Web Development

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Exactly one week away- the Pink Ribbon Brigade marches on!

0 helpful
417 replies

by tig2

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I know that I haven't been active lately and I know that has to change.
And it will- after the 21st.

Exactly one week from this second, I will be getting all my stuff
together, getting a hot shower, making last minute phone calls and
making an emergency run for more ibuprofen... just in case. The
truck will be decorated (and washed first), clothing and such laid out
for the next morning, and hopefully, I will get some sleep.

I have only seven days to make up for missed training and do all the
stuff I haven't yet done to get ready for the boldest walk against
breast cancer. 60 miles may just hurt this year.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation may go to my website. You
can find it here: http://08.the3day.org/goto/tricia

To all of you- your constant support over the past months has been
amazing. I can't begin to tell you how much you have all touched me.
Your support after my Mom's death has been especially warming. I
have that thread printed for posterity- a true glimpse of a community
in action.

What kind of world do I want? A world where breast cancer is a thing
of the past. A world where men and women have choices about their
healthcare. A world that encourages living much more than it
encourages dying. I want a world where choices are made by
empowered individuals. I want MY world. I'm walking another 60
miles to get there.

Please change your avatar to a pink ribbon (if you haven't already) and
walk with me to the world YOU want. Together, we CAN make a
difference!

417 replies

by boxfiddler

And we're in your corner all the way. Patiently bumping ;) and awaiting the day. Will be rooting you on from behind the scenes.
The best to you, and all the walkers. :)

by w2ktechman

I am glad you made it back to post this. Your rigorous training and walking are an inspiration to all who know you and respect you. Your work and goals are admirable.

by tig2

Got the cheering stations for the 3 Day. It appears that
they will keep us in the north Metro which is good news
for my feet and will kinda suck some pushing a
wheelchair. But anything can be overcome.

Last grocery trip before the event. And I have got to get a
last training walk in yet. I have pins to finish and Mike's
shirts to make yet this week. And an eyeglass leash for
my sunglasses so that I can take them off and not lose
them. Heaven only knows what the weather will do so I
am trying to be prepared for whatever comes. That will
be a good trick- it was 70 yesterday and rainy and they
are predicting 80 by Wednesday. Hmm.

So much to do, so little time. Feet, don't fail me now!

by w2ktechman

on a stretcher. Scummy sat there stealing hotel pens and made a super pen, a few short pens and a massive projectile launcher :0
By the end of day 2, everyone was wondering if Scummy went off the deep end or not.
Now he is just in a coma :0

So y'all stuck wit me till his return :0

Day 1 12 hours. Day 2 14 hours. Day 3 (whew, it got shortened) 4 hours -- cause nobody could handle any more. People were passing out left and right :0

by ontheropes

And I'll set you free. Oh... wait... that last bit is from the lyrics to some poorly remembered song. Forget I said anything.

This post NEVER happened.

by tig2

What the heck, it worked when they said I was officially over
the hill. I never saw any hill either! :D

by w2ktechman

I went into some 2 hour sessions with 2 cups of coffee AND a can of caffeine, only to be out and sleepy before it was over...
But, I did find out that I am supposed to 'not let others abuse my time'. Since any interruption of TR is time abuse, I just gotta blow them all off all day from now on :D :^0

by w2ktechman

to raise post count so that I may at least 'maintain' almost 200 posts this week...

This morning I actually had a coke and coffee, got there. First thing, Mt. Dew and coffee.
First meeting set finished and I realized that without serious change, I would drop dead asleep, so I repositioned my seat to be really, really close to the coffee urns.
the next speaker had to endure me getting up several times to refill...

by w2ktechman

that we could go home (I think, that's what I heard at least). However having the brain tweaked like that, they coulda just said 'lunch time' :0 I don't really remember even hearing a voice now that I think of it. Maybe it was just my imagination...
Anyway, even with all of that caffeine, I got home and crashed for a few hours.

by the scummy one

I am fine!!! I had to fool the brainwashing/scrubbing machine so I faked a Coma for it. W2k bought into it!!! Haha, the fool!

Well that and I forgot my TR login (momentary lapse, I figured it out)

by ontheropes

I just woke up from a dream where I heard Hoyt Axton sing, "A Rainy Night In Georgia." It was a perfect life-like performance. Pretty cool dream, easy wake up.

I hope it doesn't rain like this for the 3-Day event. That would be a drag.

by tig2

If it rains, we walk. Wet socks, oh joy!

I have Lynette to think about too. I have rain gear but would
have to either get her under cover somehow or wrap her in
plastic garbage bags. No umbrellas are allowed on the event.

So far, the forecast looks promising. I'm crossing my fingers!

by ontheropes

We've been losing the satellite Internet and TV all day here so far. It's out now as I type this.

My rain gage goes to six inches. A short while ago I dumped it out as it was full and right now it's at the two and a half inch mark.

When it dries out again I'm definitely going to have to mow. :D

by santeewelding

Saw, heard nothing. Can't tell.

Who are you?

Wait a minute. Who am I? What is this? What are all you people doing here?

Where's here?

I let my imagination go for one damn minute, and look what happens. It gets peopled.

Ain't there nothing else?

I need more coffee.

by santeewelding

I can see why you don't put it in the 1st mug. That stuff dissolves glue. See what it's gone and done with your brain?

Me, I restrict that stuff to holidays once or twice a year. And, still...

by older mycroft

Perhaps this is due to my being from the UK, perhaps it's because I'm Scottish, perhaps it's because I'm a demented Scot, I'm not quite sure but ...

Having given this entire situation rather a lot of my cogent thought, WHAT exactly is the big thing about this particular charity walk?

Why does it happen to deserve SO MUCH brevity?

I could push for charity toward cerebral atrophy but I don't, mainly because I already know that research is being carried out as I type, but for some inordinate reason TiggerTwo's particular charity is the one thing that the entire TR community should back?

Sorry- but I just don't buy it!!!

That is simply my thought... ;)

by santeewelding

Having worked out that "should" for myself, I don't know about what the TR community should do, and certainly not the rest of mankind, including incogently outspoken islanders.

by older mycroft

Use a cogent word.

I was simply making the point that breast cancer is not the only killer.

I personally may die long before TiggerTwo, but I'm not expecting changed-avatars.

Think on that while you figure cogency. ;)

by w2ktechman

t!tties?? If so, back it. If not, then..... :^0

Ok, in reality it is up to each person to choose whether or not to back it.
I will leave it to Tigger (if she decides) to try to sway your descision.

As for me, I respect Tigger and the work that she puts in for training/walking. In previous times, she has been a much bigger part of the TR community, however there has been some recent events which is preventing her from posting much here.

by older mycroft

Therefore my attitude is slightly blinkered.

When your inner ear dies, there is a certain inpeculiarity [made-up word] that tends to obviate whenever you 'hear' about a charity walk.

The actual WALK is commendable, but if someone is training (capable) for it, why praise it??? ;)

by ontheropes

Besides, some of us are having fun in the threads.

Not to diminish the charity at all but I liken my participation as the same as having one of my friends IRL going to a tractor pull after spending a ton of effort to get the dang thing ready. Same deal here except it's a charity event that one of my friends is doing.

The charity itself is a good one but I'll say that if she was putting forth the same effort for a cerebral atrophy charity, or a tractor pull, I'd support her just as much.

It's a friend and colleague thing. Nothing more, nothing less.

That's how I see it.

by tig2

Unlike a great many charity walks, this one covers 60
miles in three days. That means over 500 training miles
to prepare. This is my third year doing this walk. That
means that I have walked over 1500 training miles and
120 (so far) event miles.

In the first year that I did this walk, there were many
peers, some of them survivors, some of them touched in
some way by cancer that made a choice to support my
effort. There were people who made a decision to use
walking as a part of their own fitness regime. Through
sharing what I was doing, other lives were touched and in
some cases improved. I have received countless email
from people who had questions about their own breast
health and felt that they could ask me- I'm pretty open to
that. So the awareness message gets out.

The Pink Ribbon Brigade started with my first walk. I
invited people to change their avatars for the week of the
walk. There are peers that never changed back- they
have used the pink ribbon for over three years.

There is a decidedly technical aspect to putting the walk
together, from the website to individual use of technology
to raise the required minimum to qualify to walk. I will be
covering some of those technical points in future blogs.

Each individual is welcome to decide for themselves if they
want to support this effort. I don't require it of anyone. I
am aware that there IS an audience that wants to hear
about the walk and see the pictures. Because of that
interest, I post links to that information here.

No one has ever suggested that the entire TR community
SHOULD back me. Certainly I haven't suggested such a
thing. The first Pink Ribbon Brigade thread in 2006 was
suggested TO me and has been a tradition since.

by w2ktechman

a good point is that I have never recieved SPAM after a donation here. Just an FYI

I have recieved SPAM from other (unnamed) charities after a contribution.

Also, my mother has been recieving SPAM from the Police and Fire departments after a single donation some 15-20 years ago. Now every year she gets mailers AND phone calls from both, even after many times telling them to pull her off of the list! And even after being put on the DO NOT CALL list (charities are not bound to the do not call list).

by older mycroft

That 'curiosity' is to he minimum amount that you have to achieve, and have with you on Day One, otherwise you are not eligible to participate.

I would simply have thought that any charity event did't require $2,300 UP FRONT in ordwer to prove that you had collected sponsors.

Sorry, but I thought the idea of the day was the walk.

by w2ktechman

that needs regular checking for.
And if I remember right, it is pretty expensive as well for the mammogram.

by santeewelding

Was a word that was and will have been used only once in the history of the universe, aimed precisely at the only occupant of said universe who would appreciate it.

I know what you are doing. I will to bump the thread with this, as well.

Edit: act of will.

by w2ktechman

Tigs never asked me for anything. However from her posts on the subject (and yes, I did avoid them at first) it is a big part of her like, and making a change is a driving goal for her.
I donated last year only after contacting her to get more information. I used to do some charity causes in the past, and found out that on average 10 to 12 cents per dollar was actually being spent on the issue at hand :0

After Tiggers email to assure me (and links for more info) that this was not the case for her event, I decided to go ahead and donate a little.
However I still say having T!tties available is better than an ear :D :^0

I wont force it on you, or try to make you do anything (or part from your money). This would be your choce to make, not mine. That is why I try to keep it in these particular threads, and not plaster throughout any/all threads.

by older mycroft

I just don't acknowledge the requirement to broadcast it!

Unless it's for tax credits, in which case it's not really charity! ;)

[i]Think on it ...[/i]

by w2ktechman

For me it doesnt make a difference at all, so it is charity. I do not donate enough to put it on the tax form.

Also, I dont judge you differently if you contribute or not, nor how much. This is a personal choice for each person to make. Whether they donat $0, $5, $10 or even $500 (or Tiggers $750).

by boxfiddler

a 'phooey, the coffee is finished for the morning, have to go play in the rain to run some errands' bump?

Alongside the good thing I'm not so sweet as to melt in the rain bump. :D

by boxfiddler

Disappear for a few and see what I come back to. Oh, my.

My best rack ain't white meat. ;)
And I'm very particular where I fiddle. Getting more and more particular with the passage of time. ;)

:D :D :D

by tig2

Each participant has 30 days after the walk to raise
additional funds. Some self donate and call it good.
Others choose to delay and use the 30 day grace. I prefer
to raise the money before the event. I also set my
fundraising goals higher than $2200.

The rationale for the minimum is that it dissuades people
who aren't serious. This is an endurance event and should
be prepared for properly. People who haven't made a
commitment to the effort can be a safety risk to other
walkers.

Realistically, the fund raising is the important part and the
walk itself is trivial. I walk it because I know that I
become part of a visible awareness effort. And I get to
challenge myself to get through it, no matter what.

For many years, the Komen Race for a Cure didn't set a
minimum and did not have an entry fee. They discovered
that they lost money because of that- people (all of whom
required support during the event) wouldn't bother to
raise a dime and became an expenditure. We didn't want
that to happen. Each participant pays to participate. That
way we cover our own costs. And it insures that the
money raised goes to the beneficiaries and not
administrative costs.

I suppose that I could just write a check each year and be
done with the whole thing. I don't because the process of
fund raising opens up new opportunities to raise
awareness. Every year that I have done the event, I have
had an opportunity to touch people's lives and bring new
information to their world. THAT is a large part of why I
do this.

by nicknielsen

Coffee, Java, Joe, mud, and paint remover. Starbucks managed to add a sixth, lower, grade of coffee.

by av .

We are all rootin' for you here at TR. Hope you have nice, not too hot weather and definitely no rain.

In the meantime, I'll keep bumping on.

AV :^0

by Former member

Hope all goes well.
We can only change some things, the rest is down to him upstairs. Maybe the next life time will be even better. We can all give people hope and encouragement, that is what drives us forward and to better things.
Here is to you TiggerTwo. :) :)

by Former member

Thank you for the thought though.
The software took some learning though, but i got there.

by ontheropes

I sent you a long-winded email reply as soon as I saw your email. It didn't come from my gmail address so check your spam box for email from "Tech Support". I also sent you an email from my gmail account asking if you got my email. :0 It's some kind of conspiracy, I'm telling you.

by the scummy one

hmmm.
I'll send you my comcast address. Watch for the peer. The same thing happened with Boxy! Strange, I seem to get plenty from TR members that are asking me cr@p, but everything else seems to just 'go away' :0

It's Tammy's Poltergeist I tell ya!

by ontheropes

I know that I'm not in any condition to go walking 60 miles in three days, especially while pushing someone in a wheelchair. Nope, not me.

Almost time for it. I hope you're ready. You might have to dig deep but I think you can do it.

by captbilly1eye

?
If anyone can do it, you can.
Keep up the good fight!

?
We're all rootin' for ya!

?
ohh... almost forgot...


?

by ontheropes

It was odd, when I first posted to photobucket my profile showed a message saying "This file has been moved or deleted." I moved it to a directory that had a shorter name and now it works fine.

If you make any more, let me know. I want to see 'em and maybe use them. I like the gifs that loop continuously, like this one, better than the ones that have a definite start and finish, like the original. It's more challenging to make one that loops forever.

by captbilly1eye

The creative jobs done with AVs has been fun to watch.

Maybe someone should post a list of those that have participated.
... a 'wall of shame' for those that didn't may be a bit too harsh.
Anyway, great job youse guys of rallyin' the troops!

by w2ktechman

last week. I uploaded several, and one kept giving that error.
after 3 attempts, I uploaded it from a different location and it worked...
Funny thing about it, I was trying to upload it from your photobucket account :^0
I had to upload it from my desktop to work..

by w2ktechman

Right now I am just learning to fiddle with GIMP. Not a master like you though.

I think those flags you did were great!
along with some others.

by w2ktechman

I have started playing around with the GIMP. So I downloaded your avatar (and a few others) to experiment with.
I sat down to mess around, and yours changed. NP, I got plenty of others to work on still.

by captbilly1eye

First I create a graphic in PhotoShop, Illustrator, Paint.NET or use an existing graphic that I found somewhere. Then I resize it or convert it using IrfanView. Lastly, I use Jasc Animation Shop or Ulead's Gif Animator 5 to make the actual animation.

My favorite tool is Jasc's Animation Shop 3 that came with an older version of PaintShop Pro years ago. It has loads of built-ins and make's the job super easy.

Here are some great tutorials fo creating simple animated flags using PhotoShop:
http://www.ideaspot.net/flags/about.html
http://www.nomadthepirate.com/tutorial/