Final Destination

You know those Final Destination movies -- the series where the teenagers can't escape death, no matter what they do? I lived that in real life! Well, Shannon's truck did... We were driving back to her mother's for Christmas. The east coast had just received a deluge of snow last weekend -- her mother's cabin had about 30". We decided to wait it out. As much as we wanted to go, getting into a wreck was not worth it. Originally we planned to leave Saturday night after I closed my store, but we finally left Monday morning around 10AM. Perfectly clear all the way to West Virginia -- no problem at all, and we actually made the trip in record time (10 hours). As we neared her mother's place in the mountains, the roads became increasingly snow covered, with patches of ice. No problem, though -- just take it easy, I thought. We finally arrived at her mother's after creeping down the final hill to her driveway. Although her mother's driveway had been plowed by a neighbor, I knew that we were probably stuck. Shannon's Nissan Pathfinder is 2wd, and the rear wheels had spun in our final spot. Oh well -- something to figure out the next day.

Did I mention that we both had a bad feeling about the trip before we left?

So, I wake Tuesday and become "IT Guy." I spend the entire morning and evening working on her and her mother's computer. Shannon's iPhone had died the morning of the trip -- the lower left quadrant of the touchscreen was not working. I backed up the phone in anticipation of her hopefully getting a new phone under warranty. Multitasking, I also setup her mother's new computer, reformatted the hard drive of her old Dell, and loaded a fresh install of Windows XP on that machine (WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!). At the end of the day, she had two computers running at full capacity with Avira (anti-virus) on the Dell, both logged into the wireless network, and the wireless printer up and running. Oh yeah -- most importantly, her beloved AOL was functional on both machines! I felt incredible about my accomplishments!

Before the sun went down, we felt it was a idea to get the Pathfinder down from the mountain in case the forecast of ice was correct. As I came to find out, her truck is literally the worst vehicle ever invented for ice or snow! Seriously -- I had a '71 Plymouth Valiant in high school which was better! My gut feeling that it was stuck proved to be true. Having grown up in the snow, I am very accustomed to getting a vehicle out of the snow. No matter what I tried, the truck just dug in deeper. The slightest application of throttle, and the rear end slid around. Eventually, after a lot of digger, swearing (LOTS of that!), and just blind luck, the truck was out of the turn-around... only to become stuck yet again as it slid to the edge of a railroad tie bordering the driveway. At that point, I decided that we weren't getting out without a tow. Her mother and I started to head to town, since there was nothing we could do. Due to a stroke of extreme luck, we ran across her neighbor with his 4wd truck. What a great guy! He spent over an hour helping me dig out, pulling the SUV out of the driveway, and eventually up the ridiculously steep hill which ends at the driveway! We were very indebted.

I followed her mother a few miles to a neighbor's house to park it in the driveway -- they were out of town for the weekend. Again, I had one of those bad feelings in my gut. The long driveway was covered with snow, so there was no way I was going to risk getting stuck again. Realizing that plows could be coming through, I backed the truck in 5'-10' from the edge. I figured that no harm could come to it, other than vandalism, right? We then headed down to her townhouse in town so that I could install her DSL modem there. As luck would have it, I spent an hour getting it setup, only to have it crash completely. As I expected, the woman at customer service was absolutely zero help. Another hour later, we finally realized that we needed to order a new modem.

WHAT A LONG DAY!!!! I was completely exhausted! At least I had accomplished everything I had hoped to, so I was looking forward to relaxing the remaining days. I worked hard for a full day, so I had earned a reprieve. Seems logical, right? NOPE!

The next morning, her mother received a call from a neighbor. "What kind of truck does Shannon drive?... A Pathfinder?... I think someone has hit it in the night..." This is a joke, right?! An "April Fool's at Christmas" joke!!! There was no way someone would hit her car parked off the street in a DRIVEWAY!!!! We all jumped in her mother's (4wd) SUV and headed over to the house to find what you see in the first photograph -- a previously perfect and gorgeous SUV almost totaled!!!... Shannon was understandably hysterical, and I was just in shock. To make a long story short, the neighbors had heard a noise around 4AM.

You would think that was the end of the story, right? I mean, there was no hope of ever finding the culprit, because these cases never get solved... Well, I cannot describe the luck. The idiot had dropped his cell phone at the scene of the crash! When the trooper arrived, he took the phone and later called us with the information he had received. After checking with the board of the homeowners association, we also found out that he had just been released from prison for insurance fraud (tried to burn down his house). Additionally, he is known to always be "drunk and armed." GREAT! What luck! We decided to leave that to the state police, but we did drive by his house. Guess what we saw? A huge 4wd drive truck with a bull bar... AND a crumpled hood and broken driver's side headlight. Enjoy your New Year in jail, dude!!!

What are the odds? We did EVERYTHING right -- waited for safe roads, moved the truck to a "safe" location rather than getting it stuck on the mountain after a hard freeze. How could we have known that some drunk (found a crushed beer can in the snow inches from her truck) would miss a corner and hit the parked vehicle head-on?! The Grim Reaper was definitely chasing that Nissan!

As if all of that stress wasn't enough, we then faced the threat of ice coming. Originally we had planned to stay for the weekend, but we decided that it wasn't worth risking any more problems. Since her truck was not drivable, she had it towed to a shop for repair, and we rented a car for the drive back. We did make record time (9.5 hours), though! What an adventure!

Brad is truly, truly evil. Not only does he show me new toys (computers, gaming systems, etc.) with a gleam in his eye -- knowing that I will buy just about anything he shows me, letting me be the guinea pig before he purchases. Now he has introduced me to Blender -- an open source 3D animation creation suite. What was the first thing I did after driving 10 hours to W VA for vacation? I downloaded and installed the software, of course! I also created my first 3D object. Brad is going to be the death of me, usurping every single moment of my spare free time!!! Blender is incredibly cool stuff -- and powerful! I can't wait to become fully engrossed in it!

The shop absolutely rocked while I was gone! Alan and Nick held down the fort for me while I was on my "vacation." I needed a break, but I definitely got more than I ever anticipated!... I don't know where he found the time, but Alan tore down the wall to the old repair area so that it is opened up, and we can finally move the benches to the new service department. Progress!

That's all for today. Merry Christmas!

Empty fortune cookie

Due to the insanity here lately, I ordered Chinese takeout the other day. My fortune? Nothing. Not something ambiguous. Absolutely nothing inside. Seems to be the story of my life lately.

As dead as it was during the rainy weeks, Christmas has been very good to me. Three (in stock) bikes sold today alone! Crazy! Here me complaining?

Nothing new or exciting to report, really. I am placing an order for 10 entry-level 2010 KHS in the next week to replace all of the bikes sold in the last few weeks. Amazing!... Bob picked up the rubber floor mat and installed it in the new service area. Any idea how excited I am to make the move over there?! Any idea how hard it was to hold out that cat at an arm's length to take that shot?! Ha

Well, that's all for now...

Even though it isn't an official Metric video, it is still cool...

Saturday Morning Lights

Wow, what a difference a week can make! This week was absolutely insane! Several bike sales and others in the queue. Repairs, repairs, repairs! I haven't been able to do a single thing in the new service area or touch the new website all week. Then again, I am certainly NOT complaining!!! The whole purpose for working on those things is to bring in more customers, right? I'll take it while I can get it, that's for sure! There will be several dreary days in January and February to get those things done. Who knows? I might even be able to afford them, now! HA!

Like the way Sprocket was supervising Nick while he scrubbed the bathroom sink?

That's really about all for today. I'll unwind by watching more of the 3rd season of Friday Night Lights. Then it is time to tackle all of the things I never get to because I am here all of the time!

“Here’s number two, sir!”

So, I am watching Mad Men yesterday, and I hear “Here’s number two, sir!” Don Draper's daughter has just made him a Bloody Mary -- she is around seven years old. I now wonder if I should have children?!! I never knew they could be so practical!... Seriously, like my new setup for "working" in the repair area? Actually, that is just a glimpse of things to come once the transition to the old lobby has been completed. The screen on the right is a 23" 16:9. Soon I will have two of those bolted to the wall of my main bench, and another 16:9 on the opposite bench. Great for watching a movie while simultaneously looking up prices, updating service tickets, etc. Yup, I have a rough job. HA! Then again, I have to make things bearable while I am putting in 16 hour days during the summer.

The computer driving that system is now 100% functional, and I am now running the shop and all applications from it. It took about two days total of work to make the transition, but at least my days aren't boring! I have had this computer with dual-core Pentium D 3.0 GHz processors sitting around for several years. Bought it originally as my "mac daddy" system at home, but eventually I used another at the shop because it became infected with incredibly vicious viruses. I have been using it recently, although it still had several problems.

While my father was visiting, it finally crashed -- hard. He spent a day trying to bring it back to life (bachelor's in computer science and master's in EE, and years and years of work in the field), but we finally realized that it needed a full reinstall of Windows XP Pro (I prefer XP over Vista, etc., since it is proven. That is just my personal view.). I had XP Pro reinstalled before leaving for my Thanksgiving vacation, so I spent last week loading the applications and transferring data. I have one word -- "WOW!!!!!!!" It is INSANELY fast! I finally setup Remote Desktop and set the router for the static IP address on Friday. I remotely logged in for the first time -- it is literally as fast as being in front of an actual computer for most applications!!! Simply amazing. EXACTLY what I was hoping for!

Now for the transition of the service department to the old lobby. The walls have been painted, so next I have to install the rubber mat flooring, install new light bays, and cut the windows to the showroom. Next comes moving the benches. Eventually, I hope to install cabinets and a counter top, but the existing workbenches will do the job for now. Progress!

While my father was here, we visited one of our favorite places -- the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham. Very cool, even if you aren't into motorcycles. One of the bikes on display is the motorcycle Cannondale made years ago. At the same time, they attempted to develop an ATV from the ground up as well. Want to know why the company was sold to Pacific last year? It all began with these projects. Look up the term "hubris" if you are bored.

I forgot to include photos from my trip to the Jack Daniel's distillery several weeks ago, so here they are. A quick summary: We brought a radio with a broken antenna -- problem solved with a knife and fork. Made the hottest fire ever. Since it was Daniel's bachelor party, his fiancé made her brother, Jerom, a "BM" (Best Man) hat in honor of You, Me and Dupree. So that he wouldn't feel left out, she also made Daniel a T-shirt with "I (heart) Jack Daniel's." They both wore them the entire day, including during the tasting. Daniel was allowed to stand behind the main bar, which was probably his proudest moment of the weekend.

I finally saw the last 3/4 of Slumdog Millionaire last night at Brad's. He realized what was about to happen during the latrine scene, so I caught this shot of him right before "the moment." Hilarious!

No wonder they are my favorite band...

Combat baby!

Well, we made it back! 12 hours in the car, followed by the Metric concert immediately afterward... The show was definitely worth the drive! I was wondering if they would play the first song I had heard, "Combat baby," or more popular "Monster Hospital." As it turned out, they were both played in the encore. "Combat baby" was actually played acoustically as the last song -- very cool!




I woke the next morning to tackle my koi pond, assuming the worst. The pump had been off for at least three days, so I was fearing that I would encounter several floating fish. To my surprise, they were all fine! They appeared to look at me as if to say, "What's your problem?" I disconnected the pump from the system, but even without a load it tripped the GFCI outlet immediately. After eight years of running nonstop, I can't complain! That pump was about 1,900 gph. I attached a spare 4,100 gph pump, and the waterfall ran like Niagara Falls! Since it pulls 3+ Amps (versus 1.7), it will cost at least twice as much to use, so I am looking for another Little Giant pump in the 2,000 gph range. Apparently they aren't as prevalent as they used to be, but the pumps you now find at Lowe's and Home Depot are much more cheaply made. The quickest test (in my opinion) of the quality of a pump for aquariums or ponds is weight -- the heavier the pump, the more likely it has bigger magnets and more windings. My last pump ran for eight years, so spending a few extra dollars can make all of the difference in the world AND save a LOT of money! I have found a Little Giant which is about 2,000gph and can pass solids as large as 3/4". Guess which one I am buying?! HA!

I spent the afternoon Sunday cleaning out three years of fish waste from the 100 gallon filter, and hosing out the eight 1"x24"x48" filter pads. Let's just say that there are more pleasant duties in the world! I expected Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs to walk around the corner at any moment with a camera crew! Oh well, that is done for another year or two...

I spent the majority of yesterday and today getting my main computer at the shop back up to speed. Before I left for vacation, I had reinstalled Windows XP Pro. However, none of the drivers were installed. That meant downloading 47 individually from the DELL website, since I didn't know which were required. Next, I burned them to a CD and loaded them one by one. Once the Ethernet card was working, I was able to connect to the Internet to track down the last driver. I had to pull the graphics card to figure out which one I had. All is good now, and the computer absolutely SCREAMS!!! I am excited! I was able to finish my latest DVD of Mad Men today, so I am incredibly happy again! It's the little things... HA!

Otherwise, just keeping up with the shop. While I was gone, Alan and Nick tore apart the lobby in preparation for moving the service department. They tore up the old carpet, patched the holes in the walls, and applied the primer. The worst aspect was removing the glue from the floor. Apparently there was tile glued down at one point, so it was impossible to remove the residue! The floor will be covered with rubber mats, so perfection isn't a necessity. I definitely owe them for their work!

I forgot to mention our arch-nemesis in West Virginia. This dog was the most muscular 2 1/4 lb. dog I have ever seen in my life! No lie, Sprocket is larger! He kept following us whenever we passed his driveway on foot or on the bikes. Of course, the second we made eye contact, he spun around and ran off at full speed! Hilarious little guy!

Alan sent me this. Funny!



This article on the Tiger Woods "accident" says it perfectly! Worth reading...

Speaking of good articles, read this one regarding the White House crashers. They are the epitome of what is wrong with the instant fame generated by "reality" TV...

That's it. Time to head home, grab a beer, and enter more products onto the new website. 30 days and counting until it goes live!

Murphy's Law

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." My first real vacation in almost three years, yet it has been anything but smooth sailing. The first day we were here, I noticed that Shannon's dog had swelling below her eye. Over the next few days, it grew considerably larger. However, before we could take her to the vet, Shannon came down with a horrible sore throat. We spent the entire day Wednesday at the veterinary clinic having the dog's tooth removed (her eye was swollen shut by that time), and running Shannon between a clinic and a hospital for testing of her throat culture. Apparently, Shannon just had a bad cold, yet it has had her very run down.

So, I figured that nothing else could go wrong. I forgot that it comes in threes. Brad was keeping an eye on my house for me. He called last night to tell me that the pump for the koi pond was not running. There was power in the house, so it had to be an issue with the pump. He went back to see what he could do. The GFCI outlet had tripped the circuit, so it is either a ground fault or too much current from the pump. Given that the pump has been running continuously for probably eight years, my guess is that the pump has finally died. Luckily, the weather is near freezing at night, with cool temperatures during the day. Since the metabolism of the fish drops with temperature, they should be ok until I can get to it Sunday. I am nervous because they aren't getting any aeration, but hopefully they will be fine. I mean, what are the odds that the one week I am gone the pump finally dies? In my case, incredibly high! Much like the time we left for Costa Rica several years ago and the power went out to my 240 gallon aquarium. Luckily, my friends were around to take care of that one, too. Brad definitely went above and beyond this time, making two extra trips to my house to try to fix the pond pump. Thanks, Brad!

That is about it. Stood in line at Best Buy for 45 minutes waiting for Best Buy to open at 5AM, trying to help Shannon's mother get a laptop. As I expected, that effort wasn't enough -- the 100+ people ahead of us cleaned out the tickets for the good deals. Spent the afternoon cutting down a Christmas tree for her and putting it up, as well as bringing down about 15 wheelbarrow loads full of firewood. We are leaving in the morning, so I wanted to make sure she had enough for the coming months.

Added a TON of new items for sale on the website. MAJOR progress. My goal is to have it live by the end of December. Maybe sooner!

Alan and Nick had a HUGE day Wednesday. In addition to dealing with several customers (and selling a CycleOps Pro PT3000 indoor cycle!), they pulled up the carpet in the lobby and removed much of the carpet glue. Thanks!

Time to relax and enjoy a hard-earned beer...

The joys of warm clothing

So far, the weather here in W VA has been sub-50. I am SO glad that I grabbed a pair of Defeet Woolie Boolie socks! I'll admit that I am usually under dressed when riding in cool weather. Not this time! Today it was raining and definitely below 50 when I decided that we should do hill repeats around 4:30PM. The driveway to the cabin ends at the base of a huge hill (everything is on a hill here!), so I decided that it was perfect for a quick training ride. I definitely dug deep into my lungs -- probably too deep. I can still feel it now!

Not much to report today. Apparently the moment I leave, the shop gets slammed. I definitely owe Alan BIG time for his help! I did get a lot of reading done for web design, and added Speedplay pedals and cleats to the new site. My goal is one product line per day while I am here. Baby steps.

Well, back to more reading...