Peter Lebeck Chapter #1866

Hello Brothers and welcome back to the PXL CLOG! Just a few quick notes and notices in this round of the CLOG. The Spring Clamping season will soon be here so time to get our jackasses in order.

March 20th, PXL will be having our Spring General Membership Meeting at Fort Tejon at 12 noon. We'll be meeting in the Tack Room, which is quite rustic so bring a chair, a cozy jacket, your own beverages and your best ideas. The Humbug will provide lunch. As usual this meeting will include planning for our Spring Doin's in Tehachapi so spread the word. If you are coming, do Timbo the courtesy of dropping him an email at Timbo@PeterLebeckECV.com, leaving him a post on Peter's Board, or just calling him at (714) 936-8650. Timbo hates to waste food.

Speaking of the Spring Doin's, we'll be headed for Tehachapi the weekend of April 23-25, for a Clampout at the nearby Visco Sports Center and a Sunday Plaquing in Downtown Tehachapi at Railroad Park which is at the corner of Tehachapi Boulevard and Green Street. We'll be guests of the City of Tehachapi which is very much looking forward to our erection.

So won't you please join us? Make sure to download the flyer, and check out the special pages we've put together to inform you about our doin's. Just click on the purple lightening banner above or the 2010 Spring Doin's link to get to the flyer page. And while you're there don't forget to click the tabs at the top of the page for more details. This year we even have a new electronic sign-up feature on the flyer page that will make for faster check-in at the gate. So why waste time later on when you can party, party, party, and spend more time catching-up with some of your bestest buds in all of Clamperdom?

Speaking of buds. We are great supporters of the Central Valley Tri-Chapter Doin's which is celebrating its twelfth edition this year. The Doin's will takes place the weekend of April 9-11, at Indian Rock near Fresno, and if you are interested in who among us is going, or would like to go yourself, make sure to check Peter's Board and click on All Things Clamp'sidered to read the Tri-Chapter thread. One thing we really like about this doin's is the "Beluga Brothers" event on Friday night. It's a fancy way of saying that dinner won't be provided, but if you pay five dollars and either bring or prepare a dish on the spot, you will become part of one of the most fattening pot lucks in all of Clamperdom, and one where guys try to outdo each other to impress their brothers. So click here to download their flyer and click here to open their webpage.

Now for scuttlebutt about our webpage updates and other cyber stuff of interest. Over the last few weeks we've been getting our house in order for the coming year, so, as you look around, you will see updates to pages like Peter's Procs, Our Humbugs' Page, Officers Page, doin's announcements and photo pages. Presently Vaquero is also pruning deadwood off of Peter's Board so things are starting to look rather spiffy around here. We've added a few more faces to the Mugz! Page, and have just posted photos from our recent appearance in the Whiskey Flats Days Parade up in Kernville, so check that out too.

And if you haven't visited or posted to Peter's Board lately we really encourage you to do so. The easy way to get there is to click on the scrolling marquee in the links box that reads, "This Way to Peter's Board." Then save the link as a favorite. It's a great way to keep in touch as whatever you post in the public areas can be seen by any Clamper visiting the board. Signing-up takes less than five minutes, and if you've forgotten your password just email "--MGM for a reset. Just make sure to tell us what name you've chosen for yourself on the board. Plus if you've been to one of our doin's we can probably set you up with an avatar as well (but it will have to be in RED not BLUE).

As you look around you'll likely notice some subtle changes to our graphics and some even bigger changes to our sound. If you had the sound off when you first opened this page then I'd encourage you to turn it on, refresh the page and take a listen. That's Timbo, our sonorous Humbug inviting you to our Spring Doin's among other things. You'll also discover an off button ( " | | ") underneath the Norton Day video where you usually find our flying jackass . . . and here's why.

It has been our goal over the last couple of years to make our site "cross browser compliant," meaning that whether you're using Internet Explorer, Firefox or some other program to search the web, the pages should always look and sound roughly the same. But quite often graphics that look quite orderly in one browser look like deck chairs on the Titanic in another. Entire sections of a page can go sliding to the edges, text that looked plenty bright and correctly sized in IE can display as faint or clownishly large in Firefox or Safari. And Sounds? Sometimes sound files won't play at all or a computer's volume settings become tweaked. Other times only some sound files will play but not others. And Safari is the worst of the bunch, throwing-up big error message windows when it can't digest sound instead of just keeping its fat browser mouth shut.

Then there is that stupid STOP button. All versions of Internet Explorer come with a stop button. Hit it and the little script we've been using to play sound would stop and the sound would shut off. Nice. Except other browsers don't come with a stop button. ARGGGH!

So long story short, while our pages - all 90 or so of them -- still display best in IE, if you are using another browser you'll find that our links and graphics are now more visible and aesthetically appealing. And all browser users will find more of our sound converted to streaming mp3's with scrubbable off and on switches embedded somewhere on their respective pages. So feel free to kill the sound or replay whatever pieces tickle your fancy.

So what browser is best for surfing the internet? Well at the very least it should be the latest version of what you are using now, and you have few excuses because these programs are free. Developers are always trying to make their browsers more secure and efficient, and the latest versions often come pre-loaded with the plug-ins you'll need to view the latest stupid web tricks. Plus keep in mind that the longer a browser version has been out there the more opportunity hackers have had to take the thing apart, so newer is always better, at least from a security standpoint. And if all the new bells and whistles bother you - and here I'm mostly referring to the latest version of Microsquish IE - ignore them. A browser is still a browser. Learn the new basic features, but skip things like "slices" unless you have a need for them.

Speaking of Microsquish, most people still use IE. I use it, but I also recognize that many of you won't. Some oppose it on principle, because they just don't want to give the beast the satisfaction. Others see it as a security issue because IE is always being probed by hackers for vulnerabilities, but let's not forget that even the security of Firefox has been recently questioned. So if you are a fan of Firefox, now is not the time to get smug. The truth is: If your browser is popular it's gunna be a hacker magnet.

All that said, if you want to try something other than IE, I'd recommend downloading the latest version of Google Chrome. Google seems to have something special here. In testing our web pages, Chrome loaded faster than any other browser including IE, and about twice as fast as Firefox. Chrome drew pages quickly, played old Java sound scripts that Firefox refused to play, and finished pages looked more like those of Firefox than IE, which ought to give you a good idea which browser Google think it is competing against.

Anyway those are my two cents. In the meantime enjoy the music, and I'll be typing at you again in a few days.

--MGM

Here's a quick update for Saturday's Whiskey Flat Days Parade in Kernville. According to Brother Dickhead Weather Central, "We should have a sunny weekend. Tomorrow, at parade time, it should be in the mid to high 50s. It will warm up to 63 later in the day. No sign of rain, snow, hurricanes, typhoons or other nasty stuff." Plus the ride up from any direction should be just as nice, though you are cautioned to watch for black ice as is common this time of year in places that are prone to it. Otherwise the freeways will be clear and all roads leading to Kernville will be open.

A last minute advisory from Doc: If you miss linking up with us at "The Hut," you will still be able to find us in the staging area if you get there early enough. Just go to the check-in table at the Chamber of Commerce which is on Sierra Way and right down the street from The Hut. Just ask them for our parade number and hurry on down to meet us. The parade kicks off at 11 sharp, and we have no way to know where we'll be in line until we get there.

For more information, including a map and directions, just keep reading, and see you there.

Before you read on to the latest CLOG Update, keep in mind that all Clampers and their Widders are invited to join us in Kernville on Saturday, February 13th, Presidents' Day Weekend, as PXL comes together to march in the Whiskey Flats Parade. That's the weekend after Super Bowl. This ia a great time to be had by all of us so read on. The details, including a map and direction are included in this update of the PXL CLOG so click here or read on! IMPORTANT: You must be at the staging area by 10:30 a.m. The Parade starts at 11:00 a.m. sharp. Dale will meet us at The Hut. See below for details.

Hello sports fans, and welcome back to the PXL Clog! As your coach, I've laid out an exciting five minutes worth of reading here, so adjust your specs, drop the chalupas and get ready for the rush. It's Super Bowl Week and the PXL Clog is once again on the air!

First of all we want to thank everybody who made it out to our Widders' Ball this past weekend. It was a most satisfactory outing, the attendance was great, the weather was mild and the camaraderie was excellent. To prove it, we've posted over 140 photos, many of them portraits of some of our favorite brothers and their significant Widders so head on over to Peter's Picture Pages when you get a moment and watch the slide show.

And for watching the slides here's a viewing tip for those of you using Internet Explorer 8. If you click on the little magnifying glass in the lower right hand corner, you can zoom in to make the slide show window fill most of the screen. After doing that the slide will look out of wack at first but you can easily fix that by right-clicking on the slide. When the menu appears, click on 'zoom in', then right-click again and click on 'zoom out'. The slide will now fill the marquee and you'll now get a much larger view of the whole show.

We want to congratulate our new Humbug, "Ptomaine Timbo" Gillespie on his ascesion to one of the most 'fun' jobs in the whole wide world, right up there with ball turret gunner and deposed Middle Eastern dictator. Sorry Timbo, we just filled in the last spider hole in Kern County and you'll have to supply your own Band-Aids, but we'll be there for you when you need us, and we'll be cheering you on.

On the flip side we also want to congratulate our outgoing Humbug and new Clampatriarch Dale "Doc" Charter, who made his escape at Saturday's Widders' Ball. In appreciation Doc gave each of his surviving officers a very nice personalized gift, and has promised to continue to support the chapter in whatever way he can which we know is no idle promise as he has already committed to coordinating our appearance at the Whiskey Flats Day Parade in Kernville during the upcoming Presidents' Day Weekend, and for which you will want to keep reading down the page, but first this.

As part of Doc's swan song, Doc changed several aspects of this year's Widders' Ball in hopes of establishing a couple of traditions that will make it a kinder and more genteel event as we go forward. For 2010 the women's costume event was separated into three categories - period, saloon and absurd - with the strutting, meat market approach to the ladies' contest going bye-bye but staying put for the more hearty hombres. Doc also established an award for "Noble Grand Widder," to recognize the woman whose work over the last year did the most to support the chapter and improve its reputation.

So without further adieu here are the winners! In the ladies competition, the Best Period Costume award went to Peggy Horn, beloved wife of our Brother Dennis "Hornhead" Horn. The Best Saloon Girl Costume award went to Jennifer Painter, a wise woman most firmly attached to our Brother Timbo Gillespie, our new PXL Humbug. And finally the Most Absurd Costume award went to Carol Davidson, who insists on hanging out with our up-to-no-good but much beloved brother and ECV Proctor, "Wild Bill" Davidson. Hope springs eternal they say, and Carol may yet succeed in making Bill a respectable guy - but we doubt it.

As for the men's competition, our winner was PXL Brother Jay Corlew, who was brought in by Doc this year at Havilah and is the owner of Silver City Ghost Town in Bodfish. Cheering him on was his wife Candy whom we hope will join us for the ladies' costume competition next time around. She was certainly all dressed up for the occasion and would have made a sparkling go of it.

Our congratulations also go out to, Jeannie Johnson, who was dubbed PXL's first annual "Noble Grand Widder," in recognition of her work on behalf of the chapter. For some time now Jeannie has been our liaison to the local battered women's shelter, helping PXL provide the women and children taking refuge there with toiletries, clothing and other hard to come by personal items. She has also decorated for more than one Widders' Ball, and, along with JoLinda Naucke, has hand crafted items that appeal to other Clamper wives and hawked them during Grand Council to raise money for our chapter. We also note that she has put up with our brother XNGH Don Johnson on a daily basis for almost too many years to count.

As for the actual ceremony, the whole thing caught Jeannie totally by surprise. Doc called her out of the audience, and she soon found herself kneeling on a milk crate (which hurt) and being dubbed on each shoulder with a broadsword (which didn't quite hurt so much). Charles Topping cast a special medallion celebrating Jeannie's status as PXL's first Noble Grand Widder, and it was presented to her along with flowers and a written commendation from the chapter. So thanks again Mrs. Johnson for your persistent efforts on our behalf.

Before moving on from the Widders' Ball, I have to acknowledge a mistake made in the original version of this post. In it I mentioned the donation of two fine antique women's hats which were auctioned off for the benefit of our chapter at the end of the evening's formalities. Well les chapeau were actually donated by Widder Karyl Ralles, who seems to insist on hanging out with our Brother Mikee Ralles just because they are husband and wife. Now we know Mike quite well, but since Karyl has known him longer we have to assume that she knows what she's doing. So our thanks go out to Karyl for her generosity and to our Brother Mike for his continuing support.

As originally stated our Brother "Wild Bill" Davidson did conduct the actual auction of these fine ladies' hats and we always appreciate Wild Bill's participation at our doin's. Bill is a current ECV Proctor and, though his native chapter is Jim Savage up in Fresno, he has been an important PXL booster over the years. He and his wife Carol are just as much an inseparable item as the Ralles, so please forgive my error in confusing my Karyls with my Carols. And don't forget that the next time you see either of these couples don't be shy about introducing yourself. They're family.

Whiskey Flat Days up in Kernville will be our next event and like the Widders' Ball this one is co-ed. So whether you come on up for the day or for the weekend, you and your widder are invited to join PXL as we march in Saturday's Whiskey Flats Parade for the third year in a row. Period dress is encouraged, especially for the ladies, so don your Clamper finery and come on down: That's Saturday, February 13th, Presidents' Day Weekend in Kernville.

Doc Charter and his widder Marti will be acting as hosts for this event. Doc will take care of checking us in for the parade which he'll do at 9:30 a.m., but we must be at the parade staging area by 10:30, as the parade starts at 11 a.m. sharp. For convenience sake Dale will gather us up at 10 a.m. at the Hut, which is a pub near the staging site, just don't count on eating there, though you can wet your whistle. While the Charters would love to have you come on up to their place before the parade, you need to be concerned about parking which can get rather scarce near the parade route. Whiskey Flat Days is one of the biggest seasonal events in Kern County, and as many as 50,000 people are expected in town for the weekend, so we encourage you to get there early or risk creating your own parade just getting to where we are supposed to meet up.

After the parade we'll gather at Doc and Marti's house for snacks and refreshments. They live about half a mile from the parade staging area at 16 Hillside Drive in Kernville. If you get lost feel free to call Doc on his cell at (760) 417-0599, just keep in mind that your own cell may not work in town particularly if you are a Verizon subscriber. If that is the case you'll have to scramble for a land line at one of the local pubs.

To get to the parade staging area from Lake Isabella just follow the one and only road into town. It becomes Burlando Road as you approach Kernville. Once in town this street will change names a couple of times but continue to follow it over the Kern River Bridge then park wherever you can find parking. The Hut will be on your right, two blocks past the bridge; and the staging area will be three blocks beyond that, where the road T-intersects with Sierra Way.

Doc's house is at the entrance to town. To get to Doc's place, make the first left just past Riverside Park as you are coming into Kernville. You'll literally be turning from Burlando Road onto Burlando Road. The fifth opportunity to turn left is Hillside Drive. The Charters live half a block up on the right at 16 Hillside Drive. See you there.

We are also proud to announce our Spring Doin's which will take place in Tehachapi the weekend of April 23-25, 2010. We'll be mounting an erection in downtown Tehachapi denoting the area's celebrated topography as well as the 100th Anniversary of the town's existence. So grab an extra blanket and come on up. We should have our usual set of background pages up soon. But until then you'll just have to be satisfied with downloading the flyer. Just click on the purple lighting banner ad above and the flyer can be yours for free. To go to the Tehachapi City website click on the train logo to your right.

We also want to remind you that our message board is open to any Clamper who cares to use it to post jokes, announcements and what nots. We even encourage other chapters to post their doin's announcements on our board so that everybody who cares to look can know what they are up to. Just click on the scrolling marquee in the links box on the left, or better yet, just bookmark this link, http://www.petersboard.peterlebeckecv.com.

On a personal note yours truly will be recording more than just cybers this year because I am also PXL's newly appointed Grand Noble Recorder. As such I'd like to try something different, and I am asking for volunteers to join a phone committee to help rouse the troops for the coming doin's and beyond. So if you are interested please drop me an email at mgm@PeterLebeckECV.com . You help will be greatly appreciated by everyone.

To check out the rest of our official line-up, go to our PXL Officers Page, where our contact information is always available. And please excuse the mess around here. WebPage maintenance takes time, and who has all the time in the world?

Lastly we hope you enjoy the Super Bowl on Sunday, and may the best team win. On an absurd note, I heard a guy named Don Steinberg on the radio yesterday who has a website where he is comparing presidents to Super Bowls by the numbers. You know 44 presidents, 44 Super Bowls, right?

Or as NPR put it, "For example, check out Game 16. Joe Montana may have led the 49ers to an exciting 26-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. But, as Steinberg points out, "he didn't free the slaves." And while San Francisco's 20-0 halftime lead was the largest halftime shutout lead in Super Bowl history, "it didn't deliver The Gettysburg Address."

I guess we know who Steinburg thinks won that one. Anyway here is the link: http://americabowl.net. And just in case you can't hear the music I've been playing on the homepage this week in honor of Super Bowl XVIV, it is of course, one of my favorite football songs from 1933. Granted it isn't Cowboy music, though I think Tony Romo would argue with me on that one. Here's a YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwUNaZLr8G8 But if you can hear the sound and want to shut it off, I've added a new control just beneath the flying jackass. Type at you next time.

--MGM