Beach Cruiser...

My grandpa had an old Murray Westport single speed cruiser bicycle in his garage. Nobody else wanted it as the house was getting cleaned up after he passed away, so I went ahead and took it. Why?? Beach cruisers are fricken cool!!! Do I have too many bikes?? Probably. I now have two mountain bikes, a road bike, a path cruiser, and a beach cruiser. That's five bikes, not including Cathy's hybrid that hangs in the garage. To be fair, though, I'm giving Cathy the old mountain bike to ride with me, so really I've only got four. And I MAY seriously think about selling the road bike this summer...but who knows.

Anyways, here's a picture of the Murray as it is...flat tires, dirt, dust, spider webs, and all.

See, it's in pretty darn good shape. A great place to start customizing a beach cruiser.

The first change that needed to be made, obviously, is the handlebars. I don't understand why the bike has such awesome swooping lines, but the handlebars have squared off edges and angles that just clash with the smoothness of the rest of the bike. So they will be removed and replaced with a set of Nirve Chrome Kandy bars. They are wider, and much swoopier looking. Perfect beach cruiser bars. This is what they look like:


Now with some new bars, clearly some new hand grips need to be put on. The ones that are on the current bars can't be removed without destroying them anyways, so the new grips are a necessity. I will be going with some Nirve Switchblade grips for the handlebars. This is what they will look like.


Next, you can't really have flashy brown grips and leave the black seat on there, can you?? Of course not. So I'll be replacing the standard seat with a matching Nirve Switchblade seat. Here's that.


So that will be a complete new handlebar setup and a matching seat. A pretty good start. But wait...the bike doesn't have any easy way to mount a water bottle. What's the solution for that?? Oh yah...an awesome coconut Tiki cup holder that mounts to the handlebars, like this one...


His look is absolutely perfect for a beach cruiser, because he clearly looks like he came from the beach...or at the very least somewhere that has a beach right near by.

So now we've gotten all of that taken care of, we need to get to work on those flat tires. While we're doing new tires, maybe we'll just go ahead and get some custom wheels for it. The chrome on the wheels is in great shape, but the steel spokes aren't exactly the nicest. I'll try to clean them up as best I can, but if they can't clean up then I'll be getting some 26" Nirve Black cruiser wheels, like these here.


And those flat tires need to definitely be replaced, so those will be going in the trash and these Nirve BadAss tires will be taking their spot on the wheels.


I'll be getting started on it on Wednesday, because that's when the bars, grips, and seat are all supposed to arrive. I'll be ordering the wheels and tires when I get enough extra money, because it's not really a pressing issue.

I think it's going to be fun to do this bike up the way I've planned. I think it will end up looking great, and be a blast to ride just around the neighborhood.

Cathy Wants to Play Bad Company 2...

Cathy has decided that she is going to play "Battlefield Bad Company 2" with us online. She bought a headset to use with her Xbox 360 (we have two of them hooked up in the house) and our friend Mike Ross at work is getting the game from GameFly so that he can give it to her so that she can play with us.

We are trying to get eight people to play regularly so that we can have custom games. You need to have eight players to have a custom game, and we have six...so with Cathy that will make seven and we'll only need one more player to be able to have some real fun just messing around without other players in the game.

It will be fun to watch Cathy learn how to play. I hope she enjoys the game.

Itching to Use This New Bike!!!

Man, ever since I got the Diamondback the other day, I've REALLY just wanted to get out and ride it. But the weather isn't cooperating at all.

I'm hoping that by the end of March I'll have been able to get it out at least once and taken it for a spin to see how it feels.

I'm going to probably end up ordering some mountain biking shorts and a few other accessories for it before I end up seriously using it. But I'm sure I have a good month or two before any kind of serious use occurs.

I just wish this snow would go away, though. I could ride it in the cold...but I don't want to ride it in the snow!!!

I Was Right...

...the first day back to work was pretty rough. It seemed to last FOREVER and by the end of the day I was pretty tired.

I'm not normally tired after going to a day of work. Usually when I get out I'm ready to go home and do something, like play some games or watch a movie or something. But today I was just exhausted.

Hopefully as the week goes on I can get back into the swing of things.

Well, It's Over...

Our vacation is over, and in about 9 hours we'll be starting work for the first time in what seems like ages. I'm not happy about going back. I enjoy sitting at home much more than being at work. Oh well, I guess all good things must come to an end.

The thing that is the worst is the weather is supposed to be horrible the next few days, so I'm kind of imagining our first few days back to work are going to be filled with delays and other random unexpected things that just get annoying right away.

At least I can start reading up on everything I want to do when we go to Hawai'i next spring. March of 2012 isn't THAT far away, is it??

Bike Arrived...

Showed up at 10:30 this morning. The FedEx guy actually woke me up. I wasn't expecting it that early. I went back to sleep after it showed up and then I put it together when I got up. Didn't take very long. The hardest part for me was the pedals, and that was only because I didn't know that the one side pedal would be reverse threaded, so I spent a fair amount of time trying to screw it in the "right" way. Oh well, live and learn...

Here's some pictures of it after I got it built. The lighting in the basement isn't very good, and my camera wanted to take pictures with no flash. Unfortunately, even with the flash the one of the whole bike didn't come out too well.


I really like the way it looks. I didn't notice in the pictures online that the spokes were white also. I thought it was only the rims themselves. With the white spokes I think the wheels look really cool.


I also like the way the seat and seat tube look. They've got a pretty cool design going on with them.


The handlebars have a matching design, which makes the whole bike seem like one nice package instead of a bunch of parts thrown together.


I'm definitely glad I went with the color scheme that I got. I think it looks great. I'm actually not sure why I didn't like it at first. The more I looked at it, the more I realized I did like it. Great looking bike, no question about it.

I'm also impressed with the weight. People online suggest that it's a "heavy" bike. I guess those people must be riding much more expensive machines, because it weighs probably about half as much as the Giant I was riding weighs. It's a featherweight in comparison to that.

I was also really surprised that the drive train needed no adjustment out of the box. It shifts through all the gears flawlessly and quickly. I'll be keeping an eye on it as I break it in and adjusting if when needed, but it just kind of surprised me that it just worked out of the box.

Overall, really happy with the product. Can't wait for this dang snow to melt!!

Vacation Drawing to a Close...

Well, my vacation is almost officially over. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be the last day before Cathy and I have to go back to work.

It's been fun and it's been AWESOME not having to go to work. And to be honest, I'm definitely not one of those people that enjoys going back to work after a vacation. In fact, I'm not looking forward to it at all.

I don't know what Cathy and I will do tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be crappy so I doubt we'll really do much of anything. My new bike should arrive, so I can probably try to put that together. I just got a new game that is pretty fun, so I may try to play that a bit. I also have some TV shows to watch that were DVRed over the last week or so. I also need to finish up the puppet that I started working on a few days ago. All he needs are legs and arms, so it shouldn't be too hard to finish him up. I also have been planning on doing a video of all of the puppets that I have bought from other makers to post on my Puppets By Jeff site.

So, there's lots that I can do, but I'll probably spend most of it just being lazy!!!!

It's been a great 11 days, and now I get to start looking forward to Hawai'i next year!!!

Bike Is On It's Way...

Early this morning I placed the order for my new mountain bike. I ended up going with the red one that I posted before, after much deliberation. I had been looking at a couple of different bikes, but I just kept going back to the red one over and over, so I figured that it must be because that's the one that I actually wanted the most.

I placed the order really early this morning, and because I have an Amazon Prime Membership, I went ahead and upgraded to the overnight shipping for $4. So the bike should arrive at the house on Thursday afternoon.

I normally don't pay to upgrade to the overnight shipping, but on this I just felt like I had to do it. I mean, seriously, how ridiculously expensive is it going to be to ship a product the size of a bicycle with overnight shipping?? I figure I'll make up the entire cost of the Prime Membership (probably twice over) with just this one purchase. It's kind of fun to know that you're getting some ridiculous dollar amount of shipping for only $4.

I'm going to TRY to get it all together and tuned myself, but if I can't I think that the local bike shop would probably do it for me for a pretty small fee. I'm sure this time of year they would like just about any kind of work they can get.

Milestone...

Tonight I did something that I have NEVER done in a video game.


I reached the highest possible ranking in "Battlefield Bad Company 2." The highest possible ranking is level 50. I've been playing games online for years now, and many of them had rankings. Never once had I actually gotten to one of those top rankings, until tonight.

I've actually not been playing very well the last couple of days. I think it's because I was focusing too much on trying to get points to hit that Level 50 instead of just playing the game. I noticed as soon as I got it I seemed to loosen up a bit and then I started playing quite a bit better.

Now I think I might take a couple of days off from the game and give something else a try. I still have a TON of new games that I haven't really played yet, and I might be getting another one in the next day or so.

Gordon Hurt Himself!!!

Somehow today while he was going down to eat his breakfast, Gordon managed to hurt his front leg. I think it might be more up towards his shoulder, as he doesn't seem to have any problems with his actual foot.

He yelped and started awkwardly walking around, and spent the rest of the day with a pretty noticeable limp.

Fortunately, as the day went on he seemed to feel better. I don't know how he actually did it, or what he did, but hopefully he'll be all better in a couple of days.

Las Vegas 2011...Part Three...

In Conclusion

All in all, it was another great trip to Vegas. However, I think that Cathy and I might be a bit "Las Vegas-ed Out" for a little while. We have the trip to Hawai'i in 2012, so we won't be going back to Vegas anytime soon, and I think that might be a good thing. We've been there four times in the last two and a half years. There's still a lot of shows that we want to see, so we'll definitely be going back, but I think taking a year off will be good.

I'm kind of guessing that by the time we get another chance to go, it will be late 2012 or early 2013, and that I'll probably be ready to go back by then.

I'm pretty sure Cathy had a good time, but like me towards the end she was ready to go home. We've said this before, but this time it really rang true. We were simply there for one day too long. I'm kind of thinking that had we left on Friday instead of Saturday, I wouldn't be feeling "Vegas-ed Out," but instead be thinking about what I want to do the next time I go there.

But it was fun, and we had a great time. It's also nice that we have several days off still before we go back to work.

Now?? I get to start planning what I'm going to do in Hawai'i. Worrying about the next Vegas trip can wait...I've got paradise to look forward to!!!

Las Vegas 2011...Part Two...

Thursday

Thursday was another day that we had been looking forward to. We went to Circus Circus to go to the Adventure Dome amusement park and to play the games in their really great arcade and midway. We went there for the first time in 2010 and had an absolute blast. Cathy and I actually enjoy playing midway games more than gambling...it seems like you're working towards something and not just losing money, even though you end up paying a ton to get some cheap prizes.

We went to the Adventure Dome first to ride the rides. We did everything once, but unfortunately on the roller coaster I bumped my head pretty good on the shoulder harness thing and it gave me a MASSIVE headache. It was so bad that after riding one more ride I was ready to be done with the rides. I literally felt sick to my stomach, and I NEVER feel sick to my stomach on rides. After we left the Adventure Dome we went to play games, and this is when I started to feel better. Again, we had an absolute blast playing the games. They're so much fun. We won a ton of little trinkets and filled a giant plastic bag with cool stuffed animals.

After finishing with the midway, we decided to go to the Circus Circus buffet. Great choice. The buffet in Planet Hollywood is $30 per person, and at Circus it's only $15 per person. We ended up getting two buffets for what we would have paid for one at PH. The best part?? The food was AWESOME!!! I will definitely be going back to that buffet the next time I go to Vegas.

We got done with dinner and headed back to the hotel. We just hung out for a while and then did some more gambling. We then went on our "buy one get one" drink spree. We had a bunch of coupons for buy one get one drinks, and some coupons for some free drinks, so we ended up using all of them. We had to go to three bars to do it, but it was worth it. We saved a ton of money and had a great time. After that I was hungry again so we went to the PBR Rock Bar again. I had pizza this time and to be honest it was one of the best pizzas I've had in a LONG time!!! We finished there and then went back to the room and crashed.

Friday

Friday was our "extra" day. Our other trips to Vegas have all only been four nights and five days, so normally we would have been going home by this time. But this trip we had five nights and six days, so this extra day was a bit different for us. To be honest, I think we were both a bit bored and would probably have liked to go home Friday. But we ended up making the best of it.

We had won a coupon for a free lunch at Hash House A Go Go, which is a place known for huge portions. We hadn't planned on going, but seeing as we didn't really have anything else to do we decided to give it a shot. We're glad we did. We got pancakes that were the size of a steering wheel in a car and some of the best bacon and sausage ever.

We left there and went to the Flamingo to visit their wildlife sanctuary. It was really nice, and seemed like there were more animals this time than there were when we went last year. After that we went to a show in the Flamingo that had been recommended by the hypnotist we had seen earlier in the week.

We saw Nathan Burton, a comedy magician. His show was pretty good, but I was actually more entertained by his side acts. The opening band was awesomely hilarious and one of his "intermission" performers was simply outstanding. The best part about this show?? It only cost $10. We also got there early enough that we ended up with...you guessed it...front row seats!!! So we saw three shows on our trip and all three of them were from the front row. Pretty awesome.

After that show we headed back to the hotel. We didn't know what to do at all, so we ended up wandering down to New York New York because we read that they had a midway that we had never noticed before. We found it and played some games for a while, and had a good time, before going back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Saturday

Time to go home. We checked out of our room from the TV and got a cab to the airport. We got there at about 10:30 or so for our 1:05 flight to Minneapolis before coming back to Lansing. We checked in on the kiosk, and it told us to see an agent. Uh oh. Turned out our flight to Minneapolis had been delayed and we were going to miss our connection. Delta had rebooked us to go to Minneapolis later and then on to Lansing the next day. That wasn't going to work, as we knew there was supposed to be horrible weather and we probably wouldn't have made it back the next day, either. So we asked if we could be flown into Detroit. I called my parents and arranged for them to come pick us up, as inconvenient as that was, but they came through. I'm really glad they did. Of course, the flight that they moved us to ended up being delayed, but at least it ended up leaving.

We made it through security and had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We got some vouchers for food from Delta so we basically got one lunch for free. After eating we found a gate to hang out at, because we had a good four hours before we left.

Eventually we took off. We had exit lane seats which was nice, but I was stuck next to a VERY large woman that didn't at all try to make herself smaller for the trip, so I was pretty uncomfortable. But eventually we made it to Detroit. Better late than never I guess.

When we landed I called my dad, who was waiting for us already. He got us picked up and drove us all the way back to Lansing so we could get my car and then take the dogs back home. On the way home I got pulled over. Apparently I had crossed the yellow line. I didn't get a ticket, but I also don't think I really crossed the line. I think the cop saw all the dogs acting like fools as we were getting close to home and thought something else was going on. Either way, we finally made it home around 1:30 or so. I headed to McDonalds to get us some food before we finally went to bed.

Las Vegas 2011...Part One...

Cathy and I have been to Vegas three times since we got married. The last time was in February of 2010. So it had been a year and we decided it was time to go back. We stayed at Planet Hollywood again, for the third time, and again that was absolutely great. This time most of the trip's major expenses, like airfare and hotel, were paid for by Christmas gifts from my grandparents and parents.

Monday

We left out of Lansing on Monday afternoon. Our flight left at 3:35 PM and we had a connection in Detroit before making it to Las Vegas later in the evening. We made it to the hotel I would say right around 8:00 PM. A bit later than the last few times, but a good time regardless because everything in the hotel was still open.

After settling into the room we went down to the Miracle Mile Shops in the hotel, that's the mall. We did a bit of shopping and got our coupon book and then decided that we should probably get something to eat. We decided to try the newest restaurant in the mall, the Pro Bull Riding Rock Bar. The food was pretty good, but one of the sides was absolutely amazing. They served "Doritoes Crusted Mac and Cheese." I thought it sounded kind of odd, but it tasted great. After eating, we did a bit more wandering around the mall and eventually made it back to our room. Later on that evening we were a bit hungry again, so we hit the Planet Dailies restaurant for a quick snack and some drinks. Then we pretty much called it a night.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we decided to head towards the north end of the strip. We wanted to go to the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the Venetian. We went there on our first trip and had fun, and this time was great too. It had been long enough that many of the things inside the museum had been changed.

On the way back from the Venetian, we stopped at the Mirage and visited Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden, another spot we had been before. This time we lucked out, though. As soon as we walked in we got to watch the dolphin trainers feeding and training the dolphins, and then after we were done with that we wandered through where all the big cats are at and got to see them feed two seven month old white tigers. Awesome stuff.

After that, we went to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. While there we decided to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, and it was awesome. I just wanted to mention that Banana Cream Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory may in fact be the greatest thing that a human mind has ever come up with. I sit here and drool just thinking about it.

After that, we had been gone for most of the day so we headed back to our hotel and ended up doing some more wandering around the mall. That's when I ended up buying the Stetson and some stuff from the Quiksilver Store. I wanted to take a second to note that I bought a TON of Quiksilver stuff while we were out there, but I made out like a bandit. Most of the items I bought were already marked down 50%, and then on top of that they had another 50% off of those items that were marked down. So I got a $30 T-shirt for $8, a $30 hat for $8, a $60 messenger bag for $15, etc. I spent way too much money there, but it's stuff that's pretty hard to find around here.

After wandering through our mall for a while, we did some gambling, lost, and then went back to the room. We decided to go and catch one of the shows in the V Theater in the Miracle Mile Shops. We ended up seeing Marc Savard who does a comedy hypnosis show. We had two for one tickets for that, so we got the premium seats. We ended up sitting in the very front row and had an absolute blast. The show was great, and definitely worth the price of admission. After the show, we got a few drinks from the bar and then called it a night.

Wednesday

Wednesday was our big "planned" day. It was the day that we had pre-purchased tickets for the Carrot Top show and we were going to be hitting everything on the South end of the strip. We headed out fairly early (by our standards) and the first thing we did was go to the Coca-Cola World Store. It's a great store that we've been to every time we've gone to Vegas but it is still fun even if it's mainly the same products every time. We always end up getting a Mexican Coke and sitting in the upstairs part to enjoy the drink. Mexican Coke, for those that don't know, is Coca-Cola that is sent here from Mexico. That doesn't seem that great, until you realize that in Mexico they still make Coke with real cane sugar, instead of high fructose corn syrup.

After the Coke Store, we stopped at the M&M's World. Cathy got some candy and we just wandered around there. It's another place that we've been to every time we've gone and it remains fun and interesting even when you've been there numerous times.

Upon leaving M&M's World, we went to the MGM Grand and did one of the cases at "CSI The Experience." We did one of these last year when it was brand new and had a lot of fun, so we jumped at the chance to do another one this year. It was fun, but some of the people that were doing the same case as us were VERY slow. It was a bit irritating, but didn't stop the whole thing from being a good time. Cathy and I must be pretty good crime solvers, because we both got the crime figured out to a "T."

We left MGM Grand headed across the street to wander through New York New York. We were going to have something to eat at a hot dog place inside there, but it wasn't there anymore. We decided instead of eating something that we didn't really feel like we would go over to Excalibur because we remembered them having a pretty nice food court. We got there and ended up going with a Pizza Hut Express. Good choice. It wasn't expensive and it really hit the spot. While we were in Excalibur, we ended up going to the Emporium with all of the carnival games and having some fun. We played some games and just had an all around good time.

We left Excalibur because it was getting close to time for Carrot Top. We went to the Luxor and ended up going through the shops that connect Mandalay Bay and the Luxor. After doing that we decided to get a drink or two in the Luxor while we waited the last little bit. We noticed while in the bar EVERYTHING in the Luxor had been completely remodeled. The hotel looks great. We stayed there the first time we went and although we had fun didn't particularly think the hotel was very nice. I mean, it was nice, but it just seemed to not be aging very well. The makeover has changed that. It's a very chic and modern looking place now.

Then we went to Carrot Top. Again, absolutely great seats. Right in the front row. The show was amazing. I thought he was hilarious. Everything about the show was just fun, and most of it had me cracking up. Even his opening act was really good. She was a comic and really funny.

After the show we headed back to our hotel. We were hungry again so we went to Planet Dailies and got some grub. After that, we called it a night and went back to the room for some sleep. It had been a LONG day.

Welcome Back...

Michigan has such a wonderful way of welcoming people who live here back.

After 6 days in Vegas with virtually perfect weather...highs in the mid-upper sixties, no rain, sun...we came back to Michigan and our first day back we get "wintry mix."


I got up this morning and it has snowed a good several inches. Right before dinner it finally let up a little so I decided to go out and get the snowblower out. I got it all done in just a few minutes and came in to eat.

Immediately after dinner?? It looked like I hadn't even done anything to the driveway. To make it better, it turned from snow into some kind of weird little falling ice balls. Not quite hail, but not quite sleet.

So much for good weather. I'm back in Michigan.

Stetson...

For a long time I've wanted a REAL cowboy hat. A Stetson. Why a cowboy hat?? I really have no idea other than I thought they were kind of cool. Why a Stetson?? It was the only brand of cowboy hat that I actually knew of.

So I had told myself that while I was in Vegas I was going to look for a real deal Stetson to buy.

I found this one, a wool crushable outdoor Stetson...


It doesn't have the 4" brim that I was looking for, but it's a pretty nice looking hat. It also fits me really well. I wore it home from Vegas on the plane, and found that it does a really good job of wicking away sweat as I got hot and it did a great job of keeping my head cool.

It cost me quite a bit of money...not quite as much as some of the other Stetsons out there, but still more than most hats that I would buy.

But I'm glad I got it. I think it's awesome!! It actually goes pretty well with the style of clothes that I typically wear, which seems to be surfer gear lately, like Quiksilver stuff.

Ordering a New Bicycle...

One of the things I wanted to do while in Vegas was save enough money to buy a new bicycle when I got home.

I got a Giant Boulder mountain bike from some guy last year pretty used. It's a good bike, but it's heavy and it doesn't quite fit me right. I wanted one that would fit me better and be a bit lighter. I went out mountain biking a couple of times after I got that bike last year, and had an absolute blast doing it. I figure if I were to get a new one, I could give Cathy the Giant and then we could go out together if she wanted to.

So in short order I'll be ordering a Diamondback Response. It's a nice bike with lots of good stuff on it, but the best part seems to be the frame. People online absolutely rave about the frame, so I'm hoping that I will be able to use it for a long time and upgrade the other components as they break and wear out.

I'll be getting it in red. I don't like the red as much as the other colors, but for whatever reason the red is about $60 less than the other colors...so to save $60, I can deal with the red. It's not that I don't like it...I just don't like it as much as the other colors.

Here's what the bike looks like...

It's Been 17 Days...

...since my last post.

The main reason for the time off was our trip to Vegas. I'll get more into that in the coming days, as our return was a bit of a hassle and I don't really want to go into the whole bit right now.

Let's just say the trip was fun, but probably (once again) about a day too long. We got lots of shopping and lots of shows in while we were there, though, not to mention a ton of good food.

Like I said, I'll go into more detail about the trip in the next day or so. I don't have to be back to work until Friday, so I've got plenty of time to work on getting it all put up here.

Making It's Way Home...

Back in late 2006 I had a bike...a Yamaha YX-600 Radian. It was starting to nickel and dime me that past summer, and I had decided to sell it because I didn't want to spend any more money on it.

I sold it to a police officer at the airport for $400. I let it go for so little because that's all I needed to have the money to get the Ninja 250 that I have now.

The officer got it home and put a TON of work into it. He fixed everything that was wrong with it, even the more expensive things like the fork seals. That alone was a several hundred dollar job and pretty much the main reason that I didn't want to spend any more money on the bike.

He rode it up until this past summer, when something came up and his wife didn't want him to ride it any more. He decided to sell it, but didn't mention it to me. Instead, he sold it to a guy that I work directly with for $500.

He bought it to learn how to ride, but didn't end up learning this fall and now he thinks the bike is a bit too small for him. I told him the other day that I would give him $400 for it, and he told me that he needed to get the $500 that he paid for it. I told him I would do that. He said that I can pay him whenever and if it would be easier to wait until spring when I can ride it home that would be fine.

So, after about four years, my Yamaha Radian will be coming home. I'm glad, too. That was a bike that as soon as I sold it, I really wished I hadn't. Don't get me wrong, I love the 250, but the Radian was just a bit more special. It was, really, my first bike. On top of that, I'll be paying $100 more than I sold it for, but it's had a good $800 worth of work done to it. So that's a big plus.

Now, I have to decide what to do with the Ninja. I would I guess like to sell it, and I could easily get $1,000 for it, if not more. But...and this is the huge alarm going off in my head...I really think that the bike is worth a lot more than I could get for it. I put so much time and effort into getting that Ninja to where it is today that I don't know if it would be worth it to sell it.

So, I'm at a crossroads. I think that I should sell the Ninja, but I don't really want to. I also have no use for two bikes...unless, maybe my dad would want to come down and ride with me every now and then. He still has the CY endorsement on his license, so he could.

Either way, I'm just glad that the Radian will be coming back.

My First True Ventriloquist's Dummy...

So, I have wanted a "real" ventriloquist dummy for a while now. You know, the ones that have the wooden handle in the back that controls the mouth movement?? I can make puppets that have the ability to work like a ventriloquist dummy, but your hand is still operating the mouth directly...not operating a rod that operates the mouth.

But anyways, I had found one on Ebay a while back that I REALLY liked. It was a one off custom creation and although a bit macabre, I thought it was great. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't have the cash to purchase it so I didn't get a chance to buy it. The auction came and went, and I figured I was just out of luck.

Flash forward several months to a couple of days ago, and guess what I found over on Etsy??

Yup...same puppet!!! Apparently the seller hadn't had any luck selling it on Ebay, so they listed it on Etsy. I e-mailed them to ask if it was new or if they had bought it, they told me it was new and that they felt it was one of their best vent dummies to date. I jumped at the chance to get it, because this time I had the cash and I didn't want to lose out on it again!!!

New Phone...

It's about time for me to get a new phone.

I had been waiting for Verizon to get the iPhone, and they now have it. But oddly enough, now that they have it, I don't really know if I want it. I already have an iPod Touch 4G, and the iPhone is really just the same thing, only with a phone built into it. The only really cool thing about the iPhone on Verizon is you can use it as a mobile access point so when on vacation and things like that I could use my laptop or my Android Tablet as if it were connected to the internet at home.

But it seems that Verizon is adding that functionality to many of it's smartphones. So that isn't really a major selling point.

Now, I had a smartphone before, and I used it primarily for getting sports scores while I was at work. Once I got the iPod Touch, that was no longer necessary because the iPod connected to the WiFi at work and had a much prettier interface than the phone did, so I went back to just a regular phone.

I've really liked my regular phone, and I like it so much that I'm not sure I'll even upgrade to a new phone when I am able to. I have run into one problem recently with the phone, and that is the fact that it's "lock" function seems to not be working so well any more, and it's constantly making phantom calls while it's in my pocket. Luckily, I don't EVER make calls, so even when the phone makes a 53 minute call, it doesn't really have much of an impact on my monthly plan. However, it's beginning to become more and more of a hassle as it does it more and more often.

The reason that I am once again looking for a smartphone is simple. Verizon doesn't seem to have ANY phones left that don't require at least the $15 data plan. So any of the phones that you get, you have to get a data plan for them regardless. So if I have to get a data plan, I might as well get the $30 data plan and get a cool phone.

I've decided that I want a new Windows 7 Phone. They are getting pretty solid reviews and look really interesting to me. Most people are saying that they are the first real step forward in user interface in phones in a LONG time. That, and they connect to your GamerTag on Xbox Live, so the games that come on them have achievements that will add to your scores.

This is the one I'm looking at, it's an HTC 7 Trophy:

It's got good reviews and looks pretty promising. The only issue?? It won't be out for Verizon for another five or six months. They don't currently have a Windows 7 Phone, and it's supposed to be the first one.

Who knows, maybe by then there will be some other new awesome phone that I would rather have, but for now I'm leaning towards this HTC.

Thinking About...

...getting a membership at our local YMCA.

I have been interested in getting back into playing racquetball, and it seems that the only real way to do that is if you go to the Y.

I've found that the membership isn't quite as expensive as I thought it would be, and I called to check and they have four racquetball courts available to use.

An added bonus to going to the Y to play racquetball, there are usually people there that would be interested in playing a game...so it's not like I'd just be there hitting a ball around myself all the time.

That, and it's a good way to be a bit more active and help me get in better shape.

Last Month...

...had the least amount of posts on this blog since I've been doing it. There were even less posts than the very first month that I started.

I'm going to attribute most of that to a lack of anything really going on, and the one thing that did go on was a death in the family that ended up making me not feel like doing a whole lot of blogging.

This month doesn't look like it's going to get too much better, either, because I have a 5 night trip to Vegas in 11 days and then another several days after that off...and I probably won't be doing too much blogging during that time.

Maybe once it starts to get nicer outside, I'll have more things to talk about.