Motorcycle shopping

I went motorcycle shopping on Saturday. I thought I was going to get to test ride a Suzuki V-Strom that I'd found on Craigslist, but the seller never called me back. That post is gone now, so I suspect it's sold. While I was waiting for the call, I drove over to Aurora Suzuki to sit on a new V-Strom and just check it out in person.

It matched what I expected from the pictures and the only real point of difference was that the small DL 650 V-Strom just has one tail pipe and no lower guard while the bigger DL1000 does have the lower guard and twin pipes. The price of a new V-Strom isn't much more than the craigslist seller, but he had added luggage, so that was a small perk.

After I left the Suzuki shop, I walked up the street to Moto International to look at Moto Guzzi's and Aprilia's. The guys at both shops were really nice and helpful but the guy at Moto Int'l offered to let me take a ride on an '04 V11 Ballabio. I took it around Green Lake for a warm up and then short run down Hiwy 99 and back to the shop. It was the first V-twin I'd ridden in quite a while. I really enjoyed the torque and the ergonomics of the bike, but I wasn't used to that much vibration. I commented on this when I turned in the keys and the response was that Guzzi's smooth out after about 10,000 - 13,000 miles. I had to take the guys word for it; he has six of 'em.

Then, yesterday, I was looking on craigslist again and found a Guzzi version of the V-Strom. The Quota 1100 is a 90° V-twin 'Enduro' bike, much like the BMW GS or KTM Adventure (a.k.a. LC8). The greatest thing about this Guzzi though, is that it's considerably less expensive than the better known bikes. I hope to take it out for a spin on Thursday evening, after this seller is supposed to get home from Whistler (B.C.).

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage - New York Times

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage - New York Times

By AMY SUTHERLAND

Published: June 25, 2006 in the NY Times

Tour de France; Shaken up at stage 14

There was a really spectacular crash in the Tour de France yesterday. The yellow jersey changed owners for a near record 7th time since the event began about two weeks ago.
Cycling experts expected the results would've been different had three of the breakaway riders not slid across the road and over a barrier. Two were taken off in an ambulance for broken bones, while the third, got back in the saddle and was caught by the peloton.

See video recaps from OLN

The Difference Between Men and Women

Let's say a guy named Mike is attracted to a woman named Lisa. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves.
They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else. And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Lisa, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realise that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"

And then there is silence in the car. To Lisa, it seems like a very loud silence.

She thinks to herself: Jeez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Mike is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Lisa is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward... I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Mike is thinking: ..so that means it was... let's see... February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means... lemme check the odometer... Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Lisa is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Mike is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.
And Lisa is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Mike is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty... scumballs.

And Lisa is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centred, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Mike is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...

"Mike," Lisa says aloud.

"What?" says Mike, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have... Oh God, I feel so..."
(She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Mike.

"I'm such a fool," Lisa sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Mike.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Lisa says.

"No!" says Mike, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that... it's that I... I need some time," Lisa says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Mike, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work) "Yes," he says.

(Lisa, deeply moved, touches his hand.) "Oh, Mike, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Mike.

"That way about time," says Lisa.

"Oh," says Mike. "Yes." (Lisa turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Mike," she says.

"Thank you," says Mike.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Mike gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Lisa will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyse everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Mike, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Lisa's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

"Norm, did Lisa ever own a horse?"

And that's the difference between men and women.

Device lets thoughts control a computer

The power of thought:

A paralyzed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by thinking about doing it, a team of scientists said on Wednesday.

Dady's Photo Gallery Back Online

I am proud to announce that I have restored my Linux web server in my office. This probably isn't nearly as exciting for you as it is for me, but what this translates to, in practical terms for the rest of your, is that I have a new edition of the Dady Photo Gallery available for viewing.

The links on the www.dady.us homepage have been reactivated and you can also browse directly to the Gallery via home.dady.us

The Rafting Trip is also posted to Snapfish in case you'd like to purchase your own prints. I have some pictures on a Windows laptop and the majority on our Apple PowerBook (iPhoto) which Kari is using heavily for BAR Review. Regardless, I will continue to try and post more and more of our photos for you to share in their enjoyment. Please let me know if there are any particular pictures you'd like for me to share and I'll move them to the top of the queue.

The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier - NY Times

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July 2, 2006

Ideas & Trends

The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

FOR as long as humans have gathered in groups, it seems, some people have been left on the outside looking in. In postwar America in particular, the idea that loneliness pervades a portion of society has been a near-constant. Only the descriptions have changed: the "lonely crowd" alienation of the 1950's; the grim career-driven angst of the 70's and 80's; the "Bowling Alone" collapse of social connections of the 90's.

There is a new installment in the annals of loneliness. Americans are not only lacking in bowling partners, now they're lacking in people to tell their deepest, darkest secrets. They've hunkered down even more, their inner circle often contracting until it includes only family, only a spouse or, at worst, no one.

And that is something the Internet may help ease, but is unlikely to cure.

A recent study by sociologists at Duke and the University of Arizona found that, on average, most adults only have two people they can talk to about the most important subjects in their lives — serious health problems, for example, or issues like who will care for their children should they die. And about one-quarter have no close confidants at all.

"The kinds of connections we studied are the kinds of people you call on for social support, for real concrete help when you need it," said Lynn Smith-Lovin, a sociologist at Duke and an author of the study, which analyzed responses in interviews that mirrored a survey from 1985. "These are the tightest inner circle."

The study "should provide a wake-up call to our society," said Bill Maier, a vice president and psychologist in residence with Focus on the Family, the evangelical Christian group. "We're missing out on deep, meaningful interpersonal relationships."

Yet within the analysis there was at least a suggestion of hope.

"The one type of relationship that actually went up was talking over personally important things with your spouse," Dr. Smith-Lovin said.

Like "Bowling Alone," the essay and, later, book by Robert D. Putnam, a public policy professor a Harvard, the Duke study suggested that a weakening of community connections is in part responsible for increasing social isolation. More people are working and commuting longer hours and have little time for the kinds of external social activities that could lead to deeper relationships.

So the closest ties increasingly are limited to family members, in particular to spouses.

"That's probably a result of the fact that men's and women's lives are more structurally similar now than in 1985," Dr. Smith-Lovin said. It's more likely that both spouses are working at jobs that are important to them, and men are more involved around the house. "Spouses literally have more to talk about," she said.

Dr. Maier, for one, sees that as cause for at least some optimism in a society whose fast pace generally bodes badly for family life. "To hear that people are investing more in their nuclear family is a positive thing," he said.

The Internet is also cause for some optimism, because it has made it easier to maintain ties among family members who have become scattered. Those ties inevitably developed over long-term, face-to-face contact, but e-mail can help keep them strong.

"E-mail really does help maintain your social networks," said John Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Recent Pew surveys, he said, found that "when you contact family by e-mail, you share important and serious things."

Still, Dr. Smith-Lovin said, any optimism must be tempered. For one thing, having only one confidant, even if that confidant is a spouse, leaves a person extremely vulnerable if the spouse dies or the marriage disintegrates.

And in the end, she and others pointed out, e-mail or instant messaging is no substitute for face-to-face contact. "E-mailing somebody far way is not the same as them going to pick up your child at daycare or bringing you chicken soup," she said.

Dr. Putnam said the new study reinforced much of what he had reported in "Bowling Alone," which had been criticized by some academics as a faulty analysis that ignored other social and economic trends. And even if the new study points to a rise in spouses as confidants, that is not especially cause to rejoice, he said. "It's like with global warming, if we learn that temperatures are going to rise slightly less than we thought," he said. "It's still a problem."

"Sure, you might say, we've still got our wives or husbands or mothers," he said. "That's true. But gosh, the number of friends you have is a strong predictor of how long you live."

The impact goes beyond the individual, as well. "There are effects on my neighbors of my not knowing them," he said. For one thing, "If I don't know them well and they don't know me, that has a demonstrable effect on the crime rate."

Dr. Horrigan said there was anecdotal evidence that some members of a community use e-mail and the Internet "to keep up with people very close by." The Internet can help expand social networks, although the ties it creates are not as strong as those the Duke researchers are concerned with. Yet they can be useful.

His group's research has shown that the Internet is increasingly being used during life's "major moments" — to gather information or advice when making a big financial investment, deciding where to live, or choosing a college for a child. The research has shown that "people were more likely to get help through their social network" for those kinds of decisions.

Still, Dr. Putnam said, "The real interesting future is how can we use the Net to strengthen and deepen relationships that we have offline."