The day-by-day play-by-play

Day 1 - Block Party
Day 2 - Kennewick, Man
Day 3 - Loafing
Day 4 - Watering the Dogs
Day 5 - In Flight
Day 6 - Epcot
Day 7 - Get in Line
Day 8 - MGM Disney
Day 9 - At Rest
Day 10 - Not George, Anheuser
Day 11 - In Flight (reprise)
Day 12 - In Sanity
Day 12.5 - In Sickness
Day 15 - On the Road
Day 16 - Oregon Caves
Day 17 - Sam Clam's Disco
Day 18 - Dead Man Walking
Day 19 - Will He Hurl?
Day 20 - Traveling
Day 21 - Six Flags, Long Lines
Day 22 - Tied Up in Knott's
Day 23 - Something Goofy
Day 24 - Sacra-Mentos
Day 25 - Ashland
Day 26 - 10,000 Smiles
Day 27 - At the Movies
Day 28 - Dream Homes

Sabbatical 1998 - Day 12

Maniac!

Always wear a helmet.Yes, it's true... I'm insane.  I purposely put myself in harm's way by riding crazy roller coasters.  I take some control of my fate  by riding a motorcycle.  And now this!

Today I installed Windows 98 on my laptop without doing a backup first.  Can you believe it?  I can.  Given that I'm able to type these words, I'll assume it worked. Call me a daredevil. Call me a thrill-seeker. Call me some other time because I'll probably be on the phone to Microsoft support sooner or later.

My gut is still bothering me, so the motorcycle tour has been postponed at least a day or two.  Stay tuned.  That doesn't mean there won't be rides in the local area to tell you about, but it does mean that I'll have to make serious changes to my month-end plans.  Being mortal really bites sometimes.  I showcased my expert mechanical skills today by carefully and skillfully paying a professional motorcycle mechanic to service the bike.  When and if I can get my own internals tuned up properly, the bike will be ready for me.

In other automotive news, Dad's car is having serious brake problems and is really unsafe to drive in its current condition.  So while it's in the shop, I lent him my truck.  I hardly ever drive the truck because it has too many wheels and because it is too difficult to lean through the corners.  Got to see parts of the Vancouver area that brought back memories of a place I once wor.. uh... where I was once employed. Absence does not always make the heart grow fonder.

Coastin', baby!I finally got to watch a recent edition to my DVD collection: "The World's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills in 3D".  See, while you all were slaving away in your cubicles and offices, I was riding coasters all over the world from the comfort of my potato couch.  Neener, Neener!

Saw Armageddon.  You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll kiss $3.50 goodbye (if you catch the matinee... and I can because I'm on sabbatical).  I'm not saying it was a bad film, because it wasn't.  It was actually quite pretty.   Parts of it reminded me of those really expensive airline ads you see on TV from time to time - (you know, slow motion reaction shots of people all over the world looking longingly into the heavens... wondering when the next 747 jumbo will purge its chemical toilets across their fields.)

The acting was... uh... pretty.  The special effects will earn them an award.  The plot was... pretty... normal for a blockbuster film of this genre.   Think Independence Day, if you need a reference.  Lots of tense, completely improbable stuff happening, peppered with humor and, well, Liv.  Miss Tyler is pretty... difficult not to look at. Mmmm... Animal Crackers. Oh, and none of the space scenes were burdened by nasty limitations like the laws of physics or time.  Most common phrase spoken: "Let's get out of here!"  (Just like Scooby-Do.)

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