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[greatbear]

Heh, as if I had so much to crow about anyway. Balty Pride was actually rather nice, a lot smaller than previous years. This marked the first time that the Chesapeake Bay Bears and the DC Bear Club would join forces and march together. Turns out no one marched, they instead piled into the bed of a pickup and rode the half mile parade route. As it stands, they didnt even fill the pickup bed. A lot of the same cliched gay stuff as every year. The real fun was the block party, which had spread out a bit this year. I saw friends, coworkers, etc. as I usually do. Nice weather just to get out of the house and do something different.

I installed a Sirius satellite radio in Jeff's truck since he expressed an interest. I have not had much of a chance to explore it, but the sound quality rivals local FM broadcasts, and is a nice escape from the formulaic Clear Channel corporate crapola that pollutes the airwaves these days masquerading as 'programming' and 'content'. If I like it, I will get a similar system for myself.

Stuff currently making the rounds in CD players/computers/iPod here: Marillion's Marbles (excellent), Velvet Revolver's Contraband (better than I expected), Joe Satriani's Is There Love In Space? (not his best effort, but not the worst either), ZZ Top's Rhythmeen (nice, meaty and crunchy), Richard Ashcroft's Human Conditions (great mood music for lonely highway driving) plus an endless pile of downloaded mp3s.

Mom's appetite is returning a bit more and she's trying to be more active when she is able. She was hoping to be in better shape than she is currently, however. I have a good portion of the veggie garden under control where she can get her hands dirty doing what she loves. Gardening is her therapy.

Garage to-dos: Replace the entry door on the building. Replace the condensor, H-valve and receiver/dryer on the truck a/c and recharge it. Rebuild the small generator. Rebuild the small Troybilt tiller. Haul a bunch of stuff to the scrap yard and 30 gallons of used oil to recycler. Minor work and upgrades to the camper. Get a TIG welder. Install gauges, pulley and intake on the Mini. Fix two mowers and the chipper/shredder.

I added a half terabyte of firewire drives to the server in an effort to keep some backups more secure. When funds are more available I plan on throwing together a file/media server with RAID 1 redundant storage to park on the LAN. It wont be a bleeding edge machine, instead it will be purpose-built for securing backups and storing multimedia files. It will have plenty of RAM and gigabit ethernet, but no kickass video or processors. Just lots of bandwidth and connectivity.

That's it for now, I dont want to bore my readership!

Comments

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Hey, re the truck A/C: Hit www.ackits.com and pick up their largest parallel-flow condenser. These are *way* more efficient than the serpentine-type originals and can drop outlet vent temps as much as 15°F with no other changes. I have some comparative tests around here somewhere, can dig 'em up if you like.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It's too late, I already have the new serpentine condensor. As my luck would go, I will probably get about 3-4 years out of it if I'm lucky, in that case I will probably revamp the entire system (if the truck is still around!).

[fredneckteddy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it seems the clubs have become a whisper of what they once were. Oh well......and I would HARDLY call you a bore ;)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Ah well, I have been a non-member for a few years now, they had been going downhill for a while. Sad, really, since I met so many cool people in the various clubs. Like you.

[fredneckteddy.livejournal.com]

dawwwwww.........garsh!

[chrisglass.livejournal.com]

Your pride "float" (pickup truck) with not enough bears to fill it sounds dead on our parade here in Cincy.
*shrug*

Glad to hear yer mom's appetite is returning.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It certainly aint like a few years ago. I think the current political climate has something to do with it.

[bearlover.livejournal.com]

Excellent music choices as always. I haven't heard the new Satch album yet, but I haven't heard a lot of good things about it.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It's not bad, but IMO he should take a page from Zappa and "shut up and play yer guitar". His best tunes are the instrumentals; his voice, while pleasant enough does not have enough authority and presence. This album only has a couple vocal tracks, so he might be thinking in these same terms.

The new Marillion is good. It's in the vein of Afraid Of Sunlight. I do miss the Fish-era Marillion though.

[leatherotter.livejournal.com]

I added a half terabyte of firewire drives to the server in an effort to keep some backups more secure. When funds are more available I plan on throwing together a file/media server with RAID 1 redundant storage to park on the LAN. It wont be a bleeding edge machine, instead it will be purpose-built for securing backups and storing multimedia files. It will have plenty of RAM and gigabit ethernet, but no kickass video or processors. Just lots of bandwidth and connectivity.

Da-amn. Didja ever think about offering website hosting? :)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I dont have enough outgoing bandwidth for that. Besides, if you saw my broken-down old server, you'd think twice about asking. LOL

I can't complain though, that old machine is about 5 years old now, and it's on 24/7.

[kjvbear.livejournal.com]

don't forget the Gay radio channel OutQ on Sirius, channel 149

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I checked that out already, albeit briefly. It was one of the reasons I recommended Sirius over XM.

[kjvbear.livejournal.com]

I love my Sirius Radio!

I almost always listen to OutQ in the morning with LJ's own lfkbear as co-host, and I often call in as "Kevin in Minnesota". The over night music with Jeremy Hovies can be quite fun too.....

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I was not sure, but I did think lfkbear was with OutQ. I'll have to check it out much more closely. Thanks for the insight!

[vernnyc.livejournal.com]

sounds like your mom is making progress... cool

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

Woofs! :) Sorry I missed you... would love to meet in person!

David in Arlington

[cutepacub.livejournal.com]

i love my sirrius radio....i've had it in both the buick and now the cruiser...i really enjoy listening to derrick and romaine!! they are way to funny!