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Dreaming time – SR500
I have long desired to own a Yamaha SR500. A big, single cylinder street bike. Fun to ride. Not a lot of power, but enough. Light, easy to ride, and distinctive. Several times in my life I have run across one for sale, but never had the money to buy one. And, when I had…
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Wow – high end audio
Last week, I fancied a bit of nostalgia, and enjoyed playing LPs on a real turntable. The ritual of playing the music harkened back to a much simpler era, and it was quite enjoyable. I can't way that the vinyl sounded better, or even different than CD's (alas, I don't have an apples-to-apples comparison set),…
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Mountain bike buyers guide – the internet disappoints
In just about every way, the internet has improved life. From booking airline tickets, to looking up local businesses in the yellow pages, the internet has streamlined the process, and upset business models everywhere. But I found something it didn’t improve. I am moving back to the bay area, and I am contemplating getting back…
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Simple pleasures – Going back to vinyl
Early in my life, I became a music buff. Sometime in High School (probably by my sophomore year), I pieced together a simple hifi system, saved my paper route money, bought a decent turntable and the best needle I could afford, and started buying records. Lots and lots of records. I could be found at…
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Going legit. Real photoshop
I have an admission to make. I have long been a scofflaw. I have been a Photoshop pirate. I am not proud of this. And indeed am somewhat ashamed. But to be fair, I haven’t used it for professional purposes, and mostly have used it to re-sample images for use on the web. I have…
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When Sarcasm Doesn’t Work
I like to post funny memes to my facebook page. Often they are real, and poke fun at some situation that is bizarre. Sometimes they are complete satire. There is one class of meme that when I post, inevitably a handful of friends can’t grasp the humor. They make comments like “Who creates these? Who…
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What makes me tick – Intellectual Curiosity
While walking recently (for exercise), I was thinking about me, how I live my life, and what keeps me going. One phrase comes to mind that is pretty descriptive. I would have to say that I am “Intellectually Curious”. That doesn’t mean that I focus to the nth degree, or that I am casual in…
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Observations of a brief period of Bachelor-hood
My wife is away dealing with some family issues, so I have been home alone for almost 2 weeks (and will probably be home alone for another week and a half.) I don’t mind doing household chores. I lived alone or with roommates long enough to not quibble about dishes or laundry. But, being in…
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Back in the Saddle – New Shoes too!
Today I got back out cycling. First time since the Christmas shutdown. I had three weeks of travel, and then came back with a gnarly chest cold. that kept me down for more than two weeks. I know, I know, lots of excuses. Today, I felt pretty good. Not much expectoration, and I have not…
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Bad TV – Columbo
To be fair, this isn’t really bad TV. I love Netflix streaming. It is a great way to while away the hours. I have enjoyed many classic TV series, from Rockford Files, Hawaii 50, and the early Twilight Zones. I get great enjoyment watching these. I watched all the original Hawaii 50 episodes. I think…