Charlie's Incidentals

This was one of the first videos we shot. We ran into traffic and speed limits, but it's still an interesting video I guess.

I can't decide if I want to upload videos to picasaweb, my gallery2 instance, or just embed flash here.

In the interest of getting at least one video out (the one everyone wants to see), I'll just put it here for now. Sorry this video is so bumpy.

This was in Austria. I do have another video of Germany, east of Munich, but we ran into traffic and speed limits, so it's not as cool. We hit 155 MPH in this one

Also, my book Network Ninja is officially published now. Yay!

It will show up on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble within 4-6 weeks.

It can be purchased at lulu.com right now, though. The Table of Contents and a description can also be found there.

Actually, both OmniTraining and my new book (almost). I'm awaiting the preview copy of the book to arrive, and then I'm sure there will be edits. The goal is to have it completed by the end of July, 2008.

OmniTraining site: http://omnitraining.net
Network Ninja book site: http://omnitraining.net/networkninja

Just got back from an Alaska cruise (it was great, by the way), and as my girlfriend Michelle is going through the pictures, she discovers something quite strange.

For some strange reason, I took many pictures of ice floating in the ocean. It was neat to see, as I have only been in the ocean where the weather is more temperate.

So this image, an innocent looking piece of ice, was taken:


Notice the dark colored ice. It looks just like dirty ice that we've been seeing.

Applying Photoshop's "auto levels" to this image revealed a much more gruesome scene:


"What the hell?" you might ask. Yes, indeed.

It's up, but still a work-in-progress.

http://charlierides.com

In June 2009, I'll be riding up to Prudhoe Bay and back (to Portland, OR)! The proposed route is: http://schluting.com/temp/AK_Trip.jpg

This is the first of many trips. For months now I've been addicted to reading advrider.com and horizonsunlimited.com - sites for motorcycle travelers. The latter is mostly for RTW (Round The World) travelers, but it's chock full of useful information.

I'll probably start a new blog or Web site to document the trip, and future trips.

Future trips are:
1) Portland to the Panama Canal, round trip. This is a 3-4 week trip.
2) Brazil (ship bike there) to the southern tip of Argentina, then the PanAm "highway" all the way back to Portland. This is also a 3-4 week trip.
4) Somewhere in Europe to Cape Town, South Africa. Probably more than 4 weeks
3) ??? RTW some time when I'm between jobs? Or when I retire. Only 30 years to go!

Dammit, this is all going to be expensive. I blame Dr. Greg Fraizer's books for my new-found passion. I'd really like to go in 2008, but cannot for two reasons. First, I have to take a cruise. Shucks, right? We have these points we have to use from this vacation package we bought... no, really, it was a good deal. And I'm using the points up, dangit. Second, I just bought a 2007 R6 last spring, so I want to pay that off before buying another bike. I can't very well ride an R6 to AK!

I'll be getting a new or slightly used Suzuki V-Strom DL650 (the wee strom) with a caribou case system. Many other accessories, too, but I'll save that for another blog.

Oh I can't wait.

I had an awesome time!

Pics: http://pictures.schluting.com/v/moto/CSS/

Video1: http://schluting.com/video/ride1/ride1.html
Video2: http://schluting.com/video/ride2/ride2.html

Details to follow.

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

A friend and I were holding a little competition to see who could empty their magazines quickest. He had a P99 (9mm), and mine (I'm closest in the video) is a .40 cal S&W.

He beat me.. his trigger is single-action (or quick action) which means that after the first shot, he just barely needs to touch the trigger and the next shot is off. My double-action requires that I pull the trigger all the way each time, and it's a 15lb trigger. The heavy trigger makes it really tough to aim and shoot accurately at targets, however. I sill like the gun.. but I definitely need something else for target shooting - probably a 1911.

The video:
http://schluting.com/video/shootout.wmv