Tires on the Bike

Well, I ordered, received, and have had the Michelin's mounted. I got that last part done today. If the Michelin's last 8K that would be 289 (what they actually cost me) plus 133 (to get them mounted and balanced, includes the greedy uncle's part - tax) = 422 dollars. 422/8000= .05 cents per mile. Not bad. If they only last 6K that comes up to .07 cents per. So, what I have to do is save up 7 cents for every mile I drive so that when these tires wear out I have the money for the next set. 7 cents. Man that's very high, don't you think. Good grief for 422 dollars I can get a cheap set of tires for my truck and go at least 50,ooo miles. Ughhh. That's 8 cents for every 10 miles!! I think Bikers are getting ripped off.

Ok so if tires cost twice as much as car tires we should be able to get them and installed for 211 dollars, right? I mean we only have to buy half as many tires! Well the problem is that the tires are much more advanced than car tires. Because what you really have is two or three tires in one, depending on what kind you buy. The Michelins that I bought have dual compound tread. What this means is that the center is harder, for riding straight up, wich is more than 75% of your riding. The sides, that part of the tire you ride on when you lean in a curve, are softer for more grip, but will not last as long. So, you have two tires in one.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that Bike tires are much harder to install. You have a chain, or belt, or shaft that must be removed, and on some bikes this is a rather lengthy process. On both front and back the tires have to be aligned, chain tightened to specs, etc. etc. So, I can understand the cost there. Not to mention the person who does the mounting is liable for something if it all goes bad.

Well, I'll keep convincing my self that paying over 422 dollars for only 8,000 miles worth of riding is worth it. But honestly I think the tire companies could do better.

Tires, Laptops, and Surgery

Well, I've put over 4200 Miles on the Bandit since putting her on the road. The problem is that she now has balding tires. They may have a run or two to work left in them, but they didn't do so well on the last one, so I've garaged her for now. I've been debating on whether to buy Michelin's Pilot Road 2s or Shinko's 009 Ravens. I can get the Ravens for 185.48 (front and rear), but the Michelin's will cost about 290.00. Thats over a 100 dollars more for the Michelins. Now, reports from BanditAlley.net, and other places have given the Ravens good marks, people getting 8 to 9 thousand miles from them. The Pilot Road 2s are showing up at around 10K.

MC Clubs and Things

I'm a member of quite a few forums these days. I frequent Bandit Alley, RiderForums, and browse around some on ADVRider, but not much. I was informed that the defunct Suzuki Owners Club of the USA was pretty much dumped in favor of Suzuki Owners Club of North America (Link Here). I remember early on finding the European version which seems to have thousands of members, and thought it would be cool if there is one in the US. The Site I originally found was defunct, and not one of the contact email addresses I found were valid at all.

I'm still contemplating the value of 18 dollars a year as a full membership fee. I keep thinking that it would be helpful to be a member of a large organization since riders aren't that much in the majority.

I'm not really into the AMA because they want to repeal helmet laws, but I don't believe it should be an option. I think we should be on a par with autos, and since Seat belts are not even wise, helmets should be our equivalent. I know many riders disagree, saying it should be our choice, but that's the same argument that folks used for seat belt laws, and it didn't help stop that law. I've been in car wrecks and I'm firmly convinced that Seat belts were the difference between me being a relatively healthy man, and being handicapped at best, dead at worse! Not only that but the whole "choice" argument is getting over worked. It is the lame godless argument used for Abortion, Drug use, etc. etc. I believe people in this country need to learn responsibility first, just like children. I constantly teach two things to my kids:

1. A little bit of pay attention goes a long way.
2. If you don't do what you are supposed to, you can't do what you want to.

Its that simple folks. When it comes to helmet laws, if the riders who give Motorcycles a bad name would show more reponsibility in how they ride (do what you are supposed to) then we would never have had to worry about a helmet law in the first place (do what you want to). So, to protect society from having to pay for the upkeep of another vegatable head injury, the government decided to make us protect our heads.

The other kind of group I thought of joining was a Christian Motorcycle club. The problem is I can't find one close to home that has a statement of faith I can live with. There is one, but they are pretty much (as it appears anyway) trying to create a church of their own. The CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) looks like a great group, but they don't have a chapter that's anywhere close to Dickson, TN.

So, I'm stuck. Another problem is that finding very many riders, with the time and commitment to do that kind of thing is hard to do. I joined up with Patriot Guard Riders, but haven't been free for a ride yet, and there have been opportunities. The problem is that life just seems to find a way to get in the way. Well, I can do what I can.

What I'd really like to see is for the gas prices to come down to the point that I could ride my bike recreationally. As it stands right now, its my mine ride to work. 45 MPG is 11 MPG better than TWICE what I average in my truck. And, even buying premium I spend less than 30 dollars a week on Gas, versus the 80+ I spent on the truck.

New Fun in Riding and Cardo Rider Teamset

Well, I've decided to just ride the bike until the wheels fell off. Since I've been unsuccessful in my attempt to keep the thing looking brand new (thanks to fall overs) I might as well just forget about the looks and just ride it. Well, I've discovered there's freedom in them there hills. Last night I rode the kids to and from Church just for the fun of it, and they LOVED it. The back roads between our house and the Church are quite twisty, so it was fun. Of course I rode a little different just to put a little sizzle into it, but it was fun.

Sometime back I bought a set of Bluetooth Helmet devices for my phone that included an intercom feature. That's one of the reasons the kids love riding now, even more than before. The Bluetooth phone connection works great, but the intercom could use some help. I can understand dropping the connection when no one is talking to save batteries, but this stupid thing will drop the connection WITH us talking at times. Occasionallyit will come right back on, but sometimes either myself and/or the passenger will have to yell to get the connection opened back up. The good thing is that they are voice activated and I don't have to reach up and push a button every time that happens. Other than that I think for what you pay for them (around 200+ bucks depending on where you buy it, got mine from Revzilla).

Back on subject, the ride in this morning was invigorating, and enjoyable. The weather was nice, although I would have liked it a little cooler. It's supposed to rain tonight around 7 PM, which means it may be raining in Dickson around 5, which is when I get in. So, I've been threatening to try out my riding pants without any jeans under them, that may be a good excuse to do just that.

I have to say, I'm really liking this motorcycle riding. I guess you can tell that from the posts. Another interesting thing I've discovered is that you better have decent self discipline if you ride. There are a lot of idiots both on four and on two wheels jerking in and out of traffic. I can understand why bikers ride the way they do, now. On that bike you can fit, physically, into smaller spaces, you can accelerate much faster than the cars around you, and you can maneuver with greater agility than they can. By the time they decide to do something you've already done it, and gone off and left them! However, its also possible to reach great speeds without even realizing it. I was upwards of 100 MPH, a couple of times in the past very quickly. My bike isn't even a "Crotch Rocket". So, if you get a bike, remember, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. Be careful, and try not to irritate the cagers any more than necessary. And for those in cars (cagers), remember, there are vehicles on the road of all types that are larger and smaller than yours. Look for the small ones, which would include bicycles, and the large ones, semis, and be careful.

God is Good

I have been a little down lately, since I resigned the Church. So, God has graciously worked out some things to show me just how bad things can get if I don't get my head and heart back in the right place. My bike has fallen over twice, once in each direction, so as to break both levers (clutch and brake) and both front turn signals and scratch the really pretty hard case side color matching inserts. (lots-0-money to fix). The slide rails in the refrigerator for the bottom two pans broke on the left side, and busted the top of the two pans. (80 bucks). The wife's brakes had to be done AGAIN, (75 bucks). Yesterday the Gas Water Heater decided to go on vacation.
Why do I think that is God? Well, I believe that no one is punished from God without knowing that's why the bad things are happening. If you look back over the Old Testament you'll find that God worked real hard to make sure the Israelites as a nation knew full well why they were being destroyed, God also worked hard to make sure individuals whom He disciplined knew why he was doing so. Well, I've known for quite some time exactly what I should be doing, I am a preacher, but I haven't done it. God says, "you want a reason to mope, I'll give you reasons to mope, and they'll get more expensive the longer this goes on." So, that's exactly what He's been doing.
So, why did I start this by saying God is good?!? Because He is. If God didn't love me, He wouldn't chastise me to get me right again. (Hebrews 12). God is good because He could have just wiped me off the earth a long time ago, but in His patience, Amazing Grace, and infinite Love, He works with me, forgives my sin, and enables me to make things right. Any employer you know of would have fired me a long time ago, as well as they would have you. Your relatives would have long ceased to speak with you, if you treated them like you treat God! But, He's so Good, Gracious, Merciful, Patient, Just, and Compassionate that He would start small, and work His way up!
What ever you do, don't take God for Granted. Don't treat Him like a spare tire, bottled Genie, or worse, slave. God loves you, but He will not tolerate sin. He will deal with it, first in Grace, but if Grace be turned away, then in Judgment. Avoid that, would you?
Remember, God is Good!

Google's garbage had to go

Well, I finally upgraded to Firefox 3. I have been holding out waiting for Google to get off its duff and update the Firefox extensions. If you remember I ranted about this in an earlier post. Well, I finally said forget it. I found out one of my biggest problems with Firefox on Linux was Google's fault!! The toolbar was the problem all along. The problem? I could not open more than 2 Firefox windows without the whole app freezing up on me. I would have to completely shutdown, and restart Firefox to get anywhere else. So, I've rid myself of Google's extensions altogether.
I replaced my Book mark sync with Foxmark, and all my other extensions, except my Favorite theme, work fine with FF3. So, good riddance Google. And yes, if they want to shut me out of mail and blogging I'll go somewhere else with that too. I think its completely bogus that they can come out with a hundred and one new apps every year, and can't be bothered to keep the apps they've won people over to up to date!
On a positive note, I'm finding FF3 to be very fast compared to FF2, and not *that* much different on the appearance and features list. Meaning, if you think you're going to get lost in the new interface don't worry, this isn't MickeySoft and Office2007.

Oh, I haven't blogged in a while because I've done quite well at embarrassing myself with how I handle my bike. I have let it fall over twice now. The first time I'm still not sure it was anything I did, I think there were other factors involved. The second time was just my stupidity, I think. The problem there was by the time I tried to catch the bike (not too far over) my leg said "forget this" and just gave out on me. It has happened twice now, but the first time I wasn't really tilted enough to cause it to fall all the way over. This morning it hurt my leg. I'm not sure the bike got that far off, or whether it was too far I just couldn't believe how my leg reacted. You have to understand my legs have always been my strong point when it came to that sort of thing. I guess being 41, they just aren't going to take it anymore.

Data Center Power Downs and DR

IF you have been in IT for very long you have experienced a Data Center power down. Of course, the smaller the shop the less of a headache it should be. I've been around about 4 of them, 1 was when the transformer blew up down town and took the then "inflow" data center with it. The company I worked at then just had to wait because the Fire Marshall was not smart enough to understand the complete disconnect between that transformer and the internal systems so they couldn't power up. So far, every time one happens its like a "Chinese fire drill" for the IT staff. Network Guys, Systems Guys, Apps Guys (and Gals of course) all running around trying to get things up in an orderly fashion. I've recently had the "opportunity" to go through another one.
One of the most impressive things I've heard came from our CIO, who emphatically said, "email is NOT a mission critical application." CHEERS!!
However, I think its time every IT shop get off its seat cushions, put a stop to every other project and get one thing crystal clear: What do I bring up first, and How do I do that? You'd think this would be easy, but its not. Every app support person thinks, and wants everyone around them to think, that their app is the most important one. Well, frankly, its not. Every user wants the apps he or she uses to be the ones to come up first. Sorry, but it can't be. The problem is that there are few CIO's with the intestinal fortitude to do what our CIO did recently. Most will cave to the Executives who demand their services back up first. What a CIO should do is demand the realistically most important systems up first. There is a natural, in a sense, order of things. First, infrastructure. Network switches, phone switches, WAN connections, SAN storage, etc. You know, the kinds of things your app HAS to have to function at all. Second, Apps and Services that really are mission critical. Third, everything else as you get time.
The problem comes in at about step 2. What is "mission critical" and what does that mean? Well, here's how I see it. In Health Care that question is answered by asking 1 question: What do I need online to protect the health and well being of existing patients. What systems directly involve patient care, and no email is NOT one of them. We have surgery systems, patient data systems, etc. And, refreshingly that is what our CIO insisted come up first. Once the process was being followed for getting those online all other hands could be involved in getting other services online. The biggest problem I see, even in this last one, is that no one has that laid out in printed form any where. Every system should be tagged with a priority level for DR purposes. I mean, if two systems are down at the same time and you've only got one guy who can work on them, which does he tackle first? I was actually pulled off a clinical system by a certain Director once (at the request of the CIO) because email wasn't working. DOH!
DR really is a major pain in everyone's behind, not because in principle, its hard, but because in practice its hard. In principle its easy to lay out DR. Define the priority of your systems, and Document how to recover those systems. Simple? Right. Simple quickly goes out the window when you start talking about a hot DR data center, Storage Replication, Backups and Recovery, Network Topology and Architecture, etc. etc. Basic DR is simple, real DR is a complicated web decisions and documentation. Basic DR is when the lights go out at your DC. Real DR is when they're not coming back on because the building is destroyed. The question is how much is your business worth, and is it worth putting the time, money and effort into preserving it.
I hate doing documentation, and some companies are in the excessive category when it comes to overburdening their staff with it, but done right, it can save your bacon.

Suzuki's Stupidity and Dealer's Impressiveness

I have to brag on the Dealer in Mt. Juliet, while at the same time seriously warning anyone who buys the Hard Case and Top Case Saddle bags from Suzuki! Since I bought the bike we have waited for the Top Case mount, well, it came in last week finally. The problem was that Suzuki kept telling the Dealer (Precision Motorsports) that it was on its way when in fact it wasn't. Not only that, but on Suzuki's Web site on the "Accessories for 1250s" page for the Top Case (click here), and in the Dealer's information they both say the Color matching Panels are Optional. They DO NOT SAY, as of today, that the panel is required and that the color is optional. Take a gander at the actual screen shot:
The Problem? The "Optional" panel is NOT optional on the Top Case. Now, you technically "could" get away without them on the side cases, but you CAN NOT on the Top Case. There is a rather large sticker that says "DO NOT OPERATE" without said panel in place. The problem is that Suzuki doesn't provide a panel for any of the cases that just looks mat black to match the rest of the case in the event that you don't buy the "optional" color inserts!! Now, if Suzuki were to have said, "You have to buy an insert of some color, but the color is optional" I would have not gotten so upset about the deal. However, now we were looking at another 179.00 Plus Sales Tax purchase for something that was "Optional" and I really didn't care to have! Now, I'm not saying that the Bags are bad, nor that you shouldn't buy them, but beware, you MUST buy at least the color matching insert for the Top Case.

Now, here's where the bragging on Precision comes in. I called my wife to explain the situation, and why she'd see yet another Motorcycle related purchase on the Card. Well, needless to say she wasn't happy. While I was getting an earful of that rather loud unhappiness, Big Daddy, (Who I'm assuming is either the owner or the top Manager) overheard the unhappiness, and could see the pain my ear was enduring evidently. Not to mention that I wasn't happy either. What they decided to do was get the inserts and put them on without charging me, and attempt to recover their loss from Suzuki. I at no time, mind you, blamed the Dealer for this issue, they couldn't help the the morons at Suzuki couldn't get their information straight. However, they could tell this was or could have become a serious image issue, and that at least my wife would have been a very unhappy customer. People who know me know I'm would tight anyway, but when Angela gets loud something is seriously not right.

Anyway, I would highly encourage you to visit Precision. Some of their prices are a little high to me, but they do negotiate on some things, and they are good folk. I'd rather pay a little more and get a dealer that will do something like this than pay less now and wind up paying more later because of it.

Old Timer's Day Dickson Tennessee

This weekend was Old Timer's Day in Dickson, TN. My daughter is a part of American Heritage Girls (AHG), (an alternative to Girl Scouts. As the GS allow gays to lead troops, and AHG has a strong Christian focus). So, she was on a float, and then at 4 was in a fashion show (My Mom sews and does embroidery). Who ever was responsible for the activities needs a serious education. Here's my laundry list of absolute imbecility that was exposed :
1. No handicap parking on paved areas. Yep, all the handicapped parking was IN THE MUD at the fair grounds. I don't know if you have ever tried to push a wheel chair through the mud, but its not fun. The "people", using that term loosely, responsible for setting that up should be jailed for violating Federal laws regarding that matter. My Dad has no legs, can you imagine trying to get him out of a car while parked in STANDING WATER!?!
2. They stopped the parade to let traffic through at various times, so much so that the parade had very large gaps in it, and at times cars just trying to get to the fairgrounds were in the parade! I can't fathom why they could not have spent a little time figuring out how to route traffic around the event. My wife and I spend about 2 minutes coming up with about three different ways around the whole thing! Those who were walking, or marching (interestingly enough there were no marching bands!) would have suffered.
3. There was a Golden Flake Truck in the parade as an official entry. No, it wasn't decorated, nor did it have any signage whatsoever reflecting the purpose of the event, it was just a truck. What? They need to force people to NOT do that kind of crap. If you put an entry in the parade for Old Timer's Day it should primarily be about Old Timer's Day. Golden Flake could have found an old truck, from 50 or shorter years ago and put that in the parade.
4. Absolutely no organization of other events. The Quilting show in the Rec Building had no sign to tell you that was what was in there (until Saturday at some time). The building where the fashion show was held, had no sign or indication of any event! We had to track down the guy with the keys just to get in!! The only folks who showed up for the show were those who were in the show! Why? Because there was no advertisement, and no sign! Nothing. What the Heck?
5. Pay for Parking? In the MUD?!?!?! You have got to be kidding! After all these years the parking at the fairgrounds is still on grass. Yes, ladies and gents you have to pay 2 dollars to park, and then some odd something to get into the fair, or buy tickets to ride, but you park in the grass. (well it was grass until a day or two of rain fell on it, and large vans and trucks got stuck in it.) I saw one very nice Chevy full size Van trying to free itself from the mud. The good thing for me is that they had an area for Motorcycles to park, on pavement no less. We can't park handicap people on pavement, but we can bikes. I think they realized in their small minds that if a bike fell over they'd be liable so they covered that.

It was a good day despite all that. My brother-in-law came down and looked my bike over, of course he was looking for an excuse to ride his down from Clarksville, because he's finally got it out of the shop. Michael and I rode back and forth, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I gave my daughter a ride Friday. Michael woke up with a fever yesterday, took some Motrin and would NOT hear of staying home. It did appear that the fever had gone, and we were going to drive my truck to the parade, because we thought it might rain. (didn't want the son ridding in the rain). However, it cleared off and we rode back to the parade. Some nice folks across the street from where I parked gave me a board so I could park off the side walk, and my kickstand not sink in the ground.

My Niece and her daughter were in the fashion show, my Mom and my Sister had a booth at the Quilting show. I think this is as much as we have ever been directly involved in the festivities. I marched in the High School Band back in the day, but that was about it. The kids rode some rides, and they enjoyed the Ferris wheel, but not the second one that would allow them to go upside down, and went fast. They were screaming, and begging the guy to stop the ride. :-D

When turning left off of Walnut street onto Hwy 46 going south, with Michael on the back, I think I either leaned too far, or hit some gravel, 'cause the back end slid around. Far from deterring the young lad from ridding again, he hollered, "Wheeee!" What's up with that? The Back wheel just jumped over, but I can't find any scrapes on anything on the bike, and it felt like when you hit a part of the bike that doesn't give. Oh, well, I stuck with it, and we came through just fine. The bike has a lot of get up and go, I can tell you that.

New Kubuntu 8.04

There has been some controversy about the latest version of (K/X)Ubuntu. They decided not to tag the Kubuntu part as LTS (Long Term Support) because of the incoming version 4 of KDE. I think it was utterly stupid considering they'll have to take some kind of stand regarding KDE over every variation of Ubuntu if that is truly their stand. The question I have yet to get answered is "What happens if I add KDE to Ubuntu LTS?" Here's the scenario, I have an Ubuntu LTS install straight from the CD. I add all the repositories, and then decide I want to run a KDE 3.5.9 app. What now? I have installed the KDE libraries, and a KDE app, if KDE was the reason the LTS tag was withheld from the Kubuntu variant then I'm now no longer supported long term on my Ubuntu install. I'm sure a business which has set this up is going to love to hear that. If I were them, I'd go to Mandrake, or SUSE, neither of which would have a hard time supporting KDE Long term.

However, since I have no concern about how long its supported, because I'm at home, I upgraded to 8.04. It was very uneventful. Which, I guess, is a good thing. Except for the fact that it tried to force Firefox 3 beta on me. Firefox 3 is going to be a great browser, you can tell that, just like KDE 4 is going to be a great Desktop environment, but not one of my extensions works with it. Google is especially crappy because they talk big and even at times act big, about open source, but don't really seem to follow through. I think the problem is the childish mindset of the company as a whole. They need to grow up, and realize that you can't just keep jumping from this to that and forget the first part, and not support it because your running around trying to whip up the next "cool thing". Anyway, Google needs to get off its behind and get focused on Firefox extensions that equal in number and quality the windoze only extensions. And, oh yes, I haven't said lately just how much I do not like windoze.

Mom and Dad just recently bought a new Dell, and they want me to transfer every thing over from the old PC. The problem is windoze. I wonder at times just how much money and man hours they put into studying and programming user irritation features. The more exposure I have to virus vista the more I love Linux. Once you get past the pretty face it's ugly to the bone! I've got to bring the new box down to the house so I can get things working, and all patched up.

Ahem, back to the Kubuntu saga. Well, I have tried KDE 4 and it lacks so many of the things I really like about KDE that I am steering clear of it for as long as I can. If they were to force me to upgrade or go to Gnome, I'd get used to Gnome. If I'm going to have to work in a way I don't like them I'm going to snub my nose at those who try to force me to do it, and go somewhere else. Kind of like the Bike Dealer who wouldn't sell me a Bandit. I think KDE 4 was released WAY TOO early, and with WAY too many things not even at that level. Good grief your PIM suite isn't even at 4 yet. I understand that they think they've come up with a "better" way to work, but I like the way my desktop is now, and if they can't accept that, I'll find another environment that will. Not to mention that lately all my appointments created on Google calendar are showing up in Kontact an hour OR MORE, off! Evolution doesn't have a problem, my Nokia N810 doesn't have a problem, and even my virus outlook at work doesn't have a problem, and they are all synced. So, I've been looking at Evolution anyway, 'cause I despise the way Thunderbird handles folders that house lists (it doesn't at all without an extension).

So, I'm now on 8.04 and it looks just like 7.10 although I'm sure something under the covers got changed / improved. Oh, I have noticed now that my WiFi light doesn't light up any more. Oh, my wireless is working fine (using it now) but for some reason the WiFi light on my Dell E1705 no longer shines when connected. Oh, well, as long as it works I don't care. Everything else seems to work / not work just as it did before. I'm about to try the VOIP software and see if any of the sound driver's capabilities have improved. (I doubt it).

Well, talk to ya' later.

Practice Run on Bandit

Well, I went out for test run today. WOW! The bike has great balance, its almost as easy to drive as those 250's in the MSF course. I drove a total of around 18 miles I think, but I did some sharp corners, u-turns, ran to Wal-Mart, etc. The problem I have is taking off in the subdivision. For some reason I don't give it enough gas, and stall it. Oh, well, I'll get over that. Stupid here almost dropped the thing in Arby's parking lot. I just wasn't paying attention to the fact that I had lost all my speed. Funny.

It was a smooth ride, I could get up to about 65 (indicated) on the speedo at about 3500 RPM, still breaking it in. I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow down Hwy 100 so I don't have to get up to interstate speeds yet. Gotta get a hundred miles on it first. It was indeed fun. I had forgotten how much fun it was to drive a machine like that. Well, more later. gotta go.

Certified or Certifiable?

Yes. :-D. I passed the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course over the weekend! I'm now, in the words of the Rider Coach, Chad Hargis, "Certified to do 12 - 18 MPH in a parking lot, safely!" I took my course from Learn to Ride, naturally at learntoride.org. The course is hosted by Nashville State Community College on White Bridge road just about every weekend. The Lady I spoke to over the phone said they were getting swamped with folks wanting to learn to ride now. I'm thinking its both the spring weather, and the ungodly high gas prices. (NOTE: If we didn't have such a stupid impudent congress some folks in the oil industry would be doing time for highway robbery!!!) I'd also like to mention Jeevan Rose, the other rider coach for our range.

By all means take the Course if you are thinking about getting a bike and licensed. Its a good course, and both Jeevan and Chad were very helpful in encouraging good riding habits. No, you're not going to become an expert at riding, but you'll have a good foundation for how to handle a bike. It was interesting to watch the range when half the folks were in one line, watched by Jeevan, and the other in another line watched by Chad. Jeevan would stop just about everybody, and coach them a little, and Chad wouldn't stop you unless you just weren't getting it. Not sure why they both stopped me on an occasion or two, :-\. I had to pick a different bike the second day from the one I was riding the first. The first day I was on an older Honda Nighthawk 250, the second a Suzuki 200 Dual purpose. The Clutch, Gears, Brakes, and height were all different. The Speedo would only go to 15 and would stay there until I stopped so I had no real idea how fast I was going. (I was going WAAAAAYYYY too fast on my first run at the braking eval, and went to using the engine idle as a guage). I eventually got to where I could compensate, but when you are being evaluated its no time to be figuring out a new clutch, crappy speedo, odd shifter, and a bike that is taller! So, my tip is pick a bike, and stay with it the second day. Oh, the Nighthawk had a problem with Neutral, and the green light wouldn't come on. This caused the engine not to start at times. I did notice that a time or two the day before but I'd keep trying and it would come on.

Also, the bike is in the garage. I have a bad picture of it sitting in the garage. You can't really tell much about it, and it doesn't have the side or top cases because we're waiting on the right mounts from Suzuki. I wanted to get out on it this evening and practice a little with it, but it started raining. I'm not necessarily a fair weather rider, however, the last thing I want to do while trying to get used to the bike is fight the weather too! Well, I'll be going by the License place tomorrow, and I'll call Progressive to see if I can move up the insurance effective date by a day or two. I'd like to ride it for real next week.

This weekend is Old Timer's Day in Dickson, TN. Its a big deal around these parts. I'd love to be able to ride my bike downtown, I'd be able to get around easier.

Well, God bless you and yours.

New Bike

Well, I finally will be able to say I own my own bike. I've ridden before, took a Motorcycle safety class in High School, or Jr. High something like that. Many are accusing me of a mid-life crisis, and other such things . . . whatever. The problem is that gas prices are going through the roof, and I need an alternate vehicle that isn't going to take up lots-o-space in the driveway. This was the best option. I have always wanted a GoldWing, however, at this point they are way too big and just as expensive as a car, and probably don't get any better gas mileage.

So, I went smaller. I found a Kawasaki, Concours 14, that wasn't as expensive or big, but its still too big for me at this point. Very nice bike. They have one you can sit on at the local Motorcycle shop in Dickson. BMW has one, but WOW, the price is up there as well. Then I visited the local shop and the sales guy there recommended a Yamaha FZ1 or FZ6 (the 6 being a 650), both of which I'm sure are good bikes. However, neither come with Hard Case Saddle bags (or Panniers) as options from the Manufacturer. The only options found by the local shop were semi-hard shells that mostly covered up the back seat. So that was out. (Yamaha has a nice Sport Touring bike as well, but its as big as the ConCours14). During my search I saw the Suzuki Bandit 1250S.

SWEET RIDE! The Suzuki has options from the factory for Hard Case saddle Bags, and a top case. In Europe and Canada they sell a GT version that comes with ABS, the bags, and a GPS unit. So, I searched the internet for reviews, tests, comparisons, etc. I couldn't find anything negative about the bike that wasn't easily corrected (the mirrors are a little too close in, and the shield is just a little short for long hauls). It has adjustable front and rear shocks, has good horse power, etc. There is even a test that compared it, and the BMW K1200! Granted the Suzy didn't overcome the Beamer, however it held its own, and was declared a close second compared to the MUCH more expensive bike!

So, I go back to the local shop. I tell him I found what I think is my bike. "Suzuki Bandit 1250" I said. His response was, "Not a fan, don't have one." Nice, I thought, but I want one. Then he said, "Old Technology." Basically he gives me the specs for an '06 model, which I'll agree is old tech, but hey, it works. This all clues me in that he really doesn't want to sell me a Suzuki, and isn't even willing to look one up for me. It also clues me into the fact that he isn't nearly up to date on what's going on in the brands of Bikes he's supposed to be selling. Why? They completely revamped the Bandit in '07. Redesigned the engine to put out more torque at lower RPMs (15 ft lbs at 3600 rpm instead of 6000 rpm), and to meat European and Californian Emissions Standards. Along with doing away with the carb, and putting electronic fuel injection on it. So, I went else ware. I found a blue one (without ABS) at Precision Motorsports in Mt. Juliet, TN, and bought it. The sales guy, Brooks, is fairly knowledgeable but didn't remotely claim to know it all, or even much at all about the Bandit, so he wasn't biased. Yes its forever and a day to Mt. Juliet from my house, but they had want I wanted, and were willing to sell it to me. I pick it up Thursday, and I'm Scheduled for the Motorcycle Safety Course this Friday - Sunday. The Drivers License place doesn't open until Tuesday, and my insurance doesn't kick in until the 1st of May, so I won't be able to drive it until next weekend any way.

Anyway, I have a helmet, Gloves, and Jacket lined out. All I have to worry about now are Pants, and Boots. Yes, I have a Full Faced Helmet, and I plan on being covered when my behind hits the pavement :-D . (Not that I think that will happen soon).

The coolest part is that it wont cost me a fortune to run down to the DataCenter from where our main office is!

I'll post pictures of the actual bike when I get it home.

No Longer Pastor of MRBC

It is with a heavy heart that I have resigned from Missionary Ridge Baptist Church. I believed God would do great things there, but alas, if He does, it will be without me.

I could rant here about bad things, and vent frustration, but this is not the forum, and I'm biased. I think it would be extremely wrong for any man claiming to be mature enough to be an Ordained Minister to follow such a path. I'll only say that I regret my own shortcomings. The last year before my Sabbatical were hard on me. Hence the complete absence from blogging. I was very discouraged, and it affected everything. In January I began a short 2 month Sabbatical in order to over come this. During that time God began to renew my heart and overwhelmingly impressed me with what I believe is the direction the Church should go.

Simplify! I believe there comes a time in a Church's existence when it has to step back and ask hard questions. I believe like Ronnie Stinson Sr. of Trace Creek Baptist Church in Mayfield, KY says, "The light that shines the farthest shines brightest at home." I don't believe that cookies and donuts and coffee before Sunday School, or candy for kids is what really grows a Church. There are a great many churches that are large, but they have compromised their message doing so. They replaced, "God commands all men everywhere to Repent!" with "come and we'll give you a cookie". Don't get me wrong, I think social events and possibly giving kids a treat once in a while is not necessarily a bad thing. However, Jesus noted that the large crowds that followed Him only did so because of the miracles, and free food.

What we have to do is strip away everything except the core of what makes a Church a Church. Sunday Morning Worship. That's it. Most folks don't know that in the Grand scheme of things Wednesday Night Services, and Sunday Schools are new deals in the Church. That's right. Neither started getting anywhere before the mid 1800's. However, being a practical man, I believe they are greatly useful, and many communities just plain expect them. So, I proposed that MRBC strip away every program, or service except for the main four, Sunday School, Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday Night Worship, and Mid-Week (Wednesday) Services. And then look at how each service could be used to help Christians go from Won to Winners. The Steps were simple: Worship, Edified, Serve, Win.

1. Worship was to focus us on Jesus Christ, and help us to grow in our devotion and Love for Him. No motivator known to man will take a person to the ultimate commitment in their life like Love. Money, Fear, Fun, Food, or whatever else will only keep folks just so long.
   
2. The Next Step is Edified - That is to be taught, Discipleship. This is where the basics of the Faith are established, and fostered. Every Christian should be rooted and grounded in their faith and know what they believe, not what their Pastor believes, or what the Church, or denomination believes. I've often taught that folks should search the Scriptures to see if what I say is so, and NEVER EVER take what I say at face value. If you know the Scriptures on your own, you'll know when a man has gone off his rocker.
   
3. Next is Serve. Every Christian should be involved in serving other Christians. The Bible is clear in Ephesians 4 and other places that God places each member in the Church to contribute. The saying I hate the most is, "I don't think this Church will meet my needs." What they're saying is this Church doesn't serve me. Godless. My question is always, first is this where God is planting me. 2. Where in this Church can I serve. You'll note that Jesus always got the Apostles involved in Ministry, first in basic ways, and progressively more advanced.
4. Last, and very important, Win. This is where the Christian has grown to become a Soul Winner. Both through a formal outreach ministry in the Church, and through informal personal outreach. Its important that Christians know with absolute certainty that God has never saved a Christian that He intend to keep faith to himself!! Those who say, "I think its just between you and God." are just looking to cover up their lack of a testimony! Every person you find in God's Word who was truly affected by the presence of God couldn't keep it quiet.

That's the base vision. There's more. Every level of ministry has its foundations, the things that give it sure footing and power. I don't care what anyone says the fact is plain, unless a person is truly born again he can have no personal ministry, and if he has no personal ministry he cannot be involved in Church ministry. However, the foundation of the personal ministry of the Christian is found in three things:

1. Drawing Near to God in Faith. Initiating faith. That is not about gaining salvation, so much as it is about getting faith started by picking up the cross and following Jesus.
2. Adding to Faith. Faith that is not growing is dying, its that simple. 2 Peter 1:1 - 11 exhort us to "add to" our faith. So, its not just enough to come to Jesus, we must move on.
3. Maintain Faith. We do this through three spiritual exercises that integrate the whole person:
1. Mental Exercise. 1 Timothy 4:11 - 16 God tells Timothy to give attendance to Reading, Exhortation, and Doctrine, to meditate on these things and give himself wholly to them that his profiting would appear to all. The battle starts in the mind. That's where sin starts, and so God says that's where we start battling sin. If you note in Romans 6 the word "know" shows up a lot. Note that in verse 3 “Know ye not", verse 6 "Knowing this”, verse 9, “Knowing that”, verse 11 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves", then in verse 16 "Know ye not”. Get it?
2. Spiritual Exercise. Watch and Pray. Simple. A little bit of pay attention goes a long way. Stay alert.
3. Physical Exercise. Morality, that is how you behave. Act like a Christian. God's Word is full of commands to live Righteously in this evil world.
   

Well, somehow in sharing this I evidently did so in a way that was offensive and upset some folks that I care a great deal about. I was completely crushed after being skewered for over an hour on a Wednesday night, and then again last Sunday. All of the excitement I felt that God had finally answered my prayer was gone. All the effort I had gone through and the overwhelming assurance that I truly had a confirmed vision from God about the direction of the Church was trampled under.

They never heard the Sermon about the foundations of Church Ministry, and when I did get to preach the one about the four functions of the Church I doubt they paid attention to it. Now, don't think I'm blaming them, I'm not sure now what I may have said, nor how badly I may have said it. I'm not going to blame them. I think a man takes responsibility for his own actions, then moves to correct what he can. Too many people are so eat up with pride that they could never bear the thought that any problem they face could be their own doing. But I digress.

I tried this, but in the end my heart was devoid of the desire to fight the battle. It appeared obvious to me, and my wife, that I had lost the confidence of the people, and nothing I could do at that point would win it back. I Long to see this vision carried out. I believe that God gave me this vision so certainly that I put every thing I had worked for on the line. I still do. However, now I wonder was it for MRBC, or was it for another Church? I also wonder, of course second guessing yourself is never good, whether the battle was over, and I rushed leaving. The folks at MRBC have been very good to me over the years, and I'll never forget their generosity, or willingness. They are good people, as far as people go. That's the problem. We're all sinners, and no one, nor any Church is perfect. The key is Love. We must learn to love like Jesus loved. As I often said, "Love anyway."

With that I'll leave you. Saying Thanks to the folks at MRBC for all the good memories. My prayer is that whether present or absent I will hear of their faith, and that they continue in all things excellent.

Not Interested in $10,000?

Sorry, I know the headline may have gotten you, but somethings never cease to amaze me. According to this link, "not interested in Linux" from ComputerworldUK the reason a Ubuntu Laptop remained unhacked after three days in a contest was because, "There was just no interest in Ubuntu,"! Can you believe that? I can't. If I thought I could take down a Linux box and get 10K for doing it your darn right I'd hack that puppy! I wouldn't care if it was DOS 3.3! Would you? Sounds like to me Microsoft, who hates to have a bad image, cough cough, may have put some pressure on the old boy. Whatever. I know Ubuntu is probably NOT hack proof, OK, but you don't have to start making excuses when its the last OS standing. What bothers me is that non of these so called "Hackers" could hack a Windoze box remotely. If these laptops were configured as they come default, and these hackers couldn't hack the thing remotely, I worry about them. There have been very very few OSes that I can remember that had no known remote hacks. NetWare 5.1 was one (security through obscurity and all :-), OpenBSD (I believe) was the other. If not that BSD it was another of that variant. I've never known (note that word) of a Linux, MAC, or Windoze that was ever that good. So, anyway.

I know, its been a very long time since I've blogged. Everyone thought I had quit. Well, that's because I did, at least for a while. I'm back now. For a while anyway.