One year ago today: October 21, 2014, saddlebags, one year ago.
Five years ago today: October 21, 2010, Google sucks.
Six years ago today: October 21, 2009, cellular compartmentalization.
MORNING
Here is your morning graphic. It's because Mr. Trump says it is really over $19 trillion. So, who you gonna believe? The establishment or the Donald? Hard choices.
national debt
I spent the morning (waiting for a phone call) in the coffee shop. It was curious to hear the women talking about how forward women are. To me, that means that other women approach their husbands. Take it from all the single guys I know, they never get approached. Women never break the ice, so I was amused to hear so many women complain about it. My conclusion is that it is the “married man” syndrome in reverse.
That’s where all the married men at the office think if they were single again, they’d get attacked by all the available women. Wrong, it is well-known that women regularly let down their guard around married men. After all, at least one woman thinks he is safe enough to live with. This never happened to me personally, since my wife was intimidatingly beautiful. Was, past tense. Never again.
Well, okay, I do occasionally get advances from women. It’s rare and you usually hear about it. The problem is it is never any woman I’d consider. That might change if they are pretty enough, but no danger of that in Florida. Until then, remember that dating women over 30 or 35 is just not something men like myself take to naturally. It is more something that has to be sidled up to slowly. Kind of a process of desensitization. Or building up an immunity.
You know what I don’t like in Florida? The way the pawn shops clog the ad spaces for military surplus. Didn’t I just say this last day? Well, double that for today. It’s a rip-off, they somehow get the advertising sites to list the as military surplus, but they are pawn shops. And the Florida pawn shops are not like real pawn shops. But I got a call from my inquiries, stick around later today to see if I got my new saddlebags.
NOON
By dint of hard work, I found the last two 30mm ammo boxes in Florida. What? Oh, you must be thinking of the 20mm, which are available anywhere. They used to give you those free to cart away your purchases. Not no more. These puppies (30mm) now retail for up to $62 apiece. The military is watching what winds up for sale. No more shipping bricks of you-know-what sewn inside corpses and Thai sticks flown across the Pacific to mom. Heck no. Now, most theft is done electronically.
These are destined to replace the saddlebags, but these have no locking mechanism. I’ll install them and let some solution to that suggest itself. I had to go for the minimum size that fit in the available pocket that would still accommodate a life-sized battery. The interior of these boxes is 2 cubic feet, the ratios being 8x10x2 (nearabouts, the idea is that I can fit the battery). They will be the only truly watertight storage compartments on the motorcycle.
I have an agreement with the shop that if these should prove too large or unweildy, I get the same discount on the next size down (20mm). I’ve learned to opt for the largest bins possible for long-distance travel. Since the day was lost with this chasing about, I went to the pub on Johnson a second day in a row. Ostensibly for a brew, I also wanted to know how to install a lock on these boxes. They don’t lock by themselves, you know.
Unlike years ago, I know have the tools and know-how to make these things fit. The original Honda framework is kind of flimsy compared to what I’m replacing it with. There is enough space inside the boxes for a better tool kit, enough to change a tire myself on the road. Remember what that cost last time around. And as for cost, these boxes and brakes have eaten up the entire October budget for travel. Unless something lands in my lap. The last time that happened, I married her.
Question, do we go to the Church Festival this year? I’d say yes. I wrote Alaine to say, quite honestly, that I go there to visit with her so I’m not going except if she is there. She asked if I’d be there, but golly, that’s not the same as saying we’ll visit. Mind you, she did add that an old friend of mine would be there again. Miss Miami. Great singer. So here’s the plan. If I get a direct invite, or there is perfect motorcycle weather Sunday morning, I’ll head for St. Judes. Deal?
EVENING
Again, my ratings are up over my posts about privacy and spoofing. It’s likely just an idea whose time has come, since you can go back to the 1980s to find my warning about “public” records. Actually, you can go back further, but there is nothing published. Yes, I’ve noticed people want to know more about what to do than how it works. All I can say is start reading because each person’s situation is so different, there are few universal rules.
This photo is, I believe, the Suvla Bay, or at least very nearby because that is Tepe Ridge on the horizon. This terrain is typeical of the east Mediterranean coast, but in reality it isn’t much good for anything other than fighting useless battles. Notice the far side is clearly visible. It is not difficult for me to conclude a large reason the Brits got away with it was that a much larger portion of their army is officers and administrative personnel. They can play-act and keep a secret better than large numbers of enlisted men.
At midnight I, I was still reading when Agt. M came by. He ran his $5,000 bicycle off a small cliff in Oleta Park and wound up in emergency with a nearly dislocated shoulder. There is only one thing to do in such a situation, that is go for coffee and the all-night donut shop and listen to the tale of woe. Actually, I was more interested in the bicycle. Nobody tell him he does not have the ultimate bicycle. Anymore than I have the ultimate robot.
ADDENDUM
The lower photo in the noon grouping above is the two ammo boxes resting on top of the tarp-covered cPod camper. I’ve opted for these heavier duty tarps as canvas doesn’t perform. It gets wet, it stays wet, it is heavy. I’m also taking measurements for a possible quick-throw-up canopy for the sidecar. Remember Winter Haven last summer? That rainstorm hit so fast that in the few minutes it took to throw open the camper and get inside, I was soaked. I need something to hop under in seconds, not minutes.
Also, the camper is designed for one thing, sleeping. While it is possible to sit up in the aft section when the hatch is open, it is meant for reclining. I’d be more partial to a tarp and pole arrangement that “snaps” over the entire chair and front deck of the sidecar. That sidecar “hood”, I’ve learned, makes an excellent work area, desk, dinner tray, and place to set a hot coffee. The idea of a small tent is not a given, as one has to contend with fierce wind during most Florida rainstorms.
I found replacement tonneau covers for $35 from Arbalet (Ukraine) but they are the same feeble material that, while it may survive 40 below, it cannot handle humidity and cold both. The leather cracks. Also, I’m getting partial to something I can plunge into directly from the motorcycle rather than walking around to the cutout, but I’m not insisting on it.
For any copycats, the exact model of my sidecar is the Ural MT. The “new” units hitting the market are made of cheaper materials and have shiny black paint. This is not authentic and will not match my beautiful antique unit. I’ve also located a set of factory new shock absorbers for $120. This was my day!
Last Laugh
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
