Thursday Threesome: State Fair and Rodeo

Onesome- State: What state (or territory) do you live in? Have you lived in any other(s)? Where would you like to live? And as a bonus: Any idea what year your state became a state? *grin*

Oregon. I've also lived in Iowa, for college, and California (when I was much too young to remember), and Wisconsin for a few months after college. I love Oregon; I'm glad to live here, and I wanted to come home to it. Western Oregon with its green and its wet and its spaces and its liberal-attitude urban areas is home. (1859, I believe?)

Twosome- Fair: Or amusement parks: Did you enjoy them as a kid? What was your favorite ride? How do you feel about them now? Ready to go wander around one again, sampling funnel cakes and corn dogs and riding rides until you're sick or would you rather just enjoy the entertainment or stay home and avoid the crowds?

Hehe. Did I enjoy these as a kid? Shall I try to say "no" and watch my parents chime in? Of course I did! What my favorite ride was varied year-to-year, but I think I'll stick with either rollercoasters or the Zipper (which was a favorite for several years when I was big enough to go on it). The Zipper, for those who haven't seen one, is a large ride that, well, looks like a zipper when at a stop - vertical piece with cars on it shaped like the pieces on a zipper (feet in the narrow part, totally enclosed car). When it starts going, the pole moves off the vertical, spinning; the cars are drawn around the pole on a chain; and the cars themselves are able to flip around their center individually, also. I loved seeing how many flips I could get in a row....

I wouldn't mind going to another one, but I know from experience I would not stay as long as when I was younger or enjoy it as much. And it's amazing how much of things that were delicious treats when I was little, are now sort of gross. (But cotton candy and snow cones still are good.)

Threesome- And Rodeo: Have you ever been to or watched a rodeo on TV? Did you enjoy it or consider it a barbaric spectacle? If you liked it, what was your favorite event? Ever tempted to race barrels or ride a bull yourself?

I don't think I've ever been to one. I have seen parts of one on TV. I'm not sure what to think of it, except it seems hard on the animals, but since I avoid exposure I am not sure I should comment too much.

Wheeeeee new toy!

Okay, at this point I'm still staring hopefully, but still, new toy. Tonight, I went to get an external CD-writer as I've wanted one on this laptop way too bloody many times recently (and my paycheck just came in with extra from after-hours calls). Annnnd...they had a sale on a Sony external DVD/CD writer (DVD+/- writer at that). So I ended up with that instead, as it wasn't even (post-rebate, of course, which I don't yet have, but still) twice the price of the external CD burner I wanted.

So, I'm now working on backing up a lot of my files to one DVD. And if it can be read when it's finished (yes, I am a bit short on faith till I see it work), I will do a dance of joy, I think. This rocks. Though the DVD write will pretty much be for backups, it also means I have a DVD player that isn't in the laptop and therefore will not contribute to it running hot (which always makes me nervous as, if it gets too hot, it can and does simply shut off. At once. Very displeasing.) I will use the burner more for CDs, but the DVDs are gonna be handy for backups, this I can already tell.