Wednesday, August 30, 2006

New graphics card.............

Installed a new graphics card today. More correctly, I had the guy at the computer store where I bought the card show me how to install it. I'm glad I brought my computer to the store, he saw that my AGP connecter thingamabob wasn't long enough and gave me a little extension cord for it.

The fact that I didn't screw it up is noted because I am typing this out and not looking at a blank screen. It's nothing real fancy, but it's 8 times as much memory and it has it's own processor....... it's way faster then what we had.

Now our son will be able to play W.O.W. faster then 2 frames a second.

This poor guy was arrested for DWB. I have several good friends that are African-American and they all say this happens to them.

In particular, one of them was recently involved in an auto accident in Philly and while he had witnesses that said the other driver was clearly at fault-he had to go to court to prove it wasn't his fault. Thankfully he had his camera with him and documented the crash scene. My folks didn't raise me to pick my friends on the basis of their skin color..........that kind of shit drives me nuts.

Some wise-ass entomologists have a wicked sense of humor. I like it, Don is as clueless as a slime beetle.

Debate? Hell they oughta have a pay-per-view UFC event with those two guys.

I'd pay to see it.

There ain't no way Bush would stand a chance debating Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I listened to the Mike Wallace interview a few weeks ago and Ahmadinejad totally controlled the flow of things.........the dude definitely has an agenda.

I tape this show and watch it from time to time. I am so glad I don't have to fly as part of my job. Some poor guy missed his flight because he was standing in the wrong place and didn't hear an announcement. It wasn't his fault, but the clerk at the ticket desk was such a smug bastard about it, I wanted to punch my TV.

Unless you get out of college and are making 70 or 80 grand right off the bat.........this is scary. I don't see how people in their 20's can survive and save money for a house. If we had to buy the house we've lived in for the past 15 years...... now..........we wouldn't be able to afford it. The prices for houses in our area blow me away.

This site probably isn't safe for work but this video of talking dogs featured on it is.

Here's something I knew 30 years ago.......homework blows. Even though homework sucks-if I could turn back the clock 30 years..........I would have gone to at least 2 years of college. Education is one thing no one can take away from you once you have it.

If I was this truck driver............I woulda had a SBE*.




*Sudden Bowel Evacuation..............First off, the dumbass was stupid enough to park in between railroad crossing gates right on the tracks. What did he think was gonna happen when the blinking lights and bells started going off? An ice cream truck was gonna show up?

Today's science break. I guess I could skip out on paying off the mortgage.........

Everyone that works with other people should read this. Personally, I enjoy what I do quite a bit, but they are quite a few folks that don't. I would imagine there are lots of reasons for this, but working with unhappy people can't be a whole lot of fun. I work by myself most of the time, so if I'm in a bad mood-the only person I have to blame is me.

Looks pretty sanitary to me. I've heard of fake Rolexes and counterfeit handbags.....but never fake Pepsi. I bet it tastes no worse then real Pepsi or people wouldn't be buying it.

Once I get my business up and running and I begin to help clients set up new computers............the AOL software included on almost all new computers will be one of the first applications I remove. Hopefully if any of my future clients use dial-up, I can talk them into using something like Earthlink....

If Jimmy Carter knew what he knows now back when he was President-he would have been much more effective. The dude is pretty damn smart. I don't agree with everything he says but if anyone else would have been president back then......66 hostages probably wouldn't be alive right now. That counts for something.

Today's photo break.........Golden Gate Bridge Photo Album. Click on "view album" for the pictures, it's kinda neat to see what SF looked like back in the 30's.

My next door neighbor is a pilot for American, I wonder if he has seen this video. He'd know if it was the real deal or not-the guy has been flying for 30 years.....

So, Osama walks into this bar, see? An interesting piece on the "War on Terror". I didn't write it, but I agree with it. Sometimes I wonder if Bush oughta be in jail.

Florida: Where criminals go when they get old. Some of those folks look pretty damn scary.

Good article about kids being smart. Common sense usually doesn't come out of a book, it comes out of real life experience. My folks kept me on a fairly short string when I was growing up, but I still spent lots of time outside riding my bike, playing with friends and holding down part-time jobs. I'm proud of our kids, our 13 year old is very self-sufficient. Our daughter is doing just fine in her first couple weeks of college, she has already made tons of friends and loves campus life. I'm not surprised by this-she's a very independent woman.

This is why I don't have a roof rack to carry bikes. I would cry if I did that.

This might be old news by the time you read this, but if just one tree falls over in the hurricane, at least 500 news cameras and reporters will be there to interview the dead branches. I love it when those moron weather forecasters try to stand in 900 mph winds to show you it's really shitty outside.

I have this pet peeve about having my newspaper delivered to my door. Not to my lawn, the garden, the street, the driveway or the sidewalk in front of my house.

The front door.

I like to open the front door and pick up the paper.

Not to difficult unless you are our paperboy.

I've called about 3 or 4 times in the past couple months, I just got of the phone with the district manager and he assures me that he'll have this problem fixed up for me. Let's hope because he's the guy that will be delivering me a 2nd paper everyday that it doesn't end up at my front door.

Yeah, sure I'm a prick but when I used to deliver papers...........I always put in in between the storm door and the front door. Customer service rules. I made a boatload of money from tips when I was a paperboy.....kids nowadays.......

I bought one of the "Home Businesses for Dummies" books at my wife's suggestion.......tons and tons of great ideas and instructions. After I finish reading it (I'm already 1/2 way through it), I'll be busy for a few weeks setting up a business and marketing plan.

I read this and I think I will be buying a new laptop before Vista is released. I have no desire to be a beta tester for Microsoft.

Thanks for the comments regarding my new endeavors, I will be including some simple hardware and software installs as part of my services, I haven't yet integrated everything I want to do in my marketing and business plans. I really want to get everything down in black and white to see if the numbers are what I think they are.

I have a hunch that there are lots of frustrated folks out there that have problems that they don't know how to fix and don't know who to talk to to get them fixed. I don't see very many advertisments for this type of service..........the only national service around here is Geek Squad and their prices are outrageous. 129 bucks to clean out the inside of your computer with a can of compressed air? No thank you.

I have gotten an offer from my friend Doug to help me design a website, I will be taking him up on this for sure-I really like his work.

If I designed a web site?

I want to help folks with computers, not make them laugh when they click onto my site, I'm creative, but I know very little about designing web sites.

Stay tuned, it should be interesting!

Monday, August 28, 2006

Less is more...........

Well, not really.........but.....

You'll be seeing less posts here now that high school has started back up.

Daniel is going into 8th grade this year and my sleep schedule changes slightly when school is in session.

That and the fact that I will be spending time getting a business plan together for my soon to be consulting firm means less time to play around on the computer.

Consulting firm?

Damn, that sounds kinda grown up, doesn't it?

Not sure that's what I will end up calling it but saying "I take spyware and stuff out of your computer and help you understand things" sounds a little too simplistic.

Anybody have any ideas?

Our son has volunteered to help me, I'm gonna cut him in 50/50 with the profits after expenses but I am going to make him save 50% of his cut for education related stuff.

I used to cut grass, deliver papers and work at an auction house when I was 13 for spending money.......he's going to do some computer work and help with bookkeeping for some pocket money.

Times have sure have changed, but I'm not complaining-any time you can hang out with your kids and make money at the same time........it's all good. I told him he can be the executive vice-president and if he plays his cards right...........he might be a hundredaire next year.

Till later.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Been thinking.............

Actually, I've been thinking about this all summer, but my goal is to set up my own business fixing computers by January 1st 2007.

I'm not a certified "expert" with computers, but I am pretty good at some things that regular "non techie" people are sometimes afraid to do or don't know how to do.

At first, I am going to concentrate on helping people remove spyware and adware from their computers and help them keep it off their systems.

After I see how that goes, I can add services like installing home networks, setting up new computers, helping people figure out how to use e-mail, digital cameras, etc.....

One thing I've seen is that older folks that have computers but have no idea how they work or what they can do and I'd like to change that. I'm a nice guy and I have an honest face, so why not?

I know how to install memory, graphics cards etc, but I figure it's best to start out slow and build up slowly.

I don't have a business plan down on paper yet, but I will be working on that in the next week or so to see how much money I am going to have to invest in equipment, a web site, accounting software, etc, etc.....

Tentatively, my plan is to do this service at the customers house but maybe not everyone is comfortable with that, so I will need to buy at least a monitor to do stuff at home, some misc. equipment and I'd like a laptop to keep all my records and stuff on.

Anybody have any thoughts on how much I should budget for advertising?

Go ahead and throw numbers out there, I am curious as to what my readers think. I don't see very many advertisements in our local paper offering these types of services, I don't know if that's because there isn't a market for this kind of thing or not many people are doing it.

I guess there's only one way to find out:-)

I have no plans to quit my regular job, I have great benefits and there isn't any possibility I would consider quitting or going part time until both our kids are out of college.

Maybe at some point 10 years from now I could go part-time at my regular job (I'd get to keep my benefits) but that's wishful thinking at this point.

I just like screwing around with computers.

On to some useless stuff.........................

Album Covers From Hell. Not exactly safe for work......

The Empty Streets Of New Orleans. This is an eye opener.

This is funny, Number 15 is my favorite.

One day an out of work mime is visiting the zoo and attempts to earn some money as a street performer. Unfortunately, as soon as he starts to draw a crowd, the zookeeper grabs him and drags him into his office. The zookeeper explains to the mime that the zoo's most popular attraction, a gorilla, has died suddenly. The keeper fears that attendance at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla until they can get another one. The mime accepts.

So the next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before crowd comes. He discovers that it's a great job. He can sleep all he wants, play and make fun of people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime. However, eventually the crowds tire of him and he gets bored just swinging on tires. He begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his. Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition, and dangles from the top to the lion's cage. Of course, this makes the lion furious, but the crowd loves it.

At the end of the day the zookeeper comes and gives the mime a raise for being such a good attraction as a gorilla. Well, this goes on for some time, the mime keeps taunting the lion, the crowds grow larger, and his salary keeps going up. Then one terrible day when he is dangling over the furious lion he slips and falls. The mime is terrified. The lion gathers itself and prepares to pounce. The mime is so scared that he begins to run round and round the cage with the lion close behind. Finally, the mime starts screaming and yelling, "Help, Help me!", but the lion is quick and pounces. The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, "Shut up you idiot! Do you want to get us both fired?"

Does religion make you fat? Judging from all the people I see shopping when I'm at work...........I don't think religion has anything to do with it.

A very interesting opinion from someone you've never heard of. My thoughts?.........Let's Roll on some impeachment hearings.....

Good article about "micro" homes. When my wife and I were first married, out apartment was 600 square feet and it seemed plenty big to me. Heck, if we could have the same sized place with the addition of a 2 car garage (I need some place for bikes) it would certainly be cheaper to heat and cool then the 4 bedroom/3 bath house we have now............

Speaking of real estate, if this happens around here.......it could be very interesting. There are quite a few new developments springing up around here with starting prices in the 3, 4 and 5 hundred thousand dollar range. I don't know about you........but to me, a half million bucks is one helluva lot of money to spend for something you spend half the time you are in it sleeping.

Till later.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

I'm not a redneck.....honest.

Just because I eat Hot Pockets without a shirt on doesn't mean I'm a redneck.

Our son and I were at the local video game store yesterday and a whole family of rednecks were in there shopping around. Here in York County that's fairly normal. All you have to do is wear a dirty sleeveless t-shirt, knock a few of your teeth out and comb your hair with a bowling ball. Talking really loud also helps.

I'm not the smartest guy on the planet, but even I know it's a bad idea to bring a stick of dynamite onto an airplane.

Tom Cruise got fired. Big deal, the guy is a dickhead.

This article goes into some detail about Hollywood's recent downturn. I'm wondering if any of those Hollywood execs have recently had the pleasure of paying 5 bucks for a soda and 4 dollars for a tub of popcorn at the theater lately. I'd rather wait until the DVD comes out and watch it at home and not have to stare at the back of someone's head.

With all the crap going on in the world today with different countries, races and religions blowing each other up................this is either gonna be a really good idea or an incredibly bad idea. Me? I really don't watch that much network television so I don't give a poo as to what happens.

A fellow bike blogger has an excellent post up concerning childhood obesity and diabetes. Since I work in a supermarket, I see this on a daily basis and I help contribute since I make donuts for a living. I should feel ashamed but not as much as the parents who buy all that garbage for their kids. A donut once and awhile isn't gonna kill you but they ain't supposed to be a food group.

I've only owned 5 vehicles since I started driving 30 years ago. This one was my favorite.
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Mine looked almost exactly like this one.

Yeah, go ahead and laugh. My 73 Maverick was awesome. My buddy helped me put in about half dozen speakers, it had a 302 and air conditioning that could freeze a side of beef in 20 minutes.

You're either gonna like this piece or you're not gonna like it. Me? I like it because it makes sense. I've worked with lots of people over the years and I can usually tell when someone is lying to me.

Number 3 is my favorite. Number 5 is a close second.

Is this really a good idea? I happened to be off that day 5 years ago and watched it real time all that day. I have no desire to relive it. I bet it won't be commercial free like it was 5 years ago.

Speaking of commercials................."Mr. Jelly Donut Filler" is my favorite one of course...............I am a Real American Hero.

This thing makes a Hummer look like a Matchbox-check out photo #3. I wonder how long it will take for this military vehicle to become a fashion accessory.

Not everything I put on this blog is pleasant. This video is disturbing, but then cancer caused by smoking isn't a pleasant subject.

If you smoke-quit.

Till later.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Caution: Filling may be hot.....

I haven't been eating very much the last couple of days due to not feeling well, last night at work I was starved.

I bought some Hot Pockets for breakfast.

They aren't kidding when the directions say the filling may be hot.

The first bite was fine, the second bite was like eating molten lava.

I burned the roof of my mouth, my lip and my chest because I spit it out and the filling landed there. For anyone that knows me........none of the above is a shocker-I've done the same thing countless times before............one of these days I'll learn. Maybe next time I'll wear a shirt when I eat breakfast. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

1300 ft lbs of torque? Yeah, that's a tiny bit of overkill. Where do I sign up to get one?

Improv Everywhere goes to Home Depot. I'd love it if they came to where I work.

You'd think they could have at least grandfathered Pluto into planethood.

Vote fraud is for real.

Impeach the President? Interesting piece from Bill Maher.

100 years from now...........it will be very interesting to see how George Bush is remembered in history books.

The most isolated country in the world. Wanna take a guess before you click the link? I have to agree with the article, anyone that gets all their news from just TV or a local paper is missing out on quite a few newsworthy events.

Since our daughter has been gone in the past week, the cat has been following our son around everywhere. I guess the cat has found a new best friend. Not sure what will happen when our daughter comes home on weekends. The cat will certainly be confused.

Obviously, this writer doesn't like George Bush very much. I do have to agree with him.......60 books in one year is a lot. I love to read but I'd have a difficult time getting 60 books read in one year and all I do is make donuts for a living.

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Make yours here.

This website might not work for you if you don't have the proper plug-ins for you web browser, but if your computer is properly equipped..........this is what the inside of you refrigerator looks like when you close the door.

Speaking of kitchen appliances........we don't need this on our dishwasher. Our dishwasher sounds like it is diesel powered. Keeping on the same household theme...........toilets. The American Fat Ass toilet looks like it would accommodate an elephant.

I was down at my parents house last night changing a few settings on their e-mail software and my mom told me she made her first purchase online. Wow. I think I created a monster. I know she reads this blog, I'm just happy my folks decided to buy a computer and go online last year.

My fellow bike blogger Cycle Dog posted this satire piece. Thing is, I was listening to a cycling podcast last night at work were they were interviewing some cyclists that were arrested at a Critical Mass.

One rider was pissed because he got arrested when the police officer asked him to turn down the volume of his portable stereo speakers. He refused to turn the volume down so he got cuffed and stuffed..........how damn hard would it have been to just turn your portable stereo off and just keep riding?

Telling a cop what your rights are isn't always a good idea.

...........even if you're right.

Where's Waldo? He's hiding in one million boobs.

If you know about the recent H.O.P.E. conference, you might enjoy this link.

Barney has a P***s. I'm probably gonna go to hell, but I thought it was funny.

My friend Doug sent me this article. Set aside a few minutes or print it out and read it later. As it happens, I received my 401k/pension statement from my company earlier this week and the article made for good reading. I don't want to get into specifics, but if my wife and I live long enough to retire at age 66 1/2.........we will be making significantly more then we do now.

I hope I live long enough to die 10 dollars overdrawn.

Everyone needs a friend like my buddy Doug. If he thinks I'm full of shit, he has no problem letting me know his opinion. Much respect and keep those articles coming bro.............

Lastly, my friend Will is making great progress raising funds for his bike ride to raise money for cancer research. If you can throw the guy a couple bucks.........I know he'd appreciate it.

Till later and watch the filling on those Hot Pockets............

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Feeling better............

CycleDog recommended a certain kind of nasal spray to help with my sinuses. I found something similar and WOW- my sinuses opened up immediately. When I say immediately- I mean right now. Good stuff. Even better is the fact that it doesn't have any drugs in it, it's all natural.

Thank you so much Ed! I still feel less then 100%, but at least I can breathe.

I'm not sure I understand why this is cool. I was a kid at one time but it never occurred to me that it would be a good idea to get out of a moving vehicle and act like an asshole.

Maybe because I knew if I got ran over, my old man woulda kicked my butt after I healed up from the injuries substained from the car. Moral of the story? Maybe it isn't a bad idea to have a little fear of your old man. And not do dumb stuff.

Amazing picture of San Francisco after the 1906 quake.

I want one of these. It would most likely be the last vehicle I'd ever have to buy. With the diesel engine and aluminum body.......it would last a long time.

Hmmmm, I'm sure this seemed like a good idea to someone.

Looks like life sucks for you if you own a large SUV and wanna sell it.

This pretty much sums up how I feel about our current administration.

A bacon wallet. How damn cool is that?

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Till later.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

I'm scared...........

Just by chance I happened to catch yesterday's televised Presidential press conference. I can honestly say that the man is scaring the hell out of me.

You do have to hand it to the guy, he has the courage of his convictions. I wish I could agree with him on at least something but almost everything he thinks is a good idea........I disagree with.

I just hope he doesn't screw up anything worse then it already is for the next 2 1/2 years.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope it isn't the headlight of an oncoming freight train.

Till later.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Somebody hit me in the face with a bowling ball.....

It might make me forget how crappy I feel this morning. Got me one of those sinus headaches where your eyeballs feel like they are gonna pop out the front of your head.

Sore throat too.

Why am I sitting here in front of the computer instead of being in bed? I spent all day Sunday laying around and that made me feel worse.

A joke..........


A Buddhist monk walks up to the hot dog vendor and says, "Can you make me one with everything?"

I love this........a Web 2.0 bullshit generator. As if there isn't enough bullshit out there already.

This guy is sorry. So am I.

Some guy with 2 penises. Totally safe for work. I just posted it because I've never heard of such a thing before.

Is someone at Kraft Food smoking crack? This recipe can't be for real.

Nice. Maybe this is one of the reasons it's taking so long to rebuild.

Till later.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Why *Do* People Smoke Cigarettes?

Good question.

I saw that the courts have decided to convict Phillip Morris of racketeering charges. Sure, they are going to appeal, I wish they would go broke defending themselves.

Anybody that reads this blog knows I used to smoke and it was damn difficult to quit. I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke and if someone pollutes the air I am breathing with smoke, I have no problem asking the offending smoker to put their cigarette out. It just kills me when I see people crowded around the entrances of "no-smoking" buildings.......smoking.

I've read that second hand smoke kills, I don't do first hand smoke, sure I sure as hell ain't gonna do second hand smoke.

I pay the same health care rates for my benefits as a smoker, I'd like the smokers to pay more and for me to pay less.

I'd also like to see the same thing happen with
morbidly obese people.


How'd that get in there? I love the story tagline.

Here's an example of why everyone should be required to carry a handgun at all times.

I think this guy is on the right track with his kids, but I dunno about the stuff he has listed about his wife. He might not be sleeping on the patio-he might be sleeping in a hotel room. I know I would be...........

Tim from Alaska has a funny post about ............well, I'll let you read it.

We just dropped our daughter off to university yesterday, De Sales is near Trexlertown and about an hour outside of Philly. It's a super nice campus and Katies roommate also seems very nice. I know I have said this before.........but we are REALLY proud of her. She worked her butt off and earned a scholarship.......she's one cool chick:-) We are gonna miss her around here and the cat will probably take over her bedroom.

One thing I really noticed yesterday at De Sales was the amount of parents walking around in circles talking on cellphones. I bet if they still looked like this, they wouldn't be quite as popular.

My friend Doug sent me this article to read. It's a good article, I'm not sure what is going to happen in the elections in November........ I'd love to see the law changed so all senators, congressmen, judges and the President serve for no more then 6 years.

No second terms. There are too many damn idiots out there.

I think the country is going to go from one extreme to the other in the next 2 years if the Democrats gain control.

I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing, but I'm betting that's what happens. Maybe we should make all presidential candidates take an IQ test next time.

As well balanced as the article that Doug sent me was...........this NSFW one is a very profane. NSFW due to the F-bomb and few other profanities. Not sure why the author felt he needed to use foul language, he could have gotten his point across without coming across like a 12 year old. The only reason I posted it was I agree with some of his points. Certainly not his language.

Somebody is probably gonna light my ass up for this.........I think this guy should have used a little discretion when he was saying his prayers. Sure, he absolutely has the right to pray but would kill him to say them to himself when he's sitting on the plane with a bunch of other folks sitting near him? I don't think he should have been pulled off the plane, but a little common sense goes a long way. Same thing goes for these two guys. Sure they have the right to speak Arabic to each other, but it ain't the smartest thing to do while you're sitting on an aircraft waiting to take off. More here.

Today's science break. All I can say is Dr. Neil de Grass Tyson has a great sense of humor and anything that promotes science is a good thing.

Global warming? .....nah.

This guy has his stuff together. This guy wishes he did.

Till later.

Friday, August 18, 2006

I like bikes.........

That's a shocker, huh?
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Here's what we will all be driving when the oil runs out.

Izzat a cool bike or what? I'm not sure how one of them is gonna haul a semis full of consumer goods around but one of them would suit most of my needs. In reality, I'd settle for something like this when gasoline hits 5 or 6 bucks a gallon.

This is a pretty cool
program. More info here.

I sure hope the terrorists don't watch CNN.

This is good news. How darn difficult is it to get a warrant? I'm not saying that I like our government potentially spying on me, but there should at least be a paper trail.

Wrap Rage. I can identify with that.

This is the coolest dad in the world.

I didn't even know France had an army.

Violent crime is a bad thing.

Today is our daughters last day at home before we take her to university tomorrow morning. She spent the day with friends yesterday and needs to start thinking about doing some packing today. She has inherited the "procrastination" gene from her father.........

I read this NY Times article (registration required) about kids going back to school. Thought about it for a moment and here is a list of all the electronic stuff our daughter is taking with her.

-17" laptop
-100 gig portable hard drive
-printer/copier/fax
-iPod
-cellphone
-USB stick
-digital camera
-extra batteries for the laptop and camera

Lots of stuff, but if I was going to school, I wouldn't want to have to live without any of that stuff.

Today's science break-way cool video of a meteor.

Guess what? I'm guess George might blow a little steam off about this, but I bet he takes the diplomats advice. It's hard to argue with 1.3 billion people. Besides, where would Wal-Mart get their stuff made?

This article will make you think twice before you throw out plastic stuff. I know most of my trash either ends up in the local landfill, incinerator or is recycling, but you still have to wonder.

I love the comment when the guys says "I might as well ride my bike".....this guy had the right idea.

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Saw the above image at a fellow bike bloggers site, it reminds me of this years Tour. I read that Floyd's father-in-law committed suicide, how very sad.

I'm not saying Dell is a bad company to buy a computer from, but they aren't as good as they used to be.

Anything for a story.

Our son and I went shopping for a decent keyboard yesterday, we ended up buying this one. I had spilled a glass of milk all over the previous "good" keyboard we had and replaced it with a cheapie one. Bad move, having a good keyboard makes typing "so" much easier. This one is wireless, so that's even better.

"Our water bill is gonna be outrageous".

Till later.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

French toast and scrapple.......

French toast and scrapple is one of my favorite breakfast foods. Since I'm on vacation this week, our son and I have been going up to the local restaurant for breakfast. Probably not the best thing if you wanna lose weight, but mmmmmmmm good.

Airport security is a joke. I just make donuts for a living, but even I can figure out that if someone wants to do something malicious on a plane.........they're gonna figure out a way to circumvent security and it ain't going to be someone like this or this

This photoset reminds me of our house when we bought it. Some of the highlights included green shag carpet and red velvet and gold foil striped wallpaper. We didn't move in until we gutted it and redid all the flooring and paint.

For motorheads only............it's not a rat rod........it's a hot rod. There is a difference.

Our daughter got one when she was 17 and our son got one when he was 12. I was 40 when I got my first one.

This has to be the dumbest bike I've ever seen. They can't be serious. Oh, wait........they aren't.

Saw this on a fellow bike bloggers site. God forbid if I ever win the lottery. I will need a separate garage for bikes.

Not sure how much this monstrosity costs, but it sure seems to have every gadget known to man except a toaster.

Maybe soon when I go to work, I can wear some ads on my forehead or something. I'd like to ask, "where will it stop?" but I'm afraid of the answer.......

George"Bono" Bush was 3 miles from my house yesterday and took a Harley for a spin.
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Thank God the Harley was in a test stand.

This guy isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

I have a feeling that the "terorists" are laughing their asses off at us right now. At least things are going well in Iraq...........

Till later.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

I like donuts..........

I'm sitting here in front of the computer.............eating donuts.

I didn't make them since I'm on vacation, I bought them from a place I used to work at. Not sure if they are the best donuts in the world, but they are pretty damn close.

They are better then Krispy Kreme for sure.

It was a great place to work and I loved working there but the hours were killer. I worked 12 hour shifts......1 shift 7 AM to & PM, 1 shift 7PM to 7 AM and 2 shifts 1PM to 1 AM.

Great job and great people but the hours sucked.

This is a good read. I never really thought about the "color" codes like that before, the guy makes a lot of sense.

I think we should use the "SPOT" technique described at the end of this article. Sounds like racial profiling and I guess it probably is, but mom, dad, the kids and grandma ain't bombing stuff.

Here's a shocker.............it's mostly young Middle Eastern men.

Sure, it's not fair to just pick on them but when almost all the terrorists in the past have been young Middle Eastern men.........they are going to get added attention when they fly. Fair or not.

I've read that Robin Williams is in rehab for alcohol abuse, sure hope he works things out. His latest movie looks like it will be good.

WAKA. Damn, that looks like fun.

Bob Barker doesn't like to be touched.......and he doesn't have a whole helluva lot of patience either.

I'm a geek and a repressed motorhead. I love this computer modeled after one of my favorite cars.

Here's the dumbest thing I've seen today. Quitting smoking was the 3rd best thing I ever did. Number 1 of course was marrying my lovely wife and number 2 would be our children. There are more graphs here.

I have a reader or two that lives in Portland.

This guy is a dick.

Kinda looks like "Just Say No" ain't working too good.

President Bush is visiting my town later today. Lovely. The traffic should be a total clusterf*** most of the day. I like how one of our daily papers focuses on the visit and the other bitches about the traffic. He was here in 2004 and they closed the main east/west route through York County for several hours. I don't think he won many friends that day.

0 to 60 in 4 seconds and no gasoline? Somebody give me $100,000 real quick. Actually, I'd like the same battery and motor technology installed in my mini van. 0 to 60 in 4 seconds in a minivan would be bitchin'.

Till later.




Monday, August 14, 2006

Comcast is slow this morning.......

Not sure what's going on, maybe all the tubes are filled up, but our internet connection is flying along at dial-up rates......

I'm wanna be just like
this guy in 30 years. I've subscribed to his videos and they are pretty darn good.

You are what you search. I'm glad I don't use AOL........

JTL..........Just The Loot.

I'm glad this isn't in America. Someone would have put pasties on them by now.

Get a grip. Good article about terrorism here in the US of A.

Nothing against lawyers, the UCI or WADA or anything but this is why you won't be seeing too many professional cycling related articles here on this blog for a while. I've lost interest.

I just love when my buddy George gets a great idea. Let's just be happy that the whole plot was found out and shitcanned before it got too far and learn from it what we can.

"We live in troubled times, but I'm confident in our capacity to not only protect the homeland, but I'm confident in our capacity to leave behind a better world" That's a great quote from our President.................I wonder if he has visited New Orleans lately..........

Mormons like porn.

This dude is 71 years old, has 55 million bucks and two kids under the age of 6. Is America a great country or what?

Sometimes the media goes off the deep end. Let the poor guy do his time and leave him alone.

Till later.






Support magnetic ribbons

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Ever see those magnetic ribbons that people stick on their trunklids????

Here's a few that I've seen....

"Cancer Awareness"

WTF? Should I be aware of cancer at all times? Even when I am driving? Dumb, dumb, dumb considering that the person probably bought it at Wal-Mart and none of the money went to cancer research.

"God Bless Our Troops"

Is this a statement or a command? I don't know about you, but I ain't telling God to do anything. What if some of our troops are atheists?

"Support Our Troops"

No shit. I don't think any of them wanna be over there, why not have a sticker that says "Bush Screwed Up-Let's Send His Ass Over There."

"I Love My Cat"

You're kidding me right? Cats are okay and everything (we have one) but to go to the time and trouble to find a magnetic ribbon that says that is incredible.

"Alzheimer's Awareness"

Not to make light of Alzheimers but I'm wondering how good can the driver of a car with this on his trunklid be? There a ribbon for every disease and disorder out there but how much of the money these folks take in goes to anything but their pockets?

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Here's a field guide to some of the other ones out there...........

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Till later.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

He's a lumberjack and he's okay.....

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That's Dan manning the saw.

We had a fairly large branch come out of one of our oak trees in the backyard and Daniel was bored at 5:30 this morning, so...........we dragged the limb up to the driveway and let him have at it.

My pop has an electric chainsaw, but me and power tools don't get along very well, so if the hand saw doesn't get the job done, I'll give my dad a call and invite him and his saw up to have a crack at it.

My friend Doug is gonna light my ass up for posting this but it's so bad...........it's almost funny.

Pakistan is gonna be the new Iraq. I have a friend that was born and raised in Pakistan and she and her husband moved to America several years ago to escape the place. From what she says, it's not the best place to find a job when you are a woman and have a college education.

Here's a slippery slope. Let's hope we don't slide down it. I have friends of all races and nationalities.....it's not what a person looks like-it's what's inside that counts.

Take this test. No surprise, I ended up in the Libertarian end of the scale.....

This is cool. Not 500 bucks cool, but cool nonetheless.

Frank Caliendo. This guy's pretty damn good.

I guess it sucks to live in PA. I don't drive all that much and hardly any on the Interstates so it's not that big a deal for me.

Good article about the media and the latest "terrorism" plot. I agree, the media has always been..........."If it bleeds, it leads".

I think something is wrong with my monitor.

Way cool color pictures from the 30's and 40's. I like.

Here's why increasing amounts of Americans are gaining weight and losing friends........

Till later.

.........I gotta go admire myself in the mirror.

One more week........

Our daughter is headed off to De Sales University this week to begin her 5 year P.A. program.

Am I gonna miss her?

Oh yeah.

Lots.

Between her job this summer and my crazy work hours.........I haven't got to spend much time with her the summer.

I know she is anxious to start the next phase of her life and I know she is gonna have fun making new friends and facing new challenges.

She's a good kid and I love her bunches :-)

Friday, August 11, 2006

I broke the internet.

We didn't have internet for a couple days...... Our daughter and I suffered some withdraw pains but we made it through okay......not sure what happened but the cable guy came and fixed it in about an hour or so. Thank you Mr.Comcast guy........

Today's science break........damn, that's close.

Americans are pretty damn dumb. Dump all your liquids into one big container? Not good. I'm very glad that they caught the guys planning to do this, but I am even happier I don't have to fly as part of my job. Show up 3 hours before a flight? Soon everyone is gonna have to fly naked. God forbid they ever catch a terrorist with a bomb stuck up his ass........can you say "cavity search?"

It's all about the money. As long as Mel keeps pumping out movies that make boatloads of money...........Hollywood will get over whatever he says when he's drunk. Soon as the guy has a bomb-he can kiss his career good-bye.

IBM PC's are 25 years old. I only go back to Windows 3.11..........I'm not that old. Sure I was born in 1959, but most folks didn't have PC's until the early 90's.

I hate to use the term "racial profiling" but when someone of Middle Eatern descent wants to buy 80 pre-paid cellphones........mmmmm, that might raise a red flag.

Tiny houses. The B-52 is about the size of my first apartment.

The RIAA not only sues their customers.......they sue them after they die.

Maybe George oughta take Rumsfield and Rice and have them base their operations directly in Iraq. Seems like there is plenty of opportunity over there.

Our American service men and women deserve better.

Here's what the terrorists are really up to.

Saturday's weather was perfect for a ride, but since I got about 4 hours of sleep before the Comcast guy got here, I was pretty wiped out for the rest of the day. Had to work last night and now I am on vacation for a week.

Our company is opening a new store next week and I am planning on going to the open house they have the night before they open. They usually have great food and it's nice to see a grocery store when it is absolutely pristine. You know.........before the general public shits on the wall in the store bathroom.........that's why we have employee bathrooms and no you can't use them.

I can't believe they don't have Pastafarian on this web site.

Candy scabs. Jeez, what will they think of next? Hemorrhoids on a stick? Sorry, I guess that isn't a very pretty word picture is it?

108,920 hp. Here's about 108,000 less. I love the way the guys drives the piss out of it. I guess if you can afford a car like that-you should drive it like you stole it............

Till later.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Doug takes *real* good pictures..........

I'm not a expert photographer by any means.

I enjoy taking digital pictures but I enjoy looking at other folks work way more then I like looking at mine.

One such person is my friend Doug. Do yourself a favor and check his website out. It's good stuff and he's a heck of a nice guy to boot.

Yeah, he's the same guy that posts here and disagrees with some of my political views, but hey-it's America and we're all entitled to our opinion. We gotta hook up for a ride again soon so we can do some "discussing" face to face........

I think I'm gonna start my own ad agency. After reading this-I might have a good chance of success. I don't understand why a company would change a tagline if it works so well........I guess the grass seemed greener on the other side of the fence.

No offense to my UK readers, but this guy is a weirdo.

Fan Death. South Koreans can't be that dumb, can they? I'm taking my life into my own hands because I have a fan running in our bedroom whenever I am sleeping. If this turns out to be my last post.............I guess they were right after all.

This is good advice even if you don't go to college.

I am a wallpaper addict.

You gotta love bike messengers.

If you like Penn and Teller........here's a link to 23 of their "Bullshit" episodes. If you've never heard of Penn and Teller.......this link is probably gonna offend you.

Head On.........apply directly to the forehead. I think I'd rather get hit in the face with a bowling ball then have to listen to that damn commercial one more time.

I have to end today with this story and images of 9/11......powerful stuff.

Till later.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

People are strange.........

One thing about working in a grocery store on the overnight shift is that you see lots of weirdos doing their grocery shopping.

Weirdos do have to eat I suppose...........

Some of the folks I saw last night as an example.......

-A mom leading her 4 year old around on a leash.

-A very attractive young lady covered from head to toe in some kind of mud/grease combination.

-Mom, dad, a couple of grandparents and at least 8 kids shopping. At 2 AM.

There are a couple of local colleges near our location and some of the kids are returning to classes. I can tell because most kids in our area are sleeping at 3 AM. The ones that aren't are shopping, wearing pajamas, slippers and shop in packs.

-We have some guy that shops in our store that we call "Chester the Molester" The dude is straight from a 70's porno flick........gold chains, hairpiece, polyester leisure suit and bellbottoms. You'd have to see it to believe it.

Woo hoo, the Mythbuster guys are gonna be testing the "Diet Coke and Mentos" trick tonight on Discovery. Now, I'll get the science behind why Diet Coke does what it does when you drop Mentos into a bottle of it.

There's doubt about Landis's test results. Whatever, I hope he is found not guilty of course but I have doubts about most of professional sports doping. Soon we are gonna here about professional golfers and bowlers being busted for EPO.

I'm not sure what my opinion is about this, except the whole thing is utter insanity.

Sure, they have apoligized for doing it, but if I was one of the 657,000 people on the list......I'd be pissed.

Hey, at least the box art is pretty. That's a lot of calories.

Our store has those kind of fancy cameras. We have cameras everywhere where I work except the bathrooms.

Today's "Somebody please buy me this" link.

Ride a bike and don't be an asshole.

Till later.

Monday, August 07, 2006

NASCAR is still boring...........

Tuco sent me this link from cleverchimp. Works for me. I'm 46 years old and I've only bought 3 cars since I was 18. We pay cash for them and drive them until it doesn't make economic sense to keep fixing them.

I've had my current ride for 7 years and haven't turned 50,000 miles yet. I take care of it so hopefully it will last at least another 7 or 8 years. If it lasts another 10 or 15.......so much the better- more shiny bike parts and electronic toys for me:-)

Tuco also sent me this article. My work is less then 4 miles from our house, my wife drives 24 miles one way to get to work. She could easily find something closer, but she loves where she works ..........so I suppose that has to count for something.

She is a nurse at a nursing home and she specializes in taking care of folks with Altzheimer's. I think she would drive 50 miles to work at the place where she is currently employed.

Like they say, nurses are angels wearing comfortable shoes.........and make no mistake about it-my wife is an angel.......she's put up with me for almost 25 years.

I spent most of Sunday afternoon goofing off, I was gonna work on cleaning up my workbench.......
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I kinda just dumped everything there after vacation..........

Instead of working on that, Daniel and I watched the tail end of the Brickyard 400. This is the first race I've watched since the Daytona 500 at the beginning of the year and I can't understand how I used to spend every Sunday glued to the screen watching it.

I dunno, maybe it was better 20 years ago when Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt were still alive and ripping each others bumpers off every week.............. and all the drivers weren't afraid of saying something wrong and offending their sponsors. Whatever, it's now a giant bore filled with commercials every 4 minutes.

That's probably why the only motorsports I watch anymore is NHRA.The races only last 4 or 5 seconds and the winner is often decided by less then a thousandth of a second. If you lose-you go home. I also catch a little WRC on bit torrent from time to time, those guys are nuts.

This is not good. I don't even pretend to understand what is going on in the Middle East but when innocent people are dying..........that's hard to take.

Ann Coulter is a jackass. Sure, she's entitled to her opinion about anything and everything but she oughta get her facts straight before she opens up her piehole.

Bamboo bike. Not sure how durable this would be with me riding it. I have a feeling I'd be picking bamboo splinters out of my nether regions.

Double backflip at X Games 12. Man, that is sick. What would be sicker is to see him try it on a mountain bike. Better yet? A road bike. That would be sick.

Bend over and lube up. 4 dollar a gallon gasoline will be here in no time.

I feel Tom's pain.............not. He's totally assed out.

Kidstoned Chewable Valium. SFW video on a NSFW website. I wish some parents would give these to their kids before they bring them grocery shopping. Some of the parents should take them as well.

New airline. Not one I would like to fly on, I've seen the in-flight magazine.

Today's "Somebody please buy me this" link.

Till later.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

HURRA TORPEDO total eclipse of the heart (J.Steinman) - Google Video

And now for something completely different..........

HURRA TORPEDO Google Video

My wife is tough..........

My wife and our daughter are back from Pittsburgh. After sleeping on the 3rd floor of a un-air conditioned school for a week during last week's record heat.........they were glad to get home. My wife has a bunged up knee she's gonna have to get checked out and she's walking (barely) on crutches, but she still went to work this morning.

I think her leg could fall off and she wouldn't complain......... she's tough.

Here's how to tell if you need to get out more. Write a review on milk.

Most porno ends up in the hands of kids. That's because the kids steal it from their parents.

My favorite is the UFO.

Good article about Kevin Rose.....the guy that started Digg.com

I'm sure glad the heat wave has broken, or else this guy is gonna pop a blood vessel. More here.

Very cool picture of lightning.

Our daughter's boyfriend would like one of these. It would probably vibrate the paint off his car. He's kinda like I was when I was that age. Only I never had bright red hair.

Is the shit really ready to hit the fan? Sometimes the media goes a bit over the top.

Here's how to give a PETA member a heart attack at their next birthday party. No offense to any vegans out there, but I love eating meat.

Darwin's theory of evolution in action. What would possess someone to do something so stupid? I did a lot of dumb stuff when I was a kid, but nothing like that.

I must have pinched a nerve or something the other week when I was on vacation. It doesn't hurt to ride a bike or doing normal stuff but after 7 or 8 hours of standing on my feet at work.........it's a little uncomfortable. I rode 35 miles or so Saturday and felt fine but 7 hours of being on my feet at work Saturday night just about killed me.

There's two sides to every story of course, but this side has a good story. If they make an electric mini-van in the next 5 years.........I'd seriously consider buying one. Most of my trips are less then 10 miles so I'd be a perfect candidate for one.

I'm Gay. What's your point, so are lots of other folks. Big deal. Me thinks Lance needed a little bit of media exposure.

I'm surprised Fred hasn't been killed yet. My opinion is that it's only a matter of time before some vet with PTSD takes him out.

Somebody buy me one of these.

Here's where all your tax money went.

"And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic"................... here's a few Don. Here's an Op-Ed piece from the NY Times........

August 4, 2006
Editorial
The Sound of One Domino Falling

ItÂ’s been obvious for years that Donald Rumsfeld is in denial of reality, but the defense secretary now also seems stuck in a time warp. You could practically hear the dominoes falling as he told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday that it was dangerous for Americans to even talk about how to end the war in Iraq.

“If we left Iraq prematurely,”he said, the enemy would tell us to leave Afghanistan and then withdraw from the Middle East. And if we left the Middle East, they'd order us and all those who don't share their militant ideology to leave what they call the occupied Muslim lands from Spain to the Philippines. And finally, he intoned, America will be forced to make a stand nearer home.”

No one in charge of American foreign affairs has talked like that in decades. After Vietnam, of course, the communist empire did not swarm all over Asia as predicted; it tottered and collapsed. And the new “enemy” that Mr. Rumsfeld is worried about is not a worldwide conspiracy but a collection of disparate political and religious groups, now united mainly by American action in Iraq.

Americans are frightened by the growing chaos in the Mideast, and the last thing they needed to hear this week was Mr. Rumsfeld laying blame for sectarian violence on a few Al Qaeda schemers. What they want is some assurance that the administration has a firm grasp on reality and has sensible, achievable goals that could lead to an end to the American involvement in Iraq with as little long-term damage as possible. Instead, Mr. Rumsfeld offered the same old exhortation to stay the course, without the slightest hint of what the course is, other than the rather obvious point that the Iraqis have to learn to run their own country.

By contrast, the generals flanking him were pillars of candor and practicality. Gen. John Abizaid, the U.S. commander in the Middle East, said “Iraq could move toward civil war if the sectarian violence which he said “is probably as bad as I’ve seen it” — is not contained. The generals tried to be optimistic about the state of the Iraqi security forces, but it was hard. They had to acknowledge that a militia controls Basra, that powerful Iraqi government officials run armed bands that the Pentagon considers terrorist organizations financed by Iran, and that about a third of the Iraqi police force can’t be trusted to fight on the right side.

As for Mr. Rumsfeld, he suggested that lawmakers just leave everything up to him and the military command and stop talking about leaving Iraq. We should consider how our words can be used by our deadly enemy,” he said.

Americans who once expected the Pentagon to win the war in Iraq have now been reduced to waiting for an indication that at least someone is minding the store. They won't be comforted to hear Mr. Rumsfeld fretting about protecting Spain from Muslim occupation.

......................I don't know about you, but Rumsfield scares the hell out of me.

I have no idea how they did this, but it's pretty cool.

I sure hope the computer I am typing this one doesn't crap out in the next year or so. I'd hate to have to buy a new one in the first year Vista comes out. It's doesn't seem like it will have all the bugs worked out of it for awhile.

Bump keying. Read this and then watch this and this. Yikes.

Guilty or not..........what a clusterf***. I don't know what to think. Did he dope or didn't he dope? By this point, I've really stopped caring.

4 videos you need to see concerning what the Israelis are doing to Palestinians. Make your own mind up about what is going on.

Gotta leave ya with something upbeat...........

Till later.

Friday, August 04, 2006

More T-Shirts........

Ya'll gotta check out Mark's T-shirts..........
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His sense of humor is right up my alley.

I e-mailed him and told him all that's missing is a "Hey Sugar Tits" T-shirt. Of course, I would never say anything like that but it sure didn't stop Mel Gibson from saying it.

Speaking of my buddy George Bush........here's a PDF file of an advertisement that was in the NY Times on Thursday from an organization that would like to see him out of office.
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I'd like to see him impeached.

Check this bike out. I'll take two. Maybe they'll mate and have babies......

This is a touch geeky, but it would be great fun if you have an open Wi-Fi network. Speaking of geeky things........this will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck if you're a geek.

This is like a car accident on the freeway, you just can't help but stare.

More politics. I'm not defending the Bush administration here, but exactly what is Hilary's plan? She's just blowing smoke.

If you are in the area, a bunch of us are getting together Saturday morning for a friendly little road ride...........well, it'll be friendly until we get to a couple of good climbs.

See you guys at the top when I catch up.

I haven't weighed my self for a few weeks but I know I've lost weight because I need to wear a belt or my pants fall off.

Maybe ice cream is a good recovery fuel.

Meet at my house at 7:30.

Should be fun.

Till later.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

I got my ass kicked.......

Remember yesterday when I said I have a chance of keeping up with my good friend Hank on a road ride since he has a broken rib and is black and blue all down his side?

Not a chance.

I kept up mostly, but he kicked my ass on all the climbs we did. I think he needs to go another cruise.

A long cruise.........like around the world.

3 or 4 times.

Here's my excuses for not keeping up.......

-I rode too much last week and I am "rode out"

-It was 90 degrees

-I am too fat, ice cream is not the best recovery fuel

-I ate 3 slices of pizza an hour before we rode.

-Sweat got in my eyes

-I forgot my socks

-I couldn't make my mind up which gear to use.

Whatever, I think we are riding again Saturday morning, it should be fun as long as it's not 900 degrees. It's kinda hard to have a bad bike ride unless you crash or something.

Here's a shocker, oil companies are somewhat to blame for high gas prices. No shit. What's the answer? Beats the crap out of me, it should get interesting once gas hits 5 or 6 bucks a gallon.

I am a Marilyn Manson fan.......sure, the guy is somewhat different and just because I enjoy his music doesn't mean I'm a devil worshipper........by the way he's tons smarter then Bill O'Reily.

Getting busted for reading blogs at work? You need this.

Remember the guy I was talking about last night that got stuck in the toilet stall? I found out that he is homeless and lives in his car. Not to be insensitive, but maybe he could find somewhere else to take a dump next time.

You thought I was gonna say "Maybe he should lose 200 pounds and get a job" didn't you?

Nah, not me.

This should piss off most folks with young kids. I'd like to see "kids free" days at theaters, grocery stores and just about everywhere the more I think about it. The problem isn't the kids of course, it's the parents who do a shitty job of being parents.

Got my Surly back from the LBS after having them check the rear wheel after I dinged it last week. Should be fine for awhile, unless where I dinged the rim develops more of a crack. Works for me, I'm sure my wife will be happy to find out that I don't have to buy a new rear wheel for awhile.

Till later.