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» IOM Southern 100
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeThu Jul 25, 2019 5:22 am by Steady Eddy

» old suspension bridge
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeTue Jul 03, 2018 8:39 am by Smilodon

» getting ready for the off
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeSat Jun 30, 2018 9:04 am by Steady Eddy

» Anybody at TT 2018?
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeThu Jun 21, 2018 9:11 am by Steady Eddy

» Run away for a few days
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeSun Jun 10, 2018 2:49 am by Steady Eddy

» Garage Work and Hurricane
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeSat Mar 03, 2018 12:27 am by Smilodon

» Mands & sidecars
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeTue Feb 20, 2018 1:39 am by KatieC

» First trip away of 2018
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeSun Feb 18, 2018 12:51 am by Steady Eddy

» Car Related Stuff
Recent Activities I_icon_minitimeFri Jan 26, 2018 11:13 pm by Steady Eddy

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Post by Smilodon Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:54 am

No big exciting tours or anything, but here are a couple of shots from recent bike-related activities.

Recent Activities Bike%20Show%20Suzuki

Here's the old Suzuki at a big bike show in the St. Augustine FL area.  No, I didn't win anything, it was some pretty high-end stuff.

Recent Activities Ace%20Cafe%20Orlando

Here's our new Ace Cafe in downtown Orlando.  They are open, but still have some ancillary places in the complex to finish up.  They had just opened the Dianese bike gear store (down at the far left) that day and still have a bike dealer, art dealer, barbecue place and some other misc stuff.

Not the "real thing", but still pretty cool to have within driving/riding distance. Wish it wasn't in the middle of downtown, as it provides no pleasant ride-outs, but that is kind of part of their "brand" I guess.
Smilodon
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Post by j.p. Mon Jun 12, 2017 12:01 pm

Our weather is just turning now... Last week was reasonably warm enough, but just like on the IOM, it rained 'copious' amounts! Today dawned not only sunny, but 12 C (about 50 F in American), so that was enough to fire up the old pig. Non eventful first ride of the year in to work. Counting down the days 'til that doesn't happen anymore (at least regularly). Last day is June 30, so 13 more days and regular shifts are over for me.
Haven't planned nearly enough. Need to develop a taste for grass, because that's what I'll be eating with no income.

Oh well, as long as I can afford a little gas ($1.10/l) I'll be able to enjoy this coast road a little more frequently...

Recent Activities 2017-06-11%205_zpst5lrhm8k

We have such a sparse population on the island that there is no way to support much interesting gathering spots as an Ace Caffe. There are several scenic restaurants around though that attract the odd biker crowd from time to time. There are a few classics, and some exotics to peak the curiosity, along with the usual gaggle of Harleys and current sport bikes.
I fear the canoe may win me over on the really nice days this summer. Oh no! Am I getting past it?

pale

The Gixxer still looks great though. I am occasionally moved into thinking I should build a Cafe Racer out of something... This winter will be pretty long if I'm not working. I DO have a heater in the shop now...Idea
j.p.
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Post by Smilodon Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:41 am

Wow, June 30th.  I almost had a "forced" retirement about a month after that.  I'm pretty sure that is fixed... At least that looks like the case right now.

I would have liked to see the Ace in Daytona, as it would be a better fit for motorsports get togethers, but I think they need a critical mass of wealthy, hipster-types in close proximity to keep the place going year-round (particularly at their prices!).

I definitely want to take a bike up there for a "bike night" once they get settled in, but it will be a mostly unpleasant ride to get there.

Like your area, most of our "genuine" biker get-together places are more out in the boonies, because that is where the good roads (and hence riders) are.  

After all, the original Ace was popular because it was on the circular road around London at the time...
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Post by Steady Eddy Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:18 am

For me retirment was thrust apon me and was not ready for it and it was a pannic was the order of the day but after getting me sorted out with the bypass job we found we were managing ok managing was about what it has turned out to be there is no safety net it is a bit hand to mouth at times but after a while you just stop worrying about it and get on with the day to day job of wringing the neck out of every oppertunity we can , the boss is disabled with a list of ailments to fill a encyclapedia (a bloody big book ) and me with the bypass job now managed to become the oldest male member of our family we can remember so we are grabing all we can for US who knows what tomorrow will bring ,
I love them old gixers one of the best gearbox's on any bike I have ever ridden
I thought I had sold the little stinker the other week but the young upstart did a sneeky on me and bounced a bank transfer on me I foolishly let him have the bike before the money cleared , b----d , but I got the bike back so all was not lost , he has taken the little rack of the back but other wise all ok , I dont think I will see that again wich is sad as it kept it original and you dont see many about , oh well onward and upward ,
Steady Eddy
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Post by j.p. Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:02 am

Just did a quick review of the obits in our local rag. 3 guys bit the dust over the weekend from various maladies and they were all younger than me. Two had been dragging on for a bit, and the other keeled over from a heart attack.
Yow! Time to play before it's too late!
I had the day off and spent it building some raised garden beds for SWMBO. Couple of hundred dollars worth of wood to get a dozen dollars worth of green beans.
Seems like a fair trade. Rolling Eyes
Point is though, that I put off doing selfish 'me' stuff, for the benefit of family unity and peace. If I had been at the real work today, I would have done nothing memorable. Maybe if I'm off more often, I'll have some useful memories of whatever I do with my waking hours.
Now all I have to figure out is how to balance the 'me' stuff with the 'us' duties!
Went down to the lake after supper and looked at the canoe. Perfect evening (except for the mosquitoes), but I DO have to report to town tomorrow for another 8 hours I'll never get back. Figured I'd be too pooped if I went out in the moonlight and got back late.
I think I'll be OK with this time off stuff. You're right Eddie, I'm looking forward to grabbing what comes along, when it comes along.
What does grass taste like as a side dish with boiled mosquitoes?
j.p.
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Post by Smilodon Wed Jun 14, 2017 4:01 am

You can eat mosquitoes? Now you tell me...

With my wife working full time with a long commute, the level of planning we need in order to do anything is really getting tiresome.

Yeah, the GSXR really spoiled me in the transmission department. The Ducati is touchy and the BMW is down right agricultural.
Smilodon
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Post by Steady Eddy Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:59 am

Grass tast just the same as the other burnt sinders she puts on the plate , mind I have found that the more colourful stuff that I come up with does taste funny just havent worked out why yet JP
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Post by j.p. Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:03 am

There is a bridge wash-out on one of the favorite side-roads I'm wont to take on the way in to town. It's only been 6 months, so all they've done is put in a one lane temporary bridge with stop lights. Could be a while before it's replaced.
Anyways, you feel like an idiot waiting for the light to change with no traffic out in the middle of the wilderness. This morning I made it there just as the light changed, and I thought...'Oh, what the Hell. Be responsible and stop.'
WELL! 70 million black flies (midges) descended and even got in under the full face visor. I fear I was soon a scoff-law, and left a skinny black mark across the red light threshold.
Now I'm wondering about a mosquito diet... Maybe you can make a paste or something out of flies and spread it on dandelions.
This could be an experimental summer...
j.p.
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Post by j.p. Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:15 am

Oh yeah, and KLR's have a REALLY notchy shift if they've been set-up for wearing monster ADV Alpinestar boots. The lever is set so high to provide clearance, that you have to lift a 'road' boot right off the peg to shift. Good thing for monster single cylinder torque. You can just leave it in third if you get lazy!
j.p.
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Post by j.p. Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:02 pm

Nothing to report. Well, lots really - Having pretty well retired (maybe) and having nothing to do except all the million things I need to do around the house. It would appear as though PhotoBucket is having a little fit. Some of the other sires are bereft of pictures as well. Must go look when I get a mo'.
I know Eddie has been having a great time traveling around IOM. I have not swung a leg over a bike for 3 weeks now, but have managed to get several canoe voyages completed. First rain tonight in three weeks too, so no excuses for not riding. Maybe tomorrow. Need to do a site visit for my 'retired' job, so maybe I'm not so retired as I think.
More later? Whazzup Smilo?
I just sent a PM to SOF to see if he is still hooked up to the great internet!
j.p.
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Post by Smilodon Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:40 am

Let me know what you hear from SOF. He sent me some cool stuff (you know physical stuff through the old-timey postal service) a while back. I wanted to return the favor, so was trying to collect up a bag of goodies to send back. Sadly, my "goodie bag" is still kind of slim, but getting there.

Yes, PhotoBucket has essentially become a new version of "Ransomeware" (no more free hosting). You knew it was coming, but doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I had just finished putting together a "how-to" with pictures of my exhaust install on my Ducati (for a Ducati board) and it was there for about half a day and then the pictures died.

After a lot of fiddling, I managed to get the pics on another site and modified my lengthy instructions to use the new site. The one I picked for the moment is "ImgBB".

Congratulations on retirement! Most of my current activities essentially boil down to "work". I have been so busy working, I had to take some vacation time to get some long-neglected chores around the house done. So, take off from work to work at home!

Motorcycle-wise, I put a new Termignoni exhaust system on the Ducati and took it to the dealer to have the fuel injection remapped (the digital "key" for changing the mapping came with the exhaust kit). Still too hot and rainy out right now to ride for fun, but from the ride back and forth to the dealer, it looks like a nice upgrade.

My other "project" is having the big garage refurbed/remodeled. I've got to do something to have a cooler place to work, as I'm getting too old to work in the heat. Also, the outside of it was never re-sided and painted when the house was redone a couple of years ago (we ran out of money).

I have mediocre skills in the trades, and don't have much non-work time, so will need to have it done. So getting contractors and bids on board. Toughest thing around here is getting somebody to do it, not picking from a long list of candidates.
Smilodon
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Post by j.p. Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:40 am

Couple of things before I move on to fighting with my new 'free' picture program after the Windows 10 update last week...
I still occasionally fondle the bits and pieces of IOM stuff I got from SOF when he was here, and another Sparkie from Boston that rode up here several years ago. Amazing what value we put on trinkets!
I made the mistake of posting a multi-pic story on building the latest garage I built a few years ago. The link got deluged with 'my garage pictures' from other board members. Moral of the story is like in most things, somebody will ALWAYS have something bigger and more amazing.
I re-arranged my work-shop part last year for the same 'opposite' of your problem. I was too cold in the winter. Same solutions needed though, except for maybe you won't need the oil space-heater! You WILL need more insulation and ventilation same as me. I put in a plywood floor with 2" of insulation underneath. Much less dampness in that side now. I'll nver have excess weight of a car in there, so that is no problem. Easier on the old legs and feet after a day of fiddling too...

Anyhoo... Off to chase the mouse around the screen to try and get the pictures to do what I want. See yah!
j.p.
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Post by Smilodon Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:21 pm

If you want to see some amazing garages/shops, have a look at the forum (particularly garage gallery section) at Garage Journal.

Far from being the "show off" site you would expect, it turns out to be a helpful enthusiast site.  You can get no end of help, solutions and ideas there.

That said, there are some amazing places on there. The talent and energy of some of the folks who build the places is pretty amazing too.
Smilodon
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Post by j.p. Tue Jul 25, 2017 12:30 pm

Testing the waters here to see if PhotoBucket still lets me post. They really know how to suck $3 a month out of you if you use the service regularly! Took the afternoon off to hide from the Mrs. and went out adventuring. Found a back country road I knew nothing about and decided to try it. Much to my horror, it got worse and worse and all I could think of was "I hope like hell this goes somewhere, because I don't want to have to go BACK through this crap!"

Took one picture when it started getting a little better...

NOPE ! BLOCKED! SO LONG PHOTOBUCKET... YOU THIEVING BASTARDS!

Turns out they were digging a new road through the wilderness to get to a pretty little lake. I imagine eventually it will be surrounded by cottages and be pretty no longer.

After asking directions from Buddy on a great hulking Caterpillar crawler-tree killer thing, the road finally dumped me out about 10 Klicks from home! Who knew?

Went and celebrated by visiting some of the local tourist spots...

Recent Activities Pbucket

Then went home and did the tourist thing at my back door. Might as well while the sun shines...

Recent Activities Pbucket

A few days ago, we had a visitor in the tree behind the house. Loud-mouth. No wonder it is an American symbol (LOL)...

Recent Activities Pbucket
j.p.
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Post by Smilodon Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:25 pm

Glad you are getting some riding in.  I technically could, but it is so miserably hot and rainy here, it really sucks the fun out of it.

Better weather coming.  Kind of like winter up there.  I should probably e-mail you my drawings of the garage remodel.  Get some tips from a (semi-retired) expert!

As far as the national animal thing... At least we can make up our mind,,,
Smilodon
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Post by j.p. Wed Jul 26, 2017 2:57 am

Wink Of course the whole post made no sense without pictures. I'm not sure if it is just Photobucket, or something to do with this site too?? I'll go practice with another site... Weather here has been perfect for biking and canoeing and walking, etc... Too busy with 'busy-work' to get any fun in. Just been told that I'm expected back to work as a fill-in temporary part-time dumb-bunny for a few days in August. Not sure I'm ready for this! Need more practice goofing-off!
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Post by j.p. Wed Jul 26, 2017 3:34 am

Testing...



Recent Activities 35990913492_5f2833027b_z2017-07-24 (12) by designthreedimension, on Flickr

There! That works... Back to the order...

Bad road...

Recent Activities 36025828021_724974bc7c_z2017-07-24 (2) by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Site seeing ... Louisbourg lighthouse

Recent Activities 35767865150_d156375dfe_z2017-07-24 (7) by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Adventure dog...

Recent Activities 35319848854_e3fabf3846_zMSVideo_20170719-205837 by designthreedimension, on Flickr

...and... noisy neighbor... Looking over the cat supply...

Recent Activities 35768238790_630217ab1f_z2017-07-21 Birdee inna Tree by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Zoom lenses are great!

Recent Activities 35990868012_04bde47c82_z2017-07-21 (55) by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Recent Activities 36025804901_36fd26b8df_z2017-07-21 (53) by designthreedimension, on Flickr



Thank you... 'Flickr' !
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Post by Smilodon Wed Jul 26, 2017 7:00 am

Cool pics as always. It's definitely a PhotoBucket thing. It is happening all over the internet. For a while, the pic was replaced with an advert for the user to upgrade their account.

When I get home, I'll e-mail you my ultra garage/shop doodles. Used a simple online service called "RoomSketcher".
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Post by j.p. Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:00 pm

OK... If you insist on getting into construction, just don't do it this way...

You may remember this from an old posting in 2006 or so on the original Sparks...

Before...

Recent Activities 35999963082_50419c1482_z2008-11-28 (5) by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Surprise snow (in December! D'Uh!)

Recent Activities 35775740910_d1884ef7e6_z2008-12-18 by designthreedimension, on Flickr

No help from the peanut gallery, or anybody else for that matter...

Recent Activities 36035280011_e78e9378dc_z2009-01-03 002 by designthreedimension, on Flickr

Eventually looks OK (Remember the picture with the kitchen sink?)

Recent Activities 35330164594_ce842e208a_z2017-05-05am (6) by designthreedimension, on Flickr
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Post by Smilodon Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:51 am

I know my limitations construction-wise. While my wallet will probably be (much) emptier at the end, I'm leaving the hammer and nails to the pros. I'm just going to do some finish work (IE: Hanging posters on the wall)
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Post by Steady Eddy Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:00 pm

Loads over here complaining about PB $400 I dont think so , I changed to Flickr ages ago I wasn't happy with the privacy controll ,
But Flic are only modderate you used to get Auto uploader and editing thing a majig , but now you have to have the pro version to get the Auto uploader and the editing do dar is not working hasnt been for most of the year due to it being upgraded that they say will be worth the wait ??? so you have to pay $40 a year just for the uploader no other benifit that I can see other than no adverts on the pro , so cheaper to get Flickr free version and get Zillauploader for a one off $20 , as yet not personaly tried Zilla but intend to over the next week or so (watch this space )
As for bike riding not much getting done away too much , have sold the little stinker wasnt getting used spent the money on a big lens ( well big to me it weighs a ton ) for the blunderbus Canon DSLR a 100-400mm job
Thats all for now back soon ish with loads of updown loaded photos
Be good ,
Steady Eddy
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Post by j.p. Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:54 am

I was digging through my collection of film cameras a few weeks ago. Don't want to think about the depreciation value! Anyhoo, the old telephoto zoom lens weighs more than the new total camera package, body, lens, flash, case, and of course all the film canisters I might need for about 1000 pictures (!). How things change. Mind you, last week my daughter dragged out the old albums and it was fun going through actual pictures in a book, rather than reviewing them on a monitor. I suppose I should set up that new Google Play thing that sends your picture files to your smart TV and plays them by voice prompt.

Then again, maybe I'll just go sit out on the porch and watch the sunset...
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Post by Steady Eddy Fri Aug 11, 2017 5:49 pm

Yes , we have a large suitcase gull of old photos that came from mums when she passed away we keep having a look through it ( when we are
trying to de clutter ) half of them we have no idea who they are but still interesting to see the fashions and how the places have changed , we also have a draw with loads of photos from when the kids were young and from some of the race meetings we used to go to , we have signed up to a photo printing web site were you get 40 photos free each month just pay postage to try and get a few of the best ones each month (thats when we remember , think it is snapfish or some thing like that , I still have problems with the updown load shake it all about dide of phatography , just cant find one site that does it all and the time it takes loading them on to diferent sites gets me all grrrrrr bad to live with ,
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Post by Steady Eddy Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:45 pm

One from a action packed Scarborough
https://goo.gl/photos/C4WeAgdEMhTcbq3z5
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Post by j.p. Sat Aug 26, 2017 11:35 am

Holly Gee! I did not go look at the official Scarbbie site, but that looked like a bad crash. Hope everybody was OK. Can't imagine racing speeds on that back lane they call a race track. Even our go-kart tracks are wider than that!
I must try out my motor drive thing on the new camera. I'll go get the dog to chase a cat or something. That's about as much action as we get around here!
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