I really want to post my impressions of both BlogOrlando and Ohio LinuxFest, but they're taking a long time to concoct, primarily because there was so much that happened. So for now, I would like to pose a question to all the locals and see if anyone's got some good recommendations for me.

This weekend, three of my wife's sisters and their husbands (plus one 1-year-old nephew of mine) are coming to stay for the weekend. This leads to the inevitable question: What will we do to entertain them?

Everyone coming is from out of town, at least 200 miles away, so they are not familiar with the area. It would be nice to take them to places that they would not normally see around home, to maybe give them a sense of the greatness that we experience living around here every day. There are a few nice hyperlocal spots.

We live very near to Marsh Creek State Park, where you can go canoeing/sailing/paddle-boating, but I'm not sure if that's open this time of year, and I'm pretty sure we've taken all of them there once already. We also have taken them on trips to the Philadelphia Zoo and the Franklin Institute, which I don't mind as a return trip, but it would be nice to take this group to somewhere completely new. Longwood Gardens is nearby, but I've had my fill of flowers, really. I think it would be fun to show them a little bit of local life, or even what the city has to offer, but I'm not sure what, specifically.

What I would like to do is have a nice, prepared list of year-round or seasonal activities that happen in this area, and then I can let them pick what they want to do. Of course, I would remove from that list (assuming it's long enough, which I do assume) anything I didn't really want to do.

It would also be neat to have some activities we could do as separate groups. For example, something I had thought about doing was taking the husbands out to some bars in the city, and maybe seeing the city sights at night. That would give the girls some time on their own to do whatever it is that sisters do when they gather in the October night. Yes, I imagine cauldrons, too.

So, there's the question. What do we do? Have any suggestions for the eight of us, plus our three kids? Know of any sites with such a list of "must-see Philly attractions for weekend visitors?"

A new front in the junk mail war has opened.

I struggle from day to day trying to keep loose trash out of my yard. It's not as bad in the new house as in the old, where the wind swept all of the trash into our lawn to roost, but the other yards in our neighborhood are so immaculate that one piece of rubbish in our lawn looks like a bright red boil on the face of a supermodel. That is why I am a bit concerned about this new Bulletin epidemic.

For a reason I don't know, a small Philadelphia newspaper has started delivering issues to my house and leaving them on my driveway and in my grass. They typically deliver the thing even in the rain, and the slight plastic wrapper that they're ensconced in doesn't do the job of keeping the moisture out, ruining the issue anyway. So I frequently get this soggy mess in my lawn or driveway that I don't even realize is there until half my neighbors drive past it on their way to work. Besides the quality of the materials, there are a couple of odd things about the paper delivery itself.

First, I don't recall having ordered this paper. Or any paper for that matter. I do not read the newspaper. I used to deliver newspapers when I was a kid, and the memory of it has turned me off of the whole thing. The smell of the ink and paper (especially when wet) isn't fond for me.

Second, the paper actually has a price listed on it. 25 cents per issue. If I'm not paying for it, then why are they delivering it to me? To boost their circulation numbers? How did they get my address? And why aren't any of my neighbors getting it? (Or perhaps they're more diligent in removing the paper immediately from their lawns, which is entirely probable.)

Third, I live in the suburbs. The Bulletin is a city paper. I don't like newspaper news, generally because they don't cover the topics I want to know about with the depth that I would like (hence my use of the internet, as with all things, for obtaining news). But this is a city paper, so it's even more targeted at Philadelphia news. I don't have the slightest care about who is mayor in Philadelphia. I'm sure it affects me somehow, but I can't see the direct effect, and I have many other things I would rather worry about.

So where is this thing coming from?

I've been on hold waiting for their subscription department the entire time I've been writing this post, hoping to tell someone to stop delivering this junk to my house and littering my lawn. No answer so far. I guess I'm going to have to get up early to catch the delivery person and tell them off.