http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jrminga/appleday.html

THEY THOUGHT IT COULDN'T BE DONE!

THEY THOUGHT IT SHOULDN'T BE DONE!

THEY KNEW WE WERE GONNA DO IT ANYWAY SO THEY DIDN'T TELL US!

CHANCEL and CHRIS-O
(with special guests jmc and ladysun)

present...

TWO STATES, FIVE SENSES
A MICHIGAN AND NEW YORK NODER GATHERING

(of doom)

WHO?
Chris-O and chancel with special guests jmc and LadySun. Weren't you paying attention?

WHAT?
APPLE PICKING! there will be other special side trips depending on the location but that's the theme.

WHEN?
Saturday, 12 October 2002, at 12 PM Eastern Time.

WHERE?
Spicer Orchards in Fenton, MI AND SIMULTANEOUSLY AT Masker Orchards in Warwick, NY.

WHY?
to pick apples. to eat apples. to revel in what is hopefully the beautiful fall weather. to climb trees. to have leaf fights. to take pictures. to have wild, passi.. oh, you meant why the co-locating? Chris-O and chancel started talking about apple cider one fine day, decided to have a gathering to celebrate apples and cider and fall, and then decided to have TWO gatherings on the SAME DAY at the SAME TIME doing the SAME THING. this is not at all because they are both lazy and don't feel like driving halfway across the country.

HOW?
the co-location will be established with cellphones and laptops and PURE INSANITY. the michiganders may also set up a streaming webcam.

OK TELL ME ABOUT THE FIVE SENSES THING.

  1. SEE: the beautiful fall foliage of the respective areas
  2. HEAR: the crunching of apples and of leaves beneath your feet. the laughter of your friends.
  3. TOUCH: climb a tree and feel its bark. hug another noder and delight in the physical contact.
  4. SMELL: the crisp fall air.
  5. TASTE: the fucking apples! i mean, jeez, people!
WHAT ABOUT PORTLAND?
ideath has informed us that we may hold this gathering without fear of being killed. she also asked us to let people know that being at one of these two locations is the ONLY EXCUSE for not being at the portland gathering. SO BE THERE!

OK, I AM INTERESTED TELL ME MORE?
ok. after this hr, chris-o will tell you about the details of the New York half. then, in the next wu, chancel will discuss the michigan half along with the several pages of details chris forgot to include.


THE NEW YORK DETAILS

The New York group will be meeting at Masker Orchards, in Warwick, NY. It's about an hour's drive from NYC, two from where we are in Jersey, four from Boston; that about covers it.

Directions will probably not follow presently; just go to www.maskers.com and follow directions from there.

If you don't feel like driving the entire way to show up at noon, Chris-O and LadySun will be opening up their house the night before to those interested or traveling from far away. We have a full-sized air mattress, a twin bed, a spare sleeping bag, and a decent amount of leftover floor space. Reserve early though!

If enough people show interest, we can get a reserved parking area at the orchard so we can even all park together.

How much will it cost, you ask?

Gas and tolls. The only cost at the orchard is if you buy a bag of apples (that you pick yourself; i don't know how many in a bag but i remember making pies for weeks) which is $15, or a gallon of cider for $2.50. Parking is free, admission is free, all the apples you eat on the grounds are free. LS and i may bring a picnic lunch; you're more than welcome to help with that. I'm bringing my guitar and you can too; frisbees are probably ok but aerobies might be a bad idea.

Afterwards is, as of 12 September 2002, DINNER! Chris-O and LadySun will be cooking:

  • Apple Stir-Fried Pork
  • Vegetable Fried Rice
  • Cold Noodles with Apples
  • Mushrooms with Apple-Sage Stuffing
  • Salad So Good It Needs No Description
  • Caramel Apple Slices with Ice Cream
  • Chocolate Caramel Fondue probably with Apples if we're not yet Sick of Them

    SO WHO'S COMING YO?

    * = staying with Chris-O and LadySun

    Chris-O's skyphone number, if youse get lost, is no longer in this node.

    BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!


I feel that people should write aftermaths, yo. Feedback ++


Checkit: http://pie.pirateship.org.




Hey kids! It's almost fall! Ah, fall, the one season in which it's almost always not only tolerable but nice outside. The sky starts to turn crisp Van Gogh blue on a regular basis, the scarves and gloves emerge from the back of the closet, the air carries bonfire smoke and cool decay into your suddenly clear head, the maples turn all shades brilliant, and in such scenic locations as Michigan and upstate New York, the apple harvest falls due.

ARE YOU HUNGRY? Well, I am, and as such,

chancel and Chris-O (and jmc and LadySun as well, naturally) present:

Two States, Five Senses: The Michigan and New York Apple Gathering
(of doom).

Saturday, 12th October 2002
12 noon EST1
Masker Orchards in Warwick, NY
and
Spicer Orchards in Fenton, MI.

An excellent excuse to:

  1. spend a crisp autumn Saturday outside in an orchard,
    • picking apples,
    • having leaf fights,
    • avoiding bees (NOTE: there are usually lots of bees in orchards; if you are allergic, watch out!),
    • appreciating the fact that it's actually fall, FINALLY,
    • working up a healthy appetite,
    • achieving rosy cheeks in the actual cool outside,
    • and dragging full pecks of apples back to the
  2. cider mill, where we can
    • eat fresh doughnuts,
    • drink fresh apple cider,
    • buy some more cider to bring home,
    • experience some excellent cameraderie with fellow noders,
    • and leave, laden with apples, full, and happy.
  3. If you are in MI, you can come back to my and jmc's apartment in Ann Arbor, where we can
    • make pies or crumbles
    • and maybe caramel apples, or at least caramel for dipping,
    • and drink more cider, or beer, or whatever,
    • and either make dinner (IRON CHEF APPLE BATTLE!) or go out, at our collective discretion,
    • and potentially play video games or watch movies,
    • or go party downtown,
    • after which we come back home, eat more pie, and sleep in piles on the floor.
  4. Then, in the morning, we can
    • sleep in (or wake up way too early, if you are me),
    • drink copious coffee,
    • and either make lots of breakfast (apple pancakes?) or
    • go have brunch somewhere.

But that's not all!

In the spirit of community and family and co-location: copious communication with the party in upstate NY/New Jersey, and potentially with that in Portland! Bring your cell phones and your laptops, and we can, through use of space-age technology, talk with similar apple-picking noders 1000 miles away! Compare apples and foliage with the greatest of ease! Take pictures and post them for all to see! Maybe we will even set up a streaming webcam for recording our cooking and other home-oriented activities! And we can use too many exclamation points into the bargain!

We here in Michigan will be gathering at the Spicer Orchards, located at 10411 Clyde Road in Fenton, MI. It's a half hour drive north of Ann Arbor, where jmc and I (and lots of other noders, somehow none of whom we have yet met! We need to fix this problem, people!) currently reside. It's very easy to find. Just take highway 23 north from Ann Arbor (or I-94, or I-96) to exit 70, Clyde Road. Turn right, and the orchards are on the left before you hit a cross street. MapQuest directions are entirely accurate for this one as well. U-Pick apples are $7 a peck; parking et al is free, but there is plenty of cider and doughnuts and mums and old fashioned candy to buy at their store. Their website is at http://www.spicerorchards.com, but it seems to be down at the moment.

Travelers are more than welcome to descend on us Friday night: /msg one of us and we will get you directions et al, and proceed to entertain you that night as well. I usually go to the farmer's market up the street on Saturday mornings; if anyone is awake enough to come, they are quite welcome. We have accomodation available for about ten people in the apt, and could probably scrunch in a couple more. There's a twin bed and a double futon up for grabs, and reasonable carpet otherwise. We have some extra blankets and things, but it's a good idea to bring a sleeping bag and pillow. Our DSL kit is supposedly being delivered tonight, so we should certainly have it up and running by October for your noding/chatting/whatever pleasure. And there is always something going on in Ann Arbor. For instance, Rasputina is playing on the 11th for $10--so there's something to do Friday, if necessary.

Goodness will prevail! Or apple-flavored goodness, if not the Platonic form of goodness, and that's good enough for me. Um, yeah.


So. Here is the roster.

People who came:

* = staying with chancel and jmc

People who have expressed interest thus far:

People who send their fond regrets:

  • ideath, who is busy hosting her own gathering!
  • fuzzy and blue will be kickin' it neoimperialist style with ideath!
  • Frankie is in England, I believe!
  • jpfed can't get the day off!
  • Ryan the non-noder said "Oh yeah, was day was it? Oh, man, I think I have a wedding to go to...it's my sister's...yeah, and I'm a groomsman...and it's in Wisconsin."
  • Litbolt claims non-vehicular vehicle issues!
  • the gilded frame regretfully declines as well.


Please come! We like you!

Yay!




1 Contrary to popular belief, Michigan is actually in the eastern time zone. You may now plan accordingly.

Tech Information for the Michigan Contingent, and Photo Information for Everybody

Update Update: Everyone who came, whether they be Michigan or New York folk, is welcome (nay, encouraged) to put their pictures up on the gallery (http://pie.pirateship.org/assets/gallery). To do so you'll need a username and password, so /msg me. I'm happy to host, but please cut the filesize down as much as you can -- my connection doesn't rock nearly as much as I want it to. Once you've got the username 'n' password, you'll be able to add photos, delete photos, edit captions, etc. etc. etc., so have a good time.

Update: http://pie.pirateship org is up, though currently sparse and slow as hell. Go to.

Q. Will there be internet connectivity?

A. Yes. We've got ADSL up and running, so for alls y'all who start shaking if you're away from a terminal for more than half an hour, we've got you covered. We're running DHCP in these parts, so you'll be able to get online with minimum hassle. Currently there is no wireless access, so plan accordingly.

Q. Cool. What do I need to bring to get online?

A. A computer capable of speaking DHCP. Since there's been so much interest (for which I'm very happy), space is at a premium, so please, laptops only. Sorry, but you won't be able to set up a desktop inside. In addition to your computer, you will need:

  1. A power strip. We don't have many outlets.
  2. An ethernet adapter.
  3. Your 1337 n3tw0rk1ng sk1llz.

You do not need to bring switches, hubs, or cat-5 unless you really want to. We've got 7 free ports here, and I doubt there will be that many who bring network devices. Update: cbustapeck is bringing a mammoth hub, so we absolutely, positively won't run out of ports.

Q. What about communication between the gatherings?

A. I plan to have a website up for the event (url to be released once I've actually configured the puppy). I'd love to get some form of fairly constant communication up, so bring your cell phones, digital cameras, webcams, and brilliant ideas -- with so many of us in the same place, we're bound to work something out. Some things to keep in mind:

  1. We don't have cell phones, digital cameras, or webcams, and the chances of us getting any of the above in time for the gathering are slim. Update: But thanks to dizzy and Wuukiee, we're set on the webcam front.
  2. Our ADSL is only 1.5/384, so our upstream isn't that good. I don't want to saturate the line, since there are some people who use my servers for email.
  3. I'd love to hear your ideas. I'm pretty swamped with school and work during the week, so the sooner you can get 'em to me, the better the chance is we'll be able to implement it.

So write me with your questions or suggestions and let's get this thing going. Send me a /msg or write to john@pirateship.org.

I got to go to my first gathering yesterday, Two States, Five Senses: The Michigan and New York Apple Gathering . It was amazing, I got to meet some truly wonderful people; and then I met NatchLucid. See, I saw her beating up wick in the catbox, and felt badly for poor wick; and so, I felt this sense of social justice fall over me, and I thought she was a mean person. I was very interested in meeting her, simply so I could give her what for.

I met Natch early in the morning, and by noon, we were eating and laughing together like old friends; mind you I never really talked to her before. So, eating our Ratatouille in a hurry to get to the Apple Orchard, we talked, and laughed about who we were… since for some reason, I couldn't remember anyone's name (other than hers). Then, we had to go, and so Natch and I parted ways.

At the orchard, we decided to go Pumpkin Hunting, not because they are dangerous, but just because we could. Those innocent little orange things don’t run very fast … heheheheh. So, Natch and I decided that we would run amuck …but running in a pumpkin patch isn't easy; especially if you have to watch for little children. So, our running amuck became walking amuck. What was our mission? To find the Great Pumpkin! What did we find? This lovely orange lopsided two headed mutant pumpkin. It was lovely. We had to take it home!

Then on the way back from the Pumpkin Patch, I lost my Natch, see, I was sitting in between CowboyNeal, and Brooksmarlin and was too absorbed to notice that some people got off at the raspberry section to pick raspberries of course… Natch was one of them… =( where did she go? So, after waiting around, and not having her near me, I walked to the raspberry patch to see if they were there; indeed they were. I rode the hay wagon back with to the check out area with them so that I could regroup with everyone.

then we went to the park to cook out, and Natch stayed behind to make pie, and when she finally showed up at the park, we were all getting ready to go back to jmc and chancel's apartment. But, I must say, all in all, we had a great time hanging out.

So, you may be asking yourself, what does any of this have to do with NatchLucid being a thief? Well, nothing really. Other than she swiftly stole my heart. I realized what a wrong misconception I had of her. In fact, I love Natch, she is one of the nicest people I met. =)

Well, this was suppost to be an aftermath node, but, it became an "I love Natchlucid" node… Oops. Oh well. Enjoy.


Well, in farther news as of 2003 Natchlucid is no more, and has become Gleeme please note the change. thanks

It was a beautiful weekend. And I could write up a nice, factual, chronological description of what happened. Tried doing that, and it was boring, stopped halfway through. Instead, a few memories, smiles, and bits of happiness.

  • Driving the backroads of western Ohio on the gorgeous fall day that was friday. The windows down, the heat on, NPR on the radio, loud... The temperature was perfect. The sky was blue, the sun was shining... it was the last remnants of summer, and a reminder of how close winter is.
  • Walking, practically skipping around the sidewalks of Ann Arbor, having arrived too early, wanting to see a bit of the town, wanting to enjoy the beautiful day.
  • Chancel and jmc and yays! and salsa and torillas and Icelandic bread.
  • Tall noders, unite!
  • Driving with Chancel along twisting, semi-lit roads in the dark of the evening, to buy expensive foo-foo sodas - what a strange and wonderful thing it is, to be sober for a noder meet. But I like it.
  • Wuukiee and mcc and CzarKahn showing up and hugs and ear scritches!
  • Finally, the late arrival of NatchLucid and BrooksMarlin and compulsiveearnibbler, hugs, many hugs.
  • Walking, arm around compulsiveearnibbler, her arm around me.
  • A big ol' line o' noders, arms around each other, walking back from the Rasputina concert, engaging in all 31 flavors of silliness.
  • Noders, laptops, miles of cat5, sprawled out on the floor, doing the same thing that we normally do, but together.
  • Seven pairs of Birkenstocks. Eight people.
  • Waking up next to compulsiveearnibbler, having slept a better night than I have in a long time.
  • Breakfast. Or was it lunch? What was it even? Or was there even food? Whatever Chancel and jmc made, it was yummy. I remeber that much. Or maybe it was just waking up in such good company.
  • Jurph and Erica and Birdlace and Steve. Late Friday night. Yays and bright camera flashes, if I remember correctly.
  • Maneuvering the scary streets of Ann Arbor to kaytay's apartment, then back to the rest of the peoples.
  • Nocte (biiig hugs) and friend Jeromie. But no metal rozsa.
  • And then off to the orchard!
  • Tons and tons of people at the orchard. And tons of OUR people. Dizzy and katyana. Nate, clampe, hemos, CowboyNeal, and BJuarez.
  • Wandering (and wandering and wandering), looking for capskippy and twoswimy, who were eventually found.
  • Careening way too fast down the highway with kaytay.
  • Just sitting in the park.
  • Jurph's mad grilling skillz.
  • Apple stuff!
  • compulsiveearnibbler does not appear to nibble ears compulsively, or really, at all.
  • Node slam.
  • noders = pile of kittens
  • Just being with all of you, finally. Talking and hanging out and smiling and hugging. Can't wait to do it again.

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