Google

I keep missing the boat. Toward the end of the 20th century it was the dot-com frenzy; boom times... that eventually went bust. Even a decade before this spike in the mid-90s was a relatively small company called Microsoft. Had I not been so young, naive and cash-strapped (well, I was getting by okay), perhaps I may have had the gumption to purchase their stock. There were also a few other technology enterprises that made the financial headlines in this 21st century, yet I continue to defer from jumping in. Not being able to swim that well, it's best I stay clear from the water. You see, I ain't much of a gamblin' man.

Google stock is now around $700 per share.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone's had their fill... candy and what-not. Glad I attended this past Saturday's party, especially after reflecting on a childhood where I was on the wrong side of the screen door, handing out the treats instead of collecting them.

Every kid should have a chance to experience trick-or-treat.

Charmed Rider?

So far I have been pretty fortunate when it comes to my motorcycling down times. The latest mishap was early Sunday morning (an hour past midnight, coming home from a Halloween party). Something wasn't sounding... wasn't feeling... quite right. There was a barely discernable thump that seemed like it was coming from somewhere toward the back of the Cruiser. "Only a few more miles before I get home" I thought to myself. Once inside my garage I took a look and found dark graphite-colored fluid leaking down my rear axle. I am guessing it's the rear differential oil, but what do I know?

Before this latest episode, my kickstand broke a couple of months ago. The upside to this is that I happened to remain in town that Saturday morning, with weather conditions that were ripe for me to take a routine 200 mile ride (give or take) to who-knows-where.

A little over a year ago I was returning home from a ride, and ran into throttle cable problems with about another 30 miles to go. I was able to limp it home; had the worn cable broke, there'd be no go.

Having carried the right tools and implements bailed me out of situations as well: tire patch kit, hairbrush, motor oil, cellphone and bungee cords.

Knock on wood.

Fire!

It is reportedly the largest firestorm California has ever seen... this coming at the close of the fire season. There's no predicting Mother Nature. I'd like to lambast those who build illegal campfires and carelessly let them get out of control. Also to those who freely fling their burning cigarette butts about (witness this whenever you're sitting in traffic). Arsonists. And just plain idiots. Of course there's the possibility that lightning can be the cause of all this mayhem, but as I said, there's no predicting Mother Nature. If cause be not hers, then witness her wrath in what is known as the Santa Ana winds. Let's all hope that the fires will soon be contained and many lives spared (five deaths to date).

On a lighter note, how about a list of songs that reference one of early man's greatest discoveries (loosely or otherwise)?

"Burning for You", "Ring of Fire", "Fire", "Disco Inferno", "I'm On Fire", "Play with Fire", "Summer in the City", "Fire Down Below", "House of Fire", "The Heat is On", "Great Balls o' Fire", "Jump Into the Fire".

Please feel free to chime in with any glaring omissions; I'm sure there are more. Anyone able to tag the correct artists' names to these titles?

Stay cool.

UPDATE: Arson believed to be cause of fires.

Kaiser

Okay, I'm familiar with government bureaucracy, but I seem to have become victim to it from Kaiser Permanente. Over the summer I paid a visit to the hospital to discover I had a broken toe (a bone chip actually). My co-pay amounts to $10, which I paid with ubiquitous plastic. However, a few weeks later I inspected the receipt (and subsequent credit card statement) and realized I had signed away $22.48 -- prepared by a Kaiser staff member whose ID# happens to be... you guessed it. Employee 2248.

It took a couple of calls and I thought it was going to be resolved. This was almost two weeks ago, but today I received a letter indicating that this will be discussed at their Review Committee's regularly scheduled meeting. According to the letter, the results of the review will be forthcoming in future correspondence.

Perhaps I should be patient and give them a benefit of a doubt that this is just a formality. I mean, if you take a look at insurance terms, receipts and IDs, you'd see that this is a no-brainer. Uh, at least for some of us. There's a lesson to be learned here of which I'm guilty: take a good hard look at what you plan to autograph.

(Ellen DeGeneres, I hope you're reading this).

More Old Faces...

... or associations. This is so very strange, what with the names and faces from long ago which have recently surfaced (see my previous post re: Faces from the Past). Not only did I bump into MikeC, he has also been insuring my neighbor's home since she bought it in the early 90s.

Just half an hour ago I was pumping some gas into my Cruiser (while donning my riding suit and helmet... trying to stay dry from the light rain coming home from work). Who approaches me but some guy I spoke with (bike talk) on a previous fill-up perhaps almost a year ago? He mentions something about his brother retiring today from the area's Regional Transit (RT) light rail system, who plans on spending more time with his motorcycle with his newfound freedom. Also rides a BMW. Hmm, I rode with a small group in the early to mid-90s and one of the guys worked at RT, so I asked John if his brother's name is Dudley. Well, what a coinky dink!

So John and I talked about the other guys from that group: Mitch, Bob, Robert and Dan, catching up on what's been up with them. Another interesting note is that the boyfriend of a coworker of mine (who joined our organization almost a year ago) knows Dudley. Any surprise that John lives within a 1/4 mile from my house?

Yet another earlier post I spoke of the coincidences of my brother and his family visiting Las Vegas staying only a few blocks from the hotel where I spent the night, and of the rider I encountered in Tonopah, NV whom I met on my ride through Rachel, NV the year before.

Did I mention this is so very strange?

2 Wheel Spoiled

My first week of work at our new office is about done (well, it'd be a 4-day work week since we had Columbus Day for a holiday off). This is downtown, and unlike our previous location where we had the pleasure of a parking lot on the leased premises, we are left on our own to find parking. Or try public transit, carpooling, bicycling, walking or hitch-hiking.

Fortunately for me there are two nearby locations where a half car-lengthed section of street parking is designated as "motorcycle only" parking. Gratis... and you know I love to ride every chance I get. However, Friday's forecast is for rain on and off, and not certain of when the "on" intervals will occur will possibly have me looking into catching light rail instead. Ditto for the next work week. Otherwise the downtown parking fees average somewhere around $15 for the day.

Public transit seems to be a way of life for many commuters, and although I am approaching this with a bit of apprehension, maybe I will find that it ain't that bad. For those foul weather days of course... guess you could say that I'm two-wheel spoiled.

Faces from the Past

The latter half of 2007 has seen several old faces resurface in my life. There's Dave who I've played against in some friendly grass doubles volleyball. We met on opposite sides of the net again only a few weeks ago in a charity tournament. Saw a lot of other old faces at this tourney too.

Then there was Dave's old partner MikeG from 10+ years ago. I happened to be scarfing down lunch down the street from the gym where he was visiting (and where I have my leagues). We met up and exchanged phone numbers.

A couple of months ago I ran into someone I knew from a gym in Roseville; it's been 4 years, and now Scott is playing on my men's team. This was at another fast-food joint, the same one where only two days ago I bumped into yet another face from the past (what's with this fast-food restaurant?).

MikeC and I go way back to the early 80s, last seeing him in the early 90s... he joined me at my table, caught up on things, waxed nostalgic and exchanged contact info. There must be some kismet to this since I deferred joining my coworkers for a Mexican lunch and decided to find lunch on my own. And this happens.

So, this morning I called up my old college bud Jeff and wished him a Happy Birthday (it's on the 8th). Not really a face from the past, since we have kept in phone contact more or less - more me than him - but it has been roughly seven years since we've seen each other.

Wonder what the remainder of 2007 holds in store?

Ghoulish Month

Since this fall weather has arrived early in Northern California, Halloween feels nearer than it actually is. But then of course, the costumes and treats have been on store shelves for probably about a month now. I missed the costume party last year, and if memory serves me correctly, it was because I was out of town that day (Oktoberfest Open House at Ozzie's BMW Center in Chico, CA I believe). This year I have already responded to an eVite providing a solid tentative... no excuses for ditching it outside the unforeseen. Or the ghoulish and gruesome (heaven forbid).

So for the month of October I have included a Bobby "Boris" Pickett classic on the Radio.Blog.Club player just above my profile (and ghastly mug). And possibly more to come... the month is still young remember?

Headlines

I read the news today oh boy:

Britney Loses Custody of Her 2 Kids!
In other news...
Cure for Cancer is Found
World Peace Becomes Reality
Global Warming is Now History