Last night was the final day of DBM/405 and I’m glad it’s over. It was a fun class and I learned a lot about UML and database designs in general, but I’m burned out and need a break. My next class doesn’t start until after I get back from my motorcycle trip, so hopefully that’ll be enough of a break to get me back into the swing of things.
Monthly Archives: May 2005
Hydrapak Test
I gave the Hydrapak a try today on the ride home. It’s been getting way too hot here and I don’t like being dehydrated by the time I get home.
Pros:
- Large capacity (2.75 liters)
- Insulated. The water in the bag was cold all the way home.
Cons:
- The bite valve is too long to comfortably fit under the chin of the helmet. I need a right angle valve.
All in all a good product. It just needs a little tweaking.
Giving Me The Crepes
A big thanks go out to Alex for giving me a lesson on how to make crepes and he even left me a crepe pan and some batter to try again with. At least as soon as I get my hands on a good spatula.
Pictures of Jupiter
I got a little adventurous this evening and set up the 8″ f/4 in order to try my hand at doing some imaging with it and the LPI. Jupiter was nice and high in the sky and seemed like a logical choice. It was a little tricky pointing the scope with the LPI attached and without an RA drive, tracking was a little tough. But I did manage to get some good shots which you can see in the gallery.
The Purple Cow
I went to Ft. Worth to pick up the saddle bags today and stopped at The Purple Cow diner for lunch on the way back. It’s on Hulen St. in the same shopping center as the Central Market. I ordered a patty melt and while it look a little longer than I would have liked, it arrived hot and delicious. The food seems to be good and the prices are great.
Motorcycle Audio
I finally called it quits on trying to do this cheap. After reading a lot of web pages and talking to a couple people at the Star Wars movie, I’ve placed an order for some Etymotic ER6i noise blocking in-the-ear speakers. They’re supposed to block 34 – 36 dB of outside noise, which is about 10 dB more than the foam earplugs that I wear when riding. They’ll be in in about a week, so I’ll post a review after I’ve tried them out.
Revenge of the Sith
I just got back from a vendor sponsored showing of Revenge of the Sith and am completely blown away. This movie was incredible. The visual effects were great, the storyline finally brought everything together, in short it kicked ass!
I’m going back to see it again tomorrow.
Power Cables For The Motorcycle
Now that I’ve got the XM radio and a GPS to power while I’m riding, I’ve been looking for a cigarette lighter socket that will connect up to the pigtail that I’ve already got installed for the battery charger. Well, Powerlet Products had exactly what I wanted, a two outlet setup, and it’s on the way. Now all I’ve got to do is get some speakers so that I can hear the tunes!
New Saddlebags
Since I’m getting ready for a nice long road trip in June I’ve been thinking that the T-Bag is probably not going to hold enough stuff. I used to have a set of LeatherLyke hard bags but my 2002 wreck took them out. They were nice, but a little big, so this time I decided to go for something smaller and found Harley‘s nylon throw overs to be just about perfect. Ft. Worth Harley-Davidson was the only dealer that had them in stock, so I’m heading out on Saturday to pick them up.
It’s Not FM, It’s XM
Well, I finally bit the bullet and picked up an XM receiver. Specifically the Roady 2. It was cheap and it’s got all the features I wanted, especially the built in FM modulator that I need to connect it in to the Jeep’s stereo.
This service completely rocks! There are no commercials! None!
Right now I’ve been listening to Lucy (channel 54) a lot. It’s got a great mix of the 80’s and 90’s alternative that I grew up on.
Now I’m working on wiring it in to the motorcycle so that I can have tunes on the road.