Sabre Dance

Sorry to hear that... too many of these happening lately. :(

No need to explain - I'm actually considering selling my bike as A) The motorcycling season seems to get shorter every year, B) I hate looking at my bike in the garage all winter while I am still making payments and C) distracted driving is on the upswing and I'm fearful that "the big one" is out there waiting for me. Maybe take some of the money you had earmarked for a bike and get a 60" HDTV and watch those Sabres in style!

Nevertheless a man perished, probably unnecessarily. While I understand the idea that motorcyclists don't want to be told by the law that they must wear a helmet, I'm not sure why anyone would ever want to ride without one. (I've heard all of the arguments against wearing a helmet - reduced peripheral vision, dulling hearing, etc. None outweigh the additional protection that a helmet provides.) I never throw my leg over my bike unless I am wearing a helmet, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, and boots. We've allowed seat belts and air bags to be legislated into our cars (and seat belt use is also mandated by law). I'm not aware of any major protests demanding that seat belts and/or air bags be removed from vehicles. It has been proven that the use of seat belts and air bags saves lives and reduces injury in the vast majority of cases (there are always those anecdotal reports of someone who was trapped in their car by a seat belt or was severely injured when their air bag went off.) Likewise, it has been proven that wearing proper protective equipment while on a motorcycle reduces injury in case of an accident. Helmets, and especially those with face shields also help prevent potential accidents. I've been struck on the face shield by flying stones, bugs, and objects dropped/thrown from cars while riding. Had I not been wearing a helmet, or were wearing one of those half-helmets (unfortunately nicknamed "brain buckets"), I may have suffered a facial injury which may have made me lose control of the bike. For me, a law mandating helmet (or seat belt) use is superfluous, as I will always do as much as I can to make my trip (and of those around me) safe. I know there are others who may not agree 100% and will go their own way. (Heck, there are people that jump out of airplanes or climb sheer cliffs). It still saddens me that this man lost his life like this. I wonder how the rest of the riders in the group felt knowing that they lost one of their own as a result of his own decision. I guess it all depends on the amount of risk you are willing to accept.

After a string of pricey German imports since 1998, this year I moved to a 2011 Ford F-150 Lariat Limited pickup. Believe it or don't, it has all of the luxury features of any of the Teutonic vehicles (voice operated nav, Bluetooth, heated AND cooled seats, leather, etc.). It also has 411 horsepower (nothing to sneeze at) and it rides and handles great. Add to that the X plan discount I got courtesy of my neighbor (who is a Ford retiree) and I am happy, happy. I also have a 2010 Harley-Davidson CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide. Cruise, satellite radio, navigation, heated seat and grips - a beautiful touring bike. Two sweet rides!

I think that the nasty feeling we call a hangover has less to do with alcohol (although it is a part of it, certainly) than it does with the unfermentables left over in any alcoholic beverage. That's why you get more of a hangover from red wine than white (glass for glass), or cheap whiskey rather than more pricey stuff (the pricier usually is filtered and distilled better). So, maybe the Straub legend is true. Your reaction to Bud may be due to 1) the high percentage of brewer's rice used (~30%) rather than barley malt and 2) the famed "beech wood aging". This consists of introducing a "charge" of raw beech wood chips into the holding tank and letting the new beer "absorb" the nice woody flavor. Obviously, this would introduce a lot of nasty esters and fusel oils not present in a more "pure" beer recipe (like Straub). By the way, try this some time: Get a bottle of you average daily beer of choice (Blue, Canadian, Miller High Life, etc.) and take a couple of good, long tastes. Then, open a Bud. First of all, you will definitely notice the beech wood on the nose of the beer. One sip will reveal that not-really-appealling woody tartness. I tried this at a picnic a few years back and the Bud almost made me lose my lunch. Nasty stuff.

Sounds like the basis for an experiment, no?

There is a brewery in St. Mary's, PA called Straub's. The beer they brew is called "hi-test" by the locals as the brewery lets the beer "ferment out"; that is, they allow it to ferment until all of the sugars have been eaten up by the yeasties. This results in a very clean, not very filling beer that is slightly higher in alcohol content than regular beer. If you can lay your hands on some (you might have to drive down into PA to find it), pack a few bottles in ice then go mow the lawn or trim the hedges. When you are good and thirsty, crack one open and I guarantee it will be the most thirst-quenching, clean-tasting beer you've ever tried. (If you just drink one out of the fridge on a Friday night after work, well, it'll still be OK).

I did stop at one of JR's outlets once while driving through NC - it's less of a walk-in humidor than it is a very large room with many humidifiers running. Their selection was huge! Also, the ladies that work there were super. Although I'm in the same boat (fewer cigars every year), when I do buy I order from JR. Great prices and selection and if you order by 2:00 PM they ship the same day (and I always do second-day shipping, so I have the smokes in no time). Very cool!

Yeah - I had some of that "pre-washed" salad mix Sunday for dinner (which I washed anyway) and it had some baby spinach. There was a to-do back a few months about some E. coli outbreak caused by spinach. Thanks to my doctor for advising me to "eat more salad". Steak hoagies might not be good for the heart, but they never made me sick like this. Merck Manual says this could last up to 8 days. I'm on day four - four more and I will have lost that 10 pounds the doctor told me to.....

I tried a pipe years ago, even before I was into cigars. I always had the issues you describe, which was very frustrating and off-putting. I started smoking hand-rolled cigars about six months before the cigar boom in the 90's. I always found them to be much more enjoyable, experience-wise. I do miss some of flavor and aroma of the pipe tobacco, though. There are a few companies that make cigars with what is basically pipe tobacco as a filler (I'll get some names posted shortly). I have not tried them but this may be the way to go....

On the other side of things, after going through four motorcycles in 7 years, I finally got one that I love... and now I have no time to ride it. Since taking it out of storage in April, I think I've been on it five times. I'm considering selling it (as the cash would come in handy), but I know I'll never be able to get another one like this one. Every time I see it just sitting in my garage, it makes me sad. Also, I've been sick as heck since Monday. I think I have some sort of E. coli food poisoning, as I've had nasty GI symptoms for three straight days. The doc says antibiotics usually don't shorten the duration, so I guess I just have to let it "work itself out". The weather has been so beautiful the last few days that sitting indoors doubled over with cramps is really honking me off. There, I think I got out all my complaints for the day... Oops! Wrong - loose and lose. I saw an advertising blurb the other day using the word "loose" instead of "lose". "Loose" means not tight; "lose" means no longer having possession of something. When I see stuff like that, it makes me loose my temper.... :blink:

Lest we forget - there are two types of vermouth: sweet (red) and dry (white). Most Manhattan recipes call for the dry (like the "Perfect" Manhattan) and are served with a lemon twist. Then there are those (like me) who like a sweet Manhattan made with Southern Comfort (not a whiskey, really), red vermouth, a splash of Maraschino cherry juice and at LEAST two cherries. Yeah, it's really sweet but I only drink them when its cold outside. They taste like....cough syrup. Hmm... I was never a fan of Scotch, Canadian whisky or rye. I like Bourbon, but was never into Maker's Mark. I've always preferred Wild Turkey or Baker's 107 (a single-barrel bourbon that is 107 proof). Never cared much for Jack Daniel's (although a sour mash brew, not technically a bourbon since it is made in Tennessee, well outside the delimited area for bourbons. Also, try Jack and Wild Turkey back to back. IMHO, there is no comparison.) Chz, you may have already tried it but I'm a fan of Corazon tequila - all three versions (Blanco, Reposado and Anejo) are good.

The vendor of a fairly popular software app (who shall remain nameless) made some changes in its latest version which renders much of our remote data system useless. Now, everyone who downloads this new version basically shuts down their ability to do work. Oh, and since it is our website, I get all of the support calls. Nifty. Thanks to (nameless) software vendor for screwing up my holiday weekend.:angry:

The lease on my car doesn't run out until August. However, to lock in a screamin' lease deal, I ordered my replacement vehicle in April with a July delivery date. So of course, it arrived last week. Now I have to pay two car payments for the next three months (plus insurance). (The two vehicles are different makes...) However, I do get to enjoy the new vehicle for two extra months, so maybe it's not so bad... Picking it up today, BTW.

You beat me to the punch - I spent a week at the Northstar one night. Great place!

Yep -everyone in DC is posturing for the 2012 elections while the rest of us working slugs try to eek out a living on what's left after Uncle Sam and Uncle Andrew get done bleeding us. Bipartisan my a$$..... :censored:

Yes, this. The next tree-hugger that utters the phrase "global warming" is getting a mouthful of yellow snow. :pirate:

Now that the weather is nicer and my car isn't encrusted with salt, I can see all the dents and dings caused by backing into snow banks during the winter. My lease expires later this year and I'm going to have to fix the dings (or pay through the nose at the end of the lease). Crap.

Today's not Friday.....:(

The Lady GaGa concert (also known as the Monster Ball) doesn't start here in Buffalo for 28 more hours.....Should have tried for Toronto tickets as well (she's there tonight).

The claws are banded together not only to prevent human handlers from getting their fingers pinched, but also to keep the lobsters from harming one another. So, that is maybe not as cruel as it appears. The dirty water part bothers me for two reasons: first, the lobsters are going to be dinner, so their last "home" should be clean. Second, someone is going to eat these things and if they are "breathing" dirty water, they will taste gross. :thumbdown:

Ditto. My boss is going to be in Key West next week and it makes me want to go there (again) really bad. One of the pleasant thoughts that has gotten me through this ugly winter was remembering having Caribbean French Toast for breakfast sitting on the patio at the Westin hotel. Great view of the water, tropical breezes, laid back atmosphere. In other words, the exact opposite of my day so far. (Stale donut, rainy skies and dirty snowpiles).

Yeah, but you don't have to shovel heat. My snowblower aged three years this season (not to mention my back). Another mojito please, Jimmy.......:beer: