WOW!! What a Ride!!

Life's is not a journey to the grave; to arrive safely in a well preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, totally worn out, penniless, and severely scarred shouting "HOLY FUCK.....WHAT A RIDE!!!"

The past week was... stressful. I decided to ‘ride’ Friday after work to clear my mind. It works, it’s great. I had to run home first and check on a couple things... so I didn’t get out on the road until 7.

“A Ride” – I have recently come to find out that what I call a ride and what others call a ride seem to be very different. Most people go 10-15 miles. Cruise around their neighborhoods, explore some other neighborhoods. With the speed limits, they are gone 20-40 min. I ‘ride’ (especially if it is a clear my head ride) with two basic philosophies. 1 – It’s not the destination, it’s the ride. Basically just go. No plans, no place I ‘have’ to be, just riding to ride. 2 – Sometimes it takes a full tank of gas to clear your head.

Number 2 is a big one for me, I left at 7, got home about 11:30. Rode 135 miles. Not quite a tank of gas but 90% of it anyway. Cleared my head well. On the last 40-50 miles I caught up with a Porsche. We ‘raced’ along at 80-90 miles per hour down I-69. Me leading, him leading. Running in and out of traffic. It WAS A BLAST!!

I am aware that this ‘pushing the edge’ stuff is part of who I am (lots of reflecting this weekend). The adrenalin is... cool. I enjoy it.

Sooo... If I have another close call, I’ll try to post it here, not looking for sympathy. Just to give you all the opportunity to say ‘told you so’. And to give me an outlet for some of this adrenalin.

EDIT - fixed typos...

Repetition Breeds Contentment

You can do something and have it freak you out. You do it again and maybe you aren’t quite as freaked. Eventually you can just do it. People over come a fear of water, bugs all kids of things. Even people that work at your waste water treatment plant don’t really smell the place any more.

Turn that in to learning a new skill or re-learning an older one and you can very quickly get a false since of security.

I’ve been riding a motor cycle this time for about 3 years. I’ve noticed recently that I’m riding faster and faster. 70-80 in a 55, 65-70 in a 45, 85-90 in a 70...

Today coming home, I was going fast. I’d even say showing off, if there had been someone keeping up with me. I slowed to turn into my neighborhood and down shifted. Hit the brakes and distinctly remember deciding not to down shift again. I swung into the turn, fast. Too fast. It was a right hand turn, with left hand turns, your kick stand will drag, often. For me, almost never the right side... this time SCRAAPE!!! The loudest metal on asphalt sound I have ever heard.

Instinctively my right foot went out to catch myself from a fall. My leg snapped back from the speed I was going and hit the passenger floor board so hard I twisted it on its mount. I couldn’t make my foot hit the passenger board if I had to. My foot was kinda pinned there and I scrapped off about and eighth of an inch off the toe of my shoe.

The bike slowed, I righted it. It was going really slow, I almost dropped it.

I have no idea what happened between deciding not to down shift, my toe dragging and the bike going really slow.

I never hit the ground, except my toe. There doesn’t’ seem to be a bunch of scrapes on the bike, although the right floor board (drivers) was bent up about an inch. Everything works, on the bike and me. Although my right ankle has a tennis ball sized swollen lump on it. It hurts like hell.

I need to slow down. I think I learned my lesson.

What Have I Done???

Gawd!! I hate not having facial hair. I hadn't trimmed the ol goatee since about April... then WHACK. I cut the whole thing off. Yuck!! And don't ya just love the double chin??

Shopping 101

Guys - For those of you that get dragged to Wal Mart to ‘shop’, here are some fun things to do to break up the boredom.

Ladies - We will entertain ourselves, drag us along at your own risk.

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Take boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they aren't looking.

Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

Walk up to an employee and tell them in an official voice, "Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away."

Go to the Service Desk and put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

Move a "CAUTION - WET FLOOR" sign to a carpeted area.

Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers they can come in if they will bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

When a clerk asks if they can help you he began crying and screamed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

Look right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while picking your nose.

While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk where the antidepressants are.

Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the " Mission Impossible" theme.

In the auto department, practice your "Madonna look " by using different sizes of funnels.

Hide in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yell "PICK ME! PICK ME!"

When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume a fetal position and scream "OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"

Go into a fitting room, shut the Door, wait awhile, then yell very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!!!”

Math Is My Friend

Math, I love math. Rules are rules, 1+1=2. Can't stand English. i before e except after c... WTF??

I can remember numbers, my SS#, my wife’s SS#, my desk phone, office and cell phone numbers, my wife’s cells (2), office and pager numbers. But I have to ask spell check if I spelled squirrel right...

Numbers I just remember, and stuff like this;


Everyone knows if a number is divisible by 2 or 5, right. How about some other numbers?

Dividing by 2

All even numbers are divisible by 2. E.g., all numbers ending in 0,2,4,6 or 8.

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Dividing by 3

Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 3, so is the number
For example: 12123 (1+2+1+2+3=9) 9 is divisible by 3, therefore 12123 is too!

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Dividing by 4

Are the last two digits in your number divisible by 4?
If so, the number is too!
For example: 358912 ends in 12 which is divisible by 4, thus so is 358912.

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Dividing by 5

Numbers ending in a 5 or a 0 are always divisible by 5.

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Dividing by 6

If the Number is divisible by 2 and 3 it is divisible by 6 also.

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Dividing by 7 (2 Tests, either/or)

Take the last digit in a number.
Double and subtract the last digit in your number from the rest of the digits.
Repeat the process for larger numbers.
Example: 357 (Double the 7 to get 14. Subtract 14 from 35 to get 21 which is divisible by 7 and we can now say that 357 is divisible by 7.

NEXT TEST
Take the number and multiply each digit beginning on the right hand side (ones) by 1, 3, 2, 6, 4, 5. Repeat this sequence as necessary
Add the products.
If the sum is divisible by 7 - so is your number.
Example: Is 2016 divisible by 7?
6(1) + 1(3) + 0(2) + 2(6) = 21
21 is divisible by 7 and we can now say that 2016 is also divisible by 7.

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Dividing by 8

This one's not as easy, if the last 3 digits are divisible by 8, so is the entire number.
Example: 6008 - The last 3 digits are divisible by one, therefore, so is 6008.

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Dividing by 9

Almost the same rule and dividing by 3. Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 9, so is the number.
For example: 43785 (4+3+7+8+5=27) 27 is divisible by 9, therefore 43785 is too!

It Was a Good Day

Saturday started at 0300. It should have started at 0900 but the missus wanted to have breakfast Saturday morning before I went on a PGR mission, with some PGR folks she hasn’t seen in a while. Well, then she proceeds to say out till 0100 and informs me as she crawls into bed, that she is gong to sleep in... Jeese. Those people she hasn’t seen in a while are going to be there so I CAN’T sleep in.

So, I’m up at 0330 (read O-Butt thirty), dragging my tired ass around (I was up till 2300 hours Friday night trying to sew... (that’s another blog post at another time, promise) trying not to wake anyone.

It was 38 degrees here Saturday morning and predicted to be 68 for a high. Leather was the uniform for the day but I had to be sure there was room in the saddle bags to put things as I warmed up.

0400 - I head out. After a summer of 33 90+ degree days my blood has thinned, bad. My coat wasn’t zipped completely, no gloves and no head covering except for a very thin skull cap. And for those that don’t know, no windshield (a.k.a. - wuss shield) I love the cold, I am almost never cold. Last year I rode in 20 degree weather.

It is 8 miles from my house to the first meeting place. How do I say this... FUCK me it was cold!!! By the time I got to the first McDs (and there was no interstate riding) I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. My gawd I was cold. On go the gloves, skull mask, zip the coat up to my neck and zip the sleeves closed. I was better, and we were on to the second stop for breakfast and hot coffee. I was much better.

Enough about me. The real reason for Saturdays trip. The 1744th was coming home!! 150 members of The 1744th Transportation Company were coming home after 17 months in the sand box, all of them!!

We, about 20 of us, met with them at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, IN. We rode up I-65, around Indy on I-465 then west on I-74 to the Indiana Illinois line. At the IL line about 50 Illinois riders joined us and we went on to I-39 and up to Streater, IL.

The IL State police escorted us the whole way. About 10 miles into IL the bridges were full of people waiving flags and waiving at their Illinois sons and daughters coming home. At the Streater city limits we were picked up by two fire trucks and a Streater city police officer. Sirens screaming, lights flashing, we entered the town. The streets were lined with flags and well wishers. Children, grand parents, parents, brothers and sisters lined the streets with signs ‘welcome home’, ‘we are proud of you’, welcome home John, your family missed you’.

In the central park are of the town several hundred (maybe a thousand, I can’t estimate crowds) people were waiting. As the heroes got off the buses you could hear the families call out ‘Johnny, we missed you’. The solders, not yet relieved from duty, had to off load and form ranks one more time.

As they walked by, many... most were mugged by family. Long hugs from tearful family. A husband smelling his now year old son for the first time. A mother holding her now walking and nearly talking 3 year old.

As the solders were being dismissed we crossed the street and had some late lunch at the local VFW. Shortly after that we left.

Here are a couple videos and pics. They’re from my phone, so give me a break on the quality, but I think you’ll get an idea of the festivities.







Now for the mission of missions and to date, the greatest honor I have had with the PGR.

While we were in Camp Atterbury some of us decided to ride on to Illinois. The reason, the Sr. Ride Captain from IL, Greg Bowman died last weekend in a motorcycle accident. He had just logged 20K miles in 20 weeks, on PGR missions. Because our first mission is funerals of KIA and in effect Greg was in action, in our minds. We reasoned that many of the IL riders would be there and not able to meet the 1744.

News of Greg’s death had reached these troops. In a brief but very honorable ceremony Caption Jennings presented us, the riders going all the way to Streater, IL, with a flag. Not just A flag, THEIR flag. Yeah, the flag they had flown in Iraq for 16 months at their duty station. It was their request, that we present this flag, as a token of their appreciation for his service to Americas Military, to Mrs. Bowman.

During our quick dinner, it was decided that I *gulp* should present the flag to Mrs. Bowman... wow, this is more of an honor than I can describe. I’m glad it was about an hour to Princeton, IL because I spent the time composing my self and trying to find some words that might express what I was feeling and what needed to be said.

When we got there, the official service was over so we went to the Bowman’s house. About 25 members of the family were there and gathered around and I presented THE flag. It has never been harder for me to speak. I think I did ok.

20 hours after leaving home, 675 miles passed. 150 Heroes are home. THE flag has been presented. A widow knows her husband will not be forgotten. Tears were shed. Hugs were exchanged. New friendships have been formed.

And I am humbled.

It was a good day.

Blogroll is Back

Take a look, there are some great reads over there. If I forgot ya, tuff... hahah
Seriously, send me a message and I'll be sure you get on the Roll.

Friday Funnies - A Late Arrival

The marriage of an 80 year old man and a 20 year old woman was the talk of the town. After being married a year, the couple went to the hospital for the birth of their first child. The attending nurse came out of the delivery room to congratulate the old gentleman and said, "This is amazing. How do you do it at your age?"

The old man grinned and said, "You got to keep the old motor running."

The following year, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their second child. The same nurse was attending the delivery and again went out to congratulate the old gentleman. She said, "Sir, you are something else. How do you manage it?"

The old man grinned and said, "You gotta keep the old motor running."

A year later, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their third child. The same nurse was there for this birth also and, after the delivery, she once again approached the old gentleman, smiled, and said, "Well, you surely are something else! How do you do it?"

The old man replied, "It's like I've told you before, you gotta keep the old motor running."

The nurse, still smiling, patted him on the back and said: Well, I guess it's time to change the oil. This one's black."

Friday Funnies

The only cow in a small town in Arkansas stopped giving milk. The people did some research and found they could buy a cow up in Indiana, for $200.00.

They bought the cow from Indiana and the cow was wonderful. The cow produced lots of milk, and the people were very happy. They decided to acquire a bull to mate with the cow and produce more cows so they would never have to worry about their milk supply again.

They bought a bull and put it in the pasture with their beloved cow. However whenever the bull came close to the cow, the cow would move away. No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he could not succeed in his quest.

The people were very upset and decided to ask the Vet, who was very wise, what to do. They told the Vet what was happening. "Whenever the bull approaches our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. An approach from the side and she walks away to the other side."

The Vet thinks about this for a minute and asked, "Did you buy this cow in Indiana?"

The people were dumbfounded, since they had never mentioned where they bought the cow.

"You are truly a wise Vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow in Indiana?"

The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye, "My wife is from Indiana."

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You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3 The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading.

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady because she is injured and will die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams."

Sometimes we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to "Think outside of the box."

HOWEVER.. (I wonder who the hell decided this was the correct answer?!?)

The correct answer to me is to run the old lady over and put her out of her misery, have sex with the perfect partner on the hood of the car, then drive off with the old friend for a few beers.

Gawd, [wipes tear] I just love happy endings!!!!

Remember

I just finished reading Freddie’s recount of that day... And thought I’d like to get my memories down before the sands of time wear them to a nearly unperceivable dream. Like an old coin, nearly worn smooth. You still know it is a nickel, or quarter but the details are gone.

Just as I was walking into work Larry asked me if I had heard about the plane that crashed into the WTC. My mind flashed to a single engine Cessna hitting the tower(s). Some little plane that would do some damage and besides the pilot there would be no deaths.

“Where did you here that?”, I asked.

Larry said “Bob and Tom”.

heh “yeah, right”

Shit heads, I thought. Bob and Tom are doing some War Of The Worlds spoof. Guess they got you Larry, I was still thinking.

I went to my cube and started my day, doing things. At some point I was at the copier and realized there was a small group of people standing in one of the execs offices (he had a TV) watching something. I headed that way expecting a cooking show, or some morning news show with semi-nude pole dancers. Before I could enter the office Carolyn came out with her hand over her mouth, visibly shaken and crying.

OMG... as I stepped in they were showing a close up of the first tower on fire. I stood there in complete disbelief.

Then... right... there... before my God damned eyes, the second plane hit the second tower. WTF!!!

I don’t remember how long I stood there. I do know I didn’t get much work done. I saw President Bush interrupt the book reading in Florida. I heard there was a helicopter crash at the Pentagon and later learned it was the 3rd plane.

Then the 4th plane... I’m from Pennsylvania. It hit about 100 miles from where I grew up.

Somewhere in that haze of crashes, death and the news announcements. I realized this was cross intercontinental planes being used as weapons.

September of 2001 my brother was employed by US Airways. He was on a flight crew with US Airways. He almost always did the Charlotte to Los Angeles flight, intercontinental...

I called him... voice mail.

The news is talking about other planes and more possible attacks. All planes are landing. The FFA has grounded all flights

I called him... voice mail.

I called my mom. My parents are simple folk. My mom could easily go weeks with out seeing TV. I knew she had not heard about any of this when I talked to her. I tried to explain it to her and convey the gravity of the situation. She didn’t get it. Not when I talked to her. We hung up with her promising if she heard from Ian that she’d call me right away.

I called him... voice mail.

At home that evening I, like many, watched the news non stop. I don’t remember eating dinner. I had to know why and, if it was what we thought, just what the hell were we going to do about it!

About 10 hours after reality hit me in the head with a 2x4, Ian called. He had been in route to LA. They had been diverted to New Orleans and spent 6 or 7 hours in the plane waiting for a security check every person and to get them cleared. They had landed under fighter escort. He was going to be stuck in New Orleans until the airline decide to bring him home.

In the days that followed, I remember looking up into a bright blue crystal clear sky and seeing nothing, hearing nothing, no con-trails, no planes. There are always con-trails, it was eerie.

I wanted to go to NYC so bad, I would have gone to NYC to help. I so wanted to help. To do anything...

I flew a flag on my car window until I could no longer find them at the store. Had to be close to 3 years. The flag had polished a 8”-9” arc on the roof of my car. Now a days I fly a 3x4 flag on the bike.

I will not forget.

Patriot Day

Remember???

This is the 6th anniversary of one of the longest and hardest days of my life.

This is Patriot Day!!! Fly a flag. Say a prayer. Thank a solder.

Look over here........

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Remember, never, NEVER forget!!!

(Update - If this doesn't make sence, click the time stamp below, it should then)

What A Weekend

My bike has been giving me fits the last week or so. Sputtering, hard to start, back-firing. I had to charge the battery last week and actually had to have it jumped Friday to get home. But, me being the hard headed dumb (or smart) ass, kept riding. Saturday was a little ride to Kokomo IN for a family day at Grissom.

We (the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders) were asked to help with a family day at Grissom Air Force Base in Peru IN. We got to staff the various booths and help the base employees, their families and their kids enjoy a few hours at the base. DC and I volentereed to be in the craft tent. The big hit there was the temporary tattoos. I’ll bet we did 100 kids arms and even a couple cheeks. (behave!!)

It was a little slow in the beginning so we were messing around (I know, you’re shocked) asking just about anyone if they wanted a tat. One lady, very school teacher or librarian looking, told me when I asked her if she wanted a temporary tattoo, “No thanks, I already have 6”. Heh heh cracked me up.

Another lady waked up with a tattoo in her hand, I looked at her and then the tattoo and was about to ask her ‘where do you want it?’ when she called her husband over and he brought their one (guessing here) year old son over and asked me to put it on his arm. He was asleep. OK... I thought. I peeled the paper, applied the tattoo and before they left, I just had to say, “if I ever fall asleep and my mom gets me tattooed while I was passed out...” shaking my head. The lady looked at me and said “Can’t let him miss all of the fun”. Oh man, we were all cracking up!!

After the craft tent we got to eat and ended the day in one of the hangers looking at a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane. We happened to find one of the flight crew and got kind of a personal tour. DC’s was a mechanic in the Army and he is a machinist and I have an engineering background so we were in mechanical geek heaven. Double redundant this and wire over hydraulic back up for that. 204,000 lbs of fuel can be carried on these planes. He told us they often find parts with date codes that are 1958 +/-. That’s older than me!! The plane we toured has been in service sine 1964.

Did you know there is an emergency switch in the tank area, that forces all of the fuel to the back and can cause the plane to ‘sit back on its ass’?? Yeah, me neither. Our tour guide said, one day he walks into the hanger and there was no one immediately around, then he realizes they all were hanging off the front landing gear. 8 or 10 guys all hanging on the wheel assembly trying to keep the plane from tipping back onto its butt. That would be hilarious to see!!!

While we were in the hanger, it started to rain. Not a nice light soaking ran, but a down pouring, lightening filled, gully washing rain. Needless to say we hung around trying to wait for a break in the downpour so we could maybe head out while it wasn’t raining.

Ummm, no. Not gonna happen, we got suited up in the rain, left in the rain... we got wet. The walk to the bike alone was drenching.


Back to the bike... sputtering, spitting... remmeber?


Grissom to Kokomo is about 15 miles; before we get 10 miles down the road my bike starts cutting out. One cylinder is dropping. FUCK!! DNR – Dave’s Not Riding, I can hear the jokes coming again. (it’s an old story, remind me and I’ll blog that one some day). DC points out that it seems better at higher RPMs... yeah, it does keep both cylinders firing. We head to the HD dealer, 40-50 MPH, tack pegged at 4,000 RPM. Poor girl is just screaming. We get there, (had stopped on the way up, so we knew they were open) and they closed 30 min ago... FUCK me!!! We catch one of the managers (drivers a company truck complete with Kokomo HD on the doors) and he listens for a few minutes and askes if I’m having electrical issues... yeah, how the hell did he know that?? He could hear the stator dome spinning. He guesses. Also guesses it would be $600 to get it fixed BUT they can't start until Monday. FUCK again!!! Kokomo is about 40 miles from home. I'm not spending the night and all day Sunday in the parking lot.

DC says, ‘let’s limp it back to my house and we crack it open and see what we can see’. We agreed if things did not work out we could take the box of parts to another HD mechanic friend of ours and he could fix it, he can fix anything.

(Greg at Cycle Machine, seriously. You need a HD fixed, especially an older one, He IS THE man)

Where was I? Oh yeah, we tear down the primary drive train. (‘we’ I said... ha ha. I watched, DC did the real work, I just bought the parts). Parts started out at 180 and ended up at 325. As DC likes to say, ‘you have to have a special bike’. It’s a police bike, and it’s been modified. So, it costs more when shit breaks. Oh well... I’m special, what can I say??

He gets it back together and we go for a ‘test ride’. Down the road, it sounds great. Clutch is good, engine runs sweet! No back firing, no sputtering!! Yeeesss!! I’m SO relieved and excited and... giddy, yep I was giddy. Road home, about 45 miles and had no issues.

Hell of a weekend!!! Ride out in the rain; laugh at, with and because of a bunch of little kids; ride in the rain; realize my $14k baby is real sick; tear her apart; put her back together... succesfully. All is good.

So.... How was your weekend???

STEELER TEAM ARRESTED

Breaking News...
Cleveland, Ohio

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested in Cleveland.

After the Michael Vick affair, the NFL and all local police agencies are cracking down on dog-fighting and animal abuse.

In concordance with such policies, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested for beating 53 dogs.

The dogs seemed to have no ability to fight and as such, were thoroughly beaten by the Steelers. Authorities say the beating was so bad, the entire city of Cleveland may need counseling. There have been no remarks from the Steelers...

Zen Summary V

When we are not sure, we are alive. - Graham Greene

To imagine that Zen is mysterious is the first grave mistake which many make about it. - D. T. Suzuki

The first mystery is simply that there is a mystery. A mystery that can never be explained or understood. Only encountered form time to time. - Lawrence Kushner

Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair. - Kahlil Gibran

God builds his temple in the heart on the ruins of churches and religions. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The knowledge of the ancients was perfect. How perfect? At first they did not know that there were things. This is the most perfect knowledge -- nothing can be added. Next, they knew that there were things, but did not make distinctions between them. Next they made distinctions, but did not pass judgment. When that started to pass judgment, the Tao was destroyed. -- Chuang-Tzu

Zen has been used for healing people’s sicknesses, but it has also been used by the samurai for chopping of peoples heads! - Alan Watts

Firearms Refresher Course

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

And lastly, just because;

Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist”.

Rally 2 - We Support Our Troops

I woke up at 7ish Sunday morning and still couldn’t stand real straight. After some breakfast; grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy and 2 or 3 bottles of water, I felt a little better. I was real glad I had not set up the tent, rolling the sleeping bag was challenging enough.We left about 8:30 for downtown Indy. It was a bout a 2-2.5 hour ride. I was SOOoooo glad we stopped about half way. I bought a 32 oz Gator Aid and chugged it down. I was finally beginning to feel ‘human’.

We were scheduled to meet with ALR (American Legion Riders) and MCR (Marine Corps Riders) in an old mall parking lot on Indy’s east side and ride west into down town. Lloyd was there with water (good thing, it was HOT!!). And Terry was there with about 175 3x5 flags.



This was our second year to do this rally. It is cool, the group www.USMCFamilies.com puts the whole thing on. All we really have to do is line the steps with flags.

This year, they decided we ‘needed some honor’ and had us head up the steps while a band played a biker/patriotic song. The singer had been there last year and was inspired to write and perform for us this year.






So, we took our place along the stairs of the War Memorial in Indy. We had about 100 people holding about 100 flags. It was a sight to see. (l got pictures, oooo, aaaahh).

From somewhere (about half way through) a group of political supporters that we don’t care for decided to walk by yelling some crap... heh!! you should have seen 100 leather clad biker types head down the stairs with flags in hand. A rough line was formed and they passed on by. Apparently headed down to a rally of their own. The neatest part was the folks standing around watching asked if they could have a flag and join us. Before they could get by, almost all of Terry’s 175 flags had been grabbed up and were flying!!! It was FANTASTIC!!!

One of the speakers L/CPL Klay South (fonder of Veterans of Valor http://www.veteransofvalor.org/ ) just had to thank us. Said something about there still being fighters in America and we will win this with people like this supporting us. He made us blush. LOL!!!

One of the highlights of the rally was John Kiger (country singer). He preformed his newest single “Ooh Rah Up” (he spells it oorah up). WOW!! What a powerful song and so true to the Marine spirit. You can find the song at www.oorahup.com. It is a 99 cent download and all of the proceeds go to USMC Families for the month of September. How cool is that!!! This is a video from the rally, but PLEASE, go down load the song... it's only 99 cents!!





The rally finished with the members of USMC Families reading the names of all Indiana’s fallen heroes.

It is my honor to list their names here.




Allen Jr. Ronald D. - Specialist
Amos II John D. - Private 1st Class
Babb Brock A. - Sergeant
Balmer Ryan A. - Technical Sergeant
Baughman Nathaniel S. - Corporal
Beadles Jason J. - Corporal
Bechert Michael A. -
Black Jarrod W. - Sergeant
Blair Jonathan F. - Corporal
Blakley Richard A. - Staff Sergeant
Blodgett Clinton C. - Specialist
Blue Shaun M. - 1st Lieutenant
Boling Craig A. - Sergeant 1st Class
Brown James - Lance Corporal
Buckley Roy R - Specialist
Carter Curtiss A. -
Childress Kyle William - Sergeant
Clemens Brian -
Colburn Gavin J. - Private 1st Class
Colvill Jr. Robert E. - Sergeant
Corban Jeffrey W. - Specialist
Davenport James R. - Lance Corporal
Deblanc Darren A. - Private 1st Class
Depew Cory R. - Private
Faulkenburg Steven W. - Command Sergeant Major
Faulkner James Daniel - Sergeant
Fiscus Michael -
Flanigan William T. -
Frantz Matthew C. - Specialist
Frickey Armand L. -
Frigo Nathan J. - Petty Officer 1st Class
Frist Luke P. - Specialist
Fritsche William R. -
Gamble Jr. Carter A. - Specialist
Gonzalez Zachariah -
GramesSanchez David J. - Lance Corporal
Hallal Deryk L. - Private 1st Class
Halling Jesse M. - Private
Hartge Nicholas S. - Private 1st Class
Harting Adam J. - Specialist
Heath David M. - Sergeant
Hensel Shawn D. - Private 1st Class
Hester Charles B. - Private 1st Class
Hill Joshua -
Hillenburg Eric - Lance Corporal
Hudson Christopher E. - Private 1st Class
Idalski Nicholas R. - Specialist
Jack Edward E. -
Jeffries William Andrew - Specialist
Johns Jason D. -
Jones Rickey E. - Sergeant
Keith Chad L. - Sergeant
Kimmell Matthew A. - Staff Sergeant
King Bradley D. - Staff Sergeant
Kirkpatrick David Austin - Private 1st Class
Langenbrunner Richard P. - Private 1st Class
Lee James -
Lewsader Jr. Roy P. -
Lueken Eric R. - Corporal
McKinley Robert L. - Private
McKinzie Antoine J. - Corporal
McLochlin Jeffrey -
Miller Jr. Frederick L. - Staff Sergeant
Monroe Christopher T. - Specialist
Montgomery Jr. Robert J. - Sergeant
Muralles Marcus -
Murray Jr. Robert W. - Private 1st Class
Pabla Paul - Staff Sergeant
Pahnke Shawn D. - Private
Penisten Brian H. - Specialist
Pfender Jonathan R. - Private
Powell Willard M. - Corporal
Proctor Joseph E. - Sergeant
Profitt Jason -
Putnam Cody A. - Corporal
Rios Duane Roy - Sergeant
Rojas Jonathan - Staff Sergeant
Sanders Gregory Paul - Specialist
Seal Aaron L. - Corporal
Seig Anthony P. - Private 1st Class
Shank Neale M. - 1st Lieutenant
Simmons David N. - Private 1st Class
Sirko Steven F. - Private 1st Class
Smith Darrell L. - Corporal
Snyder Norman -
Stahl Nathan E. - Private 1st Class
Strong Joseph A. - Specialist
Swain James E. - Lance Corporal
Thompson Lance M. - Corporal
Trost III Marvin Lee - Staff Sergeant
Weiss Andrew R. - Specialist
White Raymond L. - Specialist
Wiesemann Michael J. - Specialist
Wilkey Jr. David A. - Private 1st Class
Wilson Bryan S. - Corporal
Wright Jeremy -
Zubowski Scott A. - Lance Corporal

Good Grief

You know you are really busy if it takes you more than a week to post about one weekends activities. That or you just parited like a Rock Star and lost too many brain cells...

The last post about LAST weekend is almost done, just need to insert some pictures and it will be up. Later to night, I promise.

Happy Birthday He-He

If you have read my tag line above you know I have a ‘Green Navy Corpsman’ brother. For those that don’t know, a ‘Green Corpsman’ means he has chosen to serve with the Marines. I think the worst part (best part for him) was he had to do through Marine boot camp right after Navy boot camp. So, he was in boot camp for like 25 weeks.

Anyway, today is his birthday. He’s 41 today. He is here, (on MySpace) stop by and wish him a happy day. If you don't have a MySpace account say it here, I'll be sure he sees it.

These pictures are of him in Iraq in 2005, he was there in Ramadi for a year. The 3rd pic is of him and my son at Nick’s MCRD graduation last year.

Rally 1 - 2nd Annual Indiana Patriot Guard Rally

Link1 Link2 are to pictures some of the attendees have posted. I’ll bet after reading this and looking at the pics any of you can figure out who Chief, Russ, Curley and John and Carrie are. Enjoy!! I sure did!! Can’t wait for the 3rd Annual IPGR Rally!! Oh yeah, before I forget, for another take on the festivities, check this out.

************************************

After the funeral for Cpl. Shawn D. Hensel, about 20 of us headed for Silver Lake for the 2nd Annual Indiana Patriot Guard Rally at Russ’ Barn and Grill.

It was kinda late in the afternoon when we got there and our host had burgers hotdogs and chips galore. It is amazing how good some things taste after an hour or so on the road.

Curly promised some home made apple pie and broke it out right after the late lunch. I’d guess it was about 4 pm. Just to set the record straight, Curly’s ‘apple pie’ is a drink, served in a Mason jar. Home made ingredients mixed with apple juice and cinnamon sticks. Smoooooth. I had 4 or 5 glasses all night. He brought 2.5 gallons, it was gone before dark.

There was a small program on a stage Russ had built out back of the barn. We heard Tim talk about the good he has seen in Iraq and how they would try to follow insurgents to their hide outs to catch the whole group but before the insurgent could get back to his hide out, the local farmers would catch them and bring them in. In his words, half a dozen guys with shovels would go after one guy with an AK. And they would win. Without fail, the captured men always had Syrian money in their pockets.

One of the absolutely most memorable parts was when a man named Rick Fields got up and thanked us for everything we do. He went on about how much he appreciated us and how we had helped him and that he was, as soon as he could get on a computer, going to join the PGR. He is Ricky Jones’ father. He said because of the divorce he had not seen Ricky for 16 years and the best day of his life was when Ricky came home from boot camp and walked into this back yard and re-introduced himself. After that they talked every day, through his special training, to his first tour in Iraq. Then the worst day of his life was about 2 years later when the Army came to his house to tell him Ricky had died. In a crowd of 60 biker types there wasn’t a dry eye to be found.

At some point in the activities, Curly ended up on stage. He was making some reference to that curly teddy bear tongue twister (fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair...) and flipped his hat off. That must have been a que to John that it was his turn to come up on stage. He goes up and grabs a teddy bear off of a stool in the back and starts in with ‘dating for 6 months’, ‘they say I’m too old and she’s too young’ followed by ‘Carrie will you come up here’. By now Carrie is covering her face with her hands and headed for the stage. When she gets up on stage John says he loves her and drops to one knee and some how the teddy bear has a ring in it’s paws, she’s crying, they’re trying to get the ring off the bear (it didn’t want to let go), Curly is still holding the mic and asking her repeatedly ‘Is that a yes, you have to say something girl’. Finally she says ‘YES’, they hug and everyone cheered. Heh, I got the whole moment on video on my phone... just can’t find the mini-micro adapter to let me download it off the chip...

Russ announced that the hog was done about 8 and we dug in to slow roasted pork BBQ, baked beans, coleslaw... all the fix’ens. At some point Russ announced that this was his 17th hog this season!!! That’s a lot of pork! After sufficiently stuffing our selves a karaoke band took the stage and entertained everyone... not my cup of tea, but some really seamed to like it.

Chief, DC and myself had our way with a 1.75 liter bottle of Jack. Between the 3 of us we drank it all. Chief is the party animal in the shots.

Some time around 3 am Russ and the last of us late nighters decided to call it quits. The Jack was gone, the Crown had a big dent in it and the aluminum can recycle tub was full. I knew we were heading out at about 8 am in the morning for the Support The Troops Rally in Indy so I had skipped setting up my tent so I wouldn’t have to take it down and could sleep as long as possible... but where to sleep. I staggered around the barn and saw that big empty stage. It has some carpet on it so it wouldn’t be too bad, besides, I thought, I should be able to fall right to sleep considering all of the alcohol. Crash, I’m sound asleep, then I wake up after what seems like seconds. Did you know a flock of mosquitoes could wake you out of a drunken slumber? Me neither, but they sure did. I still have a dozen or so welts on my arms. I had to unroll the sleeping bag and cover up with it, completely. Little BASTARDS!!

I want to end this with a quote. Russ sat on the stage during the program part and read this. I want to re-state it here because;
1 - it’s true,
2 - maybe there are some of you reading this that have not heard it yet.
Russ believes (as do I and many, if not everyone there Saturday) very strongly in what the PGR does. Russ is a Vietnam Vet and can read this with more feeling and sincerity than you can imagine.

I wish you all the best and remember, our freedoms have been bought with a price.

We are...

...the grandparents, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, aunts, uncles, boy/girlfriends, nieces, nephews, friends and total strangers of our Fallen Hero's.
... the workers that in the first week of May have used all our vacation time for the year and have yet to have a vacation.
... the men and women whose paycheck is a little short this week because a priority caused us to take a day off unpaid.
... the active duty, reserve, retired, discharged, disabled vets and their friends, family and relatives.
... the neighbor who wakes you up at 5AM on a freezing morning as we depart for yet another mission, hours away, we would wish we were not making.
... your CEO and your janitor, your police, firefighter, grocer, mechanic, secretary and everyone in between.
... the people that drive minutes to hundreds of miles to ensure that no Hero is forgotten nor family disturbed in their time of grief.
... the men and women that give up time with our own families to show respect, love and support to families who are still grieving at their loss and wondering WHY??
... the men and women of the Patriot Guard Riders.
And why do we do all this...because it's the Right Thing To Do
Love and Respect, Your Indiana Brothers and Sisters of the Patriot Guard Riders

Saturday - Side Bar

I had the distinct honor to stand with Jerry’s wife, Carol, Saturday. As hard as it was, it was great to see her. (Good-by Jerry, Today is Jerry’s funeral)

As I walked by heading inside the church, I saw here standing there off to the side, not going in. I know these missions are hard for her. I believe Jerry thought of us as family. She comes because he would have and she loves this family too. In my innocence, I asked her if she was going in. She said she would, with me. Needless to say, when Shawn’s wife spoke, saying what she said, it hit a cord with her. We bawled like babies.

Carol has made a promise, she is getting her motorcycle license and will be riding with us... on Jerry’s trike (click on the links, there are pics back there). She told me, “I’ve sat on it, in ‘his’ seat...” (good God, I’m such a fluff ball, I’m tearing up writing this). She had to stop and wipe away more tears. “That’s not where I belong”, she said. But he would be so proud of you, I thought... I should have said it. Don’t worry, I will next time.

Can I Get Some Help Over Here?

A very dear friend of mine could use some encouragement. She’s going through some rough times with a bastard of an EX. Please stop by and cheer her up.

Thanks!!

God NO, Please, No

She cried.

Saturday morning took us to the funeral services for Cpl. Shawn D. Hensel. We road up in the rain. It was fitting.

We stood our flag line out front of the church for about 90 minutes. The old knees not being what they used to be, I was looking forward to the dismissal so I could take a break. At about 5 minutes after the service started a couple of the ushers came out and told us the family had requested we line the inside of the church with our flags... I am not one to refuse a families request. So, inside I went, inside we went, about 40 of us. What an honor...

We found a place and stood again for about an hour. Funny thing was, I forgot about my knees. Mrs. Hensel, a bride of 8 months, had come up to speak by the time we got situated. During her elegy she confessed to still checking her e-mail with anticipation of a message from Shawn and the crushing dismay as once again the reality of these days hit her with renewed force.

As the service was ending we quietly filed out and resumed out positions outside. The family filed out and the Army Honor Guard came with the flag draped casket. Through the hushed silence a womans voice could be heard, “God NO, Please, no...”. Disbelief and denial instantly turn to harsh reality and a grieving mother cries. I am not as eloquent a writer as many of you, expressing in words the gravity and harshness of the moment escapes me. Suffice it to say, if you were there, seeing and hearing, you would have cried. God knows I did.

We again were honored to be invited to ride in the procession, through the city of Logansport, IN. The citizens of Logansport lined the streets, holding flags, holding “Thank You” signs and signs that said “God Bless the Hensel family”. Our numbers were just over 100, they numbered in the thousands. Walmart, Home Depot, Pizza Hut and others must have closed their doors for the procession. The streets in front of their stores were lined with employees, holing flags and signs.

The Logansport Fire Department honored Cpl. Hensel with 2 ladder trucks and a huge flag hanging over the street.

I remember riding by a woman standing with her husband, he holding a flag and her, leaning on him, hand over her mouth, visibly crying.

At the cemetery, words were said, rifles were fired, a flag was folded. A life has ended.

However true that may be, Cpl. Shawn D. Hensel will not be forgotten.

A Story
Faces of The Fallen

A Rally-Full Weekend

It’s gonna be a busy weekend.

Cpl. Hensel’s mission and funeral Saturday morning; the state wide ‘Gathering of The Guard’, the 2nd annual; then Sunday is the 3rd annual Support Our Troops Rally in downtown Indianapolis.

The mission is below.

The state rally (on the 25th) - there is gonna be a band, a bonfire, camping, a hog, a fund raising ride and lots of food and fun!!! DC and I are splitting a half gallon of Jack!!! (you can call me shit faced). Dc and Officer Baby are making eggs and biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast. Then we (a lot of us) are heading to Indy for the Support Our Troops Rally.



Should be a great time. As always, if you are in the Indy area and have respect for the families and our soldiers, please join us.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Shawn D. Hensel, 20, of Logansport, Ind., died Aug. 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds during an enemy attack. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the public affairs officer on call).

Tomorrow the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders gather in Logansport Indiana to honor the family and remember the sacrifice made by Cpl Shawn D. Hensel. He was promoted posthumously.

It is our honor.

This mission has three parts;
* Part one, yesterday, was an escort detail. Cpl Hensel was flown into Lafayette Regional Airport. I had to work, but it is my understanding that over 50 bikes were present for the escort form Lafayette to Logansport.
* Part two, today, is an honor guard at the church. Some of our members will stand for an hour or two with flags, honoring the family, honoring the man.
* Part three, tomorrow (Saturday), is the funeral. I will be there for this part.

If you will be in or near the Logansport Indiana area Saturday, please join us.

Some of the guys that were there yesterday posted some of their thoughts on the PGR page, I think you should read them.

**********************

I just returned home from the escort for CPL Hensel and all I can say is WOW. We had 59 bikes at the last count, great turn out, thanks to all who came for this escort. I talked with Shawn's father after the escourt and he was amazed with what he saw and wished to thank each and every one of you all for showing up on such a HOT day. I was very impressed with the turn out of citizens along the entire route but most especially with the small town of Delphi. I think everyone in town was on the street as we came through. I nearly couldn't see to drive going through there with all the tears in my eyes. THANK YOU DELPHI and thank all the members of PGR you were great.

I am sooooo proud to be a PGR member,
Terry M.

**********************

What an HONOR to ride for this American HERO in the first stage of this mission. Shawn was taken home with all the dignity, respect and HONOR he so richly deserved.

As Terry said above, it is hard to ride with so many other bikes when your eyes keep running over. The out pour of people in the town of Delphi was outstanding. Makes it real hard to swallow let alone even talk. When we passed that Catholic school and all those little girls were pressed against that fence, some with their little hands over their GREAT BIG HEARTS, it was overwhelming. The bike got washed again. It was an outstanding mission from the start. Being invited by the family inside the hanger to be a part of them in this sad hour was very very humbling. Even Kalitta's pilots were right there showing the respect they always do. I had to go over and tell them so and how much it means to the family and we as PGR's, for them to display the respect they always do. I did thank them for us. I thought the one pilot was going to lose it and if he did, I would have too. Very emotional.

Ray

Zen Summary IV

Words may express it, words cannot hold it: the way of letters leaves no trace, Yet the teaching is revealed. - Dogen

Think sideways! - Edward De Bono

The meadows were a-drinking at their leisure; the frogs sat meditating, all Sabbath thoughts, summing up their week, with one eye out on the golden sun, and one toe upon a reed, eyeing the wondrous universe in which they act their part; the fishes swam more staid and soberly, as maidens go to church. - Henry David Thoreau

The fruit drips when it is ripe. - Zen Saying

The frog rises to the surface by the strength of its non-attachment. - Joso

One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - Andre Gide

.

Come Home Soon

For the wives and families of our soldiers. CavMom posted this.

To those here, thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for supporting your soldier.

Loop For Life - Ride Report

A little over 3,000 motorcycles and about $102,000!! It was a great time. We got spit on by some big black clouds, nothing major.

It was a blast!! Riding with so many bikes is always cool. We went a little slow for my taste but hey, can’t have 3,000 bikes going 80 mph around Indianapolis, can they? LOL!

DC and I bought a sign from one of the vendors, Looks like a “No Parking” sign and is real heavy steel (18ga for you hands on types). Real nice for a novelty, it says “You think SHIT happens? <-----> Park Here”.

We left The Loop after eating and went up to Russ’ (if you click here, give it a minute to load, there is a cool song that will play once everything loads) wedding party. He (Russ) and Lisa got married Saturday morning. The sign was a wedding present!! They loved it and stuck it on the wall in his barn.

The red, white and blue bike is a ‘Boss Hoss’. This one has a 502 (yes, five hundred and two) cubic inch big block V-8 in it. AND nitrous injection (see the cans near the back shocks?).

...

Loop For Life

Imagine, if you will..

You are walking on what seem to be a rather crowed a bridge that crosses the interstate loop around your city. For some reason, although you can’t put your finger on it, something just doesn’t look right... Then it hits you, there is no traffic in the counter clock wise direction, nothing, nada. As you look around trying to gather some reason for this oddity, lights begin to appear in the distance, breaking the heat induced water mirage with an alarming quantity. First a couple, then a dozen, hundred... thousands? Can’t be that many, you whisper to yourself. Then there is the ‘sound’, a low rumble as the first lights come into view. Again increasing in volume with the lights to a thunderous level that seems to be coming from everywhere. The thunder is broken only by the louder shriek of the occasional truck horn.

A sea of color, from black to white and every color of the rainbow and many with flags, American Flags. Waiving, fluttering, popping with the speed of their approaching and departing. The people around you are cheering, some are waving flags or their own, the riders below wave back and cheer, as those around you cheer even louder. Taken up in the moment, you wave and smile with civic pride. At that moment you step back from the edge, a small boy in a wheel chair has approached and holding a small American flag, asks you if he can see in front of you. As you turn to leave you hear, “Moma, look at all of them!! Are they the ones that helped us buy me this new chair?” “Yes dear, those are the ones”.

As quickly as they came, they leave. Thousands (yes thousands) of men and women on steel horses. The sparkle of the chrome, the shine of the colors, the pride in their flags, disappear into the distance and for a brief second there is a silence that is more deafening than any horn blast.

This is the Loop For Life, a one day, once a year event in Indianapolis when they actually close the inner, counter wise lanes of Interstate 465 to car and truck traffic and only motor cycles are allowed, the police block all of the ramps and escort us from the Marion County Fair Grounds around the 60+ miles back to the Fair Grounds. As a participant there is a free lunch, there are also vendor booths and a band plays for the rest of the day. It is a good time. Last year we raised about $100,000. This year the goal is $150,000.

If you have some time Saturday and are in Indy, stop by a I-465 bridge a little after noon and watch as the steel horses and their riders break the silence with a roar of thunder. And remember the children, the sick and the needy we ride to help.

Gorilla Story

A local home owner calls animal control complaining he has a gorilla on his roof. “The gorilla is jumping all around, making all kinds of noises and scaring the children. Send someone out here before he hurts someone”, he pleads.

Animal control sends their gorilla expert out, a very old guy that looks like his better days are long past. He gets out of the truck and shuffles up to the house with a bat, a shotgun and a dog. The old guy asks the home owner “would you mind helping me out with your gorilla?”

The home owner says “Sure, It’s not my gorilla but what do you want me to do?”

“Well,” says the old timer, “I’m going up on the roof with this bat and try to scare the gorilla down here. When that happens, the dog is trained to bite his balls and hold him until we can get him caged.”

The old timer hands the shot gun to the home owner. The home owner, now rather confused, asks, “What do you want me to do with this shot gun?”

The old timer says, “If I fall of the roof first, shoot the dog.”

28 More Years

Found this at Sparrows. Looks like I have 28 more years... that doesn’t seem very long.

You Will Die at Age 73

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

Vote Damn It!!

I hijacked someone else’s post last time. This time I'll just link (HERE). K said it so much better than I could even dream.

It's a long read, but well worth it.

And don't forget to vote!!

Blog Back-Up

Does any one but me think about backing up their Blog? It seems any post I write these days doesn’t show up on my blog for some time and I am reading that a bunch of you are experiencing the same trouble. Blogs disappearing, post hiding then coming back. WTF

The last couple posts had me flipping back through the page of my blog and re-reading so of that shit. Some post are good, some... well, it’s a wonder you understand what I’m typing sometimes.

All of that got me thinking, what if Bloger has a major melt down?? They don’t promise to keep anything and loosing it is not their fault, right? How can I back-up my blog??

A year or so ago I friend showed me an application called wget. It goes to a webpage and copies everything... kinda cool for looking into the bowels of a competitors web site. Anyway, I tried it on my blog and wha-la. It worked!! I now have a complete backup copy of every post and comment on my C drive.

Cool!!


The 'How to...’ thing on Bloger sounds way like too much work. Hope this works for you!!

He's Gonna Be OK!!!

The missus and I rode up to Elkhart, Indiana Saturday. I had to see Dirtbike. He looked good, good color, big smile, hugs all around. DB’s wife is putting him under house arrest for something around a week once he gets out (should have been out Saturday afternoon). I know he’s gonna go stir crazy but it will be good for him. He needs to rest. He says he had a ‘very’ accelerated (over 200) heart rate for a couple days (I so wanted to smack the shit outta him) before he called his daughter to drive him to the hospital.

I cannot tell you how much good it did my spirit to see him, to see him hop up out of the bed and greet us. Not knowing what to expect gave me an incredible lump in my throat as we approached his room. It was great to see him.

I offered to keep the oil warm in his bike... he said there was a half dozen other guys that were in front of me and several that had offered to take the custom flamed fairing and saddle bags off his hands if the Dr’s said he couldn’t ride anymore. LOL!! I think he is actually worried about his bike getting miles without him.

All in all it was a good ride. We stopped in Kokomo and had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way up. Covered the 120+/- miles in a little over 2 hours. The ride home was a little more relaxed, took about 3 hours. All together we covered 300 miles.

I’m so glad he’s gonna be ok.

Zen Summary III

More from my Daily Zen Canander. See the first collection here and the second here. then if your realy feeling the Zen, biker Zen is here.

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude! - Emily Dickinson

The knife does not cut itself, the finger does not touch itself, the mind does not know itself the eye does not see itself. - Zen Saying

What is to give light must endure burning. - Viktor Frankl

We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men... trees are travelers, in the ordinary sense. They make journeys, not very extensive one, it is true; but our own little comings and goings are only little more that tree-wavings - many of them not so much. - John Muir

The universe came into being with us together’ with us, all things are one. - Chuang-Tzu

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows even though we do not love it. - Dogen

Photo of the...

Some time ago I tried posting some pictures and thought I’d do a ‘pic of the week’ or something kinda regular. Yeah, like that was going to happen.

I did, however, start this. Add it to your RSS feed. I’d hate to have you check for weeks when I may not get out with the camera for weeks. I’ll post over there sporadically at best. Right now I’m catching up a lot of old pics I have sitting around on various computers.

All Right, Everybody, Just STOP!!!

I used to marvel at ‘older’ people when they would comment ‘I’ve been to the funeral of 4 friends this year’ and wonder naively, wow, four friends die in less than a year. What happened to them? I know what happened, they got old!!

With the PGR I’ve made many friends, most older than me. We go to these missions (PGR word for funeral) and see each other, we hug and cry (yes, damn it, bikers cry) seeing the sacrifice a family has made. Some people you get close to, others you know by site only.

A friend’s husband died a little over a year ago, another friend I’ve blogged about here and here is fighting cancer, one PGR member and friend got killed riding his bike in Tennessee, another died in his sleep the first of the year and my blodfather got me started doing this by having a heart attack.

Now I find out almost a week after the fact, Dirtbike, (a.k.a Dirtbag, or Douchebag) has had a ‘heart event’ (his words) and has been in the hospital for about a week. He lives near the Michigan line and not seeing him for weeks is not uncommon but to find out he has been in the hospital for a week was like getting hit by a truck.

I want to leave work NOW and go kick his motherfuckingass for not telling me. I swear to God if that little shit says anything like “I didn’t want to bother you’... as soon as he is better, I’m gonna fucking kill him!!!

DirtBag and Me

So what am I saying... Everybody (PGR friends, work frineds, and bloging friends) just stop!! No more getting older, no more ‘heart events’ no more cancer, no more making me feel like there’s a bike parked on my chest. My heart can’t take it.

My Turn To Beg

The Indiana Patriot Guard Riders are having their 2nd annual calendar sales fund raiser. Last year we sold about 1000 calendars. The neat part and the part we are doing right now is selling the ad spaces in the calendar.

Last year we sold 72 spaces, this year we are selling 144, 12 spaces per month. This link takes you to an order form and this link to a sample page from the 2007 calendar. Please take a look. If you have any questions post them here and I’ll answer them, that way everyone will know. Buying an ad gets you one free calendar, so wish that favorite person happy birthday, say ‘hi’ to a solder, remember a fallen hero or advertise you business.

On the sample page the first 4 ads are the $50 variety (basic B&W text), the 5th is $75 (text - 50, logo - 15, color - 10) and the 6th is $65 (text - 50, logo - 15)

Edit - I have a Word copy of the order form if you'd like to type your ad/thanks out and e-mail it to me.

You Need to See This

Trust me.

Click here.

Damn Me

Have I mentioned I don’t like heat... How about the red/blonde hair, fair skin and being easily sun burnt??

I went to today’s PGR mission fully knowing of my short comings. I ate twice my normal breakfast (two pop-tarts), before noon I had drunk 4 bottles of water and I ate a power bar around noon. As the service ended around 1300 hours, I got light headed... I had to sit down or I was going to fall down. Now trying to ride a bike with no real sence of balance isn’t a good thing. So, I rested for a few minutes and tried to get up and about fell down again... the procession to the cemetery left without me. I laid in the grass behind the church for about 30 minutes and made it north about 1 mile to a gas station where I got some Gatorade and some cheese crackers. Sat there for about 30 minutes. Took this pic of a thermometer under the canopy at the gas station.

I’m just glad no one from the family saw me about passed out.

I know it is hard to see, but the needle is pointing at 100... in the shade...

DoD Identifies..

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died July 31 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Killed were:

Spc. Zachariah J. Gonzalez, 23, of Indiana.

Pfc. Charles T. Heinlein Jr., 23, of Hemlock, Mich.

Pfc. Alfred H. Jairala, 29, of Hialeah, Fla.

For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the public affairs officer on call


And the end begins... a family has closure. But does it ever end? I think not.

Tomorrow, the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders will honor the family of SPC. Zachariah J. Gonzalez. Please pray for the family, please pray for the friends.

SPC. Zachariah J. Gonzalez - Your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten. Thank you for my freedom. Rest in peace solder, rest in peace.

RE: Yesterday

Just in case you thought I was kidding, todays task bar...

Clicky for biggie.

Gawd Damned Microsoft

OK, I’m just a user, some say a power user. I have my software, I expect it to work. It worked last week, now this week it doesn’t... WTF!!??!!

I know enough bout networks, IP and Active Directory to be dangerous. But software, I can make it sing. My most joy comes from asking our crack IT staff a question about how to do something and they have to go research it for days.

Any of you computer hardware geeks out there, tell me if I’m expecting too much. I have a 3.3Mghz HP with 1Gb of RAM and I am typically running:

Word - 2-4 documents
Excel - 2-4 sheets
Outlook - calendar and as many as 10 messages open at once.
Adobe Pro PDF Editor - 3-6 documents
BaaN - our MRP software, usually 4 screens
IE - 3-4 sessions
AutoCAD 2006 - 2 - 4 small (100kb to 250kb) drawings
AGI32 - Light Rendering software usually just one

Is this too much? Should I cut back? Like I said, it was ok last week... probably auto loaded a ‘patch’ that fucked things up!!!

Fuck’n Microsoft!!

A Request...

I blatantly copied this post from Sparrow. She said it better than I could and said everything that needs saying.

LL from Chromed Curses is one of the most giving people I know. She spent hours, days and weeks putting my blog together, and she has more recently been giving a boatload of her precious free time to help a charity called America’s Wounded Heroes get their website up and running. This is a very special charity, and in case you are too lazy to click on a Sunday night, here is their mission statement:

America’s Wounded Heroes exists to:

• Provide financial assistance to military personnel, policemen, firefighters, and EMTs wounded in service who have put their lives at risk to protect and serve American citizens.


• Enable such persons to obtain relief in the area of special adaptive mobility equipment such as motorized wheelchairs, golf carts, segways, and other mobility devices not provided for by the government and private insurance.


• Give such persons monetary grants for the transition from hospitals or rehabilitation facilities back to active service or monetary grants needed for the transition from hospitals or rehabilitation facilities back to civilian life.

Since this is a brand new charity, they are desperately in need of funds. Here is something you can do to help them even if you can’t spare the quid to send them any actual real-life moolah. LL says:

I’m asking you to go to VA Joe’s and vote for us. You have to join (free) and all you do is provide a username, a password, and an email address. On the next page you can fill in name and stuff, but at the bottom, you can choose to not get any email notifications and NOT fill in the personal data.

THEN YOU CAN VOTE FOR US!!

VA Joe’s will give $2,000 to the charities that get the most votes. LL asks for so little, and it’s never for her. When she asks me to jump, I say how high, how many times and where do you want me to land, MA’AM?? Take three minutes and do it.

Because LL said so. And she can beat the crap out of you.

But also because it’s the right thing to do.

Anti Vick

Too bad he isn't wearing it.

WTF...?!

I’m by no stretch of the imagination a ‘texting expert’.

I’m listening to Yahoo Launch, the free streaming music thing, and there is the commercial about GM/Chevy translating text messages. You know the basic LOL etc. Then there is the weird string that is for their commercial. At the end the voice says ‘WTF - Wow, That’s Fantastic’... ROTFLMFAO!!!!!

Aaaarrrrgghhh!!!!

Hi...

I’ve bee through almost 200 e-mails and there are about a dozen fires that need my attention (I’m not drinking enough for this) So, enjoy a joke. Sorry, it's all I've got right now. I have posts in the works, promise. Ya know, coming back to this much ‘work’ could make one not want to go on vacation...

*************************

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables; and when he picked up a CD player to place in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light on and began searching for more valuables.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, Clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you." Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.

Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

“Did you say that?" he hissed at the parrot.

"Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."

The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"

"Moses," replied the bird.

"Moses?" the burglar laughed, "What kind of people would name a bird Moses?"

"The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."

Hey, I'm Baaack!!!

I’ve been gone for 5 days and Google reader tells me I have 106 posts to read!!!

I have posts that I need to write, some OLD... be patient, I’ll get to your posts soon.

BTW – 1,797 miles. Made it all the way up to lake Superior. Got some pictures too. Again, be patient.

Trip Update

Dazd here...

DNR paged me to inform us that he's in Milwaukee. Apparently an uneventful trip given he paged. I was wondering...

I know they are touring the Harley-Davidson facility but are they taking any tours of breweries? If so, DNR needs to pack a straw and an inner tube. He needs to lose the tour group and inflate the inner tube and jump in a vat with that straw. I couldn't think of a more enjoyable vacation! It could be hours before they notice him missing.

Have a safe trip DNR!

Dazd out...

I Love Ted

God Bless Ted Nuget!!!

Another Trip and More Jokes

A fun one!!!

Heading north, on the bike. Going to the Harley Davidson HQ in Milwaukee!!!

Might be wet Wednesday morning... Oh well, at least I won't be at work.

Enjoy these jokes while I get caught up from being gone last week.

******************************************

The inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to heaven. At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur, "Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward will be to hang out with anyone you want in Heaven."

Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, "I want to hang out with God."

St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room and introduced him to God. God recognized Arthur and commented, "Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley Davidson motorcycle?"

Arthur said, "Yeah, that's me."

God commented, "Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's pretty unstable, makes noise and pollution and can't run without a road?"

Arthur was apparently embarrassed, but finally spoke, "Excuse me, but aren't you the inventor of woman?"

God said, "Umm, yes."

Well," said Arthur, "professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention:

1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusion;
2. It chatters constantly at high speeds;
3. Most of the rear ends are too soft and wobble too much;
4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust;
5. And the maintenance costs are outrageous!!"

Hmmm, you may have some good points there," replied God, "Hold on." God went to his Celestial super-computer, typed in a few words and waited for the results. The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it.

Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed," God said to Arthur, but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours."

**********************************************************

A Horse, A Chicken & A Harley:

On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, both of whom loved to play together.

One day the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to go get the farmer for help!

Off the chicken ran, back to the farm. Arriving at the farm, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor. Running around like some of his headless cousins, the chicken spied the farmer's new Harley. Finding the keys in the ignition, the chicken sped off with a length of rope hoping he still had time to save his friend's life.

Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy, to see the chicken arrive on the shiny Harley, and he managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him. After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's bike, the chicken then drove slowly forward and, with the aid of the powerful bike, rescued the horse!

Happy and proud, the chicken rode the Harley back to the farmhouse, and the farmer was none the wiser when he returned.

The friendship between the two animals was cemented: Best Buddies, Best Pals. Horse and chicken, chicken and horse.

A few weeks later, the chicken fell into a mud pit, and soon, he too, began to sink and cried out to the horse to save his life!

The horse thought a moment, walked over, and straddled the large puddle. Looking underneath, he told the chicken to grab his hangy-downy thing and he would then lift him out of the pit. The chicken got a good grip, and the horse pulled him up and out, saving his life.

The moral of the story?
(yep, you knew there was going to be moral!)

"When you're hung like a horse, you don't need a Harley to pick up chicks"

Words 'n Words 'n Words

A couple weeks ago I posted this... click this here linky.

My readers were kind enough to feed me all kinds of other words, that for some reason I am inclined to look up. I thought I’d share them with you.

BTW - nobody gave me any hints on how to get a stuck word out of my head. With a minor exception to Queenie, she at least had me laughing with a Beavis inflection.


Dazed said - myocardial infarction (I know why you picked this...)
… more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. The resulting ischemia or oxygen shortage causes damage and potential death of heart tissue. It is a medical emergency, and the leading cause of death for both men and women all over the world.

Mrs JG said - Splenic infarction
... also spleen infract; an infarction is the process resulting in a macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate blood supply. Supplying arteries may be blocked from within by some obstruction (e.g. a blood clot or fatty cholesterol deposit), or may be mechanically compressed or ruptured by trauma.

Kat said - embolism
... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body.
This can be contrasted with a "thrombus" which is the formation of a clot within a blood vessel, rather than being carried from somewhere else

Nancy (scares me) said - Cranial Rectal Impaction
For some reason I can’t find this one... It does however paint a very interesting picture.

Cranial - your head
Rectal - your ass
Impaction - stuck; placed in position with force

Hummmm....


A PSA:
Ladies and Gentlemen, just in case you think I’m all OCD an stuff. I do not need to look up words I don’t know and will NOT be posting your funky words in future Words 'n Words 'n Words posts. M’k?