...ElectricBruin?

The Explanation of ElectricBruin, and of Bears and Underware before that, is that it is an ode to my late father. It is in memory of one, if not the, most crazy (during) and hysterical (after) things he did during his lifetime.

It was the summer of 1969. We were camping under the stars in Yosemite National Park. It was my father, mother, myself, my brother, my sister and our Heintz Terrier (57 varieties) Chipper.

It had been a trip of excitement mixed with disappointment. We had come to take our first backpacking trip, dad had outfitted the whole family. When we arrived in the park we found that we couldn't go on the trails with our dog so we ended up car-camping around the park. My parents had found a site in the valley below El Capitan.

We had a great time in the afternoon running around gathering the firewood and just being kids in the woods. We had dinner and all turned in for a good nights rest infront of the fire dad had made and, one by one, drifted off to sleep.

Dad was awakened in the wee hours by both my dog, who was growling from the bottom of dad's sleeping bag, and by my mom, who was near the bottom of her own sleeping bag.

"Honey...there is something near my pack" she was saying in that tone of voice where you try to 'whisper' louder than a 747 taking off. He was wide awake now. The pack, a Kelty, had cost him $45.

He turned his flashlight on and the circle of white-hot light began to search back and forth in ever decreasing arcs until it froze. In the circle was a large black bear with mom's pack hanging out of it's mouth.

"Hey!" dad yelled at the startled bruin, "put that down!" The bear did not, but began running out of camp instead, the pack still firmly in it's mouth. Dad bolted from his sleeping bag clad in his boxers and a tee-shirt, pulled on his boots, grabbed his stag-handled Randall knife and proceeded to go after the bear. The chase was on.

They proceeded through the woods at breakneck speed (not as fast as that sounds, the bear kept tripping on the pack straps hanging from it's mouth, and dad kept tripping over his untied boot laces, they could have both broken their necks at a good stiff walk and how dad didn't fall and stab himself remains a mystery to this day). This Keystone Cops meet Grizzly Adams routine kept going until the bear came up against a jumbled pile of boulders.

It turned to see the large very pissed man, in boxers, armed with a knife and a flashlight screaming and running straight at him. He had to choose. flight, or fight? Flight, true he was a bear.... but that guy was crazy. It dropped the pack on the ground and ambled up over the rock fall to safety. Dad recovered the pack and returned to camp where he sat, realizing what he'd just done, by the fire shaking for the remainder of the night.

Originally called Bear and Underware, the name was modified when it came time to get a domain name.

The thought also being that it would be easier to remember ElectricBruin, of course this HAS led to a few calls from people wondering what kind of beer our micro-brewery produces.

The First Logo seen at right, represents the spontaneous creative outburst retold above. It has been my unofficial logo since 1993 and remains as sort of a mascot.

The new logo is a "bear-paw light bulb" representing that momment when an idea first strikes. It, being bear derived, is also an ode for my late father as he would have really enjoyed the computer, this industry and the creative freedom they both allow.

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