What a perfect waste of a three-day weekend! Temperature never got above 50°, and it rained. And rained. And rained. Still, it's better than what some places in the midwest experienced, so I should be thankful for that.
S1 came to town for the weekend. Which set up an interesting event on Friday night. My siblings, my mom and I had dinner together. By ourselves. No spouses, no kids (or as S3 said--"no outsiders"). Not on purpose, of course. One niece at college, one in Europe, one at a graduation party, and the nephew was playing out of town in a basketball tournament. He was accompanied by his father, BIL1.2 was left in Oregon, and the other two spouses are deceased. Anyway, we realized that it hadn't been just us in one sitting in probably 32 years!
Speaking of graduation--my youngest niece graduates on Saturday morning. It's an outdoor ceremony, and despite the rain that we'll be getting this week, it's supposed to be nice on Saturday. It's going to be a bittersweet day though--it will also be one year since Ray's sudden death. Still hard to even think it's been that long...
The niece in Europe is having all sorts of fun. Got to walk through Amsterdam's red light district. I think it was an eye-opener for her. Not exactly sure where she's at right at the moment. London, Paris and Rome were on her agenda...
Memorial Day was a bit different for us this year. I've mentioned in previous years that Memorial Day was sort of a "lost" holiday for the family, as none of the family (going back a couple of generations) ever served in a war. Heck, only a couple have logged any sort of military time. But this year saw us head out to the cemetery where almost all of my family can be found. We didn't go out together, but all eventually headed out there. Don't know about the others, but I liked it.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Going Where No Man Has Gone Before HNT
Hmmm...that title sort of conjures up all sorts of sordid possibilities, doesn't it? Well, not to worry. This is a "safe" post!
Some of you might remember that back in 2006, I had some issues with my 17" Powerbook and its hard drive. I think my iBook was acting up at the same time, and I was trying to salvage data from one to the other or something like that. Ultimately, it all worked out, with only a handful of pictures not surviving. Except for my Powerbook's screen. The short story--an external hard drive fell, and the corner of it landed square on my screen. It caused an ugly impact shatter, and cracks snaked across the entire screen. But surprisingly, it didn't affect the screen's ability to display, so I learned to adapt. With no Apple store within two states, and the cost of replacement being a bit high, I figured I could live with it. And I did. I had to put up with this ribbon of blue across my screen, commonly called "bleeding". This is what it looked like after five weeks...
As time wore on, and it traveled with me on various OsTours, the twisting, torquing, air pressure and other factors started taking their toll. The blue lines shown here would disappear at times, but the top third of the screen eventually became useless, as the "bleed" took over in a solid blue sea of whatever it is that makes LCD screens liquid. Ultimately, my 17" pride and joy got squished to about the height of a 12", with a width of the 17". Actually, fairly frustrating.
Recently, I bought myself a 13" Macbook Pro, and am happy as a clam with it. Much faster, much more memory, and has taken over the position as my #1 computer. While surfing eBay a couple of weeks ago, I found a 17" screen for less than $100, claiming to be a 100% compatible replacement for the Powerbook screen. So I took a deep breath, and I ordered it, with plans to do the necessary surgery myself.
I believe that everyone should take a step out of their comfort zone every now and then. Like taking apart their $2200 laptop (the very reasonable price I paid for it at the time) and exposing its innards to the light of day. I found a very good resource in a Mac repair shop that had online videos and PDFs for free! After watching the guy with fat fingers doing this on the video, I was encouraged by the possibility that my fat fingers could do it too! And more importantly, I had access to the correct tools to tackle the job (an absolute must!). And so I downloaded the PDFs, and got started...
First off--oh, my God! You would not believe the amount of dust, lint, dead skin, hair and other unmentionable things you will find inside a supposedly closed system! I blew a carpet's worth of dust bunnies out of the cooling fans first. Can't help but improve performance! And I took some pics. (Next project--figure out why my phone is only taking b&w pics these days...)
To keep an already-too-long story short--everything came apart exactly as it was supposed to. Right up to the point where the PDF said "Incomplete--to be updated soon". Fortunately, I was close enough to the end to figure it out. This is where things got wonky. The "100% compatible" screen had two brackets that weren't needed, was missing 4 screw holes (out of 12) to attach the screen to the back shell, and the electronics involved before connecting to the logic board had a different connector than the one on the computer. After breaking out mini power tools, and doing some really small wire splicing, I was ready to put it all back together.
The final verdict--I did it! It's hard to describe the feeling the first time I cranked her up, heard that iconic start-up tone, and see the screen light up! There was a little bit of forcing done, and I ended up with 6 extra screws (4 from the aforementioned compatibility issue, 1 from a tab that broke while "forcing", and 1 mystery one that I'll be damned if I can figure out where it should have gone), and everything seems to be working great! Except that the picture is a bit on the bright side. I can't figure out how to dim it down any, including the regular ways that I've always used in the past. But this one is no longer my #1 computer, so I can live with it.
Besides, it still looks pretty good to me!
"There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know."
- Lewis Carroll
Come back Thursday afternoon to find out who our Mystery Guest is!
If you've been by her site, you'd know that our MG is the lovely Minority Report! Stop by and heap a bunch of birthday lovin' on her!
Not as many people as last week over at "...the Other HNT". Thanks to the numbers of you who joined in to celebrate the HNT 6th anniversary. Especially the "retirees"! This week's selection is great, and definitely NSFW. Be sure to leave some comments for your fellow HNTers!
I haven't posted since last week's HNT. Gonna have to work on that.
For those of you celebrating Memorial Day this weekend, be sure to pause a moment and remember the reasons we have the holiday. For as much as the Memorial Day weekend is considered the unofficial first weekend of summer, we're still waiting for a decent spring day around here. Rain, floods, winds and snow have been the standard this year. I think we've cracked 70° just once this year. On the plus side, the lawns are all green (could be mold...), and the trees are trying to sprout some leaves. I think that if we had one solid day of sun, you could literally see everything sprout with the naked eye! On the plus side--we might avoid a nasty forest fire season this summer!
Some of you might remember that back in 2006, I had some issues with my 17" Powerbook and its hard drive. I think my iBook was acting up at the same time, and I was trying to salvage data from one to the other or something like that. Ultimately, it all worked out, with only a handful of pictures not surviving. Except for my Powerbook's screen. The short story--an external hard drive fell, and the corner of it landed square on my screen. It caused an ugly impact shatter, and cracks snaked across the entire screen. But surprisingly, it didn't affect the screen's ability to display, so I learned to adapt. With no Apple store within two states, and the cost of replacement being a bit high, I figured I could live with it. And I did. I had to put up with this ribbon of blue across my screen, commonly called "bleeding". This is what it looked like after five weeks...
As time wore on, and it traveled with me on various OsTours, the twisting, torquing, air pressure and other factors started taking their toll. The blue lines shown here would disappear at times, but the top third of the screen eventually became useless, as the "bleed" took over in a solid blue sea of whatever it is that makes LCD screens liquid. Ultimately, my 17" pride and joy got squished to about the height of a 12", with a width of the 17". Actually, fairly frustrating.
Recently, I bought myself a 13" Macbook Pro, and am happy as a clam with it. Much faster, much more memory, and has taken over the position as my #1 computer. While surfing eBay a couple of weeks ago, I found a 17" screen for less than $100, claiming to be a 100% compatible replacement for the Powerbook screen. So I took a deep breath, and I ordered it, with plans to do the necessary surgery myself.
I believe that everyone should take a step out of their comfort zone every now and then. Like taking apart their $2200 laptop (the very reasonable price I paid for it at the time) and exposing its innards to the light of day. I found a very good resource in a Mac repair shop that had online videos and PDFs for free! After watching the guy with fat fingers doing this on the video, I was encouraged by the possibility that my fat fingers could do it too! And more importantly, I had access to the correct tools to tackle the job (an absolute must!). And so I downloaded the PDFs, and got started...
First off--oh, my God! You would not believe the amount of dust, lint, dead skin, hair and other unmentionable things you will find inside a supposedly closed system! I blew a carpet's worth of dust bunnies out of the cooling fans first. Can't help but improve performance! And I took some pics. (Next project--figure out why my phone is only taking b&w pics these days...)
To keep an already-too-long story short--everything came apart exactly as it was supposed to. Right up to the point where the PDF said "Incomplete--to be updated soon". Fortunately, I was close enough to the end to figure it out. This is where things got wonky. The "100% compatible" screen had two brackets that weren't needed, was missing 4 screw holes (out of 12) to attach the screen to the back shell, and the electronics involved before connecting to the logic board had a different connector than the one on the computer. After breaking out mini power tools, and doing some really small wire splicing, I was ready to put it all back together.
The final verdict--I did it! It's hard to describe the feeling the first time I cranked her up, heard that iconic start-up tone, and see the screen light up! There was a little bit of forcing done, and I ended up with 6 extra screws (4 from the aforementioned compatibility issue, 1 from a tab that broke while "forcing", and 1 mystery one that I'll be damned if I can figure out where it should have gone), and everything seems to be working great! Except that the picture is a bit on the bright side. I can't figure out how to dim it down any, including the regular ways that I've always used in the past. But this one is no longer my #1 computer, so I can live with it.
Besides, it still looks pretty good to me!
"There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know."- Lewis Carroll
Come back Thursday afternoon to find out who our Mystery Guest is!
If you've been by her site, you'd know that our MG is the lovely Minority Report! Stop by and heap a bunch of birthday lovin' on her!
Not as many people as last week over at "...the Other HNT". Thanks to the numbers of you who joined in to celebrate the HNT 6th anniversary. Especially the "retirees"! This week's selection is great, and definitely NSFW. Be sure to leave some comments for your fellow HNTers!
I haven't posted since last week's HNT. Gonna have to work on that.
For those of you celebrating Memorial Day this weekend, be sure to pause a moment and remember the reasons we have the holiday. For as much as the Memorial Day weekend is considered the unofficial first weekend of summer, we're still waiting for a decent spring day around here. Rain, floods, winds and snow have been the standard this year. I think we've cracked 70° just once this year. On the plus side, the lawns are all green (could be mold...), and the trees are trying to sprout some leaves. I think that if we had one solid day of sun, you could literally see everything sprout with the naked eye! On the plus side--we might avoid a nasty forest fire season this summer!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Happy 6th HNT!!!
May 19th, 2005. A day that will go down in internet lore. Well, maybe not. It was on that day that a very small group of us (6, to be exact) agreed to show off a little part of our bodies, and declared that Half-Nekkid Thursdays had begun. Of course, I figured it would die within a month. Little did I know that friends of friends of friends of friends would take the ball and run with it! And now, here we are. Six years and thousands of participants later.
About 3 months ago, I started to question whether or not HNT had run its course. I fully anticipated that, with this post, I was going to announce that I was pulling the plug on HNT. I even had a phase-out plan in mind. But to be sure I was making the right decision, I emailed a handful of friends who were current HNTers, part-time HNTers, or retired HNTers. I laid out the reasons why it should end, as well as reasons why it shouldn't. I asked for advice.
Well, the responses came back pretty much the way I figured they would. Current and part-time HNTers didn't want to see it go, while the retired ones thought it wasn't a bad idea. In other words, not a great deal of help. But they all, almost to the person, mentioned that HNT wasn't what it used to be. Primarily, it's become very clique-ish, and the sense of community was gone.
And I think that's what's been weighing on my mind. They're absolutely right. I thought so myself, but I wanted validation. And I got it. There's lots of reasons for it. I still blame Facebook and Twitter. People are moving away from blogging for those two platforms. New people come to HNT, and they don't quite know where/how to "fit in". Comments are down universally, and so the friendly community of HNTers has shrunk.
That's another thing about HNT that has suffered--the comments. And not in a comment whore way. People aren't leaving comments anymore. With the exception of a small handful of fortunate HNTers, the rest of us aren't anywhere near the numbers that we were even 6 months ago. And I'm not sure why. Of course, there's many HNTers who will come and "up" themselves each week, but not leave any indication that they've visited anyone else. There used to be a time when it was almost a competition to see who could leave the most comments each week (Vixen almost always would win that!).
Up until this past weekend, I was all ready to close up shop. Then I found out about Mel. Not that it caused an earth-shattering revelation, but I realized how important HNT has become. Not from a sexy picture aspect, but because there IS still a community out here. People crawled out of the woodwork upon reading the news. And lots of thoughts about what we were in the old days, and what we are now, and how things have changed, and how they haven't--all have been swirling in my head.
So I'm taking a different approach tonight. It's a celebration! HNT will continue on. Will it reach its 7th anniversary? Who knows? It shouldn't have reached its first! But I'd like to see things change some, starting with my own surfing behavior. I'm going to be better about my own commenting on other's sites. I'm going to visit sites I haven't been to very often. I want to get that sense of something "special" back. HNT has never been about whose picture is the most risqué, or most professional looking, or even about photography at all. It's been a place for us to gather each week. Some on Wednesday nights. Others on Thursday. But it's a chance to check in on each other, even if it's just a once-a-week thing (check with my siblings--they don't even get that much from me!). And we'll see how it goes.
As with all good celebrations, you have to have cake. Since that's sort of on my permanently-given-up-for-Lent list, I opted for the smaller versions. One is for HNT, one is for a particular HNTer who just celebrated her birthday, and one is for each of you, as you're all a part of this big, wonderful thing! Happy 6th Birthday to all of us!
"For those searching for something more than just the norm. We lay it all down, including what others call sanity, for just a few moments on waves larger than life. We do this because we know there is still something greater than all of us. Something that inspires us spiritually. We start going down hill when we stop taking risks."
-Laird Hamilton (big wave surfer)
This week's Mystery Guest is one of those who's been around since almost the very beginning. It's no wonder that she also has the most MG appearances here. Always ready to help me in a pinch, too! If you're not sure who she is, be sure to stop by Thursday afternoon to find out!
Of course, this is my very good friend--the geeky, pretty, newly-converted surfer girl Shizzle. I couldn't have asked for a better MG for this anniversary celebration!
Oh, the response to "...the Other HNT" this week has been great! A lot of former HNTers have come out of retirement, as it were, to send something in to celebrate the 6th Anniversary of HNT. Lots and lots to look at over there this week! Some tame, some definitely NSFW. Stop by and leave some comment lovin' over there!
Speaking of Melanie's post, her fiancé left a comment today that you'll want to check out too.
I'm treading into new territory in the morning. I have finally decided to replace the LCD screen on my laptop. As documented here on numerous occasions, the thing has been slowly slipping away into a dark and lonely place. To the point that almost half the screen is unviewable. I found a decent deal on a new LCD, and tomorrow I'm taking screwdriver to Powerbook. This can only end in one of two ways. I'm hoping for the good way...
My niece (N2) graduated from Montana State 10 days ago, and promptly jumped on a plane to spend a month in Europe with her boyfriend. He's living in Amsterdam at the moment. They're supposed to be in London tomorrow, then heading to Paris. At some point they have to decide on Rome or Seville, I believe. If any of you run into them, be nice and say hi! (I don't recall doing anything like that when I graduated...)
About 3 months ago, I started to question whether or not HNT had run its course. I fully anticipated that, with this post, I was going to announce that I was pulling the plug on HNT. I even had a phase-out plan in mind. But to be sure I was making the right decision, I emailed a handful of friends who were current HNTers, part-time HNTers, or retired HNTers. I laid out the reasons why it should end, as well as reasons why it shouldn't. I asked for advice.
Well, the responses came back pretty much the way I figured they would. Current and part-time HNTers didn't want to see it go, while the retired ones thought it wasn't a bad idea. In other words, not a great deal of help. But they all, almost to the person, mentioned that HNT wasn't what it used to be. Primarily, it's become very clique-ish, and the sense of community was gone.
And I think that's what's been weighing on my mind. They're absolutely right. I thought so myself, but I wanted validation. And I got it. There's lots of reasons for it. I still blame Facebook and Twitter. People are moving away from blogging for those two platforms. New people come to HNT, and they don't quite know where/how to "fit in". Comments are down universally, and so the friendly community of HNTers has shrunk.
That's another thing about HNT that has suffered--the comments. And not in a comment whore way. People aren't leaving comments anymore. With the exception of a small handful of fortunate HNTers, the rest of us aren't anywhere near the numbers that we were even 6 months ago. And I'm not sure why. Of course, there's many HNTers who will come and "up" themselves each week, but not leave any indication that they've visited anyone else. There used to be a time when it was almost a competition to see who could leave the most comments each week (Vixen almost always would win that!).
Up until this past weekend, I was all ready to close up shop. Then I found out about Mel. Not that it caused an earth-shattering revelation, but I realized how important HNT has become. Not from a sexy picture aspect, but because there IS still a community out here. People crawled out of the woodwork upon reading the news. And lots of thoughts about what we were in the old days, and what we are now, and how things have changed, and how they haven't--all have been swirling in my head.
So I'm taking a different approach tonight. It's a celebration! HNT will continue on. Will it reach its 7th anniversary? Who knows? It shouldn't have reached its first! But I'd like to see things change some, starting with my own surfing behavior. I'm going to be better about my own commenting on other's sites. I'm going to visit sites I haven't been to very often. I want to get that sense of something "special" back. HNT has never been about whose picture is the most risqué, or most professional looking, or even about photography at all. It's been a place for us to gather each week. Some on Wednesday nights. Others on Thursday. But it's a chance to check in on each other, even if it's just a once-a-week thing (check with my siblings--they don't even get that much from me!). And we'll see how it goes.
As with all good celebrations, you have to have cake. Since that's sort of on my permanently-given-up-for-Lent list, I opted for the smaller versions. One is for HNT, one is for a particular HNTer who just celebrated her birthday, and one is for each of you, as you're all a part of this big, wonderful thing! Happy 6th Birthday to all of us!
"For those searching for something more than just the norm. We lay it all down, including what others call sanity, for just a few moments on waves larger than life. We do this because we know there is still something greater than all of us. Something that inspires us spiritually. We start going down hill when we stop taking risks."-Laird Hamilton (big wave surfer)
This week's Mystery Guest is one of those who's been around since almost the very beginning. It's no wonder that she also has the most MG appearances here. Always ready to help me in a pinch, too! If you're not sure who she is, be sure to stop by Thursday afternoon to find out!
Of course, this is my very good friend--the geeky, pretty, newly-converted surfer girl Shizzle. I couldn't have asked for a better MG for this anniversary celebration!
Oh, the response to "...the Other HNT" this week has been great! A lot of former HNTers have come out of retirement, as it were, to send something in to celebrate the 6th Anniversary of HNT. Lots and lots to look at over there this week! Some tame, some definitely NSFW. Stop by and leave some comment lovin' over there!
Speaking of Melanie's post, her fiancé left a comment today that you'll want to check out too.
I'm treading into new territory in the morning. I have finally decided to replace the LCD screen on my laptop. As documented here on numerous occasions, the thing has been slowly slipping away into a dark and lonely place. To the point that almost half the screen is unviewable. I found a decent deal on a new LCD, and tomorrow I'm taking screwdriver to Powerbook. This can only end in one of two ways. I'm hoping for the good way...
My niece (N2) graduated from Montana State 10 days ago, and promptly jumped on a plane to spend a month in Europe with her boyfriend. He's living in Amsterdam at the moment. They're supposed to be in London tomorrow, then heading to Paris. At some point they have to decide on Rome or Seville, I believe. If any of you run into them, be nice and say hi! (I don't recall doing anything like that when I graduated...)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
31 Years Ago Today...
A repost of my May 18, 2005 entry. Yeah, I do this every year, but it was/is such a pivotal date in my life, I can't help it. New this year--it's S2's 26th wedding anniversary today. The first one without her husband. I can't think of anything that could possibly suck more. I offered to take her out and get her drunk, but she declined. But appreciated the brotherly love...
Twenty-five years ago, at 8:32 AM PDT on May 18, 1980, a 5.1 earthquake caused the north face of Mt. St. Helens to crumble in the largest landslide in recorded history. As a result of this landslide, the pressure that had built up inside the volcano caused a lateral blast of volcanic gases, steam, ash and rocks that flattened hundreds of square miles of timber, destroying virtually anything in its path.
These images were captured by a camper about 10 miles to the northeast of the mountain.
It spewed ash tens of miles into the sky, turning a bright, sunny day into night, and causing all sorts of problems. As far away as Montana, the ash fell. State government in MT closed for a couple of days. And they barely got a dusting. While the ash that fell in eastern WA measured in the 2" range, northern Idaho actually bore a significant brunt of the ashfall, with some areas receiving up to 5". I was just finishing my first year of teaching there.
Volcano Girl and I were on our way to Spokane, WA, to see jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in concert. We had heard that the volcano had erupted, but didn't think anything of it. I could write dozens of pages of stories from that day. The short story--by the time that we realized that the snow-like flakes that were falling wasn't snow, and that virtually EVERYTHING was canceled, it was too late to turn around. The nice highway patrolman told us that we'd never make it home before the visibility was zero, and that we should go on into Spokane, and find a place to stay. I think we got the last room in town. VG and I had never even dated before this, and now we're checked into a motel with a single bed. We drove around to find the essentials--toothbrush, maybe a t-shirt for her, something to eat/drink. Unfortunately, it was a ghost town. Everything was locked up, ash was piling up, and she was a little scared. We finally found a place open, got our stuff, and went back to the room to watch everything on TV. And she called home. It took about an hour to get a line. I talked to her dad, who told me not to worry about getting her home right away if it was going to be dangerous to drive. I'm not sure, but I think I heard the distinct sound of a shotgun in the background. I contacted my superintendent to tell him I was stuck in Spokane and wouldn't be in to teach the next morning. He replied that school was cancelled for the week. Excellent!
This series of pictures show the mountain from about 5 miles away, NNW. It is near the site of the Johnson Ridge Observatory that opened about 8 years ago. If you want to see more about it, go here for facts and information, or go check the live volcanocam site.
I behaved myself that fateful night. But I fell in love. Hard. VG was my first true love. We lasted a couple of years, then grew apart. But we have remained friends since then. As well as the rest of her family. The whole week remains vivid in my mind. Every detail, every picture, every emotion. I note the passage of time by the date of May 18th. The first of my sisters was married on May 18th (VG came to that wedding too). Two of my former students were married on that day. Another former student had her first child on that day. It's become a mystical day. It's the day I really first fell in love.
Ooh! New for 2010! Check it out!
Twenty-five years ago, at 8:32 AM PDT on May 18, 1980, a 5.1 earthquake caused the north face of Mt. St. Helens to crumble in the largest landslide in recorded history. As a result of this landslide, the pressure that had built up inside the volcano caused a lateral blast of volcanic gases, steam, ash and rocks that flattened hundreds of square miles of timber, destroying virtually anything in its path.
These images were captured by a camper about 10 miles to the northeast of the mountain.
It spewed ash tens of miles into the sky, turning a bright, sunny day into night, and causing all sorts of problems. As far away as Montana, the ash fell. State government in MT closed for a couple of days. And they barely got a dusting. While the ash that fell in eastern WA measured in the 2" range, northern Idaho actually bore a significant brunt of the ashfall, with some areas receiving up to 5". I was just finishing my first year of teaching there.
Volcano Girl and I were on our way to Spokane, WA, to see jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in concert. We had heard that the volcano had erupted, but didn't think anything of it. I could write dozens of pages of stories from that day. The short story--by the time that we realized that the snow-like flakes that were falling wasn't snow, and that virtually EVERYTHING was canceled, it was too late to turn around. The nice highway patrolman told us that we'd never make it home before the visibility was zero, and that we should go on into Spokane, and find a place to stay. I think we got the last room in town. VG and I had never even dated before this, and now we're checked into a motel with a single bed. We drove around to find the essentials--toothbrush, maybe a t-shirt for her, something to eat/drink. Unfortunately, it was a ghost town. Everything was locked up, ash was piling up, and she was a little scared. We finally found a place open, got our stuff, and went back to the room to watch everything on TV. And she called home. It took about an hour to get a line. I talked to her dad, who told me not to worry about getting her home right away if it was going to be dangerous to drive. I'm not sure, but I think I heard the distinct sound of a shotgun in the background. I contacted my superintendent to tell him I was stuck in Spokane and wouldn't be in to teach the next morning. He replied that school was cancelled for the week. Excellent!
I behaved myself that fateful night. But I fell in love. Hard. VG was my first true love. We lasted a couple of years, then grew apart. But we have remained friends since then. As well as the rest of her family. The whole week remains vivid in my mind. Every detail, every picture, every emotion. I note the passage of time by the date of May 18th. The first of my sisters was married on May 18th (VG came to that wedding too). Two of my former students were married on that day. Another former student had her first child on that day. It's become a mystical day. It's the day I really first fell in love.
Ooh! New for 2010! Check it out!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
1,000,000 Served!
Well, this was going to be a much more fun post, if I didn't have to post yesterday's.... (and please, go read that one if you haven't--it's far more important than this one)
It was mid-October, 2005, when my Sitemeter counter hit 50,000 visitors. It happened to be the lovely Addict, from Oregon. That resulted in my coming out on a surprise visit to meet her (well, I was in Portland for a Rolling Stones concert, but don't tell her that!). HNT was picking up steam, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I vowed that I'd visit the 500,000th visitor, if I ever hit that mark.
Well, the 500K marked passed me by unexpectedly, and I had no way of finding out who it was. By that time, I no longer was obsessed with my stats as others seem to be. I don't care who visits. I don't have to worry about checking up on undesirables. I'm not trying to hide from anyone, and I don't care if people in town are visiting. I only check when I'm bored these days. Until today.
At 1:01:47AM on Sunday, May 15th, my counter hit 1,000,000. That's sort of amazing to me. Of course, it's not because I'm particularly interesting. I don't write life-changing posts. People aren't scrambling to find out what I've written from day to day. It's solely due to HNT. So it seems fitting that hitting the 1M mark happened during the final week of HNT's 6th year.
Thanks to all who have stopped by. Including whomever it was that visited from the Office of the Holy See. And the handful who have stopped by from the U.S.Senate Building. And the nice people who run porn sites from countries I've never heard of. You're all part of the million!
And who is the lucky one-millionth visitor...? I don't know. They're from Germany.
It was mid-October, 2005, when my Sitemeter counter hit 50,000 visitors. It happened to be the lovely Addict, from Oregon. That resulted in my coming out on a surprise visit to meet her (well, I was in Portland for a Rolling Stones concert, but don't tell her that!). HNT was picking up steam, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I vowed that I'd visit the 500,000th visitor, if I ever hit that mark.
Well, the 500K marked passed me by unexpectedly, and I had no way of finding out who it was. By that time, I no longer was obsessed with my stats as others seem to be. I don't care who visits. I don't have to worry about checking up on undesirables. I'm not trying to hide from anyone, and I don't care if people in town are visiting. I only check when I'm bored these days. Until today.
At 1:01:47AM on Sunday, May 15th, my counter hit 1,000,000. That's sort of amazing to me. Of course, it's not because I'm particularly interesting. I don't write life-changing posts. People aren't scrambling to find out what I've written from day to day. It's solely due to HNT. So it seems fitting that hitting the 1M mark happened during the final week of HNT's 6th year.Thanks to all who have stopped by. Including whomever it was that visited from the Office of the Holy See. And the handful who have stopped by from the U.S.Senate Building. And the nice people who run porn sites from countries I've never heard of. You're all part of the million!
And who is the lucky one-millionth visitor...? I don't know. They're from Germany.
March 20, 1978 - April 12, 2011
"How sad it is that we give up on people who are just like us."
--Fred Rogers
Texas Spitfire. Stealth Bombshell. Melanie. Lots of different names that she's been known by. Also by Mommy, Lover, Sister and Daughter. Any of us who have been around here for any amount of time know her. Then she went away. Then she sort of came back this past winter.
Sadly, she won't be coming back anymore. Stealth died last month. I only found out by stopping by her Facebook site, and read the comments of friends and family who had left them. I did a quick Google search on her full name, and there they were. Links to her obituary. The obituary is a bit sparse for my liking. There are some pics and a nicely made video. But nowhere did I find any of "us" in the comments on FB nor in the memorial page. I think I might be the first of "us" to know anything.
And I feel badly about that. It's no secret that she lived a troubled life. Much of which she brought on herself. She tried to crawl out of it. And when things started to look up for her, something else would knock her down. But never out. Sadly, when she attempted to come back to Blogger, and the HNT community, I think she didn't realize that things had changed. She'd burned a lot of bridges at one point, and people weren't inclined to forget it. Too many of us didn't take the time to bring her back into the fold. Myself included.
Stealth was a four-time Mystery Guest, and got her hands on the OsShirt a few times. She also appeared a few times over at OHNT, though was still a bit modest over there. She was well known for her late night video chats too! I think that she was a pretty decent photographer, and often surprised us with the shots she took. One area that few people knew about was her painting and other visual artistry. The girl had talent! She played the oboe in high school (and was pretty good), loved hard rock music, was actually quite grounded in her Catholic faith, but knew how to party. Health-wise, I know she'd been in the hospital within the past couple of years, but with that gap of being away from us, I'm not entirely sure what for...
I feel privileged to have met her in person. She was so excited when I told her that I was going to celebrate my 50th birthday in Dallas. She immediately took it upon herself to be my personal guide for the weekend. All of us partied hard. But on the actual night of my birthday, the two of us spent a very low-key evening in the West End of Dallas. Talking, laughing, relaxing. I don't think she did enough of that as she got older. She was able to be herself, and it was a side of her I didn't know existed before then. In spite of the massive partying, and the trip to the strip club, and the constant drinking, that night was, without question, the highlight of my trip.
But now she's gone. She's left three kids and a fiancé behind. And lots of friends. In spite of the fact that we'd fallen out of touch, I still considered her a friend. That's why I feel like I've been kicked in the gut. I wish I had done more to keep in touch. Mel, I'm gonna miss you.Added: I urge you to check out Mark Leslie's post about Melanie's death. The guy is a writer, and expresses what I think many of us are feeling far better than I ever could...
Friday, May 13, 2011
When Blogger goes tits up...
...she goes all out! If you're reading this, then we can finally make new posts. Woohoo!
According to Blogger, they had to delete all posts that were published after about 7:30AM Wednesday. In other words, everyone's HNT posts this week... They are slowly getting them back up, but it really put a kink in everyone's day! Keep checking back to see if the "I'm up!"s have come back. I know there were a handful of people who tried to post later Thursday without success, so hopefully there will be some new ones to check out as well.
Let's just consider this weekend to be HNWE, rather than just Thursday!
According to Blogger, they had to delete all posts that were published after about 7:30AM Wednesday. In other words, everyone's HNT posts this week... They are slowly getting them back up, but it really put a kink in everyone's day! Keep checking back to see if the "I'm up!"s have come back. I know there were a handful of people who tried to post later Thursday without success, so hopefully there will be some new ones to check out as well.
Let's just consider this weekend to be HNWE, rather than just Thursday!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Not Quite Back to Normal HNT
Well, it's over. The opera, that is. Two of the longest weeks I've ever experienced. I expected it, but didn't expect it. I have come to understand how/why people disappear from the blogosphere. I was able to sneak online for small bits of time, but mostly just to check emails. I feel like I've totally missed out on what most of you have been doing. And I do find it difficult to really get back into the swing of things. But I'm sure I will. :-)
The highlights of the past two weeks:
Now, I'm trying to wind down. Finished up all the equipment deliveries on Monday. In the rain that fell for two days since Sunday afternoon. Paperwork will be done by the morning. And the symphony season comes to a close. Until we start up on the summer concert in July. I'm still tired, and haven't gotten caught up on my sleep. And frankly, I'm still trying to realize that it's almost mid-May! Though the weather is finally becoming springlike! Of course, all this is a roundabout way of admitting that I have had to resort to yet another picture from the archives. But I ran it through a new photo program I found. And strangely enough it captures the essence of what I look like at this very moment! Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle for next week!
"I'm a bitch. I'm a lover. I'm a child. I'm a mother. I'm a sinner. I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed. I'm your hell. I'm your dream. I'm nothing in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way. I'm a bitch. I'm a tease. I'm a goddess on my knees. When you hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover. I've been numb. I'm revived. Can't say I'm not alive. You know I wouldn't want it any other way."
Many of you should recognize who this describes! It's her birthday Thursday, so stop by and wish her a happy one! If you don't know who it is, come by tomorrow to find out!
Well, thanks to Blogger, everyone missed out on wishing the lovely Saucy Wildcat a happy birthday and a welcome back to the HNT party. And at this moment, her blog is still down. But stop by over the weekend and let her know you came by!
A good showing over at "...the Other HNT", as usual! Stop by and leave some comments for your fellow HNTers! NSFW, as usual...
Big week for HNT next week! The 6th Anniversary (or is it Birthday?) of HNT! Right down to the exact day, even! No themes or plans or celebrations, but if you want to do something special, it would be great! Let some of your friends know too, especially if they're former HNTers. It would be wonderful to see them jump back in for the week, don't you think?
I might be doing this from jail next week. I got a letter from my ISP informing me that they'd been notified that I might have downloaded some copyrighted material. Specifically, the 2009 movie Star Trek. Haven't quite figured out if this was a precursor to legal action, or just a warning. I don't think I'm very concerned, since I download so little. Still...if I'm in jail next week, I'll be sure to get some really special HNT pics taken!
My second oldest niece graduated from MSU this past Saturday. The girl is going to go far. I believe her degree is in Marketing (what do I know?). She has had more than a handful of major company presidents and execs ask her to come interview. She can pretty much write her own ticket. Not sure where she got her smarts from, but we're all pretty proud. Of course, she won't go to work right away. She just left this morning to fly to Europe for a month. If you see her over there, say hi for me!
My siblings and I pitched in for an iPad for Mom this Mother's Day. She was shocked and amazed and flabbergasted. Unfortunately, her computer is old enough that it can't run the minimum version of iTunes to get it synced up. So now she's got a very pretty piece of computer sitting on the counter getting charged up, with no way to get started. Might have to run it through my computer, just to get it up and running. Hope I don't accidentally download the MG or OHNT pics on there for her too!
The highlights of the past two weeks:
- Working with actors/singers of the highest caliber. The music was never a problem, and they learned their staging after just one take. In particular, two of them were invaluable in helping out with their knowledge of the opera, this particular set, and the problems we were bound to encounter.
- Working with local volunteers who gave up far more hours than I think they signed on for as makeup artists, costume dressers and assisting with stage managing duties.
- Working with the technical designers/directors (lights, sound, stage, etc.), and melding their very diverse styles together. None of them had worked together, and there were some "moments", but everything DID meld.
- Being able to boss everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) involved with the production. The buck stopped with me, numerous times.
Now, I'm trying to wind down. Finished up all the equipment deliveries on Monday. In the rain that fell for two days since Sunday afternoon. Paperwork will be done by the morning. And the symphony season comes to a close. Until we start up on the summer concert in July. I'm still tired, and haven't gotten caught up on my sleep. And frankly, I'm still trying to realize that it's almost mid-May! Though the weather is finally becoming springlike! Of course, all this is a roundabout way of admitting that I have had to resort to yet another picture from the archives. But I ran it through a new photo program I found. And strangely enough it captures the essence of what I look like at this very moment! Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle for next week!
"I'm a bitch. I'm a lover. I'm a child. I'm a mother. I'm a sinner. I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed. I'm your hell. I'm your dream. I'm nothing in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way. I'm a bitch. I'm a tease. I'm a goddess on my knees. When you hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover. I've been numb. I'm revived. Can't say I'm not alive. You know I wouldn't want it any other way."Many of you should recognize who this describes! It's her birthday Thursday, so stop by and wish her a happy one! If you don't know who it is, come by tomorrow to find out!
Well, thanks to Blogger, everyone missed out on wishing the lovely Saucy Wildcat a happy birthday and a welcome back to the HNT party. And at this moment, her blog is still down. But stop by over the weekend and let her know you came by!
A good showing over at "...the Other HNT", as usual! Stop by and leave some comments for your fellow HNTers! NSFW, as usual...
Big week for HNT next week! The 6th Anniversary (or is it Birthday?) of HNT! Right down to the exact day, even! No themes or plans or celebrations, but if you want to do something special, it would be great! Let some of your friends know too, especially if they're former HNTers. It would be wonderful to see them jump back in for the week, don't you think?
I might be doing this from jail next week. I got a letter from my ISP informing me that they'd been notified that I might have downloaded some copyrighted material. Specifically, the 2009 movie Star Trek. Haven't quite figured out if this was a precursor to legal action, or just a warning. I don't think I'm very concerned, since I download so little. Still...if I'm in jail next week, I'll be sure to get some really special HNT pics taken!
My second oldest niece graduated from MSU this past Saturday. The girl is going to go far. I believe her degree is in Marketing (what do I know?). She has had more than a handful of major company presidents and execs ask her to come interview. She can pretty much write her own ticket. Not sure where she got her smarts from, but we're all pretty proud. Of course, she won't go to work right away. She just left this morning to fly to Europe for a month. If you see her over there, say hi for me!
My siblings and I pitched in for an iPad for Mom this Mother's Day. She was shocked and amazed and flabbergasted. Unfortunately, her computer is old enough that it can't run the minimum version of iTunes to get it synced up. So now she's got a very pretty piece of computer sitting on the counter getting charged up, with no way to get started. Might have to run it through my computer, just to get it up and running. Hope I don't accidentally download the MG or OHNT pics on there for her too!
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Damn, that looks impressive!
If you're at all interested in seeing what the past week and a half have been all about, go here...
One more performance to go. Another day to clean it all up. Then I'm yours again!
BTW--I could use a Mystery Guest this week...
One more performance to go. Another day to clean it all up. Then I'm yours again!
BTW--I could use a Mystery Guest this week...
Thursday, May 05, 2011
MIA HNT
I'm not really here. I'm still hunkered down at rehearsals. Though the stress now is mental, as opposed to physical. Blood has been drawn, bruises have formed, knees have been twisted, and joints have rebelled. Unfortunately, that's all describing me. Everyone else is just peachy...
Performances are Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Then it all gets taken down Sunday night. Equipment trucks get unloaded Monday, and it will be at that point, and not a minute sooner, that I'll be able to think about taking a breath.
This is me sitting at the sound/lighting booth in the auditorium. See that "wth??" look in my face? There's been a lot of that this past week.
Are you ready boots start walking...
It is amazing what a pair of shoes can do to a person.
They can make you feel sexy or sultry.
They can make you feel athletic and strong.
As I step into my cowgirl boots
I become tough
unbreakable...
A wild daisy that can't be broken
This week's Mystery Guest is also a birthday girl on Friday! If you know her, go send her your bday wishes! If you don't, you know you can come back later to find out who she is....
A little low in numbers (but never quality!) at "...the Other HNT", due to my general absence this week. Be sure to stop by and check out which of your fellow HNTer's is over there! As usual, it's still NSFW!
Performances are Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Then it all gets taken down Sunday night. Equipment trucks get unloaded Monday, and it will be at that point, and not a minute sooner, that I'll be able to think about taking a breath.
This is me sitting at the sound/lighting booth in the auditorium. See that "wth??" look in my face? There's been a lot of that this past week.
Are you ready boots start walking...It is amazing what a pair of shoes can do to a person.
They can make you feel sexy or sultry.
They can make you feel athletic and strong.
As I step into my cowgirl boots
I become tough
unbreakable...
A wild daisy that can't be broken
This week's Mystery Guest is also a birthday girl on Friday! If you know her, go send her your bday wishes! If you don't, you know you can come back later to find out who she is....
A little low in numbers (but never quality!) at "...the Other HNT", due to my general absence this week. Be sure to stop by and check out which of your fellow HNTer's is over there! As usual, it's still NSFW!
Sunday, May 01, 2011
So what's been going on...?
It's Sunday night. I'm home before 11:00PM for the first time since Tuesday night. Needless to say, coming home at that hour has prohibited me from watching much news, nor fed my desire to do any sort of web surfing in that time. So I'm trying to catch up a little tonight (sorry--still lots of HNTs I've not seen yet...). Look at what I've missed!
- Lots of storms in the south. Nasty tornadoes. Hope none of you were directly affected!
- An incredibly wet snow storm here in town on Friday night. With wind. Felt like being pelted with cold spit balls! A few inches on the ground the next morning, with absolutely NO plowing. All gone by noon.
- There apparently was some sort of wedding. (Just a note--the new princess is mighty attractive, but doesn't hold a candle to her sister!)
- Bin Laden was killed. About time. Wolf Blitzer is still the worst news anchor on TV.
- Obama was apparently born in Hawaii. Whew!