The thrill of live TV is always numbed when you are doing it at 5:30 in the morning. I did two segments on Daybreak today. You can see me whoring myself for the elephants behalf here.

The video link is off to the left.

Nearly lost my train of thought, but it didn't completely derail.

It's part of my job these days to be a bit of a media trollop. The first segment was on-air but not posted online (It was all me). I was worried that with the almost gone Bell's Palsy, I was going to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, turns out I just talk with my hands a lot for an Irish Guy.

It was early. I got a call from my dad after nine saying he thinks Mom was up for the first segment. What a whackjob. It went okay considering I was up at 3:30 and fighting with the Zoo security guard by 4:30. That type of segment used to be a little more second nature in the type of work I do, but it's been awhile. The first segment was up against the Elephants's railing where the eldest of the ladies was sniffing me and the interviewer up for treats.

Ah, the life of a star

A rare two post day...

It was staggeringly warm on Thursday so I peeled off the work clothes and headed down to Bird Island to just be down on the water. One of those days where breathing made you perspire...







It was a little windy...

There is something about Canal Fest in the Tonawandas that I can't quite put my finger on. I never went until I had to work it when I was still at Adelphia. Now I make a pilgrimage out to spend an hour or two watching people go by, munching on funnel cake and lemonade, listening to some crappy band and thinking the waterbikes look like a nice thing to be doing. It's like watching the parking lot outside the old aud before a concert in the 80s and early 90s where black t shirts and Miller High Life were the height of sophistication, but hell, sometimes a little funnel cake (no actual food in that food) can set you right.


I saw the ride below and thought absolutely no fucking way. I took the picture from my car. You are going round and round on that axis, while spinning on your part of the axis. I suddenly felt ancient as my stomach sent me a message "don't you fucking dare." I reassured my stomach that I don't do rides that are still attached to trailers. That seems wrong

More scenes of semi aquatic merriment.



Sadly delicious and not at all good for you.



Good cheap fun, I would have made it back for (e:Drew) 's movie at the UU church, but the latest Elmwood run, chase, 4k whatever the hell turned a usual 5 minute trip from Forest to my place into a friggin odyessy.

Chillin as best I can this weekend. Manipulated the media to cover the Zoo's elephant return on Thursday and have to do so again this week a couple times. Never dull, gotta love it. Stay cool ya'all.

Packed number one son off to camp this morning. It's his first time away from home, but after a week of talking him up it will be tougher on his mom and me than it is on him. He's a sensitive bugger but I think the week will do him some good. He should benefit from being away, but combined with his sister in the Adirondacks and him in Canada, it feels a little weird sending having the kids that far away. My eldest is running around saying for a week it's 1993 and she is the only child. I responded by putting her butt to work at the Zoo yesterday. Nothing like making 200 snowcones to keep you humble.

If you are sick of reading about me whining about Bell's Palsy, then move along, folks, nothing to see. But, despite sounding like I took a hard blow to the cheek, I got the nice pronouncement that full recovery is on the horizon. For the first time, I had to go to a nerve center. The Kaleida E.R. doc wanted me to go the Kaleida neuro center within a week of my diagnosis. The Neuro center said they could see me the week before labor day. The fucking point behind that escapes me. I called the E.R. doc back to relay this and he set me with the Dent Neurological Center--who took a look and with a refreshing blast of common sense, said another week and I should have it licked. I just have to get an MRI next week to make sure I didn't blow any other fuses. So, yay no more drugs. I've spent more than I can really afford on co-pays and prescriptions the past six weeks. Not a moment too soon either. The Zoo's regular p.r. person is going on vacation middle of this week, so guess who has to media guy for the next ten days. No big deal really, but the elephants come back later this week, so MrMike spokesguy will ride again. All praises to Dr.Pumpter at the Gates ER for being a good guy.

Facebook likes to screw with you. I got an email that told me that while I'm not real cool, I am nice, and I'm been voted a good guy to get stuck in handcuffs with, while I'm not very datable, I am kissable. That's quite a collection of mixed messages.

Blew a little spare change on Itunes on old bombastic stuff like Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Asia, & Mott the Hoople (there goes that uncool thing again), and it was a trip to have the acoustic version of "Roundabout" playing this morning. I guess not hearing them in sometime made these fm staples seem kind of new in a way.

My sprint contract is up next month, pretty sure now that (e:paul) and (e:jim) have done the necessary application trouble shooting, an Iphone may have to enter the picture before the summer is gone.

Thinking of writing one of my time honored grumpy letters to the Holiday Inn on Delaware for closing their pool club. You used to be able to pay 125 and swim as much as you want between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Thankfully, their bar would bring food and drink out if you wanted. We were members for the better part of 7 summers. The hotel had some issues last year and had no pool. I'm not sure of the mind set, but the pool club members basically funded the pool operations and this year, some Rhodes Scholar decided they didn't need the pool clubbers. Not sure why they decided to kiss off found money, but I'm not sure about a lot of things these days.

It's not too hot and rainy, maybe a field trip to the taste might be a good thing.

Enjoy Sunday folks.

Was sitting with the ex and her partner at Spot after work yesterday (I know, an odd picture) when our lovely daughter and one of her friends came cruising by. Young daughter looked upset at something. Her friend said "she has to talk to you guys."

She told us that one of the idiots in the apartment building at the one end of her street stopped her on the sidewalk and invited her to his place for dinner. Darling daughter replied that "my parents wouldn't like that." (We would not). Chucklehead says "they don't have to know." Within 10 minutes we are back at the house and sure enough, along comes jerkass. My ex whispers to let her do the talking and if he says anything even remotely stupid I can throw him into the tree.

I must admit, I admire the way she dressed him down. In a polite, even, unaffected way, she told him to stay the hell away from our children, all the while the partner and I giving the bastard the stink eye. He looks at me and asks "You, the Dad?" I nod. "uh oh" He starts to go and says something stupid. I stop him worldlessly and fairly effortlessly. He meets the aformentioned tree. The Ex to him "were you not paying attention?" Me to him "I think its time you walk home now....in fact maybe you ought to run."

Being as he is nuts, I wasn't real anxious to get into an actual scrape especially after the past couple of weeks, but if being a little scary will protect my kids, that's a no-brainer.

Nice to know I can still pull it off.

This hasn't been fun. You know you're getting older when your ailments get more complex. After 7 to 8 days of Prednizone and an Antiviral prescription with barely pronouncable name, I muddle along waiting for improvement. Bell's is a neurological thingy that has basically paralyzed the right hand side of my mouth and the area around my right eye. For awhile, it was making my eye ultra sensitive to light. So, it sort of looked like I was just finished crying. Not a good look on a man of my years.

This should all clear up within the next week or so, and it won't be a moment too soon. Funny thing is that after the prescriptions ran out, that is when you could start feeling things tingling and coming to life a little bit, like your internal continental shelf was starting ever so slowly to shift.

Only time I've ever need to go for a specialized followup for anything, with a trip to Dent Neurological Institute on Friday. I have to be the "media guy" next weekend at the Zoo so it would be nice to not be huffing and puffing when trying to speak.

In the interim, when I hear I joke, I've been hiding a little to cover up for the fact I can only muster 2/3s of a smile. You have to do some goofy stuff that takes considerable getting used to. I had to learn to sleep with beautian's tape keeping my right eye closed. I don't think I've been sleeping so much as passing out.

It's cut down on my new car enjoyment. I took the kids out to my folks house on Friday and it was probably the first time since the medical big fun began that all was normal. If I looked stuck up at Ted's last night eating with my sunglasses on, so be it.

The things you do. I had to do a presentation at a retailer and was paranoid enough that I nearly sent my boss in my stead. Instead, I sucked it up and gave it a go, coming back with promises of money and support for the next two years. So, maybe next time I take a cane.

Now, if I could just get the Zoo to pick up the tab.

This came over one of the Zoo email lists I have to subscribe to, beware overly cute pictures to follow.

This is for those that haven't seen the 16 baby pandas. SICHUAN , China -- One zoo in southwest China has its hands full with 16 baby pandas.

The Sichuan Wolong Panda Protection and Breed Center is dealing with the results of a breeding boom where 16 pandas have been born.

The brood includes five sets of twins.

The cubs are weighed and measured every five days (see pics)

The heaviest tips the scale at just over 24 pounds, while the lightest weighs about 11 pounds.

The pandas are due to stop suckling soon - just about the time they'll start learning to walk.

Once weaned, the panda cubs will attend panda kindergarten.

In the meantime, more little ones are expected at the centre since 38 giant pandas were artificially impregnated.









That should everybody's cute animal quotient for the day.