The Wretched

Simply Mac Giveaway

2010-11-27T17:01:00.002-07:00

Simply Mac is having a fun contest to win a $500.00 giveaway. The contest is simple, just take some fun pictures and email them to Simply Mac. The Rules can be found here...by the way, this blog entry counts as one more entry for myself!

Funny...

2010-03-17T15:14:00.000-06:00

These people are crazy!

2009-09-20T13:07:00.001-06:00

After that brief lapse in posts...

2009-09-09T10:22:00.002-06:00

The question is: how many times can you ride your bicycle past an apple tree and not notice it?

One mountain bike trail that I ride almost 2-3 times a week during the summer has a huge apple tree at the trail-head. You would think that with the 100's of times that we have ridden past that we would have noticed the apples on the ground, but no, not once. Today on the way up we saw, we stopped, and we ate from the delicious apples at the trail-head. Makes me wonder how many other things I ride past and never notice...

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!

2009-05-01T07:52:00.002-06:00

Man I am so tired of hearing about the pig flu. The media hasn't had much negative to say lately, the wars have settled down (mostly), the economy is starting to recover, the president isn't a moron...so what do they do? A few people came up with an exotic version of the flu so we better completely blow it our of proportion. How about a few real facts for our current pandemic:
- A 22 month sickly Mexican in Texas has died of the swine flu
- Mexico's infection and death estimates continue to climb
- 36,000 people die every year from the regular flu.
- Since Monday 1 person in the United States has died from swine flu.
- The tally in the last three days: Swine Flu: 1, Real Flu: 295.

RAWROD '09

2009-04-29T09:33:00.007-06:00

So some of you may already know this, but on Saturday I went to Moab and completed a goal that I've had for several years. Riding the White-Rim in one day. The guys we rode it with refer to this as a dirty century. In the road bike world a century is a 100 mile ride or race. A dirty century means you do it off-road on a mountain bike. To make things more interesting it has about 6,000 vertical feet in elevation change to go along with the 106 mile distance. There aren't many things that I've done in my life that I'm proud of, but this is one of them. The weather wasn't perfect (30 MPH headwinds for most of the rids), but overall it was a good time. The views are spectacular, and the people we rode it with were awesome. I can't say enough about Kenny Jones and his willingness to setup this non-event. Kenny calls it the RAWROD - Ride Around White Rim One Day. My friend Bob and I went down Friday expecting there to be 20-30 people for the ride, but it was somewhere north of 70 that showed up. It was really the whose-who of Utah mountain biking - I felt a little out of place being around so many fast people. That is one of the things I love about the mountain bike community. From Heather and Steve, to Kenny and Brad they all made me feel welcome. Overall I did well, I didn't complain, and I finished in the middle of the pack somewhere (it wasn't a race, it was just nice not to be the last one up the hill). I made a few mistakes on the ride... I didn't take enough pictures, I put my food and extra water in the slow support vehicle so Bob and I had to wait an hour+ for it to catch up to us, and I went two hours without eating.

And just so I don't think I'm a hard ass for completing this ride, about 1/2 the bikes that rode the RAWROD did it on rigid single-speed bikes - yes, that means no suspension and only 1 gear. Wicked!

If you want to see the rest of my pictures they can be found here:
RAWROD

Am I ready?

2009-04-23T22:24:00.002-06:00

Well I hope I am ready for what is about to happen to me. Saturday I will be going on the longest ride of my life. The white rim is 100 miles from beginning to end. Hopefully the weather will hold out, and my body will too. Guess you can read all about it here on Monday...

Validation

2009-04-10T12:34:00.000-06:00

I thought this was fun...

My Message To America

2009-04-05T20:11:00.003-06:00

Mike's new motorcycle

2009-03-11T12:39:00.004-06:00

So my friend Mike's new motorcycle was delivered today at work. Problem is that he isn't here, he is in Orlando. We knew this might happen and had the perfect plan. I think the picture portrays the plan better than I could do so with words.

I Buy Local First...or was that Second

2009-02-15T12:18:00.004-07:00

A growing trend I have seen in Utah is the 'Local First' movement - Instead of ordering your stuff online or at a national chain like walley world, support your local small business. I'm all for this when it makes sense, but when I can order a bike part online for 1/2 the price that I could go get it local?? My favorite is that 98% of the time when you see these stickers it's on a Subaru, Honda, or Toyota, never an American (makes spitting sound) car. I wouldn't dare put one of those stickers on any of my cars as they are all German or Japanese, I think it would by hypocritical...I guess I could put it on my Ford Truck that I never drive.

Shane Acker - 9

2009-02-04T08:39:00.001-07:00

I stumbled on this, and thought I should share. The full length move should be out 9-9-09, and I will go see it....

Barack Rick-Rolled

2009-02-04T08:35:00.002-07:00

After a day like yesterday I needed something to make me smile. Oddly enough this did the trick...

Taco Fail

2009-01-22T09:10:00.001-07:00

moar funny pictures
I saw this on Sunday and I had to take a picture...

Ride Number 5

2009-01-17T13:25:00.003-07:00

So that is five days in a row. I will probably take tomorrow off as a recovery day. Today Bill, Bob, and I went for a ride up Mueller Park. The lower part of the trail had 4-5 icy sections that were serious enough to cause all three of us to fall on our arses. Once past that it was about 2 miles of nice snow, and then about a mile of misery to get to Elephant Rock. Still better than not riding...

Ride 4

2009-01-17T13:20:00.003-07:00

Bob and I went for a ride from the zoo, in an attempt to try to get to City Creek. Made it about 1/2 way before the trail conditions were no longer favorable and we turned around at the top of Grassy. Probably the most difficult ride I have had up to Grassy, the snow makes it a good-hard push.

3rd Ride

2009-01-15T14:45:00.002-07:00

2nd ride

2009-01-14T19:27:00.003-07:00

Bob and I went for another ride up dry creek today. Another nice day in the sun...

Best video ever...

2009-01-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Best Picture Ever!

2009-01-13T20:18:00.002-07:00

This picture is all about angles. This is the angle I pretty much see it from.

1st ride of the year

2009-01-13T12:48:00.003-07:00

I went for a ride today up dry creek. The ride was actually really nice, it was the first time I have ridden since I broke my arm last month. It was great to get out and ride, couldn't have asked for better weather considering it is still January!

Merry Christmas...

2008-12-25T14:21:00.003-07:00

Merry Jebus-mas everyone.
Everyone batten down your hatches, and prepare for...well...nothing! I just re-watched all the local major news weather forecasts again so I could laugh at the ridiculousness of their predictions. Last night I was kind of excited for a major winter storm heading our way. I guess I am a bit odd, I like big storms. "We will definitely have a white Christmas...", and "4-8 inches on the valley floor, and 6-18 inches on the benches." Well as I look outside it is windy, 43 degrees, sunny, and the snow is melting! Nice job weathertards! The only thing you correctly predicted was the wind.

I hate old people!

2008-12-06T12:59:00.002-07:00

Proof once again that I never want to get old, I will be fine dying at age 55... Why do old people insist upon using check books at the grocery store? Not only are they more dangerous than checks, it took the old fart in front of me 15 minutes to write a check for $2.79 so he could buy his Depends diapers. I was so close to pulling out my debit card and paying for his damn diapers just to get him out of my way! He could barely walk, and looked like he had some sort of flesh eating disease on his face. I am suprised that he didn't mistake the gas pedal for the brake on his way out of the parking lot and run over 100 people in the process.

Don't send the fat girl...

2008-11-29T07:45:00.002-07:00

If you are going to do a special on the news about how to avoid getting fat during the holidays, do not send a fat girl. I don't care if she owns the local Curves gym or not, she is a cow and has NO business telling people how to work out or avoid gaining weight. It would be like asking a vegan for a good recipe for cooking a turkey. Its obvious she has no idea how to lose weight, and apparently someone needs to show her how to paint her damn eyebrows back on.

BYU SUCKS!

2008-11-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Animal Vs. Buddy Rich

2008-11-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Obama - Nation!

2008-11-04T21:46:00.002-07:00

Those of you who know me have heard me say this for quite some time, "Obama is going to win this election by a landslide!" and I was correct. My hope is now that he can heal the wounds created in the last 8 years...

I wish I could vote on this...

2008-11-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry...

2008-10-27T22:04:00.000-06:00

Don't Vote...

2008-10-24T11:08:00.001-06:00

Normally I don't care much for celebrities and their opinions, but this is one time that I do...and it is funny to boot!

Five Friends Vote (Uncensored) - Watch more free videos

McCain's "New" Speech

2008-10-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

Strange

2008-10-12T15:25:00.003-06:00

One of the strangest sensations I think I have ever had happen to me just happened. I was sitting at my desk listening to music, my phone sitting on my desk, and the song that I use for my cell-phone ringtone started playing. I swear I felt my phone vibrate in my right-front pocket where I always keep it. It was the strangest sensation, as soon as I heard NIN I felt my pocket vibrate, and my phone was more than a foot away and was not ringing...

WeaterTards strike again

2008-10-11T15:55:00.004-06:00

I have started to notice that my rants of weather are cyclical. It doesn't bother me much when they forecast rain or shine in the summer and they get it wrong (unless I have a vacation planned), but it really pisses me off when the WeatherTards forecast a HUGE snowstorm (everybody PANIC!!) like they did today. Every 10 minutes on the news last night and this morning we heard about the huge storm heading our way. What have I been looking at all day as I do homework? It rained for a few minutes this morning, and then sunshine and the occasional white puffy cloud. Here is a tip retards, don't predict big storms EVER, you only get it correct once every ten times! Your accuracy would go up 90% if you simply stated that "...it might snow tomorrow..." then the one time out of ten that we have a HUGE storm people might forgive you.

Vampires

2008-10-08T18:15:00.002-06:00

I am so sick of the Twilight series and all of the followers (including my wife) that insist on reading and re-reading the books. This video is dedicated to all of you. This is how I remember vampires. Do you figure he only eats mormon animals?

No hope for America pt. 2

2008-10-01T11:02:00.000-06:00

There really is no hope for America...

2008-09-29T12:53:00.001-06:00

Widow Maker results...

2008-09-21T07:54:00.003-06:00

So the result of the Widow Maker hill climb at Snowbird was canceled due to rain, hail, and lightning. My mom and sister had come to watch, and since I was there, and at the moment it wasn't raining I decided to go ride up the beginning just to get a little work out in, and I ended up riding the while thing. I meant to take my GPS so I could plot the brutal climb, but I didn't. I didn't look to see exactly what time it was when I left, I know that it was between 9:50 and 10:00. I made it to the top at 10:59. Since I don't know the exact start time, I am estimating my time to be about 1 hour 2 minutes. I was shooting for something under 1 hour 20, so I think I did quite well. A 1 hour 2 minute finish at last years event would have put me in third place overall, and first in the Clydesdale class by more than 30 minutes. The race is rescheduled for next week, I hope I can put down a similar time to yesterday...

Breaking the law or civil disobendience?

2008-09-16T19:42:00.004-06:00

So the last several weeks (since school started at the U) traffic on foothill has gotten quite bad, and last week I had enough waiting in a long line of traffic and I began lane splitting. In Utah this is illegal. In the current market I believe that we will begin to see more and more motorcycles on the road which I think is good, but we need to get a lane splitting law on the books in Utah. I would happily trade having no real helmet law with having a lane splitting law. This would promote the use of motorcycles as people would see that motorcycle don't get stuck in traffic the same way cars do. So far I haven't had anyone honk at me, or so much as give me a glance. I think they realize that I am helping traffic move more quickly by splitting the lane to the front of the line while sitting at a traffic light. I think as long as I am not so unlucky as to come all the way to a stop light with a police officer sitting at the front there is no way that an officer in traffic will be able to catch me in the act. I am going to consider it my act of civil disobedience. I figure that if enough of us motorcyclists start doing it they will either turn a blind eye because we all do it, or it will raise enough interest to catch the eye of our idiot law makers up on the hill.

Preparing for the Widowmaker

2008-09-07T15:11:00.005-06:00

For years I have been talking about it, and this year I am going to give it a go. The Snowbird Widowmaker Mountain Bike Race.
The race is on Saturday September 22nd and is approximately 3,000 vertical feet in just under 5 miles. To prepare for it I have done a few things. I have lost almost 30 pounds (don't want to lose more, then I could not race as a Clydesdale), and I have been riding my tail off. During the week I have been riding about 6-10 miles a day (1,000 to 1,500 vertical), and on weekends I have been trying to get 20-30 miles in. Last Friday I decided to go for a brutal training ride that is arguably harder than the Widowmaker will be. I took all the steep lunchtime rides up by my work and strung them together. We have one we call the tri-fecta where we string three, this took that to the next level. Some of you who have ridden with me will be familiar with these trails, and others will have to trust me, they are all steep and hard.
I started with an out and back on 'Little Beacon' and then headed down and did the 'Zoo Loop' including the 'Pipeline' climb (I cleaned them both). From there I did an out another out and back to the 'Stone Chairs'. Then off and over the backside of 'Red Butte' crossing over and up to the 'Water Tank'. From there it was an out and back on 'Cephalopod' and then back to the office. I added a Google Earth screen shot of my route for those unfamiliar. It is now Sunday and I am still a little sore, but this ride should be more difficult than the Widowmaker, so one more loop like this and I should be good to go. Overall this was about a 15 mile loop, but should have been well over 4,000 vertical. Next time I will remember to bring my GPS.

100 Things You Should Eat Before You Die

2008-09-07T15:03:00.003-06:00

foodproof.com has a fun list of 100 things that you should eat before you die. As I looked through the list I was surprised at how many of them that I have eaten - 73 out of 100! The things I am mostly missing are from India, Africa, and South America, most of the European and Oriental foods on this list I have already eaten. Many of these I hadn't heard called by the proper name, and some of them I have never heard of before, If you haven't heard of some of these you can refer to the link at the top and read about each one...

100. - Yes - Venison
099. - No - Nettle tea
098. - Yes - Huevos rancheros
097. - Yes - Steak tartare
096. - Yes - Crocodile
095. - Yes - Black pudding
094. - Yes - Cheese fondue
093. - Yes - Carp
092. - Yes - Borscht
091. - No - Baba ghanoush
090. - Yes - Calamari
089. - Yes - Pho
088. - Yes - PB&J sandwich
087. - Yes - Aloo gobi
086. - Yes - Hot dog from a street cart
085. - Yes - Epoisses
084. - No - Black truffle
083. - No - Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
082. - Yes - Steamed pork buns
081. - Yes - Pistachio ice cream
080. - Yes - Heirloom tomatoes
079. - Yes - Fresh wild berries
078. - Yes - Foie gras
077. - Yes - Rice and beans
076. - Yes - Brawn, or head cheese
075. - No - Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
074. - Yes - Dulce de leche
073. - Yes - Oysters
072. - Yes - Baklava
071. - No - Bagna cauda
070. - Yes - Wasabi peas
069. - Yes - Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
068. - No - Salted lassi
067. - Yes - Sauerkraut
066. - Yes - Root beer float
065. - No - Cognac with a fat cigar
064. - No - Clotted cream tea
063. - Yes - Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot
062. - Yes - Gumbo
061. - No - Oxtail
060. - No - Curried goat
059. - Yes - Whole insects
058. - No - Phaal
057. - Yes - Goat’s milk
056. - Yes - Single malt whisky
055. - No - Fugu
054. - Yes - Chicken tikka masala
053. - Yes - Eel
052. - Yes - Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
051. - Yes - Sea urchin
050. - Yes - Prickly pear
049. - Yes - Umeboshi
048. - Yes - Abalone
047. - No - Paneer
046. - Yes - McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
045. - Yes - Spaetzle
044. - Yes - Dirty gin martini
043. - Yes - Beer above 8% ABV
042. - No - Poutine
041. - No - Carob chips
040. - Yed - S’mores
039. - Yes - Sweetbreads
038. - No - Kaolin
037. - Yes - Currywurst
036. - No - Durian
035. - Yes - Frogs’ legs
034. - Yes - Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
033. - Yes - Haggis
032. - Yes - Fried plantain
031. - No - Chitterlings, or andouillette
030. - Yes - Gazpacho
029. - Yes - Caviar and blini
028. - Yes - Louche absinthe
027. - Yes - Gjetost, or brunost
026. - No - Roadkill
025. - Yes - Baijiu
024. - Yes - Hostess Fruit Pie
023. - Yes - Snail
022. - No - Lapsang souchong
021. - Yes - Bellini
020. - No - Tom yum
019. - Yes - Eggs Benedict
018. - Yes - Pocky
017. - No - Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
016. - Yes - Kobe beef
015. - Yes - Hare
014. - Yes - Goulash
013. - Yes - Flowers
012. - Yes - Horse
011. - No - Criollo
010. - Yes - Spam
009. - Yes - Soft shell crab
008. - No - Rose harissa
007. - Yes - Catfish
006. - Yes - Mole poblano
005. - Yes - Bagel and lox
004. - Yes - Lobster Thermidor
003. - No - Polenta
002. - Yes - Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
001. - Yes - Snake

2008-08-31T11:35:00.000-06:00

A few things that must go...

2008-08-11T07:02:00.003-06:00

Old People
Trucks on the freeway not covering their load
People that text while driving
Smoking in your car when there are young children in the back seat
Dogs
So you think you can...everything
Country Music, especially line-dancing

Long-ish mountain bike ride today...

2008-07-24T14:57:00.002-06:00

So I decided to take the day off today and go for a mountain bike ride. Initially I planned on just out and back from my house to the top of the Millcreek Pipeline tail. When I got to the top I decided to keep going up the canyon and then rode up to Dog Lake. From there I rode Big Water to Mill D North Fork, and then down Big Cottonwood Canyon and back to my house. I think it was between 30-32 miles total. Not too bad, I never really stopped other than to eat. Overall it took me about 4.5 hours, overall almost 7 miles an hour. I'd like to get to where I could average 10. I felt pretty weak today in comparison to how I felt earlier this week, so I think that a 10 MPH average is doable.

I HATE COMCAST

2008-07-22T22:13:00.002-06:00

So today I come home and my wife asks if I changed our cable TV package because HBO is missing (I hadn't). So I call up Comcast to ask. They indicate to me that they have been generously giving us this for free and that we should have been getting charged $17.50 a month for HBO. I indicated that when I signed up that HBO was and has been part of the basic cable package for the last 14 years that I have been a cable customer, and that over that time the only thing that I have had from Comcast was to have my rate go up, and the service stay the same. Now the service has gone down, and I think they are done. I am now shopping for a TV, Internet package to replace my current so I can be done with Comcast once and forever. It as sure nice that they would run small advertisements on TV showing that this upcoming change was coming. I am betting that they were hoping that we wouldn't notice. There is no such thing customer support anymore. I can't say that I watch much HBO, but to have them remove it and then not reduce the cost is idiotic at best.

The Beacon!

2008-07-21T13:14:00.001-06:00

So for four years I have been riding little beacon, and for four years I have been unable to "clean" the beacon (ride it without stopping). Today I finally did it! It has been a personal goal to clean the beacon, and it made my day to finally do it.

Greatest comic book hero movie ever...

2008-07-20T08:53:00.003-06:00

Walk, no run to see The Darkest Night, but leave the kids at home.

Is it bad?

2008-07-17T13:02:00.002-06:00

Is it bad to black-out when you get to the top of a 1,000ft climb on your mountain bike? Cephalopod strikes back!

For want of a camera

2008-06-28T15:08:00.003-06:00

Last night we went out for dinner. We went to a traditional Japanese restaurant in Omura. I was excited to finally have real sushi. We ordered our meals, myself with a nice mix of sushi, tempura, soup, sashimi, a fish(a whole fish - head and all), and a small salad. A few minutes later we were served our appetizer. A live squid. I have never seen anything like it before. They litterally served this 20 inch squid to us while it was still alive. It had been skinned and had its body sliced from neck to tail. At first I thought it was dead, and then I saw it move a tentical. It was still changing colors and moved any time you touched its head. It was quite yummy, and was the first time I ever ate anything that watched me eat itself.

24 hour trip to Nagasaki

2008-06-26T08:06:00.002-06:00

getting to the airport an hour early
SLC to Chicago - 5 hours
Chicago to Toyo - 12
bus to the other Tokyo airport 1.5 hours
Tokyo to Nagasaki 2 hours
tired need sleep

Off to Japan

2008-06-24T16:39:00.002-06:00

Well it has always been a dream of mine to travel to Japan. Japanese is probably my favorite food (I love sushi), and the country has always seemed to be beautiful. Well now is my chance. Monday I was told that I was flying to Japan on Tuesday to go work on a system we have in Japan. The unfortunate part is that I will not get much time to go play, and when we are done I will be coming right home...

Man this brings back memories

2008-06-07T10:36:00.004-06:00

Back in the day this was one of my favorite songs. Now being a grown up dad I can certainly appreciate his stellar efforts at cleaning up this classic song...

http://view.break.com/510247 - Watch more free videos

Gutted...

2008-06-04T17:26:00.004-06:00

Today I found out that a friend of mine (Dr. F - Tony Steele) was in an accident and was instantly killed on his motorcycle the last day of May. It's always hard when I read of any rider being killed, especially when it isn't his fault, and hurts even more when it is a friend. Dr. F was a moderator on the SuperDuke.net forum, and someone who shared the same addiction as I did with the orange beast. Even though we had never met in person I had gotten to know him quite well since I purchased my KTM. He was a genuine, funny, and knowledgeable guy who will truly be missed. The SuperDuke.net forum will never be the same again...

halifaxcourier

outlawbiker

Ding-Dong the Bitch is Gone!!!

2008-06-03T18:13:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it is finally over! The stupid woman didn't know when to quit and finally the decision was made for her. It's not that I want Obama to be the next president, but I would have moved out of the country if it had been Clinton Part II.

Off to Amsterdam

2008-05-25T08:11:00.002-06:00

Well it looks like I will be off to Amsterdam tomorrow for a week. The thing I hope is that I can figure out when I can go work out. I have ridden my mountain bike almost every day since school got out, and I am starting to reap the benefits. Amsterdam could be cool, but I am going to work on a difficult problem. I hope it is easy and that I will find it the first day and be done, but that isn't likely.

Wirelessly Transefer Data

2008-05-12T14:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-10T11:41:00.001-06:00

3 days of no school...3 days of riding

2008-05-07T13:58:00.002-06:00

Its been nice to be out of school, I have had three days off and been able to ride my mountain bike three times. The rain cleared long enough for me to get out and ride today. My legs are a little sore, but it is to be expected considering I took almost 6 months off. Now I just need to keep it up and get my weight back down...

Homework all done...

2008-04-22T19:38:00.003-06:00

Well the spring semester at Westminster College is wrapping up and I have some mixed feelings. I haven't had time to post lately because I have been absolutely swamped! Today I turned in my last homework assignments, only the two finals to go. Part of me is always sad when a class is over because of the friendships that I have made and I will likely not see them except for the occasional run-in on campus. We all struggled through the semester and those of us that made it through all feel a kind of bond (well at least I do). However I will NOT miss the hours and hours of homework, the nights of no sleep because I am running through a program in my head, or worrying about my test. This was the hardest semester I have ever been through, but I do feel smarter because of it (yes, I actually learned something useful).

I get a few days off of school until Finals, and that will be nice. But the pressures at work are as high as ever so it really won't be much of a break, rather it will be more work instead of work+school.

And to top it all off I have possible work trips to Amsterdam, Japan, Korea, and possibly Turkey. could make for an interesting summer...

Incredible...

2008-03-31T20:38:00.001-06:00

I can only dream of riding like this...

NIN on NPR?

2008-03-18T12:11:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite radio programs (man that makes me sound old) is NPRs 'This American Life'. I rarely get to listen to it when it is actually on the air, but I download the podcast and listen to it every week. Yesterday I am listening to a great story that took place almost 100 years ago. As they tell the story some background music is played, and I think to myself that it sounds familiar, but I can't place it. Then this morning it dawns on me, it is from Nine Inch Nails new album Ghosts. Now I have heard it all, NIN on NPR...

I'm glad I don't go to a school like this...

2008-03-11T09:23:00.002-06:00

I am sure there are a ton of people that go to schools like these, but Westminster isn't one of them. The biggest class I have this semester has 9 students. Being an old fart I also fall out of most of these (especially FaceBook), but I am sure that a ton of the "kids" in my class are just like this...

I am sure this is how my wife feels about now...

2008-03-04T08:27:00.002-07:00

New NIN album

2008-03-04T07:51:00.003-07:00

So in his great wisdom Trent Reznor has released a new Nine Inch Nails album (Ghosts) and bypassed the RIAA and any of the other retarded record companies. In 2007 Trent recognized the record companies for what they really are, thieves and liars. He never really made a ton of money on his albums (about 10 cents per $17.00 album - some are a little higher, but not much), no artist that sells albums using the traditional model makes "much" off of album sales. That isn't to say that some artist that sells several million copies doesn't make some good money, but a good percentage of that money is going to some fat record exec that really doesn't deserve it. The music industries practices are old an dated, and their fear of music downloading is just plain silly. Radiohead and now NIN have realized this and are offering DRM free (read you can do whatever you want with it) downloads for free, pay what you think it is worth, or $5 for digital format, and $10 for 3CDs. Guess who gets almost 100% of this? The artist. How has it worked? NIN's new album was released yesterday, and because so many people hit his site he had to upgrade servers to handle the bandwidth. How about Radiohead? They are laughing all the way to the bank. I for one paid the $10 dollars so that I could have a hard copy of the CDs to keep my NIN collection complete. How is the album? Go see for yourself...

pata pata pata pon

2008-03-01T11:16:00.001-07:00

pata pata pata pon! pon pon pata pon!

Prelude to a Super Duke Ass Probe.

2008-02-28T20:17:00.002-07:00

Some of you may already know, but I have a couple of cars and a motorcycle at my house. As I pulled in tonight something struck me as funny. We have a Ford Probe, a VW Passat (re-badged to read ass), a Honda Prelude, and a KTM SuperDuke. Put it all together and what to you get?

A Prelude to a SuperDukes ass probe!

Just what the doctor ordered...

2008-02-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Between all the stress at home, school, and work, it was certainly nice to finally have a break in the weather long enough to allow me to put a few miles on the motorcycle. I couldn't belive the smile that I had on my face by the time I arrived at my destination. I used to really love the winter, but I can assure you this year that I am begging for some nice weather.

Apparently someone is trying to kill my wife...

2008-02-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I get a call from my wife, and she appears to be a little freaked out. She goes on to tell me that as she approached an intersection and went to apply the brakes the pedal simpy sunk to the floor. She rolled right through a red light. Luckily nobody was there, and nobody got hurt (yes at least one of my kids was in the car)! I quickly left work and went to check out the car. I swapped vehicles with her and drove the car one block home using the emergency brake. I jacked the car up and had her pump the pedal, and it was quickly apparent that I had a large leak in the brake system. I pulled the front-right tire (where all the fluid was dripping) and had her do it again. The fluid was being pumped out of a cut brake line! This is the kind of thing that you expect to happen in the movies, not in real life. I am sure that this wasn't something that someone did to her car, and just due to normal wear. I ran to the parts store and replaced the line and bled the brake system (replaced all the brake fluid) and things were back to the normally spectacular brakes. Now I need to check the others for wear, because I would hate for this to happen again...

odds and ends

2008-02-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently it snowed like an SOB on the west side and up north today, but my house and at work hadn't seen a snowflake at all...that is until 5:00 just when it was supposed to be slowing down, then it snowed like an SOB up here for about an hour. Haven't been out just yet, but it looks like a few inches.

Good news is that I think I have my CS homework ready to be turned in, I just need to work the extra credit and we will be good to go.

Bad new is that I haven't finished my math homework, and I am no closer to getting it done because for the first time in my life I am utterly and totally lost.

It's gonna snow?

2008-02-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

So the WeatherTards™ are at it again, predicting snow all day. Even my Google desktop weather station shows that it is snowing outside, all I see is clouds. I opened up the radar, and hell it sure does look like a big one is coming, but I am betting that nothing big happens. WeatherTards™.com They show the following (oh, and these are all different than they were two hours ago):
12:00 PM - 100% chance of Precipitation - it's now noon and its not snowing...WTF?
1:00 PM - 100% chance of Precipitation
2:00 PM - 100% chance of Precipitation
3:00 PM - 100% chance of Precipitation
4:00 PM - 90% chance of Precipitation
5:00 PM - 90% chance of Precipitation
6:00 PM - 80% chance of Precipitation
7:00 PM - 70% chance of Precipitation
8:00 PM - 60% chance of Precipitation
9:00 PM - 60% chance of Precipitation
10:00 PM - 70% chance of Precipitation
11:00 PM - 80% chance of Precipitation
12:00 PM - 80% chance of Precipitation

Nice job on predicting the weather, I am sure glad I drove my truck instead of my car (about a 10 MPG difference). These damn WeatherTards™ are costing me money!

On a side note, I am at work doing homework and chasing a memory leak. I am struggling in my math class, and I don't know what to do.

Utah Taxes Suck!

2008-01-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I just completed my 2007 income taxes. Good news is that I am getting a decent Federal return, and maybe even more based on the stimulus package that was passed today. The bad news is that I have to pay even more than the already ridiculous amount that they stole from my paychecks. Not to even mention the sales tax we have paid, and the ownership tax I paid for owning a cars and a house. By the time it is all done I will be paying about 15% of my salary is going to this fooking state! Nice conservative state of Utah, that is supposed to be full of Conservative (no spending) Republicans. All I have to say to every law maker in the state of Utah is FUCK YOU!

Sleepy...

2008-01-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

So between Discrete Math and my CS class I am hammered. I was up until 3:00 this morning doing homework. I suppose it is partially my fault, I am sure I could have found some time last weekend to get a little ahead.

OK, now it's fooking snowing!

2008-01-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

So the blond was only off by about 24 hours, and the storm swept in from the west, and not from the east. Does that mean she gets credit because we now will get 5-10"? I can't even get out of the driveway until the plow comes and clears the road, so I slept in.

Fooking weathertards, part again...

2008-01-20T13:25:00.001-07:00

So this morning (as is the usual Sunday morning repertoire) we watched the news in bed. An lo and behold, the wetherTard(tm) predicted snow starting this morning and getting heavy this afternoon. As the scrawny blond Lindsay Storrs (I swear if she turned sideways she would disappear, but then again, what should I expect? - She did graduate from BYU) started the morning by telling us how snow would start this morning and get heavier in the early afternoon. Expect from 5-10" she continued. Every 10 minutes or so my FireFox weather pop-up warns me about the storm that is coming. The whole time I look at the radar that they are showing on TV, and say to my wife, "what the hell are they talking about?" The radar has a few small blips on it, but no "major" storm is coming our way. So now it is 1:30, there is no snow, and I can see blue sky to the west. I swear if I was wrong this often I wouldn't have a job anymore! I should learn not to listen to the scrawny blond anymore, I can't stand looking at her anyhow. Maybe I should start my own weather station, there is no way I could be wrong more often than they are.

I beat the storm...

2008-01-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well they finally got one storm almost predicted correctly! They had the timing off, but they did say it would mess up the commute this morning. Thanks to my early morning class schedule I scored and beat the ugly traffic. The roads were ugly with at least 6" of snow on them, and the Prelude sucks in the snow. Probably should have taken the truck. Now if the weatherTards could get it correct like this more often maybe they would be worth listening too.

Go Hilary Go! I mean it, GO!!!

2008-01-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

Oh, I was soooo happy last night to see the bitch that is Billery Clinton come in at number 3 in Iowa, this is far better than she deserves to be. Maybe a few more third place finishes and she will go away!

The WeatherTards Are Fired!!!

2007-12-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

OK so I wake up this morning and it is just starting to snow. Watch the weather and go to the internet and look up the forecast. Oh we are going to get another 4-10 inches in the valley. OK, better take the 4x4 truck (makes redneck spitting sound). Go to work, light on and off snow with barely a skiff on the ground. Almost time to go home and the sky is poking out now. Go check the weather, still showing 4-10 inches. Look at the radar not a snow drop in sight anytime in the near future. WTF??? So for fun I go to a few different weather pages to see what they have to say. They all have conflicting information. Is it really that hard to look at the radar and say what it is going to do today? I could have saved a couple of bucks today and driven my damn car instead of my gas hogging truck! The best one is accuweather that shows it is going to be party cloudy today. Retards!!!

I can't believe it's over!

2007-12-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So today was my final day of school for the semester! I just turned in my final assignment and my last class was this afternoon. Should get a 4.0 this semester It is surreal to think that I am done, it seems like I just started. It hasn't been easy, and the next few years of school will not be a walk in the park, but it will be heaven to walk up and receive my diploma...

Maybe I need two pumpkins at my house...

2007-11-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Go CTR Racing!

2007-10-02T10:35:00.000-06:00

WTF??? It's 39 degrees outside!

2007-09-24T23:04:00.000-06:00

Damn that is cold. If it isn't bad enough, last night on the way home from Las Vegas we got snowed on outside of Ely on the motorcycles. Tonight I had to work late and then I had homework to finish up. Now it is 11:00 and I get to ride home in 39 degree weather. It is still September for hells sake! Should still be in the 50s. Went from god awful hot to frozen tundra. Where is my fall where it is just right???

Hot Pockets

2007-09-20T11:55:00.000-06:00

NSFW...Everry Cuss Word We Know

2007-09-16T13:45:00.000-06:00

I just can't say enough about t-mobile

2007-09-09T14:49:00.000-06:00

I know this is an odd thing for me to post, but I just can't say enough about how good T-Mobile customer service is. I am sure there are others out there that will think just the opposite, but every time I have need to deal with them it has been a pleasant experience. They have an automated answering system, but one can quickly get to a real person. The surprise is how nice the customer service reps are and how quickly they have been able to respond to every problem I have given them. Anyway, just got off the phone with them today and again they were nice to deal with. What a change...

My iPod dies the day that the new iPods are released...coincidence?

2007-09-05T17:48:00.000-06:00

So I get to work after school and I plug my iPod in and all I get is a sad-iPod icon... Is it a coincidence that this happens on the day that the new iPod Touch is released? I think not...

Fun day of riding with a not so great ending...

2007-08-26T21:25:00.000-06:00

Chris, Geeeoff, and I set out for a day of riding this morning. The initial intent was to get some miles on the new Triumph Tiger that has Chris grinning from ear to ear. At the bottom of Trappers Loop Geeeoff turned around to head home as he had some other pressing issues that needed his attention. he should have stayed with us. Chris and I carried on and finished the ride. I had called and left Geeeoff a message to call me so I knew he had made it home safe, and he didn't immediately respond. About an hour later I got a text message telling me he wasn't going to make it to our Fall Torrey trip. Knowing Geeeoff there is only two reasons for this; either his girlfriend is pregnant or he crashed his motorcycle (my old bike). Fortunately it was the second and even more fortunately he wasn't seriously injured. For that I am grateful. Geeeoff is one of my best friends and I would hate to see him die doing something that I led him to. He was in a sweeping turn near East Canyon Damn and he hit some gravel on the road resulting in a high-side get off into the guard rail. I have been out to visit, and other than a nasty bruise on his hip (and ego) he is just fine. I haven't given up on getting him on the motorcycle for the Torrey trip. I have found almost all of the parts he needs to get the bike up and running on eBay. Hopefully I can have them here in a week or so and try to get him on the road again so we can work on getting his confidence on two wheels back.

Glad you aren't hurt worse. Now you can say you are the type of rider that has been down. I think they are the kind we all end up being eventually anyhow.

This is so strange...

2007-08-22T12:38:00.000-06:00

So here I sit waiting for my first class at Westminster to start. I am off to a rough start already as the bookstore is out of the book I need, and of course I will probably be the only student in the class that doesn't have it. Oh well. There are a tom more girls here than there are guys which is kind of a suprise to me. The quality of people is also higher than at SLCC (the local community high school). I an so nervous, and I don't know why this is. Off we go!

The night before school

2007-08-21T22:05:00.000-06:00

So it is the eve before school starts, and for some reason I am nervous. Kirsten is sick, so I get to stay home tomorrow and take the girls to school for their orientation classes. Work is insane busy as usual, I worked more than 12 hours today and there is no end in sight... My dad thinks I am ignoring him, but the reality is that I am just simply too busy to call. I literally don't have 5 minutes in a day to call him...not to mention I don't have the information he needs here at work. Need to go to sleep.

Back to School...

2007-08-15T12:18:00.000-06:00

Well it is official, I am going back to school. I got my acceptance to Westminster today. Should be all registered tomorrow. Scary to think I will be going back after all this time.

Ok is there a single pro cyclist that doesn't dope?

2007-07-25T20:04:00.000-06:00

This just really pisses me off! I love watching professional cycling, especially the Tour de France. Some argue that it isn't worth watching now that Lance isn't there, but I argue that it is possibly better. This year all of that is tainted again with a major doping scandal. I really think everyone that races professionally is a doper. I just wish they would all come out and admit it. I have decided that team Discovery is just the best at cheating and don't get caught...

How many times do they pass the ball?

2007-07-05T14:13:00.000-06:00

Just back from three days of bliss

2007-06-03T23:25:00.000-06:00

A picture can say more than I can...
more to come when I get more time...

Exhaust is coated here is the before and after...

2007-05-24T08:15:00.000-06:00

Before...

After...

I wish I had a picture of them fitted to the SuperDuke, but my camera has died, and the camera on my phone camera just doesn't cut it. Hopefully I will have a new camera soon and can get a better picture.

I am not working until 2AM again today

2007-05-23T13:46:00.000-06:00

So another crisis averted. Kathy, Stacy and I in SLC, and a few engineers in Orlando burned the midnight oil last night to satisfy acceptance tests for one of our high profile customers. I think we are 95% so we should be good to go.

The beacon...Still a single stop affair

2007-05-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

Well I almost had my way with the beacon today, but I still missed it by one stop, a stupid one at that. Maybe next time I will finally, after 4 years or riding, clean the beacon.

Time for a little ride...

2007-05-11T06:49:00.000-06:00

So I really haven't been on any "real" rides on my new motorcycle, and that makes me sad. Yesterday MotoBoy came by my office and asked if I was needing a fix, which I was so off we went. I really enjoyed the little break to relieve some stress at work. I have been working 7 days a week 10-15 hours a day for the last month or so, and this is just what the doctor ordered. The ride was spectacular. MotoBoy led the way up Emigration and over to East Canyon reservoir, and I led the leg back. I don't remember the exact comment that MotoBoy made, but it was something along the lines of going to jail... Anyway it was a ton of fun and I completely obliterated what remained of my chicken strips. The SuperDuke can go!

After work instead of a nice relaxing evening with the family it was off to my sister-in-laws so I could go replace all of her electrical outlets and light switches including covers. Got mostly all of them done. I had a few moments of fun when one of the outlets of three on the wall was still live and got myself a few extra electrons for dinner.

Coming Home

2007-05-03T15:39:00.000-06:00

So my 10 day trip to Germany turned into a 20 day trip to Germany and Scotland. On my way home tomorrow. Ready to come home.

Exhaust is off ready to be ceramic coated...

2007-04-18T10:19:00.000-06:00

So this morning I pulled my exhaust system off and dropped it off at HPC. They are local here in SLC and were one of the first companies to offer high temperature ceramic heat coatings. The coating offers heat management and corrosion resistance. I haven't had any heat issues yet, but why take a chance. I'm getting mine done in black. They said it would take a week to finish, and since I am off to Cologne Germany tomorrow for 10 days (work no fun) and my SD wouldn't get ridden anyway I figured now is the time. Not to mention it is supposed to snow today Sad .

Summarize your sex life with a Star Wars quote

2007-04-11T14:46:00.000-06:00

Get in there, you big furry oaf! I don't care what you smell!

Dave's engine, new fridge, new coutch...I am tired.

2007-03-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

So last night I went up to a friends and finished fixing their minivan. It had two severely warped cylinder heads, and now it is done. It took until 3:00 this morning, but I got it done. This morning I went to the neighbors to pick up the bedroom furniture they gave to us. That was very nice of them and Porsche is excited. Then it was off to RC Willey to pick up the new sectional and fridge. Then I hope to go to Brian's to help hang sheetrock and show him the new motorcycle. Then it is back home to try to get a coat of paint on the downstairs bedroom. Going to be a long day to say the least.

I can't wait!

2007-03-07T07:05:00.000-07:00