Chinese Yoyo Attack

DSC02134
Originally uploaded by Seattle Dave.

... plus more pix from a short visit with Henry and Sadie today.

Number Nine!

This is the ninth anniversary for Laurel and me! We're celebrating with dinner tonight at the Union Restaurant. And of course, a new episode of Lost.

Primary plug

As you may recall, my task in Harley class last week, to change oil, transmission, and primary fluids, was foiled by a stripped primary plug. The teacher suggested taking it to the shop.

Well, the shop snoozed and lost -- I gave them a chance to schedule this easy $100 labor + $2 parts, and they never called me back.

So I decided to get to work ... using my new motorcycle lift, a hammer, and a #40 Torx bit, I was able to get a good enough grip on the stripped plug to get it free.

Unfortunately, I didn't get this done until the Harley shop closed for the day, so I'm still missing the $2 part (which I'll pick up tomorrow), but the $100 labor is saved, and my primary fluid is flushing right now.

Me & BrianV

I saw Brian Valentine, former VP at Microsoft, today at the Eastside Harley-Davidson shop. That got me to thinking about our similarities:

• Both big guys
• Both worked on Windows 2000
• Both left Microsoft
• Both joined Amazon
• Apparently, both ride Harleys

Of course, there are differences ... he's probably able to afford several Harleys, and he hasn't returned to Microsoft.

Some folks aren't big BrianV fans, but all I know is that he saved Windows 2000 from being Windows 2002.

New workbench

New workbench
Originally uploaded by Seattle Dave.

The workbench I ordered from Sears finally arrived today. It took me about five hours to set it up, but boy was it worth it! Now I need more tools to put on it.

Dave changes own oil; weather in Hell: 38 degrees, light rain

Today in Harley class, one of our classmates changed the oil, transmission, and primary fluids on his Heritage Softail, along with adjusting his clutch and inspecting his chain tension. That took about two hours, with the teacher guiding him and the other two of us poking around getting close looks in.

Since it is only a three-hour class, I figured we wouldn't do my bike, but the teacher said, "Let's roll it in!" So I ended up changing my oil and transmission fluids, and oil filter.

Unfortunately, my primary plug was stripped, so I couldn't change those fluids or adjust the clutch/chain, and the teacher said, "You'll have to have the shop look at it." Oh well, we can't fix everything ourselves. At least I know exactly what to ask for now, and I can change my own oil from here on out!

(I know I'm nearly 40, but I have to wonder if my Dad is just as emotional reading this as when I was 10 and hit my one and only triple.)

Dave's Diary of Debauchery

When I found out Laurel was going to go to Disneyworld for a week by herself, I figured, "Watch out, Seattle! It's time for Dave to hit the town, bachelor style!" So I present to you the full accounting of my wild time alone (so far):

• Tuesday: Drop Laurel off at airport, go straight home, go to bed.
• Wednesday: Go to work till 6 p.m. Harley class till 9 p.m. Eat McDonald's. Go to bed.
• Thursday: Work till 8 p.m. Pizza for dinner.
• Friday: Felt kind of sick from eating pizza night before. Went to work anyway. Didn't eat a bite all day. Work till 5 p.m. Come home, fill car with stuff that needs to go to the dump. Read till 10:30 p.m., fall alseep with book still open.
• Saturday: No shower. Go straight to dump. Come home and fill car with clothes for Goodwill, go to Goodwill. Ate Arby's. Went to Home Depot and Sears for parts for Harley class. Doing laundry.
• Sunday (predicted): Need to write docs for work, likely to take all day, even during Super Bowl.
• Monday: Already booked for all day at work, might go to dinner with Dave Hale (and his 2- and 5-year-olds)
• Tuesday: Laurel comes home.

The only thing I've done that I normally can't do when Laurel is around is listen to Howard Stern all day every day.

Laurel gone wild

Take a look at some of these pictures from Laurel's trip to Disneyworld. And then recall that this woman, who dressed a Mickey Mouse doll in a cute little rain jacket, can hardly stand to be around kids for 30 minutes without getting jittery. Although she certainly adores little Henry and Sadie Hale, and they her, when they start to crawl all over her, her reaction is to go, "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? HELP!"

Harley Class for Harleys with class

I started my Harley motorcycle maintenance class last night. It was just three of us and the instructor, so we'll have plenty of hands-on bike-fixing time in the upcoming months. Believe it or not, it appears that I am NOT the most mechanically inept of all the people in the class, which is amazing.

The class is every Wednesday night, which really screws up my Lost watching schedule. It is at Lake Washington Technical College and is taught by a Harley mechanic named Tiny -- although it looks like he could eat me for lunch and ask what was for dessert. Nice guy, though.

Next week, we learn to change all the fluids in the bike and adjust the clutch cable. Should be fun!

Leaving Microsoft

You see that kind of blog post title and you think ... WHAT, AGAIN? Well, no, it isn't me leaving, but rather my good friend Chandu Thota -- and we found out via his blog of all ways. Chandu was responsible for giving me my second chance at Microsoft, and in fact I have his old job now, and he isn't getting it back, that's for sure. We wish you luck, Chandu!