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I'd like to see one of our talent photographers recreate this shot on the SDC swinging bridge. You'll need a panorama mount, or some good stitching software.

Oh, and you have to turn your head sideways.

Don't forget to scroll all the way down!

http://wins.failblog.org/2011/08/10/epic-win-photos-all-the-way-win/

One outfit that would do well to become a vendor at SDC is Lehman's.

Warning: they make use of ad tracking, so if you click on the link you can expect to see their banner ads everywhere you go online. It's not a problem, just amusing. They're quite high-tech at being low-tech.

Lehman's has been a purveyor of non-electric goods to the Northeast Ohio Amish community for decades. They've also run a catalog business for back-to-the-earth folks for almost as long. They've gone online, because many "primitive" folks these days rely on the internet for information, knowledge, and shopping resources.

I've bought replacement parts for Aladdin lamps from them, and gotten many good ideas from their online catalog.

They're not the cheapest, but they have almost everything, and they give great descriptions of their products.

I think a brick-and-mortar (okay, log-and-chink) store at SDC would serve them very well.

Thoughts?

I visited my mother today for a couple of hours, en route to my 30th high school class reunion. (Yes, I'm old, as my lovely child bride born in 1969 keeps reminding me. Shaddup!)

An uncle by marriage passed away earlier this week, and Mom had a couple of boxes of photos that we perused, from her side of the family. She also mentioned a box of "her" photos, which I pulled out and was amazed to find many photos of my childhood that I never knew existed.

Among them were a series of pics from Dogpatch, from a family trip to St. Louis in 1968, plus a bunch from SDC from roughly 1969-72. I don't remember riding the stagecoach, but there's photographic evidence that I did (or at least sat in it with a bunch of other kids). There are blacksmith pics, including at least one of Shad Heller. Lots of various craftsman pics, and Citizen pics (young-ish male citizens seemed to be especially drawn to my older sister for some reason). There are a couple of the North/South skirmish on Main Street, and other Main Street skits, but I don't recall what they're about.

Because we had a tight schedule, I was only able to go through about a quarter of the photos. I'm going back with my scanner, to get it all. Then I'll make an online album to share it with everyone here. There are at least 2-3 dozen pics from SDC and DP, but that's just a guesstimate.

Dad was a professional photographer with a wedding and portrait studio, so the vast majority of these pics are several levels above "snapshot" grade. All were shot on 120mm film (2 1/4 square format), with either a Hasselblad 500c or Yashicamat. Probably the Hassy; I don't recall him ever taking the Yashica on vacation.

Looks cool, especially that beyond vertical drop.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110608/NEWHAMPSHIRE0501/706089941

Outrageous.

http://bobmccarty.com/2011/05/19/family-facing-4-million-in-fines-for-selling-bunnies/

Follow-up:

http://bobmccarty.com/2011/05/19/usda-stands-behind-hare-raising-fine/

I just watched the 1974 movie of Where the Red Fern Grows, for the first time since I saw it at the drive-in when I was 11.

Bawled my eyes out just like when I was 11.

Who else loves Old Dan and Lit'l Ann?

Extreme steampunking. I especially love the webcam and the USB thumb drive, and the speakers.

This is how any electronics should be themed in SDC. It's what Doc Harris would do, with Miss Mary's permission.

http://work.failblog.org/2011/04/26/job-fails-i-dont-always-work-from-home-but-when-i-do-its-awesome/



More pics at the link.

Yeah, in the old days phones sometimes were "party lines" where more than one family shared a phone line to save on costs. My grandparents had a phone on a party line in the 1970s for years...until the phone company phased them out.

When we moved to a small town in Arkansas in 1973, my parents opted to pay extra to not be on a party line. Of course, we were still on a party line leg of the circuit, so we paid extra to not be able to listen in, but we still couldn't make a phone call, nor receive one, if one of the people on the party line was using the phone.

In 1973, we only had to dial 3 digits to make a local call. Then they upped it to the last four, then the last five, then seven digits, and now they have to use full 10-digit dialing.

And in all that time, other than the area code changing, all the numbers in that town are only distinguished by the last three digits: 870-389-6xxx.

I wonder if they take requests? This would be great!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1361892/Google-Street-View-cameras-TRICYCLES-look-parks-footpaths.html

Google is extending its Street View website with photographs of off-road destinations that have previously not appeared online - by using specially-adapted tricycles.

Since its launch in 2007, the controversial site has allowed viewers to see images of individual homes, shops, offices and pubs taken by a fleet of cars.

But now the service will let users go beyond public streets and along footpaths and into parks, historical landmarks and gardens.

The novel off-road vehicles will allow Street View to increasingly include images of public and private sites such as Kew Gardens in London, hiking trails in California and Sea World in Orlando, Florida.

If you like the look and feel of those old Super8 movies that show up now and then, here's your chance to make your own:

http://www.macworld.com/article/157219/2011/01/isuper8.html

With this app, you can make modern-day video that looks like 1972. 

"iSupr8 costs $2, and is compatible with any iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, or fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 4.1 or later."

So, does anyone else remember the bluegrass group in the 1970's to early '80s that featured a washtub bass? Literally, just an inverted washtub, a string, and a broomstick. And the guy playing it could flat-out rock!

On a local music forum, the subject came up, so I'd appreciate anyone/everyone sharing memories and knowledge.

For any of you folks who drive around Springfield regularly, what's your opinion of the "diverging diamond interchange" at I-44 and MO-13?

For those who don't know what this is, here's an information page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverging_diamond_interchange

Springfield has the first interchange of this type in North America.

I just received a set of DVDs from Shepherd of the Hills. I bought their 3-fer (live performance, 1941 John Wayne version, 1964 Richard Arlen version), plus the 1959 KYTV television special.

I'm watching the 1959 special now. It was well done, but the late '50s video (not film) recording certainly has its limitations. The audio is also right channel only.

I'm looking forward to the live performance. I don't know what I'll do with the 1941 John Wayne piece of crap. Target practice, maybe.

I suggest watching the video. You can see much better how she's dressed.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=202963

NBC -- A 30-year-old mother of three said she was refused entrance into Six Flags Over Texas because of her tattoo.

Samantha Osborn, a Texas girl through-and-through, has two six-shooters surrounded by yellow roses tattooed on her chest.

"I got it because I love Texas," she said. "I thought of cowboys and six-shooters and the yellow rose of Texas."

But a Six Flags employee stopped her at the entrance gate when she and her husband, Matt, went to the Arlington amusement park to celebrate his birthday.

"We tried to enter, one employee grabbed me and said my chest tattoo was offensive and that I may not be allowed into the park," Osborn said. "I was flabbergasted."

She said the employee told her Six Flags was a family-friendly place.

Osborn told the employee she was the mother of three girls.

"She said it was as offensive as a swastika and that she would sell me a $5 shirt to cover myself up and that they didn't let people with swastikas into Six Flags, and that my tattoo condoned violence," Osborn said.

Six Flags' dress code says park management can deny customers entrance if their clothing is deemed inappropriate or vulgar.

The code does not mention tattoos.

The Osborns, determined to celebrate the birthday, eventually entered the park through another line without being bothered, but the damage had been done.

"It just soured the whole experience, and we left," Samantha Osborn said.

So, I was listening to XMPR today when Michael Feldman's "Whad'ya Know" came on. They were in Springfield, and covered all the local news (like city chickens).

http://www.notmuch.com/Show/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271844/Flamingo-Land-rollercoaster-Thrillseekers-left-hanging-upside-50ft-up.html

I had known all my life that my grandfather Craig and his family all hailed from the Cass County/KCMO area. All my grandparents, except my maternal grandmother, died either before I was born or before I had memory of them.

About 15 years ago, before my father passed away, I started researching our ancestry, and was greatly aided by a cousin in St. Jo, who is a retired school teacher and had been researching this stuff for over 30 years. Literally within 30 minute of sending an introductory email to the Craig family mailing list, I had his reply and a GEDCOM file showing that our line of Craigs had been in America since before 1750, and had paused briefly in Londonderry to birth one generation c. 1729 while moving from Scotland to America.

So... my father died shortly afterward, and I just didn't have the heart to pick it back up again. I kept meaning to, but I just couldn't.

Fast forward to 2010. My mother was in the hospital last week, and I went up to help take care of her at home when she was released. We started talking about family stuff, and her lineage has always been a mystery. I took some notes, came home, and started searching online. No luck with the Ross clan, but I've gained a few clues that might help.

Meanwhile, I decided to poke around the Craig line again to see what I could find that was new. I found that George Armstrong Custer is my 5th cousin, 5 times removed (as a Southerner and part Native American, I'm not particularly proud of this).

The funniest thing is that while I was at my mother's, I had just finished reading "Ruled Britannia" by Harry Turtledove, just two days before stumbling across this.

The book is an "alternative history" novel starring William Shakespeare, in an England that has been conquered by Spain, where Phillip II successfully seized Elizabeth I and locked her away in the Tower of London. It's a darn good read for anyone who enjoys history and Shakespeare (there is plenty of understated bawdy, bard-y humor).

Anyhoo, two days after finishing the book, where I got a refresher on Early Modern history, I find out that the background antagonist, Philip II of Spain, is my 12Ggrandfather. To add insult to injury, further back in the Hapsburg line, Edward I of England ("Longshanks") is also a direct grandfather, and he launched war against Scotland, where my Craig ancestors eventually had to flee.

Roughly half of my ancestors were trying to kill the other half. Maybe that's why family reunions are so "entertaining".

Two of my favorite ways to start the season: the Yankees are in last place with the worst record in baseball, and Pujols leads the majors in home runs. 

This is my Facebook comment to the SDC announcement of World-Fest:

While I'd enjoy all those acts, I've never understood how they're supposed to fit the theme. Because they don't, obviously. Neither does KidFest and Nickelodeon.

Maybe the park needs a "time portal": once inside the gates, you can stay in the 1880s, or transport yourself into modern entertainment.

Although I've never seen a medical emergency at SDC, I have to assume they happen. How does the park respond?

Are there AEDs scattered through the park? I doubt anyone would complain about a Citizen breaking theme to come running with an AED.