The Samsung Power Foam Laundry Machine and a $100 Best Buy Gift Card

I don't remember exactly when it started, but at some point my Cheap talked to my Crunchy and together they decided I should become one of those people who make their own laundry detergent.

To continue reading and for a chance to win a $100 Best Buy gift card, click on over . . .

The Furry Acceptance Program

There's this thing that happens the first time people encounter a group of furries.

First they stare.

Then they look all around, like "Is this real? Do I really see what I think I see?"

And then they either smile and jump into the fray or walk away as fast as they can. Those who smile are usually in for a fun night. Like that Red Sox fan up there? He spent half an hour after that initial encounter posing with furries and taking photos. I guarantee he had a good time.

Then there's this group of airline employees. They did the stare.

Then had the "Are you freakin' kidding me?" conference with one another.

Since there were a bunch of them, their conference was a loooooong one.

And then they ran for the elevator so fast you would have thought their shoes were on fire. They TOTALLY missed out.

Watching unsuspecting people run into a herd of furries is pretty much the Greatest Thing Ever. I swear there should be a reality show based on it. I would end up rolling on the floor laughing every single episode. To make it more epic, they could have people try to win money by guessing whether people would end up opening Door 1 and having fun with the furries or if they would open Door 2 and run for their lives.

Wait! I have an idea! The first contestant should be Paul Steigerwald (one of the Pittsburgh Penguins TV announcers)!

Except, I already saw that episode. It was a goooood one.

The episode started with my friend Bob moving faster than a gazelle to cross the lobby of the Westin. We were camped out watching furries and I swear that man has never moved as fast as he did that moment, all the while mumbling something about "melting Twitter."

And then I saw why. Steigy. He was there.

Steigy was standing in the Westin lobby and knee deep in Step 2 of the Furry Acceptance Program. He had that blank stare people get as they look around and try to figure out whether they've walked into an episode of Punk'd or what. As he sat on a bench, clearly torn between embracing the crazy or running for life, he looked like he needed a hug. Seriously. The man clearly needed a hug.

As luck would have it, there happened to be a giant bunny RIGHT there who was wearing a Free Hugs t-shirt. He could help!

Bob Likes Hugs

A problem. A solution. IT WAS TOO PERFECT.

So, I maybe kinda sorta walked over to the giant Free Hugs bunny and asked if him to give Steigy a hug. The Free Hugs bunny quickly agreed, but he couldn't see the nose in front of his face through that mask, so I kinda sorta maybe guided him directly to Steigy as he sat on the bench a few feet away.

And then I ran like hell so I could capture this:

And then the angels sang, babies everywhere smiled, dogs howled, fish high-fived one another, and all was right with the world.

Oh, and which door did Steigy pick?

The fun one, of course. Furry hugs are magical!

Just Your Average Friday Night

There was a time when I might have done a double-take if I had seen this while walking through downtown Pittsburgh.

But Anthrocon has called Pittsburgh home for the past five or six years, so now my reaction is something akin to "WOOOOOOOOO! The furries are back!"

I've talked about this all before (more than once, even), but for the uninitiated, Anthrocon is a conference for people who are interested in animals with humanlike characteristics. It attracts artists, animators, writers, costumers, puppeteers, and lots of other people who enjoy cartoon animals and the like. Some of the past featured speakers have included Joe Harris (responsible for UNDERDOG! and the Trix rabbit), Ben Balisteri (one of the story artists for How to Train Your Dragon), Bob Boyle (Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is his fault), and Peter Beagle (author of The Last Unicorn), which is all to say, it's a legit conference. Around 4,400 people attended Anthrocon this year. 

However, for some reason, all anybody ever remembers about Anthrocon is the 800 or so people who make the event very . . . uh . . . interesting. And furry.

And I *LOVE* THOSE 800 PEOPLE. They make Pittsburgh about 25609235% more awesome for one weekend every year. I mean, this?

AWESOME! (Not really all that furry, but I'll ignore that part since BIG! GIANT! SHARKS! are fun.)

So, each year I join some friends and we go hang out at Anthrocon for a few hours and marvel at all the amazingness. For the most part, the furries are some of the nicest people ever (I've encountered two who were a bit rude in person and there's one who has nothing better to do than to pepper misery all over the internet, but three out of 4400+ people? That's some pretty good odds.). We end up taking photos with them, talking to them, and generally just have a really good time hanging out.

How do you NOT have a good time with those guys around? I mean, really.

Giant panda bear? LOOOOVE!

I love all three of these, too.

I briefly spoke to Pikachu while she was dressed as Pikachu, while she was dressed as a piñata, and while she was dressed like a normal person. All three times she was absolutely adorable and sweet.

This thing is pretty sweet, too, even if it does make me twitch.

I've sewn fur fabric before. It suuuuuuucks. In fact, stitching all of those different colors together is pretty much my definition of hell. Just thinking about all the fighting with a sewing machine that it would take makes me twitch. Somebody has way more patience than I do, for sure.

Whoever put this one together is shockingly patient and talented. And a little twisted.

Everything about it was startlingly realistic, including the sounds it made. The stuff of nightmares, I tell ya'.

This one also scared me a little.

I mean, he was super nice, but there's something about a bull walking upright through a hotel lobby that squicks me out a bit.

But not as much as this.

I don't really know why, but AAAAAAH! Creepy! And fascinating. I mean, how the hell is that all put together? There was no seam between her face and neck. NONE. I may have followed her around for a few minutes trying to figure it out. I may still be clueless.

I blame this guy for my continued cluelessness.

Do you know how hard it is to stalk a furry when an Angry Bird has just walked into the room? DO YOU? It's HARD!

I think the Angry Bird might have to be my absolute favorite thing I saw. Maybe.

More tomorrow, including how I may have possibly helped a furry spread some hug love, a little reminder that anything that glows is awesomeness personified, and a whole bunch more of my favorite photographs.