I just got back from meeting Mark and the other nice folks at Power On Cycling. I have to say I was really impressed with them. Mark is a truly nice guy and I am looking forward to his shop being "my shop" from now on. He has gained a customer for life. He discussed some of my options with me, some advantages and disadvantages, and I never once got the feeling he was being anything but honest with me. We selected an EZ-1 that he had upgraded with rocket shifters, a high pressure rear tire,...

Last night I was feeling pretty down. I couldn't help but think about my current situation, and past ones. There was a time when I had held pretty important positions and made a decent living. I have always tried to do the "right things". I've never abused or manipulated people to my advantage, never taken unfair advantage of other people. I have always stood on my own two feet, working for a living and trying to make good decisions about things. I have never asked anyone for a hand-out. E...

I have been posting on cycling forums for a while now, and recently joined one specifically for recumbent bikes as I am planning to buy a bent sometime soon. I had posted regarding my current physical limitations and requested advice and recommendations on what brands/models might be best to check out that are in my price range. The folks at the site were very helpful and I received a lot of good advice in a very short period of time as well as several private messages regarding used bikes...

After much research and discussion with more experienced cyclists and cyclists who have also had hip surgery, I have decided that a recumbent bicycle (bent) is what I need to be riding. The design of these odd looking bikes makes for a much more relaxed and comfortable riding position and produce less stress on the hip joints than a traditional diamon frame bike. There are a wide variety of styles of bents, so I'll have to do some checking around. These bikes are pretty expensive so I gues...

Ok, a recent article by one of the more hateful and very much anti-US members stated that the US violated the law by using napalm in Iraq. Instead of responding on that member's blog, as I don't post any comments on that person't blog as I consider that person a hate monger and less than credible, I thought I would research it myself and present some real facts without the obvious spin and absurd lies that were added to the story. First of all, yes it's true. the US did use napalm. Secondl...

Here's an interesting little piece that was run in our local Sunday paper. Pretty well sums up the recent media reports on Gitmo. Here's What You Need to Know About Gitmo BY JAMES LILEKS c.2005 Newhouse News Service Gitmo is the gulag equivalent of a Ben Affleck movie: no one's seen it, but everyone has an opinion about it. Given all the rhetoric that's been spilled about this sorta-kinda-not-really Death Camp, it's time we re-examine the facts, and remind ourselves what's really at...

My new job has me working two different shifts. A couple of nights a week I go in at four in the afternoon and leave at midnight. A couple more nights a week I go in at midnight and leave at eight in the morning. As I ride my bike to work I am either riding to work at night or riding home at night depending on which night it happens to be. I have equipped my bike with a very bright xenon/LED combination headlight and a five LED flashing taillight. These provide me enough light to see where...

After being laid up for six months my highest priority was getting a job. It really didn't matter what kind of job as long as I could reasonably expect to be able to do it given my current level of physical ability (disability). Well now I finally have a job as a security officer. Great. I just got home from my second night on the job and am trying really hard to remember what I thought was so damn important about getting the job in the first place. My feet are killing me. I don't just mea...

Five days from now will mark six months since the right side of my pelvis was badly shattered in a car accident. It has been a long and painful six months of challenges to be overcome. Following the week of traction and surgery to piece the pelvis back together with steel pins and screws, I boarded a plane a flew home to Florida. I was told that it would take at least a year to fully heal from the injuries. The first 12 weeks following surgery I wasn't allowed to put any weight at all on t...

OK things are set up now and I am scheduled to begin work tomorrow. My shift will be 4pm until midnight but I have to report at noon tomorrow for some OJT prior to being left alone on my shift. I'm looking forward to doing something productive again after nearly 6 months of being laid up. My uniform is pressed, my shoes polished, and I'm pretty much good to go. As I'll be getting off work at night, I'll have to bum a ride tomorrow as I don't have lights on my bike yet. Mom gets her check o...

A couple of weeks ago I attended training for a state security license through a local security company who was actively recruiting. I attended the classes, showing up on time and fully participating each day. My test scores were the highest in the class. On my application I had indicated that I wasn't willing to commute out of town, knowing they had posts right here where I live. Following training I was informed that they wanted to assign me to a post some 20 miles away in another county...

Florida has a mandatory sentencing law for gun crimes. If you committ a crime involving a gun it works like this.: If you pull the gun, it's a mandatory 10 years. If you fire the gun, it's a mandatory 20 years. If you actually shoot someone, it's a mandatory 25 years to life. The state advertises this 10 20 Life sentencing on the tv, radio, and billboards. Many of the tv and radio ads feature someone who has been sentenced under this law. I saw one tonight where a guy, in a fit of road rag...

I just finished what is for me a milestone in my recovery from December's car wreck. As some may already know my hip and pelvis were badly shattered and it has been some long months of recouperation and for about the past month or so I have been riding my 10 speed bicycle to help strengthen the affected hip. When I first started trying to ride it was extremely painful and I was doing well to ride about a mile. Well today I took a ride in the country. I picked a destination exactly 10 miles...

I've been playing an online game called Galaxis lately. Link . It's a pretty cool game as these things go. Basically, you are building a planetary colony from scratch. You must aquire the needed materials and money (credits) to build and upgrade by trading commodities, pirating, or perfoming missions. You start out with a single small ship, some credits and materials and go from there. Some players choose to be primarily pirates who gain credits and materials by attacking and pillaging ot...

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I take some liberties with language at times. But some people say some things just just simply mae no real sense, and quite often they don't even realize it. While it's hardly a major issue, but it does make me wonder if they even know what it is they just said. Some common examples which I find both amusing and annoying. ATM machine . Do you even know what "ATM" stand for? Automatic Teller MACHINE! What you just said was "automatic teller machine m...