Mother's Day Coming Up

With Mother's Day rapidly approaching (May 11, 2008), some of us will need gift ideas. Might I humbly suggest:

Wearable Orange Conehead Gear
- I really like the Doggy Shirt.

Chrome Plated OCHA Counter
- Used by the Pros!

Genuine Orange Cones for Game Use

Extravagant Complete Sets of Orange Cones
- Comes 12 in a stack!

Orange Cone Picture Suitable for Framing
- Ansel Adams will never take a good Orange Conehead picture...

Brand new Orange Conehead trivial pursuit question
- Comes complete with answer

Digital Frame for Your favorite Orange Conehead Picture

2001: A Space Odyssey (remade)

As of April 30, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Steps: 2,649,111
Miles: 1108.50

In the original 2001: A Space Odyssey movie, a mysterious Black Monolith apears, one that seems to compel mankind to learn and to travel ...to Jupiter to a fate that even 40 years after I saw the movie and a couple viewings later, I still don't understand. :)

In any event, imagine how much "better" this movie would have been if Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick would have used Orange Coneheads instead? To see what I'm saying, please note at 2:26 into the YouTube Video the Black Monolith appears...


The Dawn of Man

A primeval ape man makes a breakthrough - becoming endowed with intelligence after experiencing a mysterious Orange Conehead.

Later in the movie, HAL 9000, a computer, apparently runs amok.


Dave: Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL. ... Do you read me, HAL?


HAL: Affirmative Dave, I read you.

Dave: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

HAL: I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. ...This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.

Dave: I don't know what you're talking about, HAL.

HAL: I know that you and Frank were planning to replace me with an Orange Striped Barrel, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.

Dave: All right, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency air lock.

HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult.

Get Ready to Play Traffic Cone Invasion!

Thanks to Ausgrl for this link! You remember the game Space Invaders? Well now there is Traffic Cone Invasion!

- Remember, click on the Conehead to "kill" them!

Mile 1105 - The Great Dismal Swamp Canal

As of April 29, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Steps: 2,630,068
Miles: 1100.69

It's a little freaky virtual walking between Sulfolk and Norfolk, Virginia at the very same time three tornados hit the area. So while I'm not really there, I hope the people in the area get things back together quickly and can get on with their lives with as little disruption possible.

I've already finished walking my "goal" milage for the month - I was basically done Sunday with 207.8 miles leaving me three days to finish off 2.2 miles - you all have really inspired me to keep on keeping on. Thank you.


The sign reads:

NW 15 Dismal Swamp Canal

This canal, which connects Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound, was chartered by Virginia in 1787 and North Carolina in 1790. It opened to traffic in 1805 and is now part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The area was visited by William Byrd II in 1728 when he surveyed the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. In 1763, George Washington explored the area and organized the Dismal Swamp Land Company to drain it for farmland. The Great Dismal Swamp is now a National Wildlife Refuge.

George Washington was a very busy man - Washington acquired a 5,000 acre share in The Dismal Swamp Land Company which held 40,000 acres. There was little money to be made in land sales, but Washington produced cedar shingles after the Revolutionary War and that proved very profitable. A canal was dug for use in shipping the shingles and other wood products

William Bryd II was a very wealthy man and the founder of the City of Richmond and provided the land where the city was laid out in 1737.



Picture Source and Much More Information

Oh Dear, *They* Are Saying Things!

The Real World Walker to a day off due to the chilly rain.


Oh no! Not another learning experience!

Learning from mistakes is never easy.


Old Farts Rule

Can't argue with that can't you?


Did We Forget Our Meds?

Obviously, yes, or at least I did anyway.


Talk to the Cone

- Okay, here is your chance! What are YOU going to tell the cone?

Source

Not Spindle-Worthy, but Interesting

Today I attempted to determine the year and model of the old car located in the 100 acre woods - off the Skippack Trail. It's raining, and work is slow today.


1950 Plymouth Deluxe 4 Door

This car is definitely spindle-worthy!


1949 Plymouth 2-Door Special Deluxe

..as is this car!


Trunk of Old Car in Woods

I think the old car is either a 1949 or a 1950 Plymouth 2-Door Coupe. The color matches and all. There are more pictures of the red car and one shows the same sort of plastic steering wheel. The air bag must of been pretty darn small back then.


My next mission is to identify that this thing was

The Farm Equipment Pro that lives to the north of me, thinks it is a Hay Elevator (that means you Alice Kay!). It used to have rubber wheels. The "rake mechanism" down in the end throws me a bit though, perhaps this is a "crop loader" (often used to pick Peas) which varies only slightly from a Hay Elevator?

The Farm Equipment Pro also suggested it might be a manure spreader... and judging from the picture below, I think she is totally right!


Manure Spreader - For Sale

Mile 1094 - Suffolk, VA

Suffolk began in 1742 as a port town on the Nansemond River in the Virginia Colony. Originally known as Constance's Warehouse (named for a Captain John Constant), Suffolk was named after Royal Governor William Gooch's home of Suffolk in England.


Peanuts grown in the surrounding areas became a major industry for Suffolk. Notably, Planters Peanuts was established in Suffolk beginning in 1912 by an Italian immigrant named Amedeo Obici.

Suffolk was the "birthplace" of Mr. Peanut, the mascot of Planters Peanuts. For many years, the call-letters of local AM radio station WLPM stood for World's Largest Peanut Market.


Nearby Suffolk, on the the Virtual Walker's way to Norfolk, is the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Baffling, Just Baffling Behavior

As of April 27, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Steps: 2,624,580
Miles: 1098.44


OCHAs taking a joy ride on the back of a truck

I suspect if Little Iggy were still alive, Delores would be up late at night wringing her hands (if she had any) in worry about him doing stunts like this one. She is probably most thankful Jayden has survived his tailpipe-sniffing days as it is.

Photo Copyright 2008 roving photojournalist LadyStyx


Five OCHAs and Three Oranged Striped Zebras playing in traffic

Even OCHAs can enjoy playing a game of Cowboys and Indians. I bet there is a John Wayne O. Conehead somewhere "out there". I see all these cones also have tattoos. I'm starting to think its a "gang thing".

I have to wonder how the OCHAs decide who gets to ride and who gets to walk, or perhaps they double up and ride 'en stacked'. I've was unable to observe this however.

Photo Copyright 2008 Iggycam

More Hieroglyphics

Hope you enjoy your day!

For Sale by Owner

On Thursday, April 24, 2008 I walked over the Parkiomen Trail to the junction with the new Skippack Township Trail. I had heard rumors of an old car deep in the 100 acre woods. While I didn't find Pooh Bear or Tigger or even Piglet, I did find (and ingested) thousands of gnats, lots of Virginia Bluebells (hitherto called "FBWF"), some stinging nettles** and the old car.

**Wearing shorts, my legs were badly stung. I tried Witch Hazel, Calamine Lotion, and in the end, the only thing that worked was Preparation H.


The Skippack Trail runs along side the Perkimon Creek for a half mile

As you can probably see why, I enjoy walking this section of the trail and do so fairly regularly.


Ye Olde Car

I guess the little white haired lady that only drove this car to church, missed a turned one day on way home. I am sorely puzzled by the lack of orange coneheads in the vincinity. Perhaps they have enough sense to avoid the nettles.


Ye view from the other side

I think some prospective buyer probably kicked a tire a wee bit too hard.


Virginia Bluebells and Gnats in the setting sun

Legs stung, but photography mission accomplished, I bailed out of there. I hope you don't mind, but I decided this car wasn't "good enough" for the spindle.

Puzzle Picture

As of April 26, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Steps: 2,587,972
Miles: 1083.43


Taken with the IggyCam
- near the Lansdale, PA Post Office on April 23, 2008

Hmmm... shall I get a 500, 750, or 1,000 piece puzzle? I think even 30 would be difficult enough for me.

It's National Be Nice to OSB Day

As of April 25, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Steps: 2,568,984
Miles: 1075.65

The Federal Communications Commission Equal Time rule requires us to have a National Be Nice to Orange Striped Barrel Day since we had one for the Orange Coneheads. Ugh. Do we have too?!? Oh well here is it. Restrain your exuberance and shouts of joy, please.


If they are lonely, consider getting them a pet, maybe an alligator



If they are stuck in plastic, think about finding the store manager to get 'em out



If you wear one, consider wearing underwear



If you got your camera and it is out and handy, and you feel like it, take a picture of one and make it feel good



If you find one next to a port-a-john, you might want to call the highway department and have it moved a little further away



If you dress up like one on Halloween, you might tell people its an Orange Striped Barrel instead of a creamsicle like you usually do



If you wear one to work, you might tell people, oh just tell them you are unemployed



If you are a true geek, you could put them on wheels and make robots out of them



Lastly, you could to this...



...so they get all the dents out of them, and be nice and not tell them you are gonna run them over and put the dents back in tomorrow

There could be a lot of things you could do on National Be Nice to Orange Striped Barrel Day, if you feel like it, I guess.

My Grandmother

It occurred to me, that I have never included a picture of my Grandmother in any of my entries on her. last night I found some pictures of her in an envelope in my desk. I have a great many memories of her but in this entry I recall some of those that make me smile.


My Dad's Mother

My Grandmother drove some of us batty with a couple things she did...

The one thing that stands out in my mind was she always spent two days cleaning the house, even taking the mattresses off the beds to clean the bed slats - before the cleaning lady came. When the cleaning lady did come, Grandmom would spend the entire time she was there talking to her in the kitchen seated at the table drinking coffee and sharing apple cake. They were best buddies :)


Me, my Dad (in the back), and his Dad
- with some fish at Beach Haven, NJ, Summer 1973

My Grandfather always winked at me and said he didn't care who or how the house got cleaned, the money he spent resulted in a spotless house.

Grandmom lived through the Great Depression too... but even 40 years later, when she would go to a restaurant, she would take the packages of salt, pepper, sweetner, ketchup, jellies, and even the sheets of paper towels from the bathroom and sneak them into her purse. I remember my Great-Aunt (My Grandmom's Sister) taking us to the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, CA for lunch, and bear in mind, lunch was expensive even then! I think this was 1972-ish judging by the date of the fish picture with me wearing a San Diego t-shirt.

After lunch in the lobby, my Great-Aunt in a very loud voice after my Grandmom had swiped some towels from the ladies room, "For GODS SAKE Edith!!! If you are so poor, I'll BUY you a roll of paper towels!!!" The whole lobby fell into a hushed embarrassing silence.


Grandmom with my two brothers
- outside her house in Philadelphia, February 1973

But you know... she was like a Momma bear and her Grandsons like bear cubs... she loved us, no matter what awful things we did... unconditionally and totally completely. The worse scolding she ever gave us was a rigorous shaking of a big wooden spoon she used to use while cooking pies and cakes for us, saying "You better behave!!" all the while smiling at us.


Grandmom and Me
- outside her house in Philadelphia, February 1973

Gosh I miss her and yea, she was and is loved very much.

Mile 1066 - Bypassing Courtland, VA

As of April 24, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Steps: 2,548,876
Miles: 1067.41

Courtland Virginia's only claim to fame, it seems, is it was the setting for the Nat Turner trial and execution. And who was Nat Turner?

Nat Turner, (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an American slave whose slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, was the most remarkable instance of black resistance to enslavement in the antebellum southern United States. Before Nat and his brigade of rebels met resistance at the hands of a white militia, 57 white men, women and children had been killed.

Nat eluded capture until October 30 when he was discovered hiding in a cave and then taken to court. On November 5, 1831, Nat was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. He was hanged on November 11 in Jerusalem, Virginia, now known as Courtland, Virginia. His body was then flayed, beheaded and quartered.

They certainly didn't believe in years of appeals back then. "Cruel and Unusual" punishment didn't mean what it does today either - I guess they really wanted to make sure he was dead.

Slavery was an ugly thing -

Source

Hieroglyphics

Writings From the Attic, Part Two

Yesterday was the funeral service for Iggy Harold O. Conehead. There was no viewing, and the empty coffin remained closed. Iggy is survived by his parents, Harold and Delores O. Conehead, as well as his sisters, Samantha and Heather, and his brother, Jayden.

Delores asked me to read something I had written a number of years ago during the service for Little Iggy. It was with great sadness that I did so.


Photo Source

It was a cloudy night but the ethereal moon shone full, the waves of the surf babbled quietly in the intermittent glow. A muted call or two, were the only sounds of a content sea gull, for God cast his outreaching hand to warm the soul burning low.

He reached for me as to ease the troubles mine, and gladly I spoke to him, our dialogue fine.

A calm starry night it was, that danced with glittering moonlight, the heavens remote seemed to be ever closer and reachable. My spirit barren was soon renewed, it ascended at the sight, I shed my shoes and waded the cresting wash, t'was like a fairy fable,

Dyed the waves were, white moonlight, pale blue earth shine. Sea salty foam and wind created energy divine.

The tides of time wash away the harsh lines of weariness and make one meek, much like the surf takes care of the sand castles and any other man made remnants. The storms of the seasons pass beyond reason, one's memory ebbs and peak, the moon also, fades to return full glow, in tune to an eternal chant.

It is a magic time, night surf-side, the soul to dine, It grows content as if imbibing a pleasant warming wine.

Amid the night I stand and watch, beside me a friend to my delight, One I treasure much and hope in God's outreaching hand, safe she keeps. The serene whale, soul untroubled, sings loves songs with all his might, and in the soothingly regular and gentle waves, the happy dolphin sleeps.

The cool breeze blows placidly, smelling full of brine. It is at such moments as this, I'm glad this life is mine.

I returned to my seat and watched the remaining service -



I was completely dumbfounded, when I saw Samantha lead the flag draped coffin from the room. She leviated it telekinetically while "Amazing Grace" was hummed, err, sang? piped? I guess piped would best describe the sound they made blowing air out the round opening at the top of their heads, by the rest of the family as they followed.

It's National Be Nice to Coneheads Day!

As of April 23, 2008 at 7:30 AM
Steps: 2,529,659
Miles: 1059.53

It's National Be Nice to Orange Conehead Aliens Day!



If they are lonely, give 'em some company!



If you find them fallen over, be nice and stand 'em back up



If they need a little love, give 'em a big ol' hug



If they need a bath, be nice and give 'em a nice hot steamy one



If they are stuck in shrink wrap, set 'em free!



There is a million things you can do to be nice to 'em today!
- You could even take one sledding!



As for me, I'm leaving this in the garage today