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.

wish me luck

I go into the dentist for the first time in about 6 years tomorrow at 7:45.

I'm just hoping my teeth aren't all rotted out.

Then, after that, I get to figure out why I suck at lightmapping! Yay!

Sounds like a great day ahead of me.

But, it's bike night...which always cheers me up.


short and sweet tonight.

peace

water...

Somethings you take for granted, things that maybe you shouldn't.

We got our water shut off last night.

It was either that, or have a puddle in our hallway. We chose to have no water this morning.

The plummer is on his way, should be here "before noon" which means that I'm glad they were able to get a key from the property agency. I'm not going to be here....


Jessica was doing laundry last night and saw a whole bunch of water on the floor in the laundry closet. As soon as she was done taking the laundry out, I had a look. The cold water to the washer was leaking. No big deal, I'll just turn it off....except that it was leaking on the other side of the valve. Turning it off would have just let it keep going.

So, I found the number to our property agency, called, and got their emergency numbers. I called the first emergency number and got an answer. The guy was all dressed up, and I felt really sorry for that, but still didn't want to ruin the carpet or sub-floor.

He looked for a local shutoff in the area, but couldn't figure out how to shut off most of the house, and leave us some, so he had to go outside and shut off the water at the main valve.

So, we have no water to shower this morning. Yay!

Luckily, I didn't do a whole lot yesterday to build up a stink except for scrape the driveway, but that didn't take very long.


Oh, and I bought water...which I hate doing, but I bought enough water to last us a day or so of drinking, cooking, and such.


anyway....yeah...

Hey, I did a model!

It's a 1999 Honda NSR 500 race bike. The paint job started out to match the Repsol Honda that the model was based off, but it ended a bit differently.

I was looking for something to occupy my time this winter, and this took a weekend and a couple nights. Next time, I need something either bigger or more complicated.

I honestly want to get some fiberglass-ing materials and attempt a repair of my tail piece on the VFR, but I'm scared that I'll screw it up so bad that it won't fit back on the bike.

Anyway, National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a pretty good movie. I give it a B. Great movie, well done, but I just feel like I saw it before in the other National Treasure movie and The Davinci Code. Anyway, good movie, and I didn't pay to see it.

Umm....

It's snowing, big, fat, wet snow flakes and I really wish I had something to do other than blog about how I'm bored.

Maybe I'll go pick up another model to work on.....

I hurt my leg

by standing on the brake pedal.

Yeah.

Really. That much pressure. Enough to hurt my leg.



Ok. I was driving home, and was minding my own business. Here comes some cars towards me. Not a big deal. It's a 2 way street. High beams down, and carry on....right?

.....the next section takes place in the time of about a second......

No. There's something weird going on. One of the head lights on the front car. Then it comes back on. Now it's flashing at me. Now it's on. Now it's off. Flashing. WTF?

I move my foot from the gas pedal to the brake (which is the smart thing to do when you don't know what is going on in the road, and your head lights SUCK.

Then, I saw it. A head.

At first, I thought it was a horse. I think "Swerve!" but no, he's on the right side, and on the left is a car. Then, I realize it's a moose. No. It's not a moose. It's 2 moose (mooses? meese? whatever, species: moose, count: 2). Yeah.

I stood on my brake pedal. To no avail. I knew I couldn't stop in time. One moose on each side. Swerving right means I hit a moose full on and then land in the ditch. Swerving left means I hit a moose, and then plow into a car. I figured I could at least stay on the road once I hit the moose if I stayed straight. The one to the right went right. The one to the left went left. I swear there was no way to *not* hit at least one of them, but I missed. I stopped just past what would have been the impact location, took a deep breath, and drove home.

No harm, no foul.

But I hurt the tendons in my leg by standing on the brake pedal. Not bad. It doesn't still hurt, but it hurt while I drove home. It was crazy.



Ok, now an update on the VFR.

I, much to the dismay of my wife, and confusion of my cat, brought the bike inside the house last night. I brought it just far enough into the house to shut the door, and I laid down my motorcycle cover as a tarp to keep the floor from getting dirty.

The theory being that the starter clutch wouldn't work because it was too cold to work. The theory also states that if you warm the bike up, it should start. This theory is based on the fact that a few people on the vfr forum (vfrworld.com) had problems similar to mine in the winter, but come spring it magically went away.

Well, the theory is correct. Once I rolled the bike out this morning, I hit the starter button. Same results as when it was cold, but a different sound. Another push on the button, and the bike ROARED to life, and quickly died. Choke was wrong. Adjust the choke and it ran like the champ I know it to be. A quick blip of the throttle, and it died...

Fuggin choke. No more choke, let it warm up a bit. It still stutters a bit when cold and you blip the throttle, but once it warmed up, the throttle response was what I expected AND it revved up really good. Yay!

I've got it in better shape than I bought it, for the first time since I bought it. The only thing keeping it from working was the not starting issue...and it starts, I'm good.

I've got better levers, and they work. Neither lever is bent or broken. When I bought it, one was bent, the other was broken.
The battery was dead. Now it's charged, and holding a charge.
The forks leaked, and had little fork oil. They now have an appropriate fork oil level, and don't leak.
The chain was loose and dirty. The chain is now cleaner (not good enough yet..) and correctly tight.
Turn signals, foot peg, brake stuff (pads front and rear and the bracket) and an oil change and I'll be ready to ride.
New tires, and I'll be ready for the track!

a myspace quiz....here

Welcome to the End of 2007*

As 2007 comes to an end.........

1) Where did you begin 2007?
Nampa, at my parents house. My wife and I spent most of the holidays there

2) What was your status on Valentine's Day?
Hitched!

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Nope. I'm done.

4) How did you earn your money?
Making video games! yay!

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Nope, maybe should have, but didn't.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
maybe, nothing memorable, or costly!

7) Where did you go on vacation?
Sun River, OR, and southern Idaho, and Cali

8) Did you buy anything over $1000?
Nope

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
yup, cousin Dan

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
can't think of anyone

12) Did you move anywhere?
nope

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
I don't think I saw any concerts...

15) Are you registered to vote?
Nope, been considering it though

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?
Big Brother? F that.

17) Where do you live now?
Moscow, Idaho.

18) Describe your birthday?
It was a Saturday....and I don't remember what we did...must not have been that special...which I'm sure was what I wanted!

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
Crash my bike...

20) What has been your favorite moment(s)?
Riding and garnet hunting

21) What's something you learned about yourself?
I can still weld!

22) Any new additions to your family?
We got a cat!

23.) What was your worst month?
don't know...don't care....I had some great times this year!

24.) What music will you remember 2007 by?
Crunk!

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Ken

26) Made new friends?
Yes, finally!

27) New best friend?
no

28) Favorite Night?
None really stand out, but there were plenty!

29.) Did you have a child this year?
again...we got a cat...

30.) What's your favorite color?
This changes from day to day, and topic to topic

31.) How many childen do you have?
none

32.) Are you and your mother close?
not really close, but closer than I am to most people.

33.) What are your nicknames?
Jeff, Koorbloh, and "that guy on the rebel"

34.) Where did you wake up at on christmas?
Wife's parent's house

35.)What are you wearing?
clothes

36.)Did your parents get you anything for Christmas?
Sockets! Nice SAE sockets and nice metric allen head sockets! I love them! YAY!

37.) How old are you?
24

38.) Are you having a baby in less than 6 months?
Gawd I hope not....

39.) Do you have a friend you miss?
plenty

40.)How many bedroom do you have in your house?
3

41.) How many bathrooms?
2

42.) Who did you last kiss?
wifey

43.) Last hug?
wifey

44.) Last 5 text message from?
someone for christmas

45.) Last 3 missed calls from?
I haven't the foggiest (and I ain't looking)

46.) Last person you talked to on the phone?
mom

47.) Who's your favorite football team?
Well, the only one that I really follow used to be Carroll College, but my brother doesn't play there anymore...so....prolly the '49ers...for family reasons.

48.)Last NFL football game you went to?
I don't care about NFL

49.)Are you close with your brother/sister?
Not really

50.) Are you close with your inlaws?
not really

51.) What are you looking forward to in the next 2 months?
riding....getting the damn VFR put back together and running like a champ, and riding that too!

52.) next 15 days?
duck hunting!

53.)Where were you on Father's Day?
maybe riding...maybe at home with my wife

54.) Last person to come over unannounced?
people selling stuff

55.) Who car did you last ride in other than your own?
if you don't count my wife's car, then her parent's blazer

56.) Favorite restaurant in 2007?
the onion

57.)Best thing about today?
relaxing

58.) Plans for today?
was going to do something productive...but it's 3....I don't think I am

59.)last thing you drank?
Water

60.) How was 2007?
Good times.

Christmas break and New Year's Plan

So, we left to celebrate Christmas a week ago Saturday. It was nice to leave, and frankly, nicer to be home now.

It was a great visit. The first night we spent with my parents in Nampa. We celebrated Christmas with my brother and parents and then had a nice dinner, and took off for Twin Falls.

Christmas in Twin Falls was really nice, and we all had a good time, although I forgot to take anything to do, and almost went crazy from boredom on Christmas Day because we just sat around and watched movies. I'm not making that mistake next year, I'm taking something.

New Years brings a time of reflection and thought about the upcoming year. I've set some good goals for myself. Since college, I started brushing my teeth in the morning only, which is a terrible habit, and I am stopping that NOW. I also don't have much in the way of savings for retirement. Yes, I'm not even 25, but I'm planning for retirement. I started last summer, and I'm going to put about half my raise this year (assuming I get one) into savings, hoping to save at least $4k for the future. The more I save now, the more that money will be able to work for me to create more money for when I retire. So, that leaves me with the last of my 3 resolutions. This one is another health issue. I'd like to lose 20 pounds to put me at 220 (yeah, still huge, but I'm a big dude, 220 is a good weight).

My new years resolution is to better myself through those 3 things. If I can do those 3 things, I'll feel much better about myself, and hopefully with the weight I lose (by doing some exercising) I'll feel better physically too!


Oh, and we've got 8 inches of snow. I know I told my parents it was a foot, but 8 inches is closer to accurate. It's still plenty of snow, and there's TONS of frozen water laying all around this area.


Hello, 2008. Welcome.

Antlers, on the wall

After a couple weeks of sitting on my back deck, they are finally on the wall. Wasn't as scary as I thought it would be to do.

Lessons learned:
1) skin the head, and clean the outside of the skull before you cut into it. It would have been much easier to clean the skullcap with more skull to work with.
2) leave less skull on the antlers so the little cover that comes with the mounting kit will fit better
3) have a beer--every project is better with a beer!

I went pheasant hunting this morning and saw a whole lot of birds, but no pheasants. No game birds at all. Just lots of hawks and a couple magpies.

Access Yes for the win, by the way.

Access Yes is a program in the state of Idaho that lets landowners get something in return for opening their land to hunters. Basically, it's the same as letting people hunt there if they ask, but you post it up on the internet saying that it's ok to hunt there. The state lets you choose what months are ok to hunt there, what kind of game is ok to hunt there, vehicle use, all sorts of things, and the all-important: "Land-owner contact (not) required." If you have land, they help you out with it, with improvements and such, in exchange for it being open to hunters.

I don't know how much they actually do for land owners, but it's a great program for hunters. If I had land, I'd open mine up.



My brother played his last football game, evar, and won (which seems to be a habit with this team). 17-9, with a nearly scoreless first half.

He got mentioned on national tv AND got shown a LOT. It was really cool to see him out there kicking ass in the mud-puddle they called a field.

Rain was the best player for both team's defense, as no one could hold onto the ball.

Good game though!

Oh, and mom, you looked great on TV too!


Another day, another dolla.
Back to work on Monday, 5 days until a week and 2 days off.


I found springs for my bike cheaper than I thought.....not sure how much, but should be cheaper than buying new! A buddy of mine has them and has offered them to me at an undisclosed price (even to me!). Didn't even know if they would fit, so there was no talk about buying them.

Only 3 and a half more months until March....14 weeks.... So close, yet so far away. Why can't it be warm yet?

Stream of consciousness over for now...

snow

we got some...the drive to work was slow...

the drive home was worse...I had to stop and scrape my window...freezing fog sucks


I thought I wanted to blog...but I guess not...

Drifting on the Rebel

Not as scary as you'd think.

I took a left hand corner today on the Rebel, yes I went out riding, and as I took it, I slid out.

It wasn't a bad slide, I didn't even realize I slid until it was over. I just kept turning, and working the bike to make it go, but the back end slid out, then straightened out, and I kept on goign down the road.

yay!



My home brew cider is like drinking watered down apple juice, until you stand up. It's strong in alcohol, but you can't taste it, and there's not much apple flavor. The yeast flavor/smell is much less than my previous beers, and I attribute that to the secondary fermentation.


And it snowed today. It started snowing as I was filling up the last engine with oil. I changed the oil in 3 engines today, and it felt good to get out and work.

That damn tool box is just too perfect. I have all my shop towels, jackstands and jacks stored in the thing, so I roll it out, and work on the car, and put everything away, and roll it all back in.

It takes less time, I have quick access to all my tools, and everything stays organized because it's less work to carry it all back in that way.

crazy...when things work right, you just can't find fault with it. For the situation I'm in right now, this tool box setup is PERFECTO!



Next weekend, my brother's last game, evar, for sure happens. I'll be watching from the warmth (from the heaters and beer!) of Zeppos in Pullman. Anyone who wants to join me, let me know, and I'll tell you exactly when. (I'll prolly post up between then and now too).


I've ordered the final parts to make the VFR run again, I think, but the starter issue is making me angry...hopefully I can push start it... I'll need some other things to make it a good bike to ride again, but it will run once I get all my parts together.


My toe is doing much better now that it's had a couple days to relax and breathe. My new shoes are helping to keep it from going bad again. Oh, and I got new boots too! Timberland hiking boots, all leather, and really nice boots. A discontinued style for $60. yay!

yah, that's an update into Jeff's world.

wow

South Park last night was hilarious, but it brought up a really good point.

The episode was about the game "guitar hero" and Stan and Kyle were working really hard to get a huge amount of points (100,000) in co-op mode. They achieved this, and all their friends went crazy. Then, some guy offered them a contract to play guitar hero, took them to coke and sex parties, and treated them like rock stars.

yaddy yadda yadda, one friend betrays the other, and starts playing with someone better, one ends up playing in a bowling alley arcade, they get back together, and eventually get one million points together. Once they did, the game said "Congrats, you've played enough to get one million points, YOU ARE FAGS!"

No one can argue with that. Come on people, guitar hero is a great game, and is wildly popular, but there comes a point in everyone's life where they should put down the controller, and pick up a real guitar.

Stan's mom said it best: "If they put half the energy into (something real) as they do on that video game, they could (go places)."


As a gamer, and a game programmer, I can honestly say that I have played games more than maybe I should at certain points in my life. I have even played certain games way too much. But one thing I can say is that never, never, never has status in a game taken precedence over real life stuff.

I know people who have missed classes (and tests) to play games like Diablo II, World of Warcraft, and such. They miss work to go on raids. It's silly. It's not real. Go do something real. Use games for when the weather is too bad to go outside and play, or use games for when you are waiting on parts on a project. Or use games for that 15 minutes longer that someone takes to get ready to go somewhere with you.

Some people play too many games... It's really too bad.

So, what I'm saying is, instead your free time consisting of playing games, make your free time consist of playing games, hiking, reading, hunting, fishing, or getting together with your friends. Let the games sit, they'll wait.

my toe

yeah, it aches a little bit.

the doctor was really nice, and I didn't feel anything other than the numbing shots.

Well, that isn't true...I did feel somethings. Like I felt him resting his hand on my foot to hold my toes apart, so he could work on the toe he was working on.

It sucked.

I've "self-medicated" a bit tonight...a couple beers and the pain went away. The buzz is wearing off, and the pain isn't coming back. I just needed to give it some time to subside a bit.

Hopefully, in the morning it feels like a toe again.....


What a crazy procedure. Last time, it was a cut, and a pull, and a wrap. This time it was a cut, and a pull (which I didn't even know we got there yet) and some stuff to kill my nail down at the root.

This is supposedly the more extreme procedure, but I felt less....must be because the guy was a podiatrist, not a general doc.

Nice guy, he likes cross country skiing, and he's not a computer power user. His wife has shot a deer, and he never has. I learned these things while he was knifing my toe.

It was a very interesting time.



Well, you know....



out

toe + knife = teh suck

Tomorrow, at 4:30, I go "under the knife" to get my toe cut up...yet again....

this time, for good....hopefully



I bought 3 new pairs of shoes today, as my xmas bonus came in today...




so....boo and yay!

A happy improvement to myspace!

So, I used to listen to music on youtube and myspace. I pretty much stopped using myspace, even though it's easier to tell more about the artist there, because I discovered youtube playlists. They are really nice, you set up a play list, and it will play. Very nice.

Well, so, I stopped using myspace for a while. Well, I went back the other day, and I found out that they now play all the songs that are available, instead of just one. This is awesome because now I can start it and go back to what I was doing, and I've got a few songs before it requires more interaction.



just so everyone knows...I use myspace music to listen to rap music mostly....


yeah, I listen to rap....

get over it

I HIT A DEER

SERIOUSLY I HIT A DEER

Luckily, my pickup drove away, and the deer ran away.

The deer jumped right out in front of me when I was driving home. Luckily, I was going slow (icy roads) and we just bumped, and slid, and then it was over for everyone.

No dents for my pickup, I hope nothing serious for the deer.

Oh, and I'm on a hacker hunt! YAY!

Since we last talked

Ok, this might not be the longest post I've ever done, but it's going to cover quite a bit of the time since I last posted up.

So, lets talk about:
1) bikes
2) football
3) hunting
4) my cat
5) my homebrew
6) my office and tool box
7) my ingrown toenail

1) bikes
The rebel is running like a champ, but I don't ride much right now, because well, it's gotten too cold since deer season started. It's still my main bike, and will remain that way for a while.

The viffer is having some issues. Parts and labor are the main problems. Parts are hard to come by unless I do labor to get the money for parts, and then do the labor to put those parts on. I did, however get the choke cable replaced today, which wasn't a big deal. Actually, it was nice to work on it (see office and tool box). I had everything I needed, and it was a pretty simple task. But, I think the starter clutch is kaput. I'll know more once I get a chance to inspect the starting system. I'm hoping it's the starter and it can be repaired. The starter clutch is harder to replace, and can't be repaired.

I'll get the viffer all running good, and then I'll learn to ride it pretty well, and then....and then...I want to make some good times flogging the crap out of it.

2) football
my brother is playing the football still, it's his last season, and any game now could be his last game. It's his senior year, and he's graduating in December (less than a month!). It's been quite a run, he's played a lot of ball, and he's had good and bad times. But, it will be the end of an era when it's all done. It's been something he's done since 5th grade, and now, his 5th year in college is going to be, most likely, his last game ever. He's got at most 2 games left this season. The semi-finals, and the national championship. If they lose, it will be sad, no doubt, but if they win, it will still be sad. The last time that he'll be a Saint, strapping on the helmet and preparing to go forth and play for and with these friends and brothers.

....kinda makes me wish I had stayed with football....just wasn't my thing....

3) hunting
I've been out for grouse a few times, and it's been fun, but once deer season opened, I've been hunting all the time since then. If you look, my last post was 8 days before deer season opened, and since then, there hasn't been anything posted.

I passed up a couple does because I was holding out for a buck. I spent a day out in Elk River, and didn't see very many deer. I see more deer in Troy and Deary than I saw in Elk River. Oh well, I learned, and didn't go back. I went through many stages of deer hunting, such as having fun, at peace, hating every second of it, and being depressed for being a crappy hunter. But, I was determined not to let a bad mood make me shoot a tiny, suit-case, deer again. I even was lined up, safety off, and ready to shoot this one doe, but realized that I just didn't want to gut and skin a deer that night.

Well, along the way, I carried my shotgun in my truck anyway, and ended up getting a pheasant and a Hungarian partridge. I've been keeping my pheasant tails, and I put them up on the wall, as a trophy. I'm up to 2. Actually I keep them for my friend who ties flies, but I like to look at them until I have a reason to get rid of them.

So, anyway, back to the main event, deer season. The middle of the season came and went, and I didn't even get a shot off at any deer. I shot at 2 bucks one day, but since I hadn't shot my rifle in months, I missed really bad.

I went to shoot my rifle, and setup a paper target on a post, and got back to see what was going on. I accidentally left my safety on, and pulled the trigger. I flinched BAD. So bad, in fact, that the scope was aimed about 2 feet high and a foot to the right, with no shot fired. This was bad. So, I sat solid, and put 3 shots dead center on the target. I realized that I couldn't possibly have hit anything the way I jerked, so I felt more sure that I had missed those deer I shot at.

I looked at the calendar, and realized that I had 2 weeks left in an almost 2 month season to get a deer. I was determined to shoot the next legal deer I saw, no matter how small it was.

I went out the weekend before Thanksgiving, and saw a couple that weren't shoot-able. One was because of distance, and the other was because I didn't see it long enough. This, of course, discouraged me even more.

When I found out that my parents were coming up here for Thanksgiving, and weren't coming up until Thanksgiving Day, and I had taken the day before Thanksgiving off to possibly travel, I realized it would be a good chance to go out for a morning hunt before I had to buckle down and help clean up for my parents coming. I took off just around dawn (I always get out late for hunting for some reason) and headed out to my favorite spot that isn't trafficked hardly at all by hunters. Well, I was about 2 miles away when I saw 2 deer on the road. Of course, because it wasn't night, they took off, but stopped just off the road. I saw that one was a doe, and the other....the other....had antlers that stuck out past his ears....

my mouth went dry and I started to salivate at the same time...

I slammed on the brakes, threw it into park, and inserted the clip into my rifle as I popped the door and did a quick check for fences between me and him, fences he could jump over, and the all important "NO HUNTING" signs.

There was no reason not to shoot at him. I jumped off the road and shot. He jumped and took off. I whistled, and he stopped (THIS REALLY WORKS). I jacked another shell in, and took more careful aim. I squeezed the trigger, and I didn't hear the shot, but I felt it rock my shoulder. I knew it went off, and I knew it placed right where I was aimed (next time, aim lower, and more forward).

He stumbled, and rocked sideways with the impact, then jumped off. Knowing this deer was hit, I jacked my third, and last shell in, knowing I HAD to make this last shot, as my other shells were still in the pickup, and if he took off, there was no way to keep up with him and I didn't know how long he'd be able to go. I watched as he took another couple steps, and fell down and started kicking. 5 seconds later, it was over.

I ran back to my pickup, parked it, grabbed my pistol, rope, knife, and the tag, and headed off to get my deer. The knife was to attach the tag and gut him out. The pistol was in case he saw me and wasn't quite dead. One .380 caliber bullet to the head would put him out of his misery quick. The rope was to drag him out. When I got there, he was plenty dead, and so I tagged him, gutted him, and drug him up to my pickup.

I lifted his head up, set it in the pickup, tried to hold it there with my leg, and grab the front half, and the head fell. I was tired from dragging this deer's fat ass up the hill, through caterpiller-caused ruts, and over logs. Just then, the cavalry showed up. 2 guys pulled up in a silver Toyota. I gave them the puppy-dog face, and they got out and congratulated me on my deer and helped me load him up.

I took him to my boss's house and skinned him up and I'll bring him home to cut up and freeze tomorrow after work.

That's my deer hunting story!

I was going to go bird hunting today, but I ended up working on my bike today instead....oh well...it was fun! I'll get out next weekend after some pheasants, and maybe I'll find a place to let me hunt chukar.....gotta find a place to hunt chukar....

4) my cat
Elliot is an asshole, you all knew this. He's actually a great cat, and him and I seem to bond more all the time. He sits in my lap a lot of the time when I'm on the computer. He sleeps on my pillow, and he's really becoming a good cat now that he's getting to be almost an adult.

We've been letting him outside for periods of time, and he's figured out that if he scratches at the door, we'll hear him and let him back in.

Last night, he gave Jessica quite a good scare. It was cold, and he was outside for a long time. I was kinda worried, just because he'd been gone a long time, but Jessica was really worried about him. Well, he came back, predictably.

Anyway, he's an asshole, but I love him.

5) my homebrew
Ok, I've been working on this homebrew cider for a looong time. I started it before school started, which means that I started it in August. I was hoping to have it ready to drink in September. I let it ferment a couple of days, and when it slowed down a bit, I transferred it to a secondary fermentation bucket, hoping that it would take it off the dead yeast cells, reducing the yeast-y flavors and textures. Well, I've been meaning to bottle it for quite a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. I wasn't really worried about it, because (I told myself) that the longer it sat in the fermenter was like aging in the cask, only going to make it better.

Well, I bottled it finally. It was 12 22ounce bottles, and 5 or 6 16 ounce bottles. This was smaller than my usual batch, but I knew that when I only bought 3 gallons of cider to start with. My usual batch is over 5 gallons!

Well, part of bottling is checking final specific gravity. To do this, you take a little bit off and this creates a bit of "waste." Well, not wanting to waste it, and to check the quality...I tasted it. Before I tell you what it tasted like, I'll tell you this. When it started, it had the potential alcohol by volume of around 9%. When I checked the final potential alcohol by volume, it was an even 0. This means the yeast has eaten up all the sugars in the cider. I took this to be a bad sign. Plus, there was a slight vinegary smell when I first opened the bucket. I also took this to be a bad sign.

There was no reason for any worry. The smell must have been imaginary, because once I tasted it, it was sweet (not sure how) and not harsh at all. There was no vinegary smell. The strange thing was the lack of alcohol taste too. This was the smoothest drink I think I've ever had. The secondary fermentation took about 90% of the yeasty flavors out of the drink, and it was like drinking apple juice, but with a slight warming sensation. I use a 10mL graduated cylinder for my testing, and that 15mL (I had to dispose of some when I accidentally overfilled a couple bottles) gave me half a buzz. At around 9% alcohol by volume, it's twice as strong as a light beer.

I put some sugar in the mix before I bottled it. Hopefully there's enough yeast to eat those sugars up and carbonate the bottles up and make it sparkling cider, if not, no big loss, it will be like apple wine.

6) my office and tool box
I spent $75 and bought a Craftsman tool box on Black Friday. But, it's not just a tool box. It's a 3 drawer tool box, on top of a riser that creates storage below the riser, on top of a 2 drawer and 1 big doored storage area roller. It stands about 5 feet tall, and is perfect for working on everything. I put all my hand tools into it, and organized my whole office yesterday.

Today, when I went outside to work on my bike, I rolled my whole tool set outside, worked on my bike, put my tools back in, rolled the whole unit back inside, and washed my hands, and it was all put away! It was PERFECT.

7) my ingrown toenail
Ok, this spring I had an ingrown toenail cut out. There are 2 speeds to that surgery. The low speed is a numbing of the toe, a cutting of the toenail, and then a pulling of the toenail. This type of operation takes about 5 minutes, then they bandage you up, and send you along your way.

Well, the toenail grew back, and quickly got infected again. I went back to the doctor and they told me I needed the higher speed of the surgery. This is where they cut out the toenail, but go into your toe, and stop your toenail from growing back. They don't remove the whole toenail, just part of it, and the scrape away the "root" of the nail, so it won't grow back into your toe.

I'm not looking forward to the operation, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm just looking forward to having my toes be normal again.

For a long time, I thought that by cleaning under my toenails, it was doing myself a service. The gunk under my toenails was causing stink, and it wasn't pleasant. So, I'd take it out, but I was aggressive when I did so. This caused the toenail to become detached from the part where it should be attached. This lets you cut it shorter, or lets it tear easier. Well, if you cut it too short, or it tears, then it causes pain when it grows back. I found that by cutting it back, I could make the pain go away. About a year ago, I found out that I was causing the pain by cutting out the nail, and that until my toenails all grew back out, correctly, and I cut them correctly (straight across), I would never be free of toe pain.

Well, all 3 grew in normally, except for the inside edge of my left "great" toe.

And that's why I have to go get my toe cut up on Dec 4th.


Lessons learned recently:
1) patience pays off, both deer hunting and cat ownership can be greatly rewarding
2) take care of your toes
3) things that become part of your life sometimes end...example, football
4) hard work pays off eventually, procrastination pays off now (and in the case of homebrew cider, it pays off later too!)
5) a clean office and organized tools make my office less stressful to look at, and it makes working on stuff nice and easy!
6) the longer I don't blog, the longer my posts become :)

Ok, I've been blogging for a lllllooooonnnnnggggg time now, and I think it's time that I quit and see how much I've actually written...

So, you guys have fun.

viffer parts and stuff

I've got the front brake pads, need rear

I've got the brake lever on the bike

Clutch lever and clutch lever holder-bolt should be in this week (need the pusher...cut a bolt...cheeep)

Choke cable is in the mail

next priorities:
rear brake pads
foot peg bracket tab
foot peg bracket
foot peg tab
front brake bracket (oops!)
change all fluids

bought a bike...

here's what needs done to it (just took some notes, prices are mostly bike bandit prices, haven't looked for "good" prices yet)

change both fork seals, use thicker oil (because I'm a fatty) but not by much (because I'm not that fat) kit: ~$25 oil: ~$10/quart
clutch lever, bolt for clutch lever, brake lever (~$12 for levers, bolt...might be cheap..might need special)
left foot peg, or set of rear pegs (no clue what this will cost....probably big cost
some flat steel stock, and some angle stock for bending and making brackets, and a way to cut it (dremel?) ~$20
grips ~$15
choke cable ~$20
brake pads ~$50-60
tires ~$250


priority:
levers/bolt (one lever on bike already, other paid for...need bolt)
fork seals
choke cable
grips/foot peg
brake pads
tires

Redmond, yay

A couple of days running around Redmond pretending to be working did a body good. Oh, it wasn't the "work" it was seeing Mike and Grace! They are doing well. We had dinner and some drinks, and talked about work, bikes, and other such stuff.

We did some meetings with people. The "software meeting" was a kinda progress report in power point format of where we were going, and where we have been.

The other meeting we went over for was "tasking." But no one had any tasks, so we are now helping David with the light mapper...blech, no fun, but should be a great learning experience.

anyway, not feeling particularly bloggy today....

out

An uneventful trackday....

Not a whole lot to say about this track day...but here's what I got:

1) I rode...90 miles is about as far as I can go at a time on the Rebel without a break. Luckily, it's about 90 miles to the track. But this weekend really confirmed my need for a new bike.

2) I did an 8 hour lap (I rode out to my corner on the track, and back at the end of the day on the track....8 hours later). But I didn't get to jam on it because I was carrying flags and stuff.

3) My new pants work GREAT, and I'll be warm until it's freezing....(literally). I plan on riding until it's too cold, but with these pants, my jacket, a sweater under the jacket, and a scarf, and I'll only be stopped by ice on the road! That means (hopefully), that I'll be able to ride most days this winter! WOOT!

4) Some people from the Moscow-Pullman area can ride like mofos! GixxerJeff (Jeff #1), MisfitR6 (Ben), CCWC (Cody)...those boys can r-iz-ide. Some people stand up to wheelie out of turn 2, on the way to 3. Ben goes fast enough that he has to stand up (and over his front wheel) to keep his front end down. Cody, who's handle stands for "Can't Corner Worth Crap", can actually corner REALLY well, and likes to show off, throwing his front end way up in the air, and slamming it back down. Jeff's pretty quick too, but I lost track of who he was on the track pretty early...

5) Subway sandwiches don't hold the wrapper down in the wind, and my wrapper almost ended up on the track, and causing a wreck. Luckily, the wind that took it towards the track turned, and brought it back on my side of the track. I put it back down, but this time with a rock.

6) Doe, a deer, a female deer....inside the track....it was there the first session. It poked its head out and I saw it. I called in and had them hold off on the next session, and I chased it out with the help of the EMTs.

weather forcast

not looking great for track day on Saturday....

oh well, I got new warm pants for riding....

they'll be plenty warm for sitting and flagging :)

A couple rides, a couple hunts

Ok, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday...I managed to cram 2 grouse hunts, 2 rides, a fair visit, and a work day into those 3 days.

Saturday, I got up and donated plasma. Ya, I'm still doing that. Except this time, I drank LOTS of water the 2 days previous, ate right, and limited my caffeine, and no alcohol. Plus, the first thing I had them do was slow down my return. I was the first one started, and one of the first ones done.

Once that was done, I headed back home to get ready for hunting, and to wait for Jake, the bro-in-law, who was supposed to come grouse hunting with me. He said he'd probably roll on over to our house around 10. I got there around 10:30, and he wasn't there. I said I'd give him till noon, you can see how pressed for time I was...

Well, about noon rolls around and I just leave. I got about a quarter mile from the pickup when my phone rang. It was on vibrate, and I couldn't feel it, but I could hear it. I couldn't figure out what the sound was until it was too late to answer. I checked my voice mail, and Jake was way too apologetic. He drank too much at The Beach; I know the feeling. I saw some bobcat tracks, but there weren't any birds to be found on Saturday, so, I went on home.

I found out once I got home that Jake, and friends, were going to be joining us to the fair that evening. Wonderful! I love the fair! The best part about this fair is the fact that there is no admission price. You just walk in, look at the animals and crafts, pay for the overpriced food, and leave. One thing I didn't know about the fair is that there is a home-brew category. If I'd only known....I've got some cider that is ready that I'm letting age in the fermenter until I get the gumption to try it. Anyway, the fair was...well...a fair, and we left.

Jake came over, after he dropped his friends off at the dorm, to work on his shotgun, drink a couple beers, and sleep on the couch (lest he miss hunting again). He worked on his gun, I drank some beer, Jessica watched TV.

We headed out the next morning. We found one grouse, and he wasn't shoot-able (too quick for us). We jumped a couple of deer, and otherwise had a nice walk through the woods. We saw a bear track, which was rather exciting. We kept walking, and found the pickup, and home we went again. Another nice walk carrying a gun.

Sunday afternoon, I changed the oil in my bike. It needed it. After that, I took off for Spiral. The wind wasn't any fun to ride in. It was blowing HARD. I saw one other guy on a bike on the way down. He was having less fun than I was, but at least he had fairings to give some wind protection. I went down, then up Spiral, and realized, for sure, what I was pretty sure about as soon as I left the city limits of Moscow...HEAD HOME, IT'S TOO DAMN WINDY! I got home, and took my gear off. What a shitty day for a ride... Why is it that even shitty days for rides put a big grin on your face that won't go away for a couple hours?

Anyway, I went to bed happy.

I got up Monday morning and went to work, mostly uneventful day. Jessica had a late class, so during the down time, I plotted out myself a ride for after work. 100 miles, mostly of forest land.

I left work, and gassed up. Bovill was my next destination. I headed there, slowing only briefly to stay within grasp of the speed limit, and then took off or Santa. Yes, a town named Santa. It's on the Saint Marie's River, and on the way to Saint Marie's. Well, actually, for me, it's on the way to the White Pine Drive--my own personal heaven. Lots of folks will tell you that Spiral Highway is one of the best roads around. Most of them haven't driven the White Pine Drive. Spiral beats the crap out of the White Pine Drive for technical corners, hands down. But, what the White Pine Drive lacks in tight, technical, corners, it makes up for in not having a damn cliff if you crash. Crashing on Spiral would be a bad idea, because you either have cliff wall up or cliff wall down. Crashing on the White Pine Drive, you would probably end up going up the side of the mountain, but it's no cliff wall up or down. The corners are really nice too, and there's hardly ever anyone on the road.

Don't get me wrong, it's some pretty technical stuff, but it's no Spiral. There's no hairpins, and instead of 15-25 mph corners, they are all 25-35 mph corners.

I can go much faster (in relation to the posted speed) on the White Pine Drive because of the simple fact that I don't feel like I'm going off a cliff if shit happens. I'm much more confident in my corners.

So, anyway, it started to rain. Yeah, I still have my chaps. My top half of my body was dry, my legs were dry, and my crotch was wet. What a weird look, I don't recommend it, get real pants.

A little rain, a little sun, a little breeze (not too bad), and a bunch of good miles, and I got home.

Tonight, I had 3 jobs: dishes, bathrooms, and finish the headboard. I've done the dishes, and finished the headboard (with the exception of attaching it to the bed), and now I'm blogging until I have to clean the bathrooms. Jessica's mom is coming, or the bathrooms could wait till the weekend. Oh well.

The headboard looks really great. It's really done, for reals. I finally have all the pieces put together, and all the buttons sewn on, and the whole thing is behind the bed. It's ready for use. I'm really excited, and so is Jessica.

Anyway, that's about all that's been going on in real life....



dear commenters:
you guys are great, keep it up, I love the feed back!
Jeff

Epic Weekends, part 2

Ok, this won't be quite as in depth, but I've got a bonus afterwards!

Last weekend, I went out camping with Jessica ,my wife, Mark, a friend of mine, and his little dog Skipper. We drove to Mark's house after work on Friday, in the Tri-Cities, then off past Yakima to the town and river of Naches. Up from Naches, we followed the river to the Little Naches River, to a campsite. We setup tents, had a few beers, and BS'ed about the next morning's plans, and went to sleep.

Saturday morning, we got up. Now, since we were camping, and Jessica can't camp without bacon, and I wanted pancakes, we made bacon, eggs, pancakes, and coffee before we even thought about doing anything else. Once we had breakfast done, we realized we didn't have any dish soap, or any more coffee. We cleaned up as best as we could, and headed back to Whistlin' Jacks, a little over-priced grocery store to get the necessary things.

We grabbed a handful of elderberries from the bush on the way out. They were kinda tart, but really tasty...I can't wait for deer season when I get to go look for more elder berries :). Anyway, we went back up and moved campsites and started fishing the Naches river. Oh, btw, there are no fish in the Naches river. Trust me, there are no fish. We fished all day, and nothing.

That night, we had some more drinks, and went to bed.

Sunday morning, we got up and fished some more, still no fish.

We cooked breakfast again, bacon, eggs, pancakes and coffee, and cleaned up camp. We headed back and dropped Mark off. It was a good weekend.

It doesn't sound so great...but the time spent with Mark and Jessica, and the time spent fishing just don't seem like something anyone else will want to hear about....we just BS'ed a whole lot.



BONUS:
They cut my data patching. Yah, I'm not pleased. I'm angry, hurt, and generally not happy about it. I've spent so much time on it, that I don't remember a time in which I wasn't working on it, since I started working here. And now it's cut. I got the go-ahead yesterday to keep working on it, and send more test plans, and get it moving. That was yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon, in an email, I get "Projects not being worked on: Data Patching". I almost left early....I should have.....

Anyway, I have an empty bug list now!

GRRRRRRRRRRR

2 epic weekends....

Ok, so since I last posted, I've had 2 epic weekends.

I'm gonna do this in order...on a day by day basis...

8/30 Thursday
My boss says to me "you can work a full day tomorrow if you want, but I'm not." You see, earlier in the week, he told us only to work a half day because they were going to be laying down chemicals upstairs. Well, those plans changed, but since he already made reservations, it was basically an already set half-day.

8/31 Friday
I took the half day, and left directly up to Spokane Raceway Park. On the way, I ran into a bunch of rain. Well, it had hit the track too, so that meant that when I got there, most people were just sitting around chilling.

I looked at some bikes in the pits. Most were nice bikes. One WAS a nice bike, until he flipped it a couple of times. It was a total loss, the guy was in the hospital. It was a brand new ZX-6R, and must have started the day beautiful. The guy was planning on riding it home to (I disremember where, but it was a ways away) after track day....he didn't ride home, instead he got carried away. He was fine, but not good...if you catch my drift.

A few people went out and ran another session or 2, but it was pretty uneventful....

Until Curt went down. Curt, a guy I hadn't met yet, took turn 2 wrong. He ended up using the plastics on his bike to scoop up about 5 pounds of gravel. Some of this gravel got revenge on the bike by scraping up the side. Some of the gravel scratched up his leathers and such. Curt had some "rash", which wasn't from the gravel, but just from rubbing, and was sore Saturday and stiff on Sunday, but otherwise, was able to race all weekend. Best kind of crash to have. He laid it down, got back up, rode it in, and dumped the dirt out and was good to go for the rest of the weekend. Thank God for good gear, and for not blowing the corner too bad.

Remember the crunched up ZX-6R? Well, one of the guys there was hauling it home in his (single bike) trailer for the guy. This guy, Fred, just happened to be friends with Curt. And these guys just happened to be friends with Jim, Cody, Ken, and had been pitting with everyone else that I knew at track day. Well, Fred's bike didn't have a way home, and it had to go somewhere. I wasn't going anywhere all weekend, and Fred only lived like 10 miles away, so it went into the back of my pickup. A 50'th Anniversary, 2006 R6 sat in the bed of my pickup for the better part of the weekend.

After we loaded that up, Becky offered to drive Cody, Curt, Ken, and I out to dinner so we could drink, carry on, and have a good time. Well, we did that. We ordered a pitcher of Mac and Jack's, and instead they brought a pitcher of New Castle. Well, since they left it for us, we couldn't let it go to waste. 2 pitchers later (mind you we started at the track before we left) and a burger each, we stumbled back into the pickup for the drive back to the track. Out came the cigars, and then after that bed.

Just so you all know...yes...the beer and cigar did make me sick...and no, it wasn't pleasant. One or the other, not both, and all things in moderation.

Now, around the middle of the night, I was still awake because there were bikes running everywhere. Some people had the bright idea to run pit bikes, small bikes, dirt bikes mainly, all around all night. I even saw a couple of pit bikes with no lights racing around the track, being followed by a street bike with lights.

I fell asleep and dreamed of riding.

9/1 Saturday
I got up and rode my bike up to the shower, and asked the naked guy where there was some running water so I could brush my teeth. He told me where to go, and I headed up there.

After brushing my teeth, gathering water, sports drink, diet coke, and munchies, I headed down to meet the rest of the corner workers. That was a CF if I've ever seen one. The real corner captain wasn't there, so her ass(istant) was in charge. She was pretty useless. Anyway, they put me in turn 9. I headed out there and met Dan, the radio guy. I was to play the part of the active.

"Active" corner workers are the ones who go and try to move the rider and bike out of the way of other crashes (just in case). I saw a couple of crashes and pushed a couple of bikes out of the way. One guy got dirt way up into his face mask, and into his eyes. We had to lead him across the hot track blind. That was no fun, and I was glad I was working on the bike, not the rider. He was more than fine.

A mostly uneventful day was about over when the shit hit the fan...in a good way. Ross Delong and Mike Sullivan (2 racers in the "good gawd almighty fast" class) were riding ffffaaaasssssttttt. So fast, in fact, that Ross Delong took the track record about half way through the race. That record sat for almost a minute and a half, because he set the record again. Mike Sullivan, not knowing this, of course, passes him, and takes the track record back (it was his until this race). Ross Delong, as if he knew what was going on, took the record BACK. 4 times, in once race.

With 1 lap to go, we had a guy go off just past our corner, and almost to turn 10/track crossing. He was hurt. Not really bad (as far as a 90 mph crash goes), but he did break his collar bone, I think. He wasn't moving until the race was over, which was fine....with 1 lap, a waving yellow would be fine, even in the fast class. His wife/girlfriend wasn't too pleased when we wouldn't let her cross the track until the EMT's were done with him, but she was ok once he got across to him.

I was pretty tired, and once I got food, I talked to Curt (the only one at the track I knew still), and then went to bed. Well, not to bed, but I kinda crashed out. It was like 7pm and I was in my tent. That didn't last too long. I got up and wandered around. This guy was working on his bike in the dark with just a little LED headlight. I went and got my BIG flashlight to help him finish before dawn. He is a vintage racer novice, and was prepping for his first race. I helped get him back up and running, and took a walking lap around the pits, and back to bed. This time, for real. I was tired.

At some point in there (after dinner, before crashing out), I ran into a couple of guys, about 50 years old or so, next to their side car. I had to talk to them about it. It was pretty neat. Not like a traditional bike and side car, but one unit, all together. I had seen them practice, and they were some pretty crazy contraptions. If you ever get a chance to look at them, DO IT.

9/2 Sunday
I got out of bed and poked my head out. There was Jim's miata next to Curt's pickup and trailer. Jim was wandering around hanging out, waiting for stuff to happen. It was 7am, and not much was going on. I talked to him about Saturday's races and practices, and about Sunday's races and practices.

I was in corner 5, and had a pretty uneventful day, honestly. It wasn't as exciting as Saturday, but I did pick up 2 bikes. Both of those guys were not only ok, but up and running away before anyone got there. One guy was a guy I kinda know from the forum, but neither of us knew it at the time, the other guy was the WMRRA club president who said he might have re-broke his ribs.

The course record did get reset by Ross Delong, and it stood all day.

There were a couple of big wrecks, but not in my corner. Which is almost as bad as if they are in your corner, because you are sitting there helpless, and you can't do anything.

I didn't even hang around for dinner, I just went back and packed up my stuff and headed home. It was a heck of a weekend, and I was dog tired and needed a shower.

9/3 Labor Day!
I went out grouse hunting, and then I played some computer games and took a nap. 1 grouse, it became lunch, and that was my day...uneventful





honestly....I'm goign to take a break from writing...I've been writing for a loooongg time, and I'll write about last weekend later (maybe not even tonight)