Adding Weather

So a few people wanted to know how to add the weather link...

First, go to the AccuWeater Download Center

One of the options should be "Free Weather for Your Site or Blog." Click on the "Free Sign Up" link. You'll get to a screen where you enter the basic set-up (units, language, and location). Next you'll be able to choose the size, category and theme. The size on my blog is 180 x 150, but there are a lot of size options here. Once you do this and agree to terms/conditions, you'll reach a screen where you can copy and paste the web site code. Copy the code.

Next, go to the Add/Arrange page elements of your blog editor. You want to "Add a Page Element", and this will open a new window. Select the "HTML/Java Script" option. Paste in the copied web site code, save the changes, and you should be all good.

Hope the directions work...

Everything you need to know...

I was browsing through the Internet today and came across a site that gives "Statistics, Articles and Analysis for U.S. Cities and Towns,"

So naturally, I had to look up Meeteetse. Check it out:

http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/wyoming/meeteetse

It is a little dated, but my favorite part is the projected growth/decline for 2000-2005. The estimated decline for Meeteetse for those 5 years was 4 people.

Awesome...

Catching up...

Ok, so there has been a lot going on lately that I haven't written about. So this is kind of a catch-up post.

Last Friday - I guess two Fridays ago now - I took a little trip to the NYC to catch a Yankees game. I got a call a few days before from family friend Jack who said he had an extra ticket. So I hoped in the Corolla and cruised up to the big city. There was so much interstate construction in Eastern Pennsylvania that I spent most of the trip consulting the atlas trying to figure out ways around. I took a couple of small detours on both trips, but don't really know if they saved me any time. But it was certainly better than being stuck in deadlock on the interstate.

The seats at the Yankee game - as shown in the following pic - were really good. The Yankees won 2-1.



Here is another good pic as evening set in over the Bronx.



After the quick trip to the big city, it was time for 4th of July. As my other posts displayed, State College puts on quite a party for the 4th. Upwards of 70,000 people come to town for the events, with the highlight being the all volunteer fireworks show - hands down the best fireworks display I've ever seen. The whole area around the basketball arena and football stadiums are used carnival style, with lots of good - and horrible for you - food to sample. The weather was pretty crappy all day, and we all got rained on more than once. But you can't have a bad time when looking forward to a 45 minute fireworks display.

The day started, however, with the State College Spikes treating us to a horrible display of baseball. The Spikes are a short season Single A affiliate of the Pirates, and they looked like it on the 4th. They committed 3 errors in the first 2 innings. However, they did rally and were able to win with a bases loaded hit by pitch in the 10th. Here are the Spikes celebrating their hard fought - and really anti-climatic - victory.



The 4th was a good time for all of us. Even though Lil Turner had to stay home during the day, I definitely didn't forget about him, and neither did the Spikes. All fans were treated with a free mini flag at the baseball game. Turner was really looking forward to this because he has told me repeatedly that, "No ballpark is complete without an American flag." So he was pretty happy when one of the flags actually made it through the day.



Well that's enough catching up for now. About a week and a half of hard work and I'll be making my way back across the country for some good ole' western fun!

More 4th Fest

By popular demand, here are a few more vids of the State College 4th Fest. Notice the big ball of fire at the beginning of the first video. This was the last of about 5 huge balls of fire that were part of the ground show.



Here is one more....

Fire in the sky

So I didn't get a free VIP ticket, but at least we didn't get rained out on the 4th of July. I did end up finding a very good free spot. Here is a little taste of the grand finale:



More to follow on 4th Fest.

State College 4th Fest

Ok, here is the deal. The people of State College love their 4th of July. And they like to cap it off with one of the most spectacular fireworks displays around. For those of you that don't know, I'm a pretty big fan of fireworks. Here is some details from the website:

"Close to 11,000 shells are shot during the 45-minute show. The grand finale features over 40 shells a second.....The 4th Fest is the largest all volunteer fireworks display in the nation.The Wall Street Journal ranked the State College show as one of the Ten Largest Displays in the United States in 1999. The Travel Channel and Discovery.com ranked the show #4 In The World in 2000!"


Last year I watched them from the roof of a parking garage in downtown State College. After the viewing I decided that I needed to be much, much closer for this years festivities.

Then I discovered the VIP seating. For $25 you can sit in a special section that includes a view of the coordinated ground show that not many people get to see. Now, 25 bones seems a little pricey for me. So I'm on a quest over the next few days to somehow, someway find a free VIP ticket to the fireworks.

And I need suggestions on all of the ways to increase my chances of getting one....so let's have 'em.