Random Update 6-28-16

On 06/28/2016 at 04:43 PM by Ranger1

This year is flying by, next weekend is the 4th of July weekend and it will be insane at work if the weather is good. I'm a little frustrated that the park is looking shabby, but due to a serious infestation of browntail moth caterpillars and their toxic hairs, we haven't been able to mow or weedwhack much at all in the past six weeks. I'm one of the lucky people that all I have to do is get out of my car on a dry windy day and I walk into park HQ with a rash. So no mowing, weedwhacking, or sweeping at all, and I have to be careful when repairing picnic tables, painting the buildings, etc. But there is supposed to be some rain in the next couple of days, so hopefully if we bust our butts, we can have the place looking decent by Friday evening.

Playing: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. It's OK, not as good as the first one, but it's growing on me. I'm somewhere in the second chapter, no idea how many there are, as I haven't had to resort to a walkthrough for help yet. I also finished off Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Symphonia recently. The idea is to finish off a bunch of the games I've started and then dropped for whatever reason before I start (or buy) any unplayed or new ones.

Reading: Absolutely nothing. Need new glasses with bifocals. It sucks getting older sometimes.

Listening: Went to a house concert last week, and also been to a couple of open sessions in the last couple of months, but haven't been listening to anything in particular lately.

Watching: Lots of stuff. Got into Hill Street Blues recently. Been watching Rurouni Kenshin in small doses. Saw a documentary about Lance Mackey, four time Iditarod winner, called The Great Alone. Rented Deadpool, was underwhelmed. Probably lots of other stuff that I can't hnik of off the top of my head.

Ranger Stuff: We have a deer that uses HQ driveway as her personal path to cross the road to get to the field. Hope she doesn't get hit by all the idiots who speed by doing 35+ in a 25 mph zone. Our osprey on the island have two large healthy chicks in the nest. Hope they remain so, but we had an eagle scoping it out. I really despise bald eagles, I'll just say that straight out. We also have a large number of deer mice living in HQ. So far, I've transported and released about a dozen in the last week or so. One was pregnant, and the last half-dozen or so have been little ones, about half the size of the adults. They're adorable, they look like the little mice in the game "Mouse Trap".

I'm off to clean up my kitchen so I can make myself a snack, and then it's back to ToS: Dawn of the New World.

Cary Woodham

06/28/2016 at 11:19 PM

Your woes of working at a park on 4th of July reminds me of when I used to work at a church. The week before Easter Sunday, I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off! It's hard to enjoy the holiday like that. At the church, Easter was busier than Christmas, if you can believe that!

Ranger1

06/29/2016 at 03:13 AM

I don't mind working the holiday, I just wish the park looked better. And yes, I can believe that Easter is busier than Christmas.

Michael117

06/29/2016 at 03:00 AM

I remember that year you blogged about the horrible rash you got from those caterpillars; it sounded awful. I really hope you can avoid all of that this year if possible!

06/29/2016 at 03:16 AM

Michael, I haven't gone home without the rash in over a month. At least I know what to do about it and can get rid of it in (usually) less than 12 hours. Both the guys in the booth have had it on their arms for two weeks and my boss gets breathing problems from it.

goaztecs

06/29/2016 at 10:49 AM

Wow those little guys really do a number on you. Sorry about the rash and hopefully you folks can get the park ready for the 4th.

I used to really like the intro music to Hill Street Blues but I don't think I've ever watched an episode.

06/29/2016 at 02:22 PM

Good news is that they'll be gone soon.

The first three seasons of Hill Street Blues are streaming on HULU. There's also a TV network called Heroes and Icons that airs two episodes a night from 9:00-11:00, and airs them in order. It holds up surprisingly well for a show that first went on the air in January of 1981.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 09:57 AM

Aw, I loved Deadpool. I understand it's not to everyone's taste though. The ending sucked and we saw a bit too much in the trailer, but I had a ton of fun with it.

Sucks about those moths and the lack of reading. Hope things pick up soon.

07/02/2016 at 09:40 AM

I think it may be the lack of nostalgia for the comic. Deadpool didn't exist when I was in full-on comic collecting and reading mode. Almost everybody else I know who's seen it loved it. Just wasn't my cuppa tea.

It's not the moths that are the problem, it's the caterpillars. Once they turn into moths, they're harmless. As opposed to the caterpillars, which are evil and I wish I could napalm the fuck out of. Good news is that it finally rained this weekend and I only have to worry about any leftover caterpillar hairs when I cut brush or work on the buildngs.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/30/2016 at 03:13 PM

did you ever play Tales of the Abyss? You know there's a 3DS version.

07/02/2016 at 09:37 AM

I have it for PS2. I don't think I'll get another version, my incentive to get my little abode in order is to set up a retro corner and if I keep updating games I really want to play, that kinda defeats myy goal.

KnightDriver

07/05/2016 at 01:21 PM

I started using reading glasses this year.

07/06/2016 at 10:39 AM

My sight is so bad that I'm kind screwed on both ends. I don't mind needing to get bifocals. I just want to be able to see. Luckily I have vision insurance through work that will pay for an exam and new pair of glasses every other year

07/14/2016 at 02:13 AM

That's a good deal. I need reading glasses that don't fall off my face.

PixlBit