…In my current job that is, where I’ve also had four title changes and I’ve worked under 4 different CEO’s.
I wasn’t expecting anything from anyone, but it seems I have some pretty cool colleagues who totally caught me by surprise when they stayed back at work the night before to give my office space an extreme makeover
Imagine my surprise when the next day, I walked in to find this…
Extreme makeover
I work with some great people 
Ride to Work Day is Monday, June 15th. Ride to work, …or ride just for fun, …or for your daily errands. And tell your riding and non-riding friends about the event. Riding from A to B is important, especially on Ride to Work Day, when all riders can help increase awareness about the benefits of riding. Your support and participation will help make a positive difference for everyone.
Ride your motorcycle or scooter on this day to demonstrate:
- The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians.
- That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life.
- That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities.
- That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation.
- That motorcycling is a social good.
Ride to Work Day is a 501 c4 nonprofit. For more information, check out the Ride To Work site.
Tags: Motorcycle, Ride to work, Scooter
The guys at Race Tech had the bike for 3 weeks, but today it was ready to be picked up.
Cindy and I got to Race Tech HQ around 9am, and as soon as I spotted the bike I noticed things had changed. It had the new Race Tech shocks on it. But the stance was also very different – more aggressive looking with the back raised. As soon as I sat on the bike I noticed the handle bars moved easier. I was expecting to be tippy toed, with the back as high as it was, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I had no problems flat footing. The front forks had been raised in the clamps also.
We then went on a test ride – what a transformation! It turned so much easier and the ride feedback was awesome. It was obvious that I was leaning further forward, which felt a lot better. Todd took me on a loop around the area that included some freeway, some back roads and a particularly nasty patched, potholed section – it was a great test that helped me get a sense of the range of changes that had been made and their effect on the ride. Todd is around my size and height. Consequently the sag, compression and rebound settings were spot on for me.
When we got back to the shop, we talked about the experience. Todd then suggested we fit the Ohlins to the bike and take it out for another spin. While the guys were working on swapping out the shocks, Todd asked if I wanted to take his Speed Triple out for a run – sure, why not. What a great bike – I could really see myself owning one of those one day.
Back from my jaunt on the triumph, it was time to take the XR out again, this time with the Ohlins fitted. It was immediately apparent that the rear was not as high, as a result, the front didn’t turn as sharply. As we rode down the freeway I noticed that the front end now seemed more ‘bouncy’. We pulled off on a side street and Todd made some adjustments – we maxed out the ride height on the Ohlins and backed off the compression and rebound on the forks – much better. The ride was much much more compliant, but the steering was still not as good as it was with the longer rear shocks.
We got back to the shop and talked more about the differences. I discussed with Todd my options for the bike. We talked about the riser block that I had on order that would be used with the Ohlins versus using the longer Race Tech shocks.We also talked about the impact of taking weight off the bike, possibly changing the front wheel to a 17″, and looking at some alternative trees.
Long story short, I decided to go with the Race Tech shocks. Anybody want to buy a slightly used pair of Ohlins?
Overall it was a great experience. The guys at Race Tech are top notch and really know their stuff. I will definitely be going back to them for any future suspension/handling needs.
Here’s a picture of the bike, with a few extra bits and pieces added, several hours after I got it home. Let me know what you think…
Tags: Back Roads, Clamps, Freeway, Handle Bars, Legs, Ohlins, Race Tech, Rebound, Sag, Shocks, Triumph
Well, that was fun.
Making up the bedding mix with the pre-soaked coconut coir (pronounced ‘choir’) was a little challenging (straining the coconut coir from the bucket) and a little messy.
The instructions that came with the worm crib are okay, but they fail to specify at what point you add the worms.
Once you’ve strained the coconut coir, you mix in some soil (couple of hand fulls) and add the food scraps. The idea is that the first tray should be full and the second tray should be partially filled. When the 2nd tray is sitting on top of the 1st tray, the mixture should be touching be bottom of the 2nd tray -- following this?
Okay, so I did all that, washed my hands, and then proceeded to unpack the worms.
The (1lbs) red worms that I bought came in what appears to be coconut coir, together in a breathable bag, inside of a box. The worms also come with instructions, which are actually better (and more detailed) than those that you get with the worm crib.
Note to self: while filling the 1st tray with bedding mix, account for the volume that 1lb of worms would add.
Once everything is added, simply put the tray(s) back on the base, place the lid on top, and that’s it.
Now I need to read up on feeding frequency and maintaining moisture levels.
Anyway, check out the pictures I added in the gallery.
And here’s a short video of the worms in action -- look at what #172 is doing to #833 -- such little devils…
Tags: Bedding, Coconut Coir, Crib Note, Little Devils, Mixture, Moisture Levels, Note To Self, Red Worms, Soil, Worm
Generally speaking a ’squid’ is an inexperienced rider who rides with no gear, and is a danger to himself and others on the road.
I was recently prompted to confirm my understanding of the origins of the term (always thought squid was short for squirrely rider) and came across a few interesting alternatives, such as Stupidly Quick Until I Die, as well as some other terms/references for the same stereotype – my new favourite being skin crayon…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_(motorcycle)
Tags: Inexperienced Rider, Motorcycle, Origins, Squid, Stereotype, Wiki, Wikipedia
I’m not really a tree hugger, but I am keen on the idea of minimizing, where and when possible and practicable my footprint. Some of our current “environmentally friendly” practices include;
- Using a clothes line (we don’t own a dryer)
- Recycling the dogs bath water out to the plants in the backyard
- Taking our used cans and bottles to the recycling center
- Disposing of oil and tires at authorized disposal centers
- Xeriscape gardening
- Only putting our outside trash out when it’s full
- Taking public transport to and from work – approx 2 hours one way (Cindy Van-pools)
- Taking 3 min showers (Cindy struggles with this one)
- Turning the tap off while brushing teeth
Anyway, you get the idea.
So I’d been thinking for a long time about composting as a way to reduce our trash even further, and to help condition the crappy soil we have in both our front and backyard. Holding units, turning units, sheets, heaps, pits – they all have their pros and cons, but after much research and conversations with others, I decided to go with vermicomposting.
I placed an order for a 3 tray garden compost bin and a pound of red wiggler worms – scheduled to be delivered later this week.
As you may or may not know, worms do miraculous things to convert kitchen waste into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. And they do it relatively quickly. The bin itself seems well designed, it’s vetilated, won’t attract flies, and doesn’t stink (apparently), but one of the cooler things about this set up is that it has a spout at the bottom and a mechanism to capture worm tea (yes, I said ‘tea’ ) – liquid gold for your plants.
Anyway, it should be fun and I hope it works out. I think the trick here will be to not get too attached to the worms (I won’t be naming them).
I’ll post more when I get everything set up – with pictures.
Tags: Back Yard, Bath Water, Compost Bin, Disposing Of Oil, Drier, Footprint, Garden Compost, Heaps, Kitchen Waste, Liquid Gold, Recycling Center, Red Wiggler Worms, Rich Compost, Spout, Tree Hugger, Van Pools, Worm Poop, Worm Tea
Sunday night, 8:30pm, Cindy and I had just sat down to watch a movie (Changeling). Nine minutes into it and it starts. It’s really hard to gauge time during an event like this. It probably only lasted seconds, but it sure felt like it went on longer than I wanted it to.
I’ve been living in California for about 11 years now. In that time I’ve experienced several earthquakes.. The last one – that I can recall – woke me up in my sleep. I can remember thinking I was on a boat. Again, it seemed like it lasted a while but on that occasion, it was rather calming. Not the case last night.
So the epicenter was apparently in Lennox/Inglewood area (near LAX), about 10 miles east of us – I guess the rolling experiences come with quakes that are further away.
It felt like something took a hold of the house and was trying to uproot it. We both remained on seated the couch. Not sure about Cindy, but my mind didn’t really register and digest what was going on. Mati came running out of the bedroom, looking for somewhere to hide. Banging, knocking, rumbling, falling – it was loud, seemed like it was getting worse. Once the violence stopped, I got up, not knowing or understanding if there was more to come, and started to walk out of the house to assess the damage as the aftershocks rumbled the floor boards beneath me.
Mati was shaking like a leaf and I all of a sudden realized I had a massive headache.
A few things fell off shelves and high places, but otherwise, everything seemed okay. As I opended the back door, Mati scampered out. She then refused to come back into the house (who could blame her). We spent much of the next couple of hours calling friends and recieving calls checking to see if everyone was okay. We both also spent some time with Mati, helping her calm down and feel relaxed and safe.
Reports from USGS said it was a 5.0
It wasn’t until 10pm before we sat down again to continue watching the movie, 12:30 before I hit the sac.
I found it to be a rather uncomfortable experience – larger than me and out of my control. I spoke with a few friends shortly after and mentioned how I really didn’t know what to do or how to react. The most common feedback was to take cover under a solid, sturdy piece of furniture, although I’m not sure that Ikea furniture qualifys as either…
Tags: Aftershocks, California Rolls, Earthquakes, Epicenter, Experiences, Living In California, Massive Headache, Quakes
While it’s still early in the (work) day, I am soooo glad it’s Friday. This has been like the longest week ever – and not just because of the 13-14 hour work days. It’s times like these that I fiind myself thinking about what matters to me, what’s important in my life, and what’s not. Ahh, but I have a plan, and yes it’s in motion. Hopefully It will help me see beyond this situation and deal better with everything that’s going on around me at the moment.
Anyway, enough of that – so I just wanted to give a bit of an update on what’s been going on;
Work + crappy weekend weather = not much.
While the weeked weather’s been average, I’ve been trying to catch up on stuf that needs doing around the house. This weekend I plan to tackle a long standing plumbing problem that will require spelunking (under the house) and working in tight, damp conditions, with little room to move. I seriously hoping it is something that I can fix myself. Guess I’ll know more tomorrow.
Ordered a few more parts for the XR which will probably take a week or two to get here. If there is time over the weekend, I have the new braided front brake lines to install also.
Cindy will be out with friends most of Saturday which should work out just fine. If I’m lucky, and I can get everything done, maybe we’ll free up Sunday to do something fun.
Speaking of doing something fun – not sure why, but I’ve been thinking lately about taking a day off work to go to the Zoo – it’s been more than a few years.
That’s it for now.
