A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

opinion

F-bombs flying around the ‘net

I try and make it a point to rarely swear in my writing.

In real life, I’ll let a few fly here and there, but I’m way better than I used to be back a few years ago. I try not to do it, especially because many of my friends have kids and such now. Still, I’m not perfect and they do get out here and there.

But my writing, it’s really rare.

There are times — such as with “Life with Earl,” or other things — where “minor” swear words are in my writing. And the big, nasty words? Yeah, I avoid them like the plague.

I did a search to see if I ever used the F-bomb in any posts on my blog. Three came up — two in 2006 and one in 2005. Back before I actually took blogging seriously.

All three of these posts came in earlier renditions of this blog, before I moved it to its own domain and started this baby up. All I did in that moment was take all the other posts and bring them there. I re-read these posts and can’t figure out why I did it. But there were some serious swears.

I’ve obviously taken that to a different level now.

But what is it all of a sudden with swear words — specifically the F-Bomb — being littered all over the place.

These are dropping all over the place!

Facebook.

Twitter.

Blogs.

Blog comments.

E-mail.

What is going on, people? Is is that fun to drop F-Bombs? I can’t think, honestly, of where I’d put it in my writing. Maybe if I was writing some fiction and there was a scene where it really was called for. Maybe a crime scene. Or a drunk scene. Or some comedian telling a joke where the F-Bomb was part of the joke.

I guess what really got my eye recently was a post I was reading about a blogger struggling with their blog etc. In the post were no F-Bombs or anything, which is nice. But the responses drew no fewer than 20 F-Bombs, including more than 10 in one response alone.

In my mind, that made the responses lose credibility. Where’s the need to use the F-word in these situations?

There are some blogs I read where the F-word is used almost as regularly as something like “the.” I’m used to it there because of style. But then I’ll come across blogs that are usually written well and sans swear words. Then, out of the blue, you’ll get something like this:

“Then I asked him, what the F are you F’n thinking, you F’N a-hole.”

My jaw usually drops.

As I said, I realize there are times when the swears work. Some fiction. Maybe when telling a true-life story and the words were used in a conversation you are quoting, or something along those lines.

But random uses? Come on.

My favorite are the blogs where the words are used like it’s an everyday, ho-hum word. I feel like I’m morphed right into the city when reading these blogs.

“So I went to the F’N store tonight and bought some F’N cold cuts.”

Hey, great job there, pal. I can’t imagine that is getting additional readers or hits. It’s not like there’s any shock value there.

Maybe it’s just me. As I said, it’s not like I have a clean mouth when speaking. I swear a times and, usually, after I do it, I want to slap myself in the head because it’s not needed 99.9 percent of the time.

But in writing?

Come on, people. It’s not needed. Remember, the Internet is open to many people of diverse backgrounds and ages. I realize people don’t have to read things, but sometimes they click on things or read comments on something else and the swearing isn’t called for.

So why don’t we clean it the F up?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! 

Part III: Is geocaching passing me by?

I got to find some larger caches last week, which was nice.

I went geocaching last week.

Yes, I admit it. In the hopes of not letting geocaching pass me by, I visited a local state park to do some caches I had never done. Some were easy, some harder. But in the end, the hope was to find a way to get the “caching bug” again.

It all leads me to the next installment of this series, however.

Creative caches (in the urban setting) vs. the old-fashioned ammo box in the woods after a fun walk and/or hike.

See, it seems in recent years that creative hides have become the norm. The micros go extremely far in testing a cacher’s mettle, patience and creativity when finding a cache.

Some of the “creative” hides I’ve come across in recent years include:

  • Cut-out logs
  • Fake mushrooms on trees
  • Fake pieces of gum
  • Fake bolts on guardrails
  • Fake sticks (sometimes in the woods)
  • Fake sprinkler heads
  • Tops of chain-link fences
  • Fake plants
  • Fake electrical covers
  • Fake rocks (sometimes in a pile of rocks)
  • Fake broken beer bottle
  • Flat magnet caches (can be on anything, including signs etc.)
  • Fake fruit (hanging in a tree)
  • Fake reflectors

Some others, which I’ve not personally found, but have seen photos of or have heard about:

  • Fake electrical outlet (seriously)
  • Fake cables (such as at the bottom of a phone pole)
  • Fake bugs/insects
  • Fake cigarette (seriously)

Of the caches above, I’ve enjoyed some. Others I’ve thought they were a waste. I understand being creative. But there’s a difference between being creative and just thinking you are all evil.

Is that the point of geocaching?

Being out on the trails is so much nicer than finding "creative" urban hides.

People have also started to actually unhinge official signs (such as on a electrical pole) and drill a hole, place a micro and put the sign back. You have to find the right way to remove said sign, take the micro, replace and get it all set. My issue here? Not only being potentially dangerous (depending on how it’s done), it’s illegal. I’m pretty sure most companies didn’t — and won’t — give permission to drill in these poles. I’ve seen this a few times and it blows my mind each time when I see it. I realize it’s supposed to be a “devious” or “evil” hide, but when you are doing something that likely has not been OKd, then it’s bordering stupidity.

There’s a difference between being creative and doing something illegal and potentially dangerous. I don’t say dangerous necessarily for personal safety, per say, but in the situation that someone could get in quite a bit of trouble if the wrong person/people saw them messing around with the pole.

Look, I have an evil hide of my own. It’s a nano on a square in my town. It’s easy to get, but it’s a tough little bugger. Over time, I’ve tried to make things easier (through hints etc.) because I don’t want people going away not finding the cache. I especially felt this way after once receiving a nasty e-mail about the hide.

I say right off the bat that it’s not easy and people may be aplenty. So I warn. But I also want to make sure people can find it.

Outside of that one, most of my caches are pretty straight forward. Some of them include harder puzzles (I know, many people don’t like puzzles), but I have a geochecker so people can check coordinates and I’m more than willing to help. When they solve said puzzles? It’s a decent walk to good caches.

I do, too, have a couple of park-and-grab micros. Some of those will be archived soon as I start my quest of placing more quality caches (and the archiving after a certain amount of time idea).

But that shows geocaching growth, I always thought.

Still, when I go to an area, I look around. I see micros. Many times, I see notes about evil hides. When I see a 3, 4 or 5-star difficulty rating, I know it’s going to be some sort of a “clever” micro hide. I don’t mind them sometimes. But it’s becoming more and more of the norm.

Seriously, the electrical cover cache is getting real old. It’s time to move on. Same with the fake bolt.

That leads me back to the beginning.

After writing the first two stories in this series, I decided I’d see what I could do. Get out and walk a few miles. Find a few caches. Take my time with things. And, let’s see what I could come up with.

So I hit up Gilbert Lake State Park, just outside of Laurens, NY.

For the day, I explored many trails and found about eight caches. Many were larger size, whether lock-n-lock containers or ammo cans. I took the time to look through the caches and reading the log books.

That also showed my point I’ve made a few times — nobody cares about the log anymore. A sign-and-dash and on their way.

There was one cache, however, that I enjoyed more than the others — Gilbert Lake Split Tree Family Fun Cache (GCAC2). It was placed in May of 2001 — a year after the game got started.

Though likely not the first finder, this was the first page in the log book at an old cache I found. Very cool.

For those who have logged online, I’m the 162nd finder of the cache, which is pretty cool. It’s historic and one of the, if not the, oldest active cache in our area. It’s a traditional ammo can, placed the way ammo cans often are. The find isn’t too difficult. The coordinates are quite good and the end result was a find of an oldie.

Though there was some useless swag in the box, the fin part was the log. Surfing through it was like surfing through some geocaching history in our area.

This also showed the trend I was talking about, however.

It was about 2009 or so when the logs in the book went from being longer and written out to signing just names. And that trend continues. I put a bit more than a signature in the log, but it really was interesting to see where things started going a little different.

Is it the smart phone? Is it just people not worrying about the log anymore. Is it more of a situation where people would (sometimes) rather write longer online (though isn’t always the case, of course).

Still, that the log book was in good shape and in the cache was a testament to the age and hide. It was fun to sift through the pages slowly and check out what people back in the older days of geocaching wrote. The funny part is that it seems like this was the first find for many people — whether local or not. The logs were longer, though. Some about their experiences. Some about finding the cache. Some just having fun with the log.

But they shared their experience.

I laughed at the one on the first page of the log that talked about taking a photo and that they will upload when they get it developed. Not many people use film anymore, so it’s fun to see that.

In the end, it’s nice to see some old geocaching exploits.

For the day, I had the chance to hike several miles, get outside and find a few boxes hidden in the woods. That’s what I think caching is about. I don’t mind the occasional quick grab, but it’s nice to still be able to get out there and find things how they used to be “back in the days.”

It’s proof, to me anyway, that one doesn’t always have to try and outfox another cacher or something like that. Take them somewhere, let them enjoy the area and let them soak things in. This is why I started playing this game and hopefully I won’t get chased out!

I have one or two more stories for this series and they will follow in the next week or so.

I do want to leave you with something from that old cache — one of the logs I found. It made me chuckle quite a bit, so I hope you enjoy it, too! (This is another reason to sift through the log books — you never know what you’ll find!)

This made me laugh!

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! 

Geocaching passing me by: Part Deux

How can we get some excitement back into caching? Let's take a peek...

I appreciate those who left comments to my first post about geocaching passing me by.

They were interesting comments and, it’s also seems that I’m not the only one who doesn’t have the “bug” anymore.

It also got me thinking about what could be done to fix this, so this will be my second post in regard to geocaching passing me by.

In the last post, I wrote about a few things, including the lack of good, quality caches and how Groundspeak has changed a lot of rules. With this post, I’d like to somewhat continue along that path.

Maybe not so much a rule, but a guideline.

When I first started caching, there were a lot of things that were done that are looked down upon now. Or not “allowed.” I think the game has been made “easier” for a generation of people who might not want to be challenged as much. Maybe challenged is the wrong word there. How about this — I think some of the newer geocaching generation doesn’t want to have to go above and beyond for a cache.

Don’t believe me?

Look at logs.

Most people don’t do much more than sign their name in the actual log. And online logs are usually short and quick. That could be for a couple of reasons — people don’t want to take the time for a good log OR the cache wasn’t anything special and hard to write about. If you don’t have an adventure, it’s hard to write something good, unless you repeat the same thing for every cache you found that day and/or just ramble about nothing in particular.

It's rare to see good in-person logs anymore.

I like to write good logs. But if the cache isn’t anything special, it’s hard to challenge myself to write a good log.

Note this, however — a good log doesn’t necessarily have to be long. Just keep that in mind.

Anyway, back to where I was going with this post. With Groundspeak changing rules and guidelines, why not change how long caches can be out in the wilderness?

I realize that there are some phenomenal caches out there that have withstood the test of time. I’m not advocating that everything should be archived. Far from it. I love finding the older caches because I think they are, most of the time, some great finds because it takes you back to what caching used to be about.

But I’m wondering if newer caches should have a limit.

Or even if this is possible.

Imagine if caches that have been out there for three or four years were archived and opened up spots to other people. Now, I don’t think Groundspeak or it’s crew of volunteers should do this. That would just be a waste of resources. But maybe if cache owners worked with this.

I look at it this way. There are many caches in our area that have been out for several years that don’t get hit too often. Mine hides included. We have a smaller set of people in our area who actively cache. When they are all found, the caches sit there for the people who come through. Realize the area is a tourist area, so caches can get hit during the summer quite a bit. But once they’ve been found, the hits start to dwindle.

When is it time to hang up a cache?

Though many of these caches might be good ones, if they are not getting hit, what’s the point? What about archiving some of them and finding new spots for caches? See, if you are in a park and have all sorts of caches there but they don’t get hit too often, why keep them there? Why not archive them and take people to new spots in the park? Or, open the spots up so others can hide caches in those parks?

One major issue, too, are multi and/or puzzle caches that require multiple stops.

I love puzzle caches and think multis can be fun and adventurous. But, if you put too many parts in a park, it can really close up great spots for hides. I know I had a great spot for a cache a few years ago, but I couldn’t do it because it was too close to a part of another cache — a water cache — that hadn’t been found in years.

So I got hosed.

I get the saturation rule of not being able to have a cache within .10 of a mile from another. However, if doing a multi-cache, you can have parts be very close. If that’s the fact, why not be able to hide a cache within those boundaries. Some people don’t do puzzle or multi caches. So it seems unfair that a person finds a great spot and then gets smoked because one piece of a 10-part multi is 300 feet away.

It’s happened to me more than once and it gets bothersome — and this comes from a fan of puzzles and multis. Imagine if you weren’t a fan of those caches!

There's no reason basic caches can't be archived and done up as a new one somewhere else every few years.

This all falls into one package, though.

If caches had some sort of a shelf life, then maybe there’d be caches out there for others to find a little more often. Again, I’m not saying all caches should last three years and be archived. If a steady stream of visitors keep going, well, keep them up. Or if they are great spots that take people to wonderful views or are milestone caches (such as golden ammo cans), then far be it from me to say archive them.

But the caches that get hit only once or twice a year and aren’t those super-long hikes etc., maybe it’s worth thinking about hanging ’em up and putting a new one out there.

That’s why I don’t think it should be a set rule, either.

There are some caches that are highly challenging — terrain or difficulty. Maybe it takes a 10-mile roundtrip hike. Maybe you have to climb a tree. I don’t think they should go. Keep ’em. High quality ones are beautiful to keep.

But the normal park-and-grabs?

Or the ones that are on a loop trail in a park that could be moved a .10 of a mile for a new spot?

Or the many-part multi that takes up a full park?

Maybe after 2, 3 or 4 years, it might be time to open the area up. Especially in this day and age with the economy as it is. It’s nice to know you can find caches in your area that are newer and maybe will take you to a new place of a park you know or a different look for a cache.

Could this work?

Who knows. But it’s an idea to keep things fresh in the geocaching world. Reality is games get stale. Things grow and move along. So do caches. The great ones will always remain. But the basic ones? Move them along and start fresh.

I look forward to hearing what others may have to say about this!

Note: I have several other items I’ll be dealing with in this series about geocaching passing me by over the next week or two. It’s my hope that by putting all of this out there, maybe I’ll get my “caching mojo” back and want to get back in it. It’s worth getting off my chest anyway, right?

Second note: I’ve renewed my Groundspeak membership and am heading out today to do a little hiking and some caching. We’ll see if I get the bug back. Even if I do, I plan on finishing this series of stories in the next week or two!

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! 

Book review: Growing up Amish

Growing up Amish

I had gotten away from reading books recently.

There’s no real reason to it. I had started reading a recent book from one of my favorite authors a while back and it wasn’t doing anything for me. Usually the books by this author are awesome and I get through them in a few days. But this one dragged and soon I stopped picking up the Kindle.

And it gained dust.

Wanting something new to read to get me back into books, I read a Kindle Single not too long ago. That got me back into things and I started searching for a book that I hoped wouldn’t lead me down that path of wanting to toss it aside.

I found it in a book called “Growing up Amish” by Ira Wagler.

This was well worth the money.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Amish. The lifestyle and everything else. When I went to school in Central Pennsylvania, I saw many Amish people in different facets of the world and it always was interesting. There are factions of the Amish in different parts of Upstate New York not too far from me and the interest has always been there.

This book had been on my Amazon wish list since shortly after it was released last summer, so I figured it was a good time to dig in. Especially being it was one of Amazon’s books that they lower the price for a certain amount of time and the Kindle version was $3.99. Score!

I’m glad I did.

In the print version, it’s nearly 300 pages. I got through the book in about four days and constantly wanted to continue.

The story is of Ira Wagler, an Amish man who wrestled with his heritage and his lifestyle. He left the Amish several times, much to the dismay of his family and community. He went back several times, but each time seemed to have a hard time wrestling with his future. Every time it seemed like he was going to continue down the Amish path, he would waver and go off track.

Now for some thoughts:

The good

Let’s realize something — the Amish lifestyle isn’t easy. For most of us out in the “English” world, we probably couldn’t fathom living that lifestyle. Especially with what we know is available to us.

Growing up Amish is a tad different. That’s the lifestyle that you’re born into and you’re used to.  That doesn’t mean Amish don’t get the urge or curiosity for something else.

This book provides the reader with a really clear picture about growing up Amish. Wagler is descriptive in many thing things and really allows the reader to jump into his shoes and see what it was like to be Amish, especially in the 60s and 70s. The old-school order of the Amish is really strong in its beliefs and Wagler takes you through what he had to live with. He wrestled with many things, from leaving his family on multiple occasions, to going back to the Amish.

He takes you through the school years, working, his thoughts and his life, including his attempt to fall in love and remain Amish.

Despite knowing the outcome and what he chooses, the book draws you in and makes you wonder about his decisions — and his final decision — and what he’s going to do.

His style of writing is interesting. It’s not something you see often as there’s many things that make you re-read a sentence. But his message is clear and his story is spot on. He gives the reader many details and many thoughts about the Amish and his life in that lifestyle.

And, he’s truthful.

He doesn’t hold back in his writing and I think that’s why this book has so many fine points to it.

This story has the feel of an “underdog” story. One man, in search of happiness … of his place in this world, with himself and with his beliefs, and how he overcame odds to be where he is this day.

The bad

Let’s go back to style. Some of his style is a little choppy at times. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but knowing how particular people can be when reading, it’s possible that some might get a little annoyed with the way he writes at times. I didn’t. I enjoyed it. But I wanted to point it out as something others might wonder about.

But this book is a New York Times best seller, so it can’t be all that bad with style!

There’s only one other thing I might put here — the aftermath. Though he does have a piece at the end that tells of his travels and such, I would like to know about his family. They were such a major part of the story, I think it would be fair to put that in there. Even if there was a date on it (As of Date, I am … etc.), it would be nice to know about his relationships with his family. Does he still visit them? Is everyone still alive? Are there other contacts? What ever happened with Sarah? He brushes over some of this in his epilogue about one friend, but outside of that, I was left to wonder.

The reality is, there weren’t many things I would classify as bad in this book.

Overall thoughts

I really enjoyed this book, as evident by my speed in getting through it.

What really was enjoyable was the “real life” feel to it and that it really gave the reader a chance to see inside the Amish world. There’s been all sorts of books and movies about the Amish, but I always wondered how much of it was real or made to be a tad different for the effect.

This isn’t like that.

Wagler is candid, descriptive and doesn’t seem to hold back. He tells the story about his life and brings you into it.

I didn’t always cheer for Wagler. There were times when I thought his decisions were extremely selfish — and that’s what made this really good. He didn’t try and paint himself as a saint of any sort. He painted himself as he was and is. That, in the end, made me cheer for him and made me want to see him succeed in life.

That’s the makings of a good book — when the main character can be good, bad and then good again.

In the end, I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a real story. This is real and about a world that many of us may never really know much about. But Ira Wagler gives us a glimpse into that world in a well-written way.

Rating

As you know, I try to be as true to a rating as I can. This one is tough. It’s not a perfect book, by any means, but it is oh so close to being in that category.

Especially because it’s true life.

In the end, because I would recommend it to everyone to give it a read, I’d give it a strong 4.5 stars. There were a few things that would keep it from that 5-star rating, but it was worth every bit I paid for it and it made me want more.

On the web

Wagler has a blog titled “Ira’s Writings.” It’s worth checking out, especially if you’ve read the book and are interested in learning more about him. Some of the people mentioned in the book are shown in older images on the site, so it’s nice to put faces to names.

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! 

Thank you, Peyton.

I’ve been an Indianapolis Colts fan as long as I can remember.

When I was younger and didn’t have a team I truly cheered for, my brother gave me an Indianapolis Colts sweatshirt for Christmas one year. It was the year the team sneaked out of Baltimore and moved to Indy.

His rationale (besides probably finding the shirt on sale)? It gave me a team to cheer for and one that was starting anew.

Oh those years were rough.

My favorite Colts player for many years was kicker Dean Biasucci because it seemed like he was the only one who could score with any consistency.

There was the Jeff George saga.

And so many other things. Oh man was there a lot of bad. Bad season after bad season. I honestly wondered if I’d ever have the chance of cheering for a Super Bowl champion in my lifetime.

Then there was the 1998 draft.

Could this be the draft that put the Colts over the top? Ryan Leaf? Peyton Manning?

I know who I was cheering for.

Peyton Manning.

And that wish came true. The team improved. Playoffs. Super Bowl hopes. Still, Manning was tagged with the “can’t win the big game” mantra. That was until 2006.

And Indy had a Super Bowl championship.

It was something I couldn’t believe I was seeing. The celebration was awesome. What a feeling to watch it all happen.

I didn’t think Manning would ever be in another uniform. Ever.

Our fantasy football league is auction style. Every year I paid dearly for Peyton Manning. People pushed me to the brink, but I always won him in the end. There was no chance. I overpaid this past year, knowing there was a strong chance he wouldn’t play all season. I went against my gut and followed my heart. Despite picking a great backup QB, I didn’t win anything, shockingly enough.

As the off-season came, the talk was on. Would the Colts cut him? Would Peyton Manning — with the iffy neck and all — be a free agent?

That reality came Wednesday when Manning and the owner of the Colts, Jim Irsay, held a press conference to announce that the two would be going opposite ways.

I didn’t see it until I got home and had read a few things, but watching Manning and Irsay get choked up got me a bit choked up, too.

It will be very odd to see him in another uniform (if, indeed, he’s able to play next year). I’ll slightly pull for him, but I can’t ever cheer for him to win another Super Bowl (unless it’s an NFC team… I might be able to pull for him in that conference). I hope, when it’s all said and done and his career comes to an end that he’ll be able to do the ceremonial one-day contract and retire as a Colt.

It would only be right.

They announced no other person would ever wear 18 for the Colts, too. It’s not “officially” retired, yet. But I imagine, once his career is over, he’ll have that retired right away.

It’s another building process for the Colts. It could take a while. And the end of an era happened today.

A new era begins soon and that will likely begin with Andrew Luck being selected as the No. 1 overall pick and the next quarterback for the Colts. The shoes he’s filling won’t be easy. The question is, can he do it?

Who knows.

But it’s still going to be hard to not see No. 18 trotting out on the field for the Horseshoes next year.

Thanks, Peyton. The run has been fun and it’s sad to see it end. But Colts fans will never forget this era.

Ever.

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!