I need to start remembering that my phone has a decent camera in it

Seattle city, downtown, is a mess. I'd hate to see it if there was actually snow there!

Ok, so there's snow there, but it's like only a couple inches.

It wasn't bad, but there are still abandoned cars, and lots of pieces of people's chains on the freeways. The freeways are wet, but clear of ice.

A work friend needed a ride from Kirkland to Seattle to catch a train. He was waiting on a bus that never showed up. On the way, we saw the bus stuck, at an angle, in the oncoming lanes of the freeway.

glorious

there was no way in hell i was going to try to get to work until the traffic cleared. which it seems to have done.

last night, my 4wd failed me. i took it to the shop this morning, and they told me the proper fix is probably $570 for the part, not counting the labor to install it, but... i paid $104. they diagnosed it. the encoder motor which tells the transfer case which gear to be in failed 25% of the time in a given interval, so it quit working. they cleared the fail code, and it works now until it fails 25% of the time in the same interval. to clear the code, you pull the tail light fuse with the key off. yes. the tail light fuse. 2 and a half minutes later, if you plug the fuse back in, the 4wd codes will be cleared and you can try again.

now, i'm shifting between 2 and 4 as little as possible. once that trick stops working, it will probably be time to sell it anyway.

when i got home, the roads seemed to be clear enough to drive, but the bosses had sent an email saying "go home, unless you are already there, then stay there". so, like a good employee, i do what my bosses say. so, i'm at home.



no capital letters.
on purpose.
not sure why.
just didn't feel like using capital letters.






*hella edit:

found that part for $210, brand new.

This is such a silly place

Seattle paralyzed by chance of snow

"Schools throughout greater Seattle closed Wednesday at the mere threat of snow late in the day"

"School officials' caution dates back to a 1990 snowstorm that dumped several inches of unexpected snow, paralyzing the city and forcing 1,200 children to spend the night in their classrooms."




really?

Suzuki Gladius

This bike looks like a ducati monster and a z1000 had a retarded fish frog baby. It also looks like they took the sv650 engine and bastardized it by moving the oil cooler into the radiator. I hated the look of it.

Now, I hate it for real.

Somehow, the street triple got in some action there, because the seat is rocked too far forward, and the bars are back too much, and you end up sitting like you do on a scooter. It's not pleasant at all. It's not relaxed enough to be relaxed. It's not aggressive enough to be aggressive.

All in all, I hate it as much as I expected. It's really too bad.

Also, motorcycle shows: next time, I'm just waiting a couple months until the bikes show up in the dealerships.

I might have had some beer tonight. Maybe.

Out.

Shadows

they can be cast by light.

but that's not the topic at hand.

they can also be caused by the absence of light.

Hench Hench

I got a couple cans of this to try from a friend who is now working for them.

De-lish.

A flavor variation on the energy drink flavor, as most energy drinks are. Kinda sweet, but I usually drink the sugar free kinds. This wasn't the sugar free kind, and I still enjoyed it a lot. It's creamier than most, and could maybe be described as cream soda mixed with red bull.

Can't wait to try it as a mixer with jager or vodka.

http://henchhench.com/

new brewing equipment

gonna try it out next weekend :D

A couple upgrades

I got a camera, so I'm not using my video camera for stills anymore.
Nikon Coolpix S550

Then I got a new phone.
BlackBerry Curve 8130

Then I upgraded my headlights on my pickup.
speed forum post here

yup.

it's now cheaper

to drive my wife's car than it was to ride the bike last july.

FLOODS!

HOLY CRAP ROAD CLOSURES IN KING COUNTY!

HOLY CRAP ROAD CLOSURES IN SNOHOMISH COUNTY!


This isn't a boat ramp, it's a road. I promise.


it's RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINING up in here!



welcome to the wetside jeff!

beeeeeeeeeer

It's delishoush.

I knew there had to be a damn memory leak.

It's not a leak by definition...


but it's a damn memory leak.

Me == Thomas.

marriedtothesea.com

long days

as the days grow shorter, my days get longer.

Interesting News

Sony removes content approval, PS2 now open platform

"Since there are no licensing fees, the only cost to the developer would be the PS2 dev kit. "


Anyone got an extra $10k just laying around I can...uhh...borrow?

Fun, Not Fun

Fun: working on the pickup. I wrapped up the exhaust project on the S10. Much quieter now! Yay!.

Not Fun: jumping a sport bike. I was riding on 405 on my way home tonight and had no time to dodge the piece of debris on the road. I felt 4 distinct impacts, front, rear, front, rear. As I picked pieces of the seat out of my butt, I thanked my lucky stars and my reflexes that me upright despite what should have been me sliding on the freeway.

I'm taking the pickup tomorrow. Both to enjoy the stability of 4 wheels, and to listen to my new exhaust.

how rednecks fix their exhaust

Ride to Snoqualmie Falls with Scott

I don't think I've ever gone that fast....

Anyway, here's some pics and video from today's ride with Scott.

Total blast!

for all the ladies

when men are in the garage, we are not building things, nor fixing things, nor breaking things.

we are solving all the world's problems.

best not to disturb....



lol

:D

worst product evar

pelleted hops.



also, wash your bottles.

make sure you have enough caps before bottling time.



long hours at work, being tired mentally, but not physically, and pelleted hops make for a bad evening.

3 hrs well spent

exercise, and new (old) tires on the bike.

Note to everyone: it takes about 3 hours to do, and rear tires are hella harder than fronts.



So, I'm tired. Real tired. My legs and arms are tired. I'm mentally tired. I did scratch my rims a bit, but my rear less than my front, and...well...they are just wheels.

The front was much easier than the rear. I think they took similar amounts of time due to the fact that I did the front first, but the rear takes significantly more effort to do all the way around.

Also, the axles make good balancing stands, or at least, I think they do.

I'm going to take the pickup tomorrow to work, and then go for a test ride after work tomorrow to spin them up pretty good and check how balanced they really are. The back, I'm pretty sure about, the front didn't spin as freely, but was still pretty free, so we'll see.

Also, it cost me about $2.50 for the valve core tool, and $40 for the tire irons. Plus, I got the wheel weights for free from the local shop, and then another $3 for the duct tape to make sure my weights don't go anywhere.

Any local shop would have charged at least $20/wheel, and I wouldn't have gotten the exercise. Plus, I really like doing things myself. If my tires are out of balance, I'll just pull them off and take them down to get balanced, no big deal. Plus, this way, I will be able to change my tires anytime I want without waiting (probably would wait less than 3 hours to get them done by a pro....but still....I can do it on a Sunday, so shove it Cyclebarn!)

So, all in all, yes, I'm glad I did it. I would do it again. I will do it again...with my next set of take offs...or if I wear out my stock tires...or if some friend needs a tire changed and can't wait for a shop to be open...you know...



But, time to go do the dishes. Gotta have a clean kitchen for out little dinner party tonight.

beer

dry malt is a pain.
so are pelleted hops.

good times with donny and grant.

Farewell

he needed surgery.

we couldn't afford it.

rather than put him to sleep, we signed him over to the vet.

I missed him last night and this morning.

He always came into the bathroom to make sure I'm alright after I get out of the shower.

Bye buddy.

Down

Cat's in the kitty hospital. Blood work shows kidney out of whack. Could be caused by getting into something, could be caused by dehydration. Dehydrated due to vomiting. Vomiting caused by getting into something or blockage in the digestive tract or stomach. Results in a couple days.

Wife has been having leg problems. Xray was inconclusive, MRI ordered. Results in a couple days.

Got my crown put on today. Wasn't bad. Feels better than the fake crown, but I'm still going to do my best to avoid this again.

Don't know that we'll be able to get our couch for Christmas.

Things aren't happy.

Things come in three's....lets hope it's not a trilogy of threes.

out.

Bucket List

It's a great movie.

FYI

Friday

Kitty was sick last night, not moving much, but didn't seem toooooo bad, but puked a couple of times. No fun. It's pretty obvious he's doing better...he's back to his normal self. I'm glad too. He wasn't a happy kitty last night.

Today is Friday, and my plans for tonight are either go to a beer thing with Mike or stay home and gather my beer making supplies so I can know what to get when I go to the brew store tomorrow. Yay!

No work tomorrow, but I have to go to the dentist to get my permanent crown. Bleh. Not looking forward to that, but at least I'll be done with that tooth for a while.

Then, I'm hoping to relax and start a new batch of beer brewing this weekend.

Crab season comes to a close this weekend. Well, not this weekend, but it closes on the 30th, so, it closes for me. But, since I can't crab except up north, it's not like I can make an afternoon trip out of it, so I guess I'm done. 1 crab this year. And still no salmon :(.


Oh, and Sherry, I'm not coming back for a while, even to hunt. I miss you guys. I hope you are doing well.

still tired....but at least I can work on the current problems for a while....instead of the past ones....




Last night, we had dinner with Mike and Grace. It was a total blast, and I was reminded how nice it is to be around people that I don't *just* talk about bike and forum drama with.



My brother is brewing beer, bottled his first batch already, and I have yet to get going again.


This weekend...I'm going to have a bottle of cider and start up a batch of beer going in my garage. At least....if I have some time to get to a brew store on Saturday after my crown :(

tired

I'm pretty tired.

I'm tired of a lot of things.

I'm tired of working on things other than what I'm supposed to be working on.

I'm tired of causing myself to work on things other than what I'm supposed to be working on.

I'm tired of not having a boat.

I'm tired of looking for a free/cheap boat.

I'm tired of trying to find a hunting season that's worth my while this year.

But mostly...

I'm just tired.

I need to go to bed earlier, which tonight isn't happening. Maybe this weekend, I'll just rest. Wouldn't that be weird?

A bit more about my Sunday Adventure

I was pretty tired on Sunday night when I got home, so here's a bit more of a ride report.

First thing, I took off around 9am, slabbing down 405 to 167 to 18 in order to get to the track. I was meeting a guy there to give him something I needed cut to make taking my front wheel off easier. So, I ran down and met Norm there. I ran into Tim while I was there, bullshitted with Norm and Tim until Tim's session started, watched 5 minutes of the session and took off.

18 to I5 to Tacoma, and in Tacoma, I took 7 south toward Rainier. Up until now, I had been on 100% slab. Hwy 7 is a long straight slab, followed by some decent turns as it heads into the mountains. So, of course, because there are some decent turns, I got stuck behind traffic. Lots of traffic. The worst part was that every time I saw open road in front of the cars I was in, I couldn't pass, and by the time I could pass, there was another 5 cars in front of the people in front of me. Frustrating to say the least.

At one point, I had a decent run at a turn while a guy on a big cruiser was following me. Halfway through the turn, I swore I heard him crash. Being mid-turn, I didn't want to turn around and look, so as soon as I straightened up, I looked back, to see him "deep" into the corner, dragging his floorboards through the corner. I gave him a "rock on" sign and a thumbs up to and kept on rolling.

The traffic in Elbe was pretty bad, and since it's a gas station, and the last one before the park, and it's also a couple little places to eat, it was busy. Really busy. I kept rolling. I headed from Elbe, out on 706 until I got to the entrance to the park. I stopped for something to eat and drink at the little store, and for cash for the park entrance, didn't even consider there might be an entrance fee. Debit/credit minimum of $7, wtf am I going to spend $7 on to get some gatorade and a candy bar? Oh, a shot glass! Then, they didn't have an ATM, or give cash back, but the guy at the store said they took cards. Sweet, no worries. Onward. $5 for bicycle/pedestrians, $15 for cars. Motorcycles: $5 WHOO HOO!

10 minute wait to get into the park due to the line, which means traffic all through the park. But, it was worth it. The park was beautiful. The road for the first half of the park was completely broken up, and you had to be alert just to keep from being tossed off the bike, but once that cleared up, it was a nice ride. Awesome corners in the park, but, I was stuck behind people going below the posted speeds, so, it was all scenic, not much good riding. The views made up for it.

I stopped at a waterfall to use the bathroom, and it was closed. The waterfall was awesome though, and worth the stop. I wasn't in a walking mood due to my racing boots, or I would have walked down to the bottom of it to see it from there.

I stopped a couple other places along the way to take some pics of my bike and the mountain. Nothing to note, but you can look at my myspace to see the pictures I took.

On my way back down the mountain, I found some good clear road, and got to kick it up around a couple corners before the road straightened back out. From 706, I took 123 and then 410 back up toward Enumclaw. These roads had some decent corners, but again, I was stuck behind traffic, so I enjoyed the scenery.

Then, about 20 miles from Enumclaw, I saw a guy pushing a Harley I stopped to see what I could do to help and it turns out that his barrel key had fallen out. Yes, his key fell out. It's a horizontally mounted, barrel key, and it's under the seat. It fell out and got ran over, which changed the shape, and it wouldn't go back in. I gave him my pliers from my toolkit and it didn't help at all. So, he tried to catch a ride into town with me, but I have no seat, no pegs--not happening. So, I offered to let him use my phone to call his friend to go get his extra key. Not home. So, I went to the next town and called him a tow truck. I hope he got home ok.

Right where I stopped to help the harley guy, there was a line up of cars due to a motorcycle wreck, traffic backed up for miles. I saw a tow truck go by with 2 sport bikes on it, one was upright, and looked beat to hell. The other was on it's side. That thing was done. Traffic cleared up not to long after that, and we all marched in line into Enumclaw, where I got lost, took about 5 wrong turns, but knew as long as I headed west and north, eventually, I'd get to something I knew (hey, you can only go so far west around here!) and then I'd be golden. All my wrong turns ended up ok, and I got on I5, and jammed home.

I made it home at 6pm.

It was well worth it. An entire day to yourself and your bike will do wonders for a person's soul.




Cliff's Notes:
Traffic made the twisties straight, but the scenery made that ok. Also, WHEEEEE!

saltwaterlassie

not sure if you are going to check back....but....

instead of "importing" my myspace blog, I just copy and pasted entire sections and dropped them in, and then I posted them in order, so they all lined up correctly.

that's how I did it.

It even copied my pictures, which was I surprised about.

Mount Rainer National Park

It's a beautiful drive, but don't be in a hurry. It was crowded the entire way, from home until I got back.

But I had a great ride, about 270 miles, and it took me all day.



Well, I recommend it.

I'm tired.

goodnight

brush your teeth, kids!

Cavities suck to get filled. Root canals are worse.

Yay for poor dental hygiene!




Grr...ruined my Saturday.

Head Cleared...Good To Go

I've been stressed a bit lately, and I knew it was partially due to not having time to myself in a while. So, I rode in to work yesterday, like I usually do, but I took the long way home. I took a couple roads that I usually take on "the long way", but instead of turning onto the close road, I waited to turn north, and headed west a bit more. It put me on a route that took just about twice as long, but had better turns and the benefit of better pavement!

The extra fun part about this route is that it exposed me to a couple places that I could stop and fish for pinks (coho salmon!). I stopped at one of the fishing accesses along the road and was scoping it out when a guy stopped by to use the outhouse. I cornered him and asked him if he fished here. He had, but usually didn't, and about 5 minutes later, I had a couple good tips on what to try, and where to try it.

So, on Saturday, we have our dentist appointments to get our teeth drilled up, which should be a total blast! But, at least they'll be fixed.

Then, hopefully on Sunday, or even Saturday afternoon, I'm hoping to get out and try for some river cohos.

Next Saturday, I want to drive up to the Anacortes area and do some crabbing and fishing in the sound. It's quite a drive, but it's the only place where crab is still open, so, you do what you gotta do...crab is that tasteeeeeee.


Well, there's no point in going in to work yet. I'm remotely logged in, getting things ready, but there's not much I can do until it's done building the latest versions, so here I sit, slacking at home for a little bit before I shower and get ready for work. It gets me to work a bit later, but I am able to be more productive when I am there, which is supposedly a good thing, right?

Anyway, my plan for today is to figure out how in the hell I'm going to setup our priority system for what I'm working on. In the simple case, it's easy. However, in the not-so simple case, it's terribly difficult.....

Labor Day Weekend

Yeah, so, for some reason, I thought I'd go for a little camp over Labor Day weekend....just over an hour from home. I looked online to see what kind of camp sites were available....nothing. Ha!

Ok, so, then I thought, "You know what will be a great idea? Fishing at this full campground!"

Yeah, don't do that. It was a beautiful drive, and it's a beautiful park, but it was crowded.

We went to Cornet Bay to fish instead. I finally succeeded in catching a salt water fish. I caught a little (6-7 inch) cod, and then another, and then another. Yay.

Jessica caught roughly a dozen herring too, which was pretty fun to watch. She was really into it. There was roughly a billion people herring fishing and crabbing on this dock.

That was Sunday.

So, we went back Monday. It wasn't (as) crowded, and we brought our crab ring and a new little home-made crab bait box. We caught some crabs, and not a whole lot else except some rays and a nice relaxing sit on the docks.

I don't even remember what we did on Saturday...must have been epic!

Anyway...I'm not that chatty tonight....

out

southern idaho adventures

ok...so....I'm on kind of a time crunch this morning.....while I have time, it's not all contiguous time, so quick update!

Jason's wedding was tons of fun. I spent a couple of days with Jason, his dad, and his bride-to-be (now bride). It was great. The wedding was picture perfect, and the celebrations surrounding it were pretty close to perfect as well.



Lagoon was fun, especially the water park and go karts! Yay!


A couple of days, living in high society in Nampa, and now off to my cousin Tiffany's wedding.

It should be tons of fun, and I'm looking forward to catching up with family I haven't seen in a while.

Anyway....off to make copies!

2 pics

Golf Recap

Golf
So, we went golfing. They rented us a bit of everything we needed except balls and tees. Heath and I were together, and we had a golf cart with no throttle response and no brakes either. I rode my bike from work to the golf course, so I could go straight from the course to my house because it was much closer than work, and I didn't see going all the way back to work to backtrack home.

So, I wore all my gear, like normal, and threw my pants and jacket in my backpack, and was standing there holding my boots. The biggest boss at work was there, and offered to take my stuff and toss it in his car so I didn't have to worry about it until it was time to leave. That was really nice of him, and it made my day easier.

We hung out in the clubhouse until it was time to go golfing, and we headed out. We were supposed to be paired with the vice president and the head of design. The vice president wasn't there, so it was Heath, me, and the head of design. We had a great round of golf. I was able to drive awesome, and I had a couple good chips and putts.

After we were done, we headed back to the clubhouse for dinner and chit chat, mild drinking, and drunken antics of some of the people we worked with. It was great times. We scored an 84, which wasn't last place, so I was happy. The lowest score was mid 60's, if that gives you an idea of how much we suck at golf.

Anyway, after some drunken shenanigans by........75% of the people there.......I headed home and was tired, dehydrated, and I went home, showered, and went to bed.

if

if it's not important, don't make it a high priority.....

that is all

Golf and Video and old pickups

Golf:
For the first time in my professional life, I'm going to go and fail at golf tomorrow. I'm pretty excited. I went and bought a box of balls, and a packet of golf tees, I have a shirt, and I have to wear "non-denim", which isn't hard, but strange that *I* am restricted to a dress code. I'm not one who likes dress codes, and while I try to dress nicely for work some days, I like to wear jeans, and a decent tshirt (I'm a video game developer for cryin' out loud, no ties for me!). But, Zipper has scheduled a free golf tournament, 2 free drink tickets, golf club rentals, dinner, and prizes, along with a Zipper logo'd polo shirt. I'm in a group with Heath, who started at BEI after me, but at Zipper before me, a guy I don't know, and the big boss man. It should be a fun group.

Last time I used a golf club, I was at the driving range, and I was driving long and straight. That was my freshman year of college. Before that, I was in early highschool, or possibly junior high, last time I golfed. I'm pretty stoked to get out and do it again.

Video:
I've really been enjoying my video camera. I don't know if you can tell from the video's I've posted. Editing video takes a long time, and I think I'm getting better at it. Making the clips shorter and more self contained. I need more practice, and I'm getting it. While I'm, by no means, very good at the video editing, I think it's better than when I first started. Next, I want to start playing with timing and music instead of just putting music to what I've edited. I think it will take a long longer to edit, but, it should produce better results.

Go ahead and subscribe to my youtube channel at http://youtube.com/koorbloh if you want to see all my videos and be informed of when I post new ones.

Old Pickups:
The old blue s10 is gone for $70 for scrap iron. It's very sad. I loved that little pickup. I have no idea how many miles it had on it, but I'm sure it was a lot. I put quite a few miles on it through high school and college, and I wrecked it once, pushing the bumper in (which was replaced). The paint got worse on it every time I saw it, and things just didn't work properly any more after a while, but it's gone.

This was the pickup my dad bought when we moved from the farm to Nampa, just after my mom bought the mitsubishi. I drove it sometimes in high school, and I drove it up to Moscow for a while too while the mitsubishi I bought from my parents was getting some work done. My brother got it for his high school graduation and drove it until this spring, I think, when he bought an 03-ish Dodge Dakota.

How is it that my brother just got out of college and has a nicer pickup than me? hmmmmmm.....

It's ok...I've got my S10, and it's awesome.

The death of the blue S10 is just a friendly reminder that my own pickup is old, and needs to be taken care of lest it suffer the same fate. Of course, my body is in better shape than his was, and as long as it's cheaper to keep running reliably, I'm going to fix it instead of replace it. A crate engine, new tranny, transfer case, axles, drive line, exhaust, and new springs will get it running like new, a new driver's seat, and a coat of paint, and it's a new pickup. HA! Try that with a newer pickup! And it will be faster, more powerful, and more efficient too!


Anyway.....probably time to head off to work now....

Uhh......

I don't have much to say....but maybe these videos will help:

Go here for track pics:
http://darrenbeattyphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/5452747_HAvXc#333345929_yDKov

working on a couple of mods

not performance mods (I'm not using the bike to anywhere near it's fullest yet anyway). These are all appearance style mods.

I bought a rear seat cowl. It came with little plastic pieces to fill the holes created when I removed the grab bar. So, I removed the grab bar, put those little plastics in, and popped the cowl on. All I can say is, DAMN, that's a huge improvement.

I'm also painting my radiator guard with some "rustoleum" brand paint. It was starting to rust, and I wasn't going to have that, so I took it off and brushed the rust off and put some primer on it last night.

My camera mount also came off and is getting a coat of paint.

Both items are going flat black because it's the coolest color evar.

My passenger pegs are coming off because I won't have a passenger seat, so why have pegs!? But the exhaust hangs from the passenger peg on the right side. So, I bought another bracket ans shaved it. Hacksaw and dremel did pretty good, but I broke down and bought a grinder so I would be able to finish it nicely without spending many hours on it.

This is also going flat black.

My other flat black mod has nothing to do with painting, but rather something that came flat black: my tires. I recommend keeping proper air pressure in them. Holy crap. I was running about 5lbs low and it was only affecting my parking lot/intersection speed left turns, or so I thought. Bike feels MUCH better now at all speeds (that I have tried since) and all turning radii.




So, on Sunday, I went on a ride with some friends down to Tacoma to visit another friend's house. We spent some time riding highway 7, which is a nice road, with some lovely curves, and an Acura that thinks he's fast, among tons of other traffic. Me being mostly slow, and scared of illegal passes (I wait until there is about twice as much room as I need before attempting to pass anyone because I'm a chicken.....this is a logic induced fright, so I'm ok with it), I ended up chilling in the back and they waited for me at the end and had a good nap before I got there (ok, it was only a couple minutes). But, it was fun. Those guys have both been riding much longer than I have, and are smaller guys on bigger bikes...I couldn't have kept up with them if there was no traffic.

But, we got back to Tacoma and spent some time BS'ing with people, made a trip to Cycle Gear, and Taco Bell, and then did some work on one of the guy's bikes.

As we were leaving, I picked up a front stand to carry home, and we all jumped on our bikes and only 2 of the 4 of us actually left. The other 2 stayed and talked for a few minutes. Grant and I left and jumped on the freeway and may or may not have obeyed the posted speed (10-20 over the entire time....as was the rest of traffic....we weren't being assholes). We were in the express lanes just chillin when out of no where, the other 2 guys, who had stopped for gas, and left 5 minutes later than us, BLEW past us. It was all I could do to keep it on the road, I was laughing so hard.

But, it was a good day, and I just thought I should share.



Tuesday, Bike Night, at the Deluxe. I recommend going there! They serve comfort type food, and gave us an entire room (probably 40 people). I had meatloaf, Jessica had a sandwich, and they were excellent, but the Mac and Cheese looked DELICIOUS too. That was good times. Good people there, and I got to meet more people from the forum and put more faces to names. It was great.



That's all for now.



see you on the flip side!

Holy crap, where's my summer?

It's going away.

This weekend, next weekend, and the next one before we are gone to southern Idaho for a week and a half for weddings.

So, it's going away fast, but it seems as though this fall might hold some good fishing, since the salmon run is mainly mid-Aug to late Sept. I've got my fingers crossed....

But, I'm building a work bench. it's not quite my original plan, but it will cost me materials I had already, plus another couple of dollars for bolts to hold my vise down!

I found a small counter top and I'm going to use that as one of my legs. I have a shelf I picked up at a store closing that I"m using for the top, and I'm making another leg out of some scrap wood I had laying around.

Dark Knight, is a good movie, and Blue C Sushi is pretty good, but not the best, apparently. We went out to dinner and a movie with Mike and Grace last night. It was good times. I'm glad to be living near them again.

That's about it....gonna go help Jessica with dinner now...

quick note

I'm at work, waiting on a compile....so.....quick update:

I'm getting very close to having my WA fishing license. Part of that was getting my WA driver's license, which was less painful than I expected.

Also, I suck at writing/editing/debugging vertex and fragment shaders, which is what I'm working on now.

And I've ordered 1 of the 2 parts I need to make my bike a pure single seat bike :D

Lastly, Aug 9-10. Jessica will be gone, and I'm dedicating the entire weekend to motorcycles. Either hanging out in the pits helping out, or going on a big epic ride to.....destinations unknown (yet).

DING! Compile is done!

Playing Catch-Up

So, it's been a while. I'm working on a list of topics that will be written about. Topics might overlap, topics might lead into other topics......I have almost a month and a half to catch up on....bear with me

Getting Settled
So, we've been working on getting settled into our new place. We are "settled" except for the garage, which may never get fully setup the way I want. I guess until I have a reason to set it up, it will continue to evolve as it goes. I've got a big set of shelves built that holds tons of stuff and makes life easier and I've got my tool box setup with a wooden top that I can use as a work bench. It works, like I said, until I have a big project to do, then, maybe I'll build a work bench...we'll see.

Anyway, my office is in a walk-in closet, and it works way too well. There is plenty of room in that place for me to sit down and pay bills, however, I just don't use it much other than that. It works pretty good for storage of some of my stuff that shouldn't be out in the garage.

We bought a new queen sized bed for the guest room. Don't get too excited, we don't have a frame for it, so it sits on the floor for now. But...there's more room! Our guest room has been getting plenty of exercise since we moved (more later).

My Parents
My parents came up for a few days after we moved up. They had both been up here before so we didn't have to do the Space Needle. We did Pike's Market, and some downtown shopping on one of the days, and on the other day we went and watched one of my cousin's soccer games and then went up to Granite Falls to have dinner with them. It was a really good visit. Too short though...

Oh, and lesson learned: double check flight times before rearranging your schedule! Also, AM and PM are different. For some reason I saw 7am and read 7pm....no problem, I'll just run down after work... Oooooooops. Yeah, before work. Oh well. You gotta book flights when you can get them!

But, we found out when I was making this first video that my mom doesn't know how to use a video camera (second video)





Corders
Jessica's parents have come to visit as well. Jessica's mom came and spent some time just before she had to go back to school. Jessica's parents both came during the 4th of July break from school and spent the week.

Jessica and them spent some time playing on beaches and playing around in town during the week, and then yesterday we did more of the same. It was a bunch of fun. Plus, we went to the Crab Pot and did their big 1 pot dinner of crab, mussels, and potatoes and stuff. Man is that good stuff.

Their big news is that they have a new car. Laura has been saying she wanted a red convertible for a long time now, and so Nathan planned out a surprise to get one for her for graduation. So, he ordered it, but wasn't able to have them hold it until graduation, so they had to pick it up early. We've all been in on this for a while, knowing she'll be getting this car for graduation, and she had no idea at all. The ploy was that they had to go pickup a seized evidence car and she was pissed that she had to waste her time to do this. They get to the dealership and she still didn't get it. Once she finally understood, she was speechless. So, they drove over in their brand new 2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible in red. It was a fun car to drive around in.

New Bike
So, I got a new motorbike. 2008 Suzuki SV650. I am pushing close to 900 miles now and I've had it for just over a month. It's a great bike, and I'm glad I finally broke down and bought one. I ride it to and from work so that I can take advantage of the HOV lane and I ride it around trying to learn to actually ride, which is going pretty well. I'm getting better. I've done a couple rides with some friends and some rides alone. I'm also going out tomorrow for a good long ride...longest ride I've ever done...we'll see how that goes....

Track Day
So, part of learning to ride was to break down and run on the track. This was *NOT* a race. This was a track day where they teach you how to ride on the track. Some people have goals of eventually racing, some people are just out there having fun, and some people are out there to learn to ride, which was me. I learned so much out there. Most of what I learned was to learn to trust the bike.

I almost didn't get to ride because I arranged rental leathers and their biggest didn't fit me. Luckily one of the control riders had an extra set that kinda fit so I was able to squeeze into those and ride for the day.

I had a couple people pass me a little close, but not too close, just closer than I was used to. Most of the passes were totally good passes. Having a slow bike on the track means you get passed a lot, and being a total noob on the track means that you get passed even more. No problem, the rule was you can't pass when the bike is leaned over in a turn, and this is to keep people safe in the beginner class.

It worked out great until a control rider (one of the guys out there to keep people safe) was evaluating someone for the intermediate group and basically forgot what group he was in... I was crusing comfortably around the corner...WHOOOOOOSH...pause...WHOOOSH..... They blew past me and took off around the track. My only thought was "hey, that's against the rules..." and on with life....Whatever, I thought it was 2 control riders. Knowing that they are experienced riders, no big deal.

Well, as we got close to the end of the session, they caught back up to me and the control rider waved at me to follow him so I follow him off track and head back to the pits. He was so worried he had scared me that he felt like he needed to apologize and all I could do was laugh about it. Apparently they were going a "good intermediate" pace...which is FAST, especially compared to me. Yeah, so apparently I can keep my cool while being blown past on the track, which is good.

But, it was 100 degrees on the pavement, in the shade, and so I was drinking water all day in an attempt to stay hydrated...and it worked for most of the day. I sat out the last session because I was just done. It was a total blast, and I'm totally going to do it again one day, but not this summer.

July 4th
So, I asked my good buddy Dane where to go to watch the fireworks in Lynnwood. He suggested that we sit on the top of the Alderwood Mall parking garage overlooking the highschool parking lot across the street where they would be launching the fireworks from. This is quite possibly the best place to watch from ever.

We decided it would be crowded later and so we loaded the lawn chairs into the pickup and drove it to the mall, up to the top of the parking garage and backed into a spot over looking the highschool and left it for the day.

Then, we took off for Picnic Point, a park just on the sound a few miles away from my house. It was a beautiful beach park and we were catching the low end of a rising tide...we were walking on a strip of beach between a retaining wall that the tide half buries and the rising tide. We walked out a while, and then looked at the water level. Oh, crap. We turned around and booked it. We were watching the waves go up, almost to this rock, then pull back, 1 person walks around the rock, another wave, back and forth, with someone going around the rock between the waves. We turned back a couple minutes later and that rock was in 6 inches of water.

Then, we went home and had halibut for dinner! WHOO HOO!

Then, we went to the mall to watch the fireworks and we were able to drive up to right next to the pickup (wasn't crowded yet) and played cards in the bed of the pickup while we waited for dark. We were 1 of 3 pickups backed up to this one section of wall. Tons of people swarmed around us, and we were sitting in lawn chairs in the bed of the pickup. They had to stand...we were comfy, wrapped in blankets just chillin.

Here's a video I took at Picnic Point:


Fishing
So, I suck at saltwater fishing... I tried hard. I bought 2 good saltwater rods and reels and all the stuff I needed. We went out and fished for hours. Nothing. No bites, no nothing. No one else was catching anything either, so I don't feel bad. I'm hoping to get out and try it again. But, before we do, we gotta figure out the salmon runs, or at least find someone to show us where/how to fish. But, it was a blast anyway. Fishing is always fun, no matter how bad the catching sucks

Mariners
The Seattle Mariners had lost the last 8 games they had played...and we had tickets to watch the 9th game, so you know it's going to be an empty stadium. Ok, so we went and watched. It was a total blast. They won too! My mom and Jessica and I had a total blast. The hotdogs were....stadium hot dogs....the beer was great, and the game was pretty good too. We got the tickets from my mom's newspaper convention that was in downtown Seattle, so we went with a bunch of newspaper people. I totally recommend going to a pro baseball game with friends or family even if you don't really like to watch baseball on TV. It was more fun than I expected, since I'm not a big sports fan.

And that mostly catches up the blog with the big events of the last month and a half...it's been a crazy time, and hopefully it calms down soon....not too calm though!

City life is different...but it's a good different.

1 week in the hood

After a week, we are settling in.

We bought a GPS unit, and some lamps.

I went bike shopping today....yeah....it was nice....didn't get to ride the SV, but did ride the ninja....gave it a decent parking-lot sized workout....eh....nice......don't like the seat

oh well

no bike :(

that carpool lane is tempting....

my stuff

it's here

at our (new) home

we've been watching shows from nbc.com and chillin on the air bed for a day and a half

we also did some other stuff....like go play in downtown seattle

but, we are pretty tired, and our stuff comes tomorrow around 1, so we'll be finally able to really move in and unpack. YAY!


-out

have no stuff....last day of work

So, I have no stuff. The movers came and stole it all on tuesday, so, we've been camping in our house. A blow up bed and suitcases and stuff they wouldn't take...chemicals, ammo, liquids, stuff like that....

Today is also my last day at BEI. I am excited to move on, but sad that I have to leave. It's kinda crazy. Cleaning up my desk, grabbing my stuff, and rolling out this afternoon when I leave will be strange.

Tomorrow, I drive to Lynnwood and get my keys to my new place. WHEEEEEEEEE!

we tore down all the curtains

not only the curtains, but all the stuff that was attached to a wall.

stuff has been arranged, rearranged, gone through, and set aside for movers

we took out the trash

we cleaned out the freezer and cupboards

we have all the stuff we'll need, and some of the stuff we won't, set aside to take in the car and pickup over with us

today is our last day of packing up

tomorrow, the movers come, bright and early

wednesday is our last bike night

thursday is my last day at work

friday, we leave.....


as it gets closer, the more excited I get about it.

I'm still sad to leave my friends, but I'm excited to get over to the wetside and start making new ones!

In exactly 1 week

In exactly 1 week, I will be sitting in my house in Moscow for the last night. Most of our stuff will be packed up and somewhere between Moscow and Seattle.

In exactly 1 week, we will be cleaning up, and getting the place ready to leave.

In exactly 1 week, we will be setting up so we can go, turn in our keys, and drive away from Moscow for the last time when we get up in the morning.

In exactly 1 week, I will have eaten my last dinner in Moscow, as a Moscow resident.

In exactly 1 week, I will be done with my current job, and about 5 days away from starting my new job.

In exactly 1 week, my home won't feel like home....

R6's, Friends, and Good Byes

So, my friends are the best. I hate the thought of leaving them, but I know I'll make some more. It might take a while. Thanks to Chad, Wade, Dan, Sherry and my dad for letting me ride their bikes. Thanks to everyone who has ever offered their bike that I turned down. Thanks to everyone who would let me ride their bikes if I had asked. You guys know how to put a huge grin on my face.

People I know, people I kinda know, and people I have only recently met saying good bye to Moscow, and the Palouse in general, very hard. I'm not looking forward to it. I'll probably shed a couple tears as I say good bye.

You guys are my family and have made Moscow my home.





Dan, whom I only kinda know, offered me his r6 and as payment, he would only accept my inputs to the local motorcycle community, and maybe him giving me some left over beer from his last party (which I turned down so he wouldn't have to buy it for his next party).

I mostly wanted to ride a supersport to prove to myself that I didn't want it. So, I got on it, and knew exactly that I really didn't want it, but I'd sat on them before, and I knew that already. So, I backed it out of the garage and down the hill, turned it around and thumbed the starter...crank...nothing....more....crank crank crank fire....ok...there we go.....a slight twist of the throttle....yeah....uneventful. Which I expected.

Knowing I'd have to actually put it in gear before it got any fun, I dropped it into first and let go of the brake, down the hill, a touch of gas, let the clutch out. ok...less....umm....jerky than a twin, but also less pull. Granted, I haven't ridden a vtwin smaller than 1000cc's and this only has 600, but still, not really what I like.

It pulled ok in whatever gear I was in, but never really got really low in the rpm's either. too low and it didn't pull half what the twins do. Get it up in the revs a bit and that's where it comes alive, but because it wasn't my bike, and I don't like to rev bikes way up, I never got the bike to where it would really shine.

What appeals to me most about a twin is being able to go in whatever gear I am in, no shifting to find power, and I felt like I'd have to do that.

But, it had plenty of power, lots more power than I'm used to, which was really nice, and some decent wind protection too. I also felt really stable on it. I think I honestly was going as fast as I ever have on a bike and I was feeling really good about it. Unlike a cruiser, there's no "herding" as Jim would say of the bike....you just go around the corner...the bike understands and goes.

I'd love to have one as a track bike, 20 minutes a session, and not much else. It just wasn't comfortable on the straights.

Controls were great though.....probably the most refined of everything I've ridden. Brakes didn't BITE, but they bit plenty. Steering was stable.

Overall, great bike, not really happy with power delivery due to the fact that I like low end power, and not happy with the riding position. Other than those 2 things, it is a great bike!


......rather have the duc though.....

My Face Hurts....

....from smiling.....

I drove over to Chad's house and hopped on his CM400 while he hopped on his buell. We drove over and met Johnny and Wade at the Chevron and took off for Lewiston.

It was a beautiful day for a ride. We rode down to Shumate, the local Harley shop and perused while we talked to Kevin, a guy I met down at Mac's one day, a friend of some of the people I ride with. So, we talked a bit and then headed over to Mac's for a quick perusal of their bikes as well.

Kevin had just traded in a Triumph Thruxton that he bought down in Boise, rode it up to Lewiston and apparently hadn't ridden it since....340 miles.....hole eeee crap it was nice. Show room condition. That man keeps his bikes nice.

So, anyway, back up Spiral and stopped at the top. Wade says to me "Do you want to ride mine....that is...if Chad doesn't mind me riding the old Honda?"

"Really, are you serious?"

"Yeah"

"Fine by me, we'll swap in Colton" Chad piped in.

So, I jumped on Wade's sportster with the forward controls (which I detest) and headed to Colton. The bike isn't very comfortable to ride but it is fast. You say go, and it goes. No shit, just torque.

In Colton, I jumped on Chad's Buell, and all it did was cement the fact in my head that I need a naked twin. Again, no shit from this bike either, just torque. Looking at the throttle makes it go faster, and the vtwin engine smooths out like glass once you get it going.

Thanks again guys!

Anyway, so, buells have jumped a spot on the list. And so have bigger bikes.....still need to ride an SV....not sure how I'm going to swing that......but I will....mark my words....I will....

A fond farewell and some "stimulating" news

Tomorrow is most likely the last time I'll drive from Moscow to Lewiston before I move. I'm going to ride a CM400 (Thanks Chad!) and head on down there with him and Johnny to eat some free hot dogs and look at Harley's.

The last time I'll be able to ride down there, for sure.

Down Spiral...maybe I can talk them into going out farther....weather depending....

Anyway, so, we got economically stimulated this morning. Feels good. The bad part is that instead of being able to stimulate the economy, I have to save it because we will need plenty of cash fluidity while moving....just in case....you know....because moving suuuuuucks.

But, anyway, so I'm headed *back* to Seattle this weekend. Sunday night, we fly over, Monday night we fly back.... I'm getting sick of traveling that distance. At least we are flying and not driving.

Our new guy is going with us. 4 BEI guys over and back.....crazy.....

Moving sucks....I wish it was over....

2 weeks from today, we drive over. 2 weeks from yesterday is my last day. 2 weeks from this coming Monday is my first day at my new job.

well, I don't really have much to say except a few key updates (you already read them)

2 quick things

I hit a grouse this morning in my truck

and:

Stolen bike, downtown Seattle...

At least, that's the way it should read....

I rode a Ducati Monster today....1000cc's of v-twin AWESOME today.

I accidentally took the wrong turn, and ended up a looooooong ways away...

called my wife, she didn't answer (she was at the shop waiting...)

called the shop (dial 411 yay!) and say "So, I'm an idiot"

.......(silence).......

(here's me understanding what he's freaked out about)

"no no no, the bike is fine...I'm lost...."

finally got back....



HELL of a bike

Almost stood it up (on both ends!) on 1 wheel a couple of times on accident...then I understood the clutch, throttle and brake, and it was AWESOME.

Shit, 1000cc's of raw Ducati awesome-ness!


....it's on the short list.....


no riding of the 848, it's not really my style anyway.

low end, v-twin power makes me happy

also, I would describe the riding position as aggressive upright...mostly upright, but aggressive enough to deal with the grunt of making that vtwin scream......


:)

live from west washington

here I sit in my hotel room in Redmond


hotel tv is always better than normal tv....even if it's the same shows!

looking for a place to live tomorrow and Friday, and hopefully go sit on some fine italians on Friday too!

fried chicken!

Kitties

I don't know about you, but I sure do like kitties.

Not nearly as much as I like puppies.

Our kitty is a tard through and through, but he's one hell'uv'a cute tard.

When we move, he's going to have a tough time adjusting to everything, which is why we are going to move him all in one swell foop and take all of this things with us when we do. I'm not looking forward to having to keep him inside for a week or so, so he doesn't try to take off on us though...

taxes

I know I have already gotten and (responsibly this time!) spent my tax return. Which means I've already filed and such....

but....I'm kinda stressed about taxes......

strange....


BTW

GET THEM DONE IF YOU HAVEN'T!

Heck'uv'a Day

Ok, starting with Moto GP at Zeppoz.....

yeah, the waitress....she's not ok

the food was typical zeppoz food

the 250 race was a decent race. Not that great, but not very eventful. Even the wrecks weren't eventful.


*********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

Ok, Lorenzo is tied for first place in the MotoGP standings with Pedrosa. Ok, it's early in the season, so this may not last forever, but he's podiumed in every race, he's taken a 2nd, a 3rd, and now, today in Estoril, he won. Beating out Pedrosa and Rossi.

Whoopty-shit, right? Ok, so the man's fast. Well, this is his first year in this class. Last year he was running the 250 bikes.

He's gonna be one to watch!

******************END SPOILER************************************

So, after the races ended, I came home and grabbed my camera, filled my (new) camel-back, and jumped on my bike and went for a spin. By, the way, I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt. There were scantily clad females running all over campus, so the scenery was good, but I worked up a good sweat.

Man, the weather was nice today.

My camera mount holds the camera really rock steady (considering what is happening), but slowly slides forward. And when I come down hard on it, it goes. I need to find a way to stabilize it, or need to find another mounting method for my aggressive style.

*not that I'm all aggro all the time...I huff and puff after a few seconds....but on the downhill spurts, the cam ends up recording a downward shot instead of the up-coming trail.

Beautiful Day!

I'm soooo going riding tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I have no motorcycle, so I'll be riding very slowly, hopefully down a hill so I can go a bit faster.

I think I'm gonna go tear up campus...there's too much snow anywhere outside of town. It's crazy.

I was going to go fishing this weekend, but Spring Valley is still iced over. I went out on Friday to check it out (glad I did while it was on my way home, and not make a special trip out there) and there were people in short sleeve shirts ice fishing. It was crazy. I wish I had my camera.

I don't know where I'm going to go tomorrow, but it should be fun! Maybe I'll play with some onboard footage if I find a good trail.

Anyway, I cleaned my office today, and I am glad I did. It was baaaaaad. Really bad. Oh well.

I had cut a top for my rolling section of the tool box, but hadn't put it on, or set it all up. So, I did that, put all my tools away and such and organized everything. What really sucks is that now that I put everything away, I'm going to have it all moved away to a new place.

Finding a new place has been quite the adventure too. I hate looking for new places to live. It's one of the most annoying processes EVAR.

I really miss having a bike on days like this....

Anyway, enough rambling.

no house buying

we'll do some house renting instead at first

just not in the cards right now


So, anyway.....


This weekend is supposed to have some awesome weather....and I miss riding. Maybe I'll talk Jessica into going fishing....


I made fried chicken wings, and a video about making fried chicken wings. I have the video edited all up, and I just need to do the voice-over, and then add some music and all will be well.
Should be a pretty cool video when I'm done.


WHEEEEEEEE!

Well, we did it

We started the process to see if we can buy a house....

Honestly, I'm nervous as hell about whether we will get qualified for enough, or if we will even qualify at all. But also, what we are going to do if we are actually qualified to buy a house.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say that.

The "list"

This is the list of bikes that are on my list for "next"

Suzuki
SV650 - naked sport standard
SV650S - sport
GSX650F - sport standard
DRZ400S - dual sport
DRZ400SM - super-motard
V-Strom - standard/dual sport

Kawasaki
Ninja 650 - sport standard
Versys - standard
Z1000 - sport standard
KLX250S - dual sport
KLR650 - dual sport

Yamaha
FZ6 - sport standard
FZ1 - sport standard
V-Max - sporty cruiser

Honda
919 - sport standard
Interceptor - sport touring

hmm...big list....
looks like a dual sport or sport standard.....hmm....we'll see

shipped off some vfr parts today, think I sold some more!

yay!

Happy Friday!

Yeah, it's Friday.

This task at work is kicking my butt. Not terribly, but it's kicking my butt. Biggest thing I've done in a while and I'm speeding up on it, so it's not too bad, but damn, this thing is not exactly trivial. Compared to what I thought it was when I started the task, it's easy, but I've got it saving data, now I just need to get it loading.

Then, I'm about 1/6 done. Load and Save from a list. Then, I have Auto Save, Fixed Save, and Auto Save from a List. After that, I have to make it load and save a list of files. Once I do that, I have to do all the error checking. Some of these pieces will be easier than others, and some will be hard (error checking....the details are what get you!).

Also, this weekend I am riding. Yes. On 2 wheels. Chad (chipper) is bringing 2 bikes, one to sell, and one to ride, and has offered to let me ride them both at various times. One is a dirt bike and he's mostly getting that so that I can ride a dirt bike to see if I like riding in the dirt. The other is a old Honda 400. Even if I don't end up riding Chad's bikes, I'll be riding my bicycle.

Saturday, I'm riding on downtown to get my bike licensed (thanks Moscow....$5 to ride a bike....) and get a new reflector holder. The old reflector holder got sacrificed into a camera mount tha works WAAAAY too well and so I'll maybe be taking some video as I ride on downtown on Saturday.

This weekend, the weather is supposed to be AWESOME, so I'm stoked about getting out and playing outside.

So, is it a Southern Rock Friday? Is it a Jimmy Buffet Friday? Is it a country music Friday? Well, I think it's a Mike Oldfield Friday....some good Mike Oldfield should get me moving right to get lots done today.

viffer parts that are gone

tail piece
right rear set
right clip on
gauges
coils and most of the ignition system
slip on exhaust

Things to do...

I need something I can do to stay active in the motorcycle community.

I want to make and sell something, but the problem is that most things I could build and sell requires special tools that I don't have (let alone know how to use properly). One thing I was thinking was doing some LED lighting projects or possibly fiberglass and body work.

The problem with LED lighting is that you can't find just empty light lenses and such, so I'd need to have the lights to work with. Fiberglass I would either need molds to use *or* I would need some plastics to learn on. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey, I've got the VFR plastics......hmm......just wish I either had a garage or good weather!

Actually, I'm going to take the tail piece and see if I can bring it back up to snuff. The thing has been repaired poorly too many times, so it's basically worthless unless I can fix it all up and make it a good piece again. Sounds like a challenge to me!

hmm....

anyway...

the motogp race was pretty good. the 250 race was better than the big bikes, but shit happens. I was glad I went and watched. Good times, and a great burger. :)

zipper visit, plane rides

So, I took a plane ride.

It was supposed to leave from Pullman, go to Lewiston, and then on to Sea-Tac.

Pullman was too snowy, I got a call to go to Lewiston instead.

WHEEEEE

Meetings all day on Thursday and half of Friday

My new start date at Zipper is May 19

Plane ride back to Lewiston, delayed. Supposed to go to Pullman and then Lewiston.

Pullman is again too snowy, and the wind is too windy.

Down to Lewiston.

Drive on home.

I'm tired.

Goodnight.

Man's Greatest Tragedy

As we get better at killing, we realize that killing is not the answer.

Suddenly, we understand that by killing certain things, we are destroying a part of the earth that we rely on.

Everything is interconnected, and we cannot rely on the fact that just because we are directly negatively affected by something doesn't mean we don't need something else that relies on that thing.

One minor example: spiders and snakes. Killing them means an increase in insects and rodents.

Wolves, killing wolves means an increase in coyotes.

....philosophy...I wish I was good at it....

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter doods!


So, it's been a year since my wreck last Easter. I've learned a lot since then, racked up another 7 000 miles, and no other wrecks. But, now I've sold the rebel to another new rider. I bought another motorcycle with the intention of fixing it up, but I've given up on that now, and I've come to terms with the fact that I will have to wait for a while before I can justify buying another bike. I'm fairly melancholy recently about motorcycles, but I have hope. I have made a lot of friends and will continue to make friends in the motorcycle community. Instead of riding on the track, I'll be working corners or hanging out in the pits instead.

I'll be back. You can bet on that. I'll be back on 2 wheels soon enough.

Until then, I've got my bicycle and my pickup, and some fishing that needs done.

Unlike last year, the weather isn't beautiful. It looks like rain, and it's chilly outside.

Sherry, I was looking forward to leading some good spring rides this year too. I was hoping that we'd be able to get out and get going. What does your ninjette need? I've got a brand new battery that I dumped into the viffer, and we could get Johnny and I over to poke at it with sticks for a while! Just give me a call, and we'll find some time to come over at it.



So, my next project:
I don't like my tool box. HHAHHA, yes I do, but I want to make it more useful. Instead of a 3 tier system, I want a 2 tier, separate-able system. I've got a roller table that is the right height for a work surface, but needs a wooden top. The smaller tool box can sit on the work surface when it's put away. The middle tier is just a cheap little thing that once correctly tightened would be sturdy for sitting still, but for rolling around is not that sturdy. So, it's going away, and I'm going to make it 2 separate pieces, and make it a work center and a tool box instead of a big standing tool chest. I think it will be better that way. Now, I just need to get some wood for it!

I've had it

I can't keep working on the VFR.

It's not in me to keep throwing money at a toy that I cannot use.

I can't ride it.

First, it was just put levers on, a few small parts, and change the fluids.

Then, the fork seals. Easy enough job, once I figured it out, but that was most of a weekend.

After that, getting levers that worked right was such a pain in the ass, and then making the clutch side fit took much more than it should have.

Then, the starter clutch. After the starter clutch, I found out it had no coolant.

The coolant seems to have gone away because of the leaky head gasket.

I haven't fixed the head gasket. I could do it. It's about $30 for the gasket, and I could do it in a few hours, and I've got friends who might even come and help me. Wouldn't be a big deal.

But, the carbs need to be sync'ed.

The clutch seems to be slipping.

The rear brake isn't working properly.

I need new springs in the front, because when I hit the front brakes, it bottoms out under even moderate braking.

I need new tires soon.

It just isn't worth my time or money anymore.

So, I'm parting it out. I'm going to lose money on it. I think I can lose less if I part it out. But most importantly, if I part it out, I don't have to deal with the moral burden of setting someone else on this project.

Yes, this means I'll be bikeless, as I just sold the rebel as well. It sucks. But, you live, and you learn, and then you don't buy shitty bikes anymore.

It's not all lost money. I have learned a LOT about motorcycles, wrenching, and myself. Thanks to this project, I now feel comfortable tearing into most projects. I learned about suspensions, starters, controls, and I've accumulated a good set of riding gear (boots are supposed to arrive on Monday), tools (some that I've been needing for a while), and confidence in myself.

However, I've also lost some confidence in myself. I've lost some money, not a whole lot, especially considering that the time spent at most other activities would have cost considerable money as well.

The VFR has become an extension of myself, and not being able to fix it seems as though I can't fix myself. I've seperated myself from it over the past few days, and I am finally able to say it was a mistake, and that I'm getting rid of it.

I've posted it in a few places for parting out, and I'll sell what I can, and then dump the rest on someone for parts or something.


...strangely....I want to pull the tail section and learn to do fiberglass and body work...is that strange?


Anyway, I'm also selling my boat. It's been fun, but I won't have room for it in Redmond, so it goes away. Luckily, selling the boat won't be a loss, as I got it for much less than it was worth :).


So, I'm kinda feeling down today...kinda sad. Oh well. In the end, I will be happier.




Oh, and my pickup is now paid off, and I got the title. I sold the rebel for what I owe, and I put the money in the bank, and setup the auto-payer so it will pay itself off this month! The payments I'm getting rid of (together) are less than a bike payment would be, so I *could* afford a new bike, but I'm not ready to take on another payment yet. I've got a goal that I've been meaning to meet, and at that point, I'll be able to buy a bike. Hopefully either this fall or next spring (maybe sooner if I'm good).

haven't blogged in a looooong time

spring has come and gone.

there's a lot that i have to say, but the only thing I'm going to say right now is this:

Construction!

Ok, so, I've had this problem with the VFR for a while now. Basically, a tab broke off the frame. I didn't do it, the previous owner did (problem has been around since I owned it). Here's a really badly drawn version of what it looked like:















Now, I didn't want to do it, but I knew I had to pay someone to do it, so I decided that I knew a welder. FastFoodFred. So, I emailed him and asked his price. His pri


ce was to watch his bike a few months ago, and he wouldn't accept anything else. He also said he'd re-weld my rear-stand for me (which....well...broke....more on that later).

So, I borrowed a ramp and some muscles from JohnnyM and we loaded the VFR into the pickup. Now, this trip had triple duty: welding, Spokane Moto Show, and possibly selling the Rebel. So, we loaded the Rebel up in the pickup too. Both bikes made my pickup sit kinda low, but I was ok with it...hopefully coming back lighter.....(no dice....came back with the rebel....oh well).

Both bikes, Jessica, and I rode up to Spokane in the pickup and I dropped Jessica off at the mall. I called Fred and said I was about to his shop and he said he'd meet me there. I showed up, he wasn't there (yet...still on his way) and the guys at A2Zen came out with a ramp and helped me unload the VFR, and pointed me towards Fred's bay that he's renting from them, and then I waited. About 2 minutes later, Fred showed up and we had to make a run to his other shop (and I don't even have one!) to get a piece of aluminum and some tools. A quick run back and Fred started in on my rear stand.

This is a rearstand I made over Christmas with my father-in-law. He provided the building knowledge and I provided the bad welding and the design. The first time I used it, one of the arms broke off, almost causing a disaster. Fred re-welded that leg back on and then very politely told me that my welding sucks...not in those words...more like "you aren't going to be offended if I go over some of the other welds?" So, I'm pretty sure he went over all of them again, and if not, he might as well have. But, we did put it to the test...using it to hold the VFR up a bit and straighter while he was welding the tab on. Once we got the tab on, he cleaned it up, drilled a hole, tapped it, and made it work. I need to get a more proper bolt for it, but the one I have now will work for now.















Thanks for your help Fred!

So, we loaded the VFR back into the pickup and I headed off to the Spokane Moto Show, with a quick detour to pick up Jessica. I decided that since we were going to be buying a new laptop, we might as well just go do it. I hate Best Buy, but I knew they'd have what I wanted. We walked out about 15 minutes later with a new laptop and none of that other bullshit they try to sell you for more than the cost of the fucking computer...."Have you heard about our 'Geek Squad'"..."yeah....ME"...."How about our security suite"...."I've got better FREE ones"..."they aren't as good"...."you sell computers, I program them....I know".....that shut the fuckers up. Have I mentioned how much I hate Best Buy? Anyway, so, we have new laptop too.

Ok, back to the moto show. The show was pretty good. There were a few bikes there. Ok...quite a few...but this isn't about the Moto Show.... But, I guess it should get equal billing as Best Buy...Ok, I sat on just about every bike I wanted to except for the Ninja 250 (which has been selling too fast for anyone to have one in stock for this show). Lots of stuff there, lots of bikes, lots of gear. Pretty cool. Anyway....back on topic.

So, I had this problem today.














I decided that I needed a ramp TODAY. I could call people with ramps, but eventually, I'd need one anyway. I was saving the project for when I was in Redmond, and Jessica was still in Moscow, but that doesn't look like it will happen that way, so I just decided to build one.

2 8 ft 2x8, 1 3 ft piece of inch and a half steel strap, 24 bolts, 24 washers, 24 nuts, a sawzall blade for metal, and a BFH....uhh...a big hammer... It cost me $30 for materials.

So, I cut the metal strap into 8 inch lengths, drilled 2 holes in one half, and then bent them at an angle using the BFH. Simple enough.

I cut the 2x8's into 6 foot lengths, and used the other pieces as straps to hold them together.

I bolted the whole thing together, bolted the straps together, and I have a 14" wide ramp (because a 2x8 is really closer to 1 1/2 x 7-ish) that could be split in half to accomodate a 4 wheeler if needed!

So, here it is:

Got my rear set!

I got a rearset that is only slightly bent, but should be able to be bent back, and if not, I should be able to use it until I can find a replacement.

I also have both bikes loaded up and ready to take to Spokane! Yay!

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a good day, both in the selling and the welding department. Yeah, I'm getting some welding done on my rear stand and my VFR so that I can actually attach my new rear set.

Also, tomorrow is the Spokane Motorcycle Show which I'm going to in order to drool and sit on all the new 2008 model bikes, and some of the non-new bikes too ;).

Tomorrow is going to be a motorcycle day, I guess.

But, we are also stopping at Best Buy to look at video cameras and laptops. So, yeah, it should be fun!

hey, new helmet pics!

A couple weeks....

So, I'm just sitting down to blog for the first time in...well....a while.

A lot has happened since then.

Not like normal "a lot", but like a lot a lot.

Well, for 1, I got told that Zipper might want to hire me.
Also, we dealt with 2 feet of snow.
I drove to Seattle.
I finally got a new helmet.
I met a lot of westsiders (from the PNWRiders forum).
I hung out with the Banditos (well...kinda).
I got a new job.
I drove back to Moscow.
I went for a ride.




Well, for 1, I got told that Zipper might want to hire me.
well, my boss told me that Zipper might want to hire me, and wanted to know my "long term plans." So, I figured them out, and emailed boss man over at Zipper. I spent Friday (2/1) in Redmond for a meeting. I met with boss man, and we agreed that I should come over and spend some time working there so we could feel each other out and see how me working for them would work out.

Also, we dealt with 2 feet of snow.
2 feet. Yeah, 2 feet. It wasn't the most snow I've seen this year, but 2 feet in Moscow sucked. I'm glad that once it was all there, I was going to be spending the next 2 weeks in Redmond. Anyway, on the way to Redmond, there was too much snow, I had to redirect to another road. The passes were roads with solid walls of snow on both sides, both sides well over the top of the cab of my pickup.
The snow here in Moscow is almost gone. The snow in Redmond never existed, but the snow between here and there is in various stages of melting.
Just to give you an idea of how much snow there is, they closed the ski resorts, not because the roads to them were closed, but because there was too much snow to ski. Seriously. Too much snow to ski.

I drove to Seattle.
The drive there was a bit hairy. Not too bad, but I was glad the road wasn't much longer than it was. I had to redirect to open roads from Ellensburg to be able to press on. I made it. It wasn't fun, but it was pretty!

I finally got a new helmet.
I went to RMC "Renton MotorCycles" while I was bumming around over on the We(s)tside. HJC. And it doesn't fog up! Oh, and it has some cool designs on it! Black and red and white. Kinda cool.


shit...this is gonna have to wait....I just got a call I've been needing to hear for a while.

It will let me finish my rear stand that I started over xmas.





I met a lot of westsiders (from the PNWRiders forum).
I met quite a few of the people from the Seattle area. Not nearly a big percentage of them, but quite a few anyway. It was good times. We went to a bar one night, Red Robin for a bike night another night, and then to an Irish pub another night. It was good times all around! I can't wait to get to know some of them even more.

I hung out with the Banditos (well...kinda).
One night while I was there (at the bar) about 50 Banditos (a biker gang) showed up. It was...interesting....a couple got tossed out, and things got scary for a minute when that happened. After that, we kinda made our way to the door.

I got a new job.
Yes, Zipper did offer me a position, and I accepted. So, I'll be headed that way around the middle to the end of March, and I'll be working there! Crazy, eh?

I drove back to Moscow.
...rather uneventful, except for the cops who didn't pull me over....that maybe should have. A very long drive home.....

I went for a ride.
Today, I went down to Spiral and back. It was a good ride, but damn were my fingers cold by the time I hit the top of Spiral. I stopped to warm them up and then went on. By the time I got home, it had warmed up enough to not make my fingers numb anymore.


So, I finished my rear stand. The call I got was a guy who has a drill press and let me come and use it to drill the holes I needed to finish it. I was all excited, so I put the bolts into the holes, and lifted the rebel on up. Worked perfect. And fairly easy to use. So, on to the VFR. Yeah, that didn't go so well. I lifted and it gave way. One of the arms came off. Looking at the welds, it didn't penetrate nearly enough (if at all) and looks like I just soldered it with the rod. So, I need to go back and either do a better job, or have it done for me. I need to have the other one reworked as well, just to make sure those are done. As for the rest of it, I think it's fine, but those were my first welds, so I think (hope) that was the problem.

GRR

might be moving and a love poem

So, I got news that Zipper wants to talk to me about moving to work there.

This, of course, is good news. That means they don't hate me.

However, basically, what I have right now is a foot in the door, and that's about it. It's not a job. I'm hoping it turns out to be a job. I've got my fingers crossed. Please cross yours too!
















A love poem by Jeff Holbrook
It's been a while I miss you.
You and I, and just I and you.
Remember those times we spent together?
It seemed like it would last forever.
We'll be back together soon.
Dry pavement, ZOOM!








.....yes, I wrote a love poem to dry pavement...... get over it....

southern rock friday, revisited

http://allsouthernrock.com/


it's back!

The past little while

Well, I've been working on another model in my spare time. I picked up a model of the Jeff Gordan 24 NASCAR race car, which is proving to be more of a test of my painting skills than the NSR was, but also less of a test of my assembly skills.

It's easier to put together, but there isn't anything that can be left unpainted. The bike had many parts in a greyish, almost metallic, plastic that allowed for just putting them together, but this one is all white parts except the windows and tires, and 3 rubber parts.

I'm still enjoying it, but it appears there's only one other level 3 model in Michaels, and only a couple in the hobby store downtown, which means that I'm probably going to need a new hobby soon.

Anyway, I'm happy with the way this is turning out so far, we'll just see how it turns out in the end.


Things in North Idaho are not conducive to motorcycle ANYTHING right now except wishing, so I am hella jealous of my dad, who has no ice (on the roads) to contend with, a dual-sport for if there was ice, and above freezing (for the most part) temperatures. You can read about his adventures here if you are so inclined:
http://67.61.114.241/blog/index.php?d=19&m=01&y=08&category=7

It sounds like he had a lot of fun on his first actual dual sport experience, and it sounds like he'll be writing them up when he goes, which should make some good reading!

My VFR is getting closer to complete. But when I say complete, I mean completely having all the parts for when it gets warm enough to put them on! I picked up some new grips. These feel like "gel" grips, so they should be easy on the hands, but they also feel firm, which should help me maintain a good feel for how the bike is going. I also received the part to my front brake, which I broke because I'm an idiot. Oh, and I got the petcock lever too!

Oh, and I got my adjustable clutch lever finally put on! I knew it wasn't fitting because it was too big in this one area, and I knew just how to fix it! I took the non-adjustable lever off and double checked that the adjustable one wouldn't fit, took a good look at it in the light (last time, was dark, this was day, with lots of reflective snow). Didn't fit, of course, but I could see where it was rubbing, and took the dremel to it. A little grinding here, a little griding there, and wha'la, it fits! But, it still rubbed, so I took it off, colored the part that I knew was rubbing with a sharpie, put it back on and gave it a squeeze. This trick is often used for making stuff fit better. The sharpie rubs off where it rubs, and stays on where it doesn't. A little more grinding and it was like butter. I put the lever back on, with all the attachment parts, and was good to go!

So, rear brake, footpeg, the frame tab, and turn signals, and put the parts that I have on the bike, and I should be good to ride for a while once it warms up!

Once I get it running, I have some body work that needs done. If the tail piece turns out the way I want it, I'm going to do the whole body work, which will mean riding around with half-done body-work for a while, but should make the bike a better bike overall, if only cosmetically.


I got a haircut today. Shortest it's been in years...just thought people should know...


And, I leave you today with some memories. When I was a little-bitty kid (hard to imagine, I know) we use to go spend some holidays at "Leo and Leona's". We didn't see them that often, but I remember them being some of the nicest people around. They were like the grandparents that you don't see very often because they live far away, even though they weren't that far away. The truth is, they aren't my grandparents. They are my dad's cousins' "other" grandparents. We spent lots of time in their backyard. I remember there being huge snow drifts one time, and building a fort in one of them with Scott, A.J. and Steven.

Well, Leo passed away today, peacefully, at 2pm.

Rest In Peace.