So I went and submitted two photos to the CDT photo contest. Well, what the hell do you know … One of them actually got published.

I’m not sure what that means for the contest. And, uh, I don’t know if there’s even anything to win. But hey, whatever, it’s still fun to have a photo credit in small local paper.

Went to the newly reopened State theater today to see A Christmas Story. You know, as many times as that film is on TV, it’s still a very different experience to see it in a theater and laugh along with 100 other people. If it weren’t for the fact that today was the only day the State was showing it, I’d recommend everybody run over and see it. Oh well, maybe next year.

Kettle Creek Lower Campground
Originally uploaded by ratsinis.

We took one last weekend to get out before the weather becomes unbearably cold, staying at the camp in Hammersley Fork.

While we were in the area, we stopped by for the Renovo Flaming Foliage Festival, which proved to be interesting. Renovo is a nearly dead town in the middle of nowhere that draws a majority of its economy from Lock Haven, State College, and welfare. Every year, they host the Flaming Foliage Festival to celebrate the changing colors of the leaves. Certainly, there is some beautiful scenery around there, but the town itself is a bit of a throwback. What really struck us were the 12 year olds walking around smoking cigarettes and the eight year olds shooting each other with Airsoft knockoffs. But we’re privileged yuppie flatlanders, we’re supposed to be shocked by such things (even though I lived in and frequented Renovo in my youth).

The Festival parade itself similarly harkened back to much, much simpler times. Looks like everybody was having fun, though. I enjoyed almost all of my carnie food except for the semi-raw hot sausage sandwich. Pro tip… if you are ever tempted to eat at Rita’s sausage stand, don’t. Go elsewhere.

We also managed to stop in and visit my grandmother, who I hadn’t seen since 1998. This was her first time meeting Gareth, which made the trip all the more interesting. Even after spending two hours with him, my grandmother still didn’t seem convinced that he was a sentient, aware being. Most people think we’re delusional when we say he is as smart and aware as any other kid - they can’t get beyond his lack of muscle control - but 80 year old women are especially tough nuts to crack.

Lessee… what else… Oh yeah, I did a dawn kayak paddle, hitting the water about 45 minutes before the sun came up. Sure was cold, though. There was frost on my kayak when I unloaded it and frost on it when I put it back on the rack over two hours later. It was a very peaceful paddle. Nobody else was on the water, and the folks in the nearby campsites were all asleep. They didn’t start stirring until about 8AM.

After packing up camp for the weekend, we took a drive around Kettle Creek to take in some fall color. That’s what the pic is from.

#1 Fan
Originally uploaded by ratsinis.

Oh man… The things to which I subject my child. Until tonight, I had no idea he loved oversized foam hands.

The more you know.

Just after the Memorial Day weekend, I posted a bunch of photos to my Flickr space of the family picnic. Within days, two shots of Gareth in training pants and a shot of my cousin in a diaper jumped to over 90 views each - highly irregular for my little space.

So, fearing the worst, I removed the images.

Late last night, I posted the images from our camping trip. One of the images was of my nephew early in the morning wearing his training pants and a sweatshirt. Because it had the word “diaper” in the description, it had been viewed 43 times in 10 hours. Since taking out the word “diaper”, it has received zero additional views.

Holy crap. That’s just messed up.

Apparently, this isn’t an isolated phenomenon. This blog chronicles the exact same pattern that I was seeing.

Now that I know exactly what is going on, I’ll just avoid posting such images in the future. Or, at the very least, I’ll never tag the images with anything related to diapering or pants or child or … whatever else somebody with the worst intentions may be searching for.

Flickr does have means by which images can be blocked from public view, but that also requires that family and friends be Flickr account holders in order to see them. That’s a lot of hassle considering the relative computer illiteracy of my family and the lack of desire to hand out personal info of my friends. So, deletion is usually the best route.

Group photo
Originally uploaded by ratsinis.

I took my family camping at Kettle Creek over the weekend. We spent the first night in my uncle’s camp, then stayed the second night in tents at the Kettle Creek Upper Campground.

Everything went incredibly well except for the flies that kept biting us to the point of drawing blood. Damn, that was annoying. That’s why four of us are wearing pants in that photo.

We got some firewood at a nearby shop where the first thing that happened was an 75+ year old man exited his home and called me a “flatlander“. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so I just grinned idiotically while asking him about firewood. If we go there again, I’m calling him a hillbilly.

Anyway, good time was had by all. I took my first drive on an ATV, learned that four year olds are wicked UNO players, and discovered that it is possible to make out while kayaking.

He’s not heavy, he’s my son
Originally uploaded by ratsinis.

Spent the weekend hiking and paddling. My shoulders are still recuperating from having a wriggling 38 pound child strapped to them for an hour, but it was still a fun trip.

I paddled around Lake Perez twice, and we hiked the lake trail in between.

Word of warning for those who wish to take their own boats to Lake Perez - it costs $6.50 a day for a boat permit or $20 for a season-long permit. Prices are cheaper for PSU students, but man… $6.50 is pretty steep. I ended up buying the season permit since it will pay for itself within four trips.

Sunday was spent scouting Spring Creek and Bald Eagle Creek as they head into Curtin Village. I’m planning on paddling that sometime soon and wanted to see where the obstacles were (one dam at the outskirts of Milesburg and a rocky bed in Milesburg proper). Should take 4-5 hours to paddle it if I start at the paddle park next to Tussey Mountain Outfitters. I’d probably have to add 3 hours if I started at Fisherman’s Paradise.