"Murphy was an optimist!"
Dorm Room Flashback December 7, 2009 10:18 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Education, History, Of Interest , 2commentsThe in-laws must be cleaning out their garage. The children brought home a huge box of highlighters. So I started thinking, "What could one do with so many highlighters?" Then I remembered Clement Hall room 308 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. That was my room. The walls were the color of an 80s computer that had been used too long. Dingy. Gray. Like a light but wet modeling clay. And the walls were cinder block.
A fun trick for the frequent traveler who stays in hotels a lot is to leave a message on the bathroom mirror using a light application of chap stick or other oil. Done correctly, the message remains invisible until a hot shower steams the mirror.
Highlighters on cinder block painted in that gray color work the same. Draw the highlighter art by turning off the normal lights and turning on black lights. The art in room 308 was quite intricate when my friends and I were done. When the black lights are turned off and the normal lights turned on, the highlighter disappears. Turn the black lights on and feel like you stepped into a Jimmy Hendrix black light poster.
2commentsThe oldest evidence I can find of myself on the Internet October 17, 2009 10:14 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History , 11commentsI’ll update this as I find older. So far the oldest evidence I can find of myself on the Internet is an Oct 31, 1991 email recording my YES vote for the creation of the rec.juggling usenet group.
I sent my first packets of information over the Internet in the Fall of 1988. I loved Gopher and Archie and Veronica. I thought IRC was the second best tool in the world with USENET being the greatest. I avoided MUDs fearing they would cause me to fail out of school. I missed the boat on Mosaic writing it off as a bloated toy.
11commentsHappy 75th Anniversary Great Smoky Mountains National Park August 19, 2009 8:24 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Environment, History, Of Interest, Touchy Subjects , 3commentsI am excited beyond words. Today, I received my phone call explaining that my family may be one of the fortunate families picked to participate in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park re-dedication ceremony as part of the park’s 75th anniversary celebration! I’ve stood where Franklin D Roosevelt dedicated the park on September 2, 1940, "for the permanent enjoyment of the people" and tried to imagine that day. It will be such an honor to be at Newfoundland Gap on September 2, 2009 for the re-dedication if we actually get tickets. The thought puts butterflies in my stomach.
I was born on the coast of North Carolina and had the good fortune to make several trips to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (map) as a child. I have fond memories of climbing up to Clingman’s Dome and looking out over the park’s lush green forest. I did not see the park for most of my teen years. When I became a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, I revisited Clingman’s Dome to be dismayed at the devastation of the Balsam Woolly Adelgid. The park became my Walden Pond where I escaped for inspiration, adventure, and respite. Over the years, I made many journeys with friends and solo. I’ve watched the sun rise from atop the Chimney Tops and skated down solid ice with a burned out flashlight on a Alum Cave Bluff night hike in January. I’ve laid in the back of a pickup truck at midnight in a trail head parking lot staring at the Milky Way in awe only to be blinded by a park ranger’s spot light wondering what I was doing. I was privileged to watch a homemade video by mutual friends of the last caretaker of the Wonderland Hotel as he told stories about the trains which would bring the visitors to the hotel. Another old timer chuckled and shared a story with me once. Said he was on a Cade’s Cove tour and the guide pointed to a nook in the wall incorrectly conjecturing to its purpose. The old timer explained, "I’ll tell you what it was. That was the family’s [he said their name] store and there was a tin can in that nook with a string that went to a tin can in the house so that people picking stuff up from the store could talk to them." He spoke with authority. I nearly stepped on a copperhead, a black snake and I shared the trail for a bit, and I’ve passed a rattle snake sunning on a log. I’ve been nose to nose with deer, smelled bear, and watched many other creatures. My adventures in the Smokies have been awesome. I’ve driven Rich Mountain Road so fast that Bo and Luke Duke couldn’t have caught me (okay, not a proud moment but I had the groom in the Jeep, got caught in Cade’s Cove traffic and wasn’t about to make him late for the wedding). Streams and waterfalls have been swum. I’ve seen a lot of the back country. Greenbier is my favorite. I’d camp down an old railroad bed with its hard to find trailhead hidden beside the ranger’s house. I never did find the old steam engine in the gorge. I was with the oldest ranger in the park when she told a group of girl scouts about the land she lived upon as a child. We then went across the street from the Sugarlands Visitor Center and hiked the nature trail on what used to be her family’s land.
The Great Smoky Mountains Natural Park has so many treasures from stories to adventures to nature to science to spirituality and so much more. Visit this park as often as you can. You won’t be able to get enough!
3commentsThe Tennessee Tourist Development Commission proposes this pledge to all Tennessee tourists, whatever their interests:
"Take nothing but pictures;
Leave nothing but footprints;
Kill nothing but time."[Source, Robert E. Hershey, State Geologist, 1980, Forward:Caves of Tennessee p.viii
]
Invisible Rope Trick June 16, 2009 12:39 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : History, Humor, Of Interest , 1 comment so farThis brings back memories. I have no idea where I learned this but when I was 11 or 12 years old, a friend or my brother and I did this. Cars do slow down! But for the record, eventually an angry man gets out of his car and rips you a new one.
EMBED-Invisible Rope Prank II – Watch more free videos
What are these things? January 24, 2009 11:50 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Gadgets, History, Technology , add a comment
And why are they in my house?
To steampunk or not steampunk; that is the question!
add a commentMy college experience finally explained December 22, 2008 10:16 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Education, Health, History, Mental, Science , add a commentSmart kids are more likely to be heavy drinkers "There’s a link between a high IQ and developing alcohol problems"
add a commentToday is 9/11 September 11, 2008 2:07 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History, Touchy Subjects , 2comments
I remain at a mostly at loss for words. Of course, two very unexpected things happened as a result of September 11, 2001. First, Amy happened. Second, September 12, 2001 happened. September 12 is a day I will never forget for it was the first time I my life, the only time, I can remember looking into the sky and not seeing a single airplane. No flashing lights. No contrails. No engine noise. No whump whump whump of helicopter blades. Only sky, birds, and at night, stars. For such tragedy on September 11th, there was an ironic peacefulness to the skies in the hours and days that followed.
Hair Grooming 2007 December 2, 2007 12:15 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History , 2comments
What ever happened to those little combs? As I grew up, I constantly had 4 things: 1) my Old Timer pocket knife, 2) my watch, 3) a handkerchief, and 4) a black, hard plastic comb. I never carry a comb anymore but I can predict my wife will be quick to comment on my pocket stuff (today consists of 2 pocket knives, 2 sets of keys, wallet, change purse, handkerchief, cell phone, and a pen). Happy Days was a favorite show of mine and what boy of my generation didn’t grow up sweeping a comb through his hair doing a Fonzie? So, whatever happened to these combs? I cannot recall the last time I actually saw someone fix their hair with one and slip it back into their pocket much less create a kazoo!
Knoxville’s Riviera Stadium 8 Grand Opening Celebration August 25, 2007 2:39 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, History, Of Interest, Theater , 5comments
The new Regal Cinema on Gay Street opens this week. I will be juggling from 5pm to 6:30pm at the Opening Night Celebration. My understanding is that it is a street party although the first press release I read implied invite only. Same press release, different location.
Ah! Here is some better information. Looks like the events within the theatre are invitation only while a street party is being held for the public. I will be juggling in the street party. Watch for the fire! Michael Messing will be performing magic and there should be other entertainers.
On Monday, August 27, the Regal Riviera will host an Opening Night Celebration. On this evening, there will be an invitation-only party to celebrate the new theatre and recognize those who made this theatre project possible. The public is welcome to enjoy a “Street Party” on this evening as well. This free event will be held on Gay Street just outside the new Riviera. The “Street Party” will feature a live performance by East Tennessee’s own RobinElla and a ceremonial ticket tearing to commemorate the opening of the new theatre.
The exciting week of promotional events continues on Tuesday, August 28, Wednesday, August 29 and Thursday, August 30. Everyone is invited to these Preview Events for $1 movies, $1 popcorn and $1 soft drinks with proceeds benefiting local charities. Through September 30th Riviera patrons will be able to enter Regal Cinemas “Rediscover Downtown” Sweepstakes to win a $2,000 prize pack: $500 Regal Cinemas Gift Card, $500 Mast General Store Card plus $1,000 to spend as you like downtown. No purchase is necessary. Sweepstakes rules are available at the theatre.
On Thursday, August 30 there will be added entertainment available at the Riviera Stadium 8 with a free fireworks show presented by Pyro Shows. The night-time sky will light up at 9:30pm with a spectacular display choreographed to popular movie theme songs simulcast on WIVK 107.7 FM. The “Salute to Cinema Fireworks Show” will be easily viewed from all across downtown Knoxville with additional fireworks accentuating the Regal Riviera’s marquee on Gay Street.
[Source]
I think it is very interesting that the site of the theater is the same as the 1920’s Rivieria Theater. Good move Knoxville! From the Knox Heritage site:
510 South Gay Street – Riviera Theatre (1920)
Art Deco, two story brick with corbelled cornice, projecting engaged pilasters. Chicago window in central of three bays, flanked by two smaller windows. Vertical mullions divide top side and all windows are topped by transoms divided vertically. Flat roof. Altered storefront. GONE-Demolished in 1988.The Riviera was built in 1920 into an existing Victorian building that stood on the east side of the 500 block of Gay Street. It featured a Wurlitzer organ and the innovative “Typhoon” ventilation system. It seated more than 1,000 and was hailed as “a shrine of the silent art.” It christened what would be more than half a century of movies with DeMille’s silent film, Conrad In Search Of His Youth.
Like most theaters, the Riviera featured its share of live entertainment, from dancer Ginger Rogers to early jazz bands like the popular local orchestra Maynard Baird’s Southland Serenaders.
In 1927 the Riviera showed what was almost certainly the only big-studio film shot in this area during the silent era, Stark Love. The star of the controversial film, which included a brief nude scene, was Helen Mundy, a reluctant actress whom the director had discovered in a downtown Knoxville soda fountain. The movie was a national sensation for about a week, hailed by some critics as one of the great films of the year; then, like its ambivalent star, it was forgotten.
The Riviera burned in 1963, sending an audience who had come to watch the special-effects adventure film Jason and the Argonauts fleeing into the street. Except for the façade, it was considered a near total loss but, remarkably, was restored, less grandly, in a matter of months, and reopened with the Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant thriller, Charade. It continued showing films until Adios Amigo in early 1976, followed by a series of second-run films the following summer; after that came a dozen years of broken dreams, as one developer after another proposed reopening the Riviera as a performing arts center, a dinner theater or an “ultramodern” office building. Though there was a sentimental effort to restore the theater in the 1970s. The rear of the building, for years, displayed a large black-and-white mural of Charlie Chaplin, clearly visible from James White Parkway.
The building was torn down around 1988 with little comment. The site is now paved for a parking lot.
[Source]
They should update that bit about the parking lot. Cinema Treasures has another reference to the 1920s Riviera. See you in the streets!
5commentsAh the memories! July 31, 2007 1:27 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History, Richmond, Wilmington , 1 comment so farNot having A/C and relying on fans has taken me back a bit. There is a distinct smell to a house that is not cooled with A/C. There is a definite humidity not felt under the unnatural A/C. The sounds are different in a house closed from the world to contain the conditioned air. It takes me back to the summers I spent at my grandparent’s apartment in Richmond, VA. It reminds me of the times spent in my great grandmother’s in Wilmington, NC. These are not bad memories. And this is not a bad time. I do not want to go an extended length of time without A/C but living without A/C is not all that terrible.
Alright, to do list:
- check to see if the unit is under warranty
- see if home owner’s insurance will cover the repair
- see what KUB’s financing plan looks like
I have also learned that no one trusts any hvac repair person in Knoxville and that everyone has the guy to call. Yes, that’s right..it’s a contradiction…
1 comment so farBlogfest and Blogathon July 28, 2007 4:40 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Cathy, Daily Life, Family, History, Of Interest, Publishing , 4comments
Tonight is a Blogfest! We will be there. Rich, one of our Blogathon partners is already at Bailey’s on his shift.
Bailey’s holds a special place for Cathy and I because that was where we had our first date. We met for all of 2 minutes at a Halloween party being thrown at my house then 4 months later we were behaving like nervous school kids on a first date over a pool table at Bailey’s. I rapid fired every joke, with increasing naughtiness, I knew to cover my nervousness. Cathy flirted and wow’d me seducing me with her beauty and wit then upping the ante on my innuendos until everyone in the bar had quit playing pool to watch us being suggestive with pool cues, lessons, and across the table exposures. We had a blast! And our friends who got us together to commiserate our similar situations, hoping that we would take some frustrations out on each other and move on, just sat back and enjoyed the show as two grown adults fumbled around trying to remember how to date.
I almost blew our relationship. I was so overcome by Cathy that I really did not want to screw things up by coming on to hard. So in the parking lot I tried to be all casual and attempted to say, "I don’t want you to feel pressured or rushed into a relationship" but the words came out something like "if you want to get together and have sex without a commitment, I’m your man!" Oh yeah! Smoooooth.
Heading to Bailey’s! Oh! You can still sponsor us! Pleeaasse! Read more here.
4commentsFlashback to the Arcade July 8, 2007 11:51 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Games/Puzzles, History, Medford , 2commentsThanks to Instapundit, I just had a little flash back to hard earned quarters being sucked into the video game vacuum cleaner Dragon’s Lair with its exceptional graphics and somewhat kludgey game play. I spent a lot of time and a lot of money on that game!
2commentsAction Park! June 27, 2007 11:20 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History, Medford , 1 comment so far
I want to know if JayMonster remembers Action Park in Vernon Township, New Jersey. Although I lived in Medford, NJ (1983-1986) while it was open, I never ventured that far north. Instead I played at Great Adventure (saw the Monkies anniversary tour there). Here’s a fantastic description of Action Park. And here are pictures of the abandonedout of season park. These comments are very interesting too!
1 comment so farI was a lifeguard at Action Park for a summer. We called it Traction Park, and man could I tell stories about that place. Let me just say, it is very, very difficult to rescue an obese, panicked man who just dropped acid. The scratches were incredible. Can’t wait to read the Wiki — I’d never have thought to look.
Edit: A few funny things the wiki omits (although there’s obviously nothing funny about the serious injuries and deaths).
First, a large Hassidic community was located not far from the park. For those who aren’t familiar with the sect, females are required by religious edict to wear heavy ankle-length skirts. Always. As you might imagine, this sucked for swimming, but the non-lifeguard staff, who were often fourteen, were generally responsible for letting visitors go from the tops of various cliffs and slides. They were easily bullied, and every damn time I saw a Hassidic woman at the top of the cliff jump, I knew I was going in. It was outrageous. On the speed slides, which did not have lifeguards because they lacked deep water, it was enormously entertaining to watch our insistent patrons arrive with their ankle-length skirts over their heads.
Second, the wiki forgets a “cannonball” slide that went underground, completely enclosed, and dumped patrons in a very deep pool beyond sight of the launching point. Many non-swimmers launched with no idea they’d hit deep water. Trouble is, a fourteen-year-old non-lifeguard was responsible for letting people go, and the lifeguard at the bottom was all alone. This was, by far, the most terrifying lifeguard assignment. You’d go in for one drowner (or two, as there were parallel chutes) and the nitwit up top, if he wasn’t paying attention, would drop new drowners on you. If you got in trouble, you could whistle and hope guards at the nearby Tarzan Swing would save your ass, but nearby concerts often made this improbable. I was pulled under by people on drugs (they break all the rules you’re taught about water rescue — in particular, they don’t reflexively let go if you swim down); had to pull out an entire family simultaneously; and did, of course, have to pull out the odd Hassidic woman entangled in her own skirt. The scariest thing I saw occurred in my very first week. A large man on drugs (again, you can tell b/c they don’t let go if you swim down), headlocked a female lifeguard who probably weighed 100 pounds. Three guards piled on and had to beat him repeatedly about the head with rescue rings (about the firmness of a baseball) until he let go, by which time he was unconscious and the girl he headlocked had two lungs full of water. It’s something of a miracle that the place stayed in business as long as it did.
[Source]
Today’s Confessional – Harassment June 27, 2007 10:14 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, History, Philosophy, Touchy Subjects , add a commentAs I child, I was taught to "never air your dirty laundry." I am certain that many people, family in particular, find it confusing that I am so willing to openly share my life with the world touching on such taboo subjects as sex, drugs, politics and religion. Why dredge up the forgotten past and mar my reputation, or future possibilities, with a permanent record of folly long forgiven? This is a good opportunity to point to the Why I Blog page.
First off, I want to say that blogging is stupid. Most bloggers, such as myself, have no journalism training. We are not professionals, are prone to errors, tempted to propagate rumor, and are busily creating a permanent record of non-retractible statements. We paint targets on ourselves and encourage friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers to make comments which, depending on our mood, may hurt our feelings or cause us to make a flippant remark in jest or anger that changes our relationship with those commenters. It is dangerous waters. [Source]
That said, I do hold back a lot that others may find interesting. I have done much in my life. I have explored. I have experimented. I have experienced. I have done good and I have done things for which I am not proud. Some of these stories, told briefly in writing and out of context, could all too easily be misconstrued. I would never want to lose friends, job opportunity, or something as important as being able to volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America over a misunderstood story. Now, for a story from my past, which I had hoped to let fade from memory and never have retold.
I love mentoring. I love leading. Years ago I was promoted to a management job. That was the greatest job! I took one last look at my swimsuit calendar and passed it onto a ex-peer. I deleted all my inappropriate jokes, sanitized my office of general offensiveness, took some leadership classes, and stepped into the position ready to be the world’s greatest manager. I planned to be friendly without overstepping bounds. I would be approachable but demanding. If the staff went to an after work gather and I were invited, I would be the last to arrive and the first to leave, if I showed at all.
One day, one of my female staff asked for a meeting with me. We made it a walking meeting since the weather was nice. She asked that I promote her into a position that didn’t exist. When I explained that I did not have hiring authority and that I definitely did not have authority to create a non-existent job, she said, "you’ll regret that" and walked away. I then spent my remaining days in that job giving HR a daily report on how this one particular employee was not being harassed, how the environment was not hostile, and answering questions about the various rumors which flew around the staff. Apparently I was having the greatest sex of my life because there weren’t many people I hadn’t slept with–if you believed the gossip. I was fortunate that HR was on my side; they had good files and we would have triumphed in a legal battle! None-the-less, it did hurt. My reputation was tarnished. Decisions had to be made on the assumption that this employee told an unproven truth. My boss was 2000 miles away receiving my stories, HR’s version, and the gossip. It detracted from the business at hand and I am certain was an underlying reason for the final closure of that division of the company.
The irony is that I saved that employee. She had come from a different division of the company which was being downsized. She was slated to be laid off. I didn’t need any additional staff. As a favor to a VP, I created an additional position for her (yes, that authority I did have) and she was transferred instead of laid off. It is from that position that she insisted I promote her. I should have promoted her. No. I should have fired her on the spot.
I may be a little jaded when it appears that someone is trying to makes gains at someone else’s expense. I don’t like win-lose. I don’t like lose-win. I like positive. I like win-win!
add a commentDo you look at your money? May 18, 2007 1:08 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : History, Of Interest , add a comment
Dimes are my habit. I always look at the edge my dimes. See, before 1965 dimes were minted out of silver. You can tell a silver dime by looking at the edge. If its solid, it’s silver. Post 1965 dimes have an edge that shows half copper and half nickel. The actual composition of a post 1965 dime (and quarter) is 75% copper and 25% nickel due to the Coinage Act of 1965. Coincidentally, a few 1965 dimes were accidentally minted in silver and those errors bring a fine price to a collector.
As a child, I fancied myself a coin collector (but didn’t we all). As an adult, when the hard times came my coin collection bought bread or gas without even the effort of looking for a doubled die error. What remains are the oddities. I have 3 silver dimes including a Mercury head from 1939 and two Roosevelts from 1952 and 1964. They are not in mint condition but they sure are cool to hold! And I can still remember the excitement I felt the day I found one of them in my change.
What’s in your pocket?
add a comment
