BMW Motorrad’s Viral Campaign to Promote Reckless Urban Motorcycling
BMW Scissors GPS Drawing from Max Rider on Vimeo. Gotta say that running a sometimes-used section of rail line is a hella-high-risk way to draw a picture on a map. Via NaviGadget
Seating a Tire Bead with Flammable Liquid
Don’t try this at home kids! It appears that with spray of flammable liquid (starter fluid, carb cleaner, brake cleaner) you can reseat a bead and inflate an off-road tire that rolled off the rim in a matter of seconds. Of course, it helps if you know hhow much flammable liquid to put in the…
How to Survive a Cougar Encounter
Sooner or later it could happen to you. Might be in the backwoods of the Sespe. Might happen between the aisles at Trader Joe’s. Either way, it’s a good idea to brush up on your Cougar avoidance techniques. A study from UC Davis examining 185 cougar attacks from 1890 on, seems to suggest that the…
Accidental Irony
SPOT Personal Satellite Tracker This morning I noticed this odd arrangment I’d made on my desk. One is designed to prevent you from dying alone in the desert. The other advocates it.
Things to Do in April: Clean-Up at Lizard’s Mouth
Here’s the thing about suburban frontiers…too close to the suburbs. There’s some good to that. You can live and work close to nature. Problem is too many people don’t clean up after themselves. Real Cheap Sports in Ventura is sponsoring a clean-up day at Lizard’s Mouth, as I mentioned earlier a great local spot for…
BMW GS Brake Fix
Last week, riding home from work, I used a little more rear brake than usual and it felt “crunchy.” The BMW R1200GS has integral brakes, meaning that when you engage the front brake you automatically engage the rear brake as well. I tend to be light on the brakes in general, using them mostly to…
Following God Into the Wilderness
A couple of months ago I decided to read the Bible differently than before. I’ve always tried to wrestle Knowledge or Truth from the Holy Scripture. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not so much. This time around I’m trying to read more as if I’m having a conversation with God. It’s a subtle difference. But an…
A Whole Ton o’ Suck
Maybe you’ve noticed. Maybe you haven’t. But I haven’t been posting much. Just firing up the browser and logging in seems like more work than I can bear. I’m exhausted. I suck. I’ve lost my bearings…sliding off the trail into a slippery slough of late bills and bad karma. Here it is, the opening season…
Jeep Wrangler vs. Jeep Willys: Wrangler Wins Again and Again
In this segment of British TV’s Fifth Gear, a Jeep Wrangler goes head-to-head with a Willys WWII model. Guess which Jeep wins? (Link c/o Mike’s Totally Free Jeep News Now) Don’t think it was a fair competition? How about a timed test through whoop-de-doos? Or a race up the sand dunes? I guess there is…
The First Cut is the Deepest: How to Skin a Muskrat
Where do you go after winning the Miss Outdoors beauty contest? If you’re Dakota Abbot, the 2008 winner of the Miss Outdoors crown, you go back to your first love – skinning muskrats. “The first cut is crucial – you have to pinch the fur at the hind legs and cut straight into that meaty…
iWeb ’09 = Great Except When It’s Not
I wanted to quickly prototype a new website with the purpose of getting information to the high school seniors at our church. So why not use Apple’s iWeb 09 and my Mobile Me account? There’s a lot to love about iWeb – just select a template and badda-bing, badda-boom you’re done. If you don’t like…
Greener Does Not Mean Safer: Poison Oak
I’ve blogged about poison oak before but there is something I’d like to mention while it’s still fresh on my mind. So to speak. POISON OAK IS NOT HARMLESS DURING GREEN PHASE Some people are under the mistaken notion that you won’t get a rash from poison oak until the leaves have turned red. Let…
Emphasize the Flaws
A. I’m a pretty creative thinker. I’m not sure this blog really gets that point across very well, partly because: B. Along with being creative, I have a terrible tendency to slavishly follow imaginary rules, protocols and etiquettes. Does this sound contradictory? Very well, I contradict myself. (See A, above.) To break free from some…
Yes, I’ve Got Monkeys in My Pants
According to Wend Blog a 23 year old Australian was apprehended while trying to smuggle a pair of pigeons into the country in his pants. This man was clearly an amateur. In 2002 a California man was stopped at customs when a rare bird of paradise flew out of his carry-on luggage. He was also…
On the Road Again
I had good intentions. As I wrote earlier, my plan was to follow Mr. Walsh as if I was following a seasoned trail guide and get my life in order. Purging my life of detritus and crap-ola would reveal my life’s true purpose. Two weeks later I still believe that. But it’s harder than…