over I think it has
gotten much, much better. He himself has a better, more upbeat
voice and sound, the bumpers are better, and over all it has a better
vibe to it. Essentially, it no longer sounds like an NPR
broadcast.
I figured I would love to contribute to something like
this, so I signed up for the Yahoo Group and made some comments, good
and bad, on the most recent podcast. That is why the group is
there, right?
In an email to the list:
johnoballou wrote:
> OK, I've set December 17th as a deadline for the next episode. This
> might be ambitious with the holiday season coming upon us, but we'll
> give it a try, even if it's a small episode.
>> I personally am going to try to get another Dear Crabby put together
> if Crabby has time, so if you have a question..let me hear it.
Noooo! Don't do it!
Really, I mean it, and I'm trying to be constructive here, but that
whole segment just plain stunk. First off, you could not understand
half of what she was trying to say, and secondly she came off very
pretentious. The question answered was also poor. It was just plain
bad radio.
For an advice segment, first you have to have a better question to
answer. The question should never be what can someone do to make
someone else do something, but rather what can I do to make something
work better. Real clear, right? You want to be able to give advice
that can be acted on immediately.
The person giving the advice should do so in a clear and concise
manner. They should never sound as if they are putting anyone down, but
rather be soothing, easy to understand, and calm.
This is easily my biggest gripe about Ep. 8.
> I would also like to get together another interview.
Keep working on Dixie. Another suggestion for an interview that I think
you might find interesting may be Lightnin' Bug here in PA.
> I also had a thought about the 12 Days of Boxing...the song. I have a
> singer (joystar has volunteered). Need to come up with some words and
> music.
>> Anyone have submissions or ideas?
>> jackbear
Keep at what you are doing. You sound great as host, much more upbeat,
easily relatable. I really enjoy it. Like some of the music too,
specifically the intro music. Some of the elevator sax bumpers could go
though. Keep it lively, you don't want to put people to sleep.
I think this was pretty good dialog. It did not
post to the list right away though. I thought, well maybe because
I am a new member, or maybe my email program is being weird again.
It took a couple of days and finally posted, and Jackbear wrote back to
me personally thanking me for my input, that it was indeed what he was
looking for, and explained a few things and why things were done the way
they were. I thanked him and wished that he had posted those
comments to the list, because on the list I got comments like this:
archimedesscrew17 wrote:
How about, "how do you deal with irritating people on the groups?"
Though there were some good comments:
SapphireBerry wrote:
Errr, have to agree about the Dear Crabby segment. Not very clear or
helpful, and, er, rather painful to listen to. I did laugh at the
title, since it was a column we ran in my high school newspaper. That
didn't go over much better, though.
And the drama continues as Jackbear responds:
I appreciate all comments, postive, negative, or otherwise. I knew
when I started doing this I would have to have thick skin, and I do.
So I appreciate honest critique of this medium. We don't get better
if we aren't learning from our mistakes.
Most people I have gotten feedback from agreed that it was difficult
to hear and understand the Dear Crabby segment. This is my fault as
the editor of this piece. I need to adjust the sound quality on this
better and make it "easier on the ears". Dear Crabby will be back, I
hope, with improvements in this regard.
This does not seem to appease some who think that
criticism is out of line, like Archimedes Screw:
I don't understand this at all. You need thick skin to run a
letterboxing podcast? In what world does this make sense? You are
talking about a group of people who are volunteering their time to
contribute to a free podcast. What about that says that you can fling
insults at it?
Plus, you are not only insulting jackear, you are insulting everyone
who took part in that segment. The one who wrote the question, the
one who composed the answer, the one who recorded the segment, the one
who adjusted the sound on it.
jackbear may not take offense, but I do. If I were Miss Crabby (and
I'm not,) I would not want anything to do with this again.
It seems to me, what she is not understanding is that
you have to point out the bad to make it better. If no one ever
does then nothing ever changes. I don't think I was being mean or derogatory,
just helpful. It is too bad some people just can't take such
comments. It is even worse when they qualify it by saying that I
was just insulting people who are volunteering to do this, when that is
not what I am doing. But alas, the saga comes to a sad and revealing
conclusion when Jackbear writes this:
I don't know if you all know, but as moderator of this board I get to
approve or deny messages. I have always approved messages, as I do
not want to act as a censor to this group.
That said, I won't approve any more messages in regards to the Dear
Crabby segment in Episode 8.
My hopes in going forward with the Ms. Crabby segment was to better
letterboxing. Using it as an educational piece to help letterboxers
come to terms with topics on etiquitte, fairness, and treating each
other in a nicer way. However, the critique of this segment has led
to exactly what I don't want to see happen.
We all have feelings, and they are easy to hurt on these public
boards. I'm certainly not trying to make enemies with this podcast,
and I don't want to start. Yes, it ruffles my feathers when someone
says something "stunk". I also respect the right of that person to
say it though.
I'm sorry Cyclonic and others did not like the piece. It's his right
to think that. Archimedes Screw has every right also to have her
feathers ruffled, as I was, when she read the post and responded.
As one of the moderators, I will use "moderation" and call for a cease
fire, and move along to other topics.
Well, had I known the group was completely moderated,
that every message had to be approved before it posted, I would have
never signed up for the group. No where does he say that it is as
such, and I think that to say it is a group for open discussion on the
podcast is a falsehood. I have since left the group, as I feel it
is no use, and I can be of no help if people are going to be this way.
I would have liked to help, and that is the
thing. I was ready to hit the road and do some recordings.
Help with segments where I could, bring a different perspective to
things, or at least I thought. Maybe I started all wrong.
Maybe I should have simply heaped praise like most everyone else.
But that is not me. I simply can't do that, I don't feel
comfortable doing it, as it sounds like I am sucking up, and that is not
me.
I am thinking I may do my own recordings. An
audio blog as it were. In the next few months I am looking to
overhaul the site a bit. Get some more server space, maybe even
change my web address to make it more relevant to what the site has
become. The ideas are flowing, and it is time I got something
done.
Slack
Blogging - I
really should get something done
November 19, 2007
Maybe,
perhaps, I should actually get some writing done. I mean, hey, it
has only been what, almost three weeks.
Well, not today. I've been
busy, doing this, doing that, you know. Becky has been occupying
my time and my mind. Can't help that, she is such a wonderful
woman. We had a great weekend together a few weeks ago, and I miss
her, though I will see her again this coming Thanksgiving.
With luck I will get some more
writing done this week. There is much on my mind, just ready to
roll off my fingers. But until then...
Feedback
- Yeah, I've been lazy too - Email me Thanks to Sewsowbizzy for the photo!
Yeah, you have been a slacker lately!
But for good reason. Becky is lovely lady and you
are lucky to have her, as she you. I am so happy for the both of you!
Hugs,
Mary
Guns
Over Women? - Here are ten reasons
November 1, 2007
I've
got to give Neal Boortz credit for this
list:
Ten Reasons Men Prefer Guns Over Women
10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.
9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're on the road.
8. If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.
7. Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a backup.
6. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.
5. A gun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.
4. Guns function normally every day of the month.
3. A gun doesn't ask , "Do these new grips make me look fat?"
2. A gun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it.
Grocery
Store Capers - More
fun and mayhem in CA
November 1, 2007
Some
have heard the whispered rumors about what may or may not have taken
place on the Friday before the American River Gathering. Well,
they are probably true.
We met up with a bunch of the
local boxers at the Sacramento Brewery
that night. Princess
Lea was there waiting for us, and Doublesaj
n Old Blue came in right behind us. We got a table and soon Lisascenic
and Robb made their way in as well.
I did not realize it at the time
but I had had contact with Doublesaj n Old Blue in the past about a box
they had in Gettysburg. They had thought it long gone but I
managed to find it, and in good shape too. I pulled it for them
and as usual took forever to mail it back to them. Typical of
me. I had completely forgotten about this until maybe last
week. Shows how bright I can be at times. But I digress.
But where was Wassamatta_u?
Well, a phone call found him slowly making his way through traffic, and
he would be very late, so we had dinner without him.
The food was good, as was the
beer, though nothing to really rave about. In fact, speaking of
beer, I really didn't find any out in California that I really, really
liked. Some of the brews were good, but nothing really stuck out
to me. My favorite was probably the Fat
Tire, which I found to be a pretty tasty ale, but other then that
nothing really stuck out to me. Anyway, I digress, again.
Wassa finally made his way into
the brewery, with little Katie Bug in tow. I think Wassa may be
the brother I never had, we hit it off right away. Katie is a
cutie.
After dinner Wassa and I decided
we needed some more beer. Luckily there was a grocery store right
next door, and they sell beer. What a concept! We made our
way through the store and finally found the beer. I picked up a
six of this Gordan Biersh
junk (and I really mean it, I hope the maids at the hotel like it).
As we made our way to the
register, finding some snacks along the way, we stumbled across some
Lock n Lock knockoffs.
"Owww, look at this!"
"Three bucks seems
expensive for it. Oh, wait, there are two more, smaller boxes in
there! Gotta get me some."
Sheba stood off to the side in amazement
over our amazement of fake Lock n Locks.
We finally made it to the
registers. They were those self checkout type. I ring the
snacks and then the beer and the register requires authorization of
course. So the checkout guy comes over and I show him my ID, a
Pennsylvania drivers license.
"Sorry, we can't take
that."
"What do you mean," I
say confused.
"We only accept California
ID's. Do you have a California drivers license?"
"No, I'm from
Pennsylvania!"
He turns to Sheba, "Do YOU
have a California drivers license?"
"I'm from Delaware,"
she exclaims amused.
"Well we can't sell you the
beer then."
"What, I don't look old
enough?"
"No, we have to card
everyone."
"Hey, Mark, mind buying my booze
for me!" I yell so that the whole store can hear.
"I would be honored,"
but he was having problems of his own. Katie wanted one of those styrofoam
pool noodles, and it wasn't ringing up, it had no tag. The check
out guy was now totally lost, he had no idea what was going on. He
had Wassa change registers, Katie ran back to get another noodle, and in
the end he just let me buy my beer.
Photo from left to right;
NOVA Coaster, Schizokeet, Old Blue, Lisascenic, Robb, Sheba, Doublesaj,
Princess Lea
Worst...
Tour... Ever - The infamous Friday in CA
October 29, 2007
While
I really want to write about Frostburg, I also really want, and have to,
write about the events preceding the gathering in California. I is
a mix of bad tours, cemetery hunts, drinking, and grocery store capers.
It all started well
enough. We didn't have to be up too early, so we didn't get up
that early. When we did, Sheba, Schizokeet and I went on the hunt
for breakfast.
I am wondering, where do the
people of California eat. I was hoping to find a great diner, you
know, the classic greasy spoon where all the locals hang out. We
never did find that place, though we did find a nice little restaurant
with fantastic bacon, a recurring theme on this weekend. Anyway,
we ate and then hit the JoAnn's across the street for yet more
letterboxing supplies. While eating I also, at the breakfast
table, carved "Warp Speed". It
can out very nicely I might add.
We got to the California
Railroad Museum a bit later then expected, and foundPrincess
Lea waiting for us.
The Museum is in the Old
Sacramento part of the city. It is a neat place, mostly a tourist
trap now, and separated from the rest of the city by a highway, it has
narrow streets and an old west town feel to it. The museum itself
was very impressive, lots of great bits of history relating to the
westward expansion of the railroads. This was one of my must see
stops on the trip, and it was worth it.
Funny, I think I frustrated one
of the tour guides though. He was standing inside a mock-up of a
snow shed, which is kind of a covering used in the mountains to keep the
heavy snows off the rails. He asked if I had any questions (I was
looking for a hiding spot for a box at the time) and I said, no that was
OK.
"Well, do you know what
this is?" he asked pointing to the shed above.
"Yes," and I rattled
off what it was, how it was used, why and so forth.
"OK, well, enjoy. Let
me know if you need anything," and he turned his attention away
from me.
We cut the visit a bit short so
we could go over to the State Capitol and tour that, followed by some
boxing. I putzed around figuring out the parking a bit, then we
hopped in with Lea and headed downtown.
We when in and signed up for a
tour, which we timed, so we had some time. Heading out the back
door, passing the Govinator's office (wonder if he was in?) we went in
search of a box nearby. I rather not review its name or location,
but we found it with ease and it was a nice box and stamp.
Time for the tour. This
turned out to be, possibly, the worst tour I have ever been on. It
was just plain horrible. The problem lay in the tour guide
herself. A nice enough lady, and I don't think she meant to be
this way, but she continually talked to us like we were a bunch of
school children. She prattled on and on about the state's
legislative process, which is pretty much like any other state, and
never really talked about the building itself, which is what we were
there to
see. We were never even told when the structure was built.
We bailed halfway through the tour, deciding we had better things to do.
What
better things? Well, boxing of course. There were several
boxes in the area. We started out by searching for one in a
community garden, however we found that the garden was fenced and
closed, so that one was out. Instead we headed for a local
cemetery which contained three boxes.
The
Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is a massive cemetery, actually it
seems to be three cemeteries next to each other. The first box we
went on the hunt for was "For
their Sacrifice". This one we easily found. The
other we searched for was "H
is for Hero". It took a bit of driving around to find
this one, but the stamp alone was well worth the drive. The
cemetery itself was neat, with many plots outlined in little walls and terraced,
all very well cared for and many very unique. Though Princess Lea
was ready to go, the rest of our little crew roamed a bit looking at the
plots and wondering about the different plant life which to us was very
strange.
We
returned tot eh Museum. We wanted to finish up touring the museum
while Lea wanted to go get a few more boxes. So we parted ways for
now, and we roamed around the rest of the fine museum.
The
day was getting on, and while we would have liked to roam a bit around
Old Sacramento itself, is was best we got on our way. On the way
back to the hotel we stopped for ice cream and a box, "I
scream, U scream, We all scream for ICE CREAM", and then got
prepared for the mischief ahead that evening.
RE:
Look At Me!!!!!! - A response from and to X
Marks The Spot
October 16, 2007
I
wanted to give this it's own entry because it is long and involved and I
felt it was too important to get lost.
Just to refresh, I wrote:
I may have a
big ego, but jeez, some folks have to take it easy.Recently Bulldawg planted a box in cooperation with
X Marks The
Spot.The box is actually
very impressive, but his attitude around it is not.Further, the box does have a few problems.I think I will get into both here.
First off, it
is much better marketing to plant and box and say nothing further then
“Hey, I planted a new box, hope you enjoy.”Too much fan fair puts people off.The box will get better word of mouth if it is quietly released,
and people will likely enjoy it more.
Secondly,
there are problems with the box.I
am not much for telling people how to plant, and I think the whole leave
no trace thing is pretty much a load of crap, but this box goes above
and beyond the whole leave no trace thing as it is not just a box but a
contraction.It involved
digging, lots of digging, the shovels and picks kind of digging.Without park permission for something like this, it is not just
bad, it is illegal and could be the cause of a lot of trouble.
Another
problem is it is part of it is planted with a PVC pipe.In
Pennsylvania
the only restriction on containers is that it cannot be in a PVC pipe as
that can easily be misconstrued as a bomb, and well, very bad things
then happen.
I asked about
the permission.Normally I
would not care, but this is not a normal box.I got no answer to my question.I tend to think that answers the question in and of itself.
X Marks The Spot sent me a
response to this:
Hey there...
Not sure of your name, mine is Jeff...some folks know me as "X" Marks the Spot. Someone sent me a link to your 13 Oct blog that references a letterbox that Bulldawg and I collaborated on. Just wanted to offer up my thoughts on your opinions. Please keep the tone of my words as friendly and non-confrontational. Tough to pick that up in just written words. Those who know me, know that I shy away from arguments.
Thanks for your opinion that the box is impressive. I designed the box with the thought that folks would see it from a unique craftsman point of view and get a smile out of it. As for the location, and lack of permission...don't blame Bulldawg. I chose the park and thought that obscure trail and wooded area wouldn't be that big of a deal for this project. I tried to make the box blend with the environment...park...birdhouse...seemed "natural". I picked the location and dug the hole for the post before Bulldawg arrived. Clearly, in reading your comments, I missed the boat when it comes to tasteful letterboxing. From this, I've learned a bit of a lesson. Its clear that I have offended you and there may be others out there with similar feelings. I will consider this in my extreme letterbox designs and the impact on the environment, and more importantly, the long term impact for the letterboxing hobby should a box like this be discovered by park officials. Frankly, I had not even thought this box would bring this strong of a reaction. Your point in the blog is taken.
Also, I hate to say that I also did not consider the security implications of the PVC pipe that holds the homemade brayer. Thoughtful insight on that topic. I'll discontinue that practice and look for an alternative for that box. Again, this is something I should have given a little more thought to.
Regards the comments you made about the marketing of the box...I am really not sure what that refers too. I've had some folks let me know that Bulldawg has been not just been letting the box speak for itself, but have stayed out of it. If you know Bulldawg...I think that's just his nature. We are both very proud of the box for obvious reasons.
Anyway, saw your blog...wanted to let you know that I have taken your opinions to heart. Open for further discussion should you want to share additional thoughts. Thanks.
Jeff
X Marks the Spot
Don't worry about offending me,
you did not, and if you had, oh well, that is life. I am more
worried about the implications of this box more then anything
else. Typically, the lack of permission to plant a box is not such
a big deal. I think people sometimes worry a bit too much about
the environmental impact of a piece of plastic hidden out in the
woods. The problem here is this is more then just a piece of
plastic.
While the box does look like a
natural fit, I think you failed to take into consideration the
implications of digging up someone else's property. Would you go
into your neighbor's yard and do this and start digging? I take a
commonsensical approach to planting a box, if it can be removed with no
harm then it is OK. It is then often better and easier to ask
forgiveness after the fact. While I don't think the box is in a
location where it really does matter, the property owner's rights must
still be regarded.
As for marketing, well, Bulldawg
started out with this idea that it was going to be word of mouth, that
you would have to meet up with him at a certain time and place to see
the video. That is all fine and well, but I don't think he really
got any takers on it, so he changed to a more traditional posting.
Where this goes wrong is the wording.
If this box, doesnt get all
of those dumb little blue diamond ratings, them something is wrong with
the system!
Things like this just strike me
as arrogant. then repeated postings to the Mid Atlantic list
seemed to just go awry. As you said, it is better to simply let a
box speak for itself.
Randomness
- A
few thoughts and tales of goings on
October 13, 2007
Great
Adventure
Becky and I
hit up Great Adventure last week instead of doing the Massasas Pub
Crawl.I have not been to
the park since the spring, and she had never gone there, and I have been
reading nothing but glowing reports on the park, even from those who did
not like the park otherwise.Well,
it did not disappoint.We
got there an hour after opening, but still beat out most of the crowds.Lines were short and the ride ops were working hard to keep them
that way.Everyone was
friendly and did a fantastic job.
Becky loved
El Toro
, commenting that it was no other wood coaster she has ever been on.She is right.We
waited just five minutes for
El Toro
, and just 15 for Kingda Ka, which was running very, very well.We enjoyed watching the tigers for a while, had a burger which
was very good (we got a double and they gave us an extra roll to split
it up).
We left at
about three as crowds started to pour into the park, and did skip the
boardwalk rides, but that is OK.
The Dark
Knight
While on the
topic of Great Adventure, they have announced their new ride, The Dark
Knight.It is going to be an
indoor coaster geared towards the whole family.From the sounds of the rumor mill it is going to be a heavily
themed, off the shelf Mack Mouse, a pretty common ride.It is going to tie into the new Batman movie of the same name due
out in July, this is a good move.I
was hoping for one of the spinning coasters, which I think would be a
perfect fit for the park and just what they need.I still would rather have seen them invest the money in a few
high capacity flat rides though, something that would move the crowds
and fill in some gapping holes.
No Phall
Phunfest Phor Me
No, I had to
work this weekend, and decided not to kill myself and do PPP at Knoebels
as well.I figured sleep
would be a better idea, and I was able to meet some new boxers as well
as some old friends for dinner at Isaac Newton’s.It also enabled me to go out to
Central PA
for some boxing on Sunday, camp and come home Monday.Becky had off Monday, so this worked out very well.
New Boxers?
Well, we met
some folks for dinner, as I said.Maple
Leaf Red, Critterliz and their boys are not really new boxers, they just are not
involved in the local community so much as they are not part of the
Mid-Atlantic Yahoo Group.I
found them over on the Prattle Quest Boreds (yes, that is supposed to be
spelled wrong), where they had posted on the
Pennsylvania
bored asking about boxing in
Tyler
.They are from
North Joisey
.I commented they should
join the list but they said they found it confusing and difficult to
follow.
I can
understand this, as topics lately have seemingly been going off topic
very quickly and in a vast number of directions.This is part of the charm of the group, and why it is so active
and has so many members from all over, but it is also intimidating for
new members who may not know or understand what is going on.I am not thinking we should really change the conversation or our
ways too much, but maybe putting OT in the subject line, or changing it completely, would help.
But, anyway,
we all had a great dinner.Becky
got up just in time, Irene brought her friend Rita,
Suzanne was there
and I gave her a big hug which I think she needed, and Cherish and her
father Rick came down from Doylestown, much to my surprise and delight.
To
Quell the Rumors
Yes, Becky and
I are dating, and it is wonderful.Just
in case there was anyone out there was still wondering.
Central PA
Last weekend
Becky and I headed out to
Central PA
for a day of boxing.We got
a late start, and did not have as much luck as I had hoped, but that is
OK.We met up with Terri and
Jim for dinner at Otto’s, which has become the defacto meeting spot
for us in
State College
.We hada great time, spending nearly three hours there talking of our
latest adventures, and I didn’t even get everything in.They practically had to kick us out.
The night
Becky and I camped at
Greenwood
Furnace
State Park
.$12 a night just can’t
be beat.I took my little
green tent and set it up as a lean to, and the weather for this was
perfect, never getting too chilly and no bugs.When we pulled into the parking lot of the campground (we had a
walk-in site), I shut down the car and we found ourselves in complete
darkness.We stood for
several minutes just looking at the sky, which was lit up with every
star imaginable on the moonless night.
Haunted
Frostburg
Funny, until a
few weeks ago I had totally forgotten about the Haunted
Frostburg gathering in Western Maryland
, I had signed up for it nearly a year ago, and now it is but two weeks
away.Frostburg is
considerably further away then I thought, I was thinking it was in the
DC area, but no, it is about four hours from Philly.
The idea is to
box letterboxes planted in this small town in costume.I am working on mine, which I will not reveal just yet, but I
hope I can make it work.Yes,
I am sewing, so either this will be a remarkable achievement or a total
disaster.I guess we shall
see.
My middle
sister Rachel is actually going to this one.This will be her first gathering, and I think she is pretty
excited about it, I think.It
will be small, so it should be a good one, not too overwhelming for her.
Don’t Use
That Word!
Prattle Quest
amazes me.I surf the unmanageable
boards with amusement at times, and am amazed by the constant stupidity
of some people.
Last week
someone starts a thread that they think it is wrong to call non-letterboxers
“Muggles”.It is a Harry
Potter word, and we should use something more letterboxing specific.Well, there is the word “noxer” that is used, though I like
muggle better and use that. I
don’t know why, it just rolls off the tongue better to me.Further, I think it takes a whole lot of nerve to tell me what I
should or should not say.If
folks don’t like it, well, too bad.
Look At
Meeeeee!!!
I may have a
big ego, but jeez, some folks have to take it easy.Recently Bulldawg planted a box in cooperation with
X Marks The
Spot.The box is actually
very impressive, but his attitude around it is not.Further, the box does have a few problems.I think I will get into both here.
First off, it
is much better marketing to plant and box and say nothing further then
“Hey, I planted a new box, hope you enjoy.”Too much fan fair puts people off.The box will get better word of mouth if it is quietly released,
and people will likely enjoy it more.
Secondly,
there are problems with the box.I
am not much for telling people how to plant, and I think the whole leave
no trace thing is pretty much a load of crap, but this box goes above
and beyond the whole leave no trace thing as it is not just a box but a
contraction.It involved
digging, lots of digging, the shovels and picks kind of digging.Without park permission for something like this, it is not just
bad, it is illegal and could be the cause of a lot of trouble.
Another
problem is it is part of it is planted with a PVC pipe.In
Pennsylvania
the only restriction on containers is that it cannot be in a PVC pipe as
that can easily be misconstrued as a bomb, and well, very bad things
then happen.
I asked about
the permission.Normally I
would not care, but this is not a normal box.I got no answer to my question.I tend to think that answers the question in and of itself.
Good Idea
for a Gathering?
I may seem
like I am picking on Bulldawg a bit here, and I don’t mean it to be
that way, but I think this gathering he has planned for the spring is a
bad idea.
Shenandoah
National Park
is a fantastic place to hike and camp, no doubt about that, but it is
not a good place for a gathering.Given
that letterboxes are not allowed in National Parks, and the one’s
there are usually word of mouth, I don’t think those who have planted
in the park (no, not me, but there are more then a few) would want a
whole slew of people trampsing around looking for them at the same time,
possibly drawing attention to them.I could be wrong, but I know I would not want it.
Atlas Quest
2.0
I guess I’ll
finish up with some good words for Ryan, who deserves kudos for the
update to the search engine.I
love it, it is great that you can now search by zip code or place name,
something I have always wanted to be able to do.Now if only he would make the site look a little more pleasing to
the eyes, it is nearly as ugly as my own site, and those awful clip art
images, uhgg.
What
is in a Stamp
Looks like a little fiery bit
has popped up over on the newboxers list. The question, as it
comes up often, was whether or not it was right to go out and get a
store bought stamp for a signature stamp and boxes. Newbies are
often intimidated by the many fantastic stamps out there that are hand
carved, and I don't blame them. This person wanted to start off
with a nice stamp.
Mommo responded that she sees it
as fine but don't expect her to go out and look for a box with a store
bought stamp in it. Well folks did not like that at all.
They think all boxes should be equal, that you should not discriminate
as to which boxes you go looking for based on the type of stamp in it.
Well, that is a load of
crap. I can tell you right off that I am a stamp snob and I don't
even bother pulling up clues to boxes that list as having store bought
stamps. What is the point in finding the same freaking ladybug
over and over again, I want something original, something
different. I am not saying don't plant the box, but I am saying I
am not going to go looking for it.
Mommo
was not very diplomatic about it, and I think she was trying to be a bit
tongue in check, but it did not really come out that way. That
being said, she was not "flaming" the person or really being
all that insulting, just honest. I guess you are not supposed to
be honest these days if others are not going to like what you have to
say.
The
City By The Bay
II- The Rest of a Day in San Francisco
October 3, 2007
A
little behind. Me? Never! Other things in life have
taken up some time. I will talk about them later, but for now I
should really finish up with this.
It was indeed a long walk to the
bridge, another two miles, but it was over level ground and we had a
good time with it. We kicked off our shoes and walked in the
ocean, the first time any of us besides Bob had ever done so. We
walked as far as we could this way, put our shoes back on, and headed
for the bridge.
I had the mistaken notion that
there was a box to be had at the bridge. If there is, it is not
the one I was looking at. That does not matter however, as we did
get some great views of the Golden Gate, and that is all part of the experience.
I did plant a box there, which has already had a finder. Hope
other local folks figure the box out.
We
were all starved, so we found a bus that took us back to the marina and
then walked back over to the Fisherman's Wharf area. We wandered
just a little bit figuring out what we wanted to eat. Some of the restaurants
were a bit too pricey for us. We first settled on an outdoor place
that advertised something like 80 beers. It was a neat place, but
service was miserable, and we waited for sometime with no waitress
coming over to our table, they all seemed to be
Time
was getting on, it was nearly five by now, and we needed to get going as
one of the boxes we had to get had to be gotten by six. We went to
the nearby cable car stop, but there was a line a mile long, so instead
opted for the street cars.
The street cars in San Francisco
are pretty neat. Not only do they have a fleet of modern cars,
they also have a fleet of antique cars from all over the world. We
boarded
a car that first ran in the city in the 1920's and headed for the Ferry
Terminal. There we hopped on BART and made our way to the mission
district.
I do not wish to give away what
boxes we found there as they are mysteries, but the three we did find
were fantastic. Outstanding stamps in these wonderful, unique
locations. I was also able to get a few items to spruce up Davy
Jones' Locker as well. We went looking for a forth box but found
that to be missing.
We had now ventured a bit away
from the Ferry Terminal, where we would have to be by 8:30 to catch the
last ferry back. We went to a street car stop where we waited for
a car for more then 40 minutes. I don't know what happened, but
the delay cost us the chance to get one final box in the financial
district before we got on the ferry. That was OK though, we had
quite a day none the less.
Becky rode back to the hotel
with us, while Bob took the train back to his sister's place at Redwood
City. Becky was going to box and tour with us the next day while
Bob was going to spend the day with his mother.
In Oakland we got some coffee,
considered, very briefly mind you, getting some boxes in the area, and
headed back to Sacramento.
The
City By The Bay
- A Day in San Francisco
September 18, 2007
Four
in the morning was far, far too early for that alarm to go off, but we
had an hour and a half drive ahead to get to Oakland and catch the ferry
to San Francisco.
We got to the ferry dock a half
an hour early, hitting very little traffic, and giving us time to grab
something to eat. Many thanks have to go out to Mrs.
Jiggs for the suggestion of taking the ferry. Not only was it
inexpensive, parking at the dock
was free and it was a great way to enter the city. The sun was
just breaking over the horizon, casting a brilliant glow across the
Oakland Bay Bridge and the city. The morning air was crisp, and
the fog was rolling out.
We met Becky
and Bob
at the ferry terminal. They were staying at Bob's sister's place
and took the train into the city. We got day passes for the mass
transit system and then found the cable car stop.
I am very happy we did the trip
in this way. By catching a ride on the cable car near the ferry
terminal rather then at the other end at Fisherman's Warf we had no
lines, no waiting, and got prime spots on the cars. I had the
chance to hang off the side of the car, the one thing I really wanted to
do. Even if seats were free, I still stood there, taking it all
in. When we finally got to the wharf, I was on a real high, and
this was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
From Fisherman's Wharf we
started walking west, heading for our first box, Sound
Waves. The walk itself was very nice. Just under two
miles, it offered some great views of the bay, with Alcatraz, Angel
Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge surrounding the bay.
Miz
Scarlet highly recommended this box, it was in a very cool place,
the Wave Organ.
The Wave Organ is a piece of art that sits out on the end of a
jetty. The jetty was built using discarded bit from a cemetery
after the cemeteries in the city were all moved in the early 1900's to
nearby Colma. In 1986 artists from the nearby Exploritorium
created the Wave Organ from these remains. Piping is run from the
sea up into the Wave Organ where you can listen to the waves, sloshing,
and gurgling of the water.
Miz Scarlet had mentioned that
she had trouble with this box, and had to go back a second time to find
it, but Becky picked up on the clues give right away and we quickly
found the box. The log also reported a nearby Geocache,
and looking around, I had no trouble finding that either. We made
an extra note on the letterbox to warn that it was not the geocache, and
to please take nothing from the box. The clue to the geocache also
notes the letterbox, very neighborly of them.
After
taking a bunch of photos and listening to the pipes of the organ, we
headed off to the nearby Exploritorium
to find Tin
Tin and Friends: Homage to Herge. Only two of the four
original boxes were left of this series, both indoors. We had
little trouble backtracking on these boxes and finding them, although I
did send the ladies into the ladies room falsely. Oh well.
We had fun playing with the gadgets and interactive displays in the
Exploritorium, a science museum, and which you could spend all day at,
but we resisted the temptation.
Outside
we roamed around the Palace
of Fine Arts. The Palace was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific
Exposition and has this great Greek temple look to it. It is a
dominating space, with columns towering above. After exploring
this space, it was time to take the long walk to the Golden Gate Bridge.
In
Walks Erma
- You name your car, right?
September 16, 2007
Well,
it happens, it just stinks when it does.
I worked the night before we
left. I figured no big deal, I would stay up and maybe get tome
sleep on the plane. So I picked up Sheba and we stayed up until my
father gave us a ride to the airport at four in the morning.
And then Erma happened.
Now you may be wondering who Erma is. She is one of Frontier
Airlines' planes. The entire fleet has a different type of
animal painted on the tail of the aircraft, each with a name. This
one happed to be an ermine named Erma. And Erma was trouble as she
caused us an eight hour delay.
They
tell us the pilot's seatbelt was broken and would have to be
replaced. There were none to be found locally, so they had to
bring one in on the next flight from Denver. The plane would not
take off until 2 in the afternoon. They diverted many folks, but
we could not be diverted to another airline so we waited it out.
We
did make to most of the delay and hopped on a train and headed
downtown. There was a box to be had, "Be Prepared,"
hidden as part of a geocache at the Boy Scout Headquarters. Some
may recall me writing about the Boy Scouts being kicked
out of their center city headquarters. Well, it hasn't
happened yet, so we were able to find the box and explore this wonderful
building. I had packed my camera, so no pictures, but I recommend
if you go for the box to enter through the main doors so that you can
see the wonderful lobby of this building.
Returning
to the airport, we had lunch and were finally able to board and head
toward Sacramento. We had a two hour layover in Denver, so we
explored the airport a bit. It is a nearly new airport, and has a
fantastic main terminal. You don't have to pass through security
to get into the main terminal so there were people there waiting for
arrivals and others just milling about. We were walking past one
guy who was protesting, holding up signs along the lines of "Evict
Cheney" or something. As we passed, he started to say
something when I quickly spoke up saying, "it is nice they even let
the nut jobs in here." He quyickly shut up and did not say a
word further to us.
We had
Erma again on the way to Sacramento, and she struck again with more mechanical
difficulties, but this time minor and we were only about 15 minutes late
taking off.
We finally
landed at about 10 local time, having been awake for 41 hours, and the
next morning was going to be an early one.
Feedback
- Yes, Erma was cute. No, I did not get a picture - Email me
To
The Left Coast
- Where do I start?
September 16, 2007
I
really don't know where to start with this trip, it has been so very
amazing. There is lots to tell, some of it good, some not so good,
but I hope to get it done over the next few days, maybe (maybe I'll
write about Knoebels too).
I don't know why I even came up
with the idea for this trip. I think it was when I got a message
asking if I could send Davy Jones' locker to a gathering there. I
don't send Davy anywhere, as stated in the clues about him, he only
travels with me. The box is very large and involved and I don't
want to just leave it somewhere.
So, anyway, I came up with the
great idea that I would go out and take the box with me. It was
doable cost wise if someone would share the expenses, and Sheba
just happened to be on vacation that week, so she said she
would like to do so. So I booked everything and this past Tuesday
we were off to California.
We stayed in Sacramento.
That is where the gathering was held, and it seemed to work well as a
central point to everything. The plan was to go into San Francisco
one day, visit Sacramento one day, and go to Lake Tahoe. Well,
this plan fell apart pretty fast.
Yes, I have finally cracked open a new beer. It
has been a while, but I think I can finally taste something again, so I
figured I would at long last go back into the reserve and start trying
some new stuff.
This is a very light lager that I don't really know
what to think of. It pours from the bottle with almost no head,
though what it does have seems to stick around for a while.
As for taste? Well, it tastes like a light beer,
as in it really doesn't have much of a taste. I taste some hops in
there, but not much. It really seems pretty watered down to
me. I can see it being a session beer, it goes down smooth with no
aftertaste, but after a hard day at work, I think I would want something
with a little more meat to it.
Feedback
- I am not as think as you drunk I am, so Email me
Look
Out Below
September 1, 2007
I
actually managed to clean off my desk to do some carving. I should
be able to finish up the event stamps for next weekend by the end of
this weekend, since really I've not much else going on. That is,
besides cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, fixing a few things around
here.
I actually enjoy it. My attention span seems to
be pretty lax, so I work on one thing, get bored, sit it down and work
on something else and then get back to it. Kinda why I am writing
this entry.
So
anyway, I am carving away and decide it is time to take one of those
breaks. "The Queen" is happily sitting on the bed.
I back up from the desk, and what do I find but a small cat sprawled out
below me sleeping like a rock. I've got to say, her nose must not
be too good considering she was just inches from my feet ;-)
Gotta say, she is cute though.
Feedback
- "The Queen" likes getting mail - Email me
Knoebels
- What you need to know
August 31, 2007
Well,
there is just a little more then a week until the Knoebels
Gathering. Third time's a charm, I figure. Actually, the
other two have gone very well, and are no work for me other then carving
the stamps, so why not go at it again.
So, here are a few things you need to know about the
gathering. I've gotten asked a lot of these questions, so I figure
I will get them out of the way.
The park is a free admission park, the largest of its
kind in the country. There also is no charge for parking, so there
is no charge for this gathering at all. You do not have to pay
anything if you do not want to ride, but some boxes may require some
riding.
The pavilion for the gathering was also free, so there
is no donation jar, or raffle, or anything else to defray costs.
The pavilion we are in this year is Tent
6, which is out near the parkinglot.
I don't do the food thing at this gathering. You
have the option of bringing your own or sampling some of the great
food the park has to offer, all at very reasonable prices too.
While there are not any boxes list right where the
gathering is, rest assured there will be some boxes besides the event
boxes. There are also boxes in the area in Ashland,
Danville
and Sunbury,
so there is plenty to do. The gathering tends to be less about the
boxes and more about the folks there.
Friday night we usually go down to Ashland and have
dinner at Devitto's, a great pizza place in town run by Jan's
brother. It also houses the
The gathering is shorter this year, running just four
hours from 9am to 1pm, so everyone can spend more time having fun in the
park.
You can camp right next door at the Knoebels
Campground. Camp Headquarters for the gathering is at site T-7
where there will be a campfire that night. Call 1-800-487-4386
Ext. 3 to reserve a site. A special stamp will be available to all
those that are there after dark.
For those so inclined, you are invited to worship at
Faith United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nescopeck, PA, about a half
hour from the park. Service is at 10:30am and ministered by local
letterboxer Michael Scholtes, AKA Indigo
Vulture. All are welcome, and word is there may be a box involved.
I think that about covers
everything. If you have any more questions, please feel free to
ask away.
Real
Men... - Don't do virtual letterboxes, among other things
August 22, 2007
What
makes a real man? I am not entirely sure, but I think I have set
at least a few good standards to live by. I try and live up to
them, but don't always quite get there.
Real Men don't do virtual letterboxes. That's
right. They may seem quick and easy, even nice mental exercises,
but real men like to get out on the trail, into the wilderness.
They like to hike hard, sweat and toil to get a real letterbox. If
they want mental exercises they work over mystery boxes so that they can
go out and find them as well.
Real Men sweat. They work hard. They like
to be outdoors, working with their hands, making something, building a
better world around them. They do not fear getting dirty, grimy
and sweaty. Finally, they take pride in their work.
Real Men love women. They hold women upon a pedestal.
They treat them with grace and dignity. Real men drive for them,
they hold the door for them, they see women as a thing of true beauty.
They do not see women as the weaker sex, but rather that they are
different and must be protected.
Real Men love America. They know that she is the
greatest of all nations to grace this Earth. They shed tears when
they hear the Star Spangled Banner, treat the flag with the utmost
respect, live and breath and bleed red, white and blue. They honor
all those who have fought and died for America for they are all Real Men
as well.
Real Men don't do pastels. Pastels are soft and
weak, and not man's colors.
Real Men provide for their families. They do all
they can, sacrifice all they have to be sure their family is protected
above all else.
Real Men do not fear roller coasters. Only boys
fear them, not Real Men.
Real Men like to drive. It is all about the
skill, and driving requires skill.
Real Men like real sports. Baseball and football
are Real Men's sports. The laser precision of a pitcher verses the
raw power of the batter, one on one, make baseball a Real Man's
sport. And the raw power of giants smashing into each other on the
grid iron in all whether make football and Real Man's sport.
Hockey, boxing, and rugby are also sports for Real Men. Soccer is
not.
Real Men do not fear fire arms. They know that
fire arms are a powerful tool that can provide for and protect their
family. The have learned how to use and respect fire arms, and
they teach their children the same respect.
Real Men have a nice hat. Because the sometimes
they have to look good and nice hats look good.
Real Men respect the arts. They may not like the
ballet, theatre or the opera, but they at least have respect for what
they are.
Real Men have respect for animals. Because they
are lower creatures and man has domain over them, Real Men know that
they must be protected for they also provide for mankind.
Real Men learn history. They know of the great
victories of the past, as well as the defeats. They learn for
those in history so as to not make the same mistakes.
Real Men teach their son's to be Real Men.
Because there are far too few Real Men in the world.
Yeah, I loved your Blog!! I agree with most of your list-- keep
up the good work :P
Cherish
PS A real man also appreciates a real woman!
how well do you know the history of new hampshire?
you can find out by doing my virtual letterboxes!
rockin and rollin in the granite state.
all 31 of them.
you wrote about real men learning history.
how do you know if you know your histiry if you
don't check out my virtual letterboxes about new hampshire's past? you
may find that there is something else to learn.
Oh sorry! Real men use capital letters when typing!
You missed that one!
Oh and real men don't whine about being sick
either!
Dave, I think you failed to grasp the humor in the
posting.
Oh, and I worked that week with a 101° temp, in
95° heat. I didn't whine, just wanted to mention the lack of an
update, besides my usual laziness.
Real Men....
Don't weat Flip Flops except to the beach or pool.
Real men wear sandals with straps in case they actually need to go
onto a trail.
Don't have boxing buddies unless they are cool
creatures like Chupacabras or savage sabre tooth tigers.
Do appreciate their friends and family.
Will attempt to gather the hairy leggers (who are
all Real Men, regardless of gender) when hunting that next
elusive Mapsufferer.
Edit as you see fit.
Very cool and happy trails,
LB
I have to disagree with Dave. In my
experience, Real Men whine about being sick ALL THE TIME.
=)
Sheba
Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
Without Real Women to bear, nurture and raise
Real Men, there would be no Real Men. And vise versa. What it
takes is two people who are committed to their values and
beliefs. And love each other and choose to walk together in this
world.
I have met and admired men and
women from all races, ethnicity, religions and countries of
origins. They are Real people just trying to live and to do the
best they can for their families.
-Pink
I am going to have to leave it to you ladies
to speak for Real Women.
Summer
Colds Suck - But I got better
August 15, 2007
Summer
colds are the worst. Last week I got socked by a bad one, high
fever, hurt all over, felt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. I
couldn't even look at the computer for two days. I feel better and
am finally getting caught up, I hope.
Last week, before I got really sick, I started some
renovation around here. I figured I would bring some color to the
site, make it a little less dull looking. I kinda like the
blues. The site looks best on Explorer, much to my disappointment,
since I am a Firefox user. Firefox just does not render it
correctly, the tables have that funky border instead of a smooth black
border.
I do have plenty to write about, with luck I will find
some time in the coming days to do so. I am headed down to the
North Carolina gathering though, so we'll see.
Ahh, my old standby, Yuengling. This is the beer
I grew up on, and it is a pretty good beer too. Yuengling is the
oldest brewery in the country, they have been brewing beer in
Pottsville, PA since 1829. It is the beer my father always drank,
and still does, and I wet my teeth on, so I figured I had to do a review
of it.
The Traditional Lager is Yuengling's mainstay
beer. It is light as far as lagers go, a smooth beer that goes
down pretty easy.
I usually have it from a bottle, but we had some cans
left over from a party, so can it is. It pours with a nice amber
color, with just a little head that dissipates pretty quickly.
It has a little bit of a metallic taste to it, but
nothing overwhelming. The beer does have a nice mixture of hops
and malt, and fairly low carbonation, so it makes for a good session
beer. Oh, and it is pretty cheap, which always helps.
Feedback
- I am not as think as you drunk I am, so Email me
Into
Amish Country - Part 1
July 31, 2007
I
started writing this a few days ago and am now going to finally finish
it up.
I had a wonderful weekend boxing out in Amish Country
this past weekend. I have not really done much boxing as of late,
so it was nice to get away and get some done. Saturday was all
solo for me, while Sunday I was joined by Sheba
(Suzanne) and Schizokeet
(Becky).
I got sort of an early start on Saturday. I had
to drop some parts off at a dealership in Phoenixville before they
opened. I got some breakfast while there and then stopped at
Valley Forge to see if Baron von
Steuben was truly gone, which, sadly, it is. I will replace
that as soon as I can.
All of this was basically to blow time while I waited
for the bank to open at 9. After that stop I was finally off
towards Lancaster.
The whole plan was to get out to Williams Grove Park
and check out the park, which is now closed, but has a market right in
the middle of the rides. I wanted to get a last look at it before
the rides are finally sold off. Well, that never happened. I
hope I can get it done later in the summer.
It never happened, because for once, I got sidetracked
letterboxing.
First
stop was to search for The
Road to Paradise. This is a Royal
Fish box. She is a fairly new boxer, and her carvings are very
nice, and the plants are well done as well. For this box you are
supposed to ride the Strasburg
Rail Road and get off for a picnic at their picnic area. Well,
I knew where the picnic area was, so I just drove right to it. As
mentioned in the clues, the area was indeed covered in poison ivy, so I
carefully made my way into the woods and found the box, but did not find
the bonus box.
Did
I mention that it was hot and muggy. Yeah, by the time I was done
this one box I was a mess, sticky and sweaty. It was great, I
needed this so much.
Off to find more boxes, I headed toward York, which
took forever. Strasburg was all backed up and Lancaster was just a
mess to get through. But once I got on the highway things cleared
out and it was a quick half hour into York itself.
I easily found the York
Emporium in downtown York. This store is owned by Brandy's
Father, and she has planted a very nice box in the store. I picked
up a John Philip Sousa album for $1 and was on my way.
Downtown
York, much like Lancaster itself, seems to be going through a bit of a
revival, which is great to see with these smaller Pennsylvania
cities. It seems to have some nice stores moving in and the city
looked clean and well cared for, which is a change over past
visits. There is still a long way to go, but it really looks like
it is getting there.
I headed south. My next bunch of boxes were all
Royal Fish boxes. First up was Pengy.
The box had nothing to do with the location, which was at the York reservoir,
but the stamp was nice and the walk took you past a very nice overlook
of the city.
Evidence
was the next box I would go in search of. This box is hidden along
the York County Heritage Rail Trail. The whole trip was two miles
around, but I saw that there was a tunnel another mile up the trail from
the box and wanted to check it out, which total made this a four mile
walk. The tunnel is the Howard
Tunnel, built in 1838. It is about 300 feet long and it the
oldest continuously used railroad tunnel in the United States.
Unknown
to me at the time, the box Stand
By Me was at the tunnel. It is not a mystery box, but I just
somehow missed it in my researching of boxes. That is OK, I like
the spot and would like to return, planting my own box as well and
getting the one that is there.
The
next box I would get is a mystery box called Yours
Ore Mines. Not a difficult mystery, but the box has a very
nice stamp as well as a bonus. The park it is in is very
interesting, the site of some early ore mining, it also has some neat
overlooks of farm fields. I got about halfway to the box when I
heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. I hurried along and
found the boxes, which I managed to somehow do backwards. Typical
of me.
On
the way back to the car, the skies were really starting to threaten now,
I came across a groundhog in the field just standing there watching
me. I was actually able to get pretty close to him and snap a shot
before her ran off, and before I had to dash to the car for cover.
I shot down to my sisters house in Lancaster and
cleaned up. Most of the family met up and we when to the Lancaster
Brewery for dinner. Dinner there was very good, and my father
and I sampled many of their fine selection. I started out with the
Hop Hog, a very hoppy beer as you can imagine, moved on to the Fest
Beer, which was an Amber Lager and only available on tap at the brewery,
and finally finished with their Amish Four Grain, which I liked a lot
and will have to get some more of.
The
Beer Review II - Wexford Irish Cream Ale
July 29, 2007
Wexford
Irish Cream Ale, Greene King Brewing Co., Suffolk, UK
This beer was poured from a can. It poured with
a very frothy, creamy look to it, but then cleared out to an amber color
with a fluffy head that lasted the entire drink (and I took my time with
it).
Just as the name would imply, it has a very smooth,
very creamy taste to it. It has almost no smell.
There is a slight aftertaste to it, kind of an iron
taste.
Overall, not a bad beer, but did not seem to have much
flavor to it that I could tell, and not one I would pop open after a
hard work day. It is nice and smooth and goes down easy.
Feedback
- I am not as think as you drunk I am, so Email me
More
On The Flying Turns - This time from Coastin' Steve
July 26, 2007
Hey all
Sorry I have been as good w/ my Flying Turns updates
and photo postings as I was when I first started my job back in Oct,
Believe it or not, working 7 days a week, long hrs, and
doing a ton of driving does tend to wear a guy out. 8-(
So, I'll start with
track progress and then talk about the train some 8-)
Some final detailing of
the main section of the ride is going on as that was the area that train
testing has been going on <G> (for a good bit longer than
people think ) Work is almost finshed on the brake run and lift hill # 2
awaits the "outside contractor" to set the moter, sprockets
and chain. (was surprised that "we" didn't do
that, this job is a constant education <G> Lift hill
#1 and lift hill #3 are currently getting their steel parts ( side fric
lam, anti roll backs and chain trough) so they'll be ready for the lift
contractor when they get here The John Fetterman designed helix is
finished. (aside from the less important inclosing it to make a
"tunnel") Having watched a few things roll and slide
down this steep piece of woodwork, I can tell you riders are going
to be in for a real treat on this part of the ride The deck of the
loading barn is just about done. A quick roof over that and
it'll be ready for Flying <G> Jim Martini has been doing his
thing and getting all of the electric wiring worked out. He doesn't seem
to be in a panic, (or any more than usual ) so I guess things are going
well.
And now for a little about "the
train" In some respects I'm going to sound like a broken record,
but it seems "we've" got to keep saying it again and
again to people and it still doesn't seem to sink in. This is a
proto-type ride...... there is no exsisting
rolling stock that will just fit in this trough and roll. Therefore,
it is impossible to predict how long it's going to take to do something
you've never done before... You can guess, you can
hope, but it is absolutely impossible to predict
8-(
Even if John Fetterman and whoever
else is involved in the designing of the modern FT car has some great
"paper" ideas, it would be rather foolish to build
a very expensive custom train until they're sure it's going to roll as
expected (and that's not as sure thing as it sounds in the twisted
trough of the Turns) This requires, "prototype testing"
before the final OK for train building is given In order for
"proto-type testing' to go on, a good portion of the
labor intensive ride must be built first, So, we've built
most of the ride, and they've been testing the proto-type
train, ... and this past week, Larson was given the OK to start
train construction (or their part of it, the chassis)
How long will that take, before they get the finished chassis to
Knoebels???? It's not in our hands, so "we" don't know
The last 2 missing section of track are
the transfer tables where the train will be able to be switched off onto
the service siding. The reason why these sections were not
done already is that certain aspects of them are based on the train's
turn radius, which could not be determined until the train
was finalized. I would expect these sections will be getting started and
completed fairly soon
I'll try to get some more pics added
(which I haven't done in ages, I know, I know )
Flying Turns carpenter
Coastin Steve
Some of Steve's photos, with commentary, can be found here
All of his photos in full size can be found here
The
Beer Review I - St. Rogue Red Ale
July 25, 2007
You know you have
good friends when they give you beer for your birthday, and last week I
got plenty of new brews to try out. I finally got around to
clearing out room in my fridge (read, drank enough of the Yuengling in
there) to fit it all in and get it nicely chilled.
So I figured I would review the beers as I tried them
and let everyone know what I do and do not like.
Just to give you an indication of my tastes, I like a
full beer, none of that weak light stuff, and prefer the macro and micro
brews. I also have a sweet tooth, so I tend to lean toward sweeter
beers at times. I don't have a very refined palate, but I do know
what I do and don't like.
All of the beers will be poured into glasses, which I
also got for my birthday (I have great friends).
St.
Rogue Red Ale by Rogue Ales, Oregon Brewing Co, Newport, OR
The beer pours with a little bit of head that sticks
around for a while. It is dark, not so red.
A
nice, sweet smell greeted me when I went to take my first sip, kind of a
woody smell that I can't really describe. It has a very hoppy
flavor to it, which seems right since the bottle says "Dry
Hopped." It goes down a little rough, but not too bad, and
has an after taste that lingers for only a little while.
Overall
I like this beer. It is not something I could marathon, but I
could have a couple at a sitting.
Feedback
- I am not as think as you drunk I am, so Email me
Nice picture of the bottle & the glass, but where are your little furry drinking buddies? (no, I do not refer to The Queen...)
Sheba
I prefer my Drinking Buddies to have a pulse too, and
be able to join me.
You know, this is very wierd. I drank a really neat
beer last night and I intend on doing a review on it as well on my blog
later on. It seems we are of one mind today.
I generally like the Rogue's, but that one is not one of my faves.
Mr. Yuk
Looking forward to more editions. All I can say is
"Seadog". You know it is my favorite! I'll bring more to
Knoebels.
Pink Panther
Moving
Day For The Boy Scouts - Today is the day Philly kicks the Scouts
out
July 24, 2007
One would think
that, as of this writing, a city with 233 homicides so far this year
would be doing everything it can to stop the violence. That the
mayor and city council would be working hard at the root of the cause of
the violence, young black men getting mixed up in drugs and gangs.
Instead they are working to remove an organization
that helps 40,000 boys with free programs, the Boy Scouts of America,
and all in the name of political correctness.
On May 31 the Philadelphia City Council, in an unannounced
vote, voted 16-to-1 to pass a resolution ending a 79 year lease on the
Cradle of Liberty's Council headquarters next to the Franklin
Institute. I think Ben would be appalled. The move was
pushed forward by City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. in the name of the
city's anti discrimination statutes because the national Boy Scout
council refuses to allow openly gay men to serve as scout leaders.
It should be noted that Diaz is openly gay himself. Such a policy
was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000 on the grounds that the scouts
are a private organization and can choose who they admit.
The Cradle of Liberty Council has said that it would
admit gays but has been overruled by the National Council.
So we come to May 31 and the city's resolution,
introduced by Councilman Darrell L. Clarke to remove the scouts and end
the rent free lease, despite the building having been built and given to
the city by the scouts in 1928 under an agreement that the city would
lease it to them free of charge "in perpetuity." The
scouts were to be out by July 24, today. I am not sure that has
happened yet.
There has been an option floated that the scouts could
stay and pay the market rate for the building, but that does not seem to
sit well with Clarke.
"There is some discussion
about allowing them to pay market rate rent," Clarke said.
"I’m not really comfortable with that arrangement."
Clarke said he felt the city could not condone them staying in the
building if they discriminate.
None of this seems to matter to the city when it comes
to political correctness. Agree with the scouts or not, there is
no question that they help keep the most needy of kids off the street
and give then a good moral compass and skills they will use throughout
their life. A city wracked with such problems as the ever growing
homicide rate should be looking into every way possible to help get the
children off the streets and into activities that are worthwhile and
meaningful to their growth. Obviously City Council could care
less.
I've thought a lot about your blog in the past few
days.
I was a scout for 7 years. I became a life scout, almost an Eagle but
never got around to doing my service project. I can credit the scouts
for molding my love of the outdoors into a conservation and knowledgable
mentality. I can credit the scouts for introducing me to the world of
the Native Americans through Order of the Arrow. I have camped with full
bloods at Pow-Wows and seen traditional, religious dances that only
bloods can do. I have hiked and camped all over this wonderful country,
thanks to the scouts.
The Boy Scouts remain a private organization. An organization that does
a lot of good.
Personally I would not care if my son were in Scouts and his leader were
gay. I understand that a gay adult male is no more likely to desire my
son then I am a 5 year old girl.
Other people may feel different. The Scouts are a religious organization
as well. They require belief in a God. I personally am ambivalent
towards religion, but that happened in later years.
I was also a scoutmaster (assistant actually) for 2 years. I can say
that teaching boys what I learned in scouts was a great joy.
It's a shame that an agenda has hurt this organization. It doesn't
matter whether I agree with the agenda or not. There has to be a better
solution than this.
- Yuk
I was a Life scout as well, same here, never got that
project done. I guess that is what separates the Eagle scouts from
the rest.
But it is a great organization, it does a lot of good
work for boys who otherwise would not be able to experience anything
outside the urban life. I learned a lot from scouting, and myself
should do more to give back to scouting.
I think the Michael Gilman article explains it best,
that the scouts, which have become dominated by the religious in the
middle part of the nation, have gotten away from what they are supposed
to be about. They have gotten off message, and that it getting
boys into the great outdoors and teaching them about the world around
them. This does not excuse the City of Philadelphia for what they
are doing, which I think is reprehensible, especially now when the youth
of the city needs the leadership that scouting can provide the most.
Summer
Is Over - It just isn't what it used to be
July 24, 2007
Summer ended on
July 7 this year. Yup, JULY 7. Why July 7? It
had nothing to do with the whether, and everything to do with the radio,
because that is the day I heard the first back to school sale
commercial.
Now I am all for capitalism, a huge proponent of it,
but jeez can't we just let the kids live and have fun and actually have
a summer. It may not be the kids thinking about this though, but
the moms. Sucked in by the commercials, the sales, the material
lists that are already being sent to the kids. They need to sit
back and just say no, they want a summer too.
That is almost as bad as my
neighbor here at work who will send out a memo tomorrow that it is only
5 months till Christmas. Nothing like rushing the seasons in the
pursuit of the dollar!
Jan
I don't think it has so much to do
with the almighty dollar, but rather people simply getting too much
ahead of themselves. If people did not go looking for school sales
in July and Christmas sales in September, then the market would adjust.
People control the markets with their buying habits.
Flying
Turns Update - A few new shots at Fetterman's Contraption
July 23, 2007
I
had taken last Wednesday off to head up to Knoebels. Wednesdays
are bargain nights, and for $8 you get to ride all you want on all but a
few of the larger rides. That is OK by me, it really is a deal and
a half.
So I moseyed my way up the Elysburg, looking for a box
along the way that was Nowhere to be found. I will have to try
again, maybe when I grow a few more inches, or when the vegetation
shrinks a bit.
I stopped at Locust Lake State Park and set up
camp. It is about an hour from Knoebels, but $12 a night is really
a price that can't be beat, and for a basic site with no power it is a
far cry from the $35 Knoebels now is looking for.
Finally I got to the park at about four and headed
over to check out the Flying Turns.
They are just about done with the structure, just a
few connections seemed to be missing, namely the connection between the
first lift hill and the trough. The station is just starting to be
built as well.
They now have the prototype cars, which was all the
buzz last week on RRC. They look cobbled together, but they are
just for testing and are not meant to be the rolling stock for the ride,
so they don't have to look fantastic.
It looks like it is still going to be a
while. None of the motors or lift chain is in place. The crews
were setting the brakes in place when I was there, they are skid brakes,
but it looked like that was going to take some time as well. The
station and the queue has to be built, and f course there is the testing,
since there hasn't been one of these rides in 30 years, it is going to
take a while to get the trains to work right and operational with modern
day safety standards. I am still hopeful they can get this done by
the end of the season, but I am not holding my breath.
I had a great evening at the park, catching
some rides I had not been on in some time, and of course loving the Flyers
and Skooters, two of the best flats anywhere.
My night was a little rough. Some
kids in the next loop over were up and carrying on well past midnight, and
the campsite down the way, while quite, had every lantern and light on for
most of the night.
On
the way home I searched for another box, but was hungry and a little
rushed and did not really search well, so another box for another
trip. I stopped in Tamaqua for lunch. Tamaqua is a nice little
town nestled in the mountains. It has seen some better days, but
also seems to be on the upswing. It has some fantastic Victorian
style homes lining the main street, and a nice downtown shopping
area.
I
ate at a restaurant in the old train station, which has been restored and
was fantastic. The food was surprisingly good and inexpensive and
the wait staff was wonderful, wearing a semi-period uniform and very
pleasant and prompt.
Why
Can't People Write? - A true showing of how our schools have failed
us
July 23, 2007
I've noticed that I
have gotten a bit sloppy with my writing lately. I, by no means,
have perfect grammar, and I certainly can't spell, but I am totally
dismayed by just how bad people are. It really bothers me to no
end. I get bothered by my own mistakes, but they are simple
mistakes, they are not a total ignorance of how the English language
should be expressed.
I totally understand people taking shortcuts when text
messaging or instant messaging, but for people to sit down and take the
time to write an email, a trip report, a message board post, or an event
listing and not even bother to capitalize is just beyond my comprehension.
Lets just look at some examples.
ok, being new to this. i am a girl scout leader
that wanted to get my scouts into letterboxing on a recent 11 day trip.
we ran out of time to try carving our stamps before we left so did it on
the trip................i had found an article that had you use those
tanish erasers......and pencils with out erasers as carving
tools.................
So, what is with the massive number of periods where a
single period, or even a comma would do? And have you ever heard
of the Shift key? They put two of them on the keyboard, you must
have noticed them, they are just about the biggest keys on the board.
Even more appalling is when someone writes up an event
posting that looks like this:
just startin to plan this.
input would be super!
this event will probably be only on sat, but some people might be comin
from out of town, we could meet somewhere for a bite to eat on fri pm.
& if anyone wanted to do somethin on sunday as well. any extra
help/input is appreciated!
OK the theme i'm goin with is "MAN ITS HOT!"
Again, no use of the Shift key, but what makes this
worse is that something like this should be presentable. It should
look professional because it is more of an invitation then a mere
message board posting, and should not look like it came from a five year
old. When you are posting an event or a trip report you should be
at your very best, you are putting on a show. The show that this
puts on is that you are sloppy and unorganized.
Maybe I am just being too picky, after all, my of
writing tends to be fraught with mistakes at times. But even at
that, I don't totally forget the basic conventions of writing, the
conventions you are taught in the first grade. I need to just do
more proofreading and fix the mistakes I make, but far too many people
are just plain lazy and no amount of proofreading can fix that.
OK, I thought we were not going to nit-pick about spelling
& such???
Although you're right, that is too many periods.
No more than 4 (3 for the ellipsis, one to finish the sentence).
Unless you're writing a menu.
But personally, I stopped being responsible for
people's writing when I stopped teaching high school....
Sheba
I'm not being nit-picky, being nit-picky would be focusing
on just a minor error. These are not minor errors, these are
totally ignoring how English should be presented, and that bugs the
heck out of me.
No
Appreciation - Some people do look the gift horse in the mouth
July 17, 2007
You know, some
people just don't know how to appreciate things, especially when they
are free.
Yesterday the letterboxing.org
site when down for a little while. Now, I am not a big fan of the
site and don't really care for some of the webmasters there, but they do
what they do and don't charge anyone for it.
Don't you know it did not take long for people to
start crying. I particularly like this one:
It's been down for at least 4 hours. Can the
webmasters please give us an update?
Lone R
Don't some of these people have something better to
do, you know, get a life or something? Do they need the site right
then and there? Is their life going to end if they cannot get that
one clue for that drive-by store bought stamp in a vacant lot? I
just don't understand these people.
A
Birthday Bash - Oh what a great time
July 16, 2007
I
don't usually make a big deal of my birthday. To me it is just
another day, I am a day older then the previous, you know, that sort of
thing.
Well, my mother thought that my 30th birthday would be
worth celebrating and hosted a party. She told me to invite
whoever I wanted, so I did, and it turned out to be a fantastic
afternoon for of great food, booze, and friends.
I got to see family and friend that I had not in
sometime, and I had forgotten how wonderful my family is.
The
gifts I got were just wonderful. Irene
showed that she really can be crafty and made the above card for me,
which we all just got a great kick out of. I hope it was done on
recycled paper ;-)
And Suzanne,
thinking she was being cute, which she was really, gave me a set of beer
glasses, and in the beer glasses were stuffed animals, or Boxing
Buddies. Don't worry, you won't see them on trail anytime soon.
There were all types of stamps. June
created an Old Nathan's Ale stamp. I guess I will have to take up
home brewing. Becky
created a birthday stamp, and Debbie
created a box
which she planted.
I
also got loads of beer that should keep me well stocked for
sometime. A very nice selection is now waiting to be tried out,
many that I have never had before, so I am looking forward to beginning
the taste testing.
I just have to thank everyone that came out and all of
the well wishes. It is very much appreciated, and I am glad to
have so many wonderful friends and family.
Across
The Great Divide - A quick journey to Joisey
July 16, 2007
On Thursday I took
a ride across the "Great Divide," known to most as the
Delaware River. I don't know why I don't go over there more often,
as I do like the area.
First
thing I did, as is usual, is check on my box just on the other side of
the river. I am always amazed by this box as the location keeps
changing but the box remains in place, even after being found by the
public works people. They just leave it right where it is, and I
really appreciate that.
This time there were some flags added and a light was
positioned right on top of the box's location, yet it remains!
I then hit up Stewarts Root Beer for some lunch.
There is nothing like a good old fashioned drive-in. A great car
hop was bouncing from car to car, and I got my big, frosty mug of root
beer. it is great for a hot summer afternoon.
I
finally roamed out to Jobstown for a new box, "Tuesday
Tea."
The box is planted by some folks from Mass. in a cemetery
where much of their family is buried. It was a nice box, and a
perfect afternoon to check out an old cemetery.
The
Fake Furlough - If the government shut down, would anyone really
notice?
July 10, 2007
Oh no, the state
government had shut done, how terrible.
Or not.
Did the government really shut down? I mean,
they made a big show of it, sent out all of these furlough notices
(26000 in all) to "non-essential workers." They turned
off the lights on the capital dome. But who was going to be
working on Monday anyway?
They did close down the state parks and kick out any
campers. But they also listed state museums as being closed,
however the museums are always closed on Mondays. As are most
Drivers Licensing Centers. Highway projects were supposed to be
halted, but because most are done by independent contractors, they were
all up and running as well. So my question is, how many people did
this really effect. From the looks of it, not many.
And then there is the issue of what is and is not essential.
The State Lottery, State Liquor Stores and the Casino operations all
were open for business as usual. I guess it is essential the state
gets its tax dollars.
The House Democrats, during all this mess, decided not
to even show up. The press was allowed onto the house floor while
the House Republicans sat and wait 10 hours for the session to begin,
waiting for the Democrats to show. I guess they are real concerned
about the commonwealth.
And then you have Teflon Eddie, whom nothing seems to
stick to and whom the press will never criticize. The reason for
this whole mess is because Eddie wants some of his initiatives passed,
and will not sign a budget until that happens. What does Eddie
want? Well, for one thing he wants to take away the freedom of
business owners to allow smoking., a very noble idea, but it flies in
the face of the freedoms outlined by our founding fathers, which are far
more noble. He also wants to raise taxes on electricity and the
state to be able to buy power plants, something that worked so well for
California. And then there is the Transportation Bill. He
wants to add toll to highways that people do use to run busses that
people don't use. Makes a lot of sense to me. So all of
these issues that are unrelated to the budget are actually holding it
up, and the cause of the supposed one day shutdown.
Is
the Thrill Gone? - And other assorted coastering notes
July 8, 2007
I had taken off the
Monday after the recent gathering in Ithaca and decided that after
dropping Pink Panther off I would head over to Hersheypark,
since it was just ½ hour from her house and I have not been there for
several years now.
It was a beautiful, warm summer day. The park
was busy, but most people were at the new waterpark, which I will say
right now, is fantastic looking and has some great slides and features
packed into a small space.
The fact that so many were waiting in long lines for
the water slides meant the coaster lines were short, very short, with
minimal to no wait. An enthusiast's dream, right? Well it
should be, but I found I took a ride on everything and was done, with
very few rerides. Everything was running great, and they were even
letting you stay on if there was no line, but I ended up leaving after
just 3½ hours, and that was with a dinner break.
I don't know what it is, was I just too tired?
Or is a sort of amusement park burnout? I don't think it was the
later, as I really have not been doing a whole lot of riding this
year. Heck, I haven't even been over to Great
Adventure more then just a couple of times.
In any case, here are some photos of the new waterpark.
It has a very cool shore feel to it, and mixes in a lot of the familiar
imagery form both the Jersey Shore and Coney Island.
I never wrote about this and I really
should. Last summer I made a spontaneous visit to Coney
Island, Ohio. It was one of those things where I was passing
through the area and decided what the heck. This is pretty typical
of my traveling.
Coney Island is an interesting place.
It used to be a massive park and very popular. The only problem was
it was on the banks of the Ohio River and flooded constantly.
Finally, in the 70's, the owners closed the park down and just up and
moved to Kings Island. Thing is, the park never really closed down,
and in recent years has made somewhat of a comeback.
It still does not have the massive Shooting
Star coaster or the fantastic gardens, but it does have some fun, unique
and well run rides, and some vestiges of its past. Many of the
park's building are still there, as well as the massive pool, and it is a
pretty cool place to walk around and imagine what it was like in its
heyday. That, and catch a ride on the old Scat 2 ride.
Another story I have not told is of my
visit to Lakemont Park in
Altoona. I visited over Memorial Day weekend this year with
Suzanne. We were kinda on our way up to SB
Elliott State Park and hitting letterboxes and parks along the way.
She had stated to me that she did not mind
coasters, but felt comfortable only if they had restraints that went over
the shoulders. This, of course is in total contradiction to most
enthusiasts, who prefer as little restraint as possible, but she is not an
enthusiast, and she was in for a surprise. We were to ride Leap
The Dips, the world's oldest operating coaster, and it has no
restraints beyond a grab bar. She loved it, and also loved the Wild
Mouse at Delgrosso's which just had a lap bar.
Moral of the story, go with the flow and
just enjoy the ride.
Glad To Be In This Age
I
was looking for some images and somehow came up with this one marked "A
'tennis costume' from 1881." I wonder how Venus Williams would
have done in this outfit?
With it predicted to be
95° today, I am glad I don't have to go out in a suit with a high collar
and wool coat like I would have back then.
No Help
As
usual, "The Queen" tried to help, but was of none at all.
Don't forget to take a look
at past entries for updates on the comments.
I would say the thrill is not gone, I would go with the former. I know I was totally exhausted when I got home from our adventures to Ithaca. It took everything I had to unpack and get ready for the work week. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow! Plus I was on such a "letterboxing high". I mean how many boxes did we find with little clues or none at all? Plus the beautiful places we hiked and saw that weekend! I knew the crash was bound to happen and reality take hold....
As for "The Queen", I do believe she is helping. I see a wonderful place by her tail and front paw that need a letterboxes soon.
-Pink
Boxing
Buddies - OK, some folks really need help
July 5, 2007
"Over the years I've been
participating in this hobby, I've seen some
wonderful ideas that stretch the concepts of letterboxing.
Recently
I was thinking about some postal letterboxes I had visits from,
Elmo
and Stumpy the Sock Monkey to name a couple. These boxes
included
small stuffed animals which I enjoyed taking letterboxing with me
and adding to their adventures. I also truly enjoyed seeing
the
albums being created as they traveled around the country.
About a month ago we started discussing this on a few of the
boards
and Boxing Buddies were born!
How to create a Boxing Buddy:
1. Find a little buddy.
2. Carve your buddy a stamp. (Every letterboxer needs their own
signature stamp.)
3. Make or buy a log book large enough to accommodate his adventures.
4. Let other boxers know your boxing buddy is looking for a host!"
This was a recent post to the "Big
List" that got my attention. So there are people now that
take stuffed animals out boxing with them. They carve stamps for
them and they have logbooks for them. They even created their own
list to trade tales of their buddies.
These are people that need help. Probably
professional help.
Personally, I prefer my boxing buddies to have a
pulse. You know, the flesh and blood kind. Preferably one
that you can talk to and can even help you figure the box out.
Fail the human kind of buddy, a dog or cat will do for me as well.
But a stuffed animal? I think not.
Curmudgeon. Whence this antipathy toward the
sock monkeys? They are delightful. Perhaps you were deprived
as a child? I shall make you one for your birthday.... =D
(I actually did make a sock monkey once, as a 12yr old Girl Scout.
That was our troop project. When we got them done we had a party
at the orphanage & gave them to the kids.)
-Sheba
oh come on now!
you cant tell me that traveling around with a stuffed animal isn't your kind of entertainment!
ok so it might not be for everyone.
i am now figuring out the down fall to hosting a boxing buddy.
when it rains, it is a little hard to rush the logging process.
BUT, if you have children, which you know i have, they really love the idea.
some of us might really need help, but if its not for you, dont knock it!
dont get me wrong, i do respect your opinion.
david (team new
hampshire)
It may be fine for the kids Dave, but come on?
It is beyond not up my alley, it is just taking things a bit too
far. You have to stay at least a little rooted in reality.
Oh, and the Shift key is your friend, but you've heard that from me
before ;-)
I
Don't Get It - What is so hard about letterboxing?
July 5, 2007
OK, so am I wrong
or are people getting dumber. I am a member of the Newboxers
list because I figure I can help out people if they really don't
understand sometime, but I don't understand folks that post questions
like "How do I get started?" or "What is a hitch
hiker?"
I mean, really, you can't figure these things
out? When I discovered the hobby I simply looked up clues and when
out and found the boxes. I didn't read through pages and pages of
FAQ's, and I didn't need to ask stupid questions. I just did
it. I knew to rehide a box well, and when I found my first hitch
hiker in the second box I found, I looked at it, read the instructions
on the cover, and knew what to do with it.
Further, what is with the obsession with logging
finds? One recent thread is about what to do with a hitch hiker
that isn't listed on-line? Well, what do you think you should
do? How about moving it along and not worrying about it. I
don't know what is so hard about that.
Independence -
How the idea of liberty changed the world.
July 4, 2007
When in the
Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve
the political bands which have connected them with another, and to
assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and
to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The 56 men who drafted and signed the Declaration of
Independence knew well what they were doing. They were committing
treason against their government. What they may not have known,
and few people even today understand, is that they were changing the
world. They were changing the way people think about government.
The idea that government derived its power not from
divine providence, but from the people, and that the people were the
true welders of that divine power was truly revolutionary. The
idea that if government abused that power then the people have every
right to take that power back and put a new government in its
place. This very idea is laid out in the later formation of the US
Government.
Even today the people continue to flex their muscles,
the defeat of the latest immigration bill is a prime example. The
ideals presented in the Declaration are the very foundation of our
nation. It is what we live by, what we celebrate, and what we
sacrifice for. So on this day of celebration, a day when our fore
fathers finally said they had had enough and went about changing the
world, take some time to think about just what liberty and independence
mean to you, and thank those that have made that possible.
Feedback
- I'm all ready for the hate mail now. Email
me.
Blogging
and Atlas Quest - Watch out... Techno Speak ahead!
July 4, 2007
So I noticed a few
weeks ago Atlas Quest started to support blogs. Since there are so
many out there, this seems like a good idea. I finally got around
to looking into it the other day and found one problem; while the system
works great for blogs hosted by the big blog sites like Blogspot,
it does not work at all for my site, which is independent. Well,
that is not without some work anyway.
See, AQ is set up to read updates from RSS
feeds. These are pages with coding that basically set out when
they have been updated and what the update is. My site is pretty
bare bones, and did not have one of these, so it would not work with
that system.
What to do? Well, I asked. Ryan (Green
Tortuga) was very helpful in leading me in the right direction with
some information and even some coding that helped me in constructing my
own RSS feed for the site.
So, now it is done, and I have posted it on Atlas
Quest to torture the rest of the world with. I think this will
help the folks that actually do read my dribble on occasion, and for
those that are now stumbling upon it, welcome. You'll find that
the fact that I am not bound by the rules of someone else's site it
allows me to be a little more outspoken here, and I can get very animated
on issues of all sorts. I will name names and offend those I do
not agree with, but that is the nature of things. This blog may
not always be nice and friendly, and at times you may be ready to throw
something at your computer, but hey, that is the spice of life, and it
keeps things interesting.
Feedback
- I'm all ready for the hate mail now. Email
me.
Even with the warning about the technospeak,
paragraph 2 still rendered me comatose! =P
-Sheba
French
Creek Rocks! - And so do aliens
July 3, 2007
What
is it with me and leaving the camera in the car lately. I don't
know, but I keep meaning to take more pictures and just don't seem to be
getting it done.
Becky (Schizokeet)
and I started the day out with half a round of disk golf.
The
orienteering involved was non-competitive, which is probably a good
thing, since most folks there had never done orienteering. Erinn (Pony
Boxer), Becky and I tore through the course, and backward at
that. It was a load of fun, and the boxes along the way were
wonderful.
Also wonderful was the cake and stamp Pink Panther and
Indigo Vulture got for Lightnin' Bug, who was also celebrating his 43rd
birthday. This makes me feel so much younger.
It
is great to get together with the other local boxers, and every time we
do it is a good time. We camped and were up late into the night,
not raising heck, but just talking and having fun around the fire.
The campground was great, and while the ranger was around everyone once
in a while, they were not the rules lawyers that the ones in Maryland
were. They were there, but so long as you weren't bothering anyone
else, they didn't bother you.
The next day we were surprised to have Miz Scarlet
join us, and a bunch of us went out for breakfast, where we met up with Sheba,
and then hit the trail. For the next many hours we would wander
around the eastern part of French Creek getting a bunch of boxes and
having generally a good time. The weather was perfect, warm but
not hot, sunny with the puffy white clouds and all. The woods
there are deep and the trails rocky. They are not too hard, just
right for a good workout.
We started out by finding the Mesa
Verde box, which is highly recommended and a wonderful stamp.
Going up Bear Hill, I wanted to check on my box there,
and was stunned to find it gone. Either that or we were looking in
the wrong place, but that is not likely. I don't know how it could
disappear, it was in a place that I can't imagine anyone going to.
I will have to replace it.
Next up was the Pythagorean
Star Crop Circle, where we would have a nice surprise, a Family Fun
family. These folks were passing through from Johnstown, and while
they did not have a family name, they all had their own hand carved
stamps and trail name. They had already found one box that we did
not even have the clues for, and were now hunting the crop circles, or
at least this one, so long as the kids could last. They were very
nice folks.
While up there we also found Boxooka
Joe as well as another, unnamed box. Both were also excellent.
Our little group decided to call it a day and went for
dinner.
I was camping Sunday night as well, and Sheba stuck
around for a little while. We went out before dark and found about
half the Alienteering boxes, and then sat around the campfire until she
had to leave.
I did little the next morning, preferring to sleep in
and then play some disk golf before heading home.