Why is it...

...that i can mash the button on the jeep's clicker for five minutes and it will not unlock for anything, but i can then hand it to Sheri and she'll push the button once and, click, it works...???

Research is currently underway to determine if this is also related to the Pickle Jar Phenomenon.

And now, the news (in no particular order):

Getting new tires on the jeep tomorrow. Yay rah exciting, i know, but it needs done.

We played catch in our backyard today. This seems random, and it is, but Sheri had been saying for a couple years that we should get some ball gloves and baseball and play catch because it would be fun. We had a couple of walmart gift cards, and it seemed an amusing thing to spend them on.

I think the last of Hikaru's current computer problems has been isolated and (somewhat) solved. I love my computers... ...when they work.

Had a great time jamming at the Hippie Hut yesterday. I think we're still one band member short, but it's going pretty well.

Continuing to go over the Mouse Guard rules and trying to get one of the current D&D story arcs wrapped up so i can put it on the back burner for a while in the interest of something new.

Been looking over some camera lenses and reviews of them. I know i want a long telephoto, a super-wide-angle and a wide-aperture prime (probably 50mm), but i keep going back-and-forth regarding exactly which ones i'm after. Oh well, i've got time.

Had a going away party for Ginger last weekend - which she almost missed ;). I think we had a dozen people or so. I took a few pictures - but didn't get too many before my flash batteries died. I hadn't thought about bringing the camera until right before we left and at that point i didn't have time to charge them. Anyway, we had a bit of a cookout and then sat around and talked for a good while. Later we played a game of Apples to Apples, which is always fun. It was a good time. We're going to miss Ginger a lot. :(

~PS

And now for something a little different...?

Sunday January 20, 2008 at 3:24pm friends, outdoors, outings Comments (3) »

Some of us were talking the other day, and we decided we don't get out enough.

I probably don't mean that the way it sounds though. It's not as though we're hiding under rocks, but we all just kinda do the same things all the time. That is to say, we hang out and play games - board, video and roleplaying. We occasionally do other stuff, but probably not often enough. We could also stand to get outdoors a bit more often. Don't get me wrong, I very much like just hanging out, playing games and doing nothing in particular, but it would be fun to do something different for a change. Here are some things we've decided we should try to do - maybe sometime this year (preferably once it gets a little warmer).

- We should do quite a bit of hiking. And not just at Sycamore Shoals (which is nice enough), but at least a couple trips up to Round Bald, Lorell Falls and other places. I mean, we're in the mountains just miles from the AT. There are *lots* of good sites around here.

- We should go to a zoo and/or aquarium. Sheri's been saying this for a few years. There's a zoo in Knoxville and a zoo and aquarium in Chattanooga.

- We should go over to Bay's Mountain to see the wolves. They have a sort of preserve/habitat for them up there.

- We should look around for some interesting museums. I know there's a big one in Knoxville and i'm sure there are quite a few others within a reasonable distance. Nashville (5 hours away - far, but not ridiculously so) has quite a few including The TN State Museum (which is *huge*) along with the only full-size replica of the Athens' Parthenon (Not as cool as going to Greece, but some of us aren't that lucky), a Botanical Garden / Museum of Art and the Cumberland Science Museum/Planetarium.

- We should go to some state parks and/or similar areas. Maybe do some camp-outs, the aforementioned hiking and other stuff. There are quite a few of them within a couple hours of here.

- We should bike the Virginia Creeper Trail. This would be great fun. I'm told they'll rent you bikes and there are several different segments of the 35-mile trail you can take (you know, in case you're not used to going *quite* that far).

- We should go up to IN to go skiing/tubing/etc with my parents on their boat. I've been saying this for a few years, but we haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'm sure there are some more good ideas as well. You all can put some in the comments if you want. We'll probably be asking around for who might like to join us in our grand adventures too.


Of course, one of the best things for most of these (at least for me) is the opportunity to take some great pictures at a lot of these places. I'm really looking forward to that. :)


~PS