Aquisition

One of these is parking in my garage from now on.

ULTRA Classic

On July 14th, 1997, a day which will forever live in infamy, I purchased, for the sum of $2,000 a 1990 Volkswagen Fox. The odometer reading was 141,076 and, because I only had my permit, my grandmother had to ride along from the place of purchase behind Wegmans in Ithaca back to the house. I only stalled the four speed a couple of times, but everyone made it home safely. The Desert Fox, as it was to be known, was extremely reliable for a high school car and performed well in mud, rain, and snow, not once abandoning me on the side of the road. There were incidents (a couple of ditches, a couple of deer) but never an accident. The pictures are from my first day of junior year as captain of the soccer team and then junior year prom.

Be very jealous

Yes, I used to own this car. As you see it in this picture it was preparing to either burn out or break down. Rare was the day that it wasn't doing one of those things. It is credited with ending at least one relationship (sorry Katie) and terrorizing millions. Well, probably not millions, but it definitely scared a few. The good news is that I sold it so I could move on to a safer hobby: Motorcycling! I really wish that I had some digital pictures of my first car, The Desert Fox. Mom, do you have any pictures of it that I can scan?

Ironbutt 2009

I'm not quite sure what possessed us to attempt to ride 1,000 miles on a motorcycle in less than 24 hours, but once the challenge was issued, three of us couldn't help but saddling up and hitting the road. Aaron, Don, and myself left the Green Mountain Harley Davidson shop on three rental bikes at 3pm on Friday September 18th. Aaron and I were on 2009 Electra Glide Ultra Classics and Don had a 2009 Road King. After early afternoon rain the skies cleared and we began motoring south.
Our one way route took us through mid town Manhattan on our way to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Geared up and ready to depart. From left to right: Ben and Angela, Aaron and Meghan, Don and Sarah.
Total miles accumulated: 0

A 7 hour ride to New York City from Burlington. Only way to avoid penetrating boredom is liberal use of the camera by the passenger. Late afternoon sunshine left crisp shadows of rider and passenger on the pavement.
Total miles accumulated: 40

Low hanging clouds in the Adirondacks of New York.
Total miles accumulated: 90

South of Albany the clouds increased as the sun dipped towards the horizon. Dry roads and warming weather the further south we went.
Total miles accumulated: 180

We dropped the girls off at their hotel on Lexington ave in NYC at 10pm. We had traveled over 300 miles in 7 hours and were on pace to complete the 1000 miles in a little over 23 hours. The three guys hammered South through New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, arriving in D.C. at 2:30 am.

Just enough time to climb off the bike, consume some snacks and Red Bulls, snap a picture of our parking spot near the Capitol Building and then turn around to head back.

Halfway point:
Total miles accumulated: 558

Was pretty neat watching the dawn grow into an ultra clear sunrise from the west side of Manhattan, the sunrise blasting through the skyscrapers as we took the Lincoln Tunnel back into the city. We picked the girls up and headed North at 8 am.
Total miles accumulated: 786

Leaving NYC via the George Washington Bridge. Very light traffic and the beginning of a gorgeous day.
Total miles accumulated: 800

Aaron and Meg motoring near Albany.

Don and Sarah piloting their Road King through morning sun.

Normally I ride a motorcycle far more capable of handling the twisties, so attempting to get the Harley to perform like a sportbike was no easy feat. At least we were finally off the highway and headed back to Vermont.

Back in Vermont at last. Just crossed the Champlain Bridge with only 40 miles to go before climbing off the bike for good.

In the end we traveled 1116 miles in just over 23 hours. That is an average speed of 48 miles an hour for a full day. We blew past the Ironbutt qualifying distance of 1000 miles and brought the bikes in an hour early. The rental lady at the Harley shop exclaimed that no group had ever ridden rental bikes that far in a single day. We capped the trip with some REAL food rather than snacks, energy drinks, and rest stop grease and then promptly went home and went to sleep for 14 hours. I am thinking cross country for next summer. Maybe on a long distance two wheel hauler of my own?

I AM A GOLDEN GOD!

This evening I lurched into battle unprepared and undergunned. I was
off to a brutal start and near as I begun had to backpedal and sound
the retreat. Reinforcements arrived soon thereafter, their past
performance on the pitch of war circumspect at best, and yet we rang
our challenge loud and crisp against the bloody veil of the day.
Emerging from the Horde before us, their greatest Champion stood half
again as tall as any warrior that day and began to beat sword upon
shield in what surely was our funeral song. Once more the two sides
clashed and quickly the enemy overran us sending our bravest to the
great beyond with calculated precision.

But then, when all was thought lost, our troops' heels dug deep in the
soil and refused to relinquish any more ground. Methodically we began
pushing back, slowly at first but with gathering momentum we drove
them from our lands. Our men found energy and focus where before only
fear and exhaustion had been and with a surge of raw power vanquished
the enemy from the field!

So tonight I was playing pool with some guys from work and I was
totally sucking. Couldn't make a shot to save my life. Then the guys
asked the owner of the pool hall (4 1/2 ft of Asian fury) to play with
us. She broke and then ran the first 6 balls. We were totally screwed,
but somehow managed to get a couple runs together and actually won!
She has been the Vermont state champion for 5 years running.

And that is why I am a Golden God.

Costco!

Thanks costco! Another great return after 2.75 years of ownership!

Burlington Telecom

You know all those commercials with creepy undertones about wireless "dead zones" where Verizon has miraculous coverage and customers using other carriers are left to suffer with limited or no connectivity? I am currently stuck in one of those commercials. I have been lobbying Burlington Telecom, providers of the local fiber optic network that will eventually provide high speed internet, telephone and cable television, for YEARS about getting service at my primary residence. I have watched the coverage map creep North from Downtown and South from the New North End at a molasses in February pace and, because I hadn't been disappointed in at least a couple weeks, decided I would call again today to see where we stand. The short answer is that I stand in the middle of a 21st century black hole. The blue pin point in the picture would be where I live. The green line along North Ave would be the gap in service between the two networks.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Drew, a certified fiber optic technician, claims he can whistle the existing line right into the condo with a Fujikura FSM-30S ARC Fusion Splicer. Ok, fantastic, do they rent those out at Home Depot? Apparently not. Well, technically I didn't call to ask, but the odds are poor. If I was ultra ambitious, I would call and record the conversation with the ultra informative service representative at the Home Depot. However, for the ultra low price of only $8,000 (plus shipping and handling) you can have your very own!

Splice me softly

I suspect that link will eventually expire and anyone who comes along after the ebay auction has closed or evaporated will be left wondering, "What exactly did he mean by splice me softly?"

First born son

Hey Mom, what do you think about the name Jackson Cowboy Hardie for
your first grandchild?

Notes of Non-Interest

For those of you have a thirst for knowledge and beaucoup time on your hands, here are some items that I would like you to research:

1. How is Lucent doing as a technology company? Anything new on the horizon? Is it a healthy tech stock?
2. Who were the Visgoths?
3. How many people were killed in the December 2005 Indian Ocean Tsunami?
4. Can someone find me a large wooden bookcase that looks nice?
5. Why do they call it a "Tiger Team?"
6. Is indemic a word? According to spell check, the correct word is "endemic". So why does the professor pronounce it INdemic?

Side note: I like the phrase "From Lust to Dust"

7. What does TCP/IP stand for?
8. What keeps the glycol in antifreeze from coming out of solution with water. In general, why don't alcohol and water separate?
9. When will we see USB 3.0?
10. As much as 1.5% of United States power generation is consumed by servers. Can someone confirm this?
11. Cruise ships burn one gallon of fuel oil for every 29 feet of travel. That's 182 gallons per mile.

Side note: I also like the phrase "...high guts to brains ratio"

12. Space is only 80 miles away. That's like taking the train from Grand Central to Philly.
13. usability.gov It exists, now figure out what it is for.
14. According to Cisco systems, data usage by US cell phone users will double every year until 2013. What happens then? (Skynet becomes self-aware is not an acceptable answer)

You can email answers, comments, suggestions to AlekkerPrime@gmail.com

Happiness, in a Link

If you need to feel shame, click HERE

The Unemployed

If it is economically viable to employ 600 people in Cincinnati to improve the performance of Pampers diapers, what sort of human potential is available and yet untapped? Why not restructure how the unemployment system works? Rather than just dolling out payments to people who are looking for jobs, give half the payment up front and then make the person who is unemployed put forth some sort of volunteer effort to receive the rest. Government programs that complain about reduced funding and shortages would benefit from unemployed "volunteers" helping out 5-10 hours a week. Everyone from after school programs to Americorps to parks departments would see an influx of labor, some skilled, some not, all paid for through the unemployment system. The longer the person remains unemployed, the more hours per week of volunteerism are required to receive the same amount of payment. Unemployment offices would have a centralized clearing house where approved agencies could request labor hours and provide proof back to the unemployment office that the individual completed their required hours.

The best part is, this is a non-partisan issue. Democrats and Republicans should unilaterally support this initiative.

Thank you CNN.com

So this morning I decided to check in on CNN.com to see what sort of interesting tales they had spun while I was sleeping last night. Apparently the recession is over...unless you ask everyone who thinks the recession is quite robust and marching forward. Thank you for the conflicting headlines CNN, keep up the good work!

Miami Bachelor Party

A couple weekends ago I helped to orchestrate Scott Gone Wild '09, a weekend of insanity in South Beach. With the help of good friends, generous servings of firewater, and plenty of local talent we drove the last coffin nail into Scott's bachelorhood. These two pictures show the view from our hotel room and a sampling of south beach night life. All other information regarding SGW09 is classified and is scheduled for public release in 2059.

News

Hardie Farms Inc. is in the news, check it out here: Article Link