Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Blogger, Google Thyself!

Who doesn't love a quote from the bible? I'm gonna guess Atheists!
Of course, the correct quote is "Physician, heal thyself".

Actually what I meant by the title is that bloggers or just regular old people should Google themselves once or twice a year. My, that doesn't sound nice. Oh, why don't you just go Google yourself! Dirty! But it can be a good idea. Let me explain. I recently Googled my name and was reminded that I had submitted some pictures to the ODNR. They never notified me about them using them but I wouldn't know if I didn't Google me(the pictures are here, at the bottom and here). I also now know there's a fellow in Wisconsin who shares my name and owns a bar there, the "5th Quarter Sports Bar and Grill" (free meals? I doubt it). I understand this isn't earth shaking but you should know about you even if its not you. How is your name being used or portrayed? What if you see something that leads you to think your identity has been stolen? Lost relatives? I'm sure you get the point.
So, don't take this the wrong way, but why don't you just go Google yourself!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Waterloo 7 Art Gallery

Yesterday we went to the 1 year anniversary of Blue Arrow Records and went across the street to visit the Waterloo 7 art gallery. Even if you spend a few hours there I would recommend coming back because I don't think you can take it all in at once. Several different artists are represented including Jerry Schmidt the owner, his son Tyler and ERU, a local artist. Mainly sculptures, but with paintings, blown glass, photography and hand crafted jewelry, the world of art is well represented.

We are planning at least one return visit on April 10, 2010 6 to 9 P.M. for "The 1st Annual Wine Tasting Charity Event to support Battered Women of Northeast Ohio". The cost is $20/ticket and a portion of the proceed will be donated to The Domestic Violence Center of Greater Cleveland.
This is just one more in a series of fundraisers and community events that Jerry either hosts or participates in like the upcoming fundraiser he's hosting at Waterloo 7 for the NCFCP (North Collinwood Feral Cat Project) on May 22, 2010.

Beginning March 16 through June 25 Waterloo 7 is having a liquidation sale to clear his gallery and facilitate a move to a better location (still in the Waterloo area).

Friday, March 26, 2010

Anthony Sowell/Cleveland Torso Murders

Recently on our Torso Murders site we added this in theories:
  • Mary(site owner) thinks: John Doe #3 doesn't belong with the rest of the victims. Reasons: the only Westside victim and the only one who was actually killed at  the same sight where he was found. To me, this does not fit in with how the other victims were killed and found. When the Lady of the Lake was found it appeared to be a random, gruesome, stand alone crime. Once other victims were discovered, police still would not  include her as the first in the long line of torso victims. Hmmmmm....maybe they excluded the wrong victim!
  • Jim(site owner) says: In light of what's happened recently in the curious case of one Anthony Sowell, when you look at the list of victims you should realize there might be spaces between victims. In Sowells history there were people he didn't prey upon and if he did, they survived. Sometimes I think the chemistry between prey and predator triggers a response that doesn't happen in other circumstances.  I wonder if what we see as a list of victims is only a list of the final act of a play no one ever saw besides the two participants. There are clear overtones of some type of sexual connections among the bodies. We learned from Dahmer (and others) that some victims are more than willing to be victimized. Some people Sowell met ended up meeting their end while some escaped or just walked away, no wiser. I just think that when we see a list with 14 names on it, we should realize it could have been higher.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Leave it to the Beaver

Yesterday, after work I decided to see what was happening at Sunset Pond in the North Chagrin Reservation. I was hoping to see some Wood Ducks but they weren't there.

However, a big beaver was there. I've seen beavers before but not this big and to top it off, he or she came right at me! Good photo op, right? Nope! I mean I got some good shots but the experience unnerved me because he came so close. 





It was like he either didn't see me or didn't care. So, it swam right to me and I sort of moved out of the way and he changed course, you guessed it, right back to me. As he or she, IT came out of the water, I completely forgot what I was doing and blew the shots! Some pictures are okay but others are way over exposed. 



So now I feel like a dork and wondered if I panicked a little or not. Turns out not so much because "The Beave" does attack! Good to know. Yeah I got curious and found some YouTube showing what can happen if you don't respect a beavers space. So, in closing, never under estimate a beaver!








Saturday, March 20, 2010

Birth of a Website

I've been busy putting together a website for NCFCP.org, a non profit. This process can be intensive and takes lots of cooperation. The steps are:
  1. Identify a URL and register it
  2. Come up with a mission statement
  3. In this case, look at templates available
  4. Choose a template
  5. Since it's a template, go through the motions of filling in the blanks.
  6. Pictures, info, links
  7. Publish
  8. Update
This was a week long process that required numerous emails back and forth but resulted in what we think is a good site with good intentions.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Recent Books I've Read

I've been busy so I haven't posted like I should. After reading "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston, I went on to "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky then plowed through "The Grifters" by Jim Thompson.

"The Hot Zone" was a good scary read about the Ebola virus family, it's effects and somewhat of a history.

"Cod" is a historical narrative explaining the fishes effects on the growth of various nations and ultimately those same nations effects on the fish themselves, which, unless you've been living in a sardine tin for the last 30 years, you might be aware of.






Finally, "The Grifters" was a nice quick book about three con artists, "grifters" and their relationships with each other. Chances are you've seen or heard about the movie made from the book with Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Bening. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie so I can't tell honestly which one is better.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Mice for Laptops

Skye, as far as laptop mice are concerned, I like either Logitech or Microsoft.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Starting to Thaw

Euclid Creek, Wildwood, Cleveland Lakefront State Park.