google reader

i'm ready to save some time, and join the modern era of pulling content. i'm finding i'm having to click alot to get the info I need and most of the time its a dead end anyway?

so... thats a long and drawn out way of saying "i'm sick of clicking on everyones blog just to find there is no new content"

the solution? google reader. for our blogs, just ad a link of /atom.xml to the end and theres the reader feed. now all I need is the RSS feed link for dan and sarahs blogs. then it will be 'one click' reading.

maybe I can share my starred items. oh wait. thats if I highlite something I like. I was hoping that would......... ah never mind....

google page creator

pages.google.com also known as google page creator seems to have gone live now. I thought I'd give it a whirl. the nice thing about google is once you have an account it lets you into most all of their stuff without having to create a new account for each service... I really like that

view my test here

can change layout independent of content, instant saving, click a 'tell friends' button and it starts gmail with a link in the body.

limitations
can't drag and drop photos exactly where I want. you can drag around, but they snap to what ever boxes you have. i'm not sure how to use the GUI to format the txt AROUND an image, but they are getting there.

where do i upload a real file? real content, not just a picture. I was really hoping I could use this to publish real data. oh well.

free MS

I think someone already posted about it, but I can't remember, so I'll just post about it. it seems MS is giving something away now? it was suppose to be an introductor thing, limited time, but it was so so successful microsoft is releasing 'hobby / student' versions of their compilers for FREE. dubbed the 'express' versions, it gives the average joe a reason to persue closed source offerings over open source. to note, the accompanying coding4fun website. one interesting place was the TextToSpeach site on MSDN here that said vista will have much better support. I think I should setup a service to digitize textbooks and then convert them to usable to txt to speach so people can listen to their class material on the commute

a friend at work already loaded it up and wrote a few things.. I may have to do the same.

hp2 tires

I have about 1600 miles on the stock Metzeler Karoo's. I've run them at normal street pressure off road and haven't had any problems. I haven't done any extremely rocky terrain, but have done some deep sand and I made it without crashing, so for me that means they are fine. I don't notice the nobs on the street, and cornering is fine. I really like these tires, i just wish they lasted longer. I'm not a very agressive rider on or off road, so at most i'll probably get 1.5x the miles on these that most will. maybe double.

I was talking with the parts guy at sierra, and I think I'll move to the Metzeler Tourance Tires for the next round. should be perfect for the AK trip with tread to spare (burn) when I get back.

I was also talking to the parts guy about patching tubeless and he said best to carry a 21" tube. that will fit the front and can be crammed in the back if need be. you can get tubeless repair kit and can be used for the rear (he got 1500 miles on one repair) but warned against any use in the front. just not worth the chance. the tubeless repair kits say limited to 30 miles at 37mph so the disclaimer indicates they are extremely temporary.

at this point i'm kind of torn... I know I should carry at least one tube, but to use it that means i have to bring tire irons and possibly a bead breaker?. another unfortunate difficuly in the HP2 is the lack of center stand, so road side tire repair could be very challening. hmmm....... what to do.

BMW in AK

I was browsing through bmw dealers in 2006 and found 2 dealers in AK! cool. if we have problems (of course not with the HP2 =).. just limp to the finish line. one in Anchorage, and the other in Fairbanks. The website for the Anchorage shop links to alaska.net/~bmwclub which will probably be worth a read to put the finishing touches on planning for the trip.

hp2 gear failure

first failure on the HP2, and i'm glad to say it wasn't because of anything I did. The gear indicator in the instrument pannel and the netural indicator light both went out. the neutral indicator wouldn't work at all, but he gear would show during up shift and crusing, but as soon as the clutch was pulled, or downshift, the indicator would go blank.

took it into Sierra BMW, and didn't want to press them, but instead of demanding immediate service ask to schedule a time to take the bike in. they had me wait a few minutes and then hooked it up to the machine. while they played with it I shopped for tires. $350 for tires.... ouch.. including mounting. i REALLY hope I can coax these tires to 6000 so I can get the next ones brand new for alaska. i'm going to go to something a little less agressive to ensure I can do the full 6000 to alaska without any trouble.

turns out, the failure was a loose electrical connection, probably both at the sensor and into the main computer. they have some name for it.. something like hspk or something.. can't remember. but they cleaned it with air, put dielectric griese on it and relearned the potentiometer settings for gear positions and its fine.

took about 1.5 hours from the time I pulled up because they were finishing some other work before they got going on mine. also got the factory update tire size sticker installed.

one other fault in the computer, something about loss of speed data, probably in line with the intermitten wiring contacts. that was cleared and i'm sure won't be a problem.

either no one noticed, or no one cared I patched the side of the valve cover with $2 epoxy. I was kind of wondering what they would say but no one mentioned it.

rock lake

$25 bmw motorcycle

anyone want a bmw for $25? seems the local shop does a raffle each year. a 1200gs went out last year and you don't have to be present to win. tempting. it is nevada, this may be gambeling I could live with.

flikr

in one of my MBA classes the instructor mentioned flikr, as in its the best place to plagarize pics for a presentation. sure enough, check out the hp2 pics

I was hoping to find some ideas for rear luggage but came up short. I guess i'll have to truly design it myself.

hp2 vs 650L

XR650L Mine has a 5 gal tank, and a soft trunk. this is some random picture of the net to give you an idea what an XR650L is if you've never seen one.


mine has the offroad kit, (plastic on the bottom of the heads) again, some random pic off the net



dad got my old xr650L up and running. I think he's going to take it to work off and on cause the starter on his truck is going out. he came by tonight and I let him ride the hp2. he had trouble even tiptoeing so all he did on it was street.

I rode the XR650L and impressions are it feels smaller than jens XT225. yup.. it felt like a pocket bike in comparison to the HP2. I was shocked how much smaller the XR650L felt. its only been 3 months since I rode it but I guesse i've grown into the HP2. I've got about 1400 miles now, and have been doing 5+ miles of deep sand on my return from work. its some work, but the bike can do it. totally impressed, the HP2 is exactly what I want

summer is here

Summer is here. and if your not sure if summer is where you are at, heres some ways to tell...

1) did you have trouble turning the sprinkler system on because the key is 2 feet long instead of needed 3 feet? when you did turn it on, did the valve shoot water in your ear.

2)did your lawnmower start on last years varnish in the tank?

3)did you refill your gas can with supreme so you could use the fuel in the lawnmower or the motorcycle?

4)did you let the lawn get so long before cutting it you had trouble pushing the mower through it?

5) does 10 minutes in the sun leave a red mark on your neck / or arm?

6) does your helmet lose visibility due to gnats, masquittos and grass hoppers?

7) have you taken a grass hopper to the the adams apple? [at speed]

8) are your winter riding gloves too hot, but your wife is still waiting to get you $20 summer ones?

9) is the liner in your motorcycle coat too hot in the afternoon AND the morning commute?

10) are you leaving your windows cracked in the car when you park?

HP2 - dropped bike

about 3 weeks ago I was riding the new bike up a canyon not far from the house. we have had alot of flooding this winter (think torential) and the road I remember was gone, just leaving bad rocks in its place. I had attempted this road earlier this year and had to admit defeat. The first go around I was able to claim defeat without dropping the bike, this time I wasn't so lucky.

I made it past the section I did last time, but stalled out in a little rocky trench. I got my composure and headed on but had a bad start. the front end went up on a rock and I lost it, slamming the right head into the ground. My foot was crushed so I thought had saved the bike! then I find all this gas running out. hmm.......... that can't be good. I tilt the bike back up, takea look at it and determine thats not gas, thats oil. ohhhhhhhh........... thats not good. big gash in the valve cover. exactly where I figured I do it when I did it. now i'm stuck halfway up a bad road with a bike half out of oil and i have to decide.. do I go up, or admit defeat and go back.

defeat? no way. I fired it up and headed up. a few more turns and I hit snow. now snow and mud with a 400lb dirt bike don't quit mix on bad terrain. I slid out and slammed the left head into the ground. since the road was so muddy no damage done, but the mud glob was pretty big.

defeat? turn around. now way. I'm just getting started. I power through the snow and mud, up around the bend and finally hit pavement. about 10 miles of coasting/limping down a paved mountain road to get back home. I did my best to keep from shooting oil out the side but every now and again I had to use the engine.

Damage:
one 'holed' valve cover. its made out of magnesium and BMW likes them alot, so its around $150 for a new one. since i'm pretty sure this won't be my only time on the ground I opt for the 'in training solution' and head to home depot. I got some 2 part epoxy putty for $2 and patched the hole. since then I've got about another 400 miles on it with zero problems. that epoxy putty stuff is DEFINATLY going to alaska with us.

in the end, the real damage was my pride.

hp2 fuel tank - update

the last word was that the larger tank for the HP2 would be available in march. its the middle of april and i haven't heard much so I thought I'd shoot an email out to HPN and see what the status was, and the reply:

the current delivery time is July for the lager tank - it gaves a lot of problems in the developement, sorry. No price, no picture at this time available.

tech talks by google

I watched part of the one FPGA's. pretty good. if you miss college lecture, dial one up and learn something.

google engedu

dirt bike <100lbs

Don't get me wrong, I love the new ride, but if i had to pick the bike up alot and didn't ever need to break 30mph an fxbike could just very well be the next ticket.

BMW market analysis

I did a little paper for my marketing class, origionaly written in word, and I did a 5minute cut-paste to openoffice for the export to PDF. its a little rough around the gills, but the content is there. It has some pictures, and a few sources that pertain to the 1200GS and how the HP2 has been entered in almost every major off road race. my conclusion is that the HP2 is being used to prove the technology of the 1200GS so that the 1200GS can be more closely associated with off road capability instead of the behemouth monstrosity that the 1150GS has turned into and people saw in long way round. I tried a free hosting site, upload2.net, so an we'll see if the link works bmw north american market analysis I have omiited my name from the file, so if anyone is going to reference it, email me and I'll give you my name. the high level page for upload2.net is here in case the first link doesn't wrok. If you want the presentation I used for my 5-min class discussion you can have it. it was just a few slides to talk to abou the history, the current market position, and what my take of the strategy was. my bike is on the last slide. (CTRL-L) is the shortcut for full screen in acrobat

snowshoe yosemite

We have headed out this weekend to hit yosemite and do a little snowshowing. We left home around 4pm, and got to where we are staying (about 45 min outside the park) at 11:30 pm. We did a nice little 2 mile snow hike yesterday, and took some pictures in the park. today we head back for one more quick round of pictures and then its back home. we plan to stop at the spagehetti factory and get the 'brown butter and mazithra' on the way back. what a great weekend.

hp2 pic

This ones mine. we went on a little trip to pyramid lake. saw some crusty brain looking rocks at the alkalai lake. On a different note, it takes a special person to race one of these monsters up a ski slope

new job!

with a title like that you'd expect my smile-ic-on to look a little diferent

=(

I have heard some new rumors that even more qualified people are applying for the new job I applied for. not just your average Jo, but people that are being moved from even higher jobs. so.... yeah... I'm not even a candidate. at this point I'll be lucky for an interview.

sick

this fall will make 5 years for me at my current employer (who shall rename nameless). in that time i've been sick a grand total of 2 days. that is until this week. missed monday and tuesday, and wasn't going to come in today but I decided unpacking boxes wasn't helping me get better so maybe looking at my employees with blood-shot eyes would perk my spirits.

sure enough, they said 'you look like hell' first thing when I walked in. they all tried to send me back home but then I found I have a meeting with the leader of our ~2500 person business at 5pm.

so..... no going home early. crap.. on top of that I have school tomarrow so I can't ditch tomarrow, and their is holiday on monday, so i'd look like a weasle for missing friday,

thus, i'm stuck at work sick.

[update]
I just re-read this and I am quite proud of the standard typos / spelling I fall prey to. =)