30 October, 2006

Random Pics of the Week

Some photos from the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum:

Being a BMW fan, I couldn't help but include the pic of one of the bikes that Rommel & crew used in North Africa in WWII. What a great gun on the side-car. Forget rush hour, the intimidation factor for other motorists would be huge...





26 October, 2006

Weekend Review - Back from Florida

Just back from the diving trip to the Oriskany, the world's largest artificial reef. It must have been a really impressive aircraft carrier back in the day. What an experience! The whole weekend was great, with the exception of having to ride our bikes through some nasty wind and rain on the way down...

The Oriskany: the coolness factor of this dive is high. Plan on short dives, however, because the coolest swim-throughs and things to see are from 90' to 120', in my opinion. The top of the crow's nest is at 70', and the flight deck is at 136'. Stay too long on the flight deck, risk going into deco. Gotta keep a very close eye on your dive computer. This was no doubt my deepest dive, and it's kind of the ultimate "wall" dive, in that you feel like you're descending the side of an underwater skyscraper as you go down. Marine life is still a little weak, but there are already BIG barracuda lurking about. I can't wait to see it again in a year or two, when it's had more time... We managed to meet a man in downtown Pensacola who served on the Oriskany in 1965- a great way to cap off the experience.

The Scuba Shack: (Pensacola, FL) recommended. These guys didn't hold our hands at all, which we found extremely refreshing. We did our own thing, at our own risk.

The New World Landing: highly recommended accommodations. Basically across the street from the Scuba Shack. Great location, great staff, real keys. Old school.

29 Dreams Motorcycle Resort: (Vandiver, AL) a destination in itself. First-class operation, basically a very popular campground for motorcyclists. You'll see every kind of bike imaginable! Great motorcycle road to get there, as well: Alabama highway 25.

Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum: (Leeds, AL) Coolness factor was off the charts. Motorcycles from every manufacturer, and many you never knew existed... You could easily blow the better part of a day there.

Those are some of the highlights of the trip. I couldn't ask for a more fun "guys weekend."

18 October, 2006

I'm off to go Dive on the Oriskany

Leaving Thursday by motorcycle. This should be a fantastic dive... What a great reef the Oriskany will be for Pensacola. On the way back, I'm stopping at a vintage motorcycle museum in Alabama- should get some great pics... Mixing my scuba diving and motorcycling habits- beats a day at the office!

14 October, 2006

Here's a Little Gem

for all the people in the Business and Finance section at Yahoo Answers who seem to continually ask, "What is the best way to save money?" They go on to explain the debt piling up, etc. Here's the answer:

ALWAYS SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE.

There we go. I've done my part today. Now you go to Yahoo Answers, and prepare to read questions that will have you laughing out loud... Enjoy!

09 October, 2006

Ah, Columbus Day...

If you want to encounter some extreme intellectual firepower, head over to Yahoo Answers and check out the questions about Columbus. Plenty of haters over there... Good guy or bad, Columbus started the ball rolling on the eventual conquest of indigenous people that made our quality of life what it is today! It is what it is, so the haters will just have to get over it...

On a much lighter note, my next 'adventure' occurs this month: I'm riding my motorcycle down to Pensacola Florida to go scuba diving on the site of the USS Oriskany, the now-sunken aircraft carrier of John McCain fame... the flight deck is at 135 feet, and the top of the tower is at 70. Can't wait for this one!

On the way back, my friends and I will stay at the 29 Dreams Motorcycle Resort near Birmingham, Alabama. It's motorcycles only, so it should be cool.