Monthly Archive for July, 2008

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Killer Hybrids

Published on July 10, 2008 in car and rant by risu. Closed

Anyone out there have a Toyota Camry Hybrid? If so, then the blood of the lead engineer who developed you car is on your hands! The Aichi-ken Labor Bureau ruled in favor of the family of the 45-year engineer that they be entitled to compensatory payments from his work insurance. The engineer who died in January of 2006 typically worked 80-hours of overtime per month in the time leading up to his death. All this work was in preparation for the roll-out of the first-generation USDM Camry Hybrid for the North American International Auto Show. If you have a second-generation Prius, Highlander hybrid, or RX-400h, you might be just as guilty.

Are you happy now?

Go Play In Traffic

Published on July 9, 2008 in bike, rant and Review by oni. Closed

I violated one of my cardinal rules last night. I knew I was violating it while I was doing it, but I figured it would be okay (just this once!). I bought a cheap bike floor pump…

Sunday found me, “The Wife” (just an FYI, sometimes when you refer to your wife as “the wife” instead of her actually name, certain fringe segments of the female gender get PISSED. So you have been warned!) and “The Kid” up at my parents house, having a cook out.

Personally, I was engaged in a personal fashion show, looking for the gaudiest cycling clothes I could find as I was finally going to start commuting to work a couple of days a week. I’m getting old and weak and it’s time to put the 8 inch hydraulic brakes on that! (nice deft cycling metaphor there, eh?) Continue reading ‘Go Play In Traffic’

Riding without Pants

Published on July 8, 2008 in bike, rant and Travel by risu. Closed

I forgot a pair of Oakley Ballistic shorts on Maui at Dr. Kenny’s. I also lost a new bottle of allergy eye drops and forgot a four-pack of Maui Brewing Coconut Porter in the fridge. I know I’ll eventually get the shorts back, but in the meantime I have to pick up another pair of something. Herein lies the bug in the plan of “packing light and washing in between rides” – forgetting the stuff that’s hanging out to dry.

Smooth Sailing

Published on July 7, 2008 in rant, Review and Travel by risu. Closed

The ferry back was much smoother than the ride out. After the initial motion leaving Kahului harbour, the ship was very smooth and there was no weirdness from the following sea. About half-an-hour out of Honolulu, the helmsman changed hte throttle position or something, and a fairly pronounced vibration and noise began – not sure if the engines weren’t running in their “sweet spot”, or maybe one was set slightly different from the other and the difference set up a harmonic vibration.

I must sat that the operation is well done, especially the ground crew that checks in passengers and vehicles, directs them to the appropriate waiting area, and guides them aboard into the the parking dock. Everyone we met up to the stairways leading to the passenger deck were courteous and professional, and most importantly, nice. Continue reading ‘Smooth Sailing’

Jumping for Fun and Profit

Published on July 6, 2008 in bike and Travel by risu. Closed

Camel toe guyBack aboard the Alakai at Kahului harbour bound for Honolulu. We had four good days of hot sunny weather for mountain biking on Maui. On Thursday, we went up to “Little Whistler” in the hills near Makawao. Friday was an impromptu jump session in out host Dr. Kenny’s backyard. Saturday and today was more grueling pain and suffering up in the Makawao trail network, with some jump training to wrap things up today before we headed back to pack up and head to the dock. Supposedly, the trip back is the worst one. There is a following sea, so the behavior of the ship becomes a weird wallowing yaw. Also, because it is night, there are no visual cues like the horizon. I might have ot go out on deck and keep my eyes on the coastal lights if I get nauseous. Here’s hoping for the best!

Amazon thinks Hawaii isnt a state?

Published on July 6, 2008 in rant by derek. Closed

Dear Amazon, Can you tell me why your ASIN B00007GQLS cannot be shipped to Hawaii?

Thank you for writing to Amazon.com.

We are in the process of expanding the types of items that we are able to export to our customers living in U.S. territories, but at this time we cannot ship Camera & Photo products to U.S. territories.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

WTF! Dont you people know that Hawaii has been a state for 49 years!?

Thanks Amazon. Although you have free shipping, you are still IDIOTS!

Permission to Come Aboard, Sir.

Published on July 3, 2008 in bike and Travel by risu. Closed

It’s nearly 07:00, and we’re aboard the Alakai bound for Kahului Harbor now.  Security, check-in, and boarding were no problem.  The inside is really nice, clean and comfortable – It is new, so time will tell how good it will look after a bunch of use.  I thought we were supposed to be sailing by now…  We were one of the first ones aboard.  Since we got a big group, we have a 6-seat lounge area with a table and electrical outlets.  As you can tell, the onboard wireless internet does in fact work properly, since I’m posting this real-time.

There is a bit of shaking going on, kind-of an up and down motion, like when they load baggage aboard an aircraft.  It wasn’t there earlier when vehicle loading was going on, so I’m not sure what it is.  Engines?

I’m going to have my $3.00 USD pastry and raspberry iced tea now.

Here Today, Gone to Maui

Published on July 2, 2008 in bike and Travel by risu. Closed

Off to Maui tomorrow with Jeff, Sara, Ckucke, and Root for some Upcountry MTB trail riding. We’ll load up Jeff’s Taco and ride the early Super Fairy over, then catch the late one back on Sunday. With any luck, we’ll be riding all four days, so stay tuned for some interesting tales of adventure, suffering, and woe! We’ll be staying up there in Dr. Kenny’s downstairs, so the trails will be close at hand. I got all my stuff for the ride – I just have to pack it all into one gearbag tonight and head to Jeff’s by 04:00 tomorrow morning!

Customer Service +

Published on July 2, 2008 in SUAR by taro. Closed

Amazing how much a difference competent and personable service can make. Kauai airport bar, the veteran bar tender(ess) friendly, efficient, personable. After downing my Guiness in half hour, I didn’t blink at leaving $10 for the standard glass size. Then at Ala Moana Vim & Vigor looking for ginger stuff for potential seasickness, the salesgirl there was also friendly, personable, knowledgable that it makes you want to buy something from the store. I suppose it helps that she was something of a hottie too, but it wouldn’t work if she were hot but unhelpful. Ended up buying a pack of ginger chews and a box of a MRE like paneer cheese and peas thingy. Sounded good, would prob go good with the humanitarian ration lentils!

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Are You Happy Now?

Published on July 1, 2008 in bike by risu. Closed

I had a little trouble getting the pictures in the blog entry on the gloves formatted without crashing IE yesterday, so I got home a little late. The sun was still high in the clear sky, so I went out on a spin on the Bridgestone. It was about as unbearably hot as it was on the weekend, but the humidity was low, so as long as long as I was moving, evaporative cooling kept me cool. I just wanted to get out and spin Sunday’s fatigue out of my legs in anticipation of the upcoming Maui trip. The distance and physical exertion level on the Sunday ride was on the mild side, so there wasn’t a whole lot of residual leg burn. Since Saturday night, my chest and arms were sore from a Friday workout. The discomfort was fairly acute after the ride. With some stretching, it should be fine for riding on Thursday.

D = 15.16 km (9.42-miles), Vavr = 19.4 km/h (12.1 mph), Vmax = 51.7 km/h (32.1 mph), T = 47-minutes