when did they drop "devil" and become just The Rays? Where they not getting enough Baptists in the crowd or something?

This year. They changed before this first year when they didn't lose. I suspect there was some need to - not pander to but - appeal to people put off with the other name. They still have actual stingrays out in a pool behind centerfield.

Does it always take that much prep work for Halloween Horror Nights?

Yeah, we started installation on Sept. 10th. We did a preview night for the employees on Oct. 1 and we've been open to the public since Oct. 3. It's a pretty big event. We've been hitting 20,000+ people on many nights.

:: tacklehugs NoiseDesign ::

with that, I should go to bed. how did it get to be 3am already? How is it I did nothing all day? Oh right. The show is open! Oh, and the doing nothing all day thing... it felt GREAT! Didn't even open the work laptop. Fuck em. If only the Stargate discs were ready from the library, I'd have mainstreamed a whole season today, easy.

Man, it's like a whole other town, that side of the city. But there is so much good stuff, I can't blame you for loving it.

It really is-- but nothing can beat the West Side Market. Farmer's market on CRACK!

What I really loved about Hudson, though was that you had this little New England (as opposed to typically Midwest town) just outside of Cleveland, with this wonderfully funky Northern Exposure sort of vibe. We really thought we were going to be there for the long haul.

But alas--not to be, My tribute, however, was my fictional small town in Accent is completely based on Hudson.

ND, good luck surviving the Halloween Horrors craziness.

With any luck I will be picking up the loan check today and the car soon after. Then I have to figure out how to get the hand controls taken off the old car and have them put on the new car without being able to drive either car without them.

So if I were to say, "America's horror theme park..." would anyone know the tune I was humming? I think I only saw the commercial once almost ten years ago, but it's still in my head! Freaky undead earworm.

So there's this kid that comes in early every morning -- one of my favorites, sweet, hard-working, really adorable. He wears Christian t-shirts, he's in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, that's all fine. Sort of odd in a "I've heard of this phenomenon but never met one before" way, but cool. He's also the only other person in here when the Pledge comes on. Which makes it a little weird that today's T-shirt says, "ONE COUNTRY UNDER GOD." Especially since that's the part I stay -- respectfully! -- silent for.

I suppose this may go some way toward explaining why this sweet, compassionate, hard-working, African-American future engineer... isn't sure who he's voting for yet.

(Did I mention I think I'm living in Real America?)

It really is-- but nothing can beat the West Side Market. Farmer's market on CRACK!

Whoa, yeah.

What I really loved about Hudson, though was that you had this little New England (as opposed to typically Midwest town) just outside of Cleveland, with this wonderfully funky Northern Exposure sort of vibe. We really thought we were going to be there for the long haul.

The interesting thing about Ohio is that it isn't just a Midwest state. The Western Reserve IS New England - or was, once upon a time. It only stopped being part of Connecticut in 1800 or so. So the older towns in that corner of the state were definitely built on New England patterns. Hudson is one of those towns. And the rest of the state - well, along the Ohio River, it sure acts like an Appalachian area, and then the western part of the state starts acting more Midwest.

And the rest of the state - well, along the Ohio River, it sure acts like an Appalachian area, and then the western part of the state starts acting more Midwest.

Even just a few miles away, you'd see the difference. Whenever we had visitors, I used to love driving them straight from Hudson across to Medina. Hudson: part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and looked it, with the Colonial houses. A mere twenty-five miles away, Medina was part of the Westward expansion and therefore, has a far more Midwest appearance and vibe, with the houses having the front porches and more of a prairie feel to them.

It really brought home just what a vast distance twenty-five miles was, two hundred years ago.

It really brought home just what a vast distance twenty-five miles was, two hundred years ago

Doing my geneology, it's made it both easy and hard to find ancestors. Sometimes, I'll find a census where there's a string of family only houses apart, which makes it easy to figure out who's a brother, uncle, cousin, etc. Often, with the in-laws interspersed. Helps figure out maiden names. US censuses are only 10 years apart, so tracking folks after 1850 is pretty easy. I've found pretty much every ancestor after that census. Before 1850 sucks, because the census only lists the first name of the head of household and then chicken scratches for the number of males/females in the house by age. But then, following families across the border from Canada can suck tremendously. So close, yet so far. Those 20 miles and they get lost in the border crossing. My only hope is that it's a couple who got married in Canada because they keep pretty comprehensive marriage records that includes the bride's maiden name.

Timelies, all. I managed to get a bit of sleep last night. I'm trying to decide now whether I want to try to get some work done today or stay home and try to clean my apartment. Or maybe just rest for a while.