American History In Ruins

I recently took off on a whim to drive half-way across this great nation of ours; to clear myself of stress and problems, and to see places I've never seen before. One stop was to Fort Defiance Park in Illinois.

Fort Defiance has lots of history. Located at the confluence of two of America's greatest rivers, the Ohio and Mississippi, this track of land was a military fortification during the Civil War. It made for a perfectly, strategic army and naval location for the Union forces. It was constructed immediately after Lincoln declared war, to supply equipment to the troops.

The location of Fort Defiance has also been studied by archaeologists. Native Americans also knew the benefits of the tip of this peninsula for their warfare.

The first European to come to this place was Louis Hennepin, a French Explorer, back in the 17th century. Lewis and Clark spent a few nights here on their way to the official starting point of their historical expedition.

Unfortunately, this park is not a very friendly place for the eyes. It is run down. The grass and weeds are very high, with snakes hiding about. The trash cans are overflowing with trash from years ago. The road through the park is almost impassible in some places. The observation deck looking out over the two rivers is littered with trash and graffiti.

I asked a couple, the only other people there during my presence, if it has always looked like this. The past few years it has, I was told. The flood waters make maintenance of the park very costly. It was once an Illinois state park, but was given to the city of Cairo for upkeep. Obviously Cairo hasn't been doing a good job.

Very upsetting to see history be swept away in ruins.

Television Shopping

There are so many choices in the world today. A hundred places to eat, and a hundred choices to choose from each of those places; something I have problems deciding on and it irritates people. Many choices on phones... blackberry, smartphone, flip phone, and choices that go with each of them like camera megapixels, virtual or real keyboard, apps, etc. And so many choices on televisions.

I remember growing up, the only choice you made in a television was how big you wanted it. The technology was the same... CRT, or cathode ray tube, a tube that scanned red, blue and green beams down a phosphor coated screen to produce the image. Nowadays, you have several choices in that category.

With analog television gone, digital has taken over and with it comes HD with 16:9 formats. The technologies for producing the image on the screen has changed with it too. No more CRT sets. Instead you have plasmas, rear projections, LCDs and now the latest, LED/LCDs.

I have been in the market for a television for a year now and am really close to purchasing one. I knew what I wanted as far as size so I wouldn't have to strain my eyes to watch movies on a 20 inch CRT screen. A 50 to 57 inch would suit me fine. I thought shopping would be an easy thing to do. I was wrong.

I recently went to Best Buy to shop around for televisions. I was overwhelmed with the varieties. I came across the LED screens. These were LCDs that had LEDs that backlit the screen to produce a brighter, more saturated picture than standard LCDs. That's what I wanted. Then I noticed dynamic contrast ratios, 3D technology, Internet capabilities to watch movies and videos from websites, and many other things.

For those shopping for TVs, here are some facts about the options:

Screen types- Plasmas have deeper blacks, but are more susceptible to image burn and tend have glare from light sources. LCDs are lighter but the picture fades when looked at from an angle. LEDs are just like the LCDs, but produce a brighter image and with deeper blacks.
1080 or 720- This refers to the number of vertical pixels produced on the screen. Therefore 1080 has a higher resolution.

Dynamic Contrast Ratios- The higher the ratio, the more vivid the colors.

Screen Refresh Rate- This number refers to how many times per second the image is shown on the screen. The higher the number, the smoother the picture.

PC Inputs- Let's you hook up a computer to use the TV as a computer screen.

HDMI Inputs- Most TVs have several of these inputs. HDMI technology lets you get true 16:9 High Def from video sources. DVD and VHS players aren't high def, but some players that up convert the image to 1080p.

Choices! Those who know me know I have a hard time with choices. 50" with all the frills or a 57" that is much simpler and close to the same price? Whatever I decide on, it will be soon so I can enjoy the upcoming football season. I will have to stock up on non-stick cooking spray to coat the couch so my ass won't get stuck to it.

West Virginia Penitentiary Ghost Hunt

A couple friends and I recently picked up a hobby we've dreamed about for a long time... Paranormal Investigating. Our first adventure was a trip to the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV.

This massive Gothic stone fortress housed the most violent criminals in the state's history. Over 900 people, inmates and employees, have died in the facility. They have died by execution, murder, suicide and natural causes. Across the street is an Indian burial mound. This is the making of the perfect horror movie.

For $60 a person, the three of us had access to the intimidating facility along with 57 other ghost hunters. Bags were briefly checked at the front gate. Inside the lobby, we checked in at the counter and peeled a name tag from a sheet.

The lobby was small. It used to be the visitor's area when the prison was in operation. You can see the visitation booths where inmates and their loved ones would talk to each other via phone and a pane of glass between them. The check-in counter sold souvenirs... t-shirts, postcards, books, etc.

Once the 60 guests signed in, we broke into two groups for the guided tour. The guided tour took us through the prison to get us familiarized with the layout and where the "hot spots" were. Our guide told us stories of the hauntings, how the person died, precautions and many other things to make the night safe and enjoyable. She also warned of the bats.

The guided tour took us to "The Hole", a filthy room in the basement where inmate R.D Wall was slaughtered for being a snitch. This is a highly active paranormal spot in the place. My two friends and I were the first to enter the room with the guide. We positioned ourselves in one corner where a small cavernous room was. One friend, not knowing anything about R.D. Wall or "The Hole" thought he felt something behind him, a disturbing feeling. The guide told us R.D. Wall was murdered in the corner where we were.

We went to the Sugar Shack, where the guide told us she has had horrible experiences with the paranormal. The Sugar Shack was decorated in inmate artwork. Some of the artwork was not from inmates, instead from MTV. The crew of the series "Fear" painted mothmen figures on the wall to make the place look scarier than it was. She said because of that, MTV was not allowed back.

The guided tour lasted about 90 minutes. We headed back to the lobby and waited around for the free pizza and drinks. The pizza arrived and everyone piled into the inmate section of the visitation booths to be served a couple slices of pizza.

Then we were off on our own. The three of us, The Eleanor Twitty Society as we called ourselves, were one of the first groups to venture out into the darkness. I pressed open on the automatic door and it slid open. We stepped through into the dark of the main hall and pressed the close button and the door slid back into place.

We took a left and headed to the unguarded visitation room, a room with tables and chairs where inmates can visit one on one with people and no glass separating them. This room has a sculpture of a family of indians, created by an inmate. It used to be in the museum at the mound across the street, but was brought back to the prison due to complaints of the nudity in the sculpture. On the walls were inmate paintings of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

We headed outside and took a staircase to the Infirmary to check out some sounds we heard in the dental room during the guided tour. We figured the clicking and popping sounds came from pipes on the ceiling. My EMF meter picked up nothing suspicious.

In "The Hole", with my EMF meter ready, I slowly made my way to the corner where paranormal activity takes place. My meter picked up high readings as I waked closer to the corner. It slowly peaked at about 12mG and went down as I continued to the back wall. I backed up and the numbers rose again. Stepped forward, the numbers dropped. I backed up again and moved the meter around, and pointed it up at some metal pipes. Bingo! The pipes were giving off EMF waves. I felt a draft right then, and found that it was air coming from where the pipes came through the wall. After a while, we headed back out. Near the entrance, a bat flies in and nearly bites the head off of my friend. Beware of the bats!

We did quick stops at those places along with the Sugar Shack, Wagon Gate (where hangings took place), Maximum Security and the cafeteria to get a feel for the locations and determine what to do next time around. We headed back to the lobby for a rest and then back into the darkness. The second time, we stayed in those places in the dark for as long as we could before another group wanders in, taking night vision pictures and EVP.

I noticed via my night vision camera that there are security cameras located throughout the prison. So you are being watched not only by the ghosts, but by officials to make sure there is no illegal activities or horseplay.

I experienced nothing paranormal on this ghost hunt. I have a few pictures that may be promising and some EVP that have possibilities. We recreated the famous "Shadow Man" picture with ease and figured it could be a hoax. One friend was certain he saw a chunk of drywall slide a few inches across the floor.

We went back to the lobby after 4:30am and signed out. Looking at the sign out sheet, we noticed some groups left early... 1:15am. Chickens.

For a productive ghost hunt, I believe having the place to your self is the key. With no other people or groups interfering, flashing their lights around, talking, making noise, will make a big difference. It definitely was hard to do with 57 others roaming around. For a higher price, private ghost hunts can be arranged to eliminate those interruptions.

Solid Food Would Be Nice

Five days ago I had my left wisdom teeth extracted. It wasn't bad, hardly any pain, no swelling, and the nitrous gas was better than smoking weed. Five days later, I am still eating pureed fruit, shakes, mashed potatoes, puddings, etc.

The doctor and nurse did not tell me how long it will take my gum to heal. Some people said I can eat normal after three days. Others say after a week. But there is a huge pit over there. No dry socket fortunately, but I'm afraid to eat anything that requires massive chewing and cause disruption or irritation to the site. I would also like to thoroughly brush all my teeth, not just gently stroke the bristles slowly against my left 2nd molars.

To dentists and oral surgeons out there... when can I eat a steak?

Football 2009

It was a wonderful year of football for me. My college team, Alabama, wins the national title and has its very first Heisman trophy winner. 18 years since their last title and years of scandals, probations, worthless coaches and almost getting a "death penalty", Bama is once again a college football powerhouse.

And my fantasy team wins the league.

What a year.

Roll Tide!

Fall Vacation 2009

People get confused when I tell them about the vacation I just had. The reason they get confused is because of the way I had it planned.

It started with a road trip to visit a friend in Ohio, my father and another friend in Alabama. Then to end the vacation, I would head to Greensboro, NC to get on a train to head back south to Atlanta. That's what confuses people.

"Why do you have to go all the way up to North Carolina when all you needed to do was drive just 2 hours to Atlanta from Birmingham?"

"So you drove 1500 plus miles just to visit people for a few hours and then you came back and went back south?"

Then people's stories got mixed up about my trip...

"You took a train to Alabama then drove to Georgia and canoed to Ohio????"

Yeah, it was more than 1500 miles of driving. First stop was to Springfield, OH to visit a friend. Stayed there an extra night after some major drinking. And because of that, had to cancel visiting my father in Alabama and visit my friend down there instead, just so I could make it to Greensboro in time for the train.

On the way back from Alabama, I was hauling ass. The navigator on my phone had my route going through Atlanta to get to Greensboro. I refused to take that route since my train would follow that same route. So I headed through Knoxville, TN.

Because I was doing 85 to 90 and hardly had any traffic, I was making really good time. I was already 3 hours ahead of schedule by the time I reached the I-81/I-40 junction north of Knoxville. So I I-81 back home to Roanoke to clean myself of the road grime, eat something other than peanuts and slim jims, and to rest.

2 hours later I headed for Greensboro. Got to the Amtrak station at 10:30, met my friend Shaggy there and we loaded the train at midnight and took off.

Atlanta was the main event of my vacation. The Alabama-Virginia Tech game was the highlight of it. What a crazy atmosphere. Not only was the biggest game in college football for that weekend taking place, but also NASCAR races, Braves games, and some very weird Sci-Fi convention called "DragonCon". We encountered people dressed up as vampires, pirates, Ghostbuster characters, Trekies, etc.

One man on the train asked if we were going to DragonCon. We were like "huh?" That's when he explained what is was, said Leonard Nimoy and William Shattner were guest speakers. He thought we looked like the type. Fuck no, we were here to see Bama kick the shit out of Tech. We may be nerds in some ways, but not enough to attend an event called DragonCon.

The Bama game was awesome. The festivities that surrounded it was just as good. ESPN Game Day and a free concert by Collective Soul, the Alabama girls who looked better than the Tech girls, the tailgate parties, the crowd, the media, the parties, the girls, the music.... oh yeah, it was good.

Made it inside the Georgia Dome at 6pm. Our seats were good... lower level, row 35, right at the bottom walkway where we didn't have to walk over people to get out. A vendor was right behind us, so we could walk just a few steps to get food and beer.

We were nervous about being on the Tech side of the stadium. We searched for other Bama fans near us. There was one couple sitting a section over and down some rows. They were the closest. Then Shaggy looks over my left shoulder and shouts "Thank God! More Bama fans!" Sitting next to me was a couple wearing Bama gear. Found out from the girl that she is a friend of my sports anchor's wife and they got tickets from him, just as I did. And this chick's boyfriend or husband was the Alabama fan. We were relieved that we were not alone. The Hokies sitting below us didn't feel that way, especially in the 2nd half when the Tide's offense kicked in.

Final outcome for all those who don't know the score... Blacksburg is once again in mourning like they were after the shootings because they lost the opener.

Shaggy took notes the entire time we were in Atlanta to do a book about our hi-jinks. Lots of crazy stuff went on. "Elephant Shoes" will be out next year... maybe.

On The Road

Yes! Vacation is finally here. Lots to do this week and I still haven't got much planned. Road trip for the first part with a trip to Ohio and then to Alabama. Then to Greensboro, NC to catch the train to Atlanta for the Bama-Virginia Tech game.

Three days in Atlanta and I still don't know what to do or how to get around. It's almost too late to figure it out now, so we may have to do things on a whim.

Many of my coworkers are envious that I'm going to this game. This is Virginia Tech country around here. Everywhere you go, VT, hokie bird, etc.... anything related to Tech is adorned on cars, homes, clothing. Makes me want to puke. Such an overrated team.

Roll Tide!