Write something worth reading

P90x

2008-01-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

I was in the best shape of my life from 2000-2002 and since then I have been in a state of rapid decline. I stopped running regularly. I stopped lifting regularly. I stopped biking regularly. I drifted away from soccer and ultimate frisbee. Now I sit at a desk all day and a bathroom scale recently told me I could stand to loose 10 pounds.

I am sick of this.

This morning was my first day doing the P90x Classic workout regimen. Generally speaking, I am wary of products hawked by infomercials but I know several people who have tried the program and liked it. Even if the workouts weren't excellent if you exercise for an hour a day six days a week for 12 weeks you would probably see impressive results.

I've committed to doing 72 workouts over the next 84 days and I'd appreciate being held accountable to that goal. You can track my progress in the sidebar of my blog.

October Sky

2007-10-30T22:04:00.000-04:00

Lately, as we finally transition to fall, the trees have grown colorful and the clouds have often been breathtaking.

There is change afoot in my life as well. Today, for example, I got two job offers within 20 minutes of each other. It has given me something to mull over.

Thoughts while on the job

2007-10-04T18:32:00.001-04:00

"I wonder how many times I can jump around up here until I hurt myself. Ow. One."

"I'm pretty sure this harness doesn't increase my personal safety."

"I wish I knew what I was doing."

"Solvent hangovers are no fun."

"It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights."

"Tyvek clothing was not a good idea."

"Why would you pay for overnight shipping if it was just going to sit unopened for a week?"

"Shouldn't I be getting hazard pay?"

"Ah, so that's why burning sulfur is associated with hell."

3 months in under 3 minutes

2007-09-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

June: Spent a week in Wales
July: Finished PULSE, missed LDRS because my supervisor left for a better job, moved back to Goshen
August: Spent 10 days in the Pacific Northwest, became CMC MYF sponsor, became an environmental engineering technician, spent 2nd week of work in Toledo, got motorcycle running (fixed starter clutch) only to have clutch problems (slave cylinder?)

pictures and details to follow.

w00t!

2007-05-19T12:44:00.000-04:00

IGN has the scoop on StarCraft II. It's only been 9 years since Starcraft was released but it looks like it may be worth the wait. All I know is I may laps back into regular gaming which I haven't really done since Warcraft III...

I'd rather be riding...

2007-05-10T19:49:00.000-04:00

I spent the better part of the last 18 months without a motorcycle to call my own. From mid November to Feburary I had been trying to buy a 1976 CB 750F from a guy on craigslist before he finally decided it wasn't for sale. I had wanted a Honda CB 750 from the early 1970s because I was attracted to its legacy. The air-cooled inline 4 was arguably the most influential motorcycle of the 20th century because it showed the world that Japan could produce world-class superbikes not just scooters. They are also, by today's standards, fairly simple mechanically which makes them easy to rebuild to their original form or make them into fantastic custom bikes.

When that option fell through I went looking for something slightly different. I eventually found it in the v65 Magna of the mid 80s - the original musclebike. Although it was overshadowed during the later part of its brief lifespan by the Yamaha V-max its 1098cc liquid-cooled 45 degree V4 engine is still an impressive performer. And what are the drawbacks for having modern power in a bike that is over 20 years old? Cam oiling problems, underpowered breaks, spongy rear suspension, a flaky starter clutch, a front fork brace that is prone to failure, and a carburetor assembly that can only be removed from the motorcycle after you drain the coolant system among other gripes. This is enough for at least one satisfied v65 owner to proclaim:

IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE HONDA EARLY V4 WORLD AND ARE ONLY THINKING ABOUT PURCHASING ONE, DON'T.

I didn't listen to him. I must subconsciously filter out sentences written in all caps as having been written by fools. I'm now questioning my reasoning.

I like this motorcycle. The first time I saw one it was parked by a V-max on a side street in Chicago. I was immediately drawn to it. It is a brute of a machine. It is heavy. It is powerful. It is fast. I have no idea why it has an overdrive - at 70 mph it rolls along at 3000 RPM leaving the remaining 7000 RPM before the redline useful only in extra-legal pursuits.

I rode it from Goshen to Pittsburgh without a hitch but the third time I went to start it after arriving at PULSE house the starter made a very unsatisfying twitching sound. It did not fully engage nor did the engine turn over. I suspected the battery as I had inadvertently discharged it a few days earlier because it didn't occur to me that it would be possible to leave the taillight on after locking the steering column. Today I installed a brand new factory-sealed high-performance battery, replaced side covers and the seat, and expected it to fire right up. Instead I was greeted by a wisp of smoke wafting up from the general vicinity of the rectifier.

I didn't so much say the words "Oh. No." as feel them.

One moment I was eagerly anticipating hours of corner-carving in the hills of southwestern PA and the next I had good reason to believe that I would be without a functioning motorcycle, and perhaps several hundred dollars, for the foreseeable future. There is a serious problem, the exact nature of which I have yet to discern, but something has shorted out the battery entirely. They weren't joking about the battery being "high performance" either. It generated so much current that the stainless steel block in the positive battery terminal got hot enough to melt the lead surrounding it.

Oh well, such is life.

49% of americans do what?

2007-05-10T09:41:00.000-04:00

A recent study(pdf) by the Pew Internet and American life Project concluded that:

49% of Americans only occasionally use modern gadgetry and many others bristle at electronic connectivity

Being a "Lackluster Veteran" that spends most of my day staring at a monitor I find it difficult to relate to the mindset of several of the other groups named in the findings. During the past few years I have completely removed myself from realm of broadcast television and I can't that I'm any worse for wear. The potential for the internet as a vehicle for delivery of information and entertainment will render all other mediums obsolete in the coming years.

Group name	% of population	What you need to know about them
Elite Tech Users (31%)
Omnivores	8%	They have the most information gadgets and services, which they use voraciously to participate in cyberspace and express themselves online and do a range of Web 2.0 activities such as blogging or managing their own Web pages.
Connectors	7%	Between featured-packed cell phones and frequent online use, they connect to people and manage digital content using ICTs – all with high levels of satisfaction about how ICTs let them work with community groups and pursue hobbies.
Lackluster Veterans	8%	They are frequent users of the internet and less avid about cell phones. they are not thrilled with ICT-enabled connectivity.
Productivity Enhancers	8%	They have strongly positive views about how technology lets them keep up with others, do their jobs, and learn new things.
Middle-of-the road Tech Users (20%)
Mobile Centrics	10%	They fully embrace the functionality of their cell phones. they use the internet, but not often, and like how ICTs connect them to others.
Connected But Hassled	10%	They have invested in a lot of technology, but they find the connectivity intrusive and information something of a burden.
Few Tech Assets (49%)
Inexperienced Experimenters	8%	They occasionally take advantage of interactivity, but if they had more experience, they might do more with ICTs.
Light But Satisfied	15%	They have some technology, but it does not play a central role in their daily lives. they are satisfied with what ICTs do for them.
Indifferents	11%	Despite having either cell phones or online access, these users use ICTs only intermittently and find connectivity annoying.
Off the Network	15%	Those with neither cell phones nor internet connectivity tend to be older adults who are content with old media.

Image search

2007-04-28T15:58:00.002-04:00

When you type 'theater' into google image search this picture of Kyle Dean Reinford and Beth Hofstetter shows up on the third page. I wasn't expecting that to happen. I'm not used to seeing people I know on the internets by accident.

myspace makes me feel dirty

2007-03-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

Of the last 20 myspace friend requests I've received approximately 1 was from a real person. My track record might be better if I used myspace proactively to 'friend' people I don't already know but that isn't likely to start happening anytime soon.

I don't know too may people who would want to declare their allegiance to someone advertising their adult webcam but apparently there's quite a demand for such things.

As I was writing this post I received 7 friend requests from spam profiles. Some of them looked like effort was put into making them believable but others are obviously fake:

Who I'd like to meet:
No files placed in the folder.

Yeah, that sounds like someone I'd be interested in.

Shutdown Day

2007-03-25T22:03:00.000-04:00

World Shutdown Day was yesterday and I participated as best I could. When midnight rolled around on Friday I powered down my file server and turned off my PC and proceeded to leave them as well as my laptop, internet tablet, and iPod in an unpowered state for 24 hours. I included the iPod just for good measure because since it can run Linux one could argue that it is a computer...

Although I did break my technological fast to finish some projected budgets for a grant proposal at the Wireless Neighborhoods office I didn't check my email, brows the web, check my RSS feeds (see graph), or anything else I'd typically use a computer for.

This was an interesting experiment. I channel about 95% of my news, reading material, music, movies, TV, radio programs, and correspondence through my PC. Since I'm also lacking a TV, discrete DVD player, CD player, or radio of any kind -- save the one in my car -- this left me wondering what to do with myself. I ended up spending the day reading, exercising, cooking, cleaning, browsing at Borders, drawing, and relaxing outside. It wasn't bad. Now that spring has arrived I hope I'm going to spend more time doing the aforementioned activities then sitting at my desk watching episodes of Space Battleship Yamato but you never can tell with bees.

I weep for America

2007-02-19T22:02:00.000-05:00

Now, I realize that politics has a nasty tendency to bring out the worst in people but this is ridiculous. Oh yes, and geosynchronous satellites are a lie. At least the web design adds to the author's obvious credibility.

instant dissemination

2007-02-04T14:41:00.000-05:00

like most internet junkies i come across interesting things every now and again that i would like to share with others. however i feel somewhat silly posting every link i find individually just to say 'look i found this'. this friday google, as it often does, came up with an elegant solution to this problem. Google Reader, my RSS aggregator of choice, now has a blogger template element for shared items (you could subscribe to the feed as well should you so desire). this frees me from posting about random internet things, unless they are particularly mind blowing, and provides some level of new blog content on a regular basis. oh google how i love thee.

perspective

2007-01-29T20:55:00.000-05:00

actually working with computers every day rather than just playing around with them in my spare time has led me to some conclusions about what they can and cannot do:

computers can:

take you to Google -- an important step on the path to enlightenment
entice you to waste ungodly amounts of paper
cause bouts of disarmingly intense impatience in otherwise normal people
infinitely expand the amount of time it takes to perform mundane tasks

computers cannot:

maintain themselves and thus:
be trusted in the hands of most users
bring you joy no matter how much time you spend configuring them, playing games on them, overclocking them, or downloading things with them

they are, at best, tools that help us accomplish otherwise complicated tasks with ease. at worst they are a bulky steel and abs boxes filled with heavy metals that are incapacitated by malicious software.

I've been feeling a lot like this lately

2007-01-19T21:10:00.001-05:00

2007

2007-01-01T22:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sick of being just a consumer. Ultimately, I would like to take an active role in the creation of all things I use on a day to day basis. This is a tall order but an easy first step is that since I read blogs -- which I do often -- I should be blogging -- which I will do, (less) often. We'll see how this goes.

Bike Tour

2006-05-05T21:10:00.000-04:00

From May 14th-20th I will be biking to Indianapolis as part of the third annual Cover Indiana Bike Tour. The event is primarily a fundraiser for the 71 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Indiana. Each rider is to find sponsors for their 350 mile journey to raise money.

Now is the time where I implore my faithful readership to help out. Even though you may only number in the single digits your assistance would be greatly appreciated. When you break it down on a per mile basis there is sure to be a rate you can afford:

1¢	per mile	$3.50
2¢	per mile	$7.00
5¢	per mile	$17.50
10¢	per mile	$35.00
25¢	per mile	$87.50
50¢	per mile	$175.00
π¢	per km	$17.69

All donations collected go to local affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International to help them in their mission to eliminate poverty housing worldwide. It is an ambitious goal but over 200,000 homes have built so far providing over 1,000,000 people with simple, decent, affordable housing. So please:Thanks,
dan

ding 23

2006-05-05T21:04:00.000-04:00

I turned 23 last week. It was ok. If I learned anything in the past year it is that I don't really know how to take care of myself -- i.e. stay healthy, keep the kitchen clean, etc. I still kind of act like I'm in college. I suppose I'll adjust soon enough.

bah!

2006-02-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

So, it turns out that the internship I had this past summer paid me as an independent contractor rather than as an employee. That means that I got a 1099-MISC rather than a W-2 from my employer meaning that the IRS knows that I earned money without it being taxed. This ensued. Ok so my reaction was a bit more subdued but you get the point.

Oh, this news made me sad. Batman was one of my favorite superheroes...

i tag. do you?

2006-02-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

del.icio.us is a 'social bookmarking tool' that has been getting a lot of press recently -- on the web at least. The first several times i saw it mentioned it didn't really pique my interest but when the del.icio.us Firefox extension showed up as the 'featured extension' at mozilla.org i thought i'd give it a chance.

After several weeks i am completely sold. I frequently bookmark sites while browsing and i can't see myself going back to keeping them in a hierarchical collection of folders anymore. del.icio.us allows you to 'tag' bookmarks with keywords and then subsequently group related keywords, a process they call bundling. Flikr uses a similar scheme for tagging photos. Additionally, you can see who else has bookmarked the same site as you, search popular bookmarks, search by tag, send and receive recommendations, and so on.

You can also access your bookmarks from anywhere because they are hosted for you. Previously, i had been playing around with Portable Firefox so i could have this capability. This solution is much simpler.

Feel free to check out what i've bookmarked. i'm adding more all the time -- way more often then i post.

frak!

2006-02-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

This post contains BSG spoliers. You have been warned.

6 degrees

2006-02-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

Six degrees of Wikipedia is a fun site. It finds the shortest path between two subjects via the links in their Wikipedia entries. I haven't managed to come up with any combination that takes more than six degrees of separation.

day: 16 year: 2006

2006-01-16T23:26:00.000-05:00

8:30-9:00	wake up
9:00-10:00	return rented equipment for NWA concert to ITS
10:00-10:30	breakfast
10:30-12:00	programming for GHS
12:00-1:00	lunch
1:00-4:30	Elkhart Co. ReStore staff tour St. Joseph Co. ReStore
4:30	receive phone call informing me that the set and lighting should have been done for Hello and Goodbye at NWA for yesterday's rehearsal. this comes as an unpleasant surprise.
4:30-6:00	hang lights at NWA
6:00-8:30	mennosong concert at the for Camp Amigo Staff
8:30-8:45	borrow lights from Uble Center. at this point I am in a hurry because I would like to do several things before Hello and Goodbye's practice at 9.
8:45	I back into a dumpster in excess of 5 mph. this damages my car. I am quite upset.
8:50	I am pulled over for speeding. I take this in stride as my nerves are already shot from failing in my responsibilities at NWA, hitting a large steel object with my car, and the general life-crushing-down-on-me feeling I've been having these days. I explain the situation. the policeman tells me to relax -- after searching my car for marijuana.
9:00-10:45	worked at NWA
10:45-11:00	ran to CVS for some cough drops and other things for colds
11:00-11:30	documented this day

unfortunate

2005-12-20T22:54:00.000-05:00

All good things must come to an end. No more Firefly.

This turn of events would be slightly less disheartening if Joss Whedon hadn't given up on this intriguing blend of sci-fi and western for Wonder Woman.

FF7:AC

2005-12-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

I just took this quiz and found out that I am awesome.

If you haven't seen Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children you should -- that is if you're familiar with FF, it could be a bit confusing you aren't.e

radio

2005-12-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

WGCS plays the Calvary Hour before its broadcast of CMC on Sunday mornings. I normally don't listen to this but this morning when I tuned in I heard something that I wasn't really expecting: me. mennosong was prominently featured in the programming. Now that I think about it I remember Adam saying that he did give them a CD. I was once again reminded how unforgiving it is to sing in a quartet and how little forgiveness most microphones offer. Still, it's nice to know we made it onto a nationally syndicated radio show.

tires

2005-12-16T19:40:00.000-05:00

I like my car. One problem I've had in the past few weeks however is that it slides around quite a lot and seems to get stuck in 2" of snow. Clearly it was time for new tires.

Without giving it much thought, I told the guy at Monteith to get me two new tires exactly like my old ones. It turns out that Mastercaft 'Ultra High Performance' tires, specifically the Avenger LSR, cost upwards of $100 a piece. Ouch.

I suppose this is one of the perks of owning your own vehicle.

Dan's List '05

2005-12-09T19:32:00.000-05:00

This may not be the most appropriate place to post my Christmas list but whatever. My GC webspace is set to evaporate in not too long so I have to start looking into alternatives. Also, come to think of it, this list may be too late to do anyone any good.

If things could bring happiness these would get me closer to it:

Gadgets

I could use a laptop but I'm waiting for the new iBooks and PowerBooks to come out in Q1 of '06 before I make a decision. Depending on the specs -- and my funds at the time -- I may jump ship on Apple and go with Lenovo (IBM) or Acer.

Newegg, my favorite online retailer, actually has a 'Stocking Stuffer' section of their website. While I'm not entirely sure how a 42" plasma screen would fit in a stocking they include it in their listing of desireable things.
The MAKE Blog has a Christmas list with a bunch of cool stuff on it. I'll pass on the Griffin RocketFM though. I prefer cables for my audio.

Garage Stuff

I like tools. I love DeWalt chordless tools (18V XRP) as well as Kobalt and Craftsman mechanics tools.
I need a 3/8" drive 6-point metric socket set like this one or this one before I ruin something with my 12-point ones.
I could use a half inch breaker bar and an extension but this whole accessory set would be righteous.

I sold my motorcycle helmet along with my motorcycle. I now need a new one of each. I don't expect anyone to buy me a Honda 599 but a helmet would be nice and the HJC SyMax fits the bill. Black size L please.

Clothes

I don't exactly have a refined sense of style but I do find most things from Travel Smith, Prana, or SCOTTeVEST appealing.
Like this blazer. (Did I just ask for a blazer?)(40")
This hat, which is much like the hat I wore for 80% of my waking hours from 2001-2003.
A beanie like this one.
These lounge pants which have all kinds of pockets for stashing gadgets and are, as a reviewer pointed out, as comfortable as sweat pants look much classier.(M, black)
A few tuff neck t-shirts -- because I could always use more black t-shirts.(M)
And some Carhartt work socks. Now that I have propper work boots all those ankle length socks I have no longer have what it takes to keep my feet happy. You can also get them at Tractor Supply.

Music

Arvo Part: Kanon Pokajanen I have heard only bits and pieces of this acclaimed work and would much like to add it to my library.
Tavener: Lamentations & Praises This album by Chanticleer is easily good enough to justify me owning a propper copy.
The Shure E2c 'noise isolating' earbuds are quite nice. I tried out a friend's pair and they do what they're supposed to -- quite well.
I had thought that I would make some speakers sometime but that doesn't seem to be happening. In the mean time I would love to have the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system in my room.
While the 5th generation iPod seems great at first glance the battery life and video resolution are actually quite unimpressive. I'll wait for 6th generation thank you.

I am, of course, always appreciative of other things. These are just suggestions.

justice

2005-12-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

One of sources of the volunteers that we draw on at Habitat for Humanity is the Elkhart County Work Release Program. I continue to meet people that I probably wouldn't have otherwise through this relationship. These guys are serving time for back child support payments, traffic violations, drunk & disorderly conduct, or other seemingly minor offences. In talking to them I began to seriously doubt the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. For the most part they seem to have their lives in order but something unfortunate happened and now they're in jail.

The prison system is that in its current incarnation endeavors to change inmates' behavior by making them not want to go back to jail rather than enabling them to become productive citizens. That doesn't sit with me.

This afternoon as I was on my way to Lowe's and I heard the last installment of a five part NPR series Beyond Prision by New Hamshire Public Radio. It was fascinating. It walks through James Gilbert's transformation from a troubled and violent youth into an educated professional 'in spite of' rather than because of 'the system'. I listened to the rest of the series this evening. It is a window into the lives of two men who eventually became cellmates and their quest to 'de-criminalize' themselves through self-discipline and education. If only this were the rule rather than the exception.

lousy corporate anthems

2005-11-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Can they really be that bad?

Drupa 1986 song - paper products convention

Glaucoma Hymn - from The Association of International Glaucoma Societies

KPMG - from KPMG. What where they thinking?

via The Register. thanks for ruining my day jaron.

copper

2005-11-21T16:27:00.000-05:00

The ReStore had a salvage contract for a house in Elkhart that was going to be torn down today. The three story riverfront house had been built 70 or more years ago and it was built quite well. All the doors were solid mahogany, the roof was slate, and the guttering and flashing was copper.

For most of our salvage operations we usually take the doors, cabinets, and what we think we can sell from the bathrooms and leave the rest to be disposed of by the contractor. Personally I'd like to see a lot less of these houses sent to the landfill but we don't have the capacity to properly process more basic materials at the moment. After we got what we thought was worthwhile I asked the ReStore manager if I could act as a subcontractor and salvage what we could of the copper on the roof if I paid him 25% of what I got. He agreed. Scrap sheet copper is worth $1.30 a pound. My dad and I got 420 pounds of it off the roof in about 6 hours spread over Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

We now try to get as much copper as we can out of houses.

last month

2005-11-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

hmm. It appears that several weeks have past in silence. A few things happened in that time:

I went to AmeriCorps orientation, met a bunch of cool people, and found out about NCCC which I plan to do next year

I sold my ACE to a friend. I has a good home and I will probably still be able to ride it occasionally.

I have decided that I need a hobby or something to fill my time. All I do is sit in front of my computer after I get home from work. I'm sick of it.

Thanks to Google Reader I have read every post on slashdot and engadget for weeks. There have been hundreds. If I see one more picture of a cell phone that is only available in Korean I will flip out and break something.

I made a website for mennosong. It's kinda shoddy. I'm pretty sure the CSS breaks for resolutions much above 1280x1024.

I am now a part of the facebook community and, just like myspace, collegefacebook, and friendster before it, I have bothered to put together a decent profile but really don't use it much.

I scored a goal during one of our indoor soccer games. It was my second goal ever. I made it on my second kick as I completely missed the ball on my first try. It wasn't impressive in the least.

I bought a goodly number of things from ebay and assorted online retailers. My life is not noticeably better.

Danny and Jason were both here last weekend. It was good to have a lot of the old crew back together for a while. Everyone else should come visit or I will be forced to travel myself, heaven forbid.

There have been other things I'm sure but that's all for now.

hazard

2005-10-16T22:33:00.000-05:00

I've been hobbling about the past few days because as I was biking home from work last thursday I got hit by a Jeep. I was crossing an intersection and a guy pulled out in into me. The bike is fine and I just bruised my heel when I got knocked over so things could have been a lot worse.

Oddly enough this isn't the first time this has happened. I also got hit once when I was rollerblading down the street during my freshman year of high school -- only that time it was by a Wrangler rather than a Cherokee.

ah work...

2005-10-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

So, it looks like I got a job. I work for the ReStore branch of Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County. I should probably do some work on their website but even in its current state it is better than many of the affiliate websites I've seen. For a while there it seemed like I did quite a bit but now I have a coworker and I may be getting another so I'm gradually getting some breathing room. There is still plenty to do.

The ReStore is an interstice place. Our store mainly deals in doors, cabinets, and windows but we get all kinds of other stuff. Right now the store is a blend of a warehouse, a flea market, and a Lowe's. I would like for it to me more like the later but that is a hard thing to do when your entire inventory is donated. That puts some kinks in the supply chain.

I really enjoy salvage work. Right now we have 'contracts' on a couple of lake houses that are going to be torn down next spring. We go in and take what we think we can sell, which varies tremendously from job to job. Taking apart a well-made kitchen or bathroom is like a complicated puzzle except you use a pry bar instead of little pieces of cardboard.

I'm only supposed to be working 33 hours a week but I've been putting in quite a bit more than that of late. I need to back off a bit and recognize that I can't get everything done that I want to do. The best I can hope to do in the next year is to make a sizeable dent in all the things that need attention, document what has been done, and try to envision what's next.

the vtx lives!

2005-09-17T00:16:00.000-05:00

After it's warmed up the engine runs great, the steering is smooth, and the suspension is stable. It's still a work in progress -- note the absence of the front fender, right front break roter, the duct tape on the headlight, etc. -- but it looks like this is going to work!

Please excuse my rather bad case of helmet hair.

transportation

2005-09-15T01:09:00.000-05:00

Although some disagree, gas are prices on the rise with no real relief in sight. Consequently, alternative methods of transportation have been getting a lot more attention. Frankly I’m not terribly inconvenienced -- and far from panicked -- because I only have a motorcycle and even though it doesn’t get 100 mi/gal or go 260 mph it still gets me where I want to go more economically than most cars -– except maybe these.

Still though, for small jaunts around town I generally take my bike. Bikes are great things. They are vastly more efficient than walking and they go by burning calories off of you rather than oil from some well in the Middle East. But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t trying to improve them by adding small engines or other things. Even without power assist I can often make it to where I’m going without a significant time penalty over driving, especially when traffic is bad.

Cars though are here to stay unless we have some sort of a nation-wide mass-transportation renaissance. Urban planning in the Midwest has been centered around the single-family, two-car household for the better part of the last century has led to sprawling subdivisions and complete stratification of residential, commercial, and industrial zoning. So we have to make the best of it like the folks over at Subaru. A lot of credit for the hybrid revolution has to be given to the Japanese who seem determined to get every last mile out a gallon. However domestic hybrids seem to focus on only getting meodicher mileage out of larger vehicles. Ford does have some other thing going for them though. Their newer vehicles can seemingly stand toe-to-toe with imports in many regards. I was aghast when Click and Clack suggested that an expecting family look into getting a Ford 500 rather than a Honda CRV -- their regular fall-back recommendation for this type of purchase. A Ford over a Honda? What’s going on here?

So, cars are here to stay for the foreseeable future -- at least in non-metropolitan areas. But what if they had more of the advantages of motorcycles? With a bit of work you could get a motorcycle to power a car in a number of different ways. While I most likely won’t be able to pursue either of those options I may end up buying a car here pretty soon.

eHarmony

2005-09-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

On a whim I decided to try out eHarmony. The system is well thought out. After you spend something like 45 min filling out their free “$40” personality profile they search their database of 6 million people or so to find out who they think is compatible with you. I got 7 matches at first and then two more today. w00t!

So, after they set you up with a few people the process goes something like this: First you exchange sets of five close-ended questions. Then you exchange your lists of must-haves and can’t-stands. And then you start open communication. The idea is to introduce you gradually through a series of steps to make the process as comfortable as possible.

The catch is that before you can get to know each other both you and your match have to be members. At this point you've already spent quite a bit of time filling things out and before you can send communication, respond to messages that you’ve received, or even look at the pictures people have posted you have to commit to some sort of contract. It starts at $50 a month. I know that this service could potentially have a tremendous impact on my life and all but man they make you pay through the nose. It feels like they're trying to take adavantage of me.

Some people have contact information included in their profiles. I thought that was a good idea so I did the same. It’s kind of a workaround but I don’t really feel bad. We’ll see if anything becomes of it.

UPDATE 9/15/05: Today I was informed that then inclusion of my email address in my user profile was in violation of the agreement I made when I opened my account. My account was immediately closed. I don't really have any right to be bitter about this but I had a good bit of time invested in my profile and such, which is now lost, and I never did like being reprimanded. I suppose I should have read the user agreement.

links

2005-09-03T19:24:00.000-05:00

I heard about TV-b-gone a while ago at it seems like an interesting idea. Personally I'm more likely to avoid places with annoying, blaring televisions all over the place but I would be more likely to use it if it were more inconspicuous.

Also in the spirit of censoring TV, the folks over at FOXblocker are trying to get you to block the FOX News channel from ever entering into your living room. Origionally the site founders sold the actual devices to do this but it seems that they've stopped. I don't know if this was due to a lack or excess of demand but in any case the site is now for sale. At first I thought they were marketing some ingenious device that detected right-wing rhetoric and screened it or some other similar sort of technological wizardry. It turns out that they were just marketing RF signal traps for specific channels. Unimpressive. However, using these simple, and cheap, devices you can make QVC or any other ridiculous channel from bothering you.

TV was never really my thing anyway. Too many commercials. Too little worthwhile content. I prefer to be doing something or, at the very least sitting at the computer where I can actually research some of the things I am interested in. For example, leargin how to build my own aluminum foundry. If fact, why am I not doing that right now?

and then there were three

2005-09-01T00:46:00.000-05:00

My Family.

It is unlikely that we will be getting two cars in the garage anytime soon.

wtf

2005-09-01T00:11:00.000-05:00

So user 122272 just left a comment on my blog. Isn't it great that penis enlargement products are advertised so aggressively?

Actually I'm surprised at how many entities other than individuals use blogspot to get their message out. Normally that's fine but this one happens to be particularly shameless.

about time

2005-08-31T23:58:00.000-05:00

I finally got my bike this week that I ordered in May. Both Marin and Hollinger Bicycles should be ashamed of themselves. Thanks to a shipping mixup, supply shortage, and miscommunication I had to wait for three months to get what I had already paid for.

On the bright side I love the bike. A lot. I can absolutely tear up the pavement with it.

Two minor complaints: the seat doesn't offer much by way of padding and the rear hub is quite loud when you aren’t pedaling.

good to go

2005-08-31T23:39:00.000-05:00

So the part that we had machined turned out fine and it fit perfectly. We fitted the new housing for the upper bearing outer race into the frame usinng a piece of all-thread and some steel plates to even out the applied pressure. It slid in with no trouble at all. It is currently secured with JB Weld and will be more permanently attached later.

We tested it with a new steering stem and there is no tightness or binding in the full range of motion. Good news. The rest of the parts are on their way.

grind

2005-08-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

So, it's crunch time. This Thursday is when GHS want's the application I've written for them to be up and running. I found some errors in it when I was presenting it to the teachers this morning and that was embarrassing. To my knowledge I have now fixed them but I'll find that out for sure tomorrow. On top of this Friday is the 20th so if I am to graduate this month everything must be in by then. Yikes.

At least I other things to work on that ease my mind. If you had told me 6 months ago that I'd be taking an angle grinder to a 2003 VTX 1800 I'd have thought you were crazy. But, so it goes. The replacement bearing sleeve that we had machined is ready to be picked up tomorrow. We'll see how it fits.

cool

2005-08-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday I finally got around to installing the window air-conditioner that we go for my room awhile back. Why is it in the wall? Well, this way you can leave it in all year round and it isn't an eyesore on the front of our house. Too bad I'll only be able to enjoy it for a week or so.

update

2005-08-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

So, things seem to be happening all at once:

I'm trying to finish up my internship at GHS but the entire tech department seems to be somewhat paralyzed by the upcoming return of students. I have until the 20th to get all that I need into the registrar for me to get a diploma. I got in with a group of three other guys that are renting a house so now I have to move in soon. My brother bought a motorcycle -- bringing the number of Honda motorcycles in our garage to 4: mine, my dad's, his, and my dad's VTX that I bought at salvage and am trying to rebuild. I just got a cell phone. I had a job interview at an elementary school to be their tech person today. I have no computer to call my own at the moment because I sold my motherboard to someone else. And a bunch of other things I'm sure I forgot.

I feel kind of stressed. I was hoping that I wouldn't have too much of that after school. Now that I think about it that was a foolish notion.

You know, sometime I'll get around to posting some thoughts rather than just documenting my life. I am quite aware that my life can be rather droll at times.

back in black

2005-07-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

My dad got a new motorcycle on monday thanks to eBay motors. It's a 2001 Valkyrie and it is a beast.

I'm currently in St. Louis staying with some friends on my way to Kansas for Brett's wedding. Good times.

hot

2005-07-24T23:37:00.000-05:00

Today was hot. It was upper 90s in the shade with high humidity. Just standing around was enough to make me break a sweat.

That doesn't mean that you can't burn things.

Sean is going away to Holland for a year so we had a little seeing off gathering with one of our activities being the disposal of a wasp-infested chair. Who needs pesticide when you have gasoline?

We also went to the fair today because there was free admission. Steve Eigsti ate a double cheeseburger that had two one-pound patties. One of the people working there took his picture. That was hardcore.

2005-07-21T23:38:00.000-05:00

I think this is one of the most appealing slogans I have ever seen.
Turns out though that Wolverine is simply a division of Hytest Safety Footwear and thus is presumably a somewhat soleless branch of a corporate conglomerate. A pity.

intonation

2005-07-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

On Sunday Ben Miller, Mark Saner, and I went to the 'first annual' Intonation Music Festival in Chicago. It was a good solid 8 hours of Indie Rock or really whatever independent band wanted to play. It was hot - I drank like a gallon of water - but the music was good. I actually bought a CD from OUT HUD. It's been a while sice I've done that. I think I enjoyed their live performance better than the recording but that's usually the way it goes.

I've known Mark and Ben since elementary school but I haven't talked to either of them much since. It's good to catch up with old friends every once and a while.

michigan

2005-07-16T14:01:00.000-05:00

good
	I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Petoskey Michigan. It's a nice place. Steve, Jaron, Adam, Jason, and I drove up there – five hours, five people in one car, a bit cramped – Tuesday morning to meet up with Andy. His family was spending a week up at their grandparents’ lake cottage. The weather was great. The entire first day the lake was completely calm. This gave plenty of time Andy and others to show off their skills but didn’t seem to help me get out of the water. I guess wakeboarding isn’t my thing. Then again neither is snowboarding or skateboarding so I wasn’t really surprised. We had a great time just hanging out on the boat and lazing about on the shore. Tuesday night we slept out under the stars on the beach in a nearby state park. It was cloudy at first but it cleared off and the stars were great. Wednesday was another full day out on the water. We got back to Goshen at midnight exhausted, sore, and sunburned. Great times.
not so good

weekend

2005-07-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was great. I spent all day with different groups of friends doing fun stuff. Being active is refreshing after a largely sedentary weekly routine. There are consequences though. My back is still sore from frisbee and volleyball and my hand is a bit stiff from playing some rather aggressive foosball — I did go 2-0 in 1 v 4 play however. I'm off to Michigan tomorrow for two days. It looks like the only real vacation I'll get this summer. Oh, well.

A95

2005-07-09T16:44:00.000-05:00

I finally got a digital camera this week. You would think that I would have had one before now but no, it was sadly not the case. I can now document my life more frequently and with greater ease than ever before — or something like that. At any rate I ordered a Cannon PowerShot A95 and a 1GB CF card from newegg last weekend and they showed up at my door on Wednesday. I bought it because I know at least three other people with the same camera and it takes great pictures. It has quite a few different settings and features and such that I am still exploring. The only potential downside for this camera is that since it is an older model it is a bit clunky and takes 4 AA batteries — instead of say 2 — but neither of those things bother me much.

blogger has great photo management. It has free picture hosting and auto generates thumbnails and larger images from any file you give it. All you have to do is click the picture button in the 'create post' screen. slick.

accident

2005-07-08T22:24:00.000-05:00

My dad had an unpleasantly literal run-in with a van today. He came away with just scrapes, bruises, a mild concussion, and wounded pride. This is the first time he has been admitted to a hospital since 1960 and it is his first accident involving another vehicle in his 40-odd years of motorcycle experience. It wasn't his fault. The other driver didn't see him and turned across his lane right in front of him. He laid his bike over to avoid hitting it straight on but still skidded into the side. He looks kind of out of it in the picture. He was like that for a while.

It is never pleasant to get a phone call from the hospital about an accident. It could have been much worse.

The bike — the glorious VTX 1800 — should be ok. The front forks, fender, headlight, and left side turn signals need to be replaced and there was a coolant leak somewhere but the engine, drive-train, gas tank, and most everything else, don't have a scratch on them. He doesn't have collision insurance but that's ok because he wasn't at fault according to the accident report.

This whole thing has shaken me up a bit. My dad is a much more defensive rider than I am. I need to be more careful.

I'm not reckless and I wear a helmet but that is far from an assurance of safety.

my ACE

2005-07-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

I spent some time a few weeks ago changing the look and feel of my motorcycle.

Old:

New:

I've got lots of other plans for it.
a list of my accesories can be found over at cruisercustomizing.com.

ha

2005-07-04T15:20:00.000-05:00

eat it xanga