Modern Vespa

I received my annual Vespa Insurance and it actually went down a few bucks $297CDN full coverage....I was happy to whip out the Visa and pay it off!

Check if the insured value has reduced to bring the premium down.
Every year near the renewal date, I chat with my broker and we review the insured value of my vehicles.

This is a good point. Maybe I'll get some answers why my VROD premium goes UP every year.....but I'm not gonna hold my breath for an answer.

got a free case of beer

That would cheer me up!

We enjoyed the 28th Street Metro Cruise this past weekend. At 84, I'm not sure how many more car shows Dad has left n him, so every one of them is special.

This year marked the final Show at Berger Chevrolet, so a real end of an era thing. Berger has a long history with racing, and every year they clear out all of the inventory from their lot and open it up to GM fans. It's really a good show, and we're always there with Dad and his car. Twenty six years is a good run.

We had a little rain in the morning. Then everyone dried off their cars. And then it rained again. And at least 500 people looked like this :



But we saw a lot of cars, talked to a lot of good people and it was nice for Dad to be able to get out again.

This is my son standing by Dad's car.

And more.

That's a total of 104 cans for the cost of 40

The 183,xxx-mile MK6 golf tdi towed a little above its rating for three days straight and minus some wheelspin on one hill start after a fuel stop, was an absolute CHAMP.

hovered just above 20mpg average for the full thing, and yes, while going from 48-52mpg on its own on the highway down to 20 is an eye-opener for sure, knowing that it was probably hauling its own weight again in cargo between the trailer and everything in the car itself....20mpg is an absolute DELIGHT.

Realizing, when I had to do some shopping at the local drugstore, that there are only two more months left before... Halloween!

On one of my (excruciatingly high number of) trips to Home Depot the last couple weeks as I worked on the MD house, I mentioned to the missus how the 12-foot skelly has LCD eyes this year and you can change the look of them.

She lamented on FB about how we're trying to be good stewards of our "emergency nest egg" funds and only using them to prep the old house for sale and get the little here-and-there stuff you end up needing after you move, so we probably wouldn't have the skelly this year for halloween.

Then our good friend and tattoo artist (who did my last 4 tats and a few more than that on the missus) out of the blue messaged her and said "hey what's your new address anyway?" sooo nonchalantly.

I pulled in and put up the garage door and BAM. The big ol' box of bones sitting front and center. That talented dingus bought it for us.

Not sure if we're allowed to have it in the front yard, but probably the back if nothing else. peepin over the fence.

Such a cool story! And what a great unexpected present from a friend.
I'm guessing some of us (myself definitely included) are hoping that you display that big ole box of bones in all its skeletal glory in your front yard, peepin' over the fence, in the not-too-distant future... and hopefully post a picture of it here, too!

In honor of the tradition of inventive Halloween skeletons doing interesting things (which Oregon has quite a few of, usually), I'm appending a picture of one I saw near a good friends house... a Bony Biker!

I managed to drop my Weestrom at a stop for a right turn on red. I think I stalled and plopped over, but I'm a little unsure exactly what happened. My bad no matter what and very embarrassing, especially with a cyclist trying to help me up and momentarily holding up traffic trying to get the engine turning over again.

That said, what I'm happy about is that I managed to not be under it this time. The last time I dropped a bike, I was standing still in the carport and intuitively fought it on the way down, obviously losing and managing to be under it, causing some injures I'm still not 100% from. Since then, I've been worried that I'd fight a drop again. At least in this case, I was able to have a moment of clarity and be clear.

Glad you're all right. We've all been there, so you're not alone!

I spent about 20 minutes at a local shop trying on jackets and chatting with the sales guy. I have no intention of buying from them which usually would make me feel guilty, but that scratch they put in my wheel when I made them flip the tyre around runs really deep.

Did a 9 mile hike yesterday. Started out on the Five Lakes trail (Alpine Meadows, CA) than transitioned to the Pacific Crest Trail as it winds its way near Palisades Tahoe ski area. Temps started out around 40F and reached about 70F by the time we returned to the trailhead. It was a beautiful day and that always cheers me up!

That's some great scenery there!

I beat my wifes boss at golf today 7 & 6 which is quite a pasting.

Hmmm...that may not have been wise, depending on whether or not he is a good sport

Having dinner ready and the newspaper freshly ironed when you walk in the door at night is a good thing indeed.

He only pays her minimum wage whether I beat him at golf or not so when I win and I usually do against him because he never plots his way round the course, I feel like it's good karma.

nice to see somebody post on instagram a pic of them using my VespaDiag app to read the BIN on the ECU.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/pscarsolutions/3710130841411143655

Ran to Home Depot this morning to grab a cordless mower since they're doing labor day sales. Website said there were three of the one I wanted in stock, so I popped up there. They had six of the next higher model in the range, but zero of the one i wanted.

So they knocked 10% off the nicer one. Then gave me my military discount on top of it anyway. Ended up with a $650 package for less than 4, so I was quite delighted with that.

Then headed to Lowe's to get a grill/smoker, and a couple halloween decorations for the missus. They had one left of the grill I wanted, but the box was hilariously destroyed. The grill and all components were in perfect shape, so they....knocked 10% off the cost for me. And gave me the mil discount on top of it as well.

At this rate I'm debating heading to the liquor store nearby that has a George T Stagg on the shelf and seeing if they'll negotiate on pricing.

Unknown to me beforehand, Eastwood Guitars had a small batch of my Model 1500 'Neptune' guitars made, and sent me an email last Friday, asking if I would like one sent to me, so...duh! I ok'd the freebie sample...to add to my other freebie samples that hang in the living room.

They initially only made 24 in total, but will have more built if they sell reasonably well. There are eight each in metallic red, metallic blue, and metallic gold.

Eastwood Guitars is currently making six of my original electric guitar designs, and anytime I get a free $1500 guitar sent to me....it cheers me up.

The 'new' Neptune....

That's a beauty!

Any left-handed ones?

Just left the market.

While walking to my car I observed an employee who's job was to collect the shopping carts in the parking lot, standing by his collection of carts with a massive sheet of bubble wrap just going to town on it.


Pop... pop, pop.. pop. POP.

He didn't look old enough to drink, or I would have offered him a beer from the six-pack I just purchased.

Eastwood usually does make left hand versions of my guitar designs, as well as others in their regular lineup, but, unfortunately, I don't have any info on that for this one.

Apparently two other neighbors down the road a few doors have the 12-footers as well and they go front and center every year.

So that's the plan. I wonder if I can re-position it eeaaaarly in the morning to be looking in the window and then have her open the shades...

https://thebloggess.com/2011/06/21/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/

Here in Finland there is no such a job, as everyne is returning theis carts themselves. "Why they are such idiots?"
"Well, they get back the coin they used to get the cart originally"

Just like this: -and in Finland there is no bottle or can stash either, and the same reason: you get money to bringing those back to shops. --and no, not that NEW idea, we have had this from starting at 1950.

We have some shops here that do the cart thing (Aldi/Lidl of course) and I grew up in Iowa so we always returned bottles and cans. I grew up in a college town so for sporting events i would make rounds through the parking lot as people tailgated and collect bottles and cans and could easily make from $100-$250 in 4-5 hours, and this was in 1988-1995.

I recall a few markets here using the coin system. When I was a kid my mom would 'reward' whichever child was best behaved in the market with the coin upon returning of the cart.

Many customers do return the carts to the various return locations in the parking lot. Most markets still require someone to bring them all back to the storefront.

In a few cities I have lived in, there are businesses that retrieve carts that have been brought off or store property. Sort of like the refundable cans, but with a higher payout.

My 'Coffee Shop Parking Lot Sparrow Posse' was working hard to clean up the crumbled scone I tossed to them. It's a daily 'thing'.

I've been a fan of the Tiny Library movement - a small free library in a wooden box which operates on the principle that if you take a book for yourself, you should leave another book, inside the Tiny Library box, for someone else to read. In my local small hometown (in Southern Oregon) I discovered the Caffeinated version of a Tiny Library -- a Coffee Cup exchange! If you want a new cup to drink your coffee in, take one... but please leave another cup in its place for another fellow caffeine addict who might be in search of a new cup!

Found a handle of Eagle today.

There's been this art piece at a local gallery / antique mall for a while. I have stopped every time I pass by and I look at it longer than I expect.

The last time we were there I told my wife on the way out, "I'm going back to get that ... if I don't, it'll be gone."

Since the gallery is separate from the antique store, you deal with the artists directly. She accepts Venmo payments. I do everything EXCEPT Venmo.

I contacted her and we talked and she set up a PayPal link. I figured the next step was picking it up at the counter at the antique store. That wasn't the case.

She met me and my wife at a local coffee shop and hand delivered it, sitting and talking with us for nearly half an hour., Super cool lady.

We have place picked out for it. I don't often buy art, but - like music - it's subjective. I fall into the category of "I don't know art, but I know what I like".

All in all it was a great experience.

Hmm. The lack of photo seems a little suspicious.
(Maybe need to help seamus26 put up a picture of what he likes?)

LINK

This is her website.

LINK

My son's friend is just starting a semester abroad in Paris. Just forwarded this photo for me.

I think he's trying to work his way into the family.

The safe guy is here.

No drilling required, which we're both happy about. Me because it saves me hundreds, him because he saw the internal security and knew drilling would make him have a long and shitty day.

He even got the old lock repaired and working with a little bit of effort. Bonus points, it's no longer sticky or jumpy and you can just put it right on the number you want.

My new Sesame Double Shot Trumans arrived late last night.

Plus a new pair of jeans arrived from Gustin this morning as well as my new holster for my p228.

What a day already!