Author Topic: Phil Skips Stones Across the Pond of Life  (Read 157644 times)

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #20 on: March 17, 2006, 05:43:36 pm »
Been on the phone with Idaho today finalizing his computer configuration.  Everything seems to be going okay.  The last thing is the ISP.  That might be done tonight if we can find a few in his area.

This weekend, I will be fooling around with some things on the forum.  I might experiment moving the advertising on the forum pages to appear beneath the first post in a message instead of on the side.  The ads will be smaller then.  I will also ask John to help me with the chat room module.  I hope to also begin introducing some of the nice pics a lot of you have sent.
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming

Offline BBMGrandma

  • Brokeback Mountain Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 222
  • Jack....I swear.....
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #21 on: March 17, 2006, 09:34:14 pm »
Oooooooo PHILIP....are you gonna make us feel around in the dark again....on this forum? LOL....just kidding!!   Whatever you do it FINE with me.  And...I will feel as though I've died and gone to BrokeBackMountain with a chat room for all of us!!!  Now...once again...do you EVER get any sleep?  LOL 

Hugsssssssss....Nancy  :-*
 ps....can't wait for Idaho to join us.  BTW...did you EVER get my PM about Idaho and his phone number? 
"If we never dream....we'll never have a dream come true"   (me...myself...and I)

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #22 on: March 23, 2006, 05:42:00 pm »
As our street gets completely rebuilt, the local power utility has arranged some delightful power cuts as they upgrade our facilities over the next week or so.  They managed to exceed their outage schedule this morning, with no power from just after 9am until just after 3pm, and this is anticipated to recur.  Obviously with no power I can't be on the site (or any site), so I am behind in updating some things which I'll have to try and handle during the evenings.
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming

Offline BBMGrandma

  • Brokeback Mountain Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 222
  • Jack....I swear.....
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #23 on: March 23, 2006, 11:06:45 pm »
Hi PHilip....

I've been spending a lot of time in San Francisco with my DEAREST friend in the world....who is VERY VERY ill.  He's in intensive care....and being tested for all sorts of things.  He's gay...and I've been SO fearful over the years about his having safe sex.  Anyway...I haven't been spending too much time here the last few days.  I'm soo tired and going to sleep early.  The driving is so hectic...what with the traffic and such. 
I'll be back up to speed with postings and such....as SOON as I can!! 

Please send some positive thoughts for my dear friend.  I love him SOO much!!!   :'(

HUggggggggggg.....Nancy
"If we never dream....we'll never have a dream come true"   (me...myself...and I)

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #24 on: March 25, 2006, 08:21:55 pm »
Hi PHilip....

I've been spending a lot of time in San Francisco with my DEAREST friend in the world....who is VERY VERY ill.  He's in intensive care....and being tested for all sorts of things.  He's gay...and I've been SO fearful over the years about his having safe sex.  Anyway...I haven't been spending too much time here the last few days.  I'm soo tired and going to sleep early.  The driving is so hectic...what with the traffic and such. 

My best wishes and hopes for him (and you)!  I see a lot of younger people who believe they are essentially indestructable and the concept of safer sex is not reaching them until someone has a disaster story who is near and dear to them. 
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
An Update
« Reply #25 on: March 25, 2006, 08:26:35 pm »
We've got another five weekdays of potential power cuts here during the daytime.  It is really starting to cut into my time spent on the site here and reducing the time I can spend answering messages and writing articles.  I'll be very glad when they are done messing with the electrical facilities.  I was watching them last week and they are literally up on the top of the power poles taking a sledgehammer to those wooden branch-offs that they can hang wires on either side of the pole on. 

   |
 -----  <- the branch-off
   |
   |

It took them around six hours to knock off three of those off the poles, and cut the old power lines connected to them, tear off the old insulators and hardware, toss it on the ground, and then install new hardware and get the newly-strung power cables ready to go live.  They have another 18 or so to go, and they turn the power off to the street while they are working on it. 

What a mess.
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #26 on: March 26, 2006, 11:15:56 pm »
Spring is getting to be late here in western New York.  It's still only around freezing and the sun is once again not out as much as it should be.  I've been physically exhausted the last couple of days.  I used to be able to be on here until 1-2am, but lately I'm barely making it to 11pm.  Since I work from home, I normally attend to the forums and such during the day, but with the power issues that has gotten to be more difficult.

Today I was just physically blah.  Headache earlier and just tired overall.  Who knows why.

John is working on the chat room module, which is a few weeks late now.  We decided to go with one not specifically written to work with this forum software, but it should still work okay.  A change to the server needs to be made to allow it to be installed.  It should pick up your existing handles when you enter the chat room.  Otherwise it will be fairly self-explanatory. 

I'm also putting up a Paypal donation link to help us defray some of the costs behind this site.  I'd like to consider expanding Brokeback Mountain Radio to have three times the size of the playlist (to around 10-11 hours instead of the current three), but the cost will average $30 a month for that, and we'd need contributions to carry that forward.  Inevitably, I am going to find some volunteer "DJ" types who I can bring together as a team so we can work on updating and freshening the service together instead of waiting for me to update the playlist every week or so.  I'm a big believer in delegating things for the betterment of everyone.

I've noticing the continued trend of forum activity dropping off on most of the Brokeback Mountain forums.  When the DVD comes out, that will probably change again.
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming

Offline Peter John Shields

  • Sr. Ranch Hand
  • ***
  • Posts: 146
  • On a river bank.
    • My web page.
Re: Phil's MiniBlog/Diary
« Reply #27 on: March 27, 2006, 02:47:22 am »
Hi Philip,
It is the opposite here - Summer is still here in Melbourne, Australia.  It is Summer here from October/November through to March/April - so we have a couple more weeks of warm weather to go.  I have been really tired too - I think it might be too much sun,

Stripey (Peter)
Cheerio,
PJ

Offline Peter John Shields

  • Sr. Ranch Hand
  • ***
  • Posts: 146
  • On a river bank.
    • My web page.
Re: Can't Hardly Wait for Weird Science Before Breakfast Club
« Reply #28 on: March 27, 2006, 02:51:50 am »
My generation's teen angst film was probably The Breakfast Club or another one of John Hughes' endless tales of high school drama. 

Hi Phil,
I loved the Breakfast Clulb - I watched it the first time when I was 18 and it made me feel like I had missed out on my teenage years.  I thought it was so sorrowful at the end where they all have to separate to go off and lead their normal lives - very true to life,

Stripey (Peter)
Cheerio,
PJ

Offline Phillip Dampier

  • Mayor - BetterMost, Wyoming
  • Town Administration
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,347
    • BetterMost
Wyoming Blizzard Causes Crash; Kills 6
« Reply #29 on: March 27, 2006, 10:04:53 am »
Life in Wyoming in late winter....

Crash In Blizzard Conditions Closes I-80, Kills 6

(AP) LARAMIE, Wyo. At least 20 vehicles crashed in blizzard conditions on Interstate 80 west of here Sunday, killing at least six people.

Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Stephen Townsend said both semis and passenger vehicles were still being cleared from the scene at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, some seven hours after the crash occurred about 9 miles east of Elk Mountain in Carbon County.

The interstate was closed from Rawlins to Laramie because of the weather, and an additional 50 miles from Laramie to Cheyenne was closed at the request of Laramie officials; there was no parking left in Laramie for semitrailers. Meanwhile, the patrol also closed U.S. 30 -- which often serves as a detour when I-80 is closed -- in the Laramie area because of weather conditions and reports of crashes.

An undetermined number of injured people have been transported to hospitals in Laramie and Rawlins; Townsend didn't know whether there were additional fatalities or injuries because officers had not been able to reach all of the vehicles.

Patsy Carter, chief executive officer of Carbon County Memorial Hospital in Rawlins, said at 6:30 p.m. that nine people from the accident had been evaluated at the hospital but said none had been admitted.

A nursing supervisor at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie said no one had been admitted, but wouldn't say whether anyone from the accident had been evaluated.

Fire department and rescue units were dispatched from Elk Mountain and Laramie to the accident scene.

Troopers at the scene Sunday night reported zero visibility due to strong winds and blowing snow. The patrol said the interstate would remain closed until it is safe for traffic.

Local Laramie residents were allowed to travel west beyond the road-closure gates at Cheyenne if they could prove to law enforcement that they live in Laramie or are students at the University of Wyoming. The highway was reported to be clear and dry between Cheyenne and Laramie.
You're a part of our family - BetterMost, Wyoming