Harleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars

Road King Still Sick

Thought I had that electrical system problem repaired… but… no. The son-in-law took at look at the bike and decreed that the battery is dead, among other problems. So, after pouring quite a few hundred dollars into the Road King, I’m still not riding.

I spent six hours detailing the Road King over Memorial Day weekend. First, a serious wash, including deep into places in the frame and within the engine compartment that I haven’t touched for years. Ten years of road dirt hiding back in those dark recesses! Then I polished the paint.

Next, a trip to the automotive parts store, where I bought a half dozen different types of cleaners and polishers. I spent one afternoon cleaning and polishing chrome.

Took a trip to Woodstock Harley on Saturday, and that left me $200 lighter in the pocket! I’ve decided to chrome up the bike, so I dropped those two bills on new foot pegs for the crash bars and chromed up floor boards for the driver.

The detailing ground to a halt when I took a look at the wheel rims and spokes. That’s a huge job that requires considerable groveling in the gravel of my driveway.

I was congratulating myself on the overhaul… until the son-in-law called me with the bad news.

So… time to make some decisions. The Road King is ten years old, rusting in a few places and in need of a general renovation. Junk it? Try to sell it? Trade it in for a new model?

For the moment, I’ve decided it’s cheaper to keep her. I can probably renovate my horse for $5,000, without going into debt. A new Harley will set me back $20,000 minus whatever I can get for a trade-in or from a private sale.

I ordered a parts manual and a service manual from J&P Cycles, and I’m getting ready for a serious renovation of the Harley. Hope the job keeps going, because I’m going to need some money!

Saugerties Bans Pot Pipes… To Protect Supervisor’s Daughter!

Saugerties was the sight of Woodstock 1999! It’s the little sister of Woodstock, and a spillover location for hipsters who can’t afford to buy a house in our legendary little village. Why did Saugerties ban pot pipes? 

From the Woodstock Times:

Supervisor Kelly Myers said she was inspired to push for the law after her young daughter saw a glass pipe in the checkout line and, appreciating its colorful artistry, asked if she could have one.

While her daughter was unaware of the use to which these pipes are usually put, “it was a shiny object, and she was attracted to it,” Myers said.

The concern over the corruption of youth carries over into the law, which asserts that such pipes are being sold to minors despite a ban on sale to anyone under 18.

That’s right. There was no public uproar over the sale of pot pipes. One woman, who happened to be the Town Supervisor, decided to stop businesses from selling pot pipes solely for the sake of her daughter.

Oh, well, as goofy Woodstock stories goes, this is a minor one.

You might think that Woodstock is an oasis of libertinism and wildness. If you do, you’re wrong. Leftists love to regulate and prohibit things. It’s always for your own good, too. Well, it's for somebody's good!

My Uncle, Benny Mabbitt… Korean War Casualty

My uncle, Benny Mabbitt died in a training accident during the Korean War in 1953. He was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Oakland, California. Below, the entrance to St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Kentland, Indiana, where Benny is buried next to my grandparents. My family has suffered the scourge of war, like all families.

54,229 Americans died during the Korean War. 20,600 of these deaths were attributable to accidents like the one that killed Uncle Benny.

My mother is a tough, stoic German woman who is not given to emotional displays. But, when she remembers the death of her brother, she tears up and becomes furious. 60 years after Benny’s death, she still cannot forgive the government for this sacrifice.

And, I can understand. It’s one thing to get the news that your son or brother died a hero’s death in the middle of a pitched battle. Quite another when that death was for… nothing. Benny never even made it to Korea.

For some reason, Mom has always hated the Republican Party and considers it the party of war, although it was a Democratic President, Harry Truman, who committed U.S. troops to Korea. Oh, well…  What does it matter?

The sting of Uncle Benny’s death has not lessened over time. The bitterness and anger are never ending.

I never met my Uncle Benny. He never married and never had children. Thank you for your sacrifice, Uncle Benny. God bless you.

MV Agusta F4 Motorcycle… 201 Horsepower… 200 MPH!

This Italian sports bike is total overkill, and a major money drain! $25,000! Saw a TV show on this bike last night. It is a beautiful work of art, but where do you air out a 201 horsepower machine?

The high performance must be great, but it would scare the hell out of me. My 2003 Harley Road King only packs 88 horsepower, and it weights 700 pounds. When I really open up the throttle, the Road King rears back and takes off like a wild horse. On the Thruway, I cruise at 80 in fourth gear. When I decide to pass a car, I leave the car in the dust.

The new Harleys are closer to 100 horsepower. I don’t know what I would do with the extra thrust.

I’m no longer young and full of testosterone, so I don’t see the appeal of the MV Agusta. If you like to race, this bike will probably put you over the top. Wear plenty of protective gear.

If I were going to spend that kind of money on a new bike, it would look more like that baby in the picture above.

Voles Attack My Road King!!!

My 2003 Harley Road King has been going through electrical system problems. Speedometer stopped working. Neutral light went out. And, the turn signals don’t automatically turn off when I finish turning a corner. Woodstock Harley-Davidson tracked down the problem… And, below, is the culprit!

Voles are funny little mice who live in the woods. Every year, a few make their way into my house, and I have to snuff them out. A couple of years ago, I didn’t do a very good job of storing my side bags for the Road King, and they took up residence in the bags for the winter. When I opened the bags up in the spring, they were full of vole shit, piss and nesting material. Whew! What a stench!

The little bastards, unbeknown to me, also take up residence under the seat of the Road King when I store the bike for the winter. They don’t seem to go outside their nest to take a pee, so they’ve been peeing on the wiring underneath the seat!

How to keep them out! The repair shop at Harley says to fill up the space under the seat with dryer sheets… you know, those little pieces of paper that keep your laundry from wrinkling up.

This is war! Peeing on my Harley is a mortal offense. I will spare no effort to slaughter all of these critters.

Historic First… Old Dawgz Poster!

Hot off the presses! Well… hot off my iMac! I put this together to send out to prospective venues. Dusty Izzy has joined the bad. Our new drummer! We’ve had a couple of great rehearsals with Izzy, and we’re ready to roll.

Now, it’s crunch time for the Old Dawgz! We’re going to be playing a town day in a few weeks. Time to get out in front of people!

Guess Who Owns Those Evil Oil Companies!

The answer is… you and me! 99% of the shares of oil companies are held by public shareholders, and these shareholders are predominantly state workers and teachers union retirement funds. And, then there are all those middle class folks who have 401(k)s. Those horrible profits reaped by Big Oil pay for your pension.

So, we’d better hope that Big Oil continues to haul in those profit bucks. We’re already in deep shit trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for the pensions and benefits of state workers and teachers.

So, the next time you get pissed off about those evil oil companies… take a look in the mirror. You’re probably one of the owners.

So Lonesome I Could Cry

How much of that fierce political debate on the web is caused by sheer loneliness? I’m so tired of being alone. Myrna has been gone for 8 years. Living without her is painfully lonely. I find myself turning to the web and Facebook for somebody to talk with, and what do people do on Facebook? They argue about politics.

I could really give a shit less about politics, but I find myself getting into political arguments on FB that rapidly ratchet up into shouting matches. I don’t care who’s president, and I doubt that my life will be much affected by who’s president, but I find myself in impassioned debates about the upcoming election on FB.

I’m beginning to think that I’ll spend the rest of my life alone. Following Myrna is just too much to ask of any woman. And, trying to put together a romantic relationship when you’re in your mid-60s is a mess.

What if I become physically or mentally disabled? Why should I ask somebody I’ve only known for a few years to assume that burden? Why would I assume that burden for another woman? It takes five years to break in a relationship, to work out differences, and to adapt to one another. By the time I got a relationship together, I’d be approaching 70. And, what little stuff I’ve got, I’d like to leave to my kid. Hard to imagine why I would want to mix up financial resources with another woman at this point.

I’ve given up looking. The online thing doesn’t work. At least not for me. The correct starting point for getting together with a woman is lust, not a list of desired characteristics. And, I’m not really a conventional person. I’ve lived for 60 years as an outlaw. Myrna was an outlaw, too. How do you find an outlaw in the online dating scene? Answer… you don’t.

So, I find myself looking for somebody to talk with on FB. What a disaster! For some reason, the primary purpose of FB is screaming your hatred of other people’s politics. (I’m as much the culprit as anybody.)

Makes me wonder about all this political carrying on. Does it really matter? Are we all just lonely and bored? Seems likely to me.

Cubs Tick off the Mayor

One week before Memorial Day and the Cubs are already toast this season. The only reason to watch the games is to check out who the team brings up from the minors. The Cubs’ owners did manage to generate some controversy, when a member of the Ricketts’ family considered funding a TV campaign criticizing President Obama.

The plan was to create a series of TV ads highlighting Obama’s two decade long association with the black racist, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Both Chicago papers have labeled this a “smear” campaign, although there is no question that Obama sat there listening to Wright’s racist, anti-semitic and hate America rants.

Remember, the mayor of Chicago is, Rahm Emmanuel, a close associate of Obama. Emmanuel is pissed. The Cubs have been trying to convince the city of Chicago to pitch in with public funding for a renovation of Wrigley Field, and this political squabble seems to have set that project back a bit.

Obama’s association with Wright is not the only troubling story about Obama this week. The other is that his publisher identified him as having been born in Kenya. It’s amazing how little we know about Obama.

It’s particularly amazing because Steve Sailer wrote an excellent book about Obama, based on Obama’s autobiographical book “Dreams from My Father,” back before the 2007 election. Sailer’s book is “America’s Half-Blood Prince.”

This story is the most exciting thing happening to the Cubs this year.  It's going to be a long summer.

It's a Beautiful Day

Gorgeous day in Woodstock! I'm getting ready to go for a 20 mile bike ride to Phoenicia. Before I go, thought I'd leave you with this great LSD song from the band It's a Beautiful Day. The name of the song is "White Bird."

I met David and Linda LaFlamme, the lead singers of the band, when I lived in San Francisco. That's another story for another day.

The first image in the video is the album cover for the band's first LP. One of the great album covers in music history.

Shouting Thomas DIY Motorcycycle Repair

My 2003 Harley Road King is almost ten years old and, by the end of the season, will have logged 20,000 miles! How will I keep what is now a pretty old bike maintained? I don’t want the damned thing to sit in the shop all the time.

No, that’s not my bike in the picture above. I’m just dramatizing.

I found a great motorcycle repair site for the do-it-yourself guy, Dan’s Online Motorcycle Repair Course. Dan has some good ideas about how to learn basic motorcycle repair.

His first suggestion is to buy a junker for 500 bucks, tear it down and put it back together in working order. Don’t try to fix your $20,000 Harley! This seems like damned good advice.

The Road King needs a thorough detailing. I started last week by bleaching the white walls. Had to repeat about a half dozen times before the stains started to disappear. Now, I’ve got beauitiful white tires. This weekend, I’ll start on the spokes and brakes. How do you shine up a disc brake? (Just did a web search and, of course, there are a bunch of products designed specifically for shining up your disc brakes.)

Little things are starting to go wrong on my Road King. The neutral light is dead. I’m beginning to notice some odd electrical system bugs… like my turn signals don’t turn off automatically after I turn a corner. As I wrote in a previous post, my speedometer isn’t working, probably because of a bad speedometer cable or connection.

The Harley shop charges 75 bucks an hour! And, taking the bike to Harley means I can’t ride for a week.

I'm gonna have to learn to do some of the basic stuff by myself. That’s a picture of Dan in his motorcycle shop up above. So, I’ve got a new hobby… motorcycle repair!

Kurzweil’s Singularity

I first encountered the work of Ray Kurzweil because I bought an electronic keyboard that he designed, the Kurzweil PC2X. It produces a grand piano sound that is stunningly accurate. Here, he discusses what he calls “The Singularity.”

Charlton Griffen Performs “The Gospel of John”

I downloaded “The Gospel of John” from audible.com a few days ago. Charlton Griffen, a Facebook friend, performs (and I do mean performs) the great story, reading the Gospel aloud. I am so accustomed to hearing the Gospels read in a perfunctory, droning manner in church. The stories take on an entirely different character when they benefit from dramatic performance.

“In the beginning was the word,” is Charlton’s opening line… intoned with Shakespearian thunder.

I’m a programmer, so I think a lot about the word as the beginning of things.

“The Gospel of John” comes to me at a point in my life where I’m very receptive to hearing it again. After a long life, I’m circling back to the beginning, trying to understand once again why I believe in and honor God the Father. Not just in a pro forma sense, but with true understanding of His nature.

Dramatic reading dramatically changes the story of Christ. Griffen makes the story feel as if it is happening in the present, that it is happening to people just like me and you… struggling, confused mortals. The story of Christ has survived for thousands of years because it tells a basic truth about human experience. We are mortal. We do not want to die. We suffer. We want God to give us hope that our suffering will be redeemed.

Griffen’s performance of the Gospel will change the way you perceive this story. He has clearly read the Gospels again and again in an effort to find and dramatize the story.

The audible books format is great. You can download the files to your smart phone or tablet and play back at will. And, “The Gospel of John” was cheap. 7 bucks.

I still don’t know exactly who is this God the Father.  Since my own father's death, I've thought that the term is quite literal.  My father, a great and kind man, was my direct connection to God.

I was driving with Father Rod the other day and we heard George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” on Sirius Radio. I think that this is one of the great statements of faith in the Lord and yearning to become one with the Lord. We laughed and sang along with the departed Beatle. I’ll leave you with that.  God wants us to laugh and sing.

 

Harvard Should Fire Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren committed fraud to nab her job as a law prof at Harvard. She claimed to be an Injun, but that turned out to be all fabrication. She's lilly white. Warren scammed the quota system. Worse yet, her family actually herded Indians to the reservations in Oklahoma. Harvard, it seems to me, has little choice but to can this fraud.

Pretty funny pic, huh? That's Warren, Photoshopped into the pic as Tonto.

The quota system is rife with fraud and incompetence. The myth is that quota recipients are qualified for their job, but that they are just getting a little help to make up for historical injustices.

My first job out of college, I was hired as second in command to a quota baby. She was an absolute incompetent. I ended up doing her work.

Since then, I've relived that nightmare half a dozen times. Every time, the quota recipient is incompetent and, worse yet, knows it. The choice is always to do the quota baby's job, or let the entire enterprise sink in failure.

There are thousands of Elizabeth Warrens out there scamming the system. The quota system doesn't only promote incompetents, it is a vehicle for corruption and dirty dealing.

Harvard should fire this con artist. And, it's time to shut down the quota system.