Ewww that smell

Its a slow day.... I really got nothin' for ya, but I came across this interesting story on wikihow.com

Pretty much, its a story about how to eat the worst thing you have ever , or more likely never, smelled. I haven't even heard of a Durian, but apparently they smell horrible! Frankly, they dont look too great either.

Whats funny about the article is that half of the whole thing is how to get your Durian home, because the smell is SOOO bad. Here are some points to consider:

• Avoid traversing crowded public places


• avoid riding mass transit as a courtesy to other passengers


• if you must use mass transit, ride in a sparsely crowded car or bus seat away from everyone else


• consider driving home or riding a bicycle


• if you use a car make sure to open the windows!

This friut better be the most delicious thing I have ever tasted for all the trouble it is to travel with. Not to mention the toxic smell it produces. Which by they way, why would I want to eat something that smells so bad your not even supposed to bring it near other people?!?

Once you cut into it, if the smell hasn't scared you off... then you have to actually put it in your mouth... but look at it...

gross. No thanks. Even if this does taste great, it just seems like far more trouble than its worth.

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then I think I will just go with that.

Bikes of Excess

If your going to ride, do it in style! Here are some must have bikes to look good on the go.

The Orange Crush Bike

This bike was inspired by the "I need a bike for every occasion" idea. A road bike, a commuter bike, a grocery bike, and apparently a cool drink on a hot day - Orange Crush bike! Shoot, I'd feel cooler just riding it. I do wonder though, if you gonna build a whole bike dedicated to getting a drink, shouldn't you put on a cup holder? humm.

The Pink Tandem Bike

This would be, I guess, for any girls who want to go on a ride with a friend. Pretty sure this one is gender specific. I cant picture a couple dudes rollin out to the gym on this. I guess if you really need a purpose to ride this bike it would be the "going to the bank bike", because it is from an ad campaign for WaMu.

The Coco Chanel Bike

For the fashion conscious rider we have the Coco Chanel bike, I guess you could use this to get to the mall when they Beamer or Bentley is being detailed. Might still want to have it valet thought, for $12,000, I dont think I'd leave this one locked to the bike rack. There definitely isn't ample room for thousands of dollars worth of clothes, so this would obviously be used only when jewelry shopping. Im sure you could get several hundred karot worth of diamonds in the saddle bags!

For the guy who has everything, the 24 karot Gold Bike

This bike is, well, worth its weight in gold. For a mere $18,000 you can have your very own, one of a kind, gold bicycle, complete with security guard. I really have no idea where you would go on this bike, but I do know you would get there is style! They say you can't drive a Mercedes into the board room, but I guess you could roll you bike in there... but, that might not get the responce intended. Heck, a $3.99 can of gold krylon would achieve the same look, and who really knows what its made of?!?

And incase you were thinking anyone whos owns one of these really does have a problem with excess, I present you with this guy...

...who has stole 2,685 bikes. With over 10 rented garages full of bikes not to metnion a shop and his own home, this would far and away have to be the definitoin of excess. Police still dont know what he was planning to do with all of them all. I had up to 6 bikes at one time and I thought my place looked more like a bike shop than an apartment. I cant imagine what 2,600 bikes would even look like!

Movin' On Up

Want to move to Seattle? Let me help...

If you are one of the "lucky" ones you can move here.

This is 1521, oops, Fifteen Twenty-One

For a modest $2.5 to $10 million dollars you can call this home(sorry, not the whole thing, just one unit). It will be the second tallest residential building in Seattle with 38 stories and 143 homes. It is being build right across the street from where I work, so I have watched as it climbed its way up.

Im sure this is perfect for some people, but even if I had the money, I think I'd pass. If I was going to spend a couple million dollars, I would rather have a house or two. Instead of a glass box, I think I would go with a place that had a garage, patio, yard, maybe even a window that I can open to get some fresh air... for a few million I can think of A LOT of stuff I would rather buy. But then again, if I had a couple million to buy a condo here, I'd probably already have that other stuff anyway. And, I guess I can get a garage, patio and yard at my summer house, or winter villa....

Nutrients vs Food

Meat, aka Matt from Canada, my #1 (and probably only) Canadian reader left me a link to this article on the heels of my rant, Fill 'er up, about our misguided attempt at vitamin consumption.

It was written in early 2007, and I will forewarn you, its long, really long, but set aside some time to sit down and read it. Seriously, its extremely thought provoking and whether or not you believe it or dismiss it, its worth thinking about.

I can't really even begin to summarise the whole article, but I will point out one topic in the article. It wasn't until the late 70's that scientist started to pull apart and put back together our food in attempts to make what we eat healthier. Ironically, it was the late 70's and early 80's that the US obesity epidemic really got started.

So, read on... and if you have any feed back, let me hear it.

IT happens

Live, work and ride in Seattle and you’ll see some crazy stuff. I have seen quite a bit but today was a first for me.

I was a few minuets late riding into work this morning and it changed my life forever. Its only after something monumental has happened that you retrace the steps that brought you to that very moment in time. “What if I left the house 2 minuets earlier”, “what if I rode any slower or any faster” or if I had of taken 3rd and not 5th? Changing any one of these variables would have completely altered the outcome. But alas, I was in the core, down town Seattle, on the corner of Pike and 3rd at 7:51am for the culmination of what can only be described as the defining moment of my Seattle experience.

Heading to work turning off of Pike onto Third Ave I went around the bus, who was also on the same path. I rolled through the cross walk congested with people shuffling along on their way to work. This is where I first laid eyes on subjects of my story. What I saw was a man walking his dog, a lab or maybe golden retriever mix, which is a normal site, not worthy of much attention. But it wasn’t until the leash grew taut and the man turned to see the hold up that I realized what was coming next. The dog, in all his abundant wisdom, had chosen this very place to take care of his “business”. Yes, in the middle of the crosswalk on the corner of 3rd Ave and Pike Street, in down town Seattle, pedestrians and buses be damned! As the crowd of people bubbled around the deed in action, traffic came to a halt with buses and cars waiting and watching the owner standing awkwardly, tethered to his dog, squatting, hind legs still quivering, in the middle of the street.
Of course, no camera, no evidence, no documentation of this epic occasion, which I will undoubtedly relive each and every time I see a dog walking on the cold hard streets of Seattle.

Fill 'er up

OK, I wont go into Americas obesity epidemic, I mean, Im only here for about 8 hours and I don’t want to start labeling the blog by Volumes.

But you know our country, and even the world, are in a sad state of affairs when we are depending on soda to get out vitamins. Coke has Coke Plus and Pepsi is coming out with Tava, a one stop shop for a delicious and “healthy” beverage.
Now, soda and soft drinks, in and of themselves, aren’t inherently bad, but if you are consuming so much that you need them to have vitamin additives you might want to think about cutting back. I dunno, maybe have some water or a juice, heck pick up a piece of fruit every now and then. The fact that these companies thought of these kind of products says a lot about were we put the value of actual, real, nutrition, but the fact that consumers are drinking these says even more.

(I dont even see soda on here... man, this thing is out dated)

Just incase you think that’s they only way to be “healthy”, think again. 7-11 and Starbucks wants you to be able to have a choice on they way you consume you daily vitamins. Just like some people like apples and some like bananas, some people like soda and others like coffee. Why should we limit consumption of much needed vitamins to soda when we could put it in our coffee too! In a rush to keep up with our insatiable appetites the research and development team from Starbucks came up with this great idea and this one from 7-11. Its funny though, consumer affairs tells us, apparently, coffee and vitamins don’t really mix. Coffee, and caffeinated drinks in general, limit the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Huh, so, this is really just a big scam which will lead to further obesity, diabetes, liver and kidney problems, no, that can’t be right.

But wait... There's more! All this healthy soda and your still feeling tired? Don’t worry, now you don’t need sleep either! Thanks to the creators of Red Bull and the mass marketing of Monster not to mention the other countless energy drinks, we can cut out sleep all together. Yea!
Now this is getting really good, I can drink my vitamins and drink my energy be completely healthy and live a long full life!

Ok, I will admit, even the healthiest of the morbidly obise need a quick pick me up now and then. I guess an 8oz Redbull would do the trick… or, new and improved 12oz, oh, or the newer 16oz…. oh gezzz, the *new* 24oz?!? Seriously, twenty four, liver punchin, sugar rushing, heart pounding ounces? Well, don’t worry, if you not dead yet, Monster offers the 36oz pop top can. Pop top implying that it is one (1) serving, not able to be saved for later....
(not pictured is the 24oz Red Bull)

What you’re thirsty for regular H20, but your body cant handle anything without high fructose corn syrup and your pallet can't take anything not artificially sweetened, not to mention you don’t want to miss out on your only source of vitamines? Don’t worry, Vitamin Water has made sure we don’t miss a single swig of throat choking vitamin goodness.

Well, You can bet that all this talk about soft drinks has certainly made me thirsty, not to mention exhausted, so im off to the break room, dollar in hand to get a nice cold refreshing beverage... I can only hope they have restocked the Diet Coke Plus, all this typing I'm surely low on B12 and couldn’t go on another second with out some Vitamin C, I mean, it is my only option .... right?

I did not see this coming

Bigfoots frozen body was a hoax! Unbelieveable.

This story from CNN said"A break appeared up near the feet area ... as the team and I began examining this area near the feet, I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot."

What in the world would motivate someone to do this??? SearchingForBigfoot.com "believes that their motive was financial.

Wow, Bigfoot hunters are sharp. This is quite shocking considering "the two requested an undisclosed sum of money as an advance" ..... "Two days later, after signing a receipt and counting the money, Dyer and Whitton showed the Searching for Bigfoot team the freezer containing what they claimed was the body: "something appearing large, hairy and frozen in ice."

And these are the sleuths in charge of detecting an wild animal over about a 50 million square miles!?! Well, with Sasquatch still out there at least I have something too look for when hiking around the Pacific North West!

What have I missed?!?!

I missed out on the biggest event of the weekend here in Seattle, Hemp Fest. This was the 17th year Seattle has done this, so you would think I could manage to get it on my calendar, ya know being an annual event and all, but some how I just keep missing it every time it rolls around.
This year Hemp Fest was supposed to be different, however. The big push by organizers was to promote Industrial hemp, or cannabis used for non-drug purposes such as paper or biodiesel fuel. And Im sure they would have accomplished a ton of stuff, except apparently everyone was somewhat distracted.
I have a feeling that anything being promoted, encouraged, introduced, or that was otherwise non-smoke-able, went up in a puff, by people far more concerned with alleviating their munchies. I would equate this with trying to stop drunk driving by giving tours of a brewery with free samples in convent to-go cups. Or better yet, trying to stop overeating at an all you can eat lunch buffet. Im sure this guy

was eager to sit down and discuss legislative initiatives on reformation of marijuana control, we just caught him at a bad time.

Anyway, like at any huge festival, Im sure the attendees were from all walks of life. Now, you would think, people waking around this festival would take notice of the older generations also in attendance, but in case they didn’t allow me to show you what they might have seen:


Now, like I said I wasn’t actually able to make it, but for these pictures I went to only one source. I didn’t hand pick these photos, these where the 3 of the 4 photos of, what I can only assume are “seasoned smokers”. I guess most of the other attendees might not have been thinking clear enough to notice, but I dont think most people want to end up like that. That is not to say everyone will, just pointing out if you want to end up like someone, do what they do.

Moving on, apparently Seattle has few, if any, pro Pot officials in elected positions. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why not. Lack of initiative? Lack of motivation? Lack of supporters able to remember to vote? Who knows?!? Now, it with over 100,000 people attending you would think all the pro cannabis proponents could have a large impact and be able to get quite a bit accomplished maybe we should ask this guy what he thinks:
Maybe we'll get an answer when he's done.... but for now, I guess we will never know!

Well, don’t worry, I have marked my calendar for next years festival and I will make sure I don’t miss it! But for now, I can rest assured that with all that was set into action this weekend, next year Seattle will be a much “greener” city.

Top 10 signs your getting old

Time flys, and it seems as we get older time goes even faster. While we were wakeboarding yesterday Jens, who is 18, said "man im gettin old". Yeah, whatever. But if he is getting old, then the rest of us definitely have one foot in the grave. So, I got to thinking, what are some sure fire ways to tell for sure if we are getting old? Here is some ways to tell if you should put your cell phone on the pay-as-you-go plan!

10. You can’t drink your age in shots anymore. – Im not encouraging anyone to actually try this, Im just sayin, if you cant do it, your probably getting old.

9. You don’t recognize any of the cartoons on tv and find your self asking “what happened to all the good ones like when I was a kid?”

8. You realize most professional athletes are younger than you and that you never went pro.

7. You know what calories are and that they will affect your waste line.

6. Any reference to how cheap things use to be. “I remember when gas was 1.09! I could fill up for 15 bucks."

5. If you were around before common, everyday technologies. “We just got the internet at my house, 64K dial up! Its awesome!”

4. You have to explain things that you references to younger people. "That’s the 64,000 dollar question.” “whats the 64K dollar question?" “It’s a... egh, never mind.”

3. You refer to how long you have been doing something and its over a decade. Yeah, I started snowboarding a few years ago... well, I guess I was 17, so... 10 years ago?!?! Wait, that cant be right.

2. You can’t quite keep up with changing technology and terminology. “So, do you have a Spacebook account?” (Sorry mom!)

And the number one sign your getting old:

1. You some how manage to injure yourself while sleeping at night. "Oh, man, I woke up with the worst crick in my neck and my back is all sore. All I did was just lay in a bed, Im sore from sleep!”

Work is a four letter word

I think of a job as a tool. It is something that affords someone the opportunity to do things they enjoy.
In my case my job has hours that don’t keep too late in the evening and where I don’t have to work on the weekends. This of course, is when I, like most people, go out and have fun doing whatever it is that I like to do. For most of us, during the week we work, usually at something we don’t like, the trade off is having money and time to do the things we like.

However, I had a conversation with a friend who thinks that a job should be something you enjoy. You should like it and it should be something that fulfills you and that you feel glad to be apart of. I mean, you do spend 40 or 50 years working, why not have a job where you feel that you have actually made a difference? I really like this idea, I mean it sounds great, in theory, but is possible?

The way I see it, the problem with that point of view is two fold. One, not many people know what they would enjoying doing. I like tons of different things, but few, if any, that I would want as a career. I love my bike and riding around. Would I be a messenger, I don’t think so, especially not in Seattle. I like working on cars, but there is NO way I would or could be a mechanic. I love camping, but Im not sure how this would be a job, but even if it was, I don’t think I would want to camp 40 hours a week...right?

Secondly, if I did take a job doing something that was totally awesome and where I felt completely fulfilled, there is a good chance it would pay any where near enough to live on, or at least not at the level that an “unfulfilling job” would pay.

So then of course, the next question is, what is more important: having a job that provides you with a feeling that you have made a difference, or a job that really doesn’t make a difference one way or another but that allows you to do other things that you enjoy. (That was rhetorical, im not gonna even try to answer it!)

BUT, there is another option, a job you love, that pays well, that leaves you feeling accomplished and allows you to have time to spend doing other things out side of work. These jobs are out there... But they must be few and far between. I don’t think I know anyone, at least off hand, that loves their job and everything that comes with it.

Now Im not trying to compalin about the job I have, I have done that before! My whole point is that what if we are missing out on an awesome opportuinity to actually enjoy our jobs because we asume (as I do) that great jobs aren't out there. I just wonder if we are we selling ourselves short. Maybe that job is out there waiting for us, the one job we always wanted. Or maybe the dollar is always greener on the other side.

I like it

There are a lot of ways to kill time, http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ is a great one. I might throw one of these up from time to time for your viewing pleasure.

I like this one. Its true and I fall into this category. I mean, I am a “younger urban white folk, who asolutely love their fixed gear”!
I have withheld all my bike related topics thus far... but im sure they will come out soon, as bikes are a pretty big deal, I do love my fixed gear. I ride to work every day and I also get in some rides on the weekend and even do an Alley Cat race here or there.

I would like to clarity one thing. NO Spandex, ever, period. Whether its to work, a race, the Seattle to Portland 200 mile ride or even the Hotter than Hell century ride in Texas in August, no spandex. There will probably be more to come on my disdain any and all Lycra related outer wear.

Summer In the City - All Girl Alley Cat

And if you were one of the girls who competed in the Summer in the City – All girl alley cat this weekend, congrats! It was awesome to see so many girls out there, competing with and helping out each other, all at the same time!
It was roughly 20 miles start to finish and I know there where some challenging checkpoints. One involving either copious amount of sun screen or jumpin in the lake.

I know a lot of guys would would not have opted for the water, but that didn't seem to stop the girls! Guess in the long run it didn't matter because once the pouring rain started everyone was soaked anyway! That didn't seem to slow down the ladies one bit... they rocked it. See more here.

Here to EVERYONE who took full advantage of the weekend, got out of their comfort zone, went bigger, harder, further, faster or better than they have before.

B.O.A.T

Bust Out Another Thousand. I had never hear truer words.

I recently bought a boat. Well, half a boat. Ryan owns the other half, He told me, either right before or maybe it was right after, we bought it that boat really means Bust Out Another Thousand, ya know, because boats are expensive. And its true. There is always one more thing to buy or something to fix, or gas for the boat, or for the tow vehicle, or wakeboards, tubes, ropes, anchors, the list goes on. But owing a boat (or half of one) is awesome! It doesn’t matter if you are just out on the water chillin, at Seafair, wakeboarding or anything else, BOAT, while expensive is also Bet On an Awesome Time!!!

So, this weekend Im gonna be out throwin’ down, or at least trying to, and workin on learn some more tricks. You should be able to see all the carnage after the weekend is over right here, thanks to our friend Brian.

So, go enjoy your days off and try something new this weekend. Seriously, do something this weekend that you have never done before. Go somewhere you have never been, eat something you have never had.

I, for one, am gonna huck myself over the wake trying to land a new trick, and I’m gonna eat it, probably a lot...And Im gonna enjoy every minuet of it!

I love showing up to work on Monday morning, more tired, more sore, and in all around worse shape than I was on Friday...then I know, it was a good weekend!

Slow Boat to China

The Olympics are a big deal, a major deal... like whole world watching, everyone talking about it, big deal. Everyone has a favorite sport to watch, but are some of these really sports? Don’t get me wrong, I couldn't even begin to play, not to mention compete in these, but lets take a look at what is considered top tier world wide “sports”.

Table tennis

Let’s clear up any confusion, its ping pong. Calm down, I know “that’s not what its called”, c’mon its like calling a garbage man a Waste Disposal Engineer. I have played and its fun, for about 15 minuets. But an Olympic sport? People devote years of their life to become the absolute best in the world at this? Its fun to watch the guys jumping over the back barrier to try and hit the ball 25 feet back to the table, but im still thinking, not an Olympic worthy sport.

Now, throw a few cups of beer on the table and loose the paddles and ya got Beer Pong, now I’d watch that! Talk about an all time favorite, a ratings gold mine, and ad space prices to rival that of the Super Bowl! Every country in the world would bring a team... fans would take days off work to gather around the tv and watch the antics ensue!

Badminton
“few viewers could name the world's fastest racket sport”. No kidding, because no one cares. Badminton is like tennis kid sister. Racquet ball, now that’s intense. Your gonna definitely walk away with a bruise the exact shape of the ball that just slammed your thigh at 85mph. Your opponent can drill you in the back of the head at pretty much any point of the game and there is even a good chance your going to loose an eye! Tennis, world wide popularity, can’t argue with that. But Badminton... really? I think this must be players who couldn't’t cut it at the other racket games. It’s like getting cut from the basketball team, so going to run cross country instead.
My answer: lose the birdie and use a bird! Now you’re talking! Sure you gotta beat your opponent but you also have the “wild card factor”, the bird! Who knows what could happen, no set plays here, all bets are off... “looks like an easy shot... OH, the bird dodges to the left and Jun-Lee slams his team mate in the head!” Instant crowd favorite.

Gymnastics.

WAIT, wait...not the real one, that one is cool, im down with that. Im talkin about the one where they twirl around with a ribbon. “Ribbon twirl”, an OLYMPIC sport. I would love to see the reactions when the topic comes up. “Oh, wow, you have an Olympic medal? What event? Oh, the ribbon twirl, cooooool. Yeah, no, that’s great. Really, congratulations.”
Ya know, I really don’t think you can redeem this one. It’s a ribbon on a stick. World wide event. Life long training: ribbon... stick.

So, here is to the Olympics and the athletes. Lets just hope the Olympic village has separate dinning rooms so some of the athletes dont realize they didn't quite make it to the "cool table".

Im Back in BLACK!

What happened to coffee – black, regualar, normal, plain, coffee?

Ill be the first to admit a triple Grande 2% vanilla latte is great, my Saturday morning drink of choice, a double tall mocha. But does anyone drink coffee anymore?
Now im not talking about business plans or profit models here... just the concept that the worlds most dominate coffee company has ironically brought coffee consumption to a grinding halt. Convinced that we need a sophisticated concoction of flavors, shots, syrups and sweeteners, plain drip coffee has taken a back seat to the espresso propaganda.

Year after year growing up I would see my dad go off to work with a thermos filled to the brim with good old fashion Joe. “Room? Room for what? I got coffee, what else do I need?” For decades people would sit down for breakfast and enjoy a hot cup of coffee or fill a mug for the drive to work. Nothing fancy, just a plan, simple cup of java.

But times, they are achangin’. When was the last time you heard anyone say “coffee, black”? I know I for one, cant remember.

Now, Im not saying Starbucks is bad or the fancy drinks are evil... just because we have something newer, fancier, or more exciting don’t forget that sometime its nice to keep it simple. It really is ok to sit down and drink something out of a mug, not a paper to go cup… not on the drive to work, not as you rush to a meeting ... But sitting, relaxing, drinking a nice cup of all American fresh brewed coffee.

Yes, just coffee. No, its for here. Yes, that is all.

back to the future, already?

The 80’s… ok Ill give it up for the 80’s. It was a great decade, heck, its when I showed up… so it must have been pretty good. But was it really so great that we need to bring it back, especially so soon?
I mean think about it, when someone is looking for a bad hair analogy the fist place they go is 1986.

The hair, its not good… it wasn’t even good then. The clothes, oh, the clothes… there are whole parties are dedicated to the absurdity of the 80’s clothes. Groups of friends going to the Goodwill to find the most heinous outfit that by its very definition is too tight, too short, and too bright.


















And then… the pinnacle of the 80’s fashion world, the piece that you love to hate, the infamous mustache. I cant, for any reason see why any person under 40 would have one. I understand that by law some jobs require them, such as State Trouper, police officer and in some cases fire fighter. Is there any reason for someone else to have one of these? Read on...


Now, it wasn’t until I became aware of how fun it was to attend theme parties where costumes are required or even a costume for big themed event that I understood the shock value and therefore enjoyment, that ridiculous clothes provoked.

Well, only a few decades later these 1980’s clothes are back. They are back even to the point of being main stream. It’s not necessary to go rummage through the clothes at Goodwill because now the new and improved 80’s clothes being sold, at full retail price, right there in the store beside the “conservative” 2008 clothes. As I see more and more people dressed in the most outlandish 80’s apparel I started to realize, its not in fashion, its counter fashion. The new cool is to look uncool. And this of course begs the question, is this what happened in the 80’s? Were all these people so rad not in spite of their clothes but because of them? Was this a fashion revolution that was so enormous that it trickled into the culture and sucked in the unsuspecting shoppers who unknowingly bought clothes to be cool not realizing they were infact uncool? Was this a whole decade where the counter culture was so strong, no one knew what was normal?

As I watch the clothes, hair and of course mustaches of 2008 its clear that this is not a fashion trend but an elaborate farce, an opportunity to wear a costume out in public and not only get attention but be trendy in a anti –trendy in your face kinda way. Of course there are the innocent by standards who in a rush to maintain an acceptable social status naively adhere to this intentional fashion fau paux. Just as I suspect in the 80s there are millions of people who will completely miss the concept and unintentionally become a casualty of this fashion war.

So, as I am daily forced to witness these extra tight boy jeans and short shorts that expose the ultra white thighs not seen since the last clothing “revolution”, I can relax and know that the 80’s weren’t as bad as they once seemed and that the 2008 revival is not to relive the ridiculous trends but to say, “I get it, I can make my whole day a costume party and even rock the ‘stach and no one will be the wiser.”

Enough is enough!

Our appetite to consume is insatiable. It doesn’t matter what we items we are talking about only that everyone has a list of wants that is not only unattainable, but also infinite. What’s more is that as soon as our list starts to become manageable, our desires, needs, wants, etc. change producing an even long, more expensive list of intangible items.

After four years in one of the greenest and bike friendly cities in the US. I had started to enjoy the culture and believe some of the stereotypes specific to the region. Cars are bad…. and even if they aren’t really bad they are really expensive. Not just to purchase either, the expenses go on and on. First is the purchase price which appears in the form of monthly payments but then insurance, registration, gas… more gas… oil changes, parking when you go out, secured parking at home, repairs, you get the idea. I was almost to the point of wanting to sell my truck. I rarely use it and Im paying for it to sit there for days or weeks at a time. The way I see it I don’t really need it, I bike to work, to the store and for pretty much any errands I have. If I need to go farther, I have the motorcycle. But oh how quickly our appetite takes over and demands to be fed.

With a savings account seemingly bursting at the seams, buying a boat was logically the best way to relieve the undue pressure that had amassed. Not just any boat, but a wakeboard boat with a 351 Ford V8. Now, all my previous thoughts (small as they may be) about environment and conserving gas had become the last thing on my mind. Especially as the 351 ripped and roared its way across the lake. In reality biking to work is done for enjoyment, not to save a tree and driving is withheld not because of the ozone but because of my parking expense. What’s more is that as the boating need list grew, wakeboard and bindings, life jacket, rope, cleaner, etc. my other lists quickly became trivial and eventually discarded.

Now while I had been on a three year hiatus from driving much less even noticing what the car industry was up to, I was immediately thrown right back into the idea that my truck, previously an expensive luxury was now quickly becoming a insufficient necessity. Sure a 1500 series Tahoe will pull the boat, but the 2500 series trucks was designed to pull the boat. And with a bigger engine, stronger breaks, a comfortable quad cab, not to mention storage, safety, comfort and all around much better quality of life, how could I not have one of these?

Pulling up to the boat launch is a veritable show room of lifted 4x4 king size trucks. Of course, I needed one of these:

Ideas of styles and lifestyles change continuously. What we need and want, what motivates us to do certain things and abstain from others… its all one upgrade after another.

“It’s a quality of life issue” said the bike messenger to the suit stuck inside the office building. “It’s a quality of life issue” said the wake boarder to the messenger on the dock.

we are go for journal, NO I mean blog!

So, im blogging... who knew?!? This should be cool... might even be the new Facebook... which is of course the new Myspace... that replaced the new friendfinder that is far better than the new chat rooms.

Its kinda funny. Isnt "journaling" knida girly? BUT only if you keep it private, if you do it openly, where everyone can read, its totally normal and its not a journal anymore, its a "blog".

Anyway, hopefully I will keep it interesting enough for you to read. Ill make sure to include some pictures so at least you can skim it like the cover of tabloids in line at the grocery store.

see. I'm good for it!

This is Sea-Fair weekend so I'm expecting to have a lot to talk about next week, and as promised, I will include pictures to illustrate my points!

Have a great weekend

and as we all learned from Field of Dreams: if you write it... they will come.