Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ride to work… Get a Ride home.

I hate it when my Wife is Right.  Grrr…

This morning, she said, “You shouldn’t ride, I’ll give you a lift in.”

Oh no… I’m big tough biker… I can ride!!!  *Beats Chest*

Let me back up and give you some background here.  Saturday night my right knee really starting hurting.  Sunday morning, I woke up to a knee that would not bend. Pain.  Lots of pain.  Gout attack in the knee.  So I was on the couch or in bed all day.  Same story with Monday.  Same with Tuesday… but Tuesday night it was getting better.  Today, Wednesday morning I felt pretty good again.  “I can ride!” I said, and watched he drive into town in the Explorer as I put on my helmet.  Got a leg over the ZX-11, backed it up no problem.   Rolled forward… Oh Crap.  I can’t get my foot on the peg.  So I rode all the way into town with my right foot off the peg.  That’s not easy, but I couldn’t get it on the peg.  My knee wouldn’t bend.

I pull into work… Wife pulls in after me.  Having seen my foot hanging of course.  She did not say “Told you so.”  She knew she didn’t have to.   I hate it when she’s right.

After work…. my knee was killing me.  My left knee even started hurting.  So I limped the bike over to my Sister In Law’s, and parked it.  Called her up and she came and got me.

When we got home I looked at her and said “I can ride the KTM to work tomorrow… I can stand up on the pegs.”  Oh man… she was pissed!

BTW – I don’t need any Gout advice.  My hell every time I say Gout I get every form of home remedy suggestion and that’s about as annoying as my wife being right.  So… stuff that jazz.  I’m going to see the Bonesaw tomorrow.  Maybe get some Cortisone injections.

Oh, if anyone has a Can Am Spyder they are willing to trade for a ZX-11… Yeah, I’ll trade you right now.  Next week?  I don’t know, but right now I’d trade you.

Dudes, I seriously would not wish Gout pain on anyone… not even those few people still alive that I call my enemies.  Gout pain is insidious.  It’s basically God saying “I don’t like you.”  It hurts on a level that you just don’t understand unless you’ve had it.  No, I’m serious.  I’ve been shot.  Stabbed.  I’ve broken many bones.  I’d opt for another Gun Shot Wound over Gout Pain.   Because with Gout – there is nothing you can do about it.  There is no Position of Comfort, especially in the Knee.  In a Toe or Ankle, Gout is Hideous shit.  In the knee…. No… That’s God punishing you for something.  That’s a taste of Torment from Hell.  OTC Pain Meds… They don’t work unless you Combo them Up.  And when you do that, you have to be careful.

Guest Post: Activist Carry

Irresponsible Open Carry Activism Jeopardizes The RKBA

Guns should be carried for personal defense, not Activism.
The best way to do that 99% of the time is Concealed Carry. Even if people do choose to Open Carry, they shouldn’t do it to provoke confrontation nor be uncooperative with the police while doing it. It makes gun owners look bad, turns cops against us, wastes their valuable time and certainly isn’t going to make it more likely that people will think “oh, gun owners are normal people, not trouble makers.
Spread the Word. Most people have realized that the time for “solidarity” through tolerance of the guys carrying guns with video cameras has come and gone. Their bravado is jeopardizing our RKBA and should be seen as an embarrassment to responsible gun owners. When the OC Movement started, people carrying while going about their daily business to show responsibly armed people are part of everyday life, it made some sense… but, the extremists have spun out of control. Let’s make sure that the firearms community is condemning this behavior.
I am not calling for a change in laws or for us to ostracize people who carry openly in a responsible, civil manner. Perhaps responsible OCers should be most concerned and the most openly critical of those who are using their guns to get (inevitably negative) attention?
Obviously, I am a proponent of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and do not want to to see OC made illegal, but I fear that will happen more and more often, in more and more places (as it already has it one state), if the confrontational actions of a very few reckless people continue.
-Rob Pincus
-I.C.E. Training Company

Cross Dressing

Been Lurking over on  http://advrider.com and looking at the photos in the PIC section.

Addicting stuff.  Very addicting stuff.
One thing I’ve noticed are the Sport Bikes with All Terrain Tires.  Interesting.  Very interesting.
Then there are the SUPERMOTO bikes.  Dirtbikes with Street Tires.
Dirt on Street…
Street on Dirt…
Is this motorcycling’s version of being gay?

Monday’s Motorcycle: Kawasaki Z750S

One of my friends here in Vernal rides a fairly unique machine.  A Z750S.  It’s not the biggest, or the fastest of machines.  It’s not the coolest either. But it does just about everything.  It is fast.  It seems to handle well.  And it cruises just fine.  That’s what I like about it…. Versatility.

This one is M’s.

When I still had my Magna, I was allowed to put the kickstand up on it.  The bike was fun and ran well.  It reminded me of a Cafe Racer in it’s configuration.  No wind protection and fairly aggressive riding position, especially compared my Magna.  I liked it.  It didn’t help me at all to avoid a Sports Bike bug.  Kind of underpowered below 6,000 RPM, but once you get into the powerband… it’s all there.

Now, M’s machine has been modified.  He’s moved his pegs, changed things around, and has improved wind protection by installing a Vetter Windjammer.  It looks strange, I’ll have to say.  And he will be the first to say so himself.  But it works.

This photo was taken in Rangely Colorado.  An hour’s drive from Vernal… but we made it a lot quicker.  The Z750S, dubbed “The Enterprise” due to the bikes overall shape with the Vetter, had no problem cruising at 120 mph even on less than perfect rural roads.  A testament to the Z750S suspension.

Continue reading Monday’s Motorcycle: Kawasaki Z750S

Gun Violence is a Social Healthcare Issue?

The story on The Blaze about gun violence as a social healthcare issue is extremely naive.

(The Blaze/AP) — Is a gun like a virus, tobacco or alcohol?  According to “public health experts,“ who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a ”social disease,” it is.

What we need, they say, is a “public health approach” to the problem.

Dr. Garen Wintemute of University of California, Davis claims it is no longer enough to tackle gun violence by focusing solely on the people doing the shooting.  Dr. Stephen Hargarten, who treated victims of the Sikh temple shootings at the emergency department he heads in Milwaukee, feels the same way.

“What I’m struggling with is, is this the new social norm?” he asked, before asserting: “This is what we’re going to have to live with if we have more personal access to firearms.”

He continued: “We have a public health issue to discuss. Do we wait for the next outbreak or is there something we can do to prevent it?”

About 260 million to 300 million firearms are owned by civilians in the United States; about one-third of American homes have one.  Last year, 55 percent of Americans said gun laws should either remain the same or become more lenient.

There are some very serious issues with this man’s thinking.  If we are going to look at it like a Disease, we need to look at the Vectors.  What is causing this to spread?  Because it does indeed seem like these shooting sprees are happening more often.   If we are not allowed to look at the Shooter/Lunatic/Criminal as the source of the issue, then let’s look at this issue like we’ve examined other “Social Diseases” such as Smoking.  It’s not fault of Tobacco, it’s just a leaf.  And a firearm is nothing more than a tool.  So again, social, not the object.  Okay, with Cigarettes, the social vector was damn near every movie and tv show and advertising showed us that it was Cool to Smoke and Cool People Smoked, so if you wanted to be cool… you smoked.   So they started limiting smoking in Films and such.  That was a Social response.  But that’s not happening with Gun Violence.  In fact, just the opposite is happening.
When someone goes nuts and starts a shooting spree, the more public and dramatic the better.  The news agencies cover the story in every direction and angle and we see the shooter’s face damn near everywhere.  We know their names, where they lived, and we give them what they want… Fame.   If we want to limit exposure and the glorification of committing a shooting spree… we need to turn our backs on the Shooters.  Don’t make the shooters famous.  Don’t say their names.  Don’t show their pictures.  Report the story, fine, but don’t go about it to make the criminal a pop-star.  They need to be forgotten.

Psycho Killer, or Girl Afraid of Nothing?

Access to firearms is not a correlation to gun violence.  Where I live – we have probably the highest per capita of gun ownership as any place in the nation.  I live outside of a small town.  We have a number of gun stores.  2 of the top ten of gun stores in the state, with the one I’m working at… last time I looked, we were 4th in the state.  We’re also 3 hours from Population.  One estimation is that we have on average 18 firearms per home.   We have a lot of guns out here.  Shooting sprees have not happened here.  Shooting sprees don’t happen at gun shows either.  Having guns doesn’t mean we’re going to have blood in the streets.

Another Social Issue that we have that allows these shooting sprees to propagate is the fallacy of “Gun Free Zones”.    Most of these shootings happen in Gun Free Zones.  Where good honest Victims are unable to defend themselves.  At the Theater in Colorado.  At the cafeteria in Ft. Hood.  At the campus of Virginia Tech.  The lack of guns in these gun free zones was a contributing factor here.  Notice in each that the shootings only stopped when the guys with the guns showed up.

Guns Save Lives.  Like Parachutes, Helmets, and Seatbelts.  If we are going to cure this social issue… we need to make it cool to for people to Carry and get Training.

Training is the key here.   Just like all other social issues – Education is the Solution.  Learn to use your guns and have them with you.  Have one on you.

 

I suck.

I called a friend the other day and his response was “Dude, you have never called me before… What’s wrong?”
Huh.  Really? This has been bothering me ever since our conversation.
I guess what is wrong is that I’ve never called him before. We’ve been friends for over a decade… talk online all the time… but that’s not the same… its not really talking.  Its sad because I consider him a brother.  I suck.
And another friend… I only see when I need to crash at his place.  Damn it… I really suck.
I have good friends, but I am not a good friend.
I need to work on this.

Any of my friends are cool to call me any time. If I can’t talk, I’ll call you back the instant I can. You don’t need to leave a message, I’ll return the call. You can send text messages. Now, if you call, and I answer, but you only hear wind… I’m on my bike with my ear buds in and I can hear you… probably… and when I stop… I’ll call you back.

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet.

I got one tonight.  I’m geeking out about this thing. 
Quad core processor, 16 gigs, 7” screen, Wi-Fi, thin and light.
The Android OS is cool too.  See, I’m running Droid on my phone… I got all my apps and stuff… its all set up.
Now, when I started up the Nexus 7, I signed into Google and within seconds I had all my apps, pictures, everything.  Just like my phone.  And thanks to G-Drive and Cloud… I have all my Docs and Music.  Bam.  Just like that.
250 bucks.

Open Letter to the Gun Industry

Please for the love of all that is holy… Stop using cheap Styrofoam in your packaging.  Use better quality stuff.  Remington uses some, but it’s denser and generally problem free.

Here’s a Winchester.

This was a Shotgun and the area where the barrel’s gas ring was chewed the foam up during shipping.  This caused little foam bits to be all over the gun.  Not too bad but I hate cleaning brand new guns after just opening up a box.  Even when a little bit comes apart… it quickly becomes a mess.

Here’s a Stoeger.

This was just ridiculous.  That stuff was freaking everywhere and it had collected some static so it stuck to everything and fought being wiped off.  It took some time to get it cleaned out.  But for weeks after we would still pull foam bits out from inside parts.  External, Internal… just a train wreck.

Not gives a customer confidence in a product they have just purchased, when we open the box up and it looks like that.    There has got to be a better way.  Eh?