I was headed into work on my 2004 BMW R1150R this morning and noticed that there was a HUGE traffic jam on the highway. I skittered off the highway, conveniently near the comic book shop where I play games from time to time. I filled Raider’s gas tank up, and went into a nearby Starbucks. I let my manager know I was going to be late due to the traffic jam, and enjoyed a tall Americano.

Twenty minutes later I was caffeinated and ready to brave the highway again. I mounted Raider, he started right up, and I motored to the intersection. My foot slipped a little as I came to a stop, which was kind of odd considering the road was bone dry a second before and the sky was clear. Then I smelled gas.
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My friend Ghost Rider passed away on July 4th, 2007. The following fall his mother and family put together a benefit ride to Yorktown, Virginia. We did it again this year, this time heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The weather called for rain for most of the day. I was not deterred for a moment — I’ve ridden in the rain plenty of times and have specialized gear that goes on top of my protective clothing — but I was afraid the event would be postponed until the next day. I already had plans for Sunday, and didn’t want to miss out. I put on wicking bottoms and top, my Motoport mesh kevlar pants and my Teknic perforated leather jacket. I stuffed my waterproof gear in the side case and motored off to the rallying point: the Starbucks where Ghost Rider used to work, and where we met for the first time.
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I have been unhappy with my 2002 BMW K 1200 LTE ever since my trip to Georgia in the spring. The bike is too big and top heavy for riding around town (or in a traffic jam), and has such a big aerodynamic profile that a side-wind makes the bike feel very unstable. I also think the bike was a little too advanced for me to ride in substandard conditions, and if there was any hint of poor weather I’d opt for my FZ6 instead.

So, I put Raptor up for sale on Craig’s List. I got a lowball offer and declined it. Then I heard from a fellow in North Carolina, offering to trade me his K 1200 RS, the sportier version of my bike. I replied, stating that I wanted something smaller and more street-friendly. I didn’t expect to hear back from him, but he replied a few hours later offering his 2004 R1150R plus some cash. I bit.
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I never thought I would be this disappointed to drive my Mazdaspeed3, but it’s true. I have to break my motorcycling streak in order to take Kaylee in for a 12,000 mile service. The streak was 39 work days in a row, almost two months of working! I don’t know what’s more impressive: riding to work that many days in a row, or the fact I haven’t been fired yet ;).

I promised Wayne at Motoport I would post his email to me in its entirety. I have only removed my first name from his email. I posted this on advrider.com’s equipment forum, but I am unsure if the post will be allowed to stay because I posted on behalf of a merchant. So I’m reposting it here. I will quote Wayne’s comments, and bold my rebuttal.
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I ordered my kevlar gear from Motoport almost three months ago today. I have returned the jacket twice for alterations, and the pants once. The gear has never come back as I wanted it, and at this point the jacket fits worse than my $150 Tourmaster Transition II jacket. Here’s the story how wanting to resolve a problem with a small-time vendor wound up costing me a little over $650 on a jacket that doesn’t fit right.
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DreamHost, my usually awesome Web hosting company, has been down for most of the day. Apparently one of their network backbones suffered some sort of disruption. Access to Gibberish has been intermittent or completely down for the last sixteen hours.

As much as I love DreamHost, does anyone know of a good Web hosting company that has built-in support for WordPress and Gallery 2?

Hey, what should one man with two motorcycles do? Buy a third one!

I’ve been wanting to accessorize/customize a motorcycle for awhile, but have been afraid to tinker with either one of my “real” bikes. A few months ago I started looking around for a motorcycle that I could buy for less than $2000.

This was harder than I thought it would be. ;)
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I wrote a post about Sergeant’s SentryPro XFC topical flea and tick product almost a year and a half ago. The treatment threw Porter and Rosie into an allergic reaction that consisted of trembling, panting, scratching, and “air licking.” I made the post because I was upset. I was upset at Sergeant’s for putting the product out. I followed the directions and BOTH of my dogs has an adverse reaction. I was also upset at myself for not using my usual Frontline (which I’ve never had a problem with before or since the SentryPro incident).

So, I made the post in May of 2007. I had no idea that thousands of people would read the post, hundreds would comment, dozens would email me personally, and the post would be the number one Google search result for “SentryPro XFC.” I got mentioned on The Consumerist. Some of my readers started a class action lawsuit.

It took all of that an sixteen months, but Sergeant’s finally responded.

People who have posted a comment in the past are automatically emailed when someone makes a new comment, so hundreds of people got an email tonight with Sergeant’s reply. A few people have already started to reply …. I have a feeling this isn’t over by a long shot.

I bought my Samsung ML-1430 when I lived in Oregon about six years ago. I bought it for about $150 at Office Max, and it served me very well. It died about four months ago when it suffered a paper jam. When I went looking for a replacement, I knew I wanted another Samsung. I also knew I wanted a laser (especially after the bullshit I’ve gone through with my Brother inkjet). I also wanted a printer that could be run over a home network and had duplex printing. I didn’t want color, and I didn’t care (too much) about print speed.

I picked up the Samsung ML-2851 ND $115 shipped on eBay. How would it stack up against my trusty 1430?
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