Snake Family Dissection

On the way home from work one evening, Dad slammed on the brakes, pulled onto the shoulder, leaped from the car and came back with a big snake.

I was seven.  

Its intestines were protruding through its scales so Dad carefully washed the outer innards and shoved them back in.  The snake died after a time in his new barrel home and Dad wanted the skin so he did a dissection while I looked on over his shoulder.  Fascinating experience.  

On the way home from work on the bicycle the other day, I happened upon a Garter snake that had just been struck by a car.  It seemed that its head had been crushed and blood was flowing from its eye and mouth.  

I picked it up and it wrapped itself around a finger so I took it home and showed it to the boys....

Dodgeball Changed My Life

I was always the last kid picked for basketball in middle school.  It seems that my limbs had grown so quickly that the control system took years to catch up.  Even though I often played hoops in my driveway, I just couldn't put it together when it counted.

The local name was Bombardment and it was a crowd favorite in that class they still want us to call "Physical Education."  The game started that day and soon I was the only one left with five remaining on the opposing team.

Ball in hand, I blocked a couple of shots and then dropped the ball to catch a long, arcing throw.  2 vs 5.  Then I took another kid out.  2 vs 4.  I caught another and the additional player shifted the momentum of the game so much that we won a couple of minutes later.

We must have played three or four games that day but that was the only one I recall.  No medal to hang around my scrawny neck - it was just gym class.  I doubt it made an impression on anyone else, but for some reason, I see that as a turning point in my life.  Soon people were picking me early for basketball games.  Then I started playing volleyball.

It seems that I realized that I wasn't the same monstrously tall, uncoordinated kid I used to be.  The control system was coordinating the motions of my spider limbs.

Confidence.  That's was it was all about.  Fake it.  Or take it.  And never give up.

Kawasaki Concours vs. Honda Helix

I took Dad's Honda Helix and raced it against my '88 Concours.  It was a draw.

The bikes have never been together since they reside 5 hours apart, but since I rode the Concours to work that morning and then the Helix that evening after the car trip, I got a real chance to compare the two.

Bike Porn - Helix on the Lake

The battery on the Helix wasn't doing well, so we swapped it out for the one in the Yamaha Zuma 125 - always have a spare.  It started up after a few seconds for the first time in months and I took off about ten minutes later.

The top speed test was first.  They say the Concours has a max of 147 mph but I've only seen 110.  It was totally stable but the sheer stupidity of that speed made me back off the throttle.  I leaned forward on the Helix with my helmet close to the tiny windscreen and ran it up to 81 mph on a flat section of 86 with the sun setting behind me.  The front end was light and skittish and the bike doesn't like wind so I was glad once it quit speeding up and I could exit the interstate.

I wouldn't run it on the freeway for long, but it's great around town and on the back roads and that's how Mommy and Daddy use it.

Has the Helix seen dirt before?

It's not bad on the dirt either.  I took it up that rutted dirt road in the picture and though the suspension is bouncy and the wheels are tiny and the bars are set too close to my knees, it's low enough and light enough that it'd be tough to drop it unless my foot slipped.  I've sat on superscooters without adjustable handlebars but the Helix accepts any standard handlebar and you can adjust the angle with standard handlebar clamps.  It even has a parking brake.

The Concours seems to be designed for the curves and I rarely notice the suspension.  The Helix, however, is not nearly as twisty as its name.  The springy suspension and the small wheels do not make it a mountain goat through the corners.  At 6'5", my legs are too long for the foot well, but it's fine for anything but really long rides with no breaks.  I got off to snap pictures pretty often so it never bothered my knees.

For it's intended use, the Helix is great.  My naked Concours is almost twice as heavy, a lot taller, and more complicated with its standard moto controls but the exhilaration of speed and turns more than make up for its complication.

I want one of each.

The Boy Lost. Then He Cried. I Giggled.

Elías is used to winning.  He climbs the stairs faster than his little brother.  He eats faster than his Mom.  He's stronger than his babysitters.

So he cries when he loses.

It was time to leave the park so the kids ran to the car.  I decided to join them.  Since "join" means "defeat" in my dictionary, I reached the car first, threw my arms up in victory, and triumphantly pronounced "Yo gané!"

The first loser in second place fell to the ground in a helpless heap, sobbing uncontrollably.  Misael, however, was distracted by a yellow flower so he wasn't even concerned.

The Razor A5 Lux - My New Scooter

I thought about Roller Blades but I knew I would quickly break another bone so I went for a kick scooter.  The Xootr Scooter is really nice and so is the NYCEWheels KickPed but there's no way I'm spending over $200 on a scooter.  Big wheels are the key since I don't want every sidewalk crack breaking my back in addition to my Mother's.

The Razor A5 Lux it is!!  $65 shipped.

Good for Preschoolers

Better for Adults

This weekend was the annual neighborhood sale around my parents' house so I

Thank You, Childhood Bullies

In seventh grade, the neighborhood ringleader who went on to graduate at the top of his class decided to make me the latest in a series of outcasts.

And so it was that for two years, the kids at the bus stop would point and giggle from across the street.  A couple of times I crossed the lane but they wouldn't say anything to my face even if three or four of them were together.