My favorite blogging tool

I have no way of knowing, but I suspect most people who use Blogger.com for their blogs, compose their posts within the Blogger online software. That’s what I did for several years before I discovered Windows Live Writer.

It comes as part of a suite of free software from Microsoft called Windows Live Essentials and gives me much more control over sizing and placing images and videos. If you’re using a Windows operating system and want to try it, you can check it out here. The suite also includes Windows Live Mail, which makes it a breeze to manage multiple email addresses.

John Deere back from the dead

I started our riding lawnmower this afternoon.

Not because I was going to use it, just to make sure that 24 hours on the battery charger did its job. It did. The engine on the John Deere LA125 fired right up, filling the garage with heavy exhaust fumes.

I hadn’t run the mower for probably four months and the battery was stone cold dead when I checked it yesterday.

I don’t plan to mow for another three months or so, but I want it to be able to climb aboard the dealer’s trailer when it comes to take the little tractor in for its spring tune-up.

Crazy fast shipping

When the AC adapter for my Dell Inspiron Mini 9 died last Friday, I figured it would be a week or more before I could get a replacement and have the use of my netbook restored.

Not so.

The AC adapter I ordered Friday afternoon was in our post office box this morning! That’s less than 72 hours, shipped by First Class Parcel Rate!

Thank you Amazon.com and ChargerBuy.com.

And it was only $11.34, compared with the $49.99 price of the official Dell replacement. Ho ho.

The only downside is that it looks like it will be a tighter fit in the accessory pouch on the carrying case I use for the netbook, but I think I can make it work.

Calling my name

During our 300-mile round trip to Cape Girardeau yesterday, the subject of Daytona Beach Bike Week came up.

Charlie says he’s not interested – he’s saving his days off for a ride to Alaska this summer. I’m having Daytona thoughts, not because I love Bike Week. I don’t. It’s a freak show that gets less interesting every time I see it.

I went in 1992 and ‘93 and again in 2009. The ‘92 trip was the best of the three. I camped with several friends from the Indianapolis BMW Club at the Space Coast BMW Club enclave at Bulow Plantation and we hit all of the high spots – the Jap bike bash, women wrestling semi-nude in coleslaw at the Cabbage Patch, the Harley-Davidson style show, Main Street and the Boot Hill Saloon, the vendors at Daytona International Speedway… I had a great time.

The ‘93 trip was motivated largely by a desire to relive the previous year’s experiences and to connect with a woman from the Florida Keys I’d established a long-distance relationship with. It fell short of my expectations on all levels and left me with no desire to go back.

Over the years, the Bulow venue went away and the BMW folks established a new enclave at a campground northwest of Daytona along I-95.

Encouraged by the fact that several of my Indy club friends would be there, and that I now had a more southerly route to Daytona from my Arkansas home, I decided to revisit Bike Week in 2009. It was a mistake.

My Indy friends left the campground the day before I arrived, fleeing to South Florida in search of warmer weather. I spent two long teeth-chattering nights in my tent wondering why in hell I was there before I finally packed up and rode home. The only thing I enjoyed about being there was sitting on a bench at Flagler Beach and gazing out at the ocean. The most fun I had was the adventure of riding there and back. I made one circuit of Daytona, cruising Main Street and hitting the local BMW shop for a new cap and t-shirt.

So why am I thinking about Bike Week 2011? Beats the hell out of me. I think maybe I just want to go for a ride. Maybe I’d be better off taking a few days to look for sunny beaches and warm breezes in Texas.

All I know is that I hear a BMW K1200GT softly calling my name from the garage.

Mom’s ham loaf. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

My mother was a good, but not exceptional, cook. She tended to overcook hamburgers. Her turkey was sometimes as dry as cardboard.

But she made a ham loaf that was absolutely wonderful. It was like candy meat.

Happily, I still have her recipe file. Even better, Maria enjoys treating me to my mom’s ham loaf on special occasions.

Try it. I think you’ll like it.

To the Cape and back

Charlie Parsons and I loaded up friend Susan’s ailing BMW R1100RT this morning and hauled it up to Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles at Cape Girardeau, Mo. It’s just shy of 300 miles for the round trip, so it took about 8 hours from start to finish.

The bike, which has a California sidecar, has an electrical problem that causes the battery to discharge and we’ve been unable to start it, so Susan agreed to turn it over to the pros. Her aim is to get it back in running condition and sell it, so if you are in the market for a BMW sidecar rig or know someone who is, let me know and I’ll hook you up with Susan.

After we dropped the bike off, I persuaded Charlie to let me buy him lunch at White Castle – the nearest one to our part of the country. We each had 5 cheeseburgers and a drink. Charlie had sweet potato fries as well.

Charlie and Deb and Susan are coming over for dinner this evening, so we stopped at Mr. T’s, the fabulous liquor store on the Missouri-Arkansas state line and loaded up on German beer.

On the way back to the SUV, I noticed this guy who was carrying a dog in a satchel lashed to the back of his metric cruiser motorcycle. The dog seemed very happy to be going for a ride.

Riding and problem solving

It’s a glorious sunny 54 degrees this afternoon, so I suited up and took the K75S for a 50-mile jaunt that included a stop at Seattle Grind for coffee and internet.

After a few minutes online, I noticed my Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook was running on battery power, even though it was plugged into the outlet next to my table. I jiggled the cord, checked the connections and packed everything up lest I wipe out the battery completely. I noticed that the AC adapter rattles, like something is loose inside.

Back at home, I checked the AC adapter with my multimeter and confirmed that it’s not putting out any DC current. Close inspection reveals it’s held together with a nearly microscopic Allen screw, for which I have no wrench. I figured the odds of me getting a tiny Allen wrench, opening the compartment, finding the problem and fixing it, were not good. I’d have more invested in gasoline, parts and labor than it would cost to replace the adapter.

So imagine my shock when I found the Dell replacement part costs $49.99!

As I often do when confronted with an irrationally high price, I looked for a replacement on Amazon.com. Sure enough, I found one for $11.34. One mouse click and it’s on the way to me.

They really are our best friends

Texting ain’t all bad

A suicide bomber planning an attack in Moscow on New Year’s Eve was killed in her apartment when her bomb was prematurely detonated by an unexpected text message.

According to Russian security sources, the text message — a remote trigger for a cell phone belt bomb — wished her a happy new year, accidentally setting off the blast. The accident may have saved hundreds of lives, these officials believe, as the woman intended to use the bomb in a suicide attack near Red Square later that night.

The woman is believed to be part of the same group that struck Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on Monday, killing at least 35 people and wounding another 100. Officials haven’t directly said who they believe is behind the terrorist attacks, but anonymous sources have pointed to Islamic North Caucasus rebels, which have been in conflict with the Russian state for over a decade.

Cell phones have become a remote detonator of choice for terrorist groups the world over.

If you care about the Constitution, and you should, watch this

Sprint 4G? Hah!

Seems like every time I turn around, I have an email or snail mail from Sprint trying to sell me one of their fabulous new 4G phones.

That might interest me if I had access to the Sprint 4G network. If you go to the Sprint 4G Coverage page, you’ll see just how limited the new coverage is. The Sprint 4G network is only available in major metropolitan areas in 29 states.

Their 4G service isn’t available in Arkansas (or Indiana) and the only city in Tennessee with 4G is Nashville. Not in Memphis.

To experience Sprint 4G service, I’d have to drive about 220 miles north to St. Louis.

Besides, I already have a 4G-capable USB dongle for my netbook, just in case I ever find myself within the range of a 4G signal.

Hey, media morons!

This is a clip. In this case it’s an 8 round clip for an M1 Garand rifle.

This is a magazine. The 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol used in the Tucson shootings is fed by a magazine, not a clip. If you want to be taken seriously, learn the difference.

Frank finds a free breakfast for himself and Zeb

I was seeing Maria off to work this morning when Frank, the free range Jack Russell terrier who nominally belongs to David Head, whose Nine Oaks Cattle Co. ranch borders out property to the west, scampered up to greet us.

Frank is always exploding with happiness to see me, Maria, you, anyone. We petted him, Maria drove off to work and Frank trotted after me as I walked to the garage to get the small bag of kibble we keep there for visiting dogs.

I scattered some onto the driveway. Frank sniffed, took a piece and tore off at full speed toward the Hollands’ workshop next door to the east. Frank goes everywhere at full speed. It’s what Jack Russells do.

I was puzzled until I saw him stop behind the shop and moments later his buddy Zeb, a black lab also owned by Head, got to his feet and followed Frank back to the free food.

I gave Zeb a pat on the head and tossed down a couple more handfuls.

I love it when neighborhood dogs come visiting.

My Colorado friends need to see this

Stepping in it

Pete the Aussie has a serious dislike for and fear of fireworks and gunfire. And he has exceptionally good hearing, considering that Ruthie insists on barking in his ears.

So when it came time to get up and go outside Sunday morning, poor old deaf Ruthie charged out into the yard. Pete, however, refused to go outside because he had heard the sound of hunters firing shotguns in the distance. I tried to drag him to the back door, but he pulled away and tried to hide under our bed.

I decided to humor him and closed the back door, got out his leash and took him out through the front door without resistance. He trotted merrily down the driveway with me as I walked to the paper tube, extracted the Sunday paper and tucked it under my arm. He also seemed calm when I walked him back past the garage door to the gate to the fenced back yard. I unclipped the leash and he strolled off to do his business.

I went inside through the back door and immediately noticed I had stepped in dog poop and it was embedded in the cleats of my left hiking shoe.

I changed shoes and put the offending shoe on the back porch to dry for a couple of days.

I retrieved it this afternoon, cleaned it as well as I could with a stick from the yard, and headed in to town with the aim of walking off the remainder.

Which is why, as I sit here at Seattle Grind with my netbook and coffee, I smell faintly of dogshit.

How embarrassing.

1892 flashback

This 1892 U.S. Army sharpshooter certificate was another unexpected discovery as I probed some of my parents’ long neglected family records this morning.

It was issued to 25-year-old Pvt. Anthony Hinkle of Logansport, Ind., while he was serving at Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver, Wash.

Uncle Tony was my maternal great-uncle, having married the sister of my mother’s dad. He was a rural mail carrier. I never knew him because he died in 1930 at the age of 63 – 15 years before I was born. His widow, Daisy Hinkle, lived into her 90s and I recall visiting her at her Logansport home with my parents many times.

Celebrating Big Sur

Speaking of stamps, as I was a couple of days ago, this is a first day cover of one of my all time favorite U.S. postage stamps – the California Statehood Sesquicentennial commemorative issued at Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2000.

It celebrates the beauty of the Big Sur coast south of Monterey along the most glorious road I’ve ever ridden in my more than 300,000 motorcycle miles.

I bought several sheets of this stamp and still have most of a sheet left. I’d forgotten all about having the first day cover until I discovered it while rooting through boxes in the garage this morning.

Rooster approved

I found this gem on Laura’s Fetch My Flying Monkeys blog and had to share it.

Friday morning report

We have 2 inches of snow on the ground, but it will probably be gone by Monday. Yesterday’s snow was only the second measureable snowfall of the season and, with any luck, will be the last.
Naturally, all of the schools are closed.
The concrete apron in front of our garage and the front sidewalk are completely clear of snow because they retained enough heat to melt it when it fell yesterday, so I have no snow to shovel – not that I'd bother for 2 inches of the stuff.
The baristas at Seattle Grind must think I’ve died. I haven’t been in for coffee in a couple of weeks and I’m not going in today either.
Ever since I realized I could make my own mocha cappuccino at home, I’ve lost my enthusiasm for driving in to town and paying for coffee. And after the equivalent of a vente mocha cappuccino first thing in the morning, I’m pretty coffeed-out for the day. And I rather enjoy thinking about the money I’m saving on coffee and gasoline.
Our tax documents are trickling in slowly and I have a copy of H&R Block’s tax software for 2010, but there’s no rush. The IRS says it will take them at least until the middle of next month, and maybe longer, to update their computers for those of us who itemize our deductions.
Speaking (or writing) of which, I need to go to the post office to pick up the mail and maybe buy some stamps. I just checked the list of stamps to be issued this year by the U.S. Postal Service:

• Lunar New Year - Year of the Rabbit
  
• Black Heritage - Barbara Jordan
  
• Kansas Statehood
  
• Ronald Reagan
  
• Garden of Love - a set of 10 flower stamps
  
• Jazz
  
• Legends of Hollywood - Gregory Peck
  
• Helen Hayes - The "First Lady of Theater"
  
• The Civil War, 1861 - souvenir sheet of stamps and the first in a five-year series
  
• Indianapolis 500
  
• Owney the Postal Dog
  
• American Treasures - Edward Hopper, The Long Leg - the stamp that was canceled in 2009
  
• Mercury Project & MESSENGER Mission - a set of 2 stamps, one featuring Alan Shepard
  
• U.S. Merchant Marine - a block of 4 stamps featuring historic vessels
  
• American Scientists - Melvin Calvin, Asa Gray, Maria Goeppert Mayer, and Severo Ochoa
  
• Latin Music Legends - Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda, Selena, Carlos Gardel, and Celia Cruz
  
• Romare Bearden - set of 4 stamps
  
• Pioneers of American Industrial Design - set of 12 stamps
  
• Flags of our Nation - set #5 in the series
  
• Literary Arts - Mark Twain
  
• Christmas - Madonna of the Candelabra
  
• Holiday Contemporary - Holiday Baubles

My favorite from the list is Owney the Postal Dog. Here’s what Wikipedia says about him:

Postal workers in the Albany post office found a puppy asleep on their mail bags in 1888. It seems that he had been attracted to the texture or scent of the mailbags and traveled with them as they were transported around the country on the Railway Mail Service train. He was considered to be good luck by postal workers, since no train he ever rode on was in a wreck.
As his trips grew longer, the postal clerks at Albany became concerned that the dog be identified, and, if necessary returned to them. They bought Owney a collar with a metal tag that read: "Owney, Post Office, Albany, New York" at which point he became the unofficial mascot of the railway mail service.
The dog was later adopted by Railway mail clerks as their unofficial mascot. They marked his travels by placing tags on his collar. Throughout his life, Owney accumulated 1,017 tags, tokens, trinkets, and medals which are now on display at the National Postal Museum.
In 1895, Owney made an around-the-world trip, aboard trains and steamships. Starting from Tacoma, Washington, he traveled throughout Asia and across Europe, before returning to Albany.
Owney retired from the Railway Mail Service in 1897 due to poor eyesight and old age. However, as a world-traveled dog he was difficult to contain and slipped out of the Albany post office in June 1897.
The exact details of the incident which lead to his death are unclear, but according to the National Postal Museum website, "Owney was mistreated while being shown off to a newspaper reporter in Toledo, Ohio and became so mad that he bit a postal worker." Days later the man died from the injury. Word spread that Owney was mad, so on July 11, 1897, a police officer shot the dog.

Postal workers took Owney’s body to a taxidermist and his remains can be seen today at the U.S. Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

The date of issue for Owney’s stamp is Wednesday, July 27.

My buddy Pete

What would we do without dogs?

They say people who have a dog are less likely to have a heart attack or a stroke. And if they do have a heart attack or a stroke, they recover much faster if there’s a dog in the house.

Pete the Aussie is a sweet tempered, whip-smart dog who hangs out with me every day. I think he kinda likes me too. He leans against my legs and rubs up against me like a cat.