Three for the Road. (The one in then middle looks crazy!) Chuck Pace © 2007
Last night I felt the pull. I had been away for so long I had to get back, if only for a few minutes. Monday I did not go to the Chatterbox. I got calls, and text messages and queries due to my absence. I missed an opportunity to teach and inform. I let down my constituents. So last night I thought I'd canvas the old stomping ground (I must have stomped in there once or twice) and I broke down and waived my abstinence from the box. The crow was sparse indeed, but hearty. There was no mens' club per se, no no Mel, or Mike or Rich. There was no ACT crowd, no musician friends, or Kay and her crowd. But there was Bill Brooks, and Jack and Joan, and there was also Mark Smith, Travis D. and David and as always the lovely and talented Deanne playing taps, and pumps and corkscrews to a wonderful industrious tune. Travis was there with a person I met once, I had to stop in my tracks, study her face for a minute (flip through my mental file-o facts, and astound the assembled three), and proclaim her to be Sarah Beanblossum, who worked with (and now without) Travis at YAIndy. The crowd oohed and ahhed as though I were The Illusionist and had produced a pair of blackbirds from my gloves. She grew pensive for a whit, and said oh you are the guy with the web site. I really need to go check it out I guess. I thought my work here is done.
I sated a small thirst with two beers, and asked David if he were attending the evenings competition of ball and basket action whilst the Celtics were in town for more than just a boree. He said, " 'deed we are," gesturing to Mark and Travis as his coconspirators to the evenings sport and entertainment. I then offered to return Travis' kind favor of a few weeks ago and cart them to the arena in my fine if filthy fliver of Bavarian lineage, and spare them the cost of commercial comportment. They heartily agreed and I wisked them to Chesapeake St. before continuing home to my fine and festive lassies at me own humble abode. And that, your honor is how I came to tie Travis n a fair game of the Fare Game!
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Prism Break! ChuckPace © 2007
So the Pacers were not so gallant in Detroit last night. They did manage to tie the game in the third period before the forces of evil were able to prevail. There was no three-point barrage (on our side of the court anyway) or awe inspiring comeback, just a defeat. But the next two games are again at home in the fieldhouse, Tuesday against the Celtics and Friday against the leagues other super-team the Lakers of Lost Angles. Let us see if the Fantastic Four do as well against these mighty nemeses.
The picture above? It is a very artistic way of looking at a camera failure. On Saturday a customer brought me a camera that most likely had taken a tumble or a blunt force traumatic impact. I put a store memory card in the eunuch, and the result was the rather ballsy image above (after a little fondling of its curves in photoshop).
So this is a short one, that may or may not post al all, depending on wether the program goes down, or if it is allowed to up-load. Now return your mind from the gutter and get to something productive. Nave!
Chuck Pace © 2007
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This is the second time to try to upload this post this morning (1st attempt was at 6:26 AM).
There were two more attempts before finally uploading a day late, aaaarrrgghh!

Rob Toasted Mike Novak © 2007 Used with permission.
Saturday was a quiet day at camera-central, so quiet that Mike Novak's photo of Rob Collins may have been the bright point of the day. There certainly was a spark of brilliance if nothing else. Then there was coming home to the proposition of no football for a week. I sat around with no reason or purpose. Jenni and Meredith had been shopping or some such. Jenni had a coworkers retirement party to attend, Meredith was waiting for a call from her friend Jessica. Time passed, I played some computer solitaire, Meredith napped. Time passed, Jenni came home and she and the Meredith went to Fazoli's. I watched the second half of the Pacer's game.
If this is how it is going to be without Football I may go completely insane. And there is still the big game. THE BIG GAME! The reason that you play the other 18 or 19 games, to be in the big game! It's just one weekend without football and already I'm stir crazy. The distraction in an otherwise dreary existence is most crucial, sure there will be Nascar soon, and the Pacers are 3-1 without Rooney and Shooter Jackson so they may fill in the gaps some. But still Football has been my number one since I can remember. One of the very first books I ever read cover to cover was the biography of Bart Starr I must have been nine or ten, and it took me longer than the football season but I got through it.
O.K. back to the Pacers for a minute. That second half last night was far more than a distraction. Danny Granger took the entire team on his back and willed a comeback, and the team came with him. The pacers who were only 29% from outside the arc for the season rained threes in the second half, and finished at 50% from "The Deep." None were deeper than Marquis Daniels third quarter buzzer beater from between the opposite 3-point arc and the half court line. I suppose I could watch games like that.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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There is nothing more disappointing than a computer meltdown. I have been having a few troubles with the "new" refurbished iMac (original style) since I got it. Now it won't read or play CD's (so of course burning them is out of the question) and I've been getting the frequent crashing of the web software too. So something is afoot! It's name frustration.
Speaking of frustration and disappointment. Last night was week two of the Thursday Pizza and Beer league. The first disappointment was that nobody returned my leather coat and personal belongings. The second was that Travis was ill and could not attend, and that's two weeks the bowlers who were there had to pay for the absent ones in order to get the much needed title of the league items. I had a see-saw type of night and managed to fall under my average on the corner games and establish a new lower average for week three's exercise. Brandon Hoffman, promised to be entertaining with his performance and struggled, Rich did give him some pointers and his third game was a marked improvement over the first two. Then there's Melissa Gallant, she established a 100 average last week, and had a 315 series this week (with her two highest games in league) and a high of 119. Her average will be 102 next week.
Last week Melissa was calling me Captain, My Captain. This week Brandon, who was wearing a Flash t-shirt ( a serious comic book devotee) decided I should be Captain America. Melissa also wobbled so many singles (was tapped in other words) that Brandon and I both started calling her "The Wobbler." I feel like I should be 'Captain inconsistent' Last week I had three games all around 156 and ended with a 156, this week 154, 172, 130 and ending with 152. Not good. Well we'll see how tonight goes before I retire from bowling all together. Maybe next week someone will return my stuff, and I'll be able to do my (bowling) stuff, and Travis will stuff the roster and all will be sunny in Philadelphia. Maybe next week I'll be the Captain. Or, maybe next week the ship will sink.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Time out! Foster and Dunleavey look on late in the game. Chuck Pace © 2007
I saw some Colts players last night; Brian Fletcher , Cato June, Reggie Wayne and Booger McFarland. They were at the Pacers game against the Miami Heat. The 'new look' Pacers did not look to great for the first three quarters, but managed to stay in contact with the "who's who" Heat roster. You know; Dwayne Wade , Gary Paton, Alonzo Mourning, Antoine Walker and Shaq, all of whom played last night. That is an intimidating roster to say the least, but our guys stepped up and in the end forced an overtime and ended with a 96-94 victory. I was impressed with Mike Dunleavey's hustle (it was like having two Fosters on the court at times), Troy Murphy's double double, and Ike Diogu contributions as well, I can only see this team getting better as they play more reps together and learn each other's strengths.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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It is clear to me that I have no control over how the computer is going to treat me. I need to report a failure in the latest version of my web authoring software, as it crashes a lot when it it supposed to be up-loading to my server. This has happened to me three times in as many attempts, the last two mornings I have been able to save my thoughts before attempting an upload, (which has unexpectedly quit) but the most recent offering, done a mere hour before this one crashed while saving, similar occurrences I've had the distinct pleasure of reporting to Apple about twice this month also. Apple did not create the software that is giving me these moments of joyous glee, but the do work with software developers and report the problems that Mac users have with their software, so I send a report occasionally.
When I got home Jenni was heating left-overs, Meredith was wanting to watch a DVD and I was eager to crash the program again. I started the up-load process on the saved attempts which takes a good bit of time (usually 40 minutes to an hour) and usually crashes when it is already too late to re-attempt a re-load before I go in to work. The eating portion of the evening came and went with the portions, and the upload process was in process of uploading. Meredith then decided it was a good time to accept that which had been offered. Rich had offered her the use of one of his two vehicles, since like me on the night that my jacket was stolen, he can't possibly drive two cars at once. So Meredith and I made an excursion (there was not really an Excursion-- a Ford product about the size of Rhode Island on wheels --involved), to the Culy plantation and she borrowed the Grad Prix. Upon arriving home it was show-time, so I didn't even check the main-frame in the World HQ for the expected "unexpectedly quit dialog box" until after the movie. Since I was expecting the dialog box, it was not there. the site was global and I decide to start the next one for a shortcut for tomorrow. I finished it and tried to save it, that's when the unexpected happened (again as expected) and it crashed while saving, effectively rendering an hour and a half of my time moot. This time I am copying the whole thing into the buffer (which can then be loaded into word and imported back into Rapid-Weaver upon re-launch) just in case it crashes again, and saving periodically. It has already saved my bacon once since the re-write began. So what was the movie you might ask (I know you would if you could, so in humoring you I am allowing you to humor me, so here goes). The Movie we watched, since you asked was "The Illusionist" a beautifully filmed cinematic achievement, which I only found out after watching was indeed nominated for an Oscar the very day I saw it. I will be adding this to my recommendations pages as soon as I can (barring and/or expecting crashes). Wow, am I brilliant and psychic or what! So here is the second, completely different bitch, er, I mean post about the posting process, and now I can go to bed.

Chuck Pace © 2007
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Yes I did that twice on purpose, unlike the posting twice to get one up once.