You might have seen some news coverage of Wines in the Wild at the Zoo. It was a pretty cool gathering, not often you can drink on the job, even pouring for the elite. I got the job of shoveling champagne for media and VIPs, operating fully on the principle of that's two for you and one for me for pouring.

I'm still whipped from the experience as whenever there is events, my office and the development folks are the principle "roadies" so from about 7AM till party time we were tossing and dressing up tables, tents, running supplies and whatnot. It's nice to know I can still do that, but damn it catches up with you. By the time the night was done, I must have walked 20 miles in stuff related to the gathering. For a work day that started a little before 7AM, rolling it at 11PM was a little weird. Woke up yesterday feeling like somebody beat me up while I was sleeping.

The ice cream, you ask, was the offering by Perry's at the big Zoo party on Wednesday night, but our Finance Director appropriated at tub on Thursday. Vanilla Ice Cream with chocolate chips and crushed cannoli shells all blended together. Three great tastes.....yada, yada, yada.

Tried to hang out at the Square last night, but had to be a parent and rescue a rideless child (my own), but I'm not sure I would have lasted through Spirit of the West anyway as my knees were calling me names, none of them terribly kind ones.

Number one Son wound up on the front page of the paper. Saw the electronic version, but it was nice photo op.

Can hardly wait till Sunday, a day off, a free morning, before a week with the youngins. One has work, the youngest has camp, and the middle child, has to babysit, all hail a week of kid centered relaxation after a zoo event heavy schedule. My lovely son decided he wanted to see the elephants on Sunday, this is after I spent all Saturday with them and talking about them incessantly. Got to love going to work when you don't have to.

Love the job, love the pending day off.

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.

I took the plunge and bought a car yesterday. Gone is my little red old Mitsibishi that was chronicled ina few journals. I'm now the owner of a Silver 02 Grand Am that came complete with a Hyundai style warranty package (thank, (e:Imk2)). I mentioned the Hyundai package for protection and the rep said we could do that for you (Did I mention I knew the company president?). So before too long, I went from being scared about the investment and eager to get driving down the nearest thruway, Fun, wow.

It made up for the earlier portion of the day. In the latest in estrip illnesses, I woke up wednesda morning with my eyelid drooping a little and my chin a little paralyzed. Scared the shit out of me. I worked though it Wednesday and nothing changed, so I spent the first part of yesterday at Gates Circle, being checked over. The Bug I was fighting set the table for Bell's Paulsy. The monitoring process took about four hours in the Gates ER. Half expected to see (e:Jenks) flying by. I spent the morning strapped into a bunch of monitors, removing the stickies was fun (reminded me of the waxing scene in The 40 year old virgin). I passed all the right test, could push the doctor around and all that good crap. So, I'm rocking a nice combo of steroids and antivirals all the while vaguely looking like Popeye.

I love my job, but I think the building I work in was at fault. We spent a good chunk of May and June without airlfow as the engineer type realign things for the new Rainforest building. As a result the temp in the offices here was between 75 and 80 regularly. Our offices are over some animal exhibits so I'm sure that had to incubate something over time. As the only guy with no windows in my direct office, I guess I was the lucky one. So, proper complaints have already been filed as I am convinced it is what did me in. I relayed that to the nurse I was with and she responded that it's surprising more people weren't in the same boat.

So, a few batches of Prednizone and anti-virals in and slowly, but surely I'm feeling more me, but gads what a pain in the ass. Never slept with an eye taped shut before. It is a weird experience, but I'd like to actually get past all this stuff already. June hasn't been fun in that respect.

On the bright side, I got lovely number one daughter a gig at the Zoo, and oh, yeah, I got a bitchin new ride. Paul, any (e:strip) stickers left?

Finally feeling like me after a week in a half of big fun. What a difference the right drugs make. I was still a little out of it during the Pearl Street dinner, which I am sure retarded my social graces. I do apologize for basically ploppling in a chair, but at least I was at the cool kids table.

And now a word about AfterHours care. My univera premium went up in June and now I pay more money to see my doctor less. By the time I realized that I needed a little more help last thursday, I couldn't an appt till Tuesday. I took it, but went to their after hours thing in Amherst to see if there is something else I could have been doing. I explained to the PA that my over the counter stuff wasn't working. So, he replaced it with his over the counter stuff. The hell? I gave it sometime in the likely case that he knew something I didn't, but nothing changed. Went back monday to report that before the estrip/(e:ladycroft) gathering and was promptly assaulted with throat swabs and blood work, but still no change. Staggered through the rest of Monday and a career builder of presentation on Tuesday morning, to finally see the Doc and get the proper drugs. It's great to get "righted," but that can take a lot out of you. Today is the first day since Tuesday that I basically wasn't a rag doll. That is a good thing as I'm not usually one to go to sleep when it is still a little light out. What good is after hours care when they seem to be a little scared to treat anything.

Been watching a lot of the Russert-related coverage. It's interesting to see all the local people act like their office was just down the hall from Tim's. I've also gotten a kick out of Tom Brokaw saying "The Boss" on three different shows now like he just discovered Springsteen. Russert's kid has had admirable poise given the circumstances. Don't know if I'd be that together now, much less than at 22. While the local media was engaging in a round of "how I know Tim," it was interesting to see who among the national folks was genuine. For a very disingenuous business.

What the hell is the matter with the Mets anyway?

I test drove a car at Transitowne Hyundai and they never called back. That can't be good, but it is unusual for them to give up like that. I wasn't going to take the car on the terms they were talking, but to just suddenly go all quiet was a little weird.

My office finally has air conditioning, just when it doesn't need it. I had to dress for a formal fundraiser last week when it was 85 outside and 82 inside. So, not cool, but I did look pretty good despite the pending stroke. Could have sworn my suit sizzled a little when I peeled it off at the end of the night.

I'm tired of McCain and Obama already. Don't care what Michelle wore on the View, don't care that Barack is forgoing public money, don't care that that pisses McCain off. None of it matters.

Is there anything sadder than looking in the office refrigerator and seeing Wednesday's turkey sandwich staring back, after it was shunned for a company potluck and a thursday disasterous lunch at Lunetta's? Sad, really. I actually thought Lunetta's was supposed to be good, but also thought Roast Beef sandwiches to have hot gravy as opposed to the other kind. I like a two hour lunch as much as the next guy, but those folks made it painful.

On the upswing....