HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been a while... a long while. I think the lack of motivation to post is derived from the intensity of life in other areas. And that's a good thing! When I'm not working on the computer should I really be spending time writing about things I do when I'm not on the computer?

On the other hand... I like to discuss interesting news, provide a laugh, and share some happenings with my friends. So I'll keep blogging in 2008. To start, here are a couple of interesting news stories I'd like to share:

1) Dakar rally cancelled: Best quote of this article "It's like getting punched in the back of our tourism industry.". I think they should have gone ahead with the race anyway. One french family was killed on vacation in Mauritania while picnicing so they cancelled. It's a terrible thing. However, if you're risking your life riding a motorcycle across the hardest terrain in the world then what's a little bit more risk from a small unconfirmed chance of terrorist attack? Maybe they need to go a little Mad Max.

2) Huckabee (Rep) and Obama (Dem) win primaries in Iowa: Read here how the first black contender for president moved one step closer to his goal. I watched some clips of both Huckabee's and Obama's speeches. Huckabee, who puts necrophilia and homosexuality in the same boat, was flanked by none other than Chuck Noris. Seems like a good enough reason to vote for him, right? Obama's speech was pretty good. The "bring home the troups" and "remove dependancy on oil" promises are unrealistic, but I liked his wrap-up with “A father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas, a story that can only happen in the United States of America.” and “We are not a collection of red states and blue states,” he said. “We are the United States of America, and in this election we are ready to believe again.” See Obama's speech here.

Bad Fast Danger

Quick update since I've been sucked into the land of summer, work, BBQs, new toys, Amanda working, me working, moving out, selling stuff, etc...

First and foremost, our time grows short at the Juanita Manor. The crew only has what's left of this month and September before we depart. It's been an amazing 4 years at the house. Times like this remind me of the beginning. Jon and I had been living together in an apartment for a few months and decided to move in with Derek somewhere. Melanie (Jon's GF at the time) happened across a posting in the newspaper. A quick look and we were sure the house on the park with hot-tub and plenty of parking was for us! All thanks to Jon and Mel!

To celebrate the end of an era there was only one thing to do. Have a huge BBQ! Cam secured a keg of Mac&Jacks amber, I filled the tiki torches and we got the hot-tub fixed. Our theme "BAD FAST DANGER" epitomized our love for the fun fast and sometimes dangerous hobbies we all partake in. Checkout Cam and my facebook photos for the whole story. I'll post them on ecutts.com/gallery if anyone really wants (although I feel the urge to post there lessen since photo tagging is so damn convenient).

Our newest addition to the domination of the internet would be none other than DANGERGIL! I helped him get some free hosting on my account. If anyone else needs some let me know. I only get 1 terabyte of space after all.

SO... what's next? A 5 day weekend that's what! Cam, Brad, Lars and I are participating in Sportbike Northwest: a 4 day sportbike rally down at the Columbia river. Checkout the promo vid here. Thousands of riders meet in Stevenson, WA to ride some of the best roads in the world. These guys aren't stunters either, we're all wearing full leathers. You go faster with both wheels on the ground anyway. Oh, and did I mention I just bought a new 2007 GSXR 750 (same bike as cam's) which just got it's 600 mile service as my new toy? Life's short, wear a helmet!

Mean Machines 2007

Spring's here and it's fully bike-season again. I've been crusing to work and downtown on my motorcycle. As such I'm drooling over new bikes to use as a commuter and for day/overnight trips. I'd like something fast, under 10K and mean. I'll probably end up buying a used bike I won't feel bad dropping but why not dream right? There's lots of cool bikes, Gil's 2006 R6 is pretty mean but he crashed it at low-speed caused about 5K of damage so might be upgrading to an R1. Here's an R1 to R6 comparison. Not surprisingly the R1 is heavier (33lbs) and a bit longer in wheelbase (+1.4").

The R1 is a sweet machine but I'm drawn to more of a naked bike look. Here's a breakdown of some of them:

2007 MV Agusta MV BRUTALE 910R: out of my price range, the none-R version is a bit cheaper but still $$$

2007 Yamaha FZ1: A great all around bike. Looks good and has lots of power, plus it's good for slightly longer trips. A friend Paul has one and really enjoys it.

2007 Kawasaki Z1000: This bike looks mean. Huge Chrome dual exhaust and a great shape. I want one! Plus it's only $9K, cheaper than an R1.

Embarassing moto moment

I was just reading a funny thread on a motorcycle newsgroup about 'most embarrasing moments on your motorcycle' so I'd like to share my dumbass mistake!

Months after starting at MS (3-4 years ago) I was living in corporate-housing and my recently purchased motorcycle was parked in front of my recently purchased BMW in a single parking spot. I was going to take my bike for a ride so I needed to move the car to get at the bike. My plan was to pull the car out and up the hill a couple of parking spaces, then move my bike, and park the car back in the spot... no problem! I move the car out and up from my parking spot and leave it running. I set the parking brake and leave the car in neutral then walk over to the bike. Just as I back the bike out of the spot I glance uphill and OH SHIT!!!!1111 there’s my car rolling downhill towards me! I frantically scoot the bike back just as the car barely slides by my front wheel. I almost drop the bike putting down the stand and leap from the seat. My car is picking up speed and rolling towards a row of parked cars!!! Quickly bolting down the hill I leap akwardly into the drivers seat and yank the e-brake. The car jumps a curb and slides onto a lawn but slowly slides to a stop just inches from a lexus. I couldn’t believe I almost took out both of my new vehicles and a row of parked cars! Luckily nobody saw it and there was zero damage. A word to the wise... don't trust your ebrakes, put your car in gear anytime it's on a hill!

Got an embarrasing story about your car/motorcycle? Feel free to share!

Friday media

Hey all, here's yet another compilation of media for your Friday viewing pleasure.

540 kick tutorial: I'm learning these in Capoeira. To train I've been wearing weights and doing a lot of jumping. My legs are getting quite a bit stronger which helps with the pop. I find that leaning forward helps. I'd also like to learn the sideflip.

Crash at Pacific Raceway: With the warmer weather marks the start of the 2007 track-season. Scroll backwards through the photos to see what happens. Both parties are okay. The track was cold and this was only the 3rd lap of the day. The rider that went down first had cold tires and was probably going in a little hot. Here's some discussion from the rider of the yellow bike.

Fireworks factory explosion: This guy survived with some injuries. Apparently these factories blow-up all the time. Not my choice of a place to work.