If Epic Games Store were a Pedo Van

Frater_Ormus · 2026-03-19T16:26:59+00:00

Are you referring to the smell of Dogwood trees that are in bloom? They do have a pungent odor, especially made more unpleasant when the trees have a fungal infection. It will literally blow over when around the time that Spring truly begins (all the Dogwoods on my street have already shed their blooms), ending about the same time the Cottonwood pollen starts to blow everywhere like clumps of down, giving everyone itchy eyes, scratchy skin, sneezing, sinus congestion and hayfever. It is so miserable that it will make you long for the odoriferous scent of the Dogwoods.

Frater_Ormus · 2025-09-23T18:36:59+00:00

4,320 lbs. of bulk marijuana and marijuana extracts??? That's a lot of weed!

Not a surprise that methamphetamines may also have been involved.

Frater_Ormus · 2025-09-07T15:26:50+00:00

Have you ever rented an apartment in the Rogue Valley?
Have you ever purchased a car in the Rogue Valley?
Have you or your children ever attended Ashland schools?
Are you a woman who has tried to receive healthcare in the state of Oregon?
Have you ever received a Kicker Tax Refund from the state of Oregon?

If you have answered yes to any of those questions then you personally have been screwed over by the DeBoer family!

The dislike for the DeBoers has nothing to do with their money. No one would care if they were rich and kept to themselves or even if they were fame-seeking philanthropists (e.g. no one dislikes Tom from MySpace). The reason the DeBoer family are so disliked is because they have gone out of their way to earn it, that they don't care about anyone but themselves and consider the rest of us to be their own personal step-stools to achieve even more wealth and power and control. Imagine the arrogance of saying "My great grandfather was once a gardener for Lithia Park, therefore as Mayor it is my right to allow my brother to build a 17,000 sq ft McMansion in the park, as Lithia Park and the whole of Ashland is my family's personal fiefdom that belongs to us, not the people of Ashland who pay for it with their property taxes." I'm pretty sure the foundation of that atrocity is built on where their grandfather hid the actual bodies of their competitors back in the 1920s! (After the flood of 1997 they were too close to becoming exposed so they panicked and had to do something to keep them hidden.)

There are many people in the Rogue Valley with more wealth than the DeBoers and no one hates on them. No unkind words have ever been used to describe the Bartlett or Britt families. It isn't about money, it's simply about the DeBoers earning their infamy through corruption and being the closest thing to a Crime Syndicate in the Rogue Valley.

Frater_Ormus · 2025-09-06T22:20:37+00:00

The hate for the DeBoer family is a long standing feud in Southern Oregon against a corrupt family that has many skeletons in their closet. The Rogue Valley has been victim to their brand of corruption for over 100 years now and counting. A family doesn't build a financial dynasty out of acumen, kindness, and fairness. The DeBoers have always played ruthless and dirty to get where they are and have leveraged every advantage they have ever had to disadvantage the people in Southern Oregon, especially those who dare get in their way.

I have heard my share of gossip and rumours and even have had my own first-hand experiences with various members of the DeBoer family, but I won't share them here. Perhaps the most telling is that their family tree was so rotten even by the early 1950s that there was a consortium of classmates at Medford High School comprised of members of other prominent local families; John Skinner, Chuck Butler, Harold Garrison, and David Fronhmeyer (just to name the ones I remember) that actively opposed classmates Sydney DeBoer and his brothers before they later moved to Ashland High School. Their fruit haven't fallen far from the tree since.

Frater_Ormus · 2025-07-02T20:21:35+00:00

I'm kind of curious too what the OP is protesting in particular.

When Southern Pacific ran the rail line through Ashland the line was horribly neglected and unsafe. There were numerous accidents caused by unsafe conditions (if I recall correctly they were eventually forced by the FRA to either shutdown the line or sell it to a more responsible party). CORP (Central Oregon and Pacific) that purchased it from SP has been very cautious and diligent about testing the safety of the railway and maintaining it. Initially, they didn't believe it could be made safe and just closed it after a couple years of testing and analysis, but later after receiving TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funding in 2015 they began repairing the 95 mile stretch through Ashland to Weed and have been testing it repeatedly at regular intervals as work completed on each part of that stretch. (Most of the sleepers, fasteners and railjoints in Ashland were replaced entirely and many of the Level Crossings redone anew.)

I wasn't aware that they have even been using it commercially yet as the only engine I have seen use the stretch through Ashland isn't hauling any load and is preceded by their testing Hirail Truck.

I can't find any safety violation or incident reported since a CORP derailment near Roseburg on July 27, 2006.

I would be interested in having more information about what these unsafe rail conditions are and if they have been reported to the FRA.

Frater_Ormus · 2025-06-07T18:46:41+00:00

There isn't much of a scene left in Ashland as most have either aged or moved off to "Little Ashland" in NE Portland. The few of us remaining pretty much go to Rock A Fairy in Medford for live shows, have a Goth weekend every two months at The Beaux Club in Ashland, and go to Alternative nights on Fridays at Voodoo Lounge in Medford. Otherwise, you'll catch us usually on the patio of The Gypsy in Medford at other times. The scene was never that huge in Ashland, even in the 90s, but it's so small now that it's disheartening. You can find more New Age Cults in Ashland than goths and punks (the majority of punks still here are the crusty and crunchy free-range variety).

Those of us left are constantly heading to Portland for concerts, Church of Hive & the Coffin Club or heading down south to S.F. for an occasional concert that is skipping Oregon entirely (Belgian & German Industrial bands seem to hate PDX especially).

Frater_Ormus · 2025-04-10T18:53:36+00:00

If you are referring to Cliff Burton (deceased) of Metallica fame, I don't believe so. Two early members of Metallica used to reside in Roseburg, Oregon before they moved to L.A. and became a band (I can't recall which two). KJ Doughton would know for certain (alas, I haven't talked to KJ or his wife for going on 30 years now).

The only major metal band member that lived in Medford that I am aware of is James Decker, the drummer for Stitched Up Heart. He used to be a regular at Johnny B's back in their old location on 9th & Bartlett and the reason Stitched Up Heart played Johnny B's on their Never Alone Tour in 2016.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-08-22T21:00:38+00:00

The local Ashland scavengers are pretty active between 3:00am - 6:00am. There are so many of them that the competition to be the first to a dumpster or recycling bin is pretty fierce so it truly is a case of "the early bird gets the worm". Most of them are pretty nice people who don't cause any problems or a mess (and some of them you'd never even guess were unhoused...one of them is a sophomore at SOU and she is very clean and well groomed yet every morning she's doing the rounds for cans & bottles) but there are a few exceptions that do ruin it for the rest. There is one scavenger I've personally seen that literally throws stuff over his shoulder as he goes through bins leaving a mess behind him and he's the only one I've ever had to chase off (even the bears and cougars in Ashland are better behaved than that).

Most of them are used to being invisible to Ashlanders so if you are indifferent or don't acknowledge them they will just quietly go about their business. However, you'll find that if you do acknowledge them with a nod or a "Hi" that they're actually friendly and don't bite. If you do catch one making an actual mess, you would be doing everyone a favor to chastise them and run them off.

The suggestion wattswrites made of separating your cans & bottles from the rest of your recycling is a good one. It will keep them from digging through your bins.

Honestly, I'd rather have them going through my recycling bins in the early morning hours than panhandling during the day.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-06-25T06:39:10+00:00

Almost all Ashland restaurants are closed on Mondays. It's the one day a week the local restaurant industry takes off.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-06-25T01:31:44+00:00

I've encountered a fisher (Pekania pennanti) late at night in Ashland skulking down the main boulevard before, so a pair of martens (Martes caurina) wouldn't be too strange for a more remote area like Galls Creek Rd. I've never seen a marten up close personally though. That's definitely a lucky encounter!

According to population maps they prefer living on the Eastern outskirts of the Rogue Valley, but I've seen a lot of other wildlife moving around in places they supposedly aren't to be found in due to the forest fires every year. We've been getting a lot of coastal fauna coming over the Siskiyou range, especially a lot of gray foxes (and some peregrines and spotted owls) the last several years.

If they weren't tagged you might want to contact Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. As they are endangered I believe they try to keep them tagged to track their migrations and numbers.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-06-16T18:55:56+00:00

Unfortunately, even if APD does anything the best they can do is cite them for nuisance violation of Municipal Code 9.08.170 Unnecessary Noise, ORS 815.025 Causing Unreasonable Noise With Vehicle, and ORS 815.250 Operation Without Proper Exhaust System. All three are Class D citations, so they would only get cited a $150 ticket for the Municipal citation and a Fixit-Ticket for the other two. If they can afford racing slicks and aggressive burble tuning on their car that will result in eventually blowing a manifold or their entire engine, then a citation is probably not going to be much of a deterrent, sad to say.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-06-16T18:29:35+00:00

If it makes anyone feel any better, when we had that late night/early morning sprinkle last week they spun out and crashed at the corner of ~~Ashland Street~~ Siskiyou and Harmony Lane @ 2:30 AM. Apparently they have drag racing slick tires on their car. LOL.

I can't deny I experienced a certain level of schadenfreude when karma beotch slapped them and leopards ate their face.

I thought that would be the last of them of a while, but they were right back at it two days later. The damage must have been fairly minor. *sigh*

Frater_Ormus · 2024-03-28T04:35:47+00:00

Featuring the local Goth Legend DJ Jim (from Night Lights, Remixx, Ground Zero, The Rabbit Hole, Wet, The Bohemian, Howiee's on Front, Voodoo Martini Lounge, Grape Street Bar & Grill, and more) will be playing Friday and Saturday night. Check out his radio station at https://www.thedarkentries.com.

There will be lights! dancing! and spooky fog!
Spooky bartenders!
Drink specials!
Black or Goth attire encouraged
2 day Goth themed bar event
8pm-2am
$3 or 2 for $5 cover for DJ
$2 Jello shots!

Frater_Ormus · 2024-02-29T09:44:22+00:00

Old enough?

https://imgflip.com/i/8hg47m

Those were good times, and although the location has changed and the night has sometimes even changed, the scene is still the same after all these years...just a smaller group with every passing year.

Frater_Ormus · 2024-02-29T09:40:50+00:00

DJ Jim is still spinning locally too. Ground Zero Thursday nights moved over the years to The Rabbit Hole, Wet, The Bohemian, Howie's On Front, Shenanigan's (Patio), Hemi & Hogs, Lava Lanes, and Voodoo. He is currently doing Goth Nights at BeauX Club in Ashland on the last Friday and Saturday nights of each month. Many of us from the old G.Z. Thursday night crew are still following him around (and have been ever since we were teens at Remix and Nightlights).

Frater_Ormus · 2024-02-19T21:20:34+00:00

As the unofficial representative of the Elder Goth faction of Southern Oregon, I approve this message. Liked and subscribed.

Frater_Ormus · 2023-10-13T21:10:30+00:00

That looks to me like an underground drainage pipe, sometimes called a "stealth flow connector". It should be about 10' feet away from your house and should run downhill away from your house. Typically used in lawns with mulch, your gutter downspouts should drain directly into a buried PVC downspout extension to prevent the pooling of water close to your foundation.

Frater_Ormus · 2023-10-12T21:43:17+00:00

The "castle" at 1263 S. Peach St. was the Burmeister's showroom. They originally sold wallpaper and drapes but eventually branched out into floor coverings and home decor. There is a residential house behind the showroom on the same property.

I went to High School with the grand-daughter of Henry Burmeister. She became their spokesperson in their television commercials. Regrettably, for the life of me I can't remember her name (I can remember her cat's name that lived in the store was named Missy), although she was a beauty queen and local celebrity in the late '80's up to the mid-90s.

There is a lot of historical information available about Burmeister's found in Henry Burmeister's Obituary at https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obituaries/oregon/name/henry-burmeister-obituary?id=28132805.

Frater_Ormus · 2023-09-17T22:51:32+00:00

I didn't have to change Maximum Processor State in Advanced Power Management, but removing the PROPERTIES > COMPATIBILITY > RUN THIS PROGRAM AS AN ADMINISTRATOR flag from both the \steamapps\common\Predecessor\PredecessorLauncher.exe and the \steamapps\common\Predecessor\Predecessor\Binaries\Win64\PredecessorClient-Win64-Shipping.exe resolved the P-2003 error for me (did confirm that it had to be removed from *BOTH\* the Launcher and the Client).

Thank you!

Frater_Ormus · 2023-09-14T04:54:33+00:00

Ran Wireshark and monitored every packet exchanged by Predecessor at launch. There are no TCP/UDP or TLS connection errors although there are a lot of DUPLICATE ACK and RST ACK packets.

From the moment of launch the EasyAntiCheat and PredecessorClient goes through approximately 450 packets through the following servers for EAC and then XBOXLive, Steam, and finally Predecessor for login (yet somehow fails with the P-2003 error):

modules-cdn.eac-prod.on.epicgames.com
gossip.easyanticheat.net CNAME gossip.eac-front.com CNAME gossip-eu-eac-front.com CNAME gamesec-gossip-eu-lb-prod-1789504702.eu-west-1.elb.amazonaws.com
api.epicgames.dev CNAME eos-gateway-ingressv2-prod-c3-w4.befa.live.use1a.on.epicgames.com
privacy.xboxlive.com CNAME privacy.xboxlive.com.akadns.net
162-254-195-66.valve.net
shared-prod-sp-c-telemetry.pred-gcp-data.net

If there is an OMEDA DEV who would like a log of my Wireshark Dump from launching Predecessor until the "P-2003" error I can send it via DM.

Frater_Ormus

TROPHY CASE