17 days and counting...

I try to go on a road trip once a year and so far I've been able to do that. Last year I did my trip early in the year and this time it'll be late in the year. So needless to say it's been almost eighteen months since I've been able to hit the road.

On October 11th I will be heading to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Yeah yeah - it sounds like some hillbilly hangout, but I've heard from multiple people that it's a sweet area to do some scenic riding. It's a group ride organized by a local who has been doing this for about 20 yrs. So far it looks like over 30 people will be attending - should be a blast.

I also am usually able to do some sort of upgrade or enhancement to my steed every year. The gel seat, larger windscreen and my detachable hard luggage were all welcome add-ons for long distance riding. I decided it was finally time to upgrade my GPS. The model I had works well, but is limited in the memory department. You need more memory to store the street level detail so you can find gas stations and restaurants - as well as being able to search for addresses. This new one has removable memory cards so if you get the largest capacity - you can essentially hold the data for the entire United States and Canada....nice. For now the 128 mb card that is included is able to hold about 10x more than the old one.

Oh yeah - this one also has a larger, color touch screen. I fully admit I'm a gadget geek. I use the GPS everyday while commuting - it has a super accurate speedometer and if I'm stuck in traffic I can easily find an alternate route even if I'm not familiar with the area.

Here's a pic of the new toy. The top speed was achieved on a closed course (ha!)

A few observations this weekend...

Found out this morning that Steve Irwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter, lost his life today from a freak encounter with a stingray. I guess he was doing something he loved, but it's a shame that he leaves his wife and kids behind witout a husband and father. Some say he was crazy to do the stuff he did with the crocs and snakes..either way it made good TV and he made learning about that stuff somewhat interesting.

I have to comment about a couple of things I saw today that just blew my mind and leaves me thinking WTF (WHAT THE F#$K)!!!

The wife had to do some errands and really wasn't in the mood to leave the house, so I told her I'd tag along. It was a rainy day today while in the car, I saw two guys on sportbikes sitting at a light. At this point it was just wet out, not raining. You'd think these guys would at least "gear up" for this kinda of weather. Nope... not at all. I think they both had jackets, but the things that caught my eye were above their shoulders. Both were wearing knit skull caps and friggin goggles over their eyes. WTF?? Ummm...yeah, you guys are both retards.

We ended up going to Bed Bath & Beyond (yes, this is how nice a guy I am...to tag along to this place) because she had to get some crap off a wedding registry for a co-worker. We got through the line ok and they offered to gift wrap the stuff for us at no cost. Sure, what the heck. Bad decision..it took close to 15 minutes. AACK! "Get me outta here!!!!!, " I shouted inside my head.

While waiting another person approached the counter to get something wrapped also. She said to the clerk, "Can I have this off the box?" The clerk looked back at her with a confused look. ".. I need it for the rebate."

Oh my friggin god... are you KIDDING ME??? You cheap bitch! If you're gonna keep the UPC tag, at least wrap the gift yourself you stupid bastard!

This reminds me of my own wedding - someone got us a $20 item that we registered for (from BB&B) and right on the box it said in large lettering "$10 REBATE!" Sure enough, there was a square cut hole on the side of the box. I'm sorry, but THAT is being a cheap-ass.

I know I sound angry... I'm not going to deny it. If you think I'm angry - watch this clip from National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins with the Diceman...

(Not safe for work due to language, what a surprise)

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