July 2005 Archives

Weird, but good. Any movie with Missi Pyle (the "that's just not right" girl from Galaxy Quest) can't be bad. 3/4.

Carole, Mandy, Michael and I met at the Chart House in Malibu for dinner and a nice walk on the beach.

Carole, Mandy, Michael and I met at the Chart House in Malibu for dinner and sunset strolling. Apparently Mandy is collecting photos of her knitting in various locations - the Grand Canyon, etc. Click on each photo for the full-size original. The full photo album is here.

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These are known as mammatus clouds. This picture was taken in Hastings, Nebraska:

For more, see the photographer's site.

For a very short time, the BBC had a nice big BCFC logo graphic posted on their site:

It's my birthday, work was under control, and I needed mileage to try out some new accessories and clothing before the big trip in early August. A ride was in order, even though it's 100+ today.

After apheresis, I put in a couple of hours at work trying to figure out my database locking problem. At 11:00am I decided that no further progress was likely. I suited up with all my mesh, and headed out into the heat - SR2, I210, SR118 to Moorpark, then SR23 into Fillmore for lunch at Yanni's, who had the AC absolutely cranked. SR126 west to Santa Paula, the SR150 northwest to Ojai.

The sign at the bank in Ojai said 104, but with the humidity it felt worse. I wandered over to SR33, heading for Lockwood Valley Rd. and Frazier Park. About 12 miles up the road, a flagman told me there would be a 30 minute wait to go through, and had no sympathy when I told him the closure isn't listed on the CalTrans website I consulted before leaving work. I pulled into a gravel and dirt turnout, but after five minutes knew that waiting was not a realistic option. I headed back into Ojai, then down SR33 towards Ventura.

The closer I got to the beach, the cooler it got - thankfully. I toyed with the idea of going back on PCH, but the traffic was horrendous starting at the pier in Ventura on US101, and the backup at the transition to PCH convinced me to stay on the 101. I got to work on my lane-splitting skills pretty much the whole way home.

I stopped at a Jack-in-the-Box at Kanan for a root beer float and lots of water, and headed back into the fray. I stopped at Anderson's to check on the Caddy, and made it home around 5:00pm, with sweat pouring off of me.

I watched Mystery, Alaska during my birthday donation. I made it to the part where Danner drives the Zamboni.

I did my first test of the new wiring, with mixed results.

First, the good news. No more drop-outs on the V-1. I'm not sure if it the problem was the connection to the positive barrier strip, the half-assed ground connection to the battery hold-down strap, or what, but it seems good to go now.

Second, the not-so-good news. After installing the SAE cable to the battery posts, and wiring up the tank bag with the MixIt, I'm still getting the intermittent popping; now, I'm also getting some serious ignition noise. I sent an e-mail to Kieth asking for advice, but for now it's no-go.

I've had a couple of electrical problems with the FJR for a while now. First, the power to the V-1 radar detector cuts out from time to time; it's just for a millisecond, but it enough for the unit to go through the POST, with lots of sound. Second, there's some sort of electrical noise that affects the MixIt I bought from Keith. My gut feeling is that my original wiring job for the horns and V-1 was not up-to-snuff.

This morning, I pulled all the dash panels, and set in to try to fix it. I wound up soldering all the important connections, and moved all the ground wires that were attached to the battery hold-down strap to a newly installed barrier strip. I also installed the Powerlet cabling that Keith sent me, so I can add power to the tank bag. With clean power from the bike, I hope that the intermittent noise on the MixIt will go away.

If it does, I'm seriously considering getting an XM radio for the WFO trip in August. But we'll have to see how it goes first.

I brought Garden State and watched during my spin. Quirky, but well done, and a reminder that Natalie Portman can act when given the right chance and material.

A nooner, but not the good kind, although it was a lot of fun.

I left the parking garage at work at 12:20pm, hit the 210, and then Angeles Crest for a quick training ride. I stayed on ACH until Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, made a quick and undetected run to Angeles Forest, got caught behind a Camry most of the way back to ACH, and had traffic most of the way down to the 210.

I reentered the parking garage at 1:31pm.

Here's a picture of Gavin sitting in a box:

Here's Gavin and Smidge cuddling on the dining room table.

I left around 9:00am for a quick ride to Palmdale, over the usual route. The 210 to Sunland Blvd., to Big Tujunga Canyon Rd., then Angeles Forest Rd. to the 14. I got off the freeway at Palmdale Blvd. and had a ham steak and two over medium at Tom's. I felt good, and felt good on the bike, so the ride was quick and fun.

On the way back, I took Lake Elizabeth Rd. to Bouquet Canyon, and still felt real good on the bike. I went south on Vasquez Canyon, jogged south on Sierra Hwy. to Sand Canyon, and got on the 14 south. Normally I go over Little Tujunga Canyon, but I wanted to get home sooner to help get things ready at the house for our afternoon guests.