It is finally election day and if you haven’t voted already PLEASE VOTE!!! I would say this is the most important election the USA in more than 50 years. Although I have made my feeling clear who I voted for, I want to show you something and there is actually a story behind this photo.

This photo was taken on Sept 23, 2019 and in case you don’t recognize it. This is the closest anyone has gotten to the White House in the past 4 years. Yes I will admit according to authorities it has been open on occasion, but this area is closed off 98% of the time. I just wanted on my Washington, DC trip back in 2019 was just to see the White House. I was not going to protest, I just wanted to take a couple of photos and that’s it.

But also did you know that there are parks just north and south of the White House? Look it up on any map app. They were closed too, and all of this is pre pandemic.

I was told by the locals when Obama was in office you could actually have a picnic in either park or eat your lunch during a break. But not since trump has been in office, they were closed the day he was sworn in and have not been open since. Except for workers who mowed the grass.

You know most Washington, DC city employees have a security clearance…

You could argue about a lot of things. But what is the harm in opening a park? Ask Donald Trump who simply ordered them closed. I even heard a rumor he wanted to build a wall around them.

I know there are a bunch of these lists seemly everywhere on this topic. Except mine will not include this person or that. Nothing personal, but in the 2 I reported recently. I knew nothing about them before they died. Also this is mainly focused on public events.

1. The COVID-19 Pandemic

Seriously can you think of anything else that has shutdown the fandom. Except for a few places, most furry social media is dead, in addition a few cons have gone under. I can’t think of anything that has ever done this before and it took a world wide pandemic to do it.

2. RAINFURREST 2015

Ever come across something that literally no one wants to go on record to talk about. Believe me I have tried, and everyone has backed out. I can understand why, because either they will come across as either arrogant or stupid. Frankly I don’t see any middle ground. But in short Rainfurrest 2015 was the worst thing to hit the fandom until this pandemic. Despite that Internet Historian video, there are still rumors that even I can’t post. Literally of everything imaginable. Recently on Reddit I saw a post about someone at that con seeing another bring stray dogs in to their room. For what I won’t say, but we all kind of know and to this very day I can not find a single person, except those on YouTube to even admit they were there in a public forum. I also can’t blame them.

3. Hate Groups Furry or Not

I know this is kind of a touchy subject with some. But I am sorry to say the fandom has it’s share of hate groups either causing problems or threatening to cause issues. One of the reasons that they have increased security at the major cons.

4. Furry Drama

Given my own experience and those who vented on various social media. Furry Drama which includes politics has actually killed meets, destroyed friendships, and dare I say has gotten people fired over false claims. It’s the one thing I hope dies with this pandemic. But I fear it won’t.

5. Stupidity

I know this might seem petty, but still stupidity at furry events still amazes me. Did you know someone actually brought a gun to a fur con? I am sorry to say that is quite true. Add in the cops and real jail time, plus the loss of the weapon… it really wasn’t that good idea. Then there is the case of this idiot tossing cash from a balcony at this one hotel and there is a YouTube video on this one, that shows the cash toss. But not what happened to the tosser, getting kicked out of their hotel room, plus a multi year ban from both. I got that from the idiot himself. Then there is what happened at another convention, I heard this at one of those Con Horror Story Panels. Where this genius decided to toss a frozen turkey, and it landed on the hotel’s glass bar. It cost a few hundred which the idiot had to pay for.

The worse part is that there are endless examples. So please lets make 2021 better… for everyone.

If your reading this congratulations you have survived most of 2020 unharmed… I hope. With so much bad news, most of us fear we are losing our minds, we have mixed emotions. Yours truly is no expectation, I so want to get out an do something… ANYTHING!!!

It being October, by now I normally have my MFF badge preordered, and start to make basic plans. Waiting to the release of the schedule (which normally happens in November) to finalize them. Yes I really do this and have for the last 5 years and I have rarely missed anything I wanted to see and do. I will admit now that being a Sponsor last year threw me off. I missed some photos I would normally take. Usually crowd photos, and of course more fursuiters. I hope to correct that mistake for the next MFF. Also make more videos covering little things that are usually unplanned but will make you smile.

Like this one…

October also for me, that usually means that a good friend and I would head off to the biggest of the 2 local zoos for their annual Halloween event. No fursuiters due to no masks for anyone over 12. But my friend and I usually have a great time. We bring our own picnic.

But that isn’t happening this year obviously.

This past year with little else to do I have been thinking about my life and places I like to go. In fact I was thinking about going to another convention in addition to MFF. Which one? I rather not say for now, except it won’t be in Illinois.

But from what I have seen from social media a lot are doing the same. I even seen someone who actually swore of cons in general. Actually say they need to go to this one con, once this is all over of course.

All I can say and keep in mind this is what I have been told. Smaller cons are better than the big ones. Simply because you can make friends, which given the number of MFFs I have been to is impossible for some at bigger cons. I have never made a friend at MFF. Although I have met some real nice furries.

As to local events if you live in a area that has them. I hope you have a chance to decide for yourself is it something you STILL want to be apart of. I know of excellent ones, as well as some terrible ones, are they worth coming back to once this is all over? That is up to YOU.

Speaking of which I really want to go to @FurlifeNW, a Seattle Bowling Meet that is so large they literally take over the entire bowling center. One report I saw said their were over 200 at one meet. Over 200?!!! I would make a special trip to Seattle just to cover it once.

That for me means a 2 day trip on Amtrak one way.

No MFF, no anime con, no special challenges for me this year. Not until this pandemic is over. I am very grateful to those who have stuck around. I know I haven’t posted much, frankly very little is happening. For example in September I could only find 5 news stories in total.

I did get a surprise recently when I discovered the place I use to play laser tag has been torn down. The company that operated it, Laser Quest is now out of business.

A victim of this pandemic.

Which I hope you aren’t. Wear a mask, and stay healthy if you can. For once this is all over it will be time to party.

What a morning, woke up to find out trump has COVID-19. I say that is 100% Pure Karma, go around without a mask, mock people who do, threaten to fire members of your own staff who want to wear one. Plus Tweet, God will never allow me to get sick, was simply asking for it. No one ever mocks TBO, and gets away with it.

Now for a little HARDCORE truth time. trump is in the high risk category of dying, given his age and health. Not a lot of people his age make it. Think this is a lie look it up yourself.
Has this election gotten any weirder? I say this is only the beginning.

First of all, why did I decide to take Amtrak, I love trains and really hadn’t been on one since I was a kid… admit-tingly things have changed.

So what was my actual experience like?

We might as well start with Baggage Check. I arrived roughly an hour before my train was set to leave. Turns out they are like the airlines you need to check your bag early. I was in the middle of policy change, they took my bag, but warned me next time to make sure I did at least 90 minutes before departure. Turns out you can check your bag a day early for a fee.

I traveled Coach and on this route there was an optional First Class, which includes a Roomette and all your food is included. Including the option to wait in The First Class Lounge where snacks and drinks are FREE.

I went Coach so I had to wait until I was called. Because of track issues my train would leave an hour late.

Once I was called, an Amtrak employee escorted us to the gate and we waited until the 1st Class passengers boarded before us. You do you get a seat assignment as you board the train this is where you have to sit until the train pulls out, and when it arrives at your Final Destination. Otherwise you can get up and move around.

I just have to say something about Amtrak that you don’t even get with airlines and that is ROOM. So you’re limited to the Coach car, the Observation Car and it’s the Cafe for the most part. But if you want to walk around you can. Besides you get massive leg room for someone like me who is over 6 feet tall, it was wonderful.

Unless your traveling First Class, Food is an issue, not as bad as Greyhound, but you do need to know that these days most trains only have a Cafe. Meaning limited selection, but you can get a pizza, it’s frozen until they pop it into the microwave. You can check Amtrak’s website for more details.

But I say bring your own food, especially things to snack on. I suggest smaller bags vs the bigger ones… less of a mess. Also anything that does not need a fridge. But there are tables available and besides you do get a nice view.

You really need to bring water at least a liter per day. They have places you can get water, but they weren’t working on both legs of my journey.

Washing Your Hands, the Restrooms are decent and you can wash your hands. But frankly I didn’t feel clean, Hand Sanitizer was a must for me. Wet Wipes also help, if you feel a bit grimy.

Remember unless Amtrak states you have Wifi you don’t. Also getting a cellphone signal can be spotty at best. When your in a city or a town, no issue. But in rural areas or mountains nothing. There was one part of my journey that I didn’t have a cellphone signal for 6 hours.

You need to bring your own entertainment that doesn’t need an internet connection. My Laptop really helped me, and there are power sockets so electricity is no issue.

You get very good air circulation. Some actually got cold, meanwhile I was fine.

The crew was friendly, I saw some amazing sites, really enjoyed the view.

Special Mention: As we were running some 3 1/2 hours late, Amtrak doesn’t get priority. Freight service goes 1st. They did hand out boxes of small packages of snacks.

I did find out what would happen if someone got into trouble on the train. They get kicked off and arrested, depending on what they did they may or may not be allowed back on. Also the train doesn’t wait.

So getting into trouble is really not a good thing.

Overall I would not hesitate to use Amtrak again. I really enjoyed my trip, want to do others once this pandemic is over.

I took Greyhound for the first time since my childhood recently, it when I went to see a good friend in Evansville, IN. I did the usual things before my journey, checking out what I could online and watching videos talking about what it was like. Yes I also saw the horror stories, but really all I would say is I wish I knew better and I hope this helps those who plan to take Greyhound for the first time once this Pandemic is over.

I brought with me water and a snack. I quickly wish I brought more, you know when people say “You have nothing better to do, you eat”. That is so true, all you can do is sit there, play with your seat belt and look out the window, and let me tell you, using the restroom when the bus is going 55 MPH is a experience un to itself. If you brought some device with you, make sure you don’t need the internet. I know Greyhound says it’s buses have WiFi, but the reality of it is it’s cellphone internet and when it can’t get a signal, there isn’t wifi. So a laptop is a must or at least a device with preloaded content is a MUST. Also remember your often traveling through rural areas so no cellphone signal period, so texting is out.

Like I said earlier I didn’t bring that much food, oh sure the bus makes rest stops often at places with restaurants. But unless your big into fast food, you are out of luck. The same can be said if you happen to have a layover which I did twice. Both down and up, given it’s often the middle of the night your options are extremely limited. Greyhound’s own Snack Bars, depending on location have a very limited menu. I am not joking when I say this bring a shopping bag of food with you. Especially if it’s an overnight journey, or worse yet on some special diet.

One trick I figured out after I got home was how to take cereal with you. Ziploc bag with cereal and plastic spoon as for the milk… one of those little containers of almond milk. Why almond milk? It won’t spoil.

Drivers are nice, but they often forget if you have a layover to return your ticket, which you need for the next leg of your journey. My suggestion is use a digital ticket option through their app or if you printed your ticket. Make sure you have a couple of copies.

As for the ride, the seat was comfortable, and I was really happy it had a seat belt. What can I say I seen the news.

One thing I have never seen anyone mention is what happens during your travels. I know a lot depends on your other passengers… but really. The biggest issue I had was sweat, you can really feel the humidity in the bus rise as your trip goes on. I was on 4 buses in total and had this issue on 3 of them. No joke I actually felt sticky, and was happy that a friend suggested to bring Wet Wipes, the kind women and babies use. There really isn’t anyway to wash your hands, so hand sanitizer is a must.

By the time I got to the end of both my travels I really needed a change of clothes and a shower.

So really folks if your traveling Greyhound you need

FOOD, Water, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and some sort of entertainment device that does not need the internet or a cellphone network.

Also be aware that you might not sleep very well. I barely slept during my journey, I don’t blame Greyhound, it’s just the way I am.

Be aware if you are going to make an early morning exit of the bus, the driver won’t wake you up. So it is possible unless your traveling to the end of the line for that route to sleep past your stop.

I hope this helps you first timers

When MFF posted the news that their 2020 con was cancelled I was in shock for A moment. Of course I understand this awful pandemic is effecting everything including cons and so do we all. I even seriously debated with myself if it was on? Could I go? I hate to say the answer was no. The risk of getting sick is too great. We all know Con Crud, but combined with COVID-19 could make it lethal.

Then there are the Virtual Cons, I give it to those who put them together. I know it’s a lot of hard work, but I know they are not the same.

This year has done a number to all of us, and there isn’t one of us who doesn’t want this virus to be over once and forever.

So I look at con vids, there are a lot of them, and the photos we all take and we miss them even more. Even though some of us do complain on social media on how crappy this is. But I know it’s like everything else we have been going through. The Masks, the Social Distancing, the crap we all have to put up with from everyone, especially those in Washington and local govt.

I will admit my nerves are on edge, and I get angry sometimes, I even get too sensitive about things. But I go on, this has allowed me to play more video games and really get into streaming services. I have finally watched a lot of films I originally missed including Moana on Disney Plus. I plan on talking about The Mandalorian once I finish it. I just wish they had more older material such as more classic cartoons.

In other words we do what works for us, and hopefully this will be over….

I swear of late when you check out social media and CCFC the news just gets worse and worse. You hate to see a con crash and burn…but this is ridiculous. To fill you in it seems Nitro the Chair of the LATE CCFC has not paid a dime to anyone including Venders, the hotel, staff and ALS with all that important donations. In fact according to social media Nitro has not been seen since the last day of CCFC. I tend to believe those reports because why would someone lie about that? So where is he? Why hasn’t he taken care of those bills? I am sorry to say it’s all a matter of GREED. It appears that Nitro literally took the money and ran. I wonder is he in a place the US can’t extradite them from.

Lets me remind you of something: Taking Money on False Pretenses is illegal you can face actual time in a Federal Prison for that. Not to mention a good case of possible Wire Fraud for faking donations to ALS who during all of this has insisted that they did not receive a single penny from either Nitro or CCFC.

Why hasn’t the Attorney General gotten involved that the matter is criminal?

I know some expected me to do as others do a day of Blackout or post BLM…so why didn’t I? It all comes down to this past weekend’s Looting and Rioting. Some might even say these rich companies deserve it…but not me because that isn’t what got hit. A majority of them were small companies because of this pandemic are on the verge of bankruptcy. Worse yet the insurance companies are going to pay the claims because to them this is an act of terrorism. So those same companies are in an even worse spot, take what happened to a friend. Whose place of work was not only looted, but burned. Right now his boss is trying to get a loan which as you can imagine is very tough these days. To pay for everything, right now it’s no loan, he is out of work. Thanks looters!!!

Also could someone explain to me why Black Owned Businesses were looted and burned? Think I am lying Google it yourself, more than 60 were by one account.

Then a friend sent me something which I will not post here. It was a direct threat to my neighborhood. Threatening to burn it to the ground, so these terrorists wanted to make 1,000s homeless.

That is why you won’t see anything BLM here. I think what happened to George Floyd was murder and those former cops should get hit with a tougher charge but that is it. I cannot condone violence in any shape or form, the only protest I ever was apart of recently was one I was apart of during my recent trip to Washington, DC back in September.

Non-violent and made an excellent point.