Modern Vespa

We're in the process of moving everyone at work from being spread out in four areas on three different floors, to being in one area on the same floor.

Initially I was wanting my desk to be in the corner furthest away from the doors, due to the fact that I tend to be the primary operator of the Glowforge, and it needs to be near a window/vent.

When the desks arrived and were set up, it was decided (without my input) that I would have the desk closest to the door (well away from the windows). I figured I was fine with that, and went about my day.

Yesterday we had to produce some work on the Glowforge, so I set it up near the corner by the windows & exhaust fan, and went to work. My coworker who had claimed the desk in that corner was in the room working on printing orders on the printers. About an hour into my production run on the Glowforge, she came up to me and said that she would like to trade desks with me, that I could have the corner, and she'd have the other desk. She said it made more sense for me to be back there by the Glowforge, than for her to be there.

So I ended up with the desk I wanted to begin with.

I always buy the 'no-residue' duct tape. Still sticks well enough, though not as good as Gorilla tape.

Rescue (self-amalgamating) tape is another essential in my book.

Funny how some people would not understand a simple bit of reasoning till you let them have their way until they are inconvenienced in some way!

I actually use Gorilla tape. I just referred to it as duct tape because I figured everyone would understand the type of tape I was referring to that way.

I'll have to look into self-amalgamating tape. Im not familiar with it. Thanks!

"Silicone Rescue Tape"

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Fusing-Silicone-Emergency-Electrical-Insulation/dp/B001JT0ENO

The silicone sticks to itself but nothing else. Good for emergency repairs, but I also use it to wrap handles of various things that need grippiness, in much the same way as you'd use bicycle handlebar tape or dip-it.

I've always called it self vulcanising tape.

Live long and prosper.

I hope this cheers you up. A Pratt and a Jacobs radial for you.

Adri if you're looking, that's an MV on the left and the other is a Motto Guzzi.

Nice photos!

Those are beautiful! I loved checking out the big radial engines at the air show at the local airport in Chandler, AZ every year.

My wife decided to retire (at 61). It may mean that I will need to work another year or so but it gives us much more flexibility for travel; since she's a teacher we've only been able to travel at the most expensive times. Now we should be able to go whenever we want to and shop deals. We've been blessed with good jobs and have handled our finances pretty wisely so I should be able to quit fairly early as well. I'm not looking forward to 'not working' but I am looking forward to not having to put up with all the #$%& of the office.
I'm feeling pretty good about her option/choice.

Thanks for listening...

Being fairly recently retired, I'm very happy to hear this. Any time.

I had a senior moment when I realized 3 days into the brine that St. Patrick's Day is next weekend. 😳 The brine takes 10 days and didn't think leaving the meat in another week would be a good idea. Good news is today's the day! Soda bread done, corned beef 1/2 hour into the 2 hour rest period after 11 hours slow cooking and I'm 2 deep in the Guinness. Definitely cheered up. Mrs. Baja suggested I make her baby back ribs next Sunday. Ha! Suggested means do it.😉 She's cooking the cabbage and potatoes.

My next door neighbor has an 18 year old special son who loves music and is taking guitar lessons.

I'm building him a Telecaster. I know he will love it.

Wow! You should post a pic of him holding it with a huge grin on his face.😊

Thanks, I hope to. I need another day to finish setting it up and applying a custom decal to it.

Someone got her MSF finished up today, in 38* with rain. She did set it down once, at about 2 mph, so I spose instead of spending the big cheddar for a shop to sort out my rashed up scoot, I've already found the chrome trim and the lower fairing on scooterwest, and i've been told of a place called scooterpaint that can supply a matched dragon red for us. We're gonna DIY the repairs, she gets to learn (or at least try) a new skill, and we were planning on stickering them up anyway so.....not a yuge concern.

the place i called kept saying "of course since that's the chassis all this assumes it isn't totaled by your insurance anyway."

mm. yeah. okey dokey thanks for your time lol?

Sweet mother, that looks good! Where's your St Patrick's Day recipes thread?!

Pretty soon you can start thinking about a second career - something you love without worrying about having to support yourself with it.

Some very trippy art - watch the videos

https://www.instagram.com/liberxx0?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

I picked up used Gaffa tape rolls on small plastic cores in a theater I used to work in (Gaffa vs. Duct = Gaffa is easier to remove without leaving residue as long at it has not gotten wet. Otherwise Potato/Potato if you ask me, but the stagehands insist there is a night and day difference). Multiple colors, up to 3 inches wide. When there is a meter or so left on the roll the stagehands throw it away.

The weather is great for the entire week to come, and I don't have any work before the weekend, so yesterday, I made the snap decision to get into the Miata this morning, put the top down, and drive it 600 miles Eastward to St. Paul with the only purpose on that end is to sit on my brother's porch tomorrow at noon and for an hour or so, drink coffee and BS with him.

Then start back home at about 1:30 PM, hoping to miss most of the Minneapolis/St. Paul rush hour, and roll back into the Rapid City area around midnight.

It's one of those 'It ain't the destination, it's the journey' things.

While I'm at my brother's house, I want to get 'the nickel tour' of his garage, which contains about a dozen motorcycles that he no longer rides, none newer than the early 90's

Later in the season, I may try to buy one from him as long as he won't ride them anymore.

I'm mostly interested in his 1991 Suzuki GSXR1100, which is in a quite pristine and 100% stock condition, yes, including it's original exhaust system.

Anyway, I'll post some road trip photo highlights later today as I zip along Eastward. I'll edit and add them to this post.

Oh, yes, almost forgot. I'm cheerful.

Ready to roll, the Miata's pet carrier had easily accommodated the traveling essentials, oil checked, tires up to spec, wasp's food bowls with fresh sugar water and honey.

Time to go!


Tragedy struck at sunset, about two hundred and fifty miles out, when my cap blew off my bean and out via the open-top.

I spun a quick turnaround and with trepidation, drove the several hundred yards back to where the seemingly lifeless cap lay on the roadway.

I jumped out of the roadster and ran to the motionless cap, picked it up, and gently carried it back to the idling Mazda, where I laid it lovingly on the passenger seat.

Capless, I then moved to the rear of the car, checking the wind direction several times, turned my back to the breeze, and, looking both east and west to be certain that there wasn't any approaching traffic, I performed what my farmer grandfather called 'Taking a Leak' on the gravel shoulder of the highway.

Thusly relieved, I returned to the little Mazda roadster, U-turned it Eastward, and smoothly took it through it's six gears up to the road's speed limit, dabbed the cruise-control's 'Resume' button, and CHEERFULLY continued my journey towards St. Paul.

.

Yes, a polished vintage Cessna 195 definitely cheers me up, and the AT-6 'Texan' (assuming it's a US variant) is frosting on the 'Cheer Cake, as well.

just ordered a device (kess) to read / write the bins for my ecu (i have a spare one that'll be good for testing the basic process)

I saw the cutest little parking spots today in Manhattan Beach, a city about 20 miles from my house so they don't do me any good, but I still love them.

The scootercycle uglying up the fancypants neighborhood was a nice touch too, but I don't know what the heck it is except for it was whelped in China.

You're right, that is supremely ugly.

That looks like a cross between and Edsel and a junkyard.

Someone actually designed it to look that way.
http://df-motor.com/product_show.asp?id=739

Front says SSR Razkull. Middle whispers CFMoto V5. Rear is a Chinese Ruckus transplant. It total, it's a janky riff off of Honda's Navi.

It's as if at every crucial juncture, when a design choice had to be made, they thought of what would be the right thing to do and then purposely did the opposite.

All that stuff that's supposed to be hidden under the pet carrier, exposed to the world. Especially embarrassing are the air box and transmission snorkels. That poor scooter.

Yeah, but I'm too old to become a gigolo and the new knee won't support my planned soccer career.

Starting a two wheel addiction in the next generation.

My great-niece is about to turn 2, so as any good uncle would, I picked up something for her today.

Until one of my sons has the decency to provide me with some grandchildren, my niece is just going to have to put up with me spoiling her daughter..

Designed ? It looks like they put 7 pieces of crap into a blender and it re-built itself in the wrong order.

Still, go China.

If the weather was good I'm surprised that you didn't use the 2.5 Litre Triumph or the GTS as both of them are capable of travelling such distances with ease.

More rain here today

I was skeptical when my darling daughter and SIL bought one of these balance bikes for my grandson. I was thinking bike with training wheels.. My grandson loved the balance bike and was a real Evil Knevil on it.

For his birthday this weekend grandson got a new bicycle, again no training wheels. Riding the balance bike gave him every skill he needed except for pedaling - which literally took him 10 seconds to master. It was amazing to see. Less than a minute and he is an old hand at riding.

Long and short, your great-niece will love this balance bike and will be far advance for it.

Chris from CLE

My son really struggled getting off training wheels. One of his special ed teachers told us, "Take the pedals off".

It worked brilliantly.

[quote="Bill Dog"]


If the weather was good I'm surprised that you didn't use the 2.5 Litre Triumph or the GTS as both of them are capable of travelling such distances with ease.



If the roads are as straight as the one in his photo I don't think it would matter much, whichever has cruise control I should think.

Oh no, for some reason I don't get on with Cruise Control.

I think you'd agree that a stretch of road that straight would never get boring especially on a bike that cries out for a long distance ride.

200 mile tank range x 3. 10 hours max ?

(I now see that I might have my quotes mixed up with this post. My apologies.)

If you're addressing me, Bill (Assuming that I'm probably the only member here with a 2.5 litre Triumph and a GTS)
I decided to take the MX-5 on this drive because even though the daylight temps will be in the high 50's to mid-60's (F), much of the driving will still be done in the early mornings and at night, when the temperatures will drop into the 40's (F), and tough guy that I might think of myself as, I would definitely not enjoy those kinds of conditions for any extended length of time.

I tend to think of the MX-5 as sort of Super Goldwing when the top is down, with most of the
pleasures of an open-air vehicle but with the added versatility to deal with adverse weather and road conditions when they occur.

Regardless, I'm planning on retracing the Rapid City to St. Paul trip in late May with the GTS300.

No, I wasn't really addressing you. I was just thinking to myself that a ride of 600 miles in dry weather conditions on a big bike with a huge capability to cover that distance would have to be for me the Weapon of Choice.

It was built for the job.

I think I could live with the cold starts as the pay off would be the sunsets. 5 Degrees Celsius would be doable. I'd wear Mittens.

JBlacklund,

If you Vespa over in late May, if convenient, it would nice to meet you. Have coffee or a lunch at the location of your choice. I do know, on short visits, you may only have time for family.

Even though I am in the South West Metro in Eden Prairie, I am no more that
30 minutes from anywhere in the twin cities.

Bob Copeland