Wild Wallow-Ween 09

Bike races, trophies, food and the world series - all seems pretty benign doesn't it?

We wouldn't call ourselves the E.C.D.B. (google it if you have to) if it was all so benign.

Other groups out riding their bikes that night wouldn't quietly ride past without a word if it was all ice cream and sno-cones.

You see, our host is a bit of an alchemist. Prior to the nights events he'd been working long and hard on his latest elixir. Following his lead, the bottle was passed around.

and around

Then it seemed to get smokier.

To clear the haze we decided to stoke the fire

with rubbing alcohol we spit from our mouths!

Then there was the rope.

The rope was originally used to hold up a tarp in case it rained. Because it went directly over the fire and there was no rain, we had to take the tarp down, but the rope remained.

The challenge that was issued was getting from one side of the rope to other with your chest remaining above the rope.

So of course I take that challenge. How can that be worse then rubbing alcohol in your mouth?

Actually turned out to be pretty easy, though I have some rope burns and bruises in places I didn't quite expect.

Finally things were wrapping up. The Phillies won and we were all packing up to head home. Well all of us but one.

No big deal. Marcus and I waited till heads were clear then got the wounded shuttled home.

Till next time.

- b

What Would You Be Doing

Ever ask yourself what you might be doing if you weren't doing this?

It's not so much what would you rather do, but maybe more if you couldn't do this.

If you were somehow left with less, how would you get more or simply get by?

I think I know.

- b

Wallow-Ween Continued

At the completion of the time trial, we were supposed to head out individually based on our TT results for the scavenger hunt using the clues Marcus had given us during the day.

It didn't go down that way. We all just headed out in separate directions. Some of us grouped up, and some of us didn't.

Ben and I managed two of the finds, before he decided to head back to camp and listen to game one of the World Series between the Phillies and Yankees. Before he headed off, we shared shots under the covered bridge on Harmony Hill rd. Unfortunately the good shots were gone before we got there.


I had two of the five finds, so I headed off to get more on my own.

I found the PBRs where the old PBR cooler stump used to be (there once was a stump big enough for ice and cold PBRs), then found the stash at the bottom of the trail with a new name (the old name was Vietnam. I don't know the new one). At the fourth stash was a clue for the secret fifth stash.

Unfortunately my lack of fitness wouldn't get me as far as the fifth stash, so I headed back hoping I'd be the first with four finds.

Turns out I was, but there were four others with all five of the finds. Not too bad. I wasn't last. I wasn't even close.

With everybody back it was time for food and listening to the game. We had all kinds of food. We started with some cheese and sausage,

while the deer steaks thawed and began to cook.

Of course there were hot dogs too. Can't have a campfire or baseball (we had a radio playing the game on batteries) without hot dogs.

The cuisine was downright amazing. Really. The venison was awesome. Thanks to the skills of our cook (and bow hunter) - Yoder.

As if that wasn't enough, we had wings to eat too.

In celebration for the birth of Chris's daughter, cigars went around.

It was all good.

And Keith was determined the winner of Wallow-Ween 09.

Another excellent Dirt Bag Production hosted by Marcus.

- b

Wallow-Ween 09 How It Went Down

Prepping/anticipating for the night.

Like gu packets in his pockets, Rick rides off with liquid courage.

Loaded up and heading out.

We arrive and await the competition.

It starts with an individual time trial around a wet, muddy, twisty course.

The others anxiously wait their turn.

To be continued...

- b

Like Last Year

It's a scavenger hunt and there are clues:

1. top of b-pucker
2. pbr trunk
3. wooded crossing
4. trail that changed names

Though this year starts with a solo time trial to determine order by which we get to leave for the scavenger hunt.

I can't hardly think about work anymore.

- b

Here We Go Again

Wallow-ween 09 is upon us.

It's been raining for two days straight.

There's mud, cold, beer, fire, and deer steaks waiting for us in the woods.

One lucky winner goes home with this.

- b

To Sell or Not To Sell

You may have noticed some comments here and there about Jen and I possibly selling our house and buying another one.

Yeah, yeah, we've done a lot of work here, how could we sell it, blah, blah, blah, but (without going into too much detail) there's a situation or opportunity where we could buy a different place.

Or course we'd have to sell this place, which means finish all the projects and get it in sellable shape.

Not that our place is a dump, but there's this whole "Buyer's Market" thing that requires your place to be extra spiffy.

Our place is cool. It's a nice location.

The other place is really cool. It's 150 yrs old, so it has lots of character. The location is also very cool and very private. Just pulling into the driveway was relaxing.

---

So one day I'm all for making the move(s) to do the other place and Jen is not. The next day she's all ready to go, but I'm not.

We've been going back and forth for nearly two months now. Projects are still being done around here, since we need to do them anyway before the baby arrives, but I find the more I do, the more I want to do. The more I want to stay. We're comfortable here. We know the ins & outs and still have great plans for this place.

But the other place is like a dream come true (sort of, there wouldn't be too many dreams left to afford after that).

So back and forth we go. We have some things scheduled this week to help with the decisions. Things like septic inspections here and maybe checking out other houses.

We'll see. Who knows?

- b

Hop Juice

Last week I picked up a case of beer I don't like.

This is always a problem in PA where we have to buy an entire case.

I know the kinds of beers and brewers I like, but feel retarded buying the same thing over and over again.

I branched out and bought something I was unsure of. The style was a favorite of mine, but the brewer I was unsure of.

It's too sweet, no bite, and annoying. It tastes like Hop Juice.

I want hoppy beer, not juice.

blech.

- b

What's the Message?

Went to get flu shots today at a Doc-in-the-box at the local CVS.

Waiting our turn, we sat directly across from:

I'm sure there's some meaning there somewhere.

- b

New Camera

Got a replacement for our broken camera.

The plan is/was to buy a cheaper sleeker camera for adventures (something I could break or lose and not feel too bad about), then spend mucho dinero on something really nice for really nice pictures.

Our criteria was something under $150 and small. At that price point the features are nearly identical between the brands.

I love the folks at Best Buy.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"No thanks. I think we're ok."

We finally decide on the Samsung. Jen wanted a Fuji because it had some cool sliding door deal to cover the face. I wanted the Samsung because it was tiny.

We tell the salesperson, so they can get the merchandise out of the locked cabinet. As she's taking it out and struggling to re-lock the cabinet, I ask about our choice. I ask if she has any opinions on it.

She immediately goes into all the features it doesn't have. All the features that none of them have in this price range. I stop her. Give her the criteria and ask again. She's stumped.

"Yeah. It's as good as any in that range I guess." was her reply.

We go to check out.

I ask if I can skip the bag. She looks at me like I'm from outer space. I apologize and tell her I'm one of those "No bag weirdos." Doesn't seem to help. Appears as if I'm the only no bag weirdo she's ever come across. I ask if the bag is recyclable. I can make an exception if the bag is recyclable. They're not. She says she'll have to escort me to the front check out, where I can check out sans bag. I'm at least impressed she didn't throw out the bag she attempted to give me. I've seen that before. That's nuts.

She walks me to the front. I can tell she's pretty annoyed with me. I haven't exactly been helpful to her, but then again isn't she the one getting paid to be helpful?

She's in front of me approaching the check out. I can tell by the expression/response from the guy at the front check out, she's really annoyed. She sets the package down (it already has a box, why does it need a bag?) and says "He doesn't want a bag." then walks off. I try to soften the experience and tell the guy, "Yeah I'm one of those no bag weirdos." He just looks at me like I'm a douche. He checks me out and I leave.

C'est la vie.

Until I get it home. I open the battery SD card compartment and find this.

That little white strip is the magnetic security tag. Know how they're stuck to everything these days? Immediately I think it's actually STUCK inside the camera. I start thinking of ways to use the tweezers or some small screw driver to pry the damn thing out of there. Jen's offering her fingernails when I tilt the camera slightly and it falls out.

Whew! That was easy.

So here's what we have. Our original Sony Cyber-shot 2.1 mega pixel that still works, our Canon PowerShot 7.1 mega pixel that's busted and our new Samsung 12.2 mega pixel.

Now it's time to harvest the recyclable parts from the Canon (I've been watching too many organ transplants on Grey's Anatomy) and toss out the rest. The Sony will stick around. It's proved it's worth as a backup too many times.

- b

Fixie's Gone

I built a fixie commuter out of an old SS mt. bike in January of 2007.

I think the last time I rode it was December 2007.

Recently a friend broke his frame - a frame I sold him a while back (not for the price advertised).

Having not ridden the fixie in nearly two years, I decided my friend could make a better home for it.

At this point we're actually talking a trade. He got the frame and I'm going to get baby stuff.

Hmmmm. Not exactly the kind of deal I would have ever considered before, but a good deal none-the-less.

- b

Artifacts

While I was going through our "storage room" last week, I found a few things.

Here's the original window sticker for my truck.

My truck is a 1988 GMC. You can get the rest of the details from the sticker. It was sold as new in Dallas, TX. My Dad bought it used in Newark, DE in 1991 with 40,000 miles on it at around $7k. He traded in our 1981 Honda Accord which he got $500 towards the truck (I had the mileage for the Honda, but forgot since shredding the docs). In the fall of 1993 he gave me the truck to take to school. It had 60 or 65K miles on it then.

It's now 2009. The truck is 21 years old, has 275k miles on it and still running pretty strong.

I also found a film negative, so I ran it through the scanner.

This was Jen playing a maid in her school's "The Sound of Music" production. She thinks it was sixth grade. Her mother made her costume.

Some other artifacts were things like these:

1981 Cecil Soccer Champs. I was 7.

The Klondike Derby was an annual Boy Scout event where we drug homemade dog sleds (we played the dogs) all over Camp Rodney in the middle of winter. There were various "stations or outposts" where skills like knot tying and first aid were tested. I don't remember all the categories in which you could win something, but it looks like we did ok that year. To win the best spirit award I remember having to roll into and out of the stations cheering and singing for ourselves. We also had to show extraordinary support for each other and team work. Dragging a sled through the cold and being tested on various things (at 14 years old) had a tendency to wear people down, so maintaining a positive spirit wasn't exactly easy.

I wonder what we'll find this week in the "storage room."

- b

Now I Feel It

When I put my hand on Jen's belly, I can feel the little baby kicks.

Makes the wait to hold the little bugger harder, but in a nice way.

- b

My friends make baseball fun.

Ben's a bear. Of course he's hungry.

Medical and/or Wage Investigation

I get a letter from my insurance company the other day with status about my claim.

It says they are currently investigating medical expenses and/or wage loss.

Medical and/or wage loss? Huh?

First thing through my mind honestly was "I hope she's ok", then the guilt of causing someone injury set in.

Then some aggravation.

But mostly guilt.

What's interesting is the response I get from most people when I relate the story. Most people immediately scoff at our litigious society.

Normally I'd agree.

It's easy to scoff at something you're not physically attached to. I physically hit this woman in her car with my car. I don't feel like I have choice to scoff. I have to make the benefit of a doubt, hope she's really ok, and feel guilty for the accident.

Every once in a while it runs through my head that she was walking around seemingly ok at the scene and a tinge of scorn rises up, but you know how those things go. Car accidents can cause all kinds of aches and pains the next day.

I called the insurance company to get more information. The injury was described as a soft tissue wound (i.e. a bruise) that should heal in a number of days. The agent even had a slight attitude of contempt.

When the agent asked if there was anything else she could do for me, I said "No, unless you can help with the guilt?"

- b

Mastercard pledges $36K to cancer research? What a joke.

Another Useless Monday

My brain is toast and my fingers are swollen.

Not going to get too much done today.

- b

Leaky

Water neutralizer started leaking today after its purge.

I'm torn. Do I call the plumber that installed it and have him fix it - free hopefully. It's poor craftsmanship or parts if you ask me, and I paid a lot to have it done.

Or do I skip the hassle and fix it myself. It can't be all that difficult.

- b

Dead Camera

Camera's dead.

I fell on it this summer while backpacking in the Adirondacks.

It's been hanging on by a thread since.

I'm back to using our old Sony. It's digital, but it's like a dinosaur.

Jen's talking something new like an SLR, but I won't be allowed to adventure with it. I'll have to come up with something else.

- b

Trucker Belly

That's what Jen calls it.

I'm not sure if that means she's carrying a trucker (so when people ask "What are you having?" We respond with "A trucker!").

Or maybe all these "late nights at work" Jen's actually been hauling some load to destinations unknown, stopping at all the greasy diners along the way.

Only time will tell.

- b

All Things Caulkable

Let me know if you need anything caulked...

- b

Rainy, Cold, Lonely Night

but I got

Beer
&
Bacon!

Life is good.

- b

Beer and a Nailgun

How can you go wrong?

- b

College Dinners

Sam pointed out the other day the meals I had in college weren't typical.

She's right. My roommates and I weren't exactly typical.

We were just plain dorks really.

We actually broke up the house chores each week between the six of us. Each night two of us would be responsible for dinner, while another two would be responsible for cleanup. Each week two of us were responsible for grocery shopping. We actually sat down together each week and planned our dinners, pooled our money and bought all the stuff. We actually ate dinner together every night.

That's something my wife and I can't even manage.

- b

The Nerve

So I'm at a bar with a friend having some beers.

At some point the "know it all" sitting across the bar with his wife suggests I drink Yuengling instead of my Hop Devil, because it has India in the name.

Strike 1

I tell him I drank myself silly on Yuengling in college. I just can't bring myself to do it anymore. He asks what college I went to. I say Penn State. He says "sorry."

Strike 2

Not that I'm a big college fan, but it was a choice I made and enjoyed for whatever reason. He clarified his apologies for my choice by explaining his son is currently going to Pitt (some kind of rivalry I could care less about), then asked when I graduated. I said "96". He said "You're old."

Strike 3

David and I finished our beers and went to see Zombieland with Woody Harrelson. Fing hilarious! Highly recommended.

- b

Land's End of Garage Doors

Did a little searching and I found it!

Clopay Door Imagination System

You can actually upload a picture of your garage and play till your heart's content!

So here's white

Here's almond

Here's desert tan

Sandstone

And the winner - maybe


- b

Is It Just Me

Or does anyone else spend hours and hours "photo-shopping" home improvements to visualize what the outcome might be?

Current disaster:

The doors were crappy when we bought the place. They worked, so we decided to leave them until we replaced the siding or something and rolled their replacement cost and design into that.

Talking to realtors, the idea came up that maybe we replace them with something cheap to help the house show. When you drive down our driveway, this is the first thing you see.

Should be easy right? Throw up some cheap doors. We're moving anyway.

Yeah, no.

First we have to get the color palette from the manufacturer.

Then cut, paste and "paint" the doors ourselves. This isn't Lands End, so we couldn't just click a link to see the product in a different color.




















Then "install" the doors and see how they look.


Unfortunately the almond looks weird - not necessarily because it's almond, but maybe the "painting" didn't work right.

Which probably puts us back to square one - unless I find a Land's End type garage door manufacturing website.

- b

Some woman in fancy boots unknowingly just stepped in it.

Some dude is dragging his pooping dog across the Pet Smart parking lot,

Au Naturel

Jen's decided.

Let it be so.

The Birth Center

- b

So Much to Learn

After cutting garlic cloves, rub your fingers on a stainless steel knife blade under water so that your fingers don't smell all week.

Be sure to rub the backs and in between if you've really been choppn'

- b

Timber!

My neighbor cut down a sick and dying Willow tree yesterday.

It was huge.

I thought he was nuts.

But he got it down safely.

Sorry the video's sidways.



- b