Seeking Something Sporty

Some of you know that I currently employ an SUV as my primary mode of transportation; a Honda Passport to be exact. It’s a pretty good rig, hauls all my crap and even pretty reasonable sized trailers. It’s great for trips and gear and stuff, and it’s pretty quiet and comfortable inside. It’s even got pretty good power.

But it’s failing in a major way to scratch my itch right now.

I’m absolutely craving something low, light and with a manual transmission. Before the Passport I had a 2000 Subaru 2.5RS (turbocharged for a while) that was each of those things and quite quick. I miss it dearly at times now. Although my current ride is much more useable and practical on a daily basis, it is very definitely not as much fun.

I’m entertaining a few different schemes to provide myself with a little more thrilling driving experience. I’ve had thoughts of buying a cheap, old pickup truck for work duties, and swapping my Passport in for something more fun but still capable of packing toys and gear. Tops on that list is a Subaru WRX wagon. Or, I could keep what I’ve got and pick up a really cheap play car. Entrants in that contest include but are not limited to a late 80’s Toyota MR2, an older Mazda Miata or possibly even a Honda CRX.

I like the MR2 because it’s a mid-engine, rear wheel drive, extremely small and light, cheap and I’ve driven one that was a blast. It would be very difficult to work on because of the mid-engine design, and I’m operating under the assumption that any of these cars, in the price range I’m looking in, is going to require a fair amount of my time spent dinking around in the engine bay.

Miatas are widely known to be a very fun car to drive, and there is wide availability of upgrade parts and information. Plus it’s a convertible and day dreaming about a summertime trip down the Pacific Crest Highway is almost irresistible. It’s also rear drive, but has a much more accessible drivetrain than the Toyota. However, I’ve not driven one, and I fear that I might not actually fit in it, or at least not comfortably.

The CRX is appealing because it’s actually quite practical. In addition to being super light and agile, it is the only one of the three that has a back seat, and that back seat even folds down to provide quite a bit of cargo area. Also, there is an absolute plethora of aftermarket parts. The negative is that it’s front wheel drive and it’s got a much dorkier image/rep in my opinion—not that that’s critically important, but I’d be lying if I said it isn’t a factor at all. I’m not terribly concerned about how cool other people think these cars are, but I would like to have one that I think is cool.

Right now, the combination of rear drive, easy access drivetrain and convertible top has me leaning toward the Miata. I really need to find one to drive so that I know if I fit; obviously, if I don’t, it’s no option at all.

What say you? Anybody spent time with one or moreof these cars? Leave me a comment and share your experience/opinion.

The New American Hero – And: Why Don’t You Like Racing?

Well, not exactly; Nicky was already the American Hero. He has now achieved what has been his goal probably for longer than he can remember. Nicky Hayden—southern drawl and all—is the new MotoGP World Champion.

For those of you who aren’t motarded, MotoGP is the pinnacle of two-wheeled motor sport. It’s the highest and most respected form of motorcycle racing. It is the series in which the very best of the best compete to be the world champion. The history of the series has seen success by riders hailing from numerous countries, but the United States and Italy probably rank highest in number of race victories and championships won. Recently, it’s been the latter who has dominated via its prodigal progeny, Valentino Rossi. In fact, Rossi has won the last five championships, and until now, was the only one to win since the change from 500cc two-strokes to 1000cc 4-strokes. Next year the limit is changing to 800cc, so Hayden just managed to squeak in and prevent Rossi from winning every single championship in a whole era of motorcycle grand prix racing.

You probably wouldn’t know it if you’re an American, but racing is huge in most of the world. Star riders and drivers are treated like rock stars. Who do you think is the highest paid athlete in the world? I’ll give you a hint, he’s not American and he doesn’t even play ball. It’s Michael Schumacher, the man who has ruled Formula 1 racing for years.

Rossi, the Italian MotoGP rider, who possesses as much charm off the track as he does skill on it, earns the third highest athlete-salary in the world.* These guys are treated like rock stars in Europe and the rest of the modern world.

*Disclaimer – I’ve been told these statistics second-hand, and as I’m writing this, I’m without internet access to verify these claims. So they are being stated as the best of my knowledge at this particular moment in time and space.

What I don’t understand is why so few seem to care here in the US. My girlfriend recently illustrated to me the fact that a probably alarmingly large portion of our population is unaware that there are race tracks with right-hand turns. That realization makes me a little ill. NASCAR is by far the most popular form of motor sport in America. My best guess as to the reasons why are that the whole track can be seen from any seat and that the racers are mostly all good ‘ole down-home southern boys that the fans feel like they can relate to. Sadly though, those good ‘ole boys only make good ‘ole left-hand turns. I don’t want to say that NASCAR racers are not skilled drivers—they are—but I don’t see how one could think that what they do is as challenging or demanding as riding a GP bike or driving an F-1 car at its limits. Correspondingly, I don’t understand why people seem to think NASCAR is more entertaining to watch than the other forms of motor sport. I’d better stop here. The popularity of NASCAR, “professional” wrestling and reality TV in the US are topics that I could carry on about for a week or three.

As much as I like the other American riders, I have to say that Hayden was our only real hope. Colin Edwards hasn’t shown himself to have what it takes to be a consistent chart-topper. I was a huge fan back in his world superbike days, but it’s hard to stay excited about a guy who finishes in 6^th or 7^th place every race, like clockwork. He’s a talented rider, and on any given day can put up a pretty good fight for the lead; but he always seems to fade out of the picture before the race is over and quietly settle back to somewhere in the bottom half of the top ten.

John Hopkins is very talented and has shown much promise. So much in fact, that he was plucked straight from AMA racing for a slot in Suzuki’s MotoGP effort. The problem is, Suzuki has been a non-factor and is a little too content with B-grade riders. I don’t think they’re providing a bike capable of winning many races, and Hopkins should be trying hard to earn a spot with another team. He may be capable of improving, but it’s gonna happen slow—if at all—as long as he’s at Suzuki.

And Kenny Roberts… well, he was the champ in 2000, and I’m still not sure why. That’s about all I’ve got to say about him.

I’m a fan of all these guys (ok, not particularly of Roberts) and love to see them do well. But the reality is Nicky was the only one with a hope to win the series.

C'mon America, show a little testicular fortitude!

Schools are prohibiting children from playing tag because it's too dangerous.

LINK

This makes me furious. Not just because kids are not being allowed to play tag, but the whole mentality that has resulted in this. It is so ridiculous and outrageous, I don't even know what to say about it.

Who are the wimps who keep making outrageous decisions like this, and how is it that they exist when clearly their family line has had no balls for a few generations?

I'm going to go into this more later!

Clarification

I feel like that last post comes through with a different tone than I intended. I don't feel bad, or apologetic about the situation. I do feel like i need to prove myself worthy. There is a difference.

I am self-employed.

It almost doesn’t register. It’s been a goal of mine for a very long time; and I think I’ve always known (or thought I knew, anyway) that I would someday achieve it.

I didn’t see it coming. I did not think I would be a business owner within nine months of finishing school. I had no idea what kind of business I wanted to operate, and no particularly promising widgets to market. Aside from going to school, I didn’t feel that I’d done much to bring myself closer to my goal, and I wasn’t sure what to do next.

The opportunity was dropped in my lap without me even looking for it. A family friend wanted to retire and apparently believes that I am capable of taking over. My family has the resources to provide most of the means for me to acquire the operations. So—plop—here I am—an employer and small business owner.

Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t being given to me for free. I’ll be paying back every penny, with interest. However, I’d never have been able to fund the purchase on my own name and assets.

Do I deserve this? Of course not. I’ve done nothing that would entitle me to such an opportunity. I am not owed anything. I do not take this for granted, I appreciate it greatly and I accept it humbly but confidently.

Am I worthy of the opportunity? Can I make something of it? Will I work hard to make it a success and reward those who have put their faith (and money) in me?

Yes.

It’s been quite a learning experience so far, just to create a new corporation and obtain all the licenses, services, accounts, vendors, etc.; and I’m not done yet. I’ve already had to deal with losing employees in key positions, and customers that spent a lot of money and are very unhappy. I’m trying to learn the product, customers and the industry, while still dealing with many of the logistical loose ends that remain from the purchase/transition process. It’s tricky sometimes, but certainly not impossible.

It doesn’t feel like a job. That may be the best part. I’m certainly not getting rich right now. But it is pretty easy to get out of bed in the morning, and to work late, when it’s my project, not just my job. It’s invigorating to know that ultimately, it all comes down to me. I have the ultimate authority and don’t answer to anyone. It’s also my neck on the line, which can make it a bit scary. I think that the risk of responsibility is a factor which ultimately has a positive effect. Risk elevates the excitement and reward in most of the sports that I enjoy, why should it be any different now? In fact, the risk is largely responsible for this opportunity. If there were less risk involved, the purchase price would have been beyond my means.

Right now, I have much to learn about the business and how to serve the customers. I’m relying heavily on my crew (who are great) and their experience. That said, based on the progress I’ve already made, I’m confident that I can do the job very well. With the right people, I’ll be able to take the company beyond anything it’s been so far. That is my ambition.

Disaster Movies - Why God?!

Listening to: Radiohead

Drinking: Water

Disaster Movies. Aptly named, because every single time I decide to (or more likely, am coerced into) watch one, it turns out to be a complete disaster.

They are horrible.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a natural disaster (earthquake, flood, volcano, spontaneous ice-age), out of this world disaster (asteroid) or human-caused disaster (fire, terrorism, whatever); they are all mind numbingly terrible movies. That said, the natural disaster types are usually—but not always—the worst.

I could go on and on about various movies, but just from the example-types I’ve listed, you probably know most of the ones I mean. Besides, they all follow the same formula; sometimes ridiculously close. So it’s really only necessary to criticize one, or maybe one from each of the three types. Anyway, right now the movie I’m going to talk about is World Trade Center, because it’s the most recent one I saw.

Let me start by saying that I did not want to see this movie. There were two reasons why it was obvious, without knowing anything else about the movie, that it would be bad, and most likely, very bad. The first reason of course, is that it’s a disaster movie. Rescue workers caught in a collapsing building, this falls into the third disaster category. Second, it’s based on a fairly recent historical event. Either of those things are a pretty good strike against a film; the combination of the two leaves you with odds of seeing a good movie that are about inline with you winning the Viper parked on top of the penny slot machines in the Indian casino (without playing).

Of course I was dragged into the movie by my girlfriend. I am ashamed to admit that I was not dragged in kicking and screaming. I should have left claw marks all the way down the sidewalk trying to keep out of that theater. Now I’ll grant her, the only other thing playing that showed any promise was a movie that she’d already seen. I can understand not wanting to go to a theater to see a movie you’ve already seen. So I caved and bought tickets for World Trade Center. Ooh, it pains me to put into print the fact that I paid to see that movie.

Have you seen Ladder 49? It’s the one with Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta. If not, go watch it. I’ll wait.

…

…

Ok, you’re back? It sucked like a nitro-boosted Hoover, didn’t it? Ha, yeah I shouldn’t have done that; but I had to suffer, so you do too. Ok, anyway, World Trade Center is exactly the same movie. I’m serious, different city and different actors, otherwise exactly the same. Some normal Joe-types, stuck in a pile of rubble, unable to help themselves, just waiting and trying to hold on to hope. We get flashbacks of the families to show what great guys they are, and so we really want them to live. Some of their buddies die. They almost lose hope and give up, and then, miraculously, help arrives. They are triumphantly rescued and treated as heroes.

Actually, that doesn’t sound as terrible as it actually was. Read that paragraph over and over for two hours though. Then you may get closer to the actual feeling of watching the movie. The problem is that nothing happens and it’s boring. The dramatic elements aren’t good enough for the movie to stand as a drama. There’s very little humor. And the action is sparse. That doesn’t leave much of anything to entertain or challenge a viewer.

The entire movie is two guys buried under scrap metal!

It was boring. I wish it had been presented from a wider scope, rather than from just the two men and their families. Then it may have had more hope, still would have been difficult to do well.

Anyway, I’m tired of writing about it and if you’ve actually made it this far (doubtful), I’m sure you’re tired of reading about it. So with that, I digress.

In other news: I acquired a Pepsi vending machine today, and went on my first official mountain bike ride in Bend as a local. I rode a loop a little over 9 miles, mostly on Phil’s Trail. I started at the trailhead off Skyliners road. It was nice trail, and all single-track, but mostly unchanging terrain and very low technical difficulty. I feel crazy to say anything negative because it seems to be such a nice trail system, but it was a little bit boring I have to admit.

Oh, and I think that my lungs, being accustomed to thick, sea-level air, were struggling pretty hard at the elevation here. The climb was not that steep but I was huffin’ and puffin’ pretty heavy. Anyway, they were nice trails and very accessible so I’m sure I’ll be hitting them again.

What is the Baja Wipeout

Date: September 21, 2006

Listening to: Sufjan Stevens : Illinoise

Drinking: Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port

It is the question that has consumed the mind of intellectuals for all the history of man-kind, the focus of ponderment (yup, made that up) for professional ponderers, the riddle that has ruffled the feathers of every revolutionary rastafarian ever to think revolutionary thoughts…

What is the Baja Wipeout?

I know what the Baja Wipeout is, and I can tell you; but I’d have to kill you. Actually, I would have had to kill you, but this information has recently been declassified and made available to a select few outside the Omega-7 security level. Oops, you shouldn’t even know the Omega-7 security level exists… just pretend you didn’t hear that.

Anyway, since I know only the highest echelons of society are aware of this “internet”, I suppose it’s safe to tell you about the Baja Wipeout. What we’re talking about is an evolutionary leap ahead in the culinary development of the human race. The Baja Wipeout is a pizza; bear in mind however, this is no ordinary pizza. Oh no; this pizza is born out of the inability of both myself and a certain stunningly beautiful and creative woman known as Burl Amber Sequoia Martin to constrain our imaginations to what is commonly known about the universe and pizza.

Now, one may be asking one’s self, “what calamity of condiments is on this wondrous creation of irrational thought and tomato sauce?” And if you’re not asking yourself that, you should wonder why not.

[hang on, I’ve got to go get some more port… you know, keeps the creative juices flowing]

Well, ask and ye shall receive. I’ll tell you what it takes to create a masterpiece such as the Baja Wipeout. Be warned however, you may want to do some mental stretching exercises, else you may find yourself permanently brain-damaged or traumatized; and I’m not lookin’ to be sued. What follows is highly sensitive information. Were the Taliban somehow to obtain this formula, it could be the deliciously deadly recipe for the end of humanity as we now know it. Guard this information as though your life depends on it. Some day it may.

The Baja Wipeout:

• Whole wheat pizza crust
• Sweet, fresh tomato sauce, to be used liberally. Forget liberally, abuse the sauce! Pour it on like you’ll never have another chance.
• Pizza style canadian bacon and pepperoni
  
• Mixed mozzarella and cheddar cheese (there may be room for improvement here, we’ve not had ample time to experiment).
• Quartered artichoke hearts, these should be sliced or split into smaller pieces.
• Pineapple chunks. Your typical Hawaiian pizza style.
• Sliced jalapeño peppers. These should be sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Available in a jar.

That’s it, bake it until the pepperoni starts to curl and get a touch crispy, and you’re done!

I’ll admit that it’s conceivable at this point that you may not think the Baja Wipeout sounds all that incredible. This will be difficult but you’re going to have to trust me; you’re mind simply cannot wrap around the greatness of this pizza right now. Go ahead and make one. Somewhere between jalapeno application and sprinkling that last thin layer of shredded cheese, you’ll realize the magnitude of the creation before you, and all that it means for the future of the earth. Make sure someone is around when that happens, because you may pass out, which could be bad if you have a particularly hard kitchen floor. Don’t be ashamed to wear a helmet while preparing this pizza; it could save your life.

I suspect a bottle of Pacifico would compliment this taste-bud-tickler appropriately, appealing to the Hawaiian/Mexican beach influences that permeate the pizza pie. However, I cannot personally attest to the validity of that combination. I happened to have Deschutes Jubelale available, and I can tell you that it was an excellent, if unexpected combination.

In all seriousness, I’m sure it’s been done before; but I haven’t seen it, and it’s awesome. Everyone should try it. Burl and I will take credit. You can send your donations to my paypal account. For tax purposes however, try to keep them under $1,000 unless you just can’t resist.

….I wonder what it’d be like with peanut butter, hmm…

Super busy, gotta prioritize

No time to blog lately. I'm moving to a new town, trying to find a place to live, taking over a business, and learning a new industry--so I've got a little bit to do right now. I do have some potential topics to write about when I get a chance though, including: my reactions to An Inconvenient Truth, stories from a four-day motorcycle ride, how Oregon is the greatest state in the union and my thoughts on alternative fuels, energy, habits and technology.

I'll get to 'em when i can.