Random trivia I learned today:
“gulag” is not a word, but an acronym.
Vanguard 1 is the oldest satellite still in orbit. It was launched in 1958.
Monthly Archives: August 2005
road geeks
Every once in a while, I’ll stumble into a little corner of the internet I didn’t know existed.
Today, while looking for interesting roads to ride on, I stumbled upon a large assortment of websites devoted to roads. Big roads, small roads, old roads. And that road geeks exist.
To start with some local flavor, check Ncroads.com and NCRoads.com Annex. Or maybe the NC pages at gribblenation. If you have to get to the end of the road, check out the NC Ends site listing all the highways that end in North Carolina.
For more national info, check out Highway Heaven or US Highway.
Or maybe you just like Road Signs, and more Road Signs.
There is of course, mailing lists, and a newsgroup and a FAQ.
And a portal or two.
You can create Road signs and interstate shields.
Pour out a I-40 for a few of the lost highways,
both famous and not.
weekend
Drove out to Winston-Salem to catch The Cherry Valence and Brightleaf at The Warehouse Friday night. Then hung around most of the day Saturday as well. Talked with Scott about opening a bar. Yes, a different Scott opening a bar. This one in Brevard though.
Played soccer sunday. Again reminded how out of shape I am. At least now it mostly just seems to be a matter of lung capacity.
weekend
Drove out to Winston-Salem to catch The Cherry Valence and Brightleaf at The Warehouse Friday night. Then hung around most of the day Saturday as well. Talked with Scott about opening a bar. Yes, a different Scott opening a bar. This one in Brevard though.
Played soccer sunday. Again reminded how out of shape I am. At least now it mostly just seems to be a matter of lung capacity.
Mods vs Rockers Raleigh
nice set of carbs
As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual.
From the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
As a owner of a 1976 Triumph Spitfire, I appreciate this.
todays random idea for a band name:
Shearon Harris and The Cooling Towers
And oddly, someone has even already done some perfect pics
todays random idea for a band name:
Shearon Harris and The Cooling Towers
And oddly, someone has even already done some perfect pics
motorcycle course
Over the weekend I took the MSF Basic Riders Course / Riders Edge course. (Riders Edge is just a Harley branded version of the MSF course…).
Passed. Book work was nothing. First riding day was a bit boring and simplistic. It’s designed for folks with absolutely no riding experience at all.
But second day got a little bit more interesting, with focus on slow speed handling and what not. Even managed to
scrape the pegs on an exercise.
Spent most of the last two days riding a Buell Blast around the Walnut Creek vip parking lot. Those bikes are very light, and somewhat underpowered (360 pounds and a 500cc 35 hp engine ) with a very “lumpy” engine. When I rode my bike to work this morning, the 800cc twin seems silky smooth and incrediably torquey in comparison.
Overall, the course wasnt bad. There was way too much Harley/Buell marketing in it, but aside from that was pretty enjoyable.
numbers
Saw a link to some drivers license barcode decoding software, and started looking around to see what info is available.
Apparently, North Carolina includes name, date of birth, height, weight, eye color, address, social security number, ethnicity, sleep number, zodiac sign, sexual preference, aim id, cholesterol level, credit score, SAT score, thetan count, metaclorian level, pin number, nicknames and aliases, the combination to your middle school locker, shoe size, voter registration and voting record, and food allergies.
Er, well, maybe. North Carolina licences are actually encrypted.
What states use what tech, and what info is encoded
More driver license number info
Commercial licence reading software
What the social security number means, and area code -> zip code mapping