"Dad, my shoe flew off!"

That's what Dallas said to me on the way home from the dentist yesterday. We were on the motorcycle and apparently Dallas forgot to tie his shoe. We turned around and headed back shoe hunting. We found the shoe in the middle of the road, so we pulled off the road and I got it for him!! Funny story that I had to share.

Saturday Night Madness

Well last night was one of the strangest shows I've ever played.  When we first got there and were setting up, the place was already packed; somebody was having a big birthday party bash.  I thought maybe I was wrong about thinking it was going to be a terrible night.  Then after sound check, tuning up, and changing into gig clothes, we started the first set to about 30 people in the entire place, and only about 3 people that were getting up and dancing.  After the first set, we were even saying how we probably wouldn't be invited back.  Then we started the second set and apparently someone opened the flood gates because out of no where the place was packed and everybody was dancing.  It carried like that throughout the rest of the night.  So that was good.  It sure makes for a late night though.  At least Derrinda was able to come with me, so that is always fun.  We sit there and make fun of all the weird people, and believe me there were some really strange ones last night.  Highlight of the evening:  On the drive up there was this punk kid that got right on my bumper.  He was driving a late 90's Infinity.  Apparently he thought his car was really fast.  We were in the carpool lane doing about 70.  He finally got annoyed enough to swing out a couple of lanes to the right and try to pass everybody.  I let him go, but then I started thinking about him thinking his car was fast and decided to teach him a lesson.  So I accelerated slightly and got behind him.  He tried going faster when he saw me coming up; finally I saw my opening in traffic and Derrinda and I blew by him like he was standing still.  I could see him in the rearview trying in vain to keep up.   Then the real fun began.  I slowed back down and let him get right on my bumper.  I guess some people can't learn too well.  I waited for him to try to pass on the right, and as soon as he would swing over to pass me, I would take off and leave him.  I was laughing my head off.  This happened one more time, and then I decided I had enough fun and had defeated him a sufficient amount of times.  Of course when he exited the freeway he had to speed off on it.  I don't know what people think they are proving after they get beat like that when they speed away down the off ramp.  I think Derrinda thinks I'm crazy because I always have such a blast putting the smack down on punks who think their cars are fast.  It's only fun because they are always trying to race you in these cars that aren't even in the MazdaSpeed's league.  If it was a Corvette or something that would be one thing, but an Infinity?  Try to be serious... good times.

Short CBR 900RR Clip

CBR Pics

I finished the painting on the CBR and since I haven't posted any pics of it or anything, here are some.

The Stone life is a good life!

Had a good start to the weekend by running 10 miles this morning while Dad rode his bike along the river trail (dirt). I went easy today after the hard run yesterday. It's always harder for me to get going in the mornings anyway.
I've got a show at the Shark Club in Kirkland tonight. The Shark is usually a good crowd. But I'm worried about the turnout tonight because we have been having issues with our emailing. We have over 600 people on our mailing list, and apparently there have been some changes in the way large emails can be sent because of stricter spam laws, so we haven't been able to notify any of our fans when we are playing, so I fear tonight will be a disaster of major proportions. I guess we will see.
BSS has been a bit slow lately as well. I think the down turned economy has affected us here as well as everybody else. I am sitting here at the desk now though as I type this, waiting to rent the facility up!
We went out to Joe's Sporting Goods last night. They are going out of business so everything is a bargain. I picked up a couple of decals for my CBR. I will take some pictures and post later. I think they look pretty cool on there.
Things are going pretty good right now for us. Derrinda made a really cool scarecrow cake yesterday for the Seattle Children's Hospital auction. She stays plenty busy with things like that and watching our 4 rambunctious boys throughout the day. Dallas is doing good in school, but he handed me a note yesterday and said I needed to sign it. It said that he left to go to music class in the middle of class and interrupted the teacher or something like that. I think he may have inherited my need for independence and lack of respect for authority figures. I just hope it doesn't get him into trouble like it has me. Cody is learning how to write his name and is very proud. Elijah is always a bundle of smiles and laughs. He lightens the mood a lot around here. And little Brandon is always into some mischief. He is starting to develop a cute personality.

Starting to get fit!

I just got back from a really good run.  It was one of those days where you just feel great the entire time.  I started at the skate park and ran up 4 miles and back while Dad, Aaron, Richie and Chanelle rode their bikes.  I felt good pretty much from the start and made it to the 4 mile turnaround in 27:12 (6:48 pace), I came back even faster and finished the run in 52:31, so that is 25:19 for the last 4 miles (6:20 pace).  So the average pace for the 8 miles was 6:33, which makes me happy because I didn't think I was in that good of shape yet.  I might run well this summer if I can keep up the training without getting injured or sick.  

I also finished the painting on the CBR today and drove it there for the run.  It was a BLAST riding that beast!  The acceleration is amazing; almost scary even.  But that's what makes it so exhilarating.  

Karma Police

We reap what we sow.  I believe in Karma.  Here is my favorite Radiohead video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSKmYC0mHXI

Paint Project

The CBR painting I've been doing has been pretty good, but I did run into a problem when I tried to touch up a spot that had barely sanded through. Somehow the paint reacted with the clear coat and it wasn't pretty. Soon all my beautiful paint had crevices and valleys throughout. Time to strip down and start again. Not cool. But I did completely finish one fairing panel, and am on course to have this panel finished by the weekend hopefully.
The running has continued to go well. I ran 8 miles last night while Juliet and Dad rode their bikes. We went on the dirt trail that starts by Ptarmigan in Orting and up to the lumber mill and back. It took about 55 minutes. I ran the last mile or so pretty fast. I probably finished the last 1/2 in under 3 minutes, so that was good because it didn't feel that fast, I felt pretty relaxed and controlled.
I will post some pics of my project later. The bad thing is I forgot to get before pics!! Oh well.

Beautiful day in the Northwest

Met Dad and Aaron at the park in Orting at 6:30.  I ran 12 miles on the paved trail while they rode bikes.  It was fun.  I can't think of a better way to start the weekend.  I felt pretty good this morning.  I drove the Speed3 and had a fun drive coming back.  I went to pass some slow poke that was doing about 10 mph under the speed limit and the Mazda was accelerating so fast that I was squirming all over the road.  It was exhilarating.  Super fun to drive, especially on windy roads.  Anyway the run took me about an hour and a half.  I went nice and slow today.  That is about 7:30 pace or so.  It looks like it will be a beautiful spring day here in the Northwest.  Maybe I will get my project started for adding some color to my bike.  I'll post some pics later when it is finished.  Don't hold your breath though, it could be a week or so.

Happy Thursday

Up this morning at 5 and drove the motorcycle over to Stone Palace to go swimming.  I felt good this morning.  I went 3/4 of a mile in the pool.  The ride was kind of cold, but it was sure pretty on the way home.  The sun was just coming up over the hills, and with the budding trees and views of the river, it was very beautiful.  There is something about riding a motorcycle that makes you notice these things more.  

My running has been going good too.  I have been running 8 miles while Dad rides his bike in the evening.  It's been fun and I'm getting in better shape every day.  I have really been enjoying the sunny days the last couple of days.  It's been a while since I last blogged, but it seems like all my posts were starting to sound the same (much like this one).

Dog Breed Mutation

This post will not get near the action that Tam's Bulldog post did. But I thought this was an article that was interesting and along the lines of the mutation debate.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30088069?GT1=43001

Our dog Dakota is part Australian Cattle Dog, I believe she would survive too. Some breeds are a bit more durable than others (no I'm not picking on Bulldogs).

Friday Morning

Band practice went well last night.  It looks like we will be adding about 4 songs for this weekends show.  The drive up was crazy with all the rain on the road.  I hydroplaned a couple of times just a bit, nothing too scary though.  I got back at about 11:15 and Derrinda was just finishing a run.  Got to bed around midnight and was up bright and early at 5 this morning for a nice swim.  Now I'm just enjoying the morning with my beautiful wife and sons.  I've been enjoying having Dallas home for Spring Break.  Dallas and Cody have both been pretty helpful around here at BSS helping me dump stuff and clean.  I'm on track for about 50 miles this week with my running, so that is good.  I'll continue to put in base mileage probably until mid-May when I will hopefully start some intervals to get ready for track season in June.

Fire in the Sky

Well yesterday I met Dad as usual at the trail head in Orting. We went 8 miles on the trail. Dad took his mountain bike across the street from where the trail head is to the bike shop to get his deraileur fixed. The guy put some air in his tires too. Well on the way back with about 2 miles to go, I heard something coming from his rear wheel. I told him to stop and I noticed a gash in the sidewall of his rear tire. It appears the guy put a little too much air in there. He left me in the dust to try and make it as far as he could before it was unrideable, which was about 1/2 mile. So he still had 1.5 to go without a bike. I told him to give me the keys to the van and I would come back and pick him up. I covered my last mile in 6:30 and hopped in the van and picked him up about 1/2 mile from the finish. He ran with his bike most of the way I think. So that was somewhat of an adventure. I then hopped on my motorcycle and had a rainy ride home.
Today I cleaned out the last junk from the auction that the lady (who will not be invited back) dumped on us. The dumpster is already 3/4 full and it was just emptied this morning. Lovely. There is always something here at BSS to keep busy with. I had a good swim this morning. I did the usual 1/2 mile.
I have band practice tonight up in Lynnwood at 7, so I think I will get my run done earlier so I can make it on time. I need to quickly brush up on the songs we've been working on too.
I read all about Travis Walton and his controversial UFO abduction from Snowflake AZ back in the 70's. I just happened to read about a UFO hoax that a couple of kids pulled off earlier this year and it got me thinking about the movie "Fire in the Sky" that I saw back in the early 90's. I remember seeing it at Movies 8 back in the day with Jason and becoming fascinated with the thought of extraterrestrial life forms and UFO's. It was interesting to read some of the facts about the case. The crazy thing about it is that to this day, all 6 men who were involved have stuck to their story and say it is true, passed several lie detector tests and what not. Pretty interesting stuff. O.K., enough for now.