All Hallow's Eve

So today is my work party-day.  Everyone dresses up in costumes and the general populace votes on their favorites.  Then there's a party off-site after work hours and the votes are tabulated...and then the execs toss out the vote numbers and rank the winners in order that they like them (usually company product themed costumes get ranked high.  (shrug)  It's a process I've come to accept, and I don't play that game, I like to do my own thing.  So enough about the process, here's this year's offering...

First up; the poem/poster I created to put up around work (lots of folks put up flyers to drum up interest/awareness of their costume).

Here's a pic of the headpiece I put together...

And here are the legs; plastering stilts with corn stalks zip tied to them...

And here's how the costume came out...

I added bloodied gloves and a broom handle with a crow on it.  Not too shabby.

I haven't fallen yet while walking around, but the day is still young.  I'm about to head out a bit early with the rest of the fun people and hit the bar for a bit of priming before the work party.  I gotta be sure to go easy, though.  Nothing will ruin my chances of winning faster than wiping out half of the execs up on stage.

Or maybe that will help?

At least in years to come, folks would be like; Remember that year that Dave took out the President, CEO and CFO with his costume?  Yeah, that was hilarious!  I wonder where he's working now...

Tomorrow I'm headed to Ed & Susan's for their annual driveway trick-or-treat shindig and I'll wear whatever is left of this costume to that.  So wish me luck.

Everyone have a happy, safe, and SKEERY HALLOWEEN!!

No Glove, No Love

Gonna be another quick one today.  Short on time and need to get outta here so I can finish up my costume for tomorrow's annual Halloween day/party extravaganza.  And, the Pats are on tonight and they'll be kicking some Dolphin ass up and down the field - hopefully!  Lynner will owe me a beer if we win!

So anyway; on to the glove thing.  The tan fingerless riding gloves I've been using for the past 6 or 8 years have pros and cons.  The pros are that they look great (I think), and I've never seen anyone else wearing a set like them, which I like even more.  The cons are that, to be honest; they are kinda thin and wouldn't offer much protection if I went down.  Being thin also lends to them wearing out sooner than a sturdier glove would.  And one more con; I've always had a tough time finding replacements when the ones I have, finally wear out.  The only place I could ever find them was at the Keene swap meet.  On-line?  Oh believe me; I've looked.  I had the brand name, size, model, etc.  And all I could ever find was huge lots of the Medium size.  I wear the Large size (thanks Dad)  :-D

But anyway, after yet another trip up to the swap meet and having no luck finding them once again, I realized that I needed to improvise.  So, I began searching hardware stores, on-line welding supply places, etc.  Looking for a beefy leather glove, in tan, that would work for what I needed.

Low and behold, I found what I was looking for at my corner Ace hardware store.  Sweet!  But they needed a little tweaking...

First up; the latest pair of the gloves I've been using for years...

They look mummified!  Like they were peeled off of some ancient Egyptian biker or something.

Next up; the new gloves...

Now what the F...the pic is loading upside down.  Let me try and fix it...nope, no luck.  Sorry...

The tweaking they needed was to measure the angle of the finger/fingerless and cut the new gloves to match.  Voila!

Dammit...this one's upside down, too.

Oh well, if you click on 'em to expand 'em, you'll get the idea.

These gloves are thick and sturdy.  And the stitching is top-notch.  I meant to put a few drops of Super Glue onto the spots where I'd scissored right through the stitching, but I didn't get around to it for a few months (yes, that's how long ago I made these gloves).  The stitching held for quite a while, even though it was no longer tied off at all, since I'd cut the fingertips off.  Only about a week ago did I finally break down and get some Super Glue, because the seams had started to spread just a wee bit.  I just lined up the seams, applied a little line of glue, held them in place with a binder clip for about a minute, and they were rock solid.

There ya go.  No need to drop a ton of dough on a good set of gloves when for short money you can pick up a set of normal work gloves and turn 'em into something that nobody else has...

...unless they read this blog and decide they like them.  Or that they're gonna make a pair of these just to bust my chops...

Not that I know anyone that would do that...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Chipmunker

I know, I know; I've been an absentee blogger.  I've been jammed up with the budget season but you don't want to hear that, you want to hear motorcycle stories and tales of adventure.  Well, I hadn't been having any of those so there was no need to bother (bore) you with nonsensical whining about my long work hours.

I will try and get you caught up on Monday with some of the non-work stuff which has started to appear again, things like the Bentley's camping weekend last weekend (fun!), or the new gloves I got (Not exciting for you, but I love 'em), etc.

So why not get you caught up now?  Because it's almost quitting time and I'm thirsty as hell.  But I will leave you with one little observation I had on the way in this morning, which is the reason for the odd title on this post.

Taking back roads on the way in this morning, I kept seeing chipmunks darting across the street.  One of them even almost ran right under my front tire, the stupid little varmint.  I guess all the leaves that have fallen (and are lining the lawns and edges of the roadways) offer these guys more cover than they're used to, so they're getting more bold about just darting across open pavement.  Well that's all well and good, but it's downright dangerous for the little buggers.

Ok Dave, that's great and all, but what's with the "er" on the end of the blog title?

Well, as these things kept darting back and forth, some pausing at different intervals, others just blasting straight across, it reminded me of the old video game "Frogger" where you had to move your frog across the street in between traffic.  Except now it was with chipmunks.  So I give you; Chipmunker.

You're welcome.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Singin' the Budget Blues

It's Sunday - the sun is shining, the temps are in the low 50's, and the roadways are clear and calling.  Unfortunately, it's budget season which means instead of our enjoying the highways and byways, I'm sitting here at work.

I think all the time about retiring so that I can get away from this nonsense...

...but then I remember that I like beer and food, and if I retire, I won't be able to afford either of those...

...so it's back to the spreadsheets.

Ride Hard, Ignore the beautiful day outside...

Back In The Saddle

Picked up the bike on Saturday and took Kate out for lunch to say thanks for lugging my ass in to get it. That turned into drinks with Matt and Zig, which meant the rest of the day was a wash, but that was ok, it was a good day.
Sunday morning was the coldest we've had yet this season but there were miles to roll up. I was headed to the annual Fall Keene swap meet.
I like strolling around and looking at the offerings, both in the parking lot and on the tables inside.
Unfortunately, the offerings in the parking lot were nothing fancy. No stripped bobbers, no hardtails, nothing terribly custom at all.
This thing wasn't too bad, though...

I ambled inside and began the strolling. The usual sights greeted me; bins and totes overflowing with mostly unrecognizable (to me) components,  tarps and tabletops covered with handlebars, tanks, fenders, frames, etc. There were basket cases and rolling frames. There were even a smattering of complete bikes for sale. Old repair manuals, and assorted biker paraphernalia. In a nutshell; it was the same-ol', same-ol'. But that was ok, it was what I'd expected.
There was one fantastic surprise. As I was walking past an EZ-up, there was a guy talking to the proprietor. ..and I instantly recognized his voice. It was Malcolm!!
I haven't seen him since 3 'Vous' ago. We caught each other up on our lives and how we've been doing - he's clean and sober, has been for over 2 years, and says he won't be at the 'Vous again, which I understand,  given his new lifestyle.  I met his new woman (Martha), she was very nice. We exchanged numbers and he wants the crew to come up and visit him and go riding. Hopefully we'll be able to make that happen.
A guy there was hawking his carving abilities and he had a section of tree carved into a spine and skull...

I knew the person that had to see this thing so I snapped the pic and sent it off to Robbo. He replied, quite impressed with it.

That was pretty much it for this year. On my way out,  I snapped a few pics of bikes that had paint colors I liked...

Love the deep metallic blue of this one...

And the bright green on this one...

I could've spent more time there but I wanted to get back for the Pats game, so I made for the roadways home.

One last pic of the parking lot to wrap things up...

 Ride Hard, Take Chances

Missing Motorcycle

I dropped my bike off at the dealership last weekend for it's 20k service.  While it was there, I asked them to put new skins on the front and back, and replace the broken cover on the USB compartment in the fairing.  I'd hoped they'd have it done in a day or two.  Well, they informed me that they were now closed on Mondays, and had a company-wide outing on Tuesday.  Meaning they probably wouldn't get to my bike until Wednesday.  Awesome.  Oh well.

I called them yesterday to see how things were going and they said they'd found a rocker box leak when they were doing the service and had taken care of it (under warranty).  Hmmm...ok....I hadn't noticed any leak and had just washed the bike a few days before dropping it off, but hey; thanks for the fix.

They said it'd probably be done by yesterday but I said no worries, I'd be in on Saturday to pick it up, and they said cool.

So it's been a week of 4-wheels and I no likey.  Ok, the mornings have been pretty chilly and it's been kinda nice to just hop into the Jeep and have heat, but those afternoon rides home, with temps in the 70's, have been killing me.

Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Happy Birthday, Russ

We still miss the hell out of you, Brother.  This year's Maine Event was a small one, as you know.  Many of us took a moment to visit your marker and send you thoughts of love and memory.

I still have that pic of you in my chair, and it's still tucked into the spiderweb you made me.  That won't ever change.

Wish you were still with us, Chum.