Monday, December 31, 2007

Some of the Greatest Inventions in the World...for a Motorcyclist that is

Starting from the coolest to the hottest...literally ;)

So here is one of the sweetest things I received this Christmas. It's a helmet camera and oh does it ever ROCK! Jess and I had a good time installing it on my helmet today. I'll be having some sweet videos of my rides now.

Last Thursday, Jess installed my new floorboards. I hadn't had a chance to try them out until we took off for a 700+ mile round trip to Dallas midday Saturday. It was very different to ride Annie with a place to rest my feet instead of trying to hold on to a tiny peg. Going 90+ on the way to Dallas rushing to Allen TX before the Honda shop closed was proof enough for me that the floorboards totally ROCKED to keep my legs from fatiguing on the long trips at high speeds.
On our way to Dallas, we were literally Chicksicles. We were so crazy cold that we begged and pleaded with the folks at Maxim Motorsport, a Honda shop in Allen TX (7 miles north of Plano TX), to stay open for us so we could buy some heated gear and not freeze to death. At one point in the night while we were riding it was around 36 degF. We were going about 80mph. Let's just say, it was CRAZY cold.

Once we got to Maxim Motorsports, we purchased gloves, a jacket liner, and a dual troller for both of us. Then we marched...no ran right outside and began installing them. Mind you, the folks at Maxim stayed open at least 2 extra hours for us. When we went to remove my seat, the bolt tried to strip. I asked the folks of Maxim if they could spare an 8MM rachet. They were more than agreeable even as they were shutting off the light. I have to say, I don't know that I've ever had such great service. These folks went out of their way for us.

As we were installing the wiring to our batteries, Maxim closed down, and as each of the folks were driving away, they all stopped to make sure we were doing okay. HOLY MOLY those are some great folks.

This was the controller unit that we installed to allow us to control the gloves independently of the jacket. We got the items installed, donned our heated gear, cranked up those puppies, and away we went. We were no longer Chicksicles, we were nice and toasty.

The addition of the floorboards and heated gear will make the rides much more comfortable. The addition of the helmet camera will make rides more exciting. It'll be fun to see what kinds of video I can capture while out on the open roads.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

2007 At A Glance

This blog is going to highlight 2007. First I quit my job at NASA and got a job in the engineering industry.Right after changing jobs we bought a new-to-us house. And we got engaged.
Next we went to Austin for ROT (Republic of Texas) Rally.
Then there was PRIDE!
We lost a good friend.
I had a fantastic birthday with my bro and sis-in-law.
Where I got this killer H-K lunchpale that I take to work every day.
A group of us rode to College Station where I picked up a new-to-me ostrich seat.
A group of us rode down to Galveston on the hottest day known to man.
I got new pipes and learned how to rejet the carbs.
And this is my sexy little baby Annie with her new tires, brakes, pipes, and seat.
We went to our first Comets game with Mitch and the new location.
A group of us went to Corpus Christi.
Gettin' toasty in Corpus
An unfortunate taping incident occurred.
Marinis Empanada house trip with a group of bikers.
Star pizza, hanging with some friends.
A purse incident with Kim?!?!?!?
Lady Bird Johnson planting tribute
Austin with Amy
She's gone country... out with some friends
J-Dawg got a new bike we have to tweak a bit on
A trip to Muscat, Oman to see the coolest peeps in the world
Darrell got a new bike and we picked it up in San Antonio.
We started remodeling the house.
The foyer half way completed
Our Annual Holigays party
And that concludes a recap of our 2007. We hope you enjoyed 2007 as much as we did.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Happy Holigays: The Return

It has become tradition that each year we host a white elephant gift exchange. This year, I decided to place some disposable cameras around the house so folks would snap some photos during the night. I've grabbed some highlights of the photos that resulted. I hope you enjoy!Finger puppets only after she was denied the duck!
Seriously, you just stole her finger puppets???
Do I really even care what's in the bag?
Na-nee-na-nee-boo-boo
Some how at this point, a camera war broke out
Don't mess with Camera Ninja - I can do it with 2 at a time
Look at the cuties
BUT I WANT A BITE
Fake smiles!
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!!!!
Am I annoying you?
Really, he poops candy!

WHAT WHAT WHAT?!?!?!
No more alcohol for you
And this adorable picture concludes the highlights. Have a safe and happy holigays!

Mallow Wars

Last weekend, we had a white elephant gift exchange. It was our second annual Happy Holigays. This party was really fun. I will have hundreds of photos later as I dropped the film off a few hours ago to be developed. This party, I decided to lay some disposable cameras around the house so folks could take some pictures for me during the night. I have no idea what kind of things I'll find when I go to pick up the photos, but that's part of the fun. So the only digital photos I have for the moment are the ones I'm including in this blog now. And some are pretty darn fantastic.

We started the party off right apparently. This is a shot of some of the alcohol we had. I think liquor may have contributed slightly to the hours that followed during the "after party party".

At some point in the night, a marshmallow fight broke out. It seems to be tradition. However this year, a marshmallow wrestling match broke out just moments after the marshmallow fight. So of course I snapped some photos of this event. Here I'm not sure what exactly Kim is saying to me except maybe "Thank you for getting proof of this moment in my life".

All I can say is..."YOU OWE ME!!!"

This is the end of our evening. One of my little cats sacked out on the sofa. I think the kitty had the right idea, curl up in a little ball and sleep until your body recovers.