Clearin’ O’ The Links

And finally, we close out the week by clearing out the links:

• Dogs and Moving. Ever wonder what it is like moving cross country with a simpleton dog and a neurotic dog. Wonder no longer. This is one of the funniest posts I’ve read in ages. Oh, and speaking of dogs, I must report (sadly) that the mayor of Idyllwild, a Golden Retreiver named Max, has just passed away. Going forward, Mini Me (a stuffed-animal version of Max) has agreed to step in as the Interim Mayor of Idyllwild. Max’s owners, after suitable grieving, will search for a new Mini Max–a Golden Retriever that will be named Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller, II, and will then officially take over as the Mayor of Idyllwild, completing Mayor Max’s mayoral term through June 30, 2014.
• Scary Search. Think Google finds everything? Think again. This is an article about Shodan, which finds loads of unprotected critical infrastructure on the great unwashed and unprotected internet. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve grown too fast. Critical infrastructure is a growing concern, so I’ll mention that “cyber-physical systems” is going to be a special topic of this year’s ACSAC. All forms of submissions on the subject are welcome.
• Playing the Market. I’m not a big stock market person. Back in the 1990s I invested in some mutual funds, and I thought that was that. My financial advisor has recently been recommending some ETFs, and I’ve been scared off by the fees. This is a great analysis of ETFs and why they might be better than traditional mutual funds. For example, right now I’m trying to decide between investing in the Vanguard California Bond Fund, or the PIMCO ETF equivalent. It’s hard to judge return against costs and commissions.
• By Golly. LA Observed brings news of a new book of interest: Dr. George Fischbeck, the retired Channel 7 weatherman has a new book out, “Dr. George: My Life in Weather,” with ex-KABC staffer Randy Roach. This caught my eye because we really don’t have weather-critters that are the caliber of Dr. George these days. Usually, they are just glorified “pretty boys” or the female equivalent, who provide you no inkling of whether they actually have degrees in meterology or anything beyond AWS training.

Music: New Songs From The Briarpatch (Tom Paxton): “Mister Blue/White Bones Of Allende”

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A Day at the Dam Faire 2013

Today was our annual visit to the Southern California Renaissance Faire at the Santa Fe Dam site (hence, “the dam faire”) [although I'll note there is a small possibility of a second visit due to the Marketplace Weekend]. As such, it is time for the annual game of Pick The Worst Costume. After all these years, the Faire must be getting to me, as I’ve grown numb to the fairy wings, the pirates, the barbarians, and even many of the belly dancers that seem to show up. However, every year there are at least a few costumes that have me shaking my head.

In the men’s competition, we have two contestants. Contestant #1 was dressed as a barbarian, with coupious butt cheeks visible that he kept adjusting. He appeared to be creating the illusion he was commando, although one could detect a small leather thong from the side as he kept playing. Male contestant #2 was this older fellow, in a 1960s peace symbol T-shirt, with an incredibly gaudy and tacky hat.

On the female side, there were a number of folks who I didn’t get pictures of. There was the young miss in a faire-style corset with her frontsets on display… in a thin-white see-through T-shirt. There were the numerous belly-dancers that made you do double takes. There were the girls dressed as pirates, complete with beards and mustaches. But I did get pictures of a few. There was this lovely young pirate thing, exposing quite a bit of skin. But perhaps even worse was this angelic vision in high heels, wandering around the Shire.

But as I said, most of the costumes were somewhat tolerable (although, as always, I invite you to share your stories of bad costumes). The rest of the Faire was great. Moonie was hilarious as usual, especially when his Eagle Scout volunteer did unexpected things. Shopping was good and we got stuff at most of the usual places (Schulps (new mug for Karen), Oberon (in Tower of London) (new pouch for me, new belt for Karen), Hearts Delight (new bodice for Karen), Bullseye Leather and Clothing (new pants for me)), plus some new places for jewelry for Karen and Erin.

In August, we’ll hopefully be visiting a new faire: Nottingham Festival (Facebook). According to the Actors Rep of Simi, who are organizing the event:

Since the Renaissance Pleasure Faire left Agoura, there has been a desire to bring a more accessible, regional faire back to the Ventura county area. During the last two weekends of August, and the first weekend of September of 2013 (including Monday – Labor Day), the Nottingham Festival will recreate the magic and revelry of an Elizabethan field and marketplace, replete with more than 100 vendors of various goods and merchandise, over 1000 costumed entertainers, including strolling musicians and jugglers, street actors and dancers, plus horse tournaments and special events for children and adults of all ages. There will also be several performance stages featuring children’s theatre, exotic dancers, musicians, and a community theatre stage. During the week, the reenactors will offer field trips for school children who will be able to experience first hand (and hands-on) the lifestyle and handicrafts of the 16th Century. With a daily estimate of three to four thousand attendees, faire organizers; Jan Glasband; Creative Artistic Director, Josie Hirsch; Corporate Operations Officer and Andrew Elkins; General Manager, are expecting a total of about 25,000 over the course of seven days. Proceeds from the Nottingham Festival will be donated to local non profit organizations, community projects and the development of arts educational programs for youth. The festival will take place in an area adjacent to the cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks on a 150-acre parcel of land owned by the Cassar family of Moorpark, just west of the 23 Freeway at the corner of Tierra Rejada and Moorpark Road. Those wishing to participate as a volunteer, vendor or entertainer, please contact Andrew Elkins at andrew@nottinghamfestival.com. For more information, visit our website: www.nottinghamfestival.com.

Lastly, for those in the Bay Area, Erin has indicated an interest in attending both Northern Faire and Dickens during the fall semester 2013 at UC Berkely. If you would like to get in touch with her for that, drop me a note and I’ll pass it on.

 

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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