Category: attitude

  • The Tool As The Work

    I’ve been using Linux in some capacity since tinkering with it in a lab at my old job in 2005. That’s not a long time by enthusiast standards, but it’s not nothing, either. I saw this post on Reddit and the sentiment stuck in my throat a little bit. I started out with Lindows (now…

  • Dream Time

    The North of England. It’s a Sunday. My trip is over, and it’s time for me to go. There is a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach – some call this butterflies – and I can feel the minutes tumbling away, as a veteran procrastinator can. Somehow, It’s now the afternoon. I have…

  • 45 pt. 2

    Eyes By March my vision had continued to deteriorate to the extent I was becoming quite afraid. I made an emergency appointment to try and figure out what the hell was going on. I got a visit with an ophthalmologist that just happened to be a retinal specialist. She is French, had only been in…

  • All Engines Great and Small

    All Engines Great and Small

    You Always Want What You Don’t Have I spend all of my riding time on small bore bikes, by US standards. My Ninja 300 at 296cc and the CSC TT250 weighing in at 229cc. The Ninja will – realistically – pull to about 75mph easily, above which there’s a tardy roll-on to about a top…

  • Be Paranoid

    Be Paranoid

    If you think they’re out to kill you, it’s because they behave as if they are. The tunnel monster is real Riding to work this morning on my dual sport, I negotiated this blind corner and came upon a stationary utility truck (the type with the dorsally-mounted crane) head-on smack in the middle of the…

  • YouTube, Vlogging, and Filthy Lucre.

    I can’t get a job, because if I had a job I wouldn’t have enough time to vlog. The above quote isn’t attributed to anyone in particular, it’s rather a sentiment I’ve seen expressed a few times recently. Motovlogging culture – those guys that go out on their bikes and record it for our entertainment…

  • Eastern Promise

    Eastern Promise

    Part One As winter got underway, I started to consider whether I should get a second car. My reasoning was it would cut the mileage on the family Toyota (I don’t use the bike on snow or ice days, I might be British, but I’m not that crazy) and would limit inconvenience to the family…

  • Here's Johnny.

    December 12th, 2016. Last year, we were blessed with winter staying almost entirely within bounds; a late December to February even, most severe in late January. This year the lake-effect weather system, resulting low temperatures (10F!!!) and snow started early. I also got the seasonal man-cold a couple of weeks ago. Any medical professional recognises…

  • A Close Call

    There’s a lesson in everything. This could have gone very badly, luckily nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged. What could I have done differently? Fumbling the horn didn’t help. I cancelled the shit out of that turn signal, though… The police vehicle was being erratic long before the incident. I could have hung much…

  • Fear.

    Motorcycle accident, Balham. By Drew Leavy. License You have to learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make them all yourself. (Unattributed) When you think of riding, the elephant in the room – or if you prefer, the SUV at the intersection – is the prospect of getting killed, or…