CHEEEEEEEEESE!

I'm sure all of you recognize the above image...
HI KEVIN!

—

I exchanged e-mails with Kevin Kelly earlier this week, wherefore he informed me he had dropped a DVD in the mail for me. So as we speak, a plethora of Kevin's Ft. Rob '08 pics are making their way to my mailbox. Yay!

I believe he extended the same offer to the lot of you, but I'll still put some up here on the blog for all to see.

Thanks, Cuz!

-G

OLÉ!

No two words get this family's taste buds kicked into overdrive like...
TACO TOWN!

The Powell family generously imported Taco Town enchiladas to go with our tacos for the first night's supper. YUM. The leftovers helped Jeff truly appreciate the power of Twitter when he received immediate responses to his txt:

JeffWils: "Leftover enchiladas still good. What do they put in these things?" (01:04 PM July 30, 2008)

That powerful message got Dryden out of bed —
DrydenTheMeints: "Omg! I'm awake!" (01:09 PM July 30, 2008)
— and I heard Paula reported immediately to the main house.

I put Jeff's Twitter name in wrong, so I didn't receive that message in a timely fashion. Boo. But there were lots left over so I did get one of the leftover enchiladas. Yay!

An hour or so later, I was across the way sitting in the "Barista Kitchen" with Kelli, waiting for my latte to brew (thanks, Michelle!), when Ben Harless came in, a paper-towel-wrapped enchilada in each hand.

"Where's the microwave?" he asked. (Yeeeah... it's OK. Kelli and I both laughed, too.) He resigned himself to just eating them cold until I told him he could have a hot one (OK... well... fairly warm, anyway) in about seven minutes. Patience is a virtue, but leftover Taco Town enchiladas are a gift.

—

MUCH GRAS
While I'm thinking about it, a big thanks to Generation Three for providing the evening meals. That's a mighty big task, preparing a meal for 70ish people, so thanks for all your hard work.

Box hockey drama

Evan Johnson really got into the box hockey. Actually, he liked the sticks a lot better. Carried them around for hours whenever he could.

—

MONDAY JULY 28 — There were cheers to the east as Paula's Twitter reported the box hockey was loaded and ready for travel, followed shortly by an update that it might have fallen off. Such a scare prompted a call for prayer, Twittered immediately by Dryden:

DrydenTheMeints: "Dear lord, please protect and keep our sweet sweet wooden playing field..." (04:40 PM July 28, 2008)

BEHOLD, THE POWER OF PRAYER: The box hockey arrived safe and sound, and was a source of great fun for all, as expected.

All a-Twitter

Despite a few snags, I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the overall Twitter experience at Ft. Rob. I myself didn't get the mobile Twitter nuances quite right and so ended up out of the loop during the last leg of my journey, sending in a message or two here and there along the way that led some to believe I was receiving every one of their messages.

(A special thanks to Dryden for postponing the official Killer Bunnies rematch until Gina's arrival.)

Anyway, I'm sure some of you found the Twittering slightly annoying, but hopefully more of you found it to be a boatload of fun. (I know I did.)

I'm guessing so since I think some must have gone into Twitter shock... My notice about some new blog postings stirred up more than a couple of responses — followed by two notifications indicating Glenn Harless was no longer into it. Heh... teen-agers...

So the Twitters continued sporadically days after we'd all parted ways as a few participants checked in along their journeys home... with the rest of us jumping in. Fantastico!

I'll be pulling some Twitter gems out in future postings for those of you who might have missed out...

Feed the beast! (or, "A surprising lack of photos")

Where were stayed... a full house and a half. :-)

—

I was shocked to find out how few photos I actually took at Ft. Rob. Felt like I was always shooting, but my stockpile indicates otherwise. So I updated Slideshow Bob with what I've got, but...

I NEED MORE!

Kevin Kelly has my address and is sending me a CD of his pics. Until then, if anyone would like to contribute to the album, don't hesitate to e-mail me your pics: a1warlord@gmail.com.

Aaaaaand... WE'RE BACK!!! (or "WEBFAIL!")

Ahhhh.... air-conditioning and fresh towels. All the fresh towels I want, even. No charge. (Thanks, Kim and Craig!)

It was really great seeing everyone, and I look forward to combing through my photos and video clips. Probably not quite the selection Kevin Kelly has (I hear he's promised to send CDs...), but we'll see what turns up.

Even with all the pre-Ft. Rob scheming I did, I was still thwarted by limited access. I don't think it due to lack of signal, which I had. Therefore, I'll be doing some retro-posting in the coming days, so check back again soon. You'll all be traveling and unable to look at the blog anyway, right? Close enough.

My brother blamed the webfail on me having a Mac, given that he had no trouble getting his IBM Thinkpad fired up and working just fine. I think it was my Internet provider — rather, it's partner in coverage (or lack thereof), Alltel — unwilling to allow me to access the web outside of California. I will be seeking a refund of equipment AND access charges upon my return.

I guess I could have used Chris' set-up, but all my editing software was on my laptop. Plus, I decided I'd be better off focusing on collecting all the footage and photos and experiences AND THEN posting them up here. Or, at least, that's what I'm telling myself to keep the journalist in me from being outraged about the inability to do live updates. *sigh*

But all is well. I have lots of photos. Not as many as Kevin Kelly, I'm sure, but still a lot. I also have quite a bit of video footage to sort through and/or compile. Look for those in coming days... I know there's some good stuff in there.

Also, I'd encourage any of you to e-mail me photos or video clips that you want posted here. I'd be happy to get them up. Comment postings are encouraged as well.

Check back soon...

Aaaaaand... WE'RE OFF!!!

The FtRob Twitter feed is abuzz today with everyone shoving off on the last legs of their respective Ft. Rob journeys, ending about 36 hours of monumental technological advancements.

Let's recap:

*Lots of new txt-ers out there, diving into Twitter just today (welcome to the year 2008, Melissa, Tara, Judy and Ruth), thanks to Paula and Dryden at WWCC (West Wilson Command Center) getting their cells all signed up. A giant leap for the Brewers and Jeff's clan. Maybe Scott, too, later.

*Ben Harless tested the Twitter waters a bit last night. I'm thinking he'll be game later on, which means Glenn will be, too.

*Gina has barraged the Petersens with pleas to get them to join in on Twitter. Might have to get them online on site as well, by force if necessary. Same goes for the Powell troops.

*And yes, we've let Dryden loose on the blog. Well... mostly. ;-)

—

Seems like a few folks have just arrived. Kim, Evan and I will be falling in last, I think, due to arrive sometime around midnight.

Drive safe. See you all there.

(Save me a bed!)

-G

The egg stands alone.

There's only one left.

After days of cooking and baking and slapping of hands, a single egg remains. What shall ever shall become of you, oh white orb of solitude?

Here's how the votes tally @ The Farm (EASTSIDE, homz!)

Gina — Make half a Crumb Cake.
Lynne — Leave it in the fridge.
Mike D. — Eat it for breakfast... I guess.
Lynne — Can I change my vote? BREAKFAST!

Time will tell what the outcome will be. For now, DDNette has mobilized the baked goods into the camper. I was informed that Chris counted the Crumb Cake before he left, so any sampling that occurred in his absence WILL be noticed... unless Gina's vote wins.

-G

2WC Squared OR Battleship remastered

2WC squared: aka West Wilson Command Center. The product of four hours of nigh fruitless toil and little light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Objective: Twitter mobilization.

Location: Top secret

I'll explain. Paula and I have been slaving over hot laptops and overworked, underpaid cellphones for FOUR HOURS, sitting across from each other in Butch and Judy's living room. It's comparable to battleship. Except much, much more technological, and much, much more dangerous. Its been a brutal brawl of bandwidth, an intricate engagement of internet, a foul fracas of phones.

The outcome: Twitters have been obtained for all of (count 'em) TWO people. Myself, and my mother. Many questions have arisen, including "What is Twitter?" sent by my mother, uncannily late in the game. They have been forwarded to headquarters, at EWCC, and been turned over to the resident Twitter overseer.

The most eminent danger: All of the previous users are going to have to figure out how to "follow" the new ones, otherwise all our labors are truly for naught. We, being the brunt of the WCC, have legitimately considered using our overpowering numbers (again, 2) and password informant (Gina) to hack into every one of your accounts and force you to follow us.

More later, but as for now... our convoluted web of technology shall continue expanding... enveloping websites and phone lines and eventually... the world.

Twitterpated

(OK, I finally caved and used the obvious headline.)



Got a handful of folks signed up on Twitter "remotely" on Saturday, namely Ben, Glenn, Kelli, Mom and Michelle, with reserved interest from Dryden. Happy to extend the same service to anyone else...

But only on

SUNDAY!
SUNDAY!!
SUNDAY!!!


After that, I'm on the road myself.
Txt @ ya l8tr.

-G