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