An award received...and shared

I was the recipient of a fun award from Baron (Baron's Life) and Danny (A Blog About...)! Well, how do I begin...I'd like to thank my agent... wait...I don't have one...seriously, thanks for the nod guys, and thank you to everyone that stops by to read my blog - I've met a lot of great people in the blogosphere.

Now to share this award, as there are many great blogs out there that I have had the opportunity to read - some serious, some funny, all very good. Here's my list of 8 blogs that get this award, in no particular order:

1) Premeditated Scootin' - a great new scooter blog. http://cpa3485.blogspot.com/

2) Bobskoot: Wet Coast Scootin' - Bob covers BC and Washington State on his motoring adventures, and is an amazing photographer and writer. He's got some cool camera gear, and an even cooler sense of what makes a great picture and blogpost. He was one of the first to befriend me in blogspace. http://wetcoastscootin.blogspot.com/

3) Two Wheels and an Engine - Earl blogs about motorcycling in the Palouse area of Eastern Washington State. Another blogger that encouraged me when I first started. I get, to quote the Eagles, "a peaceful, easy feeling" when I read his posts - a great writer and photographer. http://thevampireduck.blogspot.com/

4) A Scooter In Turkey - John posts some amazing stuff from his scootering in Turkey, from home life to beautiful antiquities. John was one of the first blogs I started reading when I got my scooter, and it is worth checking out his blog. http://suzukiscooter.blogspot.com/

5) Heinz n' Frenchie in SoFla - Ahhh...South Florida by Vespa...it doesn't get any better than this, unless it's South Florida by two Vespas, with lots of great pictures and history of the area. http://heinznfrenchie.blogspot.com/

6) Scootin' da Valley - Joe introduced me to the free wifi and great coffee at Panera's. A great storyteller with an even greater beard! http://scootindavalley.blogspot.com/

7) Cruising Ohio - Doug has had some amazing trips in his part of the country. I've enjoyed great scenery and was tempted with great food (like fried bologna sandwiches) via his blog. http://www.cruisingohio.com/

8) Scootin' Old Skool - Orin is well known in scooter land for his great insights into scooters and scooter life. He was also nice enough to write about my Honda Elite on his blog. http://scootinoldskool.wordpress.com/

Well, there's eight of many great blogs out there. For the award winners above, you get to share your award via your nominations - if you can find eight, great, even if it's less that's great too. Just spread the recognition and encouragement around!

Cats that are not pleased...

Baron (of Baron's Life) has a post with a very funny picture of a cat with a helmet made from what looks like a lime. Check his blog out here:

http://www.baronsview.blogspot.com/

I'm a big cat fan, and I mentioned to Baron that I had some other pictures of cats that are not pleased with what we humans subject them to. There's taco cat (above), and others for your (and Baron's) enjoyment:

This poor guy is definitely not pleased with what was recently done at the salon.

Some cats don't mind having their picture taken, but some are not pleased with being on camera, like this one:

This cat's owner needs to clean the kitty box more often - the cat is obviously not pleased:

In addition to cats that are not pleased, sometimes bunnies are not pleased, as evidenced here:

You know you've had a bad day when...

...your house has that sinking feeling. This was caused by the last flood in the area. I go by this house on many of my rides. This house and the one next to it suffered significant damage. They are both across the highway from the river on what has historically been the high bank side.

Carnation, Washington - A Tale of One City, Two Names

About 15 miles northwest of North Bend is the town of Carnation. The town was officially incorporated on December 31, 1912, and given the name Tolt. The name was changed to Carnation in 1917, back to Tolt in 1928, and finally back to Carnation again on October 29, 1951. For those of you familiar with dairies, the name Carnation was chosen to honor the Carnation Milk Products Company. But is the town Carnation or Tolt? The dispute over which name is the "real" name for the town continues, with some signs reading "Tolt" and others, "Carnation." The elementary school is named Carnation Elementary School, while the middle school takes the name Tolt Middle School.

But it was the Carnation Dairy that put the town on the map. The valley became world-famous as the "Home for Contented Cows." One cow, nicknamed "Possum Sweetheart," produced more than 37,000 pounds of milk in one year - a world record.

My ride takes me to this quiet town, and I stop to take a few pictures of the local businesses, some doing better than others:

A beautiful stone church stands at the end of town, as if to end the naming controversy - it's called Tolt Congregational Church.

April in New York

I've been away for about 10 days on a business trip to our corporate headquarters in New York. I really enjoy Manhattan - the city is so diverse, so vibrant. Crowded yes, but people have found a way to make this a very enjoyable (albeit expensive) place to live.

Like the Seattle area, New York has had a pretty long winter, and the long wait for Spring ended the first weekend I was there. Temperatures in the high 80's to low 90's brought people out to the many parks that dot the city. In Madison Square Park, which is near my office, an ethnic festival was taking place.

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The hotel I was staying at was in a new (for me) area, so I spent a lot of time walking around, getting my bearings. I came upon this place for a bagel and coffee:

After coffee, more time spent wandering the neighborhood. Good thing I am walking, and not driving - parking is astronomical here.

Craigslist Rants, Part II

I posted a few weeks ago the trials I suffered in attempting to sell my Ipod on craigslist, and this has led me to further reflection on those that use this marketplace. I really like craigslist - it's proof that a very grassroots form of getting buyers and sellers together, without charging fees, can work quite well. But I can't believe some of the things that are said by people in trying to market their stuff, particularly motorcycles - a few examples that I have gathered, for your reading enjoyment:

1) The "previous owner" did it - When someone posts in their ad that their bike has scratches on it, or it was laid down, it was invariably done by "the previous owner." Who are these "previous owners"? They are obviously a very careless and clumsy bunch, as they seem to be responsible for all the damage that has ever been done to motorcycles!

2) "No title, no problem" - I've seen a lot of bikes for sale with "no title" with the seller stating that it should be easy to get it titled. If it was so easy, why don't you do it and save the potential buyer from the obvious hassle and potential issue of not being able to title it at all!

3) "It's in mint condition, except for..." - The ad starts out by stating that the bike is in like new condition, but as you read further on, there is a whole list of "except for's" like the bike went down in a low speed fall, the plastic fairing is cracked, etc., (all done by the
"previous owner" of course!).

4) "It started 10 years ago" - I see this on the ads for a lot of vintage bikes - the ad will usually state "the bike doesn't start now, but it did the last time I tried." I love history as much as the other guy, but I am more concerned with the present when it comes to motorcycles!

5) "It just requires a simple adjustment" - The ad goes something like this - "I tried to start it but it won't turn over - probably just needs a carb cleaning..." OK, if it does, why don't you do that before you put it up for sale???

So, if you see an ad from me on CL for a "like new bike that started 10 years ago without a title that was slightly damaged by the previous owner" please feel free to e-mail me as follows:

"Hello ,Thanks for your mail back concerning the inquiry mail i sent to you.
The price,condition also the pics i viewed is okay by me .And my client
confirm there is no problem about the price($975 ) ,my client do pays with a
{USA}cashier check,he has agreed to mail out as bank cashiers check of
$3500. to you on my behalf to cover the shippment fees.About the shippment,
that we be taken care by my me & my personal assistant,my personal
assistant will be using his shipper to do the quick processing of the
shipping of the motorcycle to my client."

Fall City, Washington

We're starting to get some periods of nicer weather - a couple of weekends ago as well as this weekend I took the new motorcycle out. Even at 250cc, I am able to take some of the higher speed roads, so that extends my range quite a bit.

Within the Snoqualmie Valley, and west of North Bend and Snoqualmie is a town called Fall City. Here's a little history of the town - in 1869, homesteaders staked claims along the Snoqualmie River near the present location of the town. Supplies came up the river in large dugout canoes and the area was often referred to as "The Landing" because of shallow water farther upstream. In 1872, the Fall City Post Office was authorized by the territorial governor. How the name "Fall City " was selected is somewhat a mystery, although my guess is that it is because of the Snoqualmie Falls which causes significant flooding in the area. The river passes right through town

The town is quite popular with motorcyclists; there's a "saloon" which attracts a number of bikes during the weekend. There were a lot of big Harley's there, giving it a tough image, but then I saw someone proudly roll up in their vintage Honda Trail 90 and park the bike along side the big cruisers.

For me, however, coffee is my poison, so I stopped by a little drive through espresso stand in town.

Across the street from the espresso stand is the elementary school. Little League ball was the order of the day in the school ballfield.

Take care.