Remember these...

Click the image above for a link...

Well, a LOT of people asked us about this... and I have NEWS!

Thanks to a comment on Sue's personal blog, we have a contact for anyone wishing to purchase one of these buses...

Click here and see the first comment.

I do wish Sue and I were in a better place for this and might be able to consider picking up one of these vehicles... but for us, right now, it's still not in the cards... perhaps, for someone out there, it is.

Well, after some thought and a good healthy dose of reality, I think it's time... yup... time to call it a blog... for real this time.

No, this isn't some weird sudden departure based on some odd internet peccadillo... nor is it for some dark and nefarious reason that's FORCING me out of the blogsphere...

...wait... let me examine that last one... because I ain't leavin' the blogsphere completely!

Nope...

I do, however, have to focus my energies on my websites... and also on The Paranormal Blog... and if I have something more... "personal" that is just BURNING a hole in my blogging braincells desperate to make a public appearance... I'll kindly ask Sue at her new blog to let me vent or whatever there.

So... it's goodbye to "One Old Green Bus" (for now)...

In some ways, it was an experiment that didn't quite work out the way I was hoping... but in others, it was something that yielded many good things... got to meet some great people, got to vent my spleen...

...and I did try to make a dream come true... and I would MUCH rather look back on something that didn't work out than regret not having tried at all.

So, adieu to my friends on the blogsphere... I'll still be around... but the old green bus has gotten to it's last stop...

OH! And DON'T assume I've given up on RLH 3 (the bus that started it all OR really, any old double-decker...) Nope... I still hope... and dream... it's just a little more quiet now...

...and should I ever be lucky enough to actually live out that dream, TRUST ME, I will "revive" this and let everyone know!

Before viewing the screen shot below... this was about this sad event (click here).

...which actually, a better journalist did a little homework and found out that although tragic, the media were barking up the wrong tree...

Still... from the statement pointed out on this page...

Matthew Didier, who has been following paranormal activity in the city for more than 12 years, says the building is not haunted.

"It's a tongue-in-cheek gag that there's a curse attached to it," he said.

We get...

Actually, I've never seen all the episodes of X-Files... in fact, I've taken a LOT of grief from friends (especially back in the day,) for admitting I wasn't a big fan.

So no, no DVDs.

...and "Ghost Dad"? Well, I did catch the last ten sorry minutes of it on a Toronto television station once while waiting for the late night news... but only once... and that was MORE than sufficient.

Oh, and I never said, "Not Haunted"... I said "No previous reports that I know of."

Still, there's little doubt that I'm probably a 400lbs fat-dude sitting in his mom's basement, eating Cheetos and building a "real" Ghostbusters Proton-Energy Pack for my next visit to the comic-con... that is, if I can break my fear of girls enough to get on the subway! (Eeek! What if there's one ON THERE WITH ME!?!?!?!?!! AN ACTUAL GIRL!!!!!)

Okay, seriousness... If she had said "He has all the Doctor Who DVDs that are available from the last couple of Patrick Troughton shows right up until the latest from David Tennant!"... guilty... well, not all the Sylvester McCoy eps I could have, but you understand, right??? Heck, I even carry a "sonic screwdriver" (pen) in my backpack at all times!

Anyhoo, I don't expect everyone to really understand my efforts... or research what I've done where... but sometimes, I can kind of get a concept of the mindset of the folks on those talk shows that parade in front of the cameras saying, "You don't know me! You don't know me!"

If you guys knew how many people contact me for "psychic readings" (despite me continuously saying I'm about as psychic as the average desk lamp,) or rattle my cage via e-mail because I'm robbing people of money (never made a dime doing the hobby... lost a lot of money on expenses though,) or tell me that I'm an overly credulous woo-woo selling magic (despite talking to, being gently praised to a degree by, and generally getting along with most of the hierarchy of Skeptics(sic) Canada,) or convict me as being an arch-debunking denier (because I've always said I want facts and empirical evidence before going ahead with anything,) or berate me as I obviously sell short history (regardless of my work with folks in the 1812 community and my efforts with various museums,)... with all that... I suppose it shouldn't come as a GREAT shock that those who only show interest in my hobby-topic when it's on teh teletubez would decide what and who I was without checking.

Still just so everyone knows...

No, I don't have the X-Files DVDs.

No, I have not sat through "Ghost Dad" twice.

Yes, Torontoghosts (my hobby site) has been around since 1997... which is why, not just "The Star", but pretty much every Toronto media outlet came to us that day... which was not fun.

So, there you have it.

Still, always fun to read what people, at a glance, think...

(...but man, even I "Google" names before making judgements or public comments! )

Oh, if you're interested in the "sceptical" bit, feel free to sign up to the PSICAN message board... it's a freebie... the VIP code is 1967

IF/Once you do that, click here if you're interested...

...and double-oh, if you're interested in #1 Spadina Cres. because of this news story, I wrote an article on the ParaResearchers' site... Click here to see it.

I am was not a fan of his band... nor did I even know the chap as a "media personality"... in fact, I wouldn't have recognised the fellow if he'd leapt up and bit me in the shin...

I am not gay... nor do I have many gay friends... nor is any of my family, extended or otherwise gay that I know of... but this is not the point.

NO ONE deserves this treatment (especially in death) by a journalist simply because they found his lifestyle not to their personal taste...

See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html for what I'm talking about.

A nice summary is available here.

If you're a Brit... or simply concerned and found it as offensive as I did... please consider making your feelings known and registering a complaint at the Press Complaints Commission: http://www.pcc.org.uk

Thanks...

Shorter Bad Science Forum (what an accurate name in this case!)...

IN THE NAME OF MY BELIEF SYSTEM! HALLELUJAH!!! I did foresake normal societal realms and did forth become a vandal to a poster!

Because I spoketh my truth for all to see, I shall mask my words by insinuating it was a wee piece of paper, not a paid advertising poster on a wall...

...and whereby my belief system, being infallible, must be perfect, I shall become a super-deluxe martyr by showing that I was NOT arrested for vandalism or destruction of property, but because MY TRUTH must win all!

After all, am I not simply helping the meek to understand that MY TRUTH will bring them everlasting contentment and save them from evil.

ALL PRAISE ME!

I will then, upon my martyrdom, provide a reference to a police notebook and arrest sheet and hence ye shall be told it is the same for a police officer to mark his notebook as it was for me to vandalize... er, SHOWETH THE TRUTH!

...or, to sum up...

A yuckle defaces a paid poster advertising, regardless of it's message and intent, then cries foul when he's nicked for it, then screams that his marking of a poster is no better or worse than someone making a note in a police notebook. He also decides that he was NOT nabbed for vandalism or destruction, which is what those LIARS the police say, but because he told the truth. (Granted, he does try to insinuate the police said he WAS arrested for telling the truth... but I really do NOT believe that.)

This freak is the Orly Taitz of the Humanist/Athiest movement in Britain... and not doing them ANY favours.

Anyway, I agreed more heartily with one poster in the comments...

The options on the poster should not have said, "Yes" - "No" - "Probably"... but "Yes" - "No" - "Maybe"... heck, for me, I'd prefer "Yes" - "No" - "Possibly, But I Am Holding Out For Empirical Evidence One Way Or Another".

Either way, it's a REAL case of a nitwit evangelical humanist/atheist becoming ABSOLUTELY no better then what they say they're against...

Oh, and as stated, now this person's putting themself in the role of "martyr for the cause" to boot.

Friggin' moron.

Yup, things seem to be evening out... but Halloween is right around the corner which, FOR SOME ODD REASON, tends to be rather busy for us... but at least NOW I can give a "return to blogging" date of November 10th, 2009 at which point, yeah, I'll be back to Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at minimum... probably now and again on the other days if something whacks me in the face.

So, BEAR WITH ME and I'll be back November 10th...

Thanks all!

P.S. - I might pop in before hand... because MAN ALIVE, I've been bustin' at the blogging seams to get some stuff off my chest!

Upiddy Datey: Indeed, you may notice a "face lift" going on here with the blog... and some other changes... and they will be ongoing through November 10th... Don't worry about the lack o' buses though, the URL is staying, there will be busly stuff mentioned... but it's time to convert this into a personal sounding board et al... that's all that's going on. No worries!

I could have also titled this post, The best laid plans......

FIRST OFF... If you're a "commercial" or "corporate" commenter or poster, PLEASE scroll down this message to the note about "spammers"... it's hard to miss.

...that said...

It's been a few weeks since I could comfortably(?) sit down and whack out a blog post... mostly because of being insanely busy with one big family tragedy (the passing of Sue's mom,) and several other smaller items that needed attention as well as several good and happy things that drew my time away. (No, no bus... that would be too amazing... but like all dreams, it REALLY has to take a back seat to the items on hand.)

So, I had to think...

I don't want to give up on blogging... not at all... but I am still needed "elsewhere".

So, what to do?

I don't post enough, and people start wondering "What gives?"

I close down the blog, and I end up cutting off a favoured nose to spite my face.

So, I've come to a sad conclusion...

Until further notice, blog posts here will be spotty at best.

Yes, in some ways, it's a cheat... because I don't want to "close down and start over"... but it's better than CONSTANTLY doing blog posts saying, Can't blog today. Sorry.

So, basically, until further notice, I'm on a blogging hiatus.

I SHALL RETURN... but for now, especially during the Fall for me... I've got to really budget time... especially online.

So, I apologise regular readers... and those who need more fibre in their diet... I'm taking an extended leave from blogging...

When will I be back?

Now and again... but realistically, I think I'll need to get through the second week of November of 2009 to make any realistic commitment to doing regular posts.

I'll "E" you soonly... all of you... and of course, if that darned old "Bus Dream" does come true... or even close... I'll be a posting fool here.

Remember: If you really, Really, REALLY need to keep up with me, right now, FaceBook is the best way to do so. Click here for my info.

OH, AND SPAMMERS... Think twice before posting... "Away from blogging" doesn't mean "NOT ONLINE"... and I do get notifications of posts and responses... and when I see a "commercial post/response", I not only delete them, but put the link into the "spam folder" which *IS* read by all the people that use the same software as me... meaning your precious whatever-cents per dumbbutt comment you make with THAT company's link or URL is barred not only from THIS blog, but literally hundreds of thousands of others... and I do tend to get to these things within 24 hours... usually under twelve hours... So you're doing yourself AND your company a disservice AND costing them possible other hits... so again, THINK TWICE...

Sorry 'bout this folks... but in order to look after everything, I'm gonna need an extra week where my focus will not be on the blogsphere...

So, sad to say, I'll be away from the blog until Wednesday, Sept. 2nd, 2009...

Thanks for your patience... and "e" you then!

If you're just dying to know what I'm up to, I am keeping up with FaceBook... if you have a FaceBook account, just click here and let me know you're from the blog and I'll friend ya!

Sorry folks, I have to take a leave of blogging again... After a short but fierce battle with pancreatic cancer, Sue's mother passed away this weekend...

I'm taking a hiatus from personal blogging until after the planned memorial service which means my next post will be a "Wordless Wednesday" on August 26th.

If you wish to express condolences or support, please pass them on to Sue at "My Life in the Urban Zoo"... (Click Here)

Thank you for your understanding... and I'll "e" everyone in a little over a week's time.

Thanks again...

Me and Sue...

Sometimes, a blessing doesn't need words... I think the smiles convey it all.

Blog Your Blessing Sundays is a creation of NeoBluePanther... who may or may not be the famed Luchador!

In my never ending stupour quest to find entertaining Thursday Thirteen lists, I find myself back at the trough once again finding a lame way out inspiration from a meme I found via FaceBook... so without further adieu...

#13: Are you married?

I'm afraid to answer this... as she might suspect my cunning plan. She still thinks it's all a "bad dream", and if I admitted the truth, she might try to back out and run.

#12: How do you see yourself?

With a mirror... or other reflective surface.

#11: Last person you fought with?

Past tense, eh... Hmmm... I'll have to get back to you on that.

#10: Who do you go to for advice?

I have one of those "Magic 8 Ball" thingies... but it's not perfect. The last thing I asked was, I'm working on a hypothesis that in essence, will absolutely prove that neutrinos not only change shape and type while travelling through the cosmos three times, but a previously unknown fourth configuration that would possibly allow the concept of string theory to be proven by the way they change and travel... Is there any way aside from the standard collector to create a device capable of collection and mapping neutrino particles in collision with other atomic variables in a smaller scale than used in the current Sudbury collector? and it replied, It's not certain. which REALLY didn't help.

#9: Have you ever missed someone?

Yes, but my aim is improving.

#8: What is your current worry?

Coming up with an entertaining Thursday Thirteen.

#7: What is your current hate?

Trying to come up with an entertaining Thursday Thirteen.

#6: What is the thing that scares you the most?

Realising that I'm failing coming up with an entertaining Thursday Thirteen.

#5: If you were in a T.V. show... what character would you be?

Well, I do fib on my resume and tell people I played "Fleagle" on the Banana Bunch...

#4: Have You wanted to be a pirate?

Have you been scanning my hard drive??? I MEAN, NO! NEVER! That's just wrong!!!

#3: Are you the same person as you were 5 years ago?

There has been speculation that I've been switched with an identical, but evil twin... but that's nonsense... I am the evil twin... The good one's been locked away for years!

#2: Have you ever had your heart broken?

Yes, but a little five-minute epoxy and it was good as new!

#1: Do you have over 20 friends at school and work?

Oh, I have FAR more than that all chattering away in my head at any given time anywhere! They often tell me that the neighbours are Satan and the like, but the invisible leprechauns quiet them down after a time.