When I first laid eyes on the Last Whole Earth Catalog back in the mid-1970s I became aware of the notion of sustainability (back in the day this was called “ecology“.) Ecology-thinking drove me to give up dirt-biking, believing that gasoline powered transport was a bad idea for a hobby. Ironically it was thinking green…
One of the things I harp on is that high school kids should make an effort to read through the Bible. If you’re going to profess Christianity, you ought to know what the book says. To get a little motivation and put my money where my mouth is (I haven’t read the Good Book from…
Here’s what I want to do, develop some Business Process Management diagrams for the Content Management System at the Day Job from Hell. This is because I want to keep my place in Hell–assuming there are far worse Hells than this. So what I need is a BPM modeler that runs on OS X and…
I work in the retail sector, for a company that has typically done pretty well in tough times. I’m a knowledge worker, and while I’m not non-expendable the company would get a pretty big hit of brain-drain if I left. I’ve worked out a niche for myself and could happily churn along for years to…
More pics of Blake’s amazing get-off. This pic from Scott Leighty shows the trajectory. Cluster of people at the top of the page is where Blake went over. After a few grunts it dawned on us that Blake’s ride would make it up the hill easier if we put the transmission in neutral. And then…
If you look carefully at the upper third of this picture, just to the left of the green bush, you can see what a BMW 1200 GS Adventure looks like after a rider tries to get this motorcycle airborne. This happened on a sandy stretch of the Santa Clara Truck Trail during the VCARS Exploring the…
Lost socks are one of the great torments of my life. No more, thanks to Sock Cops. These little doo-hickeys grab socks tight and keep them together through wash and dry. Leave them on until you’re ready to wear your socks. These would work great for gloves, anything else you want to keep together. The…
On a recent kayak junket I had the opportunity to follow Lifehacker’s advice on waterproofing electronic gear. I bought three condoms, and after the first two ripped I left the third in the men’s room for someone who was feeling lucky. Of course there must be some tougher rubbers than the ones I was using.…
I’m freaked out and I don’t even have any actual money. But all this terrifying talk of a coming recession, which some experts think could be the worst economy in 40 years–and remember, we’re talking about an economy that gave us the Ford Pinto–and I’m wondering just how bad it could possibly get. Well, here’s…
I passed the Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider’s course. Everyone who travels the highways can now breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I am a safer, saner motorcyclist.
Take thirteen men, two woman and some of the toughest motorcycles on the planet, everything from the mighty KLR 650 to the monstrous BMW 1200 GS Adventure (add a Suzuki V-strom and a Honda 250 for good measure) and turn them loose on the twisty backroads and dusty fire trails of Ventura County. To keep…
Last night Maureen and I watched The Bucket List. This is not a modern classic, but it is not as bad as the TV trailers led me to believe. It’s a better-than-average film for a “nothing on TV” evening. The premise of the movie is that two geezers, dying of cancer, decide to seize the day…
After my terrifying ride home from RPM Cycles I stashed the BMW R 1200 GS in the garage and hid from it for a few days. Over Labor Day weekend I found the nerve to saddle up and do some turns in the foothills. I spent ten minutes in a cul-de-sac doing figure eights. I’m…
The BMW GS series bikes (Gelände/Straße, or “off-road”/”road”) are known by their owners as “pigs.”  The term seems to be most often used to describe the R1150 GS, which is aggressively ugly with its bulbous gas tank. Nevertheless R1200 GS is ugly in its own special Transformers sort of way. When you see the bike on the…
Because life is not complicated enough, hasn’t reached the fever-pitch of insanity with too many hobbies, I just bought a used BMW 1200 GS. I guess $4 gas pushed me over the edge. I have to say, it was weird topping off the tank this morning and seeing the pump register 2.7 gallons.
