Let's do that "Link to my Blog" shit.

I do keep an eye on the traffic that comes through my blog.

I have used something called Sitemeter for a while now. Pretty decent stuff. It doesn't keep records for long. But since I am not paying for it, why do I care?

So today I was looking through my hits and caught a bunch of people coming in from a blog called bikerblogs. Anyway, I thought it was kinda cool to have my shitty little blog listed up with people like Church of Choppers and Chopper Dave's stuff. You know, people that make actual money fucking around with motorcycles.

So over to the right you will see a few blogs added to my list of sites. Figure it was the least I could do. And I do mean the least I could do.

Never waste good time on a bad idea.

OK, I know there has to be market for this thing. But it is definitely not something I would be so hot to trot about.

And here is the Can Am Spyder.



From looking at the web site, this thing has the same motor that Buell uses in their sport bikes. Stability control, adaptive steering, ABS, adjustable suspension, cup holders and a DVD player. OK, so I am kidding about the last two, but you get the idea. This thing has every gadget in the world to make it a safe and fun ride.

Let's go to the styling. It looks kinda like a snowmobile with wheels to me. Not to say snowmobiles are ugly, but I am not really a fan of them. But this is Utah, so there are a lot of folks that get their rocks off on them, so who am I to judge?

So what is my visual and academic impression of this thing? It seems like a killjoy to me. I mean it is safe, with what I consider to be dull styling, and did I mention safe? See, I think trikes rock. I have every intention on building a classic rear engine trike someday out of a Corvair with a powerglide. But this just ain't my cup o' tea. It just seems like the soccer moms and NASCAR dads are getting too damned involved in what I love the most about motorcycles. The inherent lack of safety and rules. Motorcycles are supposed to be dangerous. I mean what fun is it when you have airbags, ABS, and stereos.

Maybe I am wrong here. But the lack of crap is why I like older cars, bikes and tools. Don't save me from myself. I am Darwinism at work.

Goings on, blah blah. Complaining, blah blah. Empty promises, blah blah.

Yes, you get a three part update. You might enjoy it. Then again, you might not. But just so you know, I am doing it anyway.

The weekend after my last post, an old friend of ours came in from Nebraska to visit for a couple of days. It was pretty cool. T hasn't seen her in about 3 years and I haven't seen her in nearly 10. So for a couple of days, we hung out, drank, woke up with stomachs that hated us, killed time. It was a decent weekend all in all.



D (our friend) and her beau "B"

The last day we all went up to the local mall. So we let the rugrats on the carousel.



This was taken after a litany of "No, no. Move to the right. OK, move to the left. NOOOO, don't get off!!!" But once they all got in place, I think the fussing was worth it.

And I also got...



A picture of T. She may throttle me for putting this picture up. But I think she looks good. So I am keeping it.

Well everyone went home on Sunday night. And after too little sleep, work commenced. What can I say about working for a week? It was... Fun isn't the right word. Good? Nah, not really that. It was... well, work.

Now last weekend was pretty damn uneventful. And I wouldn't have it any other way. After weekends of running to California, entertaining friends, and just plain ol sickness or exhaustion. Fuck yeah doing nothing kicks ass!!

Now onto the complaining. Last week my front tooth began to ache. And then my gums began to swell. And by Saturday morning I had a nice abscess knot in my mouth. That shit is annoying. It never gets so bad that I am lying in bed writhing in agony, but is this dull throb and nasty pressure in my skull. Advil becomes my buddy at these moments.

So tomorrow I have an appointment with a dentist. They are going to check me out and tell me how many children I will have to sell on the black market to get this damn thing fixed. I would be tempted to tell them to yank the fucking dead tooth that is creating this regular form of misery, if it wasn't my front tooth. Bad enough I got some big ass hillbilly chip out of one tooth. Like hell I want to have a door added.

And this morning, I found out that, no matter what I learn, know, do and educate myself with. I am still an absent minded fuck. I got a big fat envelope from the IRS today. Guess what S? You forgot to sign your tax return. MORON!

And now for the rat-bike news!

Gas prices suck. And boy am I glad I don't have a commute any longer. So a tank of gas will last me weeks. But I just saw that gas prices have hit 120 dollars a barrel. Damn. We have another trip out to California at the end of the month. So right now I am trying to price the stuff I need for my car to get it legal in Utah. The tags have since died for Cali. Anyway, it is cheaper to insure it here. So tires and some waylaid maintenance needs to be done.

And also, I was telling T this weekend. I am planning on socking away about $800 for a thrasher bike to thump around on. Nothing fancy. Just basically a pair of wheels and a seat. She hates the bikes I look at. And really I guess it would be hard to like some of the old crap I show her, but if it works and get me out on the road. I think that it will be just fine for me.

Some motorcycle blog this is, you shit.

So I have looked at the blog and my recent posts. Some fine motorcycle blogging this has turned out to be. I start on one subject and then somewhere along the line I get totally sidetracked.

So if you were hoping for a biker journal when you put this in your bookmarks, I am sorry that I disappointed you. (OK, I really don't give a damn, but it sounded like the nice thing to say.)

So what the fuck does a guy without a motorcycle, and a motorcycle blog do? Well I distract you with shiny stuff to keep you happy and mollified. "Ooooh pretty...."

So link Number 1. A tribute to our friend Joseph Lucas.

And link Number 2. An actual blog where they actually write about motorcycles!

So until I have something to ride, tear apart, or bitch about that is motorcycle related, I give you this to keep my faithful fans happy.

A weekend of R&R. And a touch of warmth. Fuckin' finally!

So last Friday was the last day of school for the boys. Spring break is finally here. T and I have been setting up a visit for both of the boys. Her son is off to visit his dad and my boy is off to visit some grandparents.

So I got off the clock at 3 and we began to get things ready for the trip. Actually T got everything ready while I was still in the basement working. And I just helped schlep some stuff to the back of her Jeep.

The boys showed up just shy of 4 and after a bathroom run for everyone, we hit the road.

Luckily T's parents were willing to meet us in Vegas to change possession of the boys. Her dad enjoys to gamble and I think her mom wanted to just take a trip. So rather than 12 hours, we only had to spend about 5 1/2 on the road that night.

Now the original plan was to turn around the next morning from Vegas and head back up here and see what Salt Lake City has to offer. (Maybe not a lot, but hell we aren't even too sure where all the local grocery stores are.) But for the last couple of weeks we have had some truly shitty weather.

We were waking up to mornings like this.



Then sometime in the afternoon it would look like this...



We were simply tired of it. So we decided that we would stick to Vegas for a day or so. We made great time to Vegas and rolled in around 8:30 or 9pm local time. And pulled into Circus Circus. Now this place is one of the originals on the Strip. And boy it is showing its age. It could be that was because we were in the cheap seats and not high up in the main towers. But for all things holy, could they have just tossed a sheet over a chunk of plywood? I bet it would have been more comfortable to sleep on.

So that night. T, me and her dad, gave money away to the casino and then came back to get some sleep. In the morning we got dressed and went and had a truly horrible breakfast at the buffet. Do yourself a favor, if you want a real breakfast, don't eat at the buffet.

So after breakfast we all packed up. T's folks took the boys on into California and we went and gave some more money away to the casino. After that we decided we would wander north a bit. So onto the 15 and we stopped at Mesquite to give more money away and eat some more bad casino food. Well bad is an overstatement. It just wasn't good.

After lunch and gambling, we decided to keep heading north and wound up in St. George Utah. It is a neat older town. Now T has always wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast so we stopped at a Starbucks and checked a few of the local ones online. We decided on one call the Seven Wives Inn. It was getting late, but the room we wanted was open. So we decided to stay the night. That night we ate at some place that cost an arm and a leg called the Prancing Pony (?). Now the food was great, just pricier than my typical meals cost.



The next morning we got up and had this scrambled egg crepe. That shit was pretty damn good too. We decided that we would keep going north. Originally we were thinking about spending a night in Cedar City to take in another B&B, since we didn't have to be back home until Monday night. But, while better than the bed at Circus Circus, it was too soft for our tastes and we got to missing our bed at home.

Before we left we decided to head across the street to see the winter home of Brigham Young. T and I both get a kick out of turn of the century homes. And it was a free tour.



Talk about neat. This place had 18" thick walls and stuff. You would never see something like that now. But that may be because they have real insulation now. But it makes for really neat architectural features. And we found out that Young had a Romney that was an architect help design a part of the place.

Anyway after that we decided to start heading north. We wandered through Cedar Cuty and had some lunch. Then hit the road again.

As we wandered into Utah county I noticed this strange anomaly... It wasn't freezing cold. Quite the opposite, it was in the upper 60's low 70's. It was warm! So that night we slept with the windows open and wooke up to a nice warm morning.

Today it has cooled down and gotten very windy. But it was nice to get that taste of spring. And it looks like the temps are supposed to be improving some over the next week or so. It is about time. We are all getting sick of this weather.

And if it doesn't start staying warm soon, I may have to go into voodoo rituals or something...

A whole week?!

Good Friday! Well maybe not in the Jesus coming out of the crypt type of Good Friday. But it is a good one nonetheless.

Today, is the last day of school for the boys. And next week is Spring Break.

I can guess what may be going through some minds out there. "What the fuck is so great about that? A pair of boys running rampant through the house while you are trying to work? What are you sneaking huffs of the model glue again?"

Nothing like that. Nope, both of the boys are heading back out to Cali for the week. So it is a quiet week with me and T and a kidless house.

Aha! I bet the light has come on now. Well we don't get the week off, sadly enough. But we both are taking Monday off. And we have no actual plans for the weekend, except to relax and do whatever suits us.

I told you it was a Good Friday.

And as far as the weather report for Utah? It snowed three more times this week. Each time it melts off by noon. We may stick around Vegas for a day or so. Just to get some damn sun.

Spring is coming. I think. No maybe it left again.

Last week, the weather took a turn for the fucked up. Snow and ice. Not lots of it. But enough to make all the streets turn white and coat them in a good layer of ice.

Now since I have been an unemployed, lazy ass bastard, it meant very little to me. Except it sucks to smoke when it is snowing. Especially when your house porches are little slabs of concrete left out to weather. So when it snows, rains, gets windy, we stand on this little ugly slab out back. Or crack open the garage a bit. In the town I live at, it gets windy. That's kind of a half truth. It gets real windy in the section of the town I live in. We are at the base of a mountain, and in a pass like area.

But last week I was in training. For my new job. JOB! And I had to actually drive to another town. And it snowed one week, and coated everything in ice, the next.

So what is it like to be back at work? Gooooood..... Man I miss working. Well at least for the next few weeks. Until I get grouchy and bored. But really I can't complain about this gig. I am making pretty good money, I am right at home. I got some neat tools, and the work is pretty ok.

But right now I am looking in the classifieds for some cheap wheels. I really have gotten the itch to go riding lately. Especially since I can't work on the old Honda. It's just too damn far away. And it looks like they have all sorts of regulations in Utah. Sigh... Rules and regulations. They suck ass.