What with the ICE folks deciding to make my crossing the Canadian border a little more difficult as of the beginning of June — I made a mad dash for Edmonton in mid-May in order to get back before June 1 (and have time to clean out my office as well).
This was a great opportunity to see what the new bike was like — whether it had any substantial differences from the ‘02 Wing or not — and to try out stuff like the built-in GPS and XM radio. Read more
well, I have been THINKING that it’s time to update the blog for a long, long time, but the two things uppermost in my mind weren’t blog fodder. The number one thing is my current state of unemployment … my former employer was/is rather jealous of their reputation and I didn’t want to jepordize my settlement or retirement … and the lawsuit over my motorcycle accident is still ongoing.
Hopefully that’ll get settled some time in the near future so that I put that memory behind me.
While some people seem to tie their identity to the car they drive, the house they live in or the style of clothes they wear, many of us most tie ourselves to our professions … so it has been a quite sever shock to my system to have my employer figure out they could do without me. June 1 was my first day without a job since I was in high school … and we took a couple of weeks of long overdue holidays to help smooth the shock. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much a difference … now that we’re back home, I’m floundering … many, many things to do that have been left undone for many years while I worked my butt off … but no ambition to get at them (yet).
Having a pension spread across a couple of countries means that we’ll have to be inventive if I do actually retire, but, on the other hand, this is quite an opportunity — I can get in all the motorcycle riding I can stand for awhile. Maybe I can even finish coloring in the US & Canadian maps showing the places I’ve ridden!
The recent accident really served to confirm, to me, that concern for safety trumps concern for comfort anytime. I’ve always gotten incredulous looks and weathered lots of snickers when I’m riding, since I outfit myself as if the phrase “dress for the slide, not for the ride” were printed on the inside of my visor.
While others wonder what kind of goof would wear top to toe heavy safety stuff in hot weather, I’m constantly amazed by how little others wear.
I guess it all started way back in my early 20’s while in the Canadian Air Force as a medic. (Medical people all seem to have reservations about motorcycles since they see the aftermath, not the joy of riding). Within the space of one summer, I had one friend lose an acre of skin when his front wheel went screwy on the highway, and another end up in a coma for many months when he drove his head into a concrete wall while learning at low speed in a mall parking lot. The first was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The second was just learning so no helmet was “necessary” Read more
Well, that was a VERY sucky couple of weeks. I guess I was a little too cocky after my mishap with the deer last year, and needed to be taught some humility.
Right now it appears as though the Wing is totalled, the costs for replacing all the plastic and other bent parts being higher than the Blue Book value.
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Oh yeah, this is just what we needs! The worthless assclowns in Washington who created this financial mess with their interference and political maneuvering …. are going to “fix” it? And they’re even letting the stupid overpaid stuffed shirts who passed the laws that gave us this debacle – like Barney Fife Franks – participate in the discussions?
Oh, and even better, the Dumbocrats who forced the banks to lend to losers are now trying to stick in support fo rthe corrupt organizations like ACORN that helped perpetrate this?
Arghhhh …. just friggin’ arghhhh! Why in the hell did we – those of who bought responsibly and paid our bills – play by the rules?
DAMN! I am getting so utterly fed up with the hopeychangey crowd that it’s giving me a headache! I keep hearing and reading stupid liberals (I know, sorry, I should have warned about the redundancy) going all agog about B. Hussein O’BamBam and his message of change. Hope and Change. HopeyChange. Which is actually DopeyChange!
I know that the difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives accept change grudgingly and want proof change is needed, while liberals embrace change for change’s sake. But I can’t say I understand how brain-dead you have to be to just want change … without any clue as to what the change will be. Read more
Jul 28
So, I was p.o.ed enough already after seeing how our elected officials are pandering to the wastrels in our society, and THEN I found an article this morning on an Extreme Home Makeover case. Argggghhhh!
I used to think that Habitat for Humanity was a worthwhile organization. It married those who wanted to contribute to those who needed a helping hand. Even with the involvement of the dispicable Jimmah Cartah, it seemed like a great idea. However, after seeing the aftermath – the rate of default, the conditions that many of those home devolved into, and the attitudes of those getting all this charity, I changed my mind. Completely. Bad thing! Read more
I’ve calmed down a little bit, but yesterday evening I was ready and oh-so willing to find the frickin’ idiot road commissioner that signed off on chip sealing roads around Hemlock … and drag that asshat face down over the entire length of all the chip sealed roads.
Chip Sealing is a method they use around here to make roads worthless for a time. They put down a layer of tar or heavy oil, and then they cover the road with crushed rock. Loose crushed rock. To a healthy depth. Well, not healthy for motorcyclists, of course.
Once the road is turned to shit by pouring all that loose rock on it, traffic is supposed to slow down, and to gradually force the rocks into the tar, with the surplus being blown to the side of the road to lay in the ditch … or to just generally be dangerous by forming deep gravel strips on the side of the road. They call that “paved” around here.
Really, really frickin’ annoying and dangerous.
The last time, some years ago, that we went to the Soaring Eagle casino in Mt. Pleasant for a concert, I swore we would never go back.
I forgot.
Carolyn had mentioned more than once .. much more than once … that she would like to see Bobby Vinton when he does another concert here. We missed the opportunity some years ago when he played an outdoor venue in Frankenmuth, and couldn’t get down to Holland last year to see him. So, I happened to catch an ad showing that he was playing in Mt Pleasant on Mother’s Day. How apporpriate. So … I got us tickets. Read more
There’s a series of ads on the media here in Michigan that I find highly amusing. If you did no investigation, as I’m sure the majority of sheeple will admit to, you would think that whatever PAC is sponsoring the ads just wants to ensure power, and provide jobs.
If, however, you do happen to do a little investigation, you find the PAC is composed of those who want to give a monopoly back to the power companies (after the conservative government fo some years ago opened the state to competition). Apparently, the power companies NEED this monopoly in order to pay for the upgrades they need, and build new plants. Read more