Motorcycles

motorcycles

The Post with the Most Hits

post survey sign

post survey sign

I have been seriously looking at the why I should keep this blog or why should I blog thoughts lately. It is fun to go back and read some of my old posts.  Since this blog started in 2005 my ideals and beliefs have certainly changed.  My first post is here.  I lost some post when the database went wonky and I started the blog thing again so the posts prior to 2005 are lost in cyber space. I think this is the first post where I mentioned multiple sclerosis ?


Today’s Post

Bifurcate In The Road post s  have been photography and deciding what camera to purchase.    I photographed the bicycle race and ended up with this blog being featured in the Sacramento Bee.  Unfortunately the photos were not included because they needed room for a big pic of a UFO or something. But it was exciting just the same to see my blog in the paper!  The post with the most hits in one day this blog as ever had happened because I attended a photowalk and a couple of my photos were linked to here (even if kmilyun is spelled wrong).   The power of links!

Then there was the motorcycle.  Here is what I thought about my first HOG meeting (and a bit at the end about Arco arena – bye bye kings).  And of course the bye bye motorcycle post.

Fishing! I still love to go Bass fishing but the heat usually gets to me. We do get out once in awhile with either Brandon or our friend Ronny.  Fishing is about friends and family and lots of worms sometimes.  Then there are the boats. Rubber and aluminum.  I still have the fishing boat but I need to replace the water pump propeller so I can cough- cough sale it  🙁 . I now own too many bass poles and have enough lures and plastic worms that I pass them out to friends. The plastics not the lures (you can never have a big enough selection).

I have gone off on tangents about computers, beans, puzzles,  dogs, bicycling,  well lots of things.  This blog really has no point, no one set subject matter, it has always been post about whatever floats into my pee sized brain mind.  Perhaps a blog with no clear cut purpose.  Having a clear cut purpose is the rage nowdays. With social media taking a forefront if a blog does not have ONE major purpose/theme it gets lost in the land of google hits.

Here is the most  popular post – the post with most hits everyday – HERE.

Well if you have browsed the posts let me know which one is your favorite post ?

Core of the Matter

It is one of the nights where I really do not have anything much to say. I have been tired this weekend and spent most of my time watching the races, reading, laying about the place. Now you would think as tired as I feel I could get to sleep at a decent time – like before 4am.
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The rain does not entice me into going outside, I don’t wanna be around a bunch of people, and my eye balls are misbehaving. So, pretty much doing nothing is it right now. I need to fix the downstairs bathroom sink. It is a pedestal type and I had to remove it from the wall in order to replace the faucet and drain pipe. Have I done it – NO . … my camera gear is in a disarranged pile on my work area right behind me and I should get all the lens etc back into the case – emmmm.. I have been using my little point n shoot Pentax to take silly pics around the house. I need to charge my D80 batteries, another on the list of chit I have not done.
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I did get off my lazy arse to look for my MP3 player. I drove myself nuts trying to figure out where the heck I had left it only to find it in Mr. Catfish’s pile of toys. LOL my dog snitched my MP4 player – I guess he likes the tunes? Maybe the bright yellow color? The battery is dead now too so he must have turned it on. Don’t snicker, both our dogs turn the television on and off and change the channels while we are gone.pinkyandmp3player
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Now once and awhile I find the urge to share secrets here – just cause. Those of you who have read this blog long enough know that I love(d) to ride motorcycles. In fact right before I had my stokes I had just purchased a new one. If I only new . … it sits in the back yard all covered up snug as a bug waiting for me to sale it.

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In 2004 I promised my docs that oh no! I would never be stupid enough to ride it! Well . …:mrgreen:

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I will spill the beans. First off, let me say, I do not ride it anymore :(. But, I did manage to get in some rides before letting go. I love to feeling when I ride. I rode the first time in 1975 and fell in love with the feeling of freedom.  I even spent some productive time working as a mechanics helper in a motorcycle shop. Ok, back to the secret. I rode it OK. My last ride was 2006 when I somehow managed to stay upright (rubber side down) and made it up to Redding to the Hog State Rally. When I arrived at my friends house I could not even get my tired arse off of it. I had blast getting there though.  The sad thing was on the way home I knew that it was my last ride. For the first time in my life I had to admit that no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much effort I put towards a goal – it was useless. Bummer.

Hog Patches

Hog Patches

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My docs would more than likely fill out one of those DMV forms if they knew I rode it, ever, at all, period. I sort of lied my way out of that one – the thought of losing my M class one my license was a super big deal to me.  Now I just count myself lucky that I can still operate my truck safely.
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In the last few years I have had more bummer moments. The past six months have brought way too many bummer moments and now this stupid MS crap. I guess having a name for all this crazy stuff is better than not, then again I am not so sure about that either.
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Instead souring around corners and pushing the velocity barrier I navigate store isles and read about others great adventures. I am going to load the MP3 of Indiana Wants Me after listening to it over at A Stellar Life It plays right after Born To Be Wild and Logical. Ever heard Scooters version of Logical?
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MS has trapped some core part of my rebel soul and it so needs to fight it’s way out.

The Last Few Days, Catching up and Catching fish, And Excuses for Murder

Well I am back to the blog after some riding and fishing. Wow! One ping back and thirty spams for casino’s.

Went on a nice ride about. Hit the usual small towns, Rancho Seco, the Sutter Buttes, and so on. Fished all Monday night into Tuesday morning. A couple of short coffee shop runs, a trip to the physical therapist, and then I spent most of today chasing the neighbors puppy and putting him back into their yard.

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The Sutter Buttes

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I admit it. I saw these ore cars running along the border of someones driveway entrance. They caught my eye because they sort of glowed in the setting sun’s light. I cut across the road and rode long the gravel on the wrong side of the road. Yep I did that. Then to make matters worse I made my poor friend Fe ride on the gravel and pull in front of the darn things. I now have more than one shot of me on the wrong side of the road taken by Fe to point out the evil thing I made here do and my bad riding the wrong way on the wrong side of the road.

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I was watching a local news story on the latest developements on Sundays shooting of a man in front of a local video store. They have arrested five teens in connection with the slaying – one of them the son of the dead man – Vardan Abramyan, 19. Seems the 19 year old arranged to have his father killed. The following fourwere arraigned on charges of homicide with a special condition:

Isaiah Dupree Barron, 19, of Elk Grove

Arthur James Battle III, 18, of Sacramento

Jason McKinley Dillingham, 18, of Sacramento

Lawrence Stringer, 17, of Sacramento.

Yes mama’s don’t let your babies grow up to be murderers.

The latest local article is here:KXTV Sacramento

After reading the article I was pointed to by drumsnwhistles in her post

Someone – please reassure me – that the whole dang world has not gone crazy. That the norm is not acceptance of this isane behavior. I do not claim to have any solutions but I do know that something has got to change – hopefully for the better. Is it overpopulation, toxic effects on humans, the lack of the belief in God, the effects of drugs on genetics, or fill in your own idea here?

On the whole anthropologists and historians still debate the causes of the rise and fall of civiliztions. The opposite sides in the religious front seem to offer up their ideas too. Just do a google search for “history of demise of civilizations”. Click through a few pages of the topics and you see what I mean.

This kind of a catch up post. Here is a picture that demonstrates what happens after a motorcycle ride and four cups of coffee.

too much coffee

Last but not the least-

Not the best way to catch a catfish:

the branch and dah fish

HOG, Insurance Companies, and the Sacramento Kings Arena Tax

Now you might be wondering, what do the Harley Owners Group, insurance companies, and the Sacramento Kings have in common. Nothing really other than they represent annoyances in my little world.
A local Harley Owners Group® (HOG) advertises itself as

“_________ HOG Chapter is a not-for-profit organization created to promote the interest and enjoyment in Harley-Davidson® motorcycles. Activities include monthly meetings, poker runs, fun runs, dinner rides, charity rides, and promoting motorcycle safety as well as others.” and from the Harley Davidson USA site :” “Your mission – if you choose to accept it – will be a simple one: “To Ride and Have Fun.” Here’s the bottom line: We like to think of Harley-Davidson® – from the top corporate officer to the newest Harley owner and rider – as one big, happy family. The Harley Owners Group® helps us turn that philosophy into reality.”

One of my friends talked me into going to local HOG chapters meeting to check out all this fun and friendship we were missing out on. I tried to have an open mind – really I did. My friend is what most would call a good looking woman and she knows it, I on the other hand could not care less about that kind of stuff and unfortunately am not a looker LOL. Well, maybe you know where I am going with this but just in case you don’t… the few people that could be bothered with even saying hello to us lowly Sportster riders were of course more interested in signing my friend up to join in than I. Ok, woopee, but did ya have to glare at me like who the heck are you and why are you here.

Oh my goodness you have full face silver and white helmet and a textile jacket – what no leather, no goovy patches all over your vest? – I actually heard one lady tell her lady friend next to her that I must be a newby rider to show up in textile not leather – you know when you are in the wrong places! When introductions were made I found out that one of gals had been riding a whole hot 2 years – oh they must be goddesses of HOG LOL. Well needless to say I left at the break and enjoyed the evening out in the parking lot till my friend was done. I figured I was not fat enough, rich enough, and frankly I drather ride alone than be seen with this group of snobs, RUBS (Rich Urban Bikers), whatever ya want to call em as they give a new meaning to the words Hog Wash.

The fun of it all happened tonight at the Harley dealership. The lady walks up to me and says oh I saw you at the meeting – you have a little 883 right? The tone relaying her superiority because she had a 1200. I admit this was getting to me now. I just smiled said yeah and mingled away. I wonder if she saw my big grin as she stood alone while I munched hot dogs with my friends.

Later that night I wonder if she saw my big grin as I pulled up next to her at the stop light and balanced long enough for the light to change while she had to put her feet down – twice – the second time she tried she almost fell boom. The challenge was on ! Evil I know but come on – after all – I thought her cool leather vest with all the patches meant she was a real bike and all. 🙂 Myself, I just ride motorcycles.

Moving on-

The insurance companies feel obligated to call at least twice a day. Now the mystery is why is insurance company A is calling me saying they insure the car that hit me, when the driver of that car said she had company B before she split the scene? Plus it is two weeks ago tommorrow – a little late dont ya think? Who knows maybe it is for real and I will get my deductable back.

Hold your hats folks – the leading news story, more important than Palestine and Israel, more important than Iraq – a proposal to build a new sports and entertainment arena in Sacramento has been reached, city and county leaders are going to put a a quarter-cent sales tax increase effective for 15 years to help pay for a project intended to replace the aging Arco Arena on the ballot for all of us Sac-ra-tomatoe-ians to vote on. Wow. A sales tax, noted for not being a fair tax, to build a new arena for the rich owners of the Sacramento Kings. If the city did not agree to something – oh my – they threatened to take the Kings away from Sacramento. They should have let em go. IMHO the old arena is run down because the Maloof’s never maintained it. They want to sell the land it is built on – it is prime real estate now.