PixelBrat's Blog: September 2005 Archives

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September 26, 2005

I made a scary realization today...

I am actually selling some of my gadgets on ebay, not to buy more gadgets as I would normally do, but to buy stuff for my motorcycle. Yes, it's true. Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up my gadget habit just yet. I just can't afford all the cool bike accessories that I want so I gotta cut back somewhere, right? Unfortunately, having a bike like a Victory, which isn't nearly as popular as Harley's or Honda's, means that there aren't many vendors out there selling accessories for your bike. Less competition for your money means higher prices. Bummer, eh? I certainly don't regret my Victory purchase at all, quite the opposite actually, it's just not fun when "Chrome Disease" hits you and you can't give in to the temptation. It's especially difficult when you have two bikes to accessorize! Oh well. I am honestly thrilled to even be riding so I guess I shouldn't complain. Now where did I put that lottery ticket...?

Posted by pixelbrat at 6:55 PM

September 23, 2005

A Milestone Reached!

Rob and I reached a new milestone today... we rode the bikes to work!

I know this probably sounds trivial to most but for newbie riders like us, who are very cautious on our bikes and deal with a LOT of commuter traffic, this is a major accomplishment. As many of my regular readers know we have a pretty heinous commute, lasting upwards of 90 minutes (one way) when school is in session. To avoid the worst of it we left our house at 6AM. Leaving so early posed a new riding challenge for us... darkness. I'm not a big fan of driving a car in the dark... much less riding a motorcycle in it. All in all it wasn't too bad, just new and different. We met up with our friend Tom at the halfway mark and followed him in the rest of the way. My nerves were a bit tweaked by the time we got there, especially after watching Tom get cut off by some stupid lady not paying attention, but we made it and felt good for the accomplishment. Riding home brought us more traffic but it still wasn't bad. We did learn one thing from this experience... we need new seats!! The stock seats are fine for short 20-30 minute rides but anything inching into the 60 minute range is hell on your butt!

The picture below shows the bikes in front of the building where we work.

Posted by pixelbrat at 5:40 PM

September 20, 2005

Bowling League Harassment?

Rob finally joined a bowling league. Tonight was his first night with the "team". (Only one other person showed up on his team but I digress...) Since I'm not quite bowling league material yet I accompanied him like a good little supportive wife should. Everything went well at first but it was mere minutes before everyone who came in contact with me began asking why I wasn't bowling on the team. No problem as I had expected this. Surely I would only have to explain a couple of times that I wasn't quite ready yet and folks would get the point, right? Of course, this would be an incorrect assumption. Sure, I know these friendly folks meant well but as the hours and frames ticked by I was feeling damn near harassed! I'm sure I'm exaggerating the situation somewhat but I'm not sure how to handle this come next week. How do I go to support my hubby without having to dodge a mass of bowlers wondering why I'm not on a league? What's crazy is they have so many leagues playing that some nights every single lane is occupied by nothing but league bowlers. How does the average Joe who's not league material get to practice? Surely good bowlers aren't born but have to practice sometime, right? How does one practice when no lanes are available? I refuse to join a league and completely embarrass myself just to get the practice. A conundrum indeed.

Posted by pixelbrat at 8:40 PM

September 19, 2005

I hate going to the dentist!!!

I have a dentist appointment this afternoon. I absolutely HATE going to the dentist, which I find rather ironic since I work for a dental insurance company. Today I'm having my teeth cleaned and then a "gum debridement", which to me sounds like an ancient form of Medieval torture. For dessert, I get to have a tooth filled. Does that sound like a recipe for a fun afternoon or what? As my stomach churned from nervousness this morning I called the dentist office to see if I could have Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) for the procedure but they weren't going for it. I guess I just need to grown up and be a good little camper...

Posted by pixelbrat at 9:38 AM | Comments (1)

September 6, 2005

Ever wondered why your PC goes on the fritz?

It's probably this little guys fault! This is my interpretation of the little "gremlins" that reside in all of our computers, driving us mad with random reboots and dreaded BSOD's! (Blue Screen Of Death) I spent the weekend sculpting this little beastie out of polymer clay and some leftover computer parts. Living in a geek infested household we have lots of useless computer bits and pieces laying around. An old stick of memory and some little electronic doodads from a video board became the base. The photo below is deceptive. He's actually a wee little guy - measuring only about 2 inches tall.