CBBaron

Left the bike home today

First time since last winter I have done that due to weather. 

I could have ridden but 30s and rain is no fun so I took the easy way out.

I will be riding whenever the roads are clear this winter. I used to store the bike during the winter but every sunny day I would wish I had it.

As for riding gear I wear a Tourmaster Transistion2 jacket and Caliber pants. They do a decent job of keeping out the wind and light rains. If its cold and wet I add a rain suit over it. Then I just layer under depending on the temp.

On the highway below freezing you really need heated gear to stay warm. Just too much heat loss to ride like that very long. I have not yet gone that far as my commute is 8 miles of city streets but I hope to so I can do longer rides in the late fall early spring.

Craig

Tankless appears to be the way to go.

Anyone heard anything bad?

Tankless are great for continuous supply of hot water and efficiency. They also take up much less room in your utility room. However there are a couple use differences.

First it takes a few seconds for the unit to warm up when you turn on the water. This means hot water will take a little longer to get to the tap. In addition if you use hot water in bursts like when washing dishes you will get pulses of hot and cool water as the unit shuts off every time you turn off the water. Also they will not heat the water if you are running it slowing, like some people do when washing dishes or shaving. 

Gas units work great for a whole house supply. Ours will run 2 showers even in the winter. However electric units are not as powerful and may not be able to heat our cold winter ground water sufficiently for a hot shower. They definitely will not run multiple sources at the same time. In addition there is not much energy savings for an electric compared to a tank as an electric tank can be very well insulated unlike a gas tank unit which must have an exhaust. 

We have been very pleased with ours but they do require some adjustment.

Craig

Sorry did not mean to imply that satellite service would only add 1/4 sec. That was just the physics of the link.

I dont have the sevice as I cannot easily get a clear view of the southern sky due to a small lot and numerous tall trees. So I cant comment on service. However I do know they have won awards for customer satisfaction and actual user rates match or exceed published rates a much higher percentage of the time than cable or dsl services. At least that is the industry news articles higher ups pass around. 

Craig

Until you hit their "fair access policy" limit and they slap you in the face with a 56K connection.

 

also, mine wasn't 1/4 second, it was 2 seconds roundtrip...

Different services have different policies. I believe Exceed is using a policy similar to a cell phone (with larger limits) where you buy a plan based on total download. Not sure what happens when you exceed.

1/4 second is the one way best case based on the speed of light. A ping takes a round trip plus latencies through the modem and the internet. So I would expect best case ping times to be over a second. 

Sorry did not mean to imply that satellite service would only add 1/4 sec. That was just the physics of the link.

Craig

Buying a new vehicle like this would be ridiculous for OSU.

Having a armored car as a show of force for crowd control or swat duty is not a bad idea.

Getting one cheap/free is a good deal even if it is over kill. 

Nearly every decent sized police force has a vehicle or 2 that is mostly for show, whether it is an antique parade vehicle or army surplus. 

What do you expect for maintenance costs on a seldom used diesel truck? Probably less than it costs for a cruiser, given the difference in mileage. 

Sure its over kill but its cool and the price was right.

Craig

Excede. We build their ground antennas, and a few other items for the parent company Viasat. I have no experience with them. Just trying to stay employed. 

I worked on the main chip in the modems for that service. We are part of Viasat now. 

Should be similar to Hughes internet service though I think speeds are a little better with Exceed.

With satellite internet you can get good bandwidth for web browsing, video or audio streaming and other bandwidth intensive applications like file downloads.

But there is a latency due to the distance the signal has to travel. The satellite is about the 26,000 miles high. A signal has to bounce off the satellite ad back to earth for a 52000 mile one way trip. Which adds about 1/4 sec to the link. This will make online gaming and interactive VPN service laggy compared to ground services.

Craig

Sounds like the Steelers this year.

They traded for a left tackle after 4 games who torn his tricep in pre-game warmups and is on injured reserve before playing a snap.

Craig

I like the following bikes, in no particular order...

 

BMW 800GT

Triumph 800XC

Triumph Explorer 1200

KTM 990 Adventure

There are others, but this is my short list.

Quite a down grade in hp from your Duc. Sure you can handle it

I really want to get a small (250-400cc) dual-sport or supermoto. Would not be a replacement for the Strom but rather a complement

Craig

This story make no sense.

It seems so random. No history, no reported fighting, no hint anything is wrong.

I have to imagine there is more to the story.

As to the other comments.

1) As of yet she has not been proven guilty. That is the reason for a trial.

2) I do not think torture accomplishes anything. The person who implements it should either be torn up by it or is not really any better. However a simpler way to remove this kind of garbage would be a good idea.

Sick, just sick

Craig

Notice "unconventional oil"

This means its not the easy to extract kind.

And it sounds like they dont really know how big it is or how much could feasibly be extracted. Sounds like another oil sands or shale oil reserve. These are expensive to extract and so are only profitable if prices remain high. Saudi an the other middle east producers will continue to make big profits and we will continue to have high prices. 

But it is good news for the Aussies as they will not have to import like they currently do once this is developed.

Craig

^{Do you have the street tires for the 426 or just knobby's?}

Why would you want street tires on that bike? It is an off-road bike that is street legal. Its not something you are going to want to commute on.

Was not pleased with the off brand tablet I bought a couple years ago. App support was poor and it did not run many of the "supported" apps very well. Bought it for my daughter for Christmas but she hardly ever used it.

Got a Kindle Fire last year as a gift. And while the hardware is good for the price, I dont really care for the App support. It works great for Amazon content but has a severe lack of Google app support (youtube, gmail, chrome, etc.) and does not have nearly as many other apps. 

I have been very happy with the Samsung phones. Personally I would go with a Galaxy tablet. Google Nexus seems to be pretty well supported also. Either way I would stick with a model that has good sales. This will ensure best app support.

Craig

I think it's cruel to name a Pit Bull "Tatertot."  Then again, I wanted to call my daughter's shep-rott "Kitty" but we ended up with the more dignified name "Tootsie."

Im guessing the boy named it.

My parents cat was named Kitkat by my niece. Tatortot sounds like something a toddler would come up with.

And I agree with the Christi it is a much better name than Gator. Pitbulls get a bad rap, it doesnt help anything to have a name that implies it bites.

Craig

They have 1 sandwich I would call grilled cheese the rest are large grilled sandwiches usually with some very interesting combinations of ingredients.

They are a little expensive, but the sandwiches are also very good. Beer selection is very good also. 

I dont do the long waits for a table so I just go at less popular times. 

Most sandwiches are carnivore friendly  only a couple are Vegan , though they do have non meat options on some. 

Dude Abides is great.

Its a good special occasion restaurant. I wouldn't go there regularly if you value your heart or waist line.   

Craig 

You just need longer legs

ADV bikes are a little tall to accommodate the suspension. Which is why as a taller rider I like them.

If you prefer something a little closer to the ground then the related naked bikes like the en650r, sv650 or fz6r are great options.

phat fingered from my phone

Ohio is nerdiest state?

Most library visits per capita

Atleast it is one of the few that maybe considered a positive. 

Adventure bikes have always had dirt bike style front fenders rather than fork-mounted fenders.

My VSTROM 650 does NOT have a beak and while it's still ugly I think it looks better than that new 1000.

Vstroms out sell most of the others because they are much cheaper and available at more dealers than Triumph, KTM or Duc.

Craig

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

Dmn looked through the pictures again and all I can see is that stupid beak. The bike look like a bird and not in a good way.

Visually the new bike has much less bulk to the front with the narrower headlight and visual breakup around the front fairing. But I cant get past the stupid over emphasized beak. And Im usually one who couldn't care less what a bike looks like.

Spec wise is is just an incremental upgrade similar to the DL650 a couple years ago. Keeps it relevant but not class leader. 

Craig

It's 115 crank.. So what's that? 98 or so at the wheel? It'll be a fun bike, and probably pretty quick, but I wouldn't buy it based on power... I see this thing as kind of a gimmick to drum up sales... If they raised msrp up 2k and priced it a hair under 10 and added more quality components, I think it would be a more solid option... Although, nakeds don't sell well here anyways, maybe that's the price they determined was needed to actually drum up sales

For most buyers skimping on suspension and saving $2k is a better marketing tactic than having top line components. If your looking for top line suspension and other pieces then you probably will be more interested in the Duc and Triumph R or just go with an R1. I think its a good strategy for Yamaha though it may not be what you really want.

Its a nice looking bike. Seem to be a hot category right now and I can see why. I don't understand the interest from most riders in supersports. Naked and similar models are a much better fit for the average rider.

Craig 

No spokes hurts it when comparing to the Tiger or KTM offerings, and I'm still not convinced it's even in the same category as the Duc or BMW. Cheaper to own and service? Sure, if you're paying someone to do it for you. That's a definite plus in the Suzi's column.

Every one of those models mentioned except the KTM have a cast 19" model that targets mainstream markets more than hard core.

VSTROM seems to try to be 90% of the performance at 60% of the price. A great option for budget conscious buyer's. I still prefer the 650 mostly for the same reasons.

Do not care for the over emphasized beak blah

Craig

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

The frustrating thing for me is that my fatherinlaw knows this but still chooses to ride without any kind of gear.

He has decided to sell the bike rather than be "constrained".

I have not often heard these myths except to dispel them. I guess I don't know the "right riders"

Craig

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

Seeing Bald Eagles in the wild is plain awesome.  Great pics!

Agree

There are several nesting pairs near Cleveland. I know of atleast one in the CVNP and one on the East Branch Reservoir in Geauga Co.

My father saw one pick up the kind quarter of a fawn that had been killed accidentally in his field. Amazing the size of these birds.

And yes they are scavengers at least as much as they are fishers. Dead fish just means easy fishing

So they will stick around a draining reservoir as long as the fishing or scavenging is good. 

Craig 

I hate people. 

I agree

Wow,

Great job on your response.

Its amazing the crash worthiness of modern cars!!

Craig

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