new toy

It's a Yamaha Chappy aka the Crappy. 50cc of 2 stroke fury! It runs but need some work (doesn't everything?). There's some severe redneck repairs that I have to undo but it's got potential. I've always liked 2 strokes, so this is a good little toy to get my feet wet.

love it!

mmmm.....2 stroke!

I missed a chance last year to have an RD400.

my lid

Helmet horns from Japan. I know, I'm a dork. They suck riding in crosswinds...

=]

BMV: 0 Me: 1

Victory!

Finally, the battle with the BMV is over. In a few weeks, I should receive a title for the CB350. No small claims court, no more BS. Now, I need to finish tuning the carbs and all the other bits. Now, when the time comes to sell it, I won't have to pass along the "no title" curse.

Maybe I can scratch up the dough after selling it and find a CB750 or a VFR.


yay!

cooking in the sun...

It's a toasty day for riding but a good day nonetheless. Went out on the 750 for a few hours and just farted around town. I'm getting my street legs and plenty of good riding practice. I spent a chunk of Weds afternoon working on slow full stop turns. Funky and I are going to spend some time in one of the big parking lots working on figure 8s and other skills.

Still no news on the 350s title issue but I've become disgruntled about it all. If all else fails, I'll get some cash out of it as a parts bike.



My new knee/shin guards are working well. I prefer armor that is worn on you instead of built in because most riding pants don't fit me well. Plus, they're freaking expensive.

750cc of fun

Sunday, I borrowed my buddy's CB750 and we went out riding. The Mrs rode on the back of Funky's bike because I'm not comfy with passengers yet. We took some kinda curvy back roads up to Nobletucky and then headed out through Lapel and onto the interstate. I don't have a lot of ride time under my belt and that venture on to I69 was the first time I entered the superslab on two wheels. I survived the moron drivers who I swear were really trying to put us in an early grave.

It was a good day and I learned that my novelty helmet horns from Japan are not good for interstate speed riding. My neck and shoulders are still sore from the wind.

After the day of riding, we came home and prepped dinner. The Mrs made amazing Cornish game hens and Funky and I made veggie kabobs. Tasty!

I had hoped to get the CB350 on the road this year but the BMV has changed their mind each time I go there on what I need to do to replace a lost title. They might be faster but I don't think anyone really knows what is going on. Now, they say I have to go to small claims court and blah blah blah. I'm not dumping a ton of money into this bike for just the title. If things get too difficult, I'll sell it for parts and save my pennies for something else.

Someone didn't clean the seat on the CB750 because I caught the "need a bigger bike bug". Not just for the speed and power, but the extra weight and size helps fight wind and hold lines easier.

72 hour + Emergency Kit

Here's the kit all packed up and ready to go. The 1911 is my carry gun and yes, I know I need more mags. I just put the ClipDraw on the other day and I love it.

quick pics of ye olde emergency kit

It still needs a stove, a small pry-bar and more batteries. The blue bottle contains water purification supplies and basic toiletries.

Remington 597

Some pics of our only tacticool rifle.

Special Edition Remington 597 22lr

(yes, that's chameleon paint, from the factory)

our first morel!

The Mrs and I went out mushroom hunting today. No luck at one location, we even saw another guy who was hunting. We dropped the dog off at home and headed to another spot. After about 45 minutes of searching, we hopped on the trail to head back. Within a few feet, I almost stepped on a little morel growing off the path. We snapped some pictures and plucked him out of the ground. After about searching the surrounding area, we moved on. We walked out of the woods with one lonely 'shroom. But, where there is one, there are more. So, we'll head back again soon.

hunt of another type

Hunting for chametz!




This will be our first Passover, we're both excited and nervous. There are a lot of rules and regulations and we have to figure out where we fit in. Our rabbi is Sephardi, so we definitely lean that direction. I admit, I don't understand a lot of the Ashkenazi traditions. Some seem overbearing to the point of being ridiculous. Like no green beans during Passover? Huh? Leavened products I can see, same with fermented but beans? Too each his/her own.



A family from the synagogue invited us to their seder. We're looking forward to it. They're incredibly nice and I know we'll learn a lot. And there is a vast amount of knowledge that still has to be absorbed. It can still be intimidating at times but there's no turning back, nor would I want to.

*edit*
Today at the morning service, we got invited to the 2nd night seder at the Cantor's house. His wife was our Hebrew teacher and did a great job, too bad I'm lazy at studying! Anywho, it was a good day at the synagogue. In addition to the invite, we also got called to the bimah to close the ark. Then Rabbi D. introduced us to the congregation. It was a good day. =]

it's almost hunting season....

My grandfather is a morel hunter and he has finally agreed to show me his secret morel spots. I went hunting a few times as a child but I don't remember finding anything.

As I got older, I grew away from things like this. It's too bad, I would have my own secret spots by now and a wealth of information. It's never too late to learn though. I'll start scouting my area and see what I can find. Maybe we can train the dog to find them? =]

Mrs. Red has never had morels, so she's in for a treat.

Wish us luck!

(image is property of it's owner, as listed on Flickr)

walkin' with bones...

The Mrs, puppy and I went for a walk along the river. It was a good time for all, especially puppers. Today, she found a good amount of deer bones (two skulls, ribs, pelvis, a spine and a pile of misc bones). The Mrs and a I keep saying she'd be a good "remains" dog. Why do they love dead and stinky things?

empty your pockets....

I just dumped out my pockets and I think I lost 10 lbs.

What's in your pockets?






(Technically, the revolver wasn't in my pocket but let's see your current carry piece.)

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy 5th Day of Hanukkah and have a good Kwanzaa tomorrow. Be safe in your travels and I hope all your gunny and non-gunny wishes come true.

Homemade apple latkes!

braving the hoards....

A good New Yorker piece about shopping during the rise of the living dead:

"...So then the only space I can find is next to Macy’s, which is still on fire, by the way, and a mile from any of the open stores. Do you know how aggravating it is to run past all those cars in primo spots, abandoned and overrun with snakes?..."

Is the correct term for a group of zombies a hoard or what about a stagger of zombies? I doubt it's a flock of zombies or a gaggle of zombies...

H/T to Turk

I miss Alaska...

Palin's press release.


The Mrs was asking me about Alaska while we were playing with the puppers in the snow. If you haven't been there (Alaska, not the field where we take the dog), go before you die. It's amazing and you'll leave a piece of your heart there when you leave.

One of my best memories from my short stay there was wandering around at night smoking and I got the "something is different" feeling. I looked up and the sky was full of pulsating green stripes of the Northern Lights (they deserve to be capitalized). The small display I saw was nothing compared to pictures I've seen.

We often talk about moving to Montana, if it doesn't capture part of my heart like Alaska did, then I'll be disappointed.

H/T to Sebastian

and a darkness was spread across the land....

After dinner on Tuesday, the Wife and I plopped down on the couch to watch the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Just when things were getting good, *BOOM* the transformer gets nailed by lightning. Our river shack is on septic and well. No power = no more water after the tank has been drained. I grabbed the flashlights and glo-sticks while Amanda light some candles. Turns out, most of the glo-sticks were past their prime. Looks like I need to restock my emergency kits! According to IPL, the power would be out until midnight.

We spent the rest of the night enjoying the silence, waiting for the power to return. By morning, it was still dark. After a shower at my Mom's place, I grabbed the cooler and some ice to try and save the food.

The power came back about noon. By then, I had made up my mind that we've lived without a generator for too long. So, I'm trading my Kel-Tec and a little cash for a new Coleman Powerman 5000, I mean Powermate 5000w. One step closer to surviving the zombie hordes. But now I'm down a firearm.

Guess it's time to save my pennies for a new carry gun!

IT'S ALIVE!

The CB350 fired up yesterday! We had some gas leaks due to a cracked overflow tube but a bit of tiny fuel line fixed that. I reset the timing but it still needs some fine tuning as do the carbs. But it runs well enough to zip around the neighborhood. I put about 10 miles on it. Good stuff! Now I need some new tubes and tires. Plus a visit to the BMV to make it all legal.


Looks like I'll make it for Ride to Work Day this year!

better late than never!

So, I'm an idiot and never posted wedding pictures from last year. I thought I did but I was wrong. Here are just a select few:

Ruby

Take a moment of silence to remember the 8 Israeli children that were slaughtered senselessly at the J'lem yeshiva.

Hahaha! *edited*

**The posted image is property of Penny Arcade**


If you're like the rest of the modern world, chances are you spend at least a little time on net forums/boards. In a country full of wasted educations and too much hand holding, it's about time someone made this:







There is a lot of jack-assery on the Zombie Boards but it makes for some great laughs when an idiot gets his/her hands on a keyboard.

calling all book hunters!

I'm trying to track down: "From the Battle Returned" by Nikolai Zhuravlyov. It's the story of Roza Yegorovna Shanina (Роза Егоровна Шанина), a WWII Russian sniper. I checked eBay and Amazon but no luck. My Google-Fu turned up squat.



Any ideas?

practice session

The deal with the cool little house on 1.88 acres fell through. Amanda and I decided that our offer was all that we wanted to spend on that particular house. So, we continued the search and toured another house we've had our eyes on. This one is much more us and even bigger with a 2 car garage! (or as I look at it, a multiple bike garage and shop)

We made an offer and they countered with a slightly higher price but still willing to pay $1500 of our closing costs and let us keep all the appliances. We're going to take it, I'm just waiting on the money man to call me back. Kinda crazy, we're getting a house!

It was one of those things where you walk in and your mind says, "this is my house", well before we even made an offer. The guy that lives there has some Suzuki sport bike, a ton of crazy horror movie action figure/statue thingies and he's an EMT. Hell, we share a good amount of interests. The house was built in 1930, it's 936 sqft with a 2 car garage. It sits on a flood plain but that's ok, life gets boring without a little risk! (see if I say that again if it floods!) The important thing is that we really like it and it's in our price range. Plus, it's still close to work and friends. There won't be any fun days of shooting guns in the backyard but that's what Sharky's compound is for!


I'll keep you updated....

I got hired on at the Hospital, not as high as I hoped but better than my contract position. Tomorrow I start all the insurance paperwork and have my orientation on Monday. So, now that I have steady employment, RedQueen and I started house hunting. We found a cool little 1950s house that sits on 1.88 acres. It's still a relatively short drive for us but not surrounded by houses and idiots. The asking price is a bit out of our price range but not too bad. We're going to make an offer tonight, start low and work up. Hopefully they'll take it. But I don't think it will fly with the owners.

I hate dealing mortgage lenders, salesmen and bank crap. It seems like no matter what you do, it's gonna screw you one way or another. I know part of my negative attitude towards it is due to my lack of knowledge in the area. I just don't want to end up spending too much a month and we don't have any money left over after buying food and gas. Sure, we have a cool house but no money to improve it our enjoy our hobbies. That would be worse than renting. But renting just throws money away. And I sure as hell want out of the area where we're living.

This house is quiet and peaceful. You can look out back at the 50+ acres of protected woods and know that you'll never have some vinyl village back there. We've seen tons of wild birds and even deer. The house is small but bigger than our apartment and has tons of potential. I'd even have a nice garage for the bikes and tools. The roads are nice and curvy and have tons of tree cover. It's just a great area. But I'm worried about money and what will be left over after the bills are paid.