Modern Vespa

The Davis fire, burning south of Reno, is largely under control. 76% contained and the fire perimeter has not grown in 3 days. Hundreds of firefighters from around the country helped get this one under control. Also, firefighters from Las Vegas came to Reno to backfill the unmanned fire houses since those crews were battling the Davis fire. This fire had the potential to devistate the south Reno area. 30-40mph winds pushed the flames within sight of high population density areas. Monday we're due to get some rain and that cheers me up.

I knew several guys after college who worked Hot Shot crews, and one who was a smoke jumper. Bigger balls than I ever had.

Great photos. Great photos. Hey, maybe buy a couple of bails of hay and feed those wild horses. Put out a bucket of water.

Again, super photos. A picture tells it all.

Bob Copeland
I don't think we have wild horses in Minnesota.

Cheering me up!

After being off two wheels for 3 months, after breaking four ribs (not riding related), I was able to shadow the group on a ride in the back in my car. At least I could be with the gang. I also took two other guys along in the car with me who have been knocked off riding for similar reasons.

Bob Copeland

Bob, it's not riding, but it's all good anyway!

After a fire in my garage my very trick 300GTS HPE came out untouched thank god
managed to get the fire out before fire brigade arrived but at least 20K worth of damage !!
Rob

A ride out on this brute today and only 2 unwanted conversations.

I'm currently touring the Iberian peninsular on my Tiger and rode through the Picos Mountains on Sunday and today arrived in Porto. I didn't realise Northern
Spain and Portugal had so many great roads to ride.

Life is good

I have a calculator app on my iPad!

You must be breathing some smoke, then. I just got to Porto two days ago and it's been miserable.

Fancy a coffee?

It's about time.

But not on my older iPad FFS

Was one from a parking warden?

What's cheering me up? Riding of course: Country riding in Australia (Post 2702940)

Two things, really. First and foremost reservations are all made for hotel and Northern Michigan State Hospital tour in Traverse City for our belated 20 year anniversary. Bought a second battery for the Nikon, just in case.

Second, my stamps came yesterday. Nicely framed and undamaged from merry old England.

I found this really nice article related to the stamps.

Kate Beckinsale, 51, shows off special edition stamps of her late father Richard as Royal Mail celebrates 50th anniversary of his sitcom Porridge



I've been a fan of Richard Beckinsale since I first saw "Rising Damp" years ago. That led to all things Leonard Rossiter and Ronnie Barker including Porridge, Going Straight and Open All Hours, none of which we ever saw here in the states. Beckinsale was on his way to being one of the greats, but died way too early. Kate was just six. I even have a collection of Richard's poetry, most of which is better than Leonard Nimoy's, in case anyone was wondering.

Yes lots of smoke, fires and burnt trees the last couple of days. Thanks for the coffee invite but the couple that organised the trip only booked us for the one night in Porto.

No more brace and crutches.

Still taking them to Italy just in case.

After getting my insurance mostly sorted out on the totaling of my last bike and [[NSR] What's Pissing you off Today? III (Post 2698845)], some thinking, and some Craigslisting, I brought home a new old bike this evening.

The smell of Castrol R from the pipes of an RD LC 350 yesterday.

I picked up my first Vespa (well yesterday), rode it 35kms home, gave it a coat of wax and put on another 50kms until the sun went down.
My Vesap journey has begun .......
2009 S150

The PBS station in Dallas (KERA) used to air Open All Hours on their Sunday night British Comedy block of programming. Their current lineup is Good Neighbors, Hold The Sunset, To The Manor Born, Are You Being Served?, Yes, Minister, and Red Dwarf.

Red Dwarf was amazing.

This morning I successfully disassembled , cleaned, oiled and reassembled my MX Master 3 to fix a left button issue. Pain in the a$$, but I don't have to buy a new one.

Reaffirming my philosophy of always carrying a guitar pick.

I'm currently on my second Vstrom (a 2013 650), so I think you've made a great choice. Head on over to Stromtroopers.com, you'll find people there to help you with anything you need to know about your new bike.

It's on the list now Thank you!

I'm getting it ready for its first commuter duty this morning.

The post-buy was a little nerve-wracking, as I was learning how to ride it while trying to get out of San Francisco and over the bridge. That said, it is definitely the friendliest thing I have ridden so far that's not a CVT. A real nice "no worries, I got it" feel. Assuming it doesn't get Oaklanded, my first non-commute trip will be a round trip out to Tahoe

Went outside to see if the leg is strong enough to activate the center stand (despite the side stand on the 23+ being substantially better geometry than previous ones) and it is.

So I'm riding to the gym *AND* work tomorrow.

I sometimes get tired of working, being relatively old and still designing houses and other smaller projects for clients.

But today, I received a text from a client whose project is well under construction.

It is a project not without some issues, and a couple of months ago I had the clients and contractors meet at my office to gain a better understanding of the schedules and products being used in the construction.

The owners were close to firing the contractor but all appeared to be getting along well before I left for three weeks in Croatia.

In that text, the client said that she wanted to get together to discuss some issues that came up while I was away.

I agreed to see her with some trepidation, as I was concerned that the project may have come off the rails again.

But when she came, she offered an envelope as a gift.

In it was a nice card saying she and her husband were grateful for all I had done in the meeting along with letting me know how much they liked the house, now that they can see the spaces.

Inside was a check made out to me for a reasonable sum, with a request that I spend it on something nice for myself.

Sort of made my day much better.

Bill

^This

I haven't been able to track down the three episodes they made a few years ago. Worth finding?
The BBC doesn't think NZ is worth of any of its classic comedy it seems. Time to dig out my DVDs.

I mean, for nostalgia purposes, yes — definitely worth tracking down. But at the same time, even Red Dwarf can't match Red Dwarf (the original).

cleaning day.

Getting discharged from the hospital a day early after spinal fusion surgery early Wednesday morning. Can't wait to get back home.

Who hoooo.

Good man.

Cleaning day? Looks brand new! 😁

Cleaning day? What's to clean - it looks quite sanitary!

Yeah, I know the feeling. 4½ months in for me, could barely move but was highly motivated to GO HOME!

The PT nurse visited 24 hours after surgery and told me I should start walking within the next 12 hours. I told her I had already been around the walking area three times before she arrived.

Talking of cleaning.......

I used a walker to get around the house for the first 48 hours after getting home from surgery Friday. By Sunday afternoon I gave it completely. Today, I went for two 1 1/2 miles walks. Those muscle relaxers and pain pills really do help.

Just be sure to get off the meds as quickly as reasonably possible.

I took my oxy for 3 nights and said that was it. Next day or 2 were less pleasant but glad i did it.

Flexeril sadly is just a way of life for me from now on.

I appreciate the advice. They gave me an Oxy - Ace dose when they got me into my room. After that, I told I did not want anymore. The surgeon insisted I take some home with me because he told me after 24 to 48 hours your body starts to hit back hard. And he was right, but I just take one in morning (three so far) to get going and a wee bit of Tylenol during the rest of the day to take the edge off.. What pissed me bit off though is I had to buy a box of Narcan with 2 single doses which set me back $50. They said it's a state law with no way around it. So I'll probably donate the unopened box to the local emergency or police department.