Tonya and PQBON's WebLog
So Shelly posted a entry a couple days ago about happy couple people, me being one of them. I have to say that I'm really happy about where I am in my life right now. Not just Will. While that is a wonderful part of my life, I'm starting to be really happy about the direction my life is going in. I finally feel like I'm going somewhere professionally. The process of getting my B.A. felt like something I just had to get through so I could get somewhere else. It was a book and a classroom with no practical experience. Now with my training, I feel like I'm really learning something I will use. Not just on the crisis line, but in my future career. It's frustrating to go to school and come out of it with nothing......yes I have a degree but it qualifies me for nothing. At least when I'm done with my training, I will be certified by the state to do domestic violence counseling (with supervision of course).....thats more than my 4-year degree has given me....besides the ability to go on to the master's program.
So my future is looking fabulous. A great guy and something I feel that I'm really going to enjoy doing.
Shelly asked that I post information about my training to be a domestic violence counselor.....so that is what resides in the extended entry. I just want to mention how happy I am that Shelly is taking an interest in my vounteering and considering it for herself.
In the future, I will post things that others may be interested in helping out with. For example, I know that one of the fundraisers includes a marathon.....(Amanda). I will also continue to post my training experience.
The first day of training was Saturday morning from 9-1pm. The first part was normal getting to know each other and the organization stuff. Dreaded icebreakers and such. It was interesting learning about support network and the services they provide and don't provide. (www.snbw.org). They offer counseling, legal help, shelter, community education, teen programs, ect... They don't offer services for men, transitional housing, and transportation, along with a couple other things. Of course, they have a 24 hour crisis line, which is what I'll be doing. The number is 1-800-572-2782 if you know anyone who might ever need it.
Next, we got a introduction into domestic violence. Legal definition and then what it really is (the police can't do anything about verbal abuse, but it is still abuse). We also discussed barriers to leaving. I found it interesting that the speaker said how so many people don't understand why the women don't just leave and that people will often say "If I got hit I'd leave the first time," so then when I started talking to Will after my class this was one of the first things he said too. So for his benefit and everyone else I thought I would include the list of barriers we discussed in class. There are some things to remember when thinking about a woman in a domestic violence situation. Domestic Violence is about control and power. Since 85-90% of the violence happpens to women this is going to be from a male is the abuser point of view. In a lot of the cases, the abuser controls most of the aspects of the victims life, the money, the car, her friends (or I should say lack of), where she is, who she's with, where she works....ect. This is not a normal healthy relationship....that has to be kept in mind. So barriers:
1) No financial access. She has no credit cards because he doesn't allow it. She does not have a check book. He gives her a small allowance. She has no job. Why does she need one? To have one would take her out of his control for a large part of the day. He wants her to stay home so he knows where she is at all times.
2) No transportation. They only have one car which he takes to work with him. This keeps her from leaving him.
3) Children. This might seem like a reason to leave but many women don't want to cause (yes they blame themselves) a broken home and if the abuse isn't happening to the children than they think its not affecting them. Which is totally false.....but moving on. What if you don't get custody. What if Child Protective Services finds out and takes your kids away from you?
4) Guilt. They tend to blame themselves and part of that is because the abuser blames them. "If you had only _______ I wouldn't have hit you" "If you weren't _________ I wouldn't have hit you" ect...... after hearing this verbal abuse for years they start to believe it.
5) Culture and religion. In many cultures, women can't leave their spouse. Think middle east, India, ect...
6) Family. Kinda goes with Culture and Religion.
7) Fear. Fear of death, fear of independance, ect..... Most of the women who die are trying to leave at the time.
8) It's normal. They have lived this way for years and maybe they grew up in a home with domesic violence and to them its a way of life.
9) They have no friends. Their partner won't allow them to have friends. They are kept isolated. They have no one to talk to, no one to help them, and they don't know what resources are available to them.
10) They think it will get better. This isn't necessarily something that happens everyday of the womans life. It only happens occasionally and he apologizes and says it will never happen again and you believe him. And then things are wonderful, until the next time.
I could go on and on but I think I'm making my point. Try to put yourself in her place. You have no money, and no where to go. So how are you going to feed your kids and yourself? If you leave, where are you going and how are you going to get there? What if he finds you? Thats just short term. What are you going to do about a job if you have no skills? How are you going to find housing. What about your kids? You may have to change their schools....what about daycare? If you have a baby, can you afford someone to watch them while you work. Probably not if you're working for minimum wage since you have no skills. What about lawyers? There are a lot of barriers for women in a domestic violence situation....its not so easy to just leave. Especially if in the back of your mind you're thinking "but he said he'd kill me and the kids if I tried to leave."
Scary fact: Domestic violence often begins during a woman's pregnancy because of the increased tension and stress it causes. About 17% of women reported physical or sexual abuse during pregnancy.
The next training was monday night. The supervisor of the crisis line and a long time volunteer talked to us about the types of calls they get and what we are supposed to do. We roleplayed a couple situations.
Basically, our job is to give options not advice. We are there to listen and try to empower and educate not to rescue the victim. We are supposed to help them come up with a safety plan. Stuff that I would never think of because I don't feel threatened in my home. Like, If your partner is angry don't be in certain rooms, the kitchen or garage where their are weapons. Don't get cornered in the bathroom. Keep gas in the car. Always make sure your cell phone is charged. Keep a small suitcase in the truck of your car. You're supposed to let them know about the services that are available for them. That if they have no place to go, we have a shelter. Or to connect them to other resources they may need. Mainly, we are there to listen and care when they have no one else to talk to. We are not there to tell them what to do. We assume that they can make decisions for themselves. Their partners has been controlling them and they need to take charge of their lives. If we were to tell them what to do we would just be taking the place of the abuser.
This entry was very long and I know I've left out a lot. If you have any questions ask.
Ken has an entry on Lucid dreams where he asks for feed back... I've had many lucid dreams, mostly when I'm almost done with my sleep cycle and about to wake. I've always wondered if I was really dreaming or what because I have remarkable amount of control and power. For example, when I was a kid I always wanted motorcycles and cool high end "GT" bmx bikes. I used to have dreams where my parents garage was full of these great toys. I knew I was dreaming and I knew as soon as I woke they would be gone so I would cling to my sleep so that I could imagine getting to use them. As I dreamed I was able to make them exactly as I wanted them at any given moment.
As I got older (teenager) I would be dreaming about what ever girl had my attention at the time. I don't think I'll go into that here...
As an adult, when I do lucid dream which is MUCH less often then when I was a kid or teenager (am I really an adult)? I tend to have dreams about, what else, motorcycles, or scarily enough having kids. I tend to have less control about the environment but more still full control over myself. I am however, fully aware that I'm dreaming.
I generally don't have dreams where physics and "reality" are fully suspended. My dreams tend to be set in the real world, although what constitutes the real world isn't always the same. Sometimes I have a huge trust fund or am just rich or I'm a pro-motorcycle racer. I, for example, never have a giant floating pink elephant or a panda that I can ride or the ability to fly.
I know the movie isn't for critics. But since Tonya and I saw it last night I figured I would tell everyone a little about it. You can think of it as a slightly less edgy Mall Rats (you thought I was going to say Chasing Amy didn't you!) Liv Tyler was great and Ben Affleck (Ben Whofleck?) was his usual Kevin Smith self, which is to say he gave an above average performance.
The movie is a good date movie. Two thumbs up. But then I'm biased, I have all of Kevin Smith's work on DVD, even Clerks the Animated Series.
My right hand has been loosing sensitivity recently. This morning the hot water of my shower felt really weird and I noticed my motorcycle glove felt different on my right hand compared to my left hand. I wonder if my hand will ever recover? It sort of feels numb but not quite it just doesn't respond to sensation quite right.
My leg still has some sensitivity issues, however, it seems stable. It hasn't really changed in quite a while. Who needs to feel things with their leg anyway?
As everyone knows the shower is a great place to think. I was going over the last few days in my head this morning while waiting for the Dove not-soap (why do all women use moisturizing bars?) to rinse of my body and suddenly I had no idea how old I was.
I knew I wasn't 24 anymore... I was pretty sure I was less then 28 but I couldn't remember. I started to panic and think. I was just about to do the math when it hit me, I act like I'm 12 so that must be my age.
I was selected to volunteer with the Support Network for Battered Women as a domestic violence counselor. I'm very excited!!!! I'm finally to be doing something that is close to my career goals. For the next 2 months, I will be doing training every monday night and 3 saturdays to total 40 hours. Then in June I begin as a counselor. Obviously since I'm voulenteering I won't be paid....but this will help me get into grad school and I was told that when I'm ready to do start interning to get my license that working there would be a definite possibility. My volunteering will be evenings and weekends as to not interfere with my job. And the nice thing is that I can do it from home. They give me a pager and the service pages me and tells me who I'm supposed to call. Yay for me!!!!!!
A little while ago I mentioned an elementary school friend in a post. Actually, in many ways she was the girl next door complete with the horribly handled crush. She moved into a house down the street from me the summer before forth grade. She was smart, pretty, and a lot less boring then most of the other kids I knew. For one thing she liked to read which was new for me, she was also from "some place cool". When your stuck in suburban northern Jersey even Long Island is some place cool! The thing I remember most was sitting in a tree in her yard talking about how the Egyptians made mummies. We talked about the long hooks they used to pull organs and other fun things out of the body. In general she was the only other "smart" kid who wasn't part of the jock sport clique. She was one of the few people who I never disliked in elementary school. The other thing I remember is her father was a pilot of a private plane for News Week or some other major news magazine. I thought that was really really cool.
Aparently, I was little bastard. Seeing how, I remember most of the things in her list, I was a little bastard. I wish I could remember what we painted on the window. I remember doing it, however, I have NO idea what we painted.
A few more things to add to her list of things we did together:
In North Carolina parents of a child are out raged that their daughter brought a book home from the library titled "King and King". They are now holding the book hostage, which fine I say. Fine! your probably wondering. How could a super social leftist like PQBON say that it is fine. Well, here is why: loosing a library book makes you monetarily responsible for it. If the parents refuse to return the book they will be fined for the cost of the book or worse the late fees will compound unlimitedly until they return it. This will allow the library to buy not one but multiple copies.
Aparently a state law protecting the right to breast feed wasn't enough. It seems that the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael has a policy that says: You can breast feed anywhere as long as no one can see it. They asked the woman to cover up or move because some old people in the pool were complaining about it. She decided to cancel her membership and sue.
At first I was in love with the ergos but afraid of the wind. The lack of any wind screen had me concerned. I was not concerned at all about the ride. Boy was I mistaken. I still like the ergos. The wide flat bar is nice, the seat fine and the peg to seat length OK. The front lack of fairing works really well. The shape of the little pod works well to keep the wind at a manageable level even on the freeway. I even like the way the Rockster looks, especially in green, which is what I was issued as a loaner.
I am surprised and shocked that I don't like the way it handles. The tires seem to grip really really well but the front end is WAY to fast. It seemed to be twitchy in such a way the leaning it over was not fun. The bike really like to stay upright and be steered with the bars. I'm not sure if either less wide bars would help or if a steering dampener would be better. I suspect both combined would make the bike a really wicked ride. One thought I had was to lower the rear preload to get more squat out of it to increase front end rake. This might be the cheapest fix. It turned out to work OK. The bike was still twitchy in a lean.
In general, I still like the bike, though not quite as much as my new R1150GS or my Daytona 955i. If the handling was a little more sorted it would be an amazing bike.
| Disorder | Rating |
| Paranoid: | High |
| Schizoid: | Moderate |
| Schizotypal: | High |
| Antisocial: | High |
| Borderline: | Moderate |
| Histrionic: | High |
| Narcissistic: | Very High |
| Avoidant: | Moderate |
| Dependent: | High |
| Obsessive-Compulsive: | High |
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! -- | |
| Level | Score |
|---|---|
| Purgatory (Repenting Believers) | Very Low |
| Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) | Very Low |
| Level 2 (Lustful) | Very High |
| Level 3 (Gluttonous) | Very High |
| Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) | Moderate |
| Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) | Very High |
| Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) | Very High |
| Level 7 (Violent) | Very High |
| Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) | Very High |
| Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) | Very High |
OK, everyone know I love kids. Racer X is running a coloring contest off of their website. It seems that most of the entries at least the ones on the web are by children. Here are some of the entries that I liked:
We went on a ride to Bodega Bay a couple weekends ago. I was really looking forward to it. I knew that I was in for a painful day when we stopped just after the Golden Gate bridge to get gas. I got of the bike and had a leg cramp in my right leg. I spent some time walking it off and stretching and it was ok. My back was a little sore but when Will asked if I could make it I said..... of course. I didn't want my discomfort to get in the way of our plans. So we continued on our journey stopping again right before Dillions Beach. Again I hurt......Just about everywhere. My arms were sore from supporting myself, my legs hurt, my back hurt. So we made it to Bodega Bay for dinner and then started home. I got more and more tired and by the end of the trip just holding myself up became a challenge.
Will noticed my pain and wasn't exactly pain free himself. So we started talking about getting something that we could take on long trips that wouldn't kill me. I was hesitant about Will getting a new bike. I didn't like the idea of him having to give up a bike that I knew he loved just so I would be more comfortable. But he convinced me that my comfort was important and that this way we could do long trips together. So we started looking for a bike for us.
The only thing I want to add about buying the bike is my experience with Kari. While Will was out on the demo 1150GS I started talking to Kari. Who said I was very brave to go on that long of a trip on the back of a Daytona and the fact that I didn't kick Will's ass afterwards shows the strength of our relationship. :-)So Kari took me out on a 1150 GS so I could see what it's like. He was fairly smooth in regards to shifting ect.... It was a little weird being on a bike without Will. The only scary part was when he did an ABS test with me. He pulled to the side of the road, asked if it was ok, and when I said yes he told me that he would raise his left hand and when he did to move my hands to his back. So he went 90 and then press on the brakes. It stopped really fast and really didn't slide around at all.....I was impressed.
So we bought the yellow one.....which yes I hate yellow but I guess I'll get used to it. We went on a ride to La Honda? (Will can correct me on this if I'm wrong) and had dinner at Alice's. The ride was a lot more comfortable.......no leg cramps...no sore back......much better. So now I'm looking forward to many more rides to come.
In 2002, I was talking to my friend tooch at a pho restaurant. I knew he had a new BMW motorcycle and I've always loved bikes so we started talking. I asked about his bike and how he liked it. I casually mentioned I was looking at the BMW single cylinder dual sport as my motorcycle re-entry vehicle. He immediately lit up with a smile.
"Cathy has one of those", he teasingly says.
I proceed to question him about the vibration and how it handles.
"She loves it. I can have her bring it by some time during the week so you can take it out for a spin", he teases.
I said, "That sounds like fun. Let me know."
I expected nothing to come of it. Two days later I get a phone call at my desk. It was tooch. Cathy was in the parking lot with her bike and riding gear for me. I had free run to go and have some fun.
I went for a ride and loved it. Tooch sent me to Cal BMW Triumph. He said to tell them that I was his friend and he sent me (he bought two bikes from them...) I did and I went on a test ride of a bone stock non-abs F650GS in January of 2002.
For those of you who may have forgotten, Jan '02 was accompanied by very very cold weather. That was the year there was snow in the hills on both sides of the bay. Woodside had snow! I was given directions on a route to take to get a taste of the bike. Me, being the moron I am, missed on of the crucial turns and wound up riding into the hills on Page Mill road. Up and up I road waiting to find the turn for Arastidaro Rd. Up I went till there were no houses around, then I was above the tree farms. Finally I was near the top of the hill. I had been riding up hill through snow and ice and drippings off the trees in work gloves, sneakers, and jeans. I was freezing and lost. Eventually I was stopped by a utility worker who was holding traffic. A car had hit some ice and spun out sliding down the hill about 20' or so. I took this time to find out how lost I was.
When the guy told me I was WAY past Arastidaro I decided to turn around and go back down. (This is where the no-abs comes in!) I slowly descended down the hill dragging my feet through a few corners that were really icy or snowy. Eventually I made it back to Cal BMW where I returned a much dirtier demo bike.
Needless to say, I was sold on the F650GS at that point. Any bike that could get me up and down a frozen pagemill was perfect in my book. John Herara sold me an '02 Red F650GS w/ ABS. It was the second bike I've owned and the first new one I'd bought.
Since then I have done much on that bike. I've modified it, ridden it 8000 miles, modified it some more, ridden on and off road, and done a track day. I've done 500+ mile days on the two pass ride, days at hollister, and even days at clear creek.
Over this time I needed more. First, it was my ill-fated 2003 R1100S BXR, then my 2002 YZ250F for dirt, then my 2002 Triumph Daytona 955i, and finally my new 2004 R1150GS. Thats right folks. I traded my F650GS in for an R1150GS.
Some will ask why, some will ponder if it is an upgrade or a down grade. It was simple. I now have a very very wonderful woman in my life who is happy to accompany me on the back of my motorcycle (even with the fate of the R1100S known to her). The problem was thus: The F650GS didn't have enough engine or brakes for easy two up riding, the Daytona didn't have a comfortable enough passenger experience (experience because the seat wasn't the main problem, it was mostly the leg position with the passenger pegs and the back position). The R1150GS fixes all of that. It allows Tonya to be comfortable on back. It has enough power (not tons but enough) and great ABS linked brakes. Kari, my pusher, I mean dealer, was having a special on R1150GS in yellow since yellow wasn't selling well and R1200GS is coming in a few months. For free we got: a new exhaust, large BMW saddle bags, and a base autocom communication system. Tonya hates the color but likes the bike. We are thinking of repainting it, but not sure when or what color.
I'm very very very sad to have said good bye to my F650GS. It was a GREAT bike. It really really did it all and allowed me to re-enter motorcycling at the same time. I will miss you brat!
That is two BMWs down: my R1100S and my F650GS. They are both missed, both missed very much. One good thing is Kari the owner of Cal BMW may be using my old F650GS as his new dirtbike. At least then I know it is in good hands.
It would seem that abstinence is causing people to have less sex, but the sex they have is less safe.
The study found that the STD rates for whites who pledged virginity was 2.8 percent compared with 3.5 percent for those who didn't pledge. For blacks, it was 18.1 percent and 20.3 percent. For Asians, 10.5 percent of virginity pledgers had STDs compared with 5.6 percent of non-pledgers. For Hispanics, it was 6.7 percent and 8.6 percent.
...The study also found that in communities where at least 20 percent of adolescents pledged the STD rates for everyone combined was 8.9 percent. In communities with less than 7 percent pledgers, the STD rate was 5.5 percent.
...he study's other findings:
In the boston area an outbreak of drug resistant gonorrhea has cropped up. This isn't the first out break in the US but it is the worst...
In the continuation is the email that describes the route.
The ride was a lot of fun. The roads were perfect. I felt more comfortable on a motorcycle then I have since my accident. The ride was from Mountain View to Coalinga via Hollister. The roads were fast and smooth and mostly clean. I didn't scare myself once nor screw up, that was nice.
There were 3 incidents on the ride. One R100GS had a clutch problem, one R6 who wasn't part of our group crashed, and one R1 who was part of our group crashed hard. The photo page shows the stops in the trip and the accident results.
The riding was fast, and quick and fun. Other then stopping for the incidents it was a great day of riding. I used a trip odometer to track the millage. It was 320 miles or so. We made a great loop down and back. I definitely want to go back along this route. The views were amazing. Unfortunately, I was unable to stop and shoot them as we were either riding or stopped at accident scenes. I would like do the same ride with out any of the drama. The valleys were beautiful, the hills were green and spry. The trees were nice and green and rivers and brooks were flowing and the bugs were out in force. The trout were out eating the bugs and the fisherman were out trying to catch the fish. It was a great day.
For those concerned about the rider of the R1, he was awake and moving at the scene. He was disoriented and confused. He was life flighted away and assumed to be OK and in the hospital again. The R6 rider was fine and talked to me when he was testing out his bike to try and get home. His bailing off was at the right moment and he separated himself from his bike. It slid into the barb wired fence, while he slid in the gravel and got up.
Sunday Shop Ride - March 7th, 2004 Destination: Coalinga, Perko’s for lunch (Perko’s Telephone # 559-935-3531) The March 7th Shop Ride will be on paved roads, heading southward in search of warm sun! Kari and Gail will have the shop open at 8:30 for coffee, bathrooms, air for your tires, etc. This ride down to Coalinga via the back way should be beautiful at this time of year. All the fields will be green and if we are lucky, we'll catch the poppies blooming. Even without the flowers it is a lovely ride. Speeds will be moderate, and there are plenty of good stopping places. This is a very hard ride to get lost on, but if some of you have taken this ride with us before and are willing to lead or sweep, we might break into a couple of smaller groups, depending on the turnout. I will of course have maps. If we have lunch at noon, we will be back in the Bay Area by 5:00 or 6:00 pm, at a leisurely pace. Remember, this is an informal ride, there is no sweep or other support. RIDE ROUTE: Leave at 9:00 am from California BMW, head south on 101 to 25 to Hollister. Stop at Chevron station at south end of Hollister and gas up & regroup. It is approx. 60 miles, 1 hr. riding time to the gas stop. Leave Hollister south on 25 at 10:15. Take 25 south towards Pinnacles, past the Pinnacles, all the way to the turn-off for the Coalinga/Los Gatos Road. This road is at the bottom of a steep hill after several very long straightawaysl, Hwy 25 goes right, but our road leads off directly south. We will stop here at the intersection and regroup. Coalinga/Los Gatos Road is very tight and twisty in places, and has a number of blind corners, so please exercise extreme caution on this road. We'll be going right by the entrance of Clear Creek, for you GS riders to mark on your GPS's.... We'll follow this road till it ends at a T intersection in Coalinga. Turn right and follow Derrick Blvd. past the oil wells and into town. Perko's Restaurant is on the right at the light, at the corner of Main Street and Derrick. Perko’s usually can seat us all at one or two tables, so the first one there should let the hostess know how many are coming. We should be arriving around noon. After lunch and a stop for gas, we turn right as we leave Perko’s and take Hwy 198 out of town to the west. We stay on 198 till the intersection with Hwy 25, the follow 25 north all the way back to the Chevron station at the south end of Hollister. The Coalinga-Los Gatos Road rejoins 25 near Bitterwater, about 40 miles out from Coalinga. This is the road we took coming down and it is a good regrouping point for the final ride back to Hollister along 25. Next stop is the Chevron station in Hollister for gas (we’ll need it!). I may stop for coffee in Hollister, and the ride is officially over. Ride Safely, watch out for each other and have fun! Kari MAP REFERENCES: AAA Coast and Valley Section covers the whole route nicely. Emergencies: CC Rider Towing (Cole) - 510 913 2275 BMW Roadside Assistance - 800-225-1575 RIDING IN A GROUP: DON’T FOLLOW CLOSELY. IF YOU COME TO AN INTERSECTION, WAIT FOR THE NEXT RIDER BEHIND, SO HE OR SHE CAN SEE THE WAY. BE SURE THE RIDER ACKNOWLEDGES YOU BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF. THAT RIDER WAITS FOR THE NEXT RIDER, ETC. UNTIL THE SWEEP ARRIVES, SO NO ONE GETS LOST OR LEFT BEHIND. NO SPEEDING IF YOU ARE IN THE GROUP! NO RIDING DANGEROUSLY! FASTER RIDERS MAY RIDE AHEAD. Safe speed: The safe speed for road conditions will differ from rider to rider. You are responsible to pick a pace that is within your ability. Do not ride beyond your limits! If you ride beyond your safe limit you expose yourself and others to risk and injury. Riding in a group: Do not follow too closely! Ride in staggered files on the freeway, and leave a safe distance between you and the next rider. Avoid following too closely especially on narrrow roads. Passing: If you must go faster, put your blinker on and pass at a safe spot. If you see a rider behind you preparing to pass, move over and give plenty of room. Don’t speed up! Breakdowns: The sweep riders and riding friends may stop and provide assistance. It is not safe for the whole group to stop for one rider. Taking off early: There are plenty of opportunities to take bail-out routes and head home early. An alternative return from Coalinga that is not as tight as Highway 25 is via 198/25 back to 101. This is easy if you take 198 to 25 north to the Lonoak cut-off, which rejoins 101 at King City. Please let the ride leader or someone in the groupknow that you are bailing out so we don’t wait around and go looking for you. Best regards, Kari Prager CaliforniaBMWTriumph/2490 Old Middlefield Way/Mtn. View/CA/USA/94043 Phone 650.966.1183/Fax 650 966 8340/e-mail Kari@calmoto.com/ www.calmoto.com /Next Shop Ride Sunday, February 1st. '04 Spring CLASS Track Day - May 26th, Sears/Infineon. Fall CLASS Track Day - Nov. 24th - Laguna Seca.
Riding through CHERNOBYL
Chernobyl and 3 mile island always fascinated me as a child. The young engineer in me was intrigued by the failure of all safety systems and the positive vs negative feed back designs of nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors are actually in so many ways as simple as a steam engine or a waterwheel. I liked that I could understand the principals of the powerplants and understand how and why they failed or almost failed. The russian design of the Chernobyl class of powerplant was a positive feedback system. As it failed it got worse and worse until it melted down.
However, meltdown isn't the real danger. Meltdown is just the fuel rods melting themselves into slag. The real danger is a containment breach. Nuclear powerplants handle large volumes of water in both gaseous and liquid form that is contaminated with radioactive particles. A containment failure is just what happened at Chernobyl. It wasn't just a containment failure but a spectacular explosion that sent radioactive material into the atmosphere, where it drifted and fell on all the people in the area.
The author of the photo essay doesn't list her name. She is a Ukrainian motorcycle enthusiast who rides a ZX-11 whose father is a nuclear physicist. Her english is no more broken or unreadable then my own and her images are haunting. I'm suprised at the quality of her pictures. Most other pictures I have seen have been eaten by radiation. (Film doesn't do well with radiation, I wonder if most of her pictures are digital?)
I hate Martha Stewart for many things. For her over use of functionless items, her ability to convince millions of people to follow her, sucking up valuable air time that could better be used by other people for anything else. However, when we have a government awarding billion dollar contracts with no bidding to companies that were formerly headed by the vice president of the country, the same vice president meeting with heads of energy companies to formulate the administrations energy policy and refusing to disclose the details or even exactly who was involved (this cases is currently headed to the supreme court), two major companies who collectively fucked the country out of more money then was lost in the great stock market crash that kicked off the great depression are having their executives turn on each other in order to gain immunity. All while this is happening, we are busy trying to jail a woman who at the time was worth millions for a transaction in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This smacks of a witch hunt. Yeah she probably in a moment of weakness used info she shouldn't have had to make a stock market trade. However, why does it matter? This isn't proven to be a pattern. She did it in one trade. This isn't how she made her millions. At this same time we have people at SCO involved in a pump and dump cycle (look at the SCO press release timing correlated with executive stock sales). I kind of feel that this is punishment for a woman getting too upity. I can't think of another woman who has founded a successful empire to the extent of Martha Stewart. Maybe Opra or almost Rosie, but neither has independently incorporated their image as a independent corporation. Remember kids, wealth and power are for WASPS and WASPS alone.
In the continuation has the contents of an email forward by a friend...
Also here is a link to Dan Savage's latest opinion on gay marriage...
And his latest as he answers people who attack gay marriage....
The most positive letter is here:
As a straight girl who just recently got engaged, I just wanted to let you know that I'm planning to add donations to Freedom to Marry (www.freedomtomarry.org) to my gift registry.
Jeanne
I enjoyed this...
>Top 12 Reasons Homosexual Marriage Should Not Be Legal
>
>1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester,
>and birth control.
>
>2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children.
>Infertile couples and old people can't legally get married because
>the world needs more children.
>
>3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight
>parents only raise straight children.
>
>4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears'
>55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
>
>5. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn't
>changed at all; women are property, blacks can't marry whites, and
>divorce is illegal.
>
>6. Gay marriage should be decided by people not the courts, because
>the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically
>protected the rights of the minorities.
>
>7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like
>ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country.
>That's why we have only one religion in America.
>
>8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way
>that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
>
>9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy
>behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has
>legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
>
>10. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role
>model at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise
>children.
>
>11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual
>marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt
>to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer
>life spans.
>
>12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage
>with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal"
>institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for
>African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays
>and lesbians will.
>
I went swimming with Mountain View Masters this morning. I'm now beat. It ate up all the endurance in my body. I'm not however tired or in shock like I was after my hare scrambles. I'm going to try to go 3 days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Well see how it goes. It was nice because I was unaware of either my arm or my leg I'm almost never unaware of either. I don't seem to be getting anymore range of motion back in my wrist (rotary, the other axis seem ok.) and have started to get used to the idea that my wrist will never be the same again.
Our work out is in the continuation section.
WARM UP 3x 200: #1 easy swim #2 25 drill/25 swim max DPS #3 25 Kick/25 swim max dps (600) DRILL SET 6x100 odds: 50 single arm drill/50 swim max DPS evens: 50 Kick/50 swim max dps (600 / 1200) MAIN SET 1x800 on Cruise 1x600 on cruise+10 sec 1x400 on cruise+20 sec 1x200 on cruise+30 sec Even pace within each swim. Descend pace throughout set. (2000 / 3200) WARM DOWN 4x150 (50 Kick/50 single arm drill/50 easy swim) (600 / 3800)So a couple people have asked how my new job/home is going so I thought I'd write about it. I would have earlier but I've been really busy.
New Job: The job is good. As a refresher I'm working as a medical receptionist for a 4 doctor office. Everyone is really nice, even the doctors which I feared would be a little uptight and inpatient. I have managed to fit in pretty well and they were amazed that by the second day I was pretty much on my own. They have been even more impressed with my recommendations on how to improve the office.
Cool things: 1) Reps from drug companies feed us lunch on wednesdays that are always really good because the doctors won't show up and talk to them if they don't bring good, healthy food. 2) I get free samples of allergy drugs which is helpful now that I will be without health insurance till May 9. 3) We have a lab onsite where I can get lab work done for basically free. They only bill the insurance and don't charge me the rest.
Things I miss about my old job: I can't talk to pqbon all day on aol instant messenger :-( My co-workers...I still email them though.
New house: Well....I haven't really unpacked. I unpacked things I needed right away and some kitchen stuff. There is really no point since I will only be moving again, hopefully soon. So I don't completely feel like I live here and everytime I need something I have to spend an hour looking through every box to find it. One of the things I got rid of before I moved was my dresser so what's not taking up the majority of pqbons closet is on the floor in 3 suit cases. I have thought about getting a new dresser but I really don't want to move it, so I guess I can wait.
The thing I miss the most is my cat, Zoe. The smallest, cutiest, sweetest, most adorable full sized cat in the world. Pqbon will agree. I miss her crawling into bed with me at night and trying to get under the covers and her sleeping in my lap while I'm watching t.v. or reading. But pqbon's parents are taking wonderful care of her and I will get her back after we move.
I miss my friends too but with our work/school schedules I didn't get to see them very much anyway.
Things I'm working on: 1) I want to volunteer at a domestic violence organization. For multiple reasons, but mainly for career purposes. My intent is to get a Master's in Couseling. To do that, they like you to have experience before starting the program. Also, domestic violence and rape counseling is what I have thought about doing after I get my degree and license. I have just sent in my application for a org. in Mountain View. 2) Not get lost when driving by myself. So far, I have only really gotten lost once in San Francisco. A couple times I was unsure of where I was briefly but figured it out.
For those of you that are following my motorcycle stuff, you might like to know what I'm doing to my dirtbike right now. I went to zoom cycle on Saturday and bought:
I started by removing the chain, sprockets, and rear wheel. Unfortunately, the rear sprocket isn't the right size so I need to exchange it for the right one. So my bike sits in the garage with the rear wheel next to it on the center work stand. This also put the cabash on the oil out as you need to run the bike to heat the oil before draining it and I didn't feel comfortable trying to start it on the stand with no rear end. I proceeded to install the hot start lever. It was actually very very easy. So now when I stall the bike, all I have to do is hit the thumb button under the throttle when I kick it back to life. After that I removed the old front brake line. This was the easy part. I then installed the new brake line, also easy. The hard part was repriming front brake and bleeding all the air out of it. Tonya helped greatly with this. Then I started installing the Magura Jack. I have it installed but I'm going to remove it and try it again (It didn't come with instructions so I faked it, then found instructions on line which show me I was 90% correct in how I did it) to get the hydraulic line routed better. At this point I went to bed. This week during the evenings I'm hoping to flush the coolant system, get the rear end and chain taken care of, and change the oil and clutch. This should be fun...
888 798 DANIELLE GARCIA 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 400 JULIE WERNEY 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 988 BRYON MCINTOSH 0 12:00:00 Kawasaki 888 846 DOMINIC STEWART 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 931 ERIC DONES 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 980 WILL DEUTSCH 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 436 NICHOLAS BARRAQUE 0 12:00:00 Kawasaki 888 319 JJ ALCANTAR 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 711 PIERRE REYNES 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 946 BRIAN DONES 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 211 JOHNNY WALKER 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 583 BYRON GUDMUNDSON 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 835 COOPER HALE 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 861 MICK GRUNDY 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 956 MATT METTES 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 836 GREG AKATIFF 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 1010 JARED STOOPS 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 893 VINCE CARPENTER 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 973 TODD PARKER 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 476 PAUL CORBIN 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 915 TIM CARR 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 1313 DAVID CASSADY 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 984 RON MAXIE 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 394 KASIE CRESON 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 1002 LISA WHITWORTH 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 1042 KELLY OBRIEN 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 311 JENNIFER REYNES 0 12:00:00 KTM 888 625 CARLA FERRANTE 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 1026 KRISTINE HALL 0 12:00:00 Honda
888 846 DOMINIC STEWART 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 931 ERIC DONES 0 12:00:00 Honda 888 980 WILL DEUTSCH 0 12:00:00 Yamaha 888 436 NICHOLAS BARRAQUE 0 12:00:00 Kawasaki
