# FCM, Consider Yourself Fested **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861 "2004-04-25T00:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/1 "2004-04-25T00:49:01Z")
I’m back from **FCM** ’s going away party, and I have to say I had a great time. Got to meet and put faces to: [ul][li] **screech-owl** [/li][li] **Lucretia** , **Bluesman** , and the Blueslings;[/li][li] **FCM** and **ThePerfectChild** , of course – oh, and their giant dog;[/li][li] **Ludovic** ;[/li][li] **furt** ;[/li][li] **KarlGrenze** ;[/li][li] **ShibbOLeth** ;[/li][li] **TroubleAgain** and Mr Trouble; and last, but certainly not least,[/li][li] **Inoshiro** [/ul][/li]I also got a chance to reconnect with **Bear\_Nenno** , whom I hadn’t seen in 7 years or so. (God, has it been that long?!) Rainbow Springs was just gorgeous, and after swimming for a little bit, Bear, Inoshiro, Ludovic, furt, the Blueslings, ThePerfectChild, KarlGrenze, and I went canoeing up the Rainbow River. I’d never canoed before – I should probably consider doing it more often. Just a great time all 'round. I’ll have some really low-quality cell-phone-camera-taken pictures up in a little bit. Also, I hope I’m not stepping on any toes by starting this thread, but I got here first dammit, so :p. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/2 "2004-04-25T01:05:06Z")
[Pictures](http://groups.msn.com/turkmike/floridope04.msnw?Page=Last), as promised. ---
**Author:** ![Kuizelemartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19b73/32.png) [@Kuizelemartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuizelemartz)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/3 "2004-04-25T01:23:33Z")
Thank you for the pictures. It was a beautiful day. Hope you had a lovely time, **FCM** , and have a very safe journey to your new home. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/4 "2004-04-25T01:31:41Z")
Ah good, my hair is growing in again! Wonderful meeting all of you! I’ve been home for an hour, but the ferschlugginah computer was acting up, and well, let’s just say HyperKittywas in full throttle (all the folded laundry is no longer folded). LeSigh. Twas a great day, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/5 "2004-04-25T02:32:47Z")
Thanks for the pictures. I know the weather goddess was very kind today…one of those blissful perfect Florida days…the kind mocking FCM about moving nawth. Cool to see the pictures. **Shibb** , I didn’t picture you as such a long tall drink of water. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inoshiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@Inoshiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inoshiro)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/6 "2004-04-25T05:05:00Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > [Pictures](http://groups.msn.com/turkmike/floridope04.msnw?Page=Last), as promised. Wow, pictures already up. Thanks, **Bambi**. Great to meet you all. Have fun in MD, **FCM**. Nothing like Chesapeake bay in the summertime. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/7 "2004-04-25T12:12:16Z")
Thanks for starting this, **Bambi**! I dropped off **KG** between 7 and 7:30 and got to my house just before 9, totally exhausted. My poor kid fed the dog, then disappeared into her room, where she still is, 11 hours later… I’m about to upload my photos, and I’ll add my commentary with them. But I want to say that I had a great time and I’m glad I got to meet so many FloriDopers, and re-meet the **Bluesclan** and **screech-owl**. I did have an email from **swampy** saying he succumbed to a cold. (_not_ in the sense that he died, but that he was sick… 'cause if he died, he couldn’t have sent the email…) I suspect he was just shy about having to wear a swimsuit around all us!! 😛 Off to download and upload pics - link to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/8 "2004-04-25T13:14:10Z")
Yeah, I’m with you (and the kid; after Grad Nite, I knew she’d just fall into bed) on the collapsing bit. I started that thread and crawled to my bed three feet away. Between the driving, the sun, and the rowing, I was just beat. Had a wonderful time, though. The Rainbow River was just beautiful – you picked a great place to have the Fest. Oh, and **Inoshiro** : don’t be so impressed by the speed on the pictures – I just pulled the memory card from my phone and stuck it in the computer. It took all of ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/9 "2004-04-25T14:03:30Z")
All righty, then. I’ve cleaned up and uploaded the better of the photos I took. I ran out of space on my photo card before I got a pic or two of me - I’m still new to this digital cam thing and I didn’t have the settings correct. :o Anyway, [Here](http://groups.msn.com/FCMII-FestPages/shoebox.msnw) are my pictures. the first few were taken when I was scoping out the park last month. I’m embarrassed to say that I forgot the individual identites of the **BluesKids** , so if **Lucretia** or **Bluesman** would drop me a line, I will edit my captions. Unless, of course, you want your kids to remain semi-anonymous… I’ve still got a wee bit of space on this site, so if anyone else took pics, I’ll gladly add them. I need to add the disclaimer that my daughter wasn’t as crabby as the photos suggest. She’d been up all night at Disney’s Grad Night, and she was tired. But I saw her smile and converse civilly a couple of times. No one came prepared to take notes of quotes and stuff, so it’s up to all attendees to tell their stories here. Like **Bear\_Nenno** ’s gator encounter. And **swampy** , there was no fwoosh of any description. So you didn’t miss that… ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/10 "2004-04-25T14:55:08Z")
Yea, as soon as I took a quick shower, I went to bed… Woke up briefly near 2am to drink some water, then went back to sleep until 6 or 7am. I liked the day at the park, it was very nice. I never thought kayaking would be so exhausting, although my arms aren’t feeling it yet. **FCM** , don’t forget **Bear’s** MREs. I think almost everyone went home with a package. And we exchanged their contents. I think I’ll have the chicken dish for dinner today. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/11 "2004-04-25T15:07:36Z")
I think I got a picture of the MRE exchange - I need to revisit and look at them a bit more closely. I wish I’d mugged **Shibb** in the parking lot and taken what was left of the chocolate mousse decadence he’d brought… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/12 "2004-04-25T16:22:55Z")
I posted the MRE exchange photo. The kid and I just had lunch. She said she liked hanging with **Bear** and **Bambi** - you guys entertained her greatly! My own little reported quote from the fest: **Shibb** brought his laptop - he wanted to show me the pics he had of FairyChatMoose in Europe, specifically in assorted European red light districts. As he was booting up and I was moving to look over his shoulder, someone said: “Are you going on the Dope?” or words to that effect - I guess it would take a true, hardcore Doper to go online at a picnic in a park. **Shibb** was just one step down from that, bringing the computer with him! 😃 C’mon, Festers, share your quotes of the day! I’m too old to remember much… ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/13 "2004-04-25T17:05:49Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > … As he was booting up and I was moving to look over his shoulder, someone said: **“Are you going on the Dope?”** or words to that effect - I guess it would take a true, hardcore Doper to go online at a picnic in a park. **Shibb** was just one step down from that, bringing the computer with him! 😃 … I said that. :o ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/14 "2004-04-25T17:56:10Z")
Those MRE instructions are funny. I just noticed the note on the bag saying that none of the contents of the heater were edible. Makes you wonder… Oh, and the picture of how to cook it… “Rock or something” ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/15 "2004-04-25T19:39:43Z")
The fact that **Bear\_Nenno** actually brought a whole box of MREs to a Dopefest still cracks me up. I had a blast meeting him and all the other Dopers. And **FCM** , Florida’s loss is Maryland’s gain. We had a great time, and we’ll miss you. Be sure to visit us once in a while! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/16 "2004-04-25T22:22:40Z")
I’d comment on how nice it was to meet everyone! I’d comment on how fun the kayaking was, even if we did run into each other like slam-dancers at a Gwar concert (and almost got eaten by a gator :eek: ) But I can’t now. I’m hungry, and I would cook this MRE but I can’t find a rock or something… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/17 "2004-04-25T23:00:11Z")
**Ludovic** , that cracked us up! (the kid was reading over my shoulder) It was nice to meet you - glad you were able to make it! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/18 "2004-04-25T23:14:34Z")
Just so’s you know **FCM** I woulda looked stunning in my new red with blue and yellow stripes down the side swimming trunks. 😛 Damn cold. I am so jealous of everybody having such a good time while I sat around sneezing, sniffling and blowing my nose. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have had much Benadryl [sup]TM[/sup] over the past two days so thus have been mostly asleep I’d be real real depressed. The pictures look like so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/19 "2004-04-25T23:21:36Z")
What a great day! The weather was perfect, the park was perfect, the Child was Perfect… A few events I remember: It’s been well established that a Dopefest just isn’t a true Dopefest unless _The Man_ shows up pushing everyone around. No shit, there we were… minding our own business when _The Man_ pulled up in his John Deere utilty cart. He was an intimidating fellow, what with the aviator glasses, shiny silver badge, radio, and knee high socks attempting to cover parts of his skinny white legs that his cargo shorts gave up on long ago. He was all smiles at first, so I knew something was up. Finally, cheers turned to sneers when he told us that “Balloons aren’t allowed in the park!!!” (Apparantly it violates the anti-fun ordance) And furthermore, they don’t allow anything to be placed in trees (even Mooses he stated). So **FairyChatMoose** had to be relocated from her comfortable little nest in the tree, to a blanket on the ground. We were allowed to keep the balloons (just this once) provided they stay out of the tree, but I think the Moose may have been scarred for life. More to follow as I get time to post… Including the story of the Gator! (and I don’t mean **KarlGrenze**. Man, it was like Placid Lake or something. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861/20 "2004-04-25T23:24:00Z")
Oh, but before I forget… **Lucretia, Bluesman** please tell your daughter I said Happy Birthday!!! I do believe it’s today? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcm-consider-yourself-fested/241861.md?page=2)