Last hay

[altivo]

Finally. The last load of hay for the winter got here at 8:30 this morning, so I ended up late for work. In order for the truck and hay wagon to get into the arena, we have to fold up the portable panels that make up Tess's pen. In turn, that means she stays in her stall or goes out to the pasture until the pen can be reassembled. Since I had to go to work and we wouldn't be unloading immediately, she stayed in until the wagon was parked and then we reassembled and put her into the pen as usual. Didn't get to work until 9:45, an hour and change late, but at least the hay business is settled.

Making NaNo progress, but slowly. Keeping up with the daily quotas now but finding it hard to exceed them, which I must do in order to make up the 15K words or so that I'm lagging the pace. Still hope to succeed though. I have plenty of material, just some of it is harder to write than what I usually do. More editing is going to be needed to put all the scrambled parts (written out of order) together in the end.

My desk is back to normal, more or less. Network problems are not. It seems that sometime while I was gone, someone added enough data mass to the network file server that the overnight backup will no longer fit on one tape. Figuring out who and what on a Windows 2000 environment is not easy. Once again I'm reduced to pressuring people to get rid of old files instead of letting them sit forever.

In case anyone is still wondering, no MFF for me. Too big, much too expensive, it has outgrown my size tolerance I think, and I don't like Wheeling Illinois or the Westin at all. Snooty restaurants, inadequate parking, all contributed to my negative response last year. Not doing it again. Have fun if you're going, and be safe.

Now, back to the word processor for me.

Comments

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

I'm going to MFF because well, nrasser will be there. I really wish I wasn't. I could use some quiet time with friends. I agree; the con's too big, I don't like the hotel.

I guess I made the plans because I thought I'd feel better about it by now, and I don't.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, try to have fun then, since you're going. Like the curate's egg, it should have some parts that are still quite good.

I don't think I know nrasser unless by a completely different name. He appears to be secretive enough that all I can tell from LJ is that he has a cute icon. ;p

On the other paw, though, he must be pretty cool if he's enough to make the MFF madness worthwhile all by himself. Do enjoy it. At least it's time off work, no?

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

Right Reverend Host. "I’m afraid you’ve got a bad Egg, Mr. Jones!"
The Curate. "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellect!"

ah... and first published in November (1895)

Write on!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I rather like the more modern rendition. In the final issue of Punch back in 1992, they reprinted du Maurier's cartoon with a different and very contemporary caption.

The Curate: "This f***ing egg's off."

[typographer.livejournal.com]

Sorry I won't be seeing you. This will be my first one at the new hotel...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I hear they've made some changes that may help make the site more palatable than it was. Nothing's going to fix the increasing size and chaos though, and I just don't care for that.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear you are not going to MFF but I do understand the bit about the size and cost. How big is MFF these days?

I would say come to FF but you don't fly and it is a bit of a drive. They say we may have upwards of 1,000 attendees this year. o.O

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I first (jeez, I just typed that as "furst") attended MFF in 2004, and if I remember correctly, the attendance that year was under 800. I'd have thought it was too large even then, except that animist went out of his way to get me involved in things. By 2005 he had me leading panels and sitting on them so that I didn't have time to notice the direction of changes. I also started fursuiting that year, and you don't see as much of what's going on from inside a suit. ;p

Thanks for the invitation to FF, but you're right. Under the present conditions, I refuse to put up with airports and air transport period. Driving to Texas or taking Amtrak to the nearest point and driving a rental car from there would be conceivable, but if you're already breaking 1000 attendance then FF is leaving me in the dust. As you know, horses work best in small bands, rather than groups the size of buffalo herds. XD

MFF attendance is sitting close to 2000 I think and will probably increase substantially for 2009. The crowd seems to be getting younger and more noisy and uncouth every year. Yes, I'm a greymuzzle but I deal with the public daily so when I say that MFF attendees are becoming exceptionally rude, thoughtless, and rowdy, I think it has some validity. The hotel is (or wishes it were) a bit too "upscale", and is sadly deficient in parking and social space. The restaurants immediately around the hotel are much too expensive and mostly too snooty for my budget and tastes, as well. Or, in brief words, last year's con was more of an ordeal than it was fun, and the physical arrangements worked out such that I never even saw half of my friends who were there.

Six or seven years ago I'd have told you that furry conventions were outside the pale of my existence. In spite of an aberration that lasted a few years, I suspect they really are inappropriate for me. I've been urged to try RainFurrest but that one is even farther away and seems to be growing at an astronomical rate too.

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

Oh, right, Nrasser's LJ is kind of friends-only, like mine. I'd say it's worth friending him and seeing if he'll return the favor. He's a pretty level-headed and intelligent guy, about my age, very handy with anything mechanical or electronic.

I cancelled my time off work for Thursday and Friday to relieve work stresses. I'll go up Friday after work. Maybe I'll still take Monday off and work from home Tuesday and go visit the Kiddieland auction.

Thanks for the simile of the curate's egg. I think, for me, MFF is more like the old sense of the word. It could be really really cool except for the parts that are ruined for me personally. Those parts pretty much make me wonder why the hell I tried.

Except that I'm keeping my commitment to a friend.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. Share a few hugs for me. That part I'll miss.

OK, I'll friend nrasser and tell him you sent me. XD

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

From the sound of it MFF is too big for my taste as well. Maybe it's age but I just don't have the patience or temperament to deal with the younger crowd.

If I am not mistaken, FF had about 600 last year and they are predicting that there is a really good chance they will double that for 2010. Not bad for just the second year.

In the grand scheme of things 1000 or more is going to be a bit rough for me to deal with since I really don't like crowds. However, since a lot of my local friends are on staff I just can't turn my back on them....so I have offered up my services as a volunteer. :P

If you ever do decide to trek this way then we do have an Amtrack stop in downtown and I'm sure we could make arrangements to get you picked up and dropped off if need be so you wouldn't necessarily need a rental.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Random comment:

I totally did that yesterday talking to a non-furry friend (furst instead of first) and immediately groaned at myself for doing it. So that made me laugh.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I sorta thought Amtrak came somewhere near there, at least at the moment. It's under constant threat of being dismantled by Congress and/or various state legislatures that subsidize the services.

Yeah, 1K of 20-somethings with a few good handfuls of 18s and 19s thrown in is way, way too much at once. I avoided such things even when I was 25 myself. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Fur real? ;p

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*smirks* Funny. :)

I never got into the habit of writing furry like that so I don't have to break the habit when talking to non-furry friends, etc.

I do however have to watch and make sure I don't sign a work email as 'Storm' ;)

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*winks* I can always dip into Kevin's Xanax prescription if they get on my nerves too badly.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Or answer the phone "This is Stormy"? I think kaysho has done that sort of thing a few times, but he can almost get away with it since Kaysho is his middle name.

I'm not in the habit of using "-fur-" spellings, actually, so I don't know where that came from. I do write "on the other hoof" a lot, though. Probably just comes across as an eccentric mannerism.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*grins* Good one.

I am more accustomed to writing my furry name than speaking it or being called that by someone in real life. I would really have to be way out there to slip up and answer the phone 'Storm' or 'Stormy'.

However, I did almost slip up at lunch and blurt our 'Storm' when we were talking about something. I forget what we were talking about but it had something to do with the online world. :P

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Im not really in the habit of using them, and I'm not really a fan of them either, outside of a few specific uses. That's why I groaned at myself for using it, and why I found it funny that Tivo did the same thing.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*nods* I would have to say that I am not a big fan of them either. There are a couple of exceptions where it is cute and funny but to alter the way you write all the time...no.