Archive for November, 2009

That’s the big bird smokin’ on the Big Egg.

The new hound dog and one of the old.

Last week at work, I got to talking to co-workers about Thanksgiving and all the stuff that surrounds it. I started thinking and realized that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. One of the guys asked me why that was and the answer was pretty easy. To me, it usually means a little work in the kitchen and spending time with family. A little hard work and a lot of relaxing. I guess the real reason for Thanksgiving being my favorite time of the year is the family. It’s only been a couple months since I saw my mom, but I always enjoy going home. Mom is working today but yesterday we had a great meal. I got up early and smoked a turkey that had been in a brine for about 30 hours and it was delicious. Mom, stepped it up with a new recipe for stuffing and that was great too. We used to go to the Salvation Army and serve lunch and then go home and cook but this time mom opened the house to two Airmen from Sheppard Air Force Base. I’m pretty sure they had a good time. They got here pretty early so fortunately Ted, my mom’s husband, took them to the rifle range for a little target practice. Once they got back we were ready for late lunch and they thoroughly enjoyed it. So there ya have it, my thanksgiving ‘09 in a nutshell. All in all, it was great. I hope everyone else had a good one too.

I’ve been stumping myself over a new logo for a while. As usual I came up with something a while back and then scrapped it. I might have finally come up with something I can deal with but I’m still thinking. Comments?

Here’s some pics of the fog this morning. Surprisingly, the commute wasn’t too bad and I didn’t see too many accidents.

This is dedicated to those who own motorcycles and actually ride them. I bought my first one almost 4 years ago and haven’t looked back. Sadly though, there are those out there that buy bikes simply as statements or status symbols. Weekend warriors I call them. Fair weather riders. To me, it’s the one thing that actually makes me feel like a free man. Not that I’m a lawbreaker but I feel like I can do what I want when I’m on my bike. No DJ telling me what to listen to. No passenger complaining about the A/C. Just me and the wind in my beard. Knees in the breeze. Pictured above is my cousin Kevin in Mississippi on his new (old) Softail. I wish I was there ridin’ with you man.

Well this was an interesting one. Friday night, on my way to Ronna’s I got a huge chunk of metal in the (brand new) rear tire of my bike. So I limped it into the garage and made some calls. Saturday morning we took the rear wheel off and then spent a few hours shooting rifles and pistols. Therapeutic stuff. When we finished up with that I found someone to put a new tube in my tire and then I got the bike back together. I was geared up for a big disappointment with the tire but it turned out not so bad.

Today I’ve been working on some graphics and went to the bookstore. Hopefully dinner soon and bed early.

While November 11th is usually recognized, most people don’t know that today, the tenth, is the Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. It was on this day in 1775 that the Marine Corps was formed in Tun Tavern. Since then Marines have served in every clime and place and will continue to do so in order to preserve the liberties of this great nation. There has been much talk of change lately but I think we need to remember where we came from . Remember when we could be proud of who we are. This nation was born of violence and of resistance to tyranny. It was because of our distaste for government control that our founding fathers rose up and fought for what we have and the Marine Corps has been there from the beginning. So on this day and tomorrow please remember those that have gone before us and given their lives in the defense of this country.

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Thomas Jefferson

If you haven’t noticed, there have been some changes. I recently re-designed my site and started using a new software to run the stuff behind the scenes. This probably doesn’t matter to you unless you’re a code-nerd like my buddy David. Or if there was a post from the old site you wanted to see again. You see, in the process of moving databases and blah, blah, blah, the old posts accidentally got erased. I guess if I wanted to I could call up my host and ask them for backup files but that would involve talking to someone in customer service and that almost never goes well for me. So instead, I’ve decided to wipe the slate and start over. So for now, unfortunately, you can’t access any posts prior to October. I apologize for the inconvenience but, hey, it’s my site.

Well, not really. I just got it back yesterday from the shop. If you didn’t already know, I was involved in a 4 car pileup about a month ago. So I needed new bumpers, tailgate, trailer hitch, and a bunch of plastic. It looks brand new now except for the faded plastic that wasn’t damaged and didn’t get replaced. They did a decent job detailing the outside, but the inside was still filthy so I spent some time detailing the inside. It feels good to have it back. I complain about my gas mileage and lack of passenger space but I love this truck. Eventually I’ll put a lowering kit on it and new wheels and maybe do a little engine work but for now I’m happy with it.

I had a long and short weekend this weekend if that makes any sense. Friday it came to my attention that my back tire on my motorbike needed to be replaced. So Friday night after dinner my roommate and I tore my bike down and got the rear wheel off. I refuse to pay HD for labor I can do myself. So Saturday morning after some phone calls I drove out to the HD dealer in Carrollton and had them mount a new tire. Tire mounted. Drove home. Put bike back together. Saturday night (Halloween) I went to Ronna’s house for Chili and (not so) scary movies. Had a relaxing night and got an hour back. Sunday I rode in a Teddy Bear run for the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center with my club. Had a pretty good time. Overdressed. Sunday I did a little work on some freelance, made chicken noodle soup with Ronna and watched 3:10 to Yuma. Went to bed and here I am at work on Monday wishing I could do it all again.