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The first test of my no-red-meat pledge…

2 minute read

March 24, 2006, 10:12 PM

Today at work was the first real test of my will after having given up red meat (as a stepping stone towards vegetarianism) at the beginning of this month.

How was this different from otherwise?

Two words: free food. Work had a cookout for all the associates today.

Considering I’m working on paying off a Mercury Sable, I’m usually not one to pass up a meal that someone else is paying for. And what did I do?

I passed it up.

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Categories: Food and drink, Myself

Has it really been ten years?

4 minute read

March 22, 2006, 11:38 PM

Scary to think about it, but it’s true – it’s been ten years since I first created The Schumin Web. And now I’ve got the site all decorated up for the tenth anniversary. The photo feature is a collage of old site designs, and the URL beneath the logo at the top of all the pages has been replaced with the phrase “Celebraring ten years online”.

I still remember the day that I first created this site way back in 1996. Of course, we didn’t call it “The Schumin Web” back then. Back then, I called it “Ben Schumin’s Home on the Internet”. That then changed to “Ben Schumin’s Internet Command Center” (I was big into Power Rangers in 1996). That then changed to “The Great American Road of Ben Schumin” and then to “The User-Friendly World of Ben Schumin”. That last one’s being such a hideous name, by the way, gave rise to the current “Schumin Web” name in late 1998, which ended up sticking.

Still, that first day was something. I was playing around with NaviPress, which was a WYSIWYG Web page designer – a good thing, since I’m more of a visual designer than a coder. I was playing around on there at our old computer down in the living room, trying to figure out how to make the program work, and I actually got something to work. I ended up uploading it to AOL’s “My Place” where you had a little Web space. Then the next step was showing it off. I was so proud of my little URL, which was http://members.aol.com/BenSchumin/. Nowadays, I would be embarrassed to have such a URL, but this was the mid-90s, and the Web was still young.

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Categories: Schumin Web meta

Spring cleaning…

< 1 minute read

March 18, 2006, 10:12 PM

Spring is a matter of a few days away, and I figure I might as well clean something. The junk I’ve collected since last I cleaned is starting to choke out the floor space, so something needs to be done.

My goal is to reclaim some space so I can empty out a storage unit that we’re renting that contains stuff for a future DC-area apartment that I’m long overdue in getting due to my inability to secure a job up there.

So all in all, it’s time to eliminate some fluff. I’ve got this dark corner in my room behind the recliner that I could use to hold stuff, plus the closet is still mostly empty from last year’s cleaning-out. Still, it ought to be fun.

Categories: House

“May I have your attention, customers traveling on the Blue Line in the direction of Largo Town Center…”

2 minute read

March 17, 2006, 12:54 AM

I went railfanning in DC with my friend Matthew Tilley on Wednesday, and I have to say… I was right on the money with one thing that happened early on in our trip.

We were waiting on the upper level platform at Rosslyn, and had just passed up an Orange Line train into DC as “too crowded”, hoping to catch the next train, which we had hoped would be less crowded. So there’s this Blue Line train that looks like it’s coming through the C Route tunnel towards Rosslyn. And it’s still back there. Then the headlights go off on the front of the train, and the taillights come on. This is repeated a few times. I told Matthew that it seems that our Blue Line train was experiencing problems in the tunnel.

Then I imitated the voice from Metro that usually announces such problems. “May I have your attention, customers traveling on the Blue Line in the direction of Largo Town Center. We are experiencing a delay due to a train at Rosslyn experiencing mechanical problems.”

Less than a minute after I did my imitation, a voice came over the loudspeaker at Rosslyn: “May I have your attention, customers traveling on the Blue Line in the direction of Largo Town Center. We are experiencing a delay due to a train at Rosslyn experiencing mechanical problems.”

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Categories: DC trips, Matthew, WMATA

Ever get that feeling like you forgot something?

< 1 minute read

March 15, 2006, 4:29 AM

Somehow, I’m getting that feeling when went to top off the camera batteries for today’s DC trip when the batteries took a lot longer to charge than usual. I get this feeling that I never charged them from the last trip to DC I took on the 28th. This is not a “fatal” error, though. I’ve charged the camera’s batteries en route before using a power inverter, most notably on June 23, 2004, where I ran the batteries dry the day before in Charlottesville, and then fell asleep that evening without charging anything. Then I got up in the morning, realized, oh, crap! and went to work charging them, and ended up taking my charger with me to Washington. That’s also the reason I have the power inverter in the first place. I bought it to charge with on that trip. Thankfully, Washington was far enough away so that by the time I got there, I’d had a chance to charge everything to full power.

And I was going railfanning that day with Oren and Jersey Mike, so I needed a full charge, too.

Of course, that’s similar to this trip, where I’m going railfanning with Matthew Tilley.

Categories: Cameras, DC trips

There are some DC trips that just happen, and then there are some that I really am excited about.

< 1 minute read

March 12, 2006, 7:20 PM

As is my usual case about every two weeks, I am going to Washington on Wednesday. This time around, I’m going to meet up with my friend Matthew Tilley. I’ve met up with Matthew twice before. We went railfanning one time in October, then I surprised him in December. Now we’re going on Wednesday to do a tour of the Red Line. We’re starting at Metro Center, going out to one end, then bus to the other end, and then back down to Metro Center. Ta-da! One Red Line!

And I am honestly excited. We had a lot of fun on our last railfan trip, when we did a tour of the Blue, Orange, and Yellow Lines. This one ought to be just as exciting.

Categories: DC trips

Lee High in Staunton lost their state championship, and it serves them right.

2 minute read

March 12, 2006, 6:41 PM

I read today in the Staunton News Leader about the whole to-do about Lee High losing the state boys’ basketball championship, after having won it the past two years. Many people were hoping for a “three-peat” of the state championship, which was against Martinsville, and played at VCU in Richmond. Schools in Staunton were even dismissed early on Friday, to facilitate those traveling to Richmond to see the semifinals. Elementary schools in Staunton closed at 11:50 AM, Shelburne Middle School at 11:00 AM, and Lee High at 11:25.

Lee got to the final championship game, and they lost. And I have to say, it serves them right. And it serves them right because the school district took the bold step of officially putting athletics ahead of academics. Of course, realize that academics are what the whole purpose is of having a school system and such in the first place. But instead silly games get the spotlight. And my experience in high school was that athletics really were king, but they just never said so. And they certainly never cancelled school.

It just really bothers me for schools to be dismissed early for an athletic event. Especially with all the big to-do with high stakes testing related to Virginia’s “Standards of Learning” program and the federal “No Child Left Behind” program. Especially since, by having school and serving lunch, the day is considered “official”, even though school only lasted three hours and change. That’s barely even worth showing up for, and a waste of a day, if you ask me. If they’d cancelled school outright, then they would have to make the day up (I don’t know if Staunton had any built in snow days or not). That would be less offensive to me, because of the need to make the time up.

All in all, I think that the early dismissal jinxed them. Serves them right.

Categories: Virginia local news

This is where my life with the Web site and my personal life collide…

2 minute read

March 8, 2006, 9:08 PM

At long last, I found my cell phone charger.

I found my charger in the suitcase that I used in my vacation to Virginia Beach back in August. And it only took me more than six months to find it. This after I practically turned the house upside down on a few occasions looking for it. And it’s funny how I found it, too.

I was working on the photo set from that Virginia Beach vacation (which you’ll hopefully see soon now that work has begun on it in earnest), and I was looking at a photo of the kitchenette in my suite at the Travelodge in Virginia Beach.

My hotel room from my 2005 trip to Virginia Beach.  See the charger?

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Categories: Cell phone, Myself, Travel

I feel… tall…

2 minute read

March 8, 2006, 5:51 PM

You would think, since I’ve driven a van for most of the time I’ve been driving, that I’d be used to a car that rides high. Especially since it’s not even been a month since I turned in the Previa for the Sable (I got the Sable on February 9).

So yeah, I had to drive Mom’s Sienna today. That was a culture shock, mainly because I felt like I was very high up off the ground. In the 27 days (so far) of driving the Sable, I have gotten used to feeling like I’m sitting flat on the pavement. In the Sable, one rides low to the ground, like in most cars.

Still, I felt really high up in the Sienna. I also am amazed how quickly I forgot where all the controls are. I reached for the selector in the center console like I do on the Sable. The Sienna, by the way, has controls like the Previa had, and so the selector’s on the steering column. I’m reaching for the left stick on the column for the wipers. They’re on the right in the Sienna. All in all, it was a strange feeling. And I’m still surprised about how accustomed I am to driving at car height.

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Categories: Driving, Places

A whole bunch of health topics…

< 1 minute read

March 1, 2006, 11:15 PM

First of all, I can’t get over that it’s been a year since I had that pilonidal cyst removed. A year. On my way up to DC yesterday, I was thinking about the operation. Recalling from this Journal entry, “…I arrived at AMC at 6:30 and was out before noon.”

How interesting, though, that on the anniversary of the operation, I went to Washington. And went ice skating.

Meanwhile, I’ve gotten comments from three different people that I look like I’ve lost weight. One was Mom, and two were coworkers. So these are people who see me all the time and have noticed these things. It’s gotten me thinking. I’ve been heavy for most of my life, but I like to think I’ve always carried it fairly well. Still, if one modifies one’s eating habits, who knows how far we can go.

Now before you think crash diets or anything like that, let me say this. For some time now, I’ve admired vegetarians. These are the people who have managed to eliminate meat from their diets. Meat, particularly red meat, is kind of fatty, and not exactly the most healthy thing on earth. I’ve contemplated making a changeover to vegetarianism, but I’ve also realized that if I were to make a change all at once, I’d break it the next day. Too radical. Too much at once.

Bowever, lately, in thinking about this, I’ve been wondering how difficult it would be if I worked out certain classes of meat one at a time, while exploring around a bit food-wise. I’m thinking it just might work. I’m still contemplating it, though.

I went ice skating, and it was not exactly pretty…

2 minute read

March 1, 2006, 6:16 PM

First of all, I am back from ice skating at Pentagon Row, and all body parts are intact. And I think the best way to describe it was that I had no idea what I was doing.

Now mind you, I used to be a decent skater. That was back a long time ago, though. But a few coworkers said that skating was like riding a bicycle – once you learn, you never forget. They lied.

I took my FliteStar vest with me for this trip and used it on the ice, primarily due to the length of time between skating experiences.

I also got one of the skate guards to take pictures of me while out on the ice, so there is photographic proof of it. One of those photos is on the splash page for March.

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Categories: DC trips, Radio

“…and afterwards, I’ll let you sign my cast.”

< 1 minute read

February 27, 2006, 8:53 PM

Tomorrow evening, I’m going ice skating at Pentagon Row. I figure, what the hey – it’s my last DC trip during Pentagon Row’s ice skating season. The last day of skating is in early March, and then the entire setup disappears. I do intend on taking photos during the tear-down, as I think I’m going to get at least one visit while tear-down is in progress.

Now as you may know, I’ve been photographing the skaters there all season. Now, with this being my last visit of the season, I’m going to end my season there with a bang. And hopefully, that “bang” will not be my fanny landing on the ice.

Realize that it’s been ten years since I’ve been skating at all. It’s been even longer than that – twelve years – since I’ve been ice skating specifically. And my entire ice skating experience consists of one rather short skating trip in Connecticut.

A few of my coworkers have assured me that skating is like riding a bicycle – once you’ve learned it, you never forget. Still, I’m nervous about it, but I’m also quite excited about it. Roller skating, I used to have fun with it. Ice skating, as mentioned, I only did once, and it was not exactly a pleasant experience for various reasons that we won’t get into here.

Still, when I told coworkers, I said it this way – “I’m going ice skating tomorrow, and afterwards, I’ll let you sign my cast.” Hopefully, though, things will go just fine, and I won’t break a leg or something. And hopefully I’ll have some pictures of me skating on the ice. We shall see…

Categories: DC trips

New Chucks!

2 minute read

February 25, 2006, 12:23 AM

Check these out:

New red Chuck Taylors

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Categories: Shoes

Funny the way things work sometimes…

< 1 minute read

February 22, 2006, 9:23 PM

Who would have thought back when I was made fun of by Greg Galcik on his Spinnwebe site back in 2000 that now, in 2006, I would be one of the stronger defenders of the Spinnwebe article on Wikipedia?

It’s true!

The article on Spinnwebe on Wikipedia is up for deletion again, after having previously been deleted out from under us, and after someone else recreated the article. I have voted to keep the article, needless to say. I also was the initial creator of the original Spinnwebe article.

This whole process also goes to show how some people can get when they’re determined to accomplish something. A few users seem dead set on killing the article about Spinnwebe. It just kind of amazes me.

Categories: Wikipedia

I will not conduct my own fire drills…

2 minute read

February 19, 2006, 9:51 PM

I went to Martin’s with my friend Katie on Friday, and we had a blast. The thing I noticed first off, though, was in the right-side vestibule. Notice anything wrong with this photo of the fire alarm annunciator?

Notice anything wrong with this photo of the fire alarm annunciator?

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