I had an interesting weekend. It actually started last weekend, when I went to see the new lodge that has been built on top of Mt. Magazine, the highest point in Arkansas and for about 400 miles around.

The lodge is very new and fancy, has a conference center, a restaurant, an indoor swimming pool, hot tubs, kiddie pool, and about 65 rooms that all have balconies with valley views. Very nice. There are also a dozen or so cabins to rent. I took pictures, the link is below.

Mt. Magazine is a state park, and when I stopped at the visitor center I found out that they were hosting a bunch of educational programs the following Saturday (the 20th).

So I went back yesterday, mostly for the hang glider demonstration. Pictures are here [link]

(I uploaded the videos last, so they are at the front of the thumbnails. The better stills of the hang gliders are on the later pages.)

Turned out there were several other programs scheduled that looked interesting, so I planned to stay through the evening and drive home late.

Had a good time watching the hang gliders, and didn't get too sunburnt. Left after a couple of hours to go to the visitor's center for a program on the local snakes (my interest was mostly in how to spot them, recognize them, and avoid them).

It was a good program. The link above has a link to the pictures I took.

When the snake program was over I had a few hours to kill before the bat program and the astronomy program, and it was almost dinner time.

The restaurant in the new lodge is pretty fancy--and pretty expensive. I didn't feel like paying $15 or so for the buffet, or more for a la carte, so I drove down the mountain to Paris, Arkansas (pop. about 4000), stopped at the grocery store for apples, carrots, and a couple of deli sandwiches, and went to the town square to eat. I was trying out the new local free wifi hotspot when a guy rolled up on a Segway: [link]

I hadn't realized that Segway had a fat-tire version, but they do: [link] Turns out the local dealer is in Russellville, of all places. I've seen the city model (once) in Fort Smith, which was startling enough, but I really boggled to see one in Logan County!

I left Paris about 7 p.m. and drove back up the mountain. I stopped in at the big field where the astronomy program was going to be held later, thinking I'd scout the road and parking while it was still daylight. There were people already there and starting to set up their 'scopes, so I stopped to say hello. As I parked, something went wrong--the gearshift went wobbly in my hand. What the....?!!!

I pulled the boot up from the gearshift and felt around inside. The link at the bottom had separated. I was 15 miles from a mechanic, 60 miles from home, it was Saturday evening and almost sunset. Not dire, but not good.

Pulling two panels and four screws let me pull up the console around the gearshift. Turns out the joint was not the expected clevis, but a metal ball that fit into a PLASTIC socket, and the plastic had come apart. On the one hand, I faulted the design, because hey! it broke! but on the other hand, it DID last 150,000 miles.

A simple clevis with a bolt and a cotter pin would have been easy to fix. This was a bit trickier.

I scrounged some wire and some zip-ties from the astronomers and a state park ranger, and jury-rigged a repair. Pictures here [link] and here [link]

I gingerly drove home. One concern was (of course) that the repair would fail, but a bigger worry was that the state police have dedicated this weekend to a "Click It or Ticket" campaign, and with the center console removed I couldn't use the shoulder straps--the car has those irritating "automatic" powered (continued...)

( continues...) shoulder straps with the reels in the center.

So I missed the bat program and the astronomy program, but I was pretty happy to get home safely. Now I just hope that finding and installing a replacement gearshift link isn't too expensive. But that's tomorrow's problem....

Yow, dcp! Glad everything ended up OK.

I am loading up some new music to my iTunes. Some burned stuff that needs IDing, so I keep putting it off. I just waved extended protection for my iPod (4G 20gig) since I am almost to 30 gig on my iTunes and there have been two iterations of iPod since I purchased. Figure I will just buy new if it craps out.

I need to go grocery shopping. I have consulted the cookbooks and the fridge and have 4 meals planned. Nothing spectacular, but making use of what I have on hand.

Chicken in a cream and mushroom sauce
Fish in a lime/tequila sauce with fresh salsa
Chicken with capers and lemon butter
lentil and bulgar salad
mango yogurt couscous
shrimp and avocado salad

Wow, dcp. That would make McGyver proud.

This year's Lost party was nowhere as nice as last year's. I will miss doing security for the fan things, but I did think that the Angel party was going to be a one off for us. So it's been gravy.

I tried hard to convince Allyson not to stress. I probably made it worse. It works at krav when I do it. The problem might have been that she wasn't trying to kill anyone.

I want msbelle's food.

I am pretty sure I have the fixings for the Cook's Illustrated chocolate cupcakes. I think I'll go with a glaze this time, although now that I've heard of cupcakes with the ganache inside, I want to do that. Ganache inside, dark chocolate/coffee glaze on top? Mmmm!

Good walking, Jesse.

I am wandering in a pre-migraine haze. I need to eat, take pills, and do some lying around.

Oh, and Kat's dress was very pretty. I want.

All the recipes are super easy, but you're probably not up for shopping for stuff right now. rest.

Another thing I've realized over the past few days: Not only do I almost always pick a bar and grill when trying to think of somewhere to go (I brought my parents to two, without really thinking about it), I know where a TON of them are! At the end of AIDS Walk, we were all dying of starvation (got there at 8:30 am, there were not nearly as many snacks as promised, done at 2:30), but didn't want to spend a lot of money. Turns out, I know a perfectly good bar and grill next to Bergdorf's, across from the Plaza, etc. -- not a neighborhood you think of for cheap eats. But I came through!

I'm sorry about the problems with the Lost party, Allyson, but I'm glad that people were cool about it. Try not to beat yourself up too much about it. My mantra lately is: it's a learning experience.

Wow, dcp! I'm amazed that you were able to cobble the car together like that. And I'm so glad you made it home safely and ticketless.

I think ita's cupcakes would go well with msbelle's dinners. Of course, I'm really craving chocolate right now, so I think ita's cupcakes would go well with just about anything. Except not with the pre-migraine, which I think should go away for both me and ita. Migraines. Feh.

My cable remote doesn't work on my new tv. I thought they worked obn every tv.

Mine doesn't, but I thought it was because of the attached VCR and/or oldness. Have you looked on Channel 1000 or whatever?