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Friday, November 17th, 2006
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4:41 pm - Consolidation
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This is a time of consolidation in my life, and I have decided not to continue with this journal. I will, instead, post my musings and day-to-day stories on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ravensroads, creating a journal that is a little more cohesive than it has been. I just got done reposting all the posts from this journal there, and henceforth ravensroads will serve as my travel and my author blog.
I hope that those of you who haven't already joined me over at Raven's Roads will now do so. :-)
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| Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
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5:15 pm - Bastions
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Today I did a nice 180 mile round trip to Stockton and back, to visit a friend and do some snarfing.
To my delight, we found a statue celebrating one General Gridley--whose claim to fame was selling the same bag of flour over and over again to make money for good causes of the time.
Maybe not remarkable...but just yesterday, I logged a snarf for the Gridley Store in Austin, Nevada. Same Gridley. Talk about a small world! I squee'd a lot.
All but the most experienced riders have "last bastions" of riding to cross...mine have been u-turns and lane-splitting. On the freeway coming home, near Tracy, an SUV decided to crash so hard that it landed and balanced on its hood. This crunched traffic somewhat. Eventually I got tired of overheating and split lanes for several miles. I have never split lanes before. Thus, I crossed a last bastion. I can split lanes, now.
Because I waited so long to get my courage up, I dehydrated, and took a break. The easiest way to leave my break spot was to do a u-turn. It wasn't a very elegant one, but I did it anyway. Interestingly, this feels less of a last bastion than a process. I feel I won't have much trouble splitting lanes in the future, but that I will still have to work at my u-turns.
And now, I'll amuse myself by watching my cat attempting to catch a fly. ;-)
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| Sunday, August 20th, 2006
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8:30 pm - Gag me with a spoon
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What is wrong with this picture?
Commercial. A woman is at the playground with her kid. Kid's about to take her turn on the slide. Bully-mother shoves her out of the way and has her kid take the turn instead. Mother #1 wimpily protests, "But it was our turn!" Bully-mother gloats, "Well it's our turn now."
So, Mother #1 scoops up her kid and rushes...to the Hummer dealership. She buys a Hummer. Apparently this is the solution to playground mother-ego-games.
What the...?
Now, if this were an ad for an assertiveness class, I'd understand it. But a society that relies on things to bolster confidence and assertiveness, especially big, ridiculous, stupid things--that is something that creeps me out in a big way. I sat and gawked at that commercial. Actually, it made me want to throw up.
The product--the Hummer--should never have been on the road at all. What the heck are we driving gas-guzzlers like this for when we're at war over oil? O ye who whineth over the cost of gasoline, did it occur to you to lobby for greener vehicles that get more than 10 mph? What, you think that we won't ever run out of oil? Try looking forward a bit and see the legacy we're leaving our children.
And quite aside from that, what kind of message are we sending here? Feel slighted? Buy something. Want to be confident? Buy a bigger something to compensate. Buy things to fill the gaps in your personality, o empty people of the States. I've lived in the USA for nine years now, and every so often this type of blatant turning of our emotions and insecurities into things-that-can-be-fixed-with-money catches me off guard. This one, indeed, was so incredibly stupid that it left a bad taste in my mouth.
It's a good job it's a Hummer, which costs more than I need to make ends meet for a year; they'll never know they lost a customer, because I would not touch a company that sells like this. It appals me that not only did they think they could make money with that ad, that they probably will. I have only one thing to say to the character in the ad. Honey, if you're so shallow that you need to buy a new Hummer to stand up to a bully...spend your money on a shrink. You'll feel better, and you'll have enough change left to buy a Smart Car.
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| Sunday, July 30th, 2006
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8:21 pm - End of the month putt
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Woke up early on Saturday and had a morning from hell. I had this sudden thought that I hadn't renewed a domain name and I was right: it had expired. So I tried to log in at the registrar and because the firewall is still reacting like an allergy to secure sites, I gave up when after an hour only the first page without its graphics had loaded. I also pulled out multiple clumps of hair. I need a haircut anyway.
So in disgust I gave up and rode to Kinko's. On the way I hit every red light (there are six, I counted, and that's in a 2 mile stretch.) One changed so fast I skidded when I stopped (and didn't fall off, I hasten to add). Kinko's wasn't open when I got there so I sat and seethed, imagining some nefarious person discovering my expired domain name while I waited. Eventually they opened and I ran to the machine and accomplished in three minutes what had taken me over an hour back home. I also discovered that my lovely new Markeroni design looks utterly lousy in Internet Explorer at the moment.
In a vile mood by now, not wanting to go to the end of the month putt at all I threw on my armoured pants and headed out to Hayward. Three miles after the 237/880 intersection I realised I should've gone north instead of south, so I did a freeway u-turn (it involved off-ramps and on-ramps, don't worry). Got to the putt (a monthly club ride tailored to the inexperienced rider) to find only two people there--only one of them riding. I finally got to see Laureen's new granddaughter pics as I missed them at the meetings. The other lady was Linda, so we had a Linda-fest and no inexperienced riders.
After a while we decided to go to Santa Cruz. 880 and 17 were nightmares with the congealed traffic oozing slowly to the coast, but fortunately it wasn't so hot. We were going to take Old Santa Cruz Highway and so we did for a whole 500 feet until the road was closed. Back-tracking, we decided to take Summit instead. I am not kidding you, when I took the exit and saw what I had to do I would have made the sign of the cross if I'd not been busy holding on for dear life. Holy chocolate ice cream, Batman! It was a right-turn switchback on at least a 25% grade and I remembered seeing it from a car and thinking "I don't ever want to ride up that thing." I made it anyway.
The rest of the ride was all swoopies and leaves and pretties, down to the zoo which is Capitola on a Saturday--four way stops with extra lashings of aimless tourists milling around in the intersections. Today, apparently, I was working on my traffic skills. We tried for the sea-front motorcycle parking, but no dice. Linda asked, "Santa Cruz?" and I nodded yes. Her Harley roared off and I followed her flapping red tassels. We caught an eye or two--me in my yellow jacket and she in her full matching red leathers--two chicks on 1400cc+ motorcycles, looking like traffic lights. Shame we didn't have a green.
I was enjoying myself, of course. I know I'm overdoing it when I'd rather stay at home and program than actually ride out and have a Good Time. It doesn't take many miles to have an attitude adjustment.
A few miles later we rolled up the wharf and parked at the top end. Lunch was clam chowder enjoyed in a restaurant overhanging the water, so that boats and canoes and pelicans and maybe the odd mermaid could all be seen floating by.
We took highway 1 home, a delightful run next to the crashing waves of the Pacific. A bank of fog was already rolling in, with a sharp deliniation between coast and inland. Coast was grey and inland was blue, so shiny blue and warm. We headed up 84, a road which starts with curves and then twists and then tighter twists and then tighter tighter twists, warming you up to a pleasantly challenging, fun ride where I practiced my counter-steering and danced delightfully with the turns. At one point I had a pleasant shiver of delight as I did a perfect left-right-left swoop without touching the brakes at all.
At Alice's Restaurant we parted company, one Linda going back towards 92 and another heading towards 9. I stopped at the overlook, where a huge raven hung about on the fence, not ten feet away, until some yuppies in a white convertible rolled up right into its space and it removed itself. Encouraged and pleased by this visit, I stayed there with the wind blowing my hair--this morning's adventures had not included remembering a ponytail holder, maps, or even a camera. To the sound of the white-car's above-average music, I picked out landmarks: Stanford Tower, Skyline Ampitheatre, the blimp hangar at Moffat Air Field and relaxed.
I headed down the hill on highway 9, slow now, tired. The short ride I had wished for was 164 miles of sheer pretty delight. The heat wave is gone, for now, the weather was perfect and clear. On a clear ride, you can see forever...
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| Saturday, July 22nd, 2006
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8:56 pm - Fun with Labyrinths
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While I was in Nevada I came across a labyrinth finder web site:
http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/
It's what led me to the wolves in Rancho San Rafael.
Anyway, I discovered that Sunnyvale, when they built their new downtown plaza, had installed a labyrinth. I had no idea. So, Don and I were down at the post office and decided to go check it out. It's a huge one, and I'm not sure but it doesn't quite seem to work, unless you're supposed to go in one door, come out another, and use a third to get to the centre. I'm not sure.
We had fun. There were some young girls (two pre-teens and a tot) there with their dad and playing tag over the labyrinth as Don and I walked it. Then Dad noticed what we were doing and decided he was going to "do the maze" too. The girls decided to race around it. The tiny tot hung around on the edges waving her hands and laughing and being cute. Dad realised how huge the labyrinth was and started whinging about his feet. Don and I found it progressively more funny. Even so, all walking the labyrinth together, there was a sense of community that isn't often found--which, I guess, was the point of building it. But I really had no idea it was there.
It was a nice peaceful interlude in this most horribly hot of days.
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| Sunday, June 18th, 2006
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2:29 am - Trip preparations underway
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| Saturday, June 17th, 2006
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3:06 pm - We are now entering wyrdspace
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1. Yesterday I bumped into one of my neighbours--working at Fry's Electronics.
2. Later, at the checkout, the checkout allocator not only sent me (biker) and a male (biker) to the same double checkout, we both turned out to be English.
3. Today, as I walked into Lowes' parking lot, my other neighbour, also on his way to Lowes, waved at me.
:: twiglet zone music ::
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| Friday, June 16th, 2006
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12:38 am - Crunch
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That's the sound my neck just made. I feel better now.
I'm brewing a nice cup of tea...shower is in my near future. It's late. The engine bars took about four hours to get on, and while not totally useless, they don't do what I wanted them to, which is to stop the stupid foot pegs from bending up at the slightest provocation. Don says that the new weld in the side cover is stronger than the original and should prevent future piercings, but we'll see. Must remember to pack JB-weld.
I sheared one bolt in half by over-torquing. I was torquing to spec for the original bolt, but apparently not this one. Putting the bars on was a PITA as much hardware must be fit into the smallest space imaginable. Finishing up, I was having cramps in my neck, which is why I'm glad that my neck just went crunch. So I guess that was a PITN, really, which rhymes with kitten and therefore has much better associations.
My laptop still isn't ready. A road trip just wouldn't be the same without having important things wait until the last minute, or untried systems going out into the wilds.
Ah well. I must breathe and tell myself that this is pre-trip paranoia.
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| Thursday, June 15th, 2006
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7:24 pm - I'm all mucky.
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The footpeg assembly is removed (again). I loosened the exhaust pipe. It gave me access to a certain bolt, which was very large and stiff. I thought the problem through, then got the right sized socket, extension, and the Very Big Torque Wrench. The bolt got "broken", and is now in partial disarray. Yes, I've been fidding with my bike alone again. Woo-hoo! I have a long way to go on the "figure out which bits to do" score, but the actual "figuring out how to get to parts I've been told to get to" part is coming on in leaps and bounds.
That's as much as I'm doing until Don comes home, but I guess the engine bars really will go on tonight.
Raven's Roads 2 looks like it will be happening. I don't have any concerns over the bike at the moment. Interestingly, it will be an adventure in two parts. At the last minute we were invited to help with setup and teardown of a fireworks display in Napa. I get to go closer to fireworks than I've ever been before. I won't be touching the fireworks themselves, but will be shovelling sand and setting mortars, etc. There's also a wedding I want to attend. It's going to be a trip arranged around weddings, since there's a Vegas wedding, too. A real honest-to-goodness pink cadillac and Elvis wedding.
My bags are packed--though I do need to get a larger bag for my back seat. I'm very much simplifying what I'm taking this time; I'm becoming an Experienced Traveller. Woo-hoo.
So, the plan, such as it is, will be to leave on Saturday. Don will accompany me overnight, and I'll putter around looking for markers, and will meet him the weekend after, too. Then I putter around for another week, return to California, do my stuff there, and return to Nevada direct from Napa. Sadly, Don and I have abandoned the idea of meeting in Vegas, so my sojourn there will be brief; attend the wedding, meet a friend, head back out.
My itinerary leaves no room for bad weather or hiccups. Therefore, if I have bad weather or hiccups, I won't be doing the entire route. Not to worry. I'm going to see some glorious sunrises and some fabulous roads. I'll meet wonderful people and dance with the spirits. No matter what shape it takes, it is going to be a great adventure and I should have at least 200 more snarfs to enter by the end of it.
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| Thursday, June 8th, 2006
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12:33 am - 'Tis done.
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Though I must wonder how come, having just purchased a new helmet, jacket and boots, my Bohn armour should choose this exact moment to break a zipper.
The cover is welded and the loose battery connection is re-done. The bike is ship-shape. Now, if the vendor will ship me my hardware in time for the weekend, then I can get on with the engine bars, which will be a prize PITA.
I'm particularly proud of the way I singlehandedly managed to reattach the footpeg assembly.
We were done by about ten, and got back from our test ride about half an hour ago.
Now, I get to see if anything else is going to shake loose, explode, or generally generate annoyance.
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| Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
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6:41 pm - The thick plottens
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It wasn't a 6mm bolt; it was a 7.5mm one. Luckily, there was one of those in the shed.
I got the other parts off.
Don helped me chip off the jb-weld and reveal the obnoxious gaping hole underneath.
We took it to the welder. After some debate, we decided to leave it, even though the welder said it wouldn't be ready tonight.
I hadn't long been home when I got a call: the hole was fixed!
I called amberlee17 and she gave me a ride there and then I helped her pack some boxes which reminded me that moving home is much, much worse than fixing up motorcycles.
Then we went out to dinner, which is much, much better than either moving home or fixing up motorcycles.
So, now I am going to go and chisel off the remains of the gasket ready for reassembly. With help, it will probably be ready within a couple of hours.
Next step: battery.
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1:54 pm - The saga continues
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Last night we discovered that the 8mm socket we had was "stripped" and not doing much good. So the work had to cease.
This morning I purchased a new 8mm socket from the nearby home warehouse (15 minute walk).
I took off all the bolts, but was unable to get the cover off. Don had worked a great chunk of the night, and was asleep. I asked him for help at 11, but didn't get it until nearly 1. When you gotta sleep, you gotta sleep--*that* I do understand.
He helped me remove the cover, only to find that we must now take off the alternator stator, which has 8mm bolts, and various other bits, which have 6mm bolts.
Do we have a 6mm socket? Do we squiggles.
All shade has long since departed.
I put the tools back in the shed. In so doing, I drop the three screws I already removed. It takes me a while to find them again. I also find termites (ugh). It would appear that we are going to lose our deck.
I walk to the home place again. I now have a 6mm socket. It damn well better be the right size. The ice cream guy with his little cart is a safe distance ahead. I want ice cream, but I can't catch up with him. Luckily, there is still Ben & Jerry's in the fridge.
Normally all this wouldn't matter; we could take our time. But tonight the trailer park is being re-asphalted. All vehicles must be removed from the park. It will be hard to do that with a bike with its innards hanging out, no side stand, and no oil.
I'm going to be at this stupid thing until midnight. I can tell.
I'm going to have lunch now.
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| Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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2:14 pm - Allow me a small preen
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This is the first time I have done this much on my own, unsupervised.
Here's what I did:
I undid the eight hex bolts (6mm) which attach my footpeg assembly to the frame. I had to improvise some leverage using a socket wrench, and it involved thinking through the problem to figure out where the wrench went.
When the assembly dropped, I unfastened/loosened my shifter assembly. (10mm.)
At this point I could see where the problem lay. There is a crack in the jb-weld, and it looks like an impact. It looks like, at some point, the footpeg assembly once again crashed against the cover (one reason why I'm getting crash bars)--though I haven't dropped it on that side since the original incident last winter. So perhaps some car door was banged against the bike, or it was kicked. I shall never know. I'm just glad that it happened now, and not halfway down highway 6.
Then I removed, using a ratchet and 8 mm socket, the four bolts that fasten on the right-hand cover. This is an over-cover that overlays the main cover--I can't remember why, or what, exactly, it's protecting, but several bolts from the main cover lie underneath it. Removing the main cover is easy, but I'm going to leave it there--it will take me a long time to chip off the jb-weld ready for the welder, and it's hot out there. That can get done tonight, in the nice cool evening, and then I will be ready to find a heliarch welder (which means they use helium instead of oxyacetaline...I wonder if this will change my bike's engine tone to squeaky :-P)
With a bit of luck this part of the adventure should be done with tomorrow, allowing time to wheel the bikes out of the park so it can be re-asphalted on Thursday.
It's still hot, hard work--fiddly, and annoying. But it does, I admit, afford a small shiver of satisfaction that I now for sure know how to change my own oil, take my side covers off, and do basic maintenance.
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1:06 pm - What Raven Did Next
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1. Growled some more
2. Ate some Milano cookies
3. Got in a consultant
4. Tried the torque wrench, but the positioning of the plug is such that it requires a 17mm SHORT socket, and we only have a long one :: shrug ::
5. Moved to the left hand side of the bike
6. Attached 17 mm wrench as high up as poss. with the wrenchy part outwards and the sockety part on the plug
7. Trod on it. (Is that what they mean by 190 foot-pounds?)
8. Squee'ed internally as the plug shifted
9. Unscrewed it
10. Felt nervous when no oil came out
11. Went oops when a bunch of oil dumped on the ground
12. Drained the oil. Check.
13. Ate some more Milano cookies. (Maybe that should be 192 foot-pounds.)
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11:58 am - Grrrrr
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I just spent an hour a) figuring out which size wrench to use and b) trying to figure out which direction to turn the poxy oil drain plug.
When I'm head on to the plug it's ok, I can see it. What I can't, apparently, do is visualise what I'm supposed to do when I'm at some odd angle to the plug with the blood rushing to my head from lying on the ground so long and being in the sun.
Some people have geometric awareness. I am not one of them.
I need to drain the oil before I take off the footpeg assembly, shifter assembly, and eventually, the crankcase cover.
At least I managed to work the jack.
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| Monday, June 5th, 2006
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10:57 pm - Wyrd
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Today I received an email from Joan, the lady with whom I stayed in Lake Havasu City last year. She loved my book. I dedicated it to her son, Michael. Apparently, the book arrived on the fourth anniversary of his death. I didn't plan that, but it did seem somehow, oddly, fitting.
I'm pretty sure that Michael has a smirk on his face right now.
I decided to do some Freecycling. I put up a medieval cookbook and a woman emailed me excitedly hoping to get the book. It turns out her mother had it when she was a child and she'd been looking for it for years. More serendipity. I liked the book but never used it, and it came to its perfect home.
I think there was a third coinkidink, too, but I can't remember it. I've been writing for a while and I'm a bit tired.
There are some days when the threads of our lives just seem to flow smoothly together and things work out. Have to remember that. Things do tend to work out.
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| Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
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10:12 pm - Philosophy
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I'm reading a book called "Free Will: A Very Short Introduction". It's a philosophical debate on whether or not we have free will, and if so, where it comes from. Sometimes books kind of leap out at me from the shelf, and this was one (though I admit to wanting to collect the entire "Very Short Introduction" series because they are small and cute and pretty and pander to my image of myself as a thinking human. Shiny.).
It's the free will question that interests me, rather than philosophy itself. I once had a rather odd boyfriend who tried to introduce me to philosophy. It's one of the few times that I've drawn a complete blank. It made no sense to me, and it seemed to have no point.
I believe in free will, though. At the time I found the book, or it found me, that was something I was questioning deeply. Was I able to avoid xyz situation, or was it like being on a freight train heading down the track--no chance of putting on the brakes? Could I have responded differently? Was it all predetermined? I suspect not, but...hey. A girl has to have a hobby.
I read these little books because they stretch my mind. As a student, I used to be more "academic-minded"; one of life's great pleasures was holing up with a bunch of friends and talking about Stuff. I seem to have got out of that particular habit, so I get the books and use them to make my mind work. It's slow going, since I usually have to read each paragraph two or three times to understand the argument.
As to free will, it appears that some philosophers believe everything is pre-determined so we can't have free will, while others believe that we have free will only when we deliberately do something, so if we twitch, for example, that isn't a matter of free will. I suppose that some philosophers think that even twitching is predetermined.
So among philosophers, there is no agreement, either. The point can't be proven. So why bother? Well, I've come to the conclusion that philosophy must be some kind of mind-stretching game, right? Doesn't matter who wins, so long as there's a nice debate going on and the mind is working. It's therefore taken me roughly 16 years to figure out that the point of philosophy is simply to exercise the ability to think. I'm thinking. I'm thinking. I've thunk.
Interesting that the Stoics were a branch of philosophers who believed that there was no free will and that everything is predetermined. I now have an image of a bunch of Greeks in white robes jutting out their chins and stoically putting up with the world because they can't do anything about it, lacking free will. I think I'd go all stoicky if I believed that, too. ;)
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| Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
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11:05 pm - Pretty moon
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There's a pretty fingernail moon out there, getting a sliver wider every day. I like watching the moon wax, and wane, though I don't like what it implies, the o-so-rapid passing of time. I've been thinking lately about where that time goes, and have been trying to live my life with a little more awareness instead of getting lost in habit, but it is hard. There are so many different forces crashing against a person that it's really hard--forces that steal spontaneity and creativity; joy, even.
For sheer prettiness the fingernail moon is the winner, and the implication that a new month is starting, a chance to start afresh with new projects and attitudes. But I also like the full moon, the one that makes me think of American werewolves and turns the world into a shadowy wonderland. Someone I chatted with online today gave me a link to a place in Arizona where there were live, wild wolves; the howling of a pack woke him up while camping one night. I had no idea that wild wolves lived so close. I would think the sound would bring a shiver down my spine, too.
I'm weighing up options about my trip to Nevada. I am planning to leave this weekend, but have sort of shot myself in the foot by ordering a new jacket and engine bars to arrive this Friday. I could leave without them, then return and install them and leave the weekend after, but that makes the timing of everything awkward. I have a wedding I want to attend on July 1st, and I suppose I could make the 500 mile round trip back and interrupt my trip to attend it, but I've been asked to a Vegas wedding on the 15th of July. If I go this weekend I'll be back for the first wedding and then Don and I can ride together to the second. And the longer I wait, the more blazingly hot it will be. On the other hand I'm a bit disappointed to not be spending the whole weekend with my club friends, since I would miss a potentially awesome ride to Berlin Ichythosaur state park and Ione ghost town with Bluepoof. Yet, given my propensity towards dropping this bike, I should really have the engine bars. And Don wants to ride at least partway with me, which would be nice.
Decisions, decisions. Such problems. ;-)
In other news, Ben and Jerry's have brought out an ice cream flavour called Vermonty Python, and another called Black and Tan. Guinness flavoured ice cream? Woo-hoo! These guys are my heroes, both for the way they do business and for their creativity and humour. One day I will visit their establishment, see if I don't. ;-)
I've subscribed to a neat little service called Daily Om. You get a few words of wisdom delivered to your doorstep (well, inbox) daily. Today's was about creativity, and how fear can block it. They suggested creating a circle of protection about oneself, or praying to make the fear go away. I suggest eating ice cream. While eating such flavours of ice cream, how could one possibly be afraid?
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| Saturday, May 27th, 2006
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9:30 pm - Forking around
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One of the tasks I would like to accomplish before leaving on Raven's Roads 2 is to top up the oil in my bike's forks. We abandoned the idea of actually changing the oil, since to drain the oil one must apparently turn the motorcycle upside down. Whomever designed it didn't think to put in lower drain plugs, apparently.
So, we decided that we would pump out the oil and top it up as best we could. (I'm not sure what the difference is between draining the oil and pumping it out to measure it and put it back again, but I'm sure there is one. Somewhere.) To do this we had to undo two large hex nuts on top of the forks. These are, apparently, the decidedly non-standard size of 27mm. We tried to no avail to undo them with things like wrenches and clamps. Nope; a torque wrench would have to do. So today we went to Sears and paid roughly $7 for a 27mm socket. The nuts were quickly removed.
Oh, but it gets better. Inside the fork is a hole that fits a hex wrench. What size? 14mm. Who the heck uses 14mm hex wrenches? Suzuki, apparently. So, back to Sears we went. They didn't have a 14mm. Neither did OSH or Home Depot. 10mm is about the largest size anyone carries.
In other news, I learned how to properly use the air machine at the gas station today, and also had a short lesson in skidding without falling down. There is something truly unnatural about intending to skid. I don't think I will ever get past that. I have no problem with emergency stops when there is an emergency, but I seem to have one with them when I don't have to do them. And I feel quite rebellious when I leave a streak of rubber behind on the parking lot.
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| Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
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11:20 pm - Mythical hero beats down shopping behemoth
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Or something like that. I had to smile tonight at the news. A small East Bay town has used a legal loophole to get rid of marauding Wal-Mart. I don't really understand the specifics of how they pulled that one off, but so far so good.
The small town is called Hercules. Heh. :)
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