In no matter of importance:
1. Beautify the bike: Full clean, repaint, reupholster. Some custom add-ons and chrome and silver. Banana Yellow or Construction Orange. Still deciding. Yellow is really calling me at this point. Redo the fram in a good offsetting black.
2. Build and stain some furniture out of the leftover wood from the fence replacement. Should be an experiment in power tools. Who needs all ten fingers anyway?
3. Build the picnic table in the back yard with said materials from above. Or, even cooler, a place to park the motorcycle under... Hmmmm.
4. Apple Certified. If the opportunity is there, might as well take it. The thinking is, there are a lot of knowledgable MickeySoft techs. I'm a *fairly* knowledgable Mac tech, but nothing special. I have the power of GSX, and basically free self-taught training available directly from Apple. Can't knock it.
5. Clean the basement. And the back yard.
6. Sell the G3 PowerMac and get a Mac Mini or a used PowerMac G4.
7. Pack up everything unneccesary, throw out a lot of crap that I don't need/use anymore. Put everything boxed up downstairs and out of the way for good.
8. Jesus 7, anyone? I want a rough draft by my birthday. It's time to piss off the world, one religious fanatic at a time.
9. Start a new book called VI, a story of the fight for and rise of the AntiChrist. John Woo will direct the cinematic feature. =) Guns, telekinetics, telepathics, a reporter with an unknown past, discovering his lineage, and the bringing together of the shrewdest, most powerful warriors of all time in an epic fight through an underground city in the middle of the desert.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Her name is Faith
Faith - 1981 Yamaha Virago 750
Que the Buffy/Angel jokes in 3...2...1...
I think it's a good name. I have to believe that she'll take care of me through thick and thin. I have nothing but the belief that she'll stick to the corners and won't dump me over at 70MPH in a 55 degree lean. I have to believe she's gonna keep going for me, and that she's not gonna buck me. I have to believe that she's gonna stop for me when I ask her.
I also have to believe in the art of motorcycle maintenance. But that's just a technicality, really.
Monday, May 16, 2005
The Road To Rolla
16 hours on a motorcycle over the course of the weekend will take it out of anyone.
First off, wow. The word fun doesn't really capture it, but it has definately been an experience. Couple of close calls, some stomached fear of a wet and bumpy road, and the road between Jefferson City, MO and Rolla MO was the most entertaining part of the trip. Sweeping 70 MPH turns, cutbacks, ups, downs, and a jerk who blinded me nearly right off the road.
Let me break this down for you stage-by-stage:
Manhattan KS to Lawrence KS:
Literally 10 minutes into the ride, I contemplated turning back and going to get my car. I was thinking it was a terrible idea. The great part about the whole trip was that I was racing the weather the whole way there. I stopped in Lawrence, and when gassing up I could see the clouds rolling east. I haven't seen a cloud do 70MPH, so I just turned up the throttle, and took off.
Lawrence, KS to Warrensburg, MO
I would get little drops here and there, as new cloud formations would form on top of me, but I managed to stay ahead of the storm. I stopped in Warrensburg for a fill-up, a sandwich, and a coffee and smoke. Standing there, the rain caught me after 20 minutes of rest. I hopped back on and was stopped by a State Trooper about 10 miles outside of Warrensburg. He was a nice guy; gave me a warning and told me to slow down. Checked my ID for a motorcycle license; that was kosher. Outstanding warrants; that was not an issue. I chuckled when it started rainin' again.
"Man, I just beat this weather, and here it is again."
He handed me my license and told me to go beat it. We'd talked a little about where I was going, and he knew I still had a long trip ahead of me. I wish I would have gotten his name. He was a considerate officer of the law.
Warrensburg MO to California MO
This leg passed me through Sedalia, which is a nice little town. Was good on gas, so I didn't stop here, just kept on into the countryside down Highway 50 to California.
There I stopped at the BP that I always stop at on the way to Rolla. Was getting tired, so I stopped, grabbed a sandwich, some smokes, and a mint coffee. Good stuff. Talked with some of the guys there for a little bit. Nice guys. Some dude walked in with half his face looking like it just got stepped on. The left side of his face was all chewed up and there was blood all over his shirt. The guy at the counter seemed to know him:
"Man, what happened to you?"
"I just got my ass kicked about 5 minutes ago. Where's the Bud Light?"
"Over there. Who did it?"
"Tim."
"Oh shit."
About that time the rain caught up to me, and it was back on the bike. While I was sliding my helmet over my head, 6 cop cars passed, sirens blaring, down 50. Great.
California MO to Rolla MO
This had to be the best part of the trip. And by best, I mean also the most life-threatening. Leaving California to Jefferson City uneventful. Those 6 cop cars were returning back to California, and apparently something big went down about 2-3 miles outside of Cali. Heh. Check the papers or something.
Got to Jeff City, and the rain was trying to catch up to me. I was getting specs on the visor as a roared along. Passed through JC without comment and hit the last leg of this part of the journey. Highway 63 segways from 4 lanes to two about 4 miles outside Jeff City. It then turns into a hell of a rollercoaster ride for someone unfamiliar with the route. With the wet road, the sprinkles trying to catch me, and other drivers, I was quivering slightly from the healthy fear that was rising in my stomach.
There was quite a scare about 5 miles after the off-ramp to Rolla from JC. I was coming up around a bending corner that also rose up the hill coming left to right, then cutting back left once over the crest of the hill. I had my highs on, and was leaned over in the corner. I saw a car coming, so I killed the highs and let my bike slide slowly over to the outside of the lane. The car apparently thought I still had my highs on, as it double-flashed me at the top of the hill.
Combine the bright lights, the plastic that already distorts the light, and the beads of water that had gathered on the helmet, and I was BLIND. I couldn't see anything, I just improvised in the corner. The next time I had my faculties about me ( and we're talking a matter of seconds here), I was careening at 70MPH in the direction of the ditch.
Instinct kicked in here. I was on the back brake in a slide, the front wheel still tracking it's forward direction; It was a hard-forced fish-tail. At the same moment, I snapped the handle bars into the direction I wanted to go, and throttled the gas hard. The bike kicked, snapped into the direction I wanted to go, and I was back on the road. At that very moment, I made a promise with the bike that if she got me home safe, I would give her a name.
The excitement after that was the general 70+MPH through corners with large yellow 45MPH signs setup right before them. I was still beating the rain, but I ultimately lost about 5 minutes outside Rolla. I could see lighting rippling across the clouds to the East, and every time I came out of a forested area, I could see they were bearing down on me. At the last long strip of 63 before the Rolla city lights, I was hit by the wrath of the storm. The bike was shaking under gusting winds, and my visor was filled with shooting blasts of Lighted Rain Drops of Death(TM). I was getting pelted and thrown around in the storm, but I wasn't stopping this close to being there. Got in, Carl cooked me a pizza, we went and got some Red Bull, and I got a good vodka drunk, then visited with Carl for a while before passing out.
Look for more details later this evening about the rest of the weekend.
First off, wow. The word fun doesn't really capture it, but it has definately been an experience. Couple of close calls, some stomached fear of a wet and bumpy road, and the road between Jefferson City, MO and Rolla MO was the most entertaining part of the trip. Sweeping 70 MPH turns, cutbacks, ups, downs, and a jerk who blinded me nearly right off the road.
Let me break this down for you stage-by-stage:
Manhattan KS to Lawrence KS:
Literally 10 minutes into the ride, I contemplated turning back and going to get my car. I was thinking it was a terrible idea. The great part about the whole trip was that I was racing the weather the whole way there. I stopped in Lawrence, and when gassing up I could see the clouds rolling east. I haven't seen a cloud do 70MPH, so I just turned up the throttle, and took off.
Lawrence, KS to Warrensburg, MO
I would get little drops here and there, as new cloud formations would form on top of me, but I managed to stay ahead of the storm. I stopped in Warrensburg for a fill-up, a sandwich, and a coffee and smoke. Standing there, the rain caught me after 20 minutes of rest. I hopped back on and was stopped by a State Trooper about 10 miles outside of Warrensburg. He was a nice guy; gave me a warning and told me to slow down. Checked my ID for a motorcycle license; that was kosher. Outstanding warrants; that was not an issue. I chuckled when it started rainin' again.
"Man, I just beat this weather, and here it is again."
He handed me my license and told me to go beat it. We'd talked a little about where I was going, and he knew I still had a long trip ahead of me. I wish I would have gotten his name. He was a considerate officer of the law.
Warrensburg MO to California MO
This leg passed me through Sedalia, which is a nice little town. Was good on gas, so I didn't stop here, just kept on into the countryside down Highway 50 to California.
There I stopped at the BP that I always stop at on the way to Rolla. Was getting tired, so I stopped, grabbed a sandwich, some smokes, and a mint coffee. Good stuff. Talked with some of the guys there for a little bit. Nice guys. Some dude walked in with half his face looking like it just got stepped on. The left side of his face was all chewed up and there was blood all over his shirt. The guy at the counter seemed to know him:
"Man, what happened to you?"
"I just got my ass kicked about 5 minutes ago. Where's the Bud Light?"
"Over there. Who did it?"
"Tim."
"Oh shit."
About that time the rain caught up to me, and it was back on the bike. While I was sliding my helmet over my head, 6 cop cars passed, sirens blaring, down 50. Great.
California MO to Rolla MO
This had to be the best part of the trip. And by best, I mean also the most life-threatening. Leaving California to Jefferson City uneventful. Those 6 cop cars were returning back to California, and apparently something big went down about 2-3 miles outside of Cali. Heh. Check the papers or something.
Got to Jeff City, and the rain was trying to catch up to me. I was getting specs on the visor as a roared along. Passed through JC without comment and hit the last leg of this part of the journey. Highway 63 segways from 4 lanes to two about 4 miles outside Jeff City. It then turns into a hell of a rollercoaster ride for someone unfamiliar with the route. With the wet road, the sprinkles trying to catch me, and other drivers, I was quivering slightly from the healthy fear that was rising in my stomach.
There was quite a scare about 5 miles after the off-ramp to Rolla from JC. I was coming up around a bending corner that also rose up the hill coming left to right, then cutting back left once over the crest of the hill. I had my highs on, and was leaned over in the corner. I saw a car coming, so I killed the highs and let my bike slide slowly over to the outside of the lane. The car apparently thought I still had my highs on, as it double-flashed me at the top of the hill.
Combine the bright lights, the plastic that already distorts the light, and the beads of water that had gathered on the helmet, and I was BLIND. I couldn't see anything, I just improvised in the corner. The next time I had my faculties about me ( and we're talking a matter of seconds here), I was careening at 70MPH in the direction of the ditch.
Instinct kicked in here. I was on the back brake in a slide, the front wheel still tracking it's forward direction; It was a hard-forced fish-tail. At the same moment, I snapped the handle bars into the direction I wanted to go, and throttled the gas hard. The bike kicked, snapped into the direction I wanted to go, and I was back on the road. At that very moment, I made a promise with the bike that if she got me home safe, I would give her a name.
The excitement after that was the general 70+MPH through corners with large yellow 45MPH signs setup right before them. I was still beating the rain, but I ultimately lost about 5 minutes outside Rolla. I could see lighting rippling across the clouds to the East, and every time I came out of a forested area, I could see they were bearing down on me. At the last long strip of 63 before the Rolla city lights, I was hit by the wrath of the storm. The bike was shaking under gusting winds, and my visor was filled with shooting blasts of Lighted Rain Drops of Death(TM). I was getting pelted and thrown around in the storm, but I wasn't stopping this close to being there. Got in, Carl cooked me a pizza, we went and got some Red Bull, and I got a good vodka drunk, then visited with Carl for a while before passing out.
Look for more details later this evening about the rest of the weekend.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Rolla Trip
Apparently God doesn't want me riding my motorcycle to Rolla. The red dot is where I need to go...
Monday, May 09, 2005
American Cities That Best Fit Me
American Cities That Best Fit You: |
60% Austin |
60% Honolulu |
60% Miami |
55% Las Vegas |
55% San Diego |
Which American Cities Best Fit You?
Would anyone have GUESSED that Austin would be the best? Nooooo... *shakes head*
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
The Path of Least Resistance
Where -----------------> To | Miles
manhattan ks to the colony tx 502
the colony tx to gainesville fl 1095
gainesville fl to new york ny 1011
new york ny to cincinnati oh 629
cincinnati oh to fargo nd 977
fargo nd to portland or 1497
portland or to seattle wa 173
seattle wa to san diego ca 1263
san diego ca to las vegas nv 331
las vegas nv to flagstaff az 250
flagstaff az to dallas tx 964
dallas tx to rolla mo 594
rolla mo to manhattan ks 454
manhattan ks to the colony tx 502
the colony tx to gainesville fl 1095
gainesville fl to new york ny 1011
new york ny to cincinnati oh 629
cincinnati oh to fargo nd 977
fargo nd to portland or 1497
portland or to seattle wa 173
seattle wa to san diego ca 1263
san diego ca to las vegas nv 331
las vegas nv to flagstaff az 250
flagstaff az to dallas tx 964
dallas tx to rolla mo 594
rolla mo to manhattan ks 454
Run
Home to Texas, over to Florida, up the East Coast to NY, over through Ohio, then the Dakotas, over through Montana to Seattle, Portland, down through California, across to Arizona, New Mexico, back to Texas, and what then?
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