12:16 a.m. 1-1-2009 and I should lay off the champagne

Happy New Year everyone! I'm hoping my lovely Zune will magically fix itself like MS claims it will. I'm hoping I get to spend lots more time with my cool friends in 2009. I'm hoping I can add 5,000 miles (hopefully more) to my bike's odometer, that's motorcycle. And I hope I can add 40 miles a week to my bicycle's odometer as I start commuting to work. Lots of hopes and dreams for 2009. Stay safe!

2008 In Review

Early January was our group ride to the Forbidden Gardens in Katy Texas. That was great. Wish they would fix/upgrade/invest and make the place even more spectacular.

February was my 1 year mark at the new-to-me job.

March was (clearly not memorable at this point).

April marked 3 years of Jess and me being together + the last name change.

May we had a great Memorial day ride with Danny and his son-n-law through the hill country of west Texas. We stopped in Luckenbach Texas for the first time.

June was some summer riding with friends.

July was my big 3-uh-O. Had a blast in big-D go-carting.

August was the start of me being the recycling team lead at work.

September we took the gun class and was the gimongo hurricane Ike (please note that New Orleans did not offer to take our folks that were homeless from the storm nor did they offer to help rebuild Galveston - I'm totally bitter we're still dealing with all the crappy fallout of Katrina (GO BACK ALREADY HOUSTON USED TO BE AWESOME!!!)). We lost power for 14 days, though not nearly as long as our neighbors across the street and our friends up north of H-town.

October life was starting to return back to normal from the devastation and we made a trip up to big-D to see the bro & sis-n-law. Plus I got my shiny new gun based on the results of a bet (I aced the shooting test).

November I was assigned as a move coordinator for multiple floors of my building to a new location in h-town. OMG! Someone shoot me already! But we made it in early Dec and I am not in a padded cell. We had a crazy political turnout.

December is ChristmaKwanzaHanukkah. We had a great one of all the above. I had some phenomenal gifts this year. Thanks JESS!!! I hope 2009 is a great year.

January will mark major changes for the US of A. I hope all are good.

Good luck to everyone in the New Year.

Z2K9

So I am like all the other unlucky souls that have a Zune 30gb, mine is stuck in the boot sequence. And apparently there's not a thing that can be done about it, at least not today (coincidentally the 366th day of the year).

MS Zune support:

Maybe the QA at MS could do a "Lessons Learned". It would seem that the simpliest of programmers would realize leap year really does take special caution, cause it doesn't usually just fix itself in the programming world. Okay, stepping off my soapbox. I was just annoyed that I had no tunes today and I sit with a NOISY bunch of folks.

MS Zune, FIX THE PROBLEM PLEASE!!!

Better luck next year, right?

Leave In Conditioner

I am currently trying this conditioner. So far, I feel like I've used waaaay too much each time. My hair seems to be oily, or greasy. I have tried this product for 2 consecutive days. I do like that I don't have frizz, nor does my hair seem dry at all. I don't know if I prefer my hair to make people feel thirsty, or for my hair to make people feel like I'm a dirty ol' woman.

Women Should Be Pissed Off

If you think about it...

Slavery was outlawed with the ratifying of the 13th Amendment in 1865. Only 5 short years later, the 15th amendment secured the right to vote to not be based on color. Though, gender biases still kept women from having the right to vote. The 15th amendment that was ratified on February 3, 1870 provided a means for those that had been in slavery to be able to vote, 143 years ago. Now step forward 50 years to August 18, 1920 when women finally gained the right to vote in the 19th Amendment, 88 years ago.

Something seems a little outta whack!

I'm not a feminist. I'm not right winged, nor left winged. But I am tired of hearing how there are classes of people that have been so oppressed for so long. I'm tired of women being termed "domineering" when all they really want is equal rights like the rest of the American citizens. Women don't have the time to be out whining and complaining about oppression. We have way to much taking up our time, like working twice as hard as the men in corporate America for 2/3 to 1/2 the pay, bearing the children, raising the children, . . . And the list goes on. And yet, there were even Republicans that were so narrow minded that they didn't support their own vice presidential candidate because she was a woman. Really now? Are you still lost in the years pre-1920?

... it's time we see a woman president. Republican, Democratic, Independent I don't believe I care which, just need to see a woman in office to make sure everyone is truly equal.

In the Washing Machine

Aww! Man! I seemed to have lost my sense of humor. I think it was in my jeans pocket last week and got washed in the laundry. LOL! I haven't been posting anything fun in say....4EVER. WTF. . . over?

Well, hopefully I'll find my sense of humor stuck somewhere in the lint tray of the Dryer!

Feminine Protection

Aren't you glad we don't have to use this once a month?

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A:
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!
JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun? (And you might want to get out of the way!)
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road.
What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.
OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty!?
You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmers Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road.
Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was all we needed to know.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, but went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.?
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Post Ike Stress Disorder - PISD

If you are interested in seeing some of the pictures gathered by local folks on the before, during, and after of Ike, please visit this site: Pics from IKE

Some brilliant person created this, and I apologize for not citing the source, it was a mass email, and I modified the title a bit.

'Twas The Night Before Ike's Mess

'Twas the night before Ike
When all through the state
Not a gas pump was pumping
Not a store open late

All the plywood was hung
On the windows with care
Knowing that a hurricane
Soon would be there

The children were ready
With flashlights in hand
While bands from the hurricane
Covered over the land

And mamma with her Mag-Lite
And I in my cap
Had just filled the bath tub
For flushing our crap

When out on the lawn
There arose such a clatter
I sprang from the closet
To see what was the matter

The trees on the fence
And the neighbor's roof torn
Gave the fear of us dying
In this terrible storm

With a little wind gust
So lively and quick
I remembered quite clearly
Our walls weren't brick

More rapid than eagles
His courses they came
And he whistled, and wafted
And surged all the same

Off shingles! Off sidings!
Off rooftops! Off power!
Down trees! Down fences!
Down trailers! Down towers!

In the center of Texas
He continued to maul
Screaming Blow Away!
Blow Away! Blow Away All!

As wind ripped and tossed
The debris through the sky
I peeked out the shutters
At cars floating by

So go to the safe-room
My family did do
With a portable radio
And batteries too

And then, in a twinkling
I heard on the set
The end was not coming
For a few hours yet!

As I calmed down the kids
And was turning around
Through the window it came
With a huge crashing sound

A tree branch it was
All covered in soot
The wind blew it smack-dab
On top of my foot

A bundle of twigs
Now lay in a stack
And my living room looks
Like it was under attack

The wind - how it howled!
The storm - very scary!
Myself and the family
Were all too unwary

The dangers of hurricanes
Are serious, you know
They are taken for granted
As Ike did show

With the winds dying down
And the danger beneath
I noticed my tool shed
Was missing its sheath

So I grabbed my last tarp
And nailed it on down
Then I got in my car
And I headed to town

The traffic was awful
And stores had no ice
My five gallon cooler
Would have to suffice

Generators were scarce
Not one left in town
There were trees on the roads
And power lines down

I looked side to side
No CenterPoint here
This only resulted
In compounded fear

And in the midst of
This peculiar scurge
The question of
Another storm emerged

I sprang to the car
And gave my family a whistle
Then away we all went
Like a Tomahawk missile

You could hear us exclaim
As we drove out of sight
'Fare well to this place,
San Antone seems just right!'

And finally, a little Ike humor for all of us that survived 4 days or more without water, 2 weeks or more without power, and weeks with reduced ability to get gas (though us without generators didn't really need it).

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE ON THE GULF COAST WHEN....
1. You have FEMA's number on speed dial.
2. You have more than 300 C and D batteries in your kitchen drawer.
3. Your pantry contains more than 20 cans of Spaghetti O's.
4. You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
5. When describing your house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and one safe hallway.
6. Your SSN isn't a secret, it's written in Sharpie on your arms.
7. You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
8. You are delighted to pay $5 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
9. The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
10. You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
11. You own more than three large coolers.
12. You can wish that other people get hit by a hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
13. You rationalize helping a friend board up by thinking 'It'll only take a gallon of gas to get there and back'.
14. You have 2-liter coke bottles and milk jugs filled with water in your freezer.
15. Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
16. You catch a 13-pound redfish…In your driveway.
17. You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
18. You consider a 'vacation' to stunning Tupelo, Mississippi.
19. At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
20. You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
21. There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
22. You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at the Weather Channel.
23. Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof.
24. Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
25. Your 'drive-thru' meal consists of MRE's and bottled water.
26. Relocating to South Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
27. You spend more time on your roof then in your living room.
28. You’ve been laughed at over the phone by a roofer, fence builder or a tree worker.
29. A battery powered TV is considered a home entertainment center.
30. You don't worry about relatives wanting to visit during the summer.
31. Your child's first words are 'hunker down' and you didn't go to Ole Miss!
32. Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean it's Christmas.
33. Toilet Paper is elevated to coin of the realm at the shelters.
34. You know the difference between the 'good side' of a storm and the 'bad side'.
35. Your kids start school in August and finish in July.
36. You go to work early and stay late just to enjoy the air conditioning.

That concludes my short coverage of hurricane Ike. And it is true based on the previous post, Cat 2 does warrant wearing jeans to work since you cannot do laundry when 3 million customers have no power (including the washateria's).

Office Procedures Concerning Storm and Office Closings ...

As we watch the progress of the storm, the following are the firm's guidelines based upon the hurricane's intensity:

Hurricane Category #1
No excuse for being late. Leave earlier to give extra time to avoid fallen trees and limbs.

Hurricane Category #2
Due to the horizontal rain, you may wear jeans.

Hurricane Category #3
Whereas most of the area will be flooded we suggest you avoid wearing open toe sandals when coming to work. Canoes will be provided to get to the building safely without getting wet.

Hurricane Category #4
More than likely there will be no electricity. Given that, we will have manual typewriters available to all staff members. Please take extra caution and wear water-proof make-up if Category 4 or above.

Hurricane Category #5
Velcro will be provided to keep you attached to your chairs when the windows blow out. For those that survive, we will have chocolate cake at 3:00 pm in the kitchen.

This is just too priceless

I'm very excited! I got the first upgrades done on my bike in a series of planned upgrades. This is all in prep for ditching my car to commute to work on my bike. [Check out Jude's blog: DitchYourCarNow That's where I got the inspiration from.] Anywho, I grabbed a few pics this weekend after I was done tweaking the brakes, repairing some rubber covers, and installing the new bike computer I got for my birthday. There are a few other things I had done to the bike but those were done at a local Schwinn shop as there are no Klein dealers in the States as of current (though rumors have it there will be next year possibly. . . huge hooray for that!)

Here's a shot of the sexy bike. I felt I needed to do the bike justice with a real shot instead of a pic stolen of the web that looks a wee bit crumby. This is the Klein Attitude. The paint job is hand done. It's a fade from blue to purple. I fell in love with the bike at first site. And then once you pick up this bike and see just how light weight it is, you're sold on it.
One of the first changes/repairs I had done was swapping out the old trigger shifters for grip shifters. This was brought on originally because the trigger shifters needed to be rebuilt or replaced as they had seen better days. I actually prefer the grip shifters as that's what I had on my previous DiamondBack bike. So, since I had to replace/rebuild the shifters I figured it was as good a time as ever. These are SRAM Attacks. I had been having trouble with the original grips coming off so it turned out well that I needed new grips to work with the grip shifters.
Since I was having work done on the shifters and there was already a question of whether or not I'd have to get some cabling added, I figured it would be a great time to swap out the original handlebar riser to a new adjustable angle riser. This is a great investment. I got the shop to raise my seat and in doing so, realized I needed to have the ability to adjust the handlebar height as well. This new riser by UND will allow me a lot of free play. The ride is much more comfy now with the handlebar height agreeing with the seat height.
Here's a (not-so-) lovely shot of the new cycle computer. I have no idea what was going on with my camera. But, it's the picture I have so . . . This computer is by Cateye. I'm not really efficient with it yet, but it is gonna be fun and feed my addiction to numbers and patterns.
And here's what feeds the cycle computer so it can calculate your distance and all that jazz. Along the fork, I installed the wireless relay system. Then on one of the spokes, you attach a magnet. The two devices have to pass closely to each other so the relay can sense the magnet.
Hopefully it won't be too long before I can do the next in the series of upgrades to the bike. I'll try and keep ya posted.

Organic Beer

Last evening while shopping at Whole Foods, I got a wild hair and decided to try an organic beer. I've not ever had an organic before, or not one that I recall. Pinkus Organic Hefe-Weizen is the beer I chose. This beer is from Munster, Germany. It seemed a bit like Blue Moon without the citrus flavor. I thought it was rather mild and didn't have a bad after taste. The beer was not as full or thick as Blue Moon. And I'm not trying to say that these beers should be identical. I am doing a comparison based on some of the beers I've tried.

I was expecting this beer to be completely weird. Maybe the USDA Organic label at the top was screaming "HIPPEE" to me. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely buy this beer again for a light mid afternoon brew.
There are plenty of blogs out there that will help define more indepth what it means to be a USDA Organic certified beer and all the rigorous guidelines Organic Breweries must follow. Do a google search on Pinkus beer and you'll get a really good start of information to point you towards all the answers on organic beer.

I Love Americans!

Aww, don't you just love Americans?

Model 3.0

Well, I've been model 3.0 for all of 6 days now. How am I feeling? Surprisingly, I think model 3.0 is better than model 2.0. Liesl is right. 30 is better. So what do I plan to do with my first year in the 30's? I would like to say I have high aspirations of being something grandiose, but I'll just settle for getting the rest of the debt paid in full, and building a nice little nest egg for Jess and me. Then we can look at options for when we're both models 4.0. I guess it actually is a major feat to be able to pay off any and all debt, live within your means, and save for an earlier retirement. If I could ever figure out how to not work for the man, I would do it.

Happy 30th - YA YA YA YA YA

We arrived here Friday around dinner time. This is Johnny G's in Dallas. It is awesome!
I did not realize there was a surprise celebration planned. Johnny's is a usual stop for us when we go to Dallas because it is just that cool. So I didn't think anything different of this time. When the lights started to flicker, I secretly thought to myself, "John, did you forget to pay the light bill???" Ha ha ha ha ha!

Once the lights stopped flickering, a cake emerged from the kitchen, and folks started singing Happy Birthday to me. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the coolness of a cake, this has got to be a 100. It has every element of everything I like. 1. Hello Kitty; 2. Motorcycle; 3. Hello Kitty's YA YA YA YA YA; 4. Pink; 5. Designed by the coolest sis-in-law in the world; 6. Bandanna; 7. Sunglasses; 8. Total Surprise!

This is some extreme precision and extreme concentration. This is 1/2 a sheet cake, 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 vanilla. It was super yummy. We shared with at least 1/2 the restaurant. Folks around us were reminiscent of the days when they were 30 and how mortified they would have been to have the world singing Happy Birthday to them at 30. I thought it was all fantastic. It was a total surprise! And the shots that kept getting sent to me made me very happy :-) *arm up in the Hello Kitty attack* YA YA YA YA YA! Remember, folks up in Dallas have got to check out Johnny G's.

Next I'll post the pic from Six Flags.

What's On My Head?

Too much Tequila will make anyone do weird things. I seem to be highly prone to do weird things even without alcohol. So the following photos just back that up. I didn't start out the night with this pink skull cap on my head. It was one of the first gifts I opened. So it of course had to immediately be placed on my head. Then I pulled the dirt bike out of a bag. I'm shocked the bag didn't end up on my head too. Looking back, I'm REALLY shocked the bag didn't make an appearance on my head.

Once I was done extracting items out of the bag, I proceeded to remove the wrapping from the boxed item. I was instantly intrigued with this wrapping paper as it is just like contact paper and it's sticky all over. Well, that just got things off to an even better start. Now I was in a competition with myself to see how many things I could place on my head. And do you see what I got? Yes, that's a box of tennis balls. HA HA HA. . . and no, I don't play tennis. I think they were for my walker. You know, those balls they puncture to put on the back 2 legs of walkers to help ease the slide across floors. HA HA HA. . . hee hee hee. . . HA HA HA!
And then, I just couldn't leave that contact paper alone. With skull cap still on my head, I proceeded to wrap myself in the totally sticky wrapping paper. If there had been more, I probably would have been rolling around on the floor trying to do a full body mummy wrap. See, this is where I don't know if it was me, or the Tequila fueling this obsession. In between the time that I unwrapped the box of tennis balls and this next photo, the restaurant staff brought me some hideous dessert with a sparkler (I think, maybe I was trying to blow out someone's cigarette) and the waiter had smeared it all over my nose. I don't know at what point the bandana ended up backwards, but I proceeded to stuff my face with the horrible dessert. It had to be the Tequila at this point cause the dessert was terrible.
Once I realized the bandana was still on my head, I quickly removed it. Only to have it be replaced with . . . yes, that is correct. . . my napkin.But it wasn't enough to have just the one napkin on my head. I decided to start stealing the napkins away from the folks sitting by me and continue to build on the things that were on my head. I'm not sure why I didn't return to the wrapping paper at this point. I think it got taken away from me.

Yup, that's me in all my glory. I think that pose was inspired by Pam & Jason (love ya guys)!

Oh man, how many things did I put on my head that night? And then to end the dinner, I decided to give my sexy pose.

And that wasn't the end of the night. . . but thank the Lord & Taylor, that was the end of the photos. :-)

With Age Comes Wisdom

I'm taking some of this from The Simple Dollar:

I was reading a lot of the stuff that Trent has to say. I can directly apply it to my life. I have been wanting to change the way that I go about managing my money and how I go about buying stuff. Now, whenever I spend money, I will try to imagine if I lost my job next week, will it still seem like a worthwhile purchase? If it won’t, then I should strongly reconsider my purchase.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons that I think is most appropriate for me at this junction in my life is "that I don’t need to put up appearances of being rich. I still worry about personal appearance, but I’ve learned that grooming and cleanliness really are 90% of the battle - if you’re clean and solidly groomed, you still carry a solid impression without dumping thousands of dollars on expensive suits and dresses. I also don’t need to show off the latest gadgets to impress; I can impress by simply being comfortable with being myself." (Trent from The Simple Dollar). Money should be a tool in my life, one that allows me to take care of what’s really important to me.

Money and material things don’t make me - I make me.

Continued Mission to get in Shape

I started my first blog talking about a desire to get in shape, and how I was going about doing that. I have progressed forward (with a few stumbling blocks along the way), but I finally started running again. Whew Hew! The knee seems to be holding out for me. I did find my wickedly ginormous brace that I'm supposed to wear if I'm doing anything. But, I've been stubborn and haven't wanted to wear it. So I stopped by Academy and was recommended a Patella Band. Surprisingly, it's working out well. I'm able to run my 2.6 miles non-stop now and my knee doesn't become fatigued.

I am very inspired to continue running. I had run for many many years before blowing out my knee. So yesterday I bought some crazy ugly running shoes, but they are incredibly comfortable.(ASICS: GEL-Nimbus® 10) I bought some support socks. And of course I had to splurge just a little and I picked up a cute necklace from Tarma: Earth Friendly Jewelry (Recycled Ingredients).

It's a running girl. Who could resist this? It's not often that you find something girl specific like this. So now every time I look in the mirror, I will be reminded of my great progress forward.

I was glad the shoes didn't end up being Nike that were picked out for me. My hat that I run in is Nike, my shorts are Nike, my knee band is Nike, my socks are Nike. It might seem that I'm a Nike addict, but it's just random that Nike is the brand for all of those. I'd happily wear any brand that works well.

Yummy. . . yet sinful

Naughty Angel

3 parts chocolateliqueur

1 part 151

Stumbled upon a site, BoozeBuddy, and came across this recipe for a Naughty Angel. Yum! That's all I can say.

I ♥ My Bike (that's bicycle)

specifications (bike spec's are similar on my model)

size

XL

color

Blue Linear

frame material

Gradient ZR9000 Alloy

msrp (usd)

$2,219.99 | $1,009.99 (Frame Only)

fork

RockShox Duke Race

headset

Alloy Aheadset, semi-cartridge,sealed

rear shock

N/A

crankset

Shimano XT 44/32/22 Hollowtech II

bottom bracket

Shimano XT Hollowtech II

derailleurs (f/r)

Shimano New XT

shifters

Shimano Deore XT STI Disc

chain

Shimano HG-73

wheel system

Bontrager Race ATB Disc & Tubeless Compatible

tires

Bontrager Super X 26X2.1 / 49/48, Tubeless

cassette

Shimano XT 11-34T 9 speed

brakes

Shimano New XT Disc

brake levers

Shimano XT STI Disc

handlebars

Bontrager Race

stem

Bontrager Race ATB Stem

seatpost

Bontrager Sport

saddle

Bontrager FS 2000

grips/tape

Klein Instinct

Well I absolutely ♥ this bike. I did change the pedals so that I can wear regular tennipods if I want. There was a period of time where I couldn't remember to clip out, so I would fall . . . A LOT! (TGIP)

One of the coolest things about this bike, besides it's phenomenal paint job, is that the bike is first welded together, then they go back over it with a low flame and smooth out all the seams. They also design the frame for the cables to be internal. That is crazy cool. No more pinching my skin when I'm doing tight standing corners and such. So when the bike is painted, it truly becomes a work of art. The bike is crazy lightweight. I like that especially after a long ride if I have to carry it upstairs and am already exhausted. It's not so heavy that I struggle to get it up the stairs.

I cannot wait for Klein to come back to the states.

I started biking more regularly lately and have fallen back in love with my bike. Riding it a few times, I remember what drew me to it in the first place. It is gorgeous. It is sexy. It is the Cadillac of bikes. It rides like a dream. It handles like a dream. I'm glad I splurged on it when I did. I had no idea that the Klein bikes would become obsolete in the US shortly after I bought mine.

A 4th of Independence with a 5th of Vodka

Happy 4th aka Independence to everyone. This is a show of the country club close to my house. I was having a few too many martinis to film upright :) hee hee hee

Mr. Gay

Ah, those crazy gays!

I gotta get this t-shirt

I stumbled upon a t-shirt with this on it at David & Goliath's Tees. It is great! I almost spit my drink on the laptop when I read it.

Do You Think This is True

"Big Oil"
Many hadn't realized, until the hearings on energy that were held recently in House and Senate committees, that the United States doesn't have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies--all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies--that dominate the world's oil supply.

This graph tells the story; you can barely see the American oil companies as minor players on the right side of the chart. The chart was presented to the House committee by Chevron.

This was from an email I received today. I don't know if it is true. It is interesting none-the-less.

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Just Say No - to Plastic Bags

I was on my way in to work this morning, and saw a plastic bag floating across the intersection. I was immediately reminded of a plastic bag powerpoint presentation that came across my desk the day before. I was so saddened and disgusted to see the amount of waste that we produce in plastic bags alone. So I'm doing a little more research.


It's unfortunate that usually the ones affected the most by human selfishness are the animals all around us. As you can see by the photo, an innocent bystander, is locked into that bag more than likely because someone was too uncaring to properly dispose of that bag.

Green Bags is a place you can check online to buy some reusable bags and skip the plastic bags at all the retail/grocery stores. Just look at the filth and disgust that is lying around us because of those bags.


KROGER helps go greener - Kroger is attempting to help reduce future pollution. Kroger has bag recycling containers set up at their stores for you to drop off your used bags. Don't be selfish and throw them away. You gotta go back to the grocery store anyway, just bag up a bag of bags, and drop it in the container on your way in to the store. Then walk off holding your head high knowing you're helping out the entire world, one bag at a time. If you would like to thank Kroger for their participation in keeping a more beautiful earth, feel free at: http://www.kroger.com/customercomments.htm.

I have been running along the Braes Bayou lately, and have been utterly disgusted by the amount of litter that is on the bank of the bayou. I want to make it part of my goals to help clean-up that area.

In case folks don't know, there is an absolutely awesome set up on Westpark near Fountainview. There is a drive thru facility for recycling. It's a very convenient place, you drive right in, they open your trunk, grab the recyclables, close trunk, you drive off. Now could they make it any easier for you? Check it out: http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/westpark.html

Actually, there are many neighborhoods here in Houston that are participating in the curbside recycling program. If you'd like to find out more about this or to get a bin to start participating, go here: http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/recycling.html.

If you'd like to pick up some extra cash, you can take your old soda cans and batteries for scrap metal to the metal recycling shops around Houston. I hear some of them give $2 bills in repayment.

From the City of Houston site

"BOPA - Batteries, Oil, Paint and Antifreeze
Through a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments, the Recycling Division has begun a "BOPA" program at the Consumer Recycling Center located at 5900 Westpark. The City of Houston now accepts "B"atteries, "O"il, "P"aint and "A"ntifreeze for recycling at the Center. The batteries accepted are car-type batteries (lead-acid); used oil up to 5 gallons and oil filters; latex paint only (sorry, no oil-based) up to ten 1-gallon cans and one 5-gallon can; and antifreeze up to 5 gallons. The latex paint accepted at the Center is recycled and used in the City's ongoing graffiti abatement program. Additionally, the Center accepts up to 10 tires for disposal, making the Center a "one-stop-shop" for all do-it-yourself mechanics."

Remember, batteries are very destructive to the environment. Recycle those. Also, no pouring crap into our drainage system. HUGE NO NO! Take that stuff to the recycling facilities. No dumping grass clippings down the storm drains either folks. Come on! Are you just stupid? You're polluting what becomes our drinking water.

Yes, today this is my soapbox, but I'd like to change my ways in order to help make a better tomorrow. I challenge all you to refuse even just 1 plastic bag a week.

The following is an excerpt from the city of Houston site:

Items accepted at the Neighborhood Drop-off Sites and Neighborhood Depositories:

• Newspaper, magazines, office paper
• Glass food & beverage bottles and jars (No ceramics or plate glass!)
• Plastic bottles & jugs (marked #1 & #2 only!)
• Aluminum and tin food cans
• Cardboard boxes (Must be broken down with packing materials removed.)
• Westpark Consumer Recycling Center at 5900 Westpark (also includes tires, BOPA, and Scrap Electronics recycling)

Electronic Scrap Recycling
Residential electronic scrap items accepted by the City of Houston are monitors, televisions, printers, keyboards, mice, scanners, fax machines, telephone handsets, VCRs, CPUs, cellular phones without batteries and other small consumer electronics.

Computers and related components contain hazardous materials that can leach into a community's water supply. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), circuit boards, batteries, and mercury switches contain hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium.

Electronic scrap items can be dropped off at the Westpark Consumer Recycling Center or the Environmental Service Center (South and North).

Used Oil
In 1992, Houston became the first major city in the country to establish a curbside used motor oil recycling program. The city currently provides curbside collection of used motor oil to 162,000 homes by using recycling trucks that have been retrofitted with used oil collection racks.

A 1,000-gallon used oil storage tank was placed at the city's recycling processing center. Brochures explaining the program have been delivered to every participating household, and free one-gallon jugs were made available to all interested participants. Used oil and oil filters are also collected at the Westpark Consumer Recycling Center and the previously mentioned Department of Solid Waste Management Depositories.

Basically folks, pack up your junk, take it to the recycle center, let them take everything that can be recycled from the pile, then trash the rest!!!

Texas Allergies

Today I went to the allergist to see what the heck it is that I'm allergic to. Here's a picture of the results (and I'm sorry it's so graphic). Okay, so the picture that follows is my back once they've done the "prick" test to see what I'm allergic to. The doctor took the picture for me since it was a rather HUGE reaction. And that cracks me up...
Let's just say, I have a few allergies....1. any grass EVER....2...CEDAR FEVER!!!

Okay, I've grossed you out enough this blog :-)

Police Motorcycle Rodeo at 1st Annual Bay Area Rally

Yesterday, a group of us rode to Space Center Houston for the 1st Annual Bay Area Rally. This rally is a sister rally to the Golden Aspen Rally that is held in Ruidoso NM each year. Maybe next year we can visit that one as it is absolutely gorgeous in Ruidoso. I'm adding 2 videos (with sound) and a few pics of the events and folks that were there.

This is a BMW with a sidecar. That's funny! And the sidecar has a spoiler, psuedo exhaust, and is convertible.

This is a view of only a portion of the competition track. There were roughly 500 cones for the police officers to go through or around. I didn't grab a map of the route to scan in. I'll see if anyone that was there saved one. It was a really extensive course. This is a video of some of the police bikes sitting behind the competition field. We were scoping them out while we could. There were Harley-Davidsons, BMWs, and a Honda ST in the competition. I may have missed a bike though.

This is a video of one of the very first competitors. As you can see, it seems to take for ever for them to bob and weave through the series of cones, but in actuality, it takes less than 3 minutes. Sorry for the language at one spot in the video. This cop did a great run. I can't imagine being the first person thru. He did a second run later on that seemed to be flawless.

Jess and Danny
Anna, Kim, and RickAmy and Darrel

Stress

I am not sure exactly how it works, but this is amazingly accurate. Read the full description before looking at the picture. The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital. Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins . The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing. Look at the photograph and if you find more than two differences you may want to take a vacation.

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By the way, I am currently on vacation until further notice ;-)

A View of the Bluebonnets Up Close

Yesterday a few of us did a day trip to Austin and back. 2 of us road to Round Rock and Marble Falls and then met back up with the rest of the gang. We then headed back to Houston. Round Rock and Marble Falls were awesome roads to ride. It was curve after curve after curve. I scraped floorboard a few times. It was SWEET! There was a particular 20mph curve that both Kim and I hit some soft dirt on the road and slid just a bit. Following is a shot of our bikes as we took a break on the side of hwy 71.
After about 2 hours of being on the side of the road, the sun started to set. Amy reminded me to get a shot of the sunset. It was very beautiful. This is a video of Kim and me on our way to Marble Falls. These back roads were so much fun. We'll have to do them again. Maybe next time we'll do an over night trip and camp when it's not so crazy cold when the sun goes down.

The name of this blog is a View of the Bluebonnets up close since we were actually broken down on the side of the highway for about 2 hours and Amy decided to get up close and personal with the flowers. My camera sux or I'd post the photo. I didn't even realize that over 2 hours had past since we called for a ride to get the broken down bike because we were entertaining ourselves so much. If only I'd gotten a picture of Amy in Kim's handball goggles with her pants pulled up to almost her armpits. :-) ROFLMAO! That image is forever burned onto the back of my retinas.

Oh, and the helmet cam was having issues. I missed the best videos because it just randomly didn't record and it's sideways in it's holder. *shrugs* oh well. Turn your screen sideways :P HAHAHA!