Konrad in Lincoln

Hey guys, long time, no chat. The drought has killed the lakes around here, so the Vacationer may stay bottled up in the shop for the whole summer. :cry: :x But I got other toys to play with too. This was me last Sunday at Council Bluffs. 40 mhp wheelies, what a hoot. Not sure if the image will show up. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

I used an old Hobie 16 trailer for my Vacationer. It's barely big enough, I wouldn't recommend going any smaller. Sorry, no pix that I can find. :cry:

You have rooms that are Off Limits?? :shock: Ok, that's wierd. Have you calculated the square footage reduction of your house since you've lost that room? How does that affect your dollar/sq ft ratio? Have you filed for a tax exemption for that part of the house, or anything? Maybe tell her SHE has to earn the money for the mortgage payment for that square footage or something. See, I've got all KINDS of good marital advice. :shock: Just ask me!

Have NO fear, I'm a veteran of this situation, old Konrad can get you out... Simply quote my favorite quote of all, the one that will save you EVERY time... "It was like that when I got here." ~ Bart Simpson

You know, after seven years, you'd think I'd have gotten the hang of this marriage thing. I changed the gearbox oil in the CR 500 a few weeks back, and didn't have an oil pan readily available in the basement. So I went upstairs and took one of our glass quart-size measuring cups down there and drained the oil into it. I thought, "My wife doesn't cook, she'll never even miss this thing." WRONG! :shock: Eventually several days later, I get it drained into a more appropriate container, and bring the now-oily-gooey glass meauring cup back into the house to wipe it out. She's there in the kitchen watching me, and she's giving me That Look. :shock: :shock: So... these words actually come out of my mouth, and I quote: "Next time, I'll do this when you're not around." See, the problem with saying that is twofold: 1: You imply that you have every intention of continuing the objectionable behavior, in spite of The Look. and... 2: You intend to do this objectionable behavior *in secret* so she won't know about it. :shock: :shock: :shock: Man, some days... :roll:

Is that a plywood keel? What am I seeing there?

Hah! Bruce, have you taken your medication today? The way I see it, she's blowing this thing WAY out of proportion. I don't think it's nearly as bad as The Noodle Incident from a few years ago, or the dog and the baseball. (THAT wasn't a good day EITHER) :shock: I think what she's feeling is... a little left out. YES! THAT's it! She's pregnant, and feeling left out. Like I'm having all the fun. I know the Euro-guys can get sidecars for their dirt bikes... THAT'S IT! I'll go out and buy a nice off-road enduro style SIDECAR for her to ride in. I'll bet they're less than 2 grand. She's gonna love me when she sees this....

Well, As you know, me whiff is a little bit preggers. 4 1/2 months along now, due on July 4th, hoo-yah. Anyway, I have the cargo carrier completed for the Pathfinder, to carry the Honda CR500 for dirt bike riding. The bike is stored in the basement, where I can work on it in relative peace. I've really been wanting to try out the new carrier on the reciever hitch, to make sure the bike fits on it and all. The problem is that I live in a walk-out basement house, and so I'd have to take the bike outside and up the side of the house to the garage to check it out. But by doing that, the bike will get snowy and muddy, and THEN what do I do with it? I can't roll it back into the finished basement like that. Soo.... Yes, Konrad decides he's going to RIDE THE BIKE UP THE STAIRS INSIDE THE HOUSE, to get it to the garage while still keeping it clean. Not just the noise, but boy-howdy, the EXHAUST! :shock: And my pregnant wife, what a short fuse! (Talk about a weapon of mass destruction...) It's not like I DID LAPS AROUND THE HOUSE OR SOMETHING. Sheesh.

The nurse says it's time for my pill now...

Good people, It is no wonder in my mind why the rest of planet earth hates us so much. It's the quality (or lack thereof) of programming on TV. If I have to endure my wife watching yet another "reality" TV series, I'm going to start vomiting blood. Maybe dry heaves after that. "Reality TV"?!?.... Please. I'd rather have a tarantula lay eggs in my ear, than actually burn precious hours of my life watching overly-coached non-actors in a heavily-edited piece of trash called "Survivor", "Joe Millionaire", or the worst yet: "Are You Hot?" *growing hysterical* IS THIS THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO?!? IS THIS REALLY ALL THE BETTER "ENTERTAINMENT" HAS TO BE TO KEEP AMERICANS OCCUPIED AT NIGHT?!? OMG!!! I CAN'T TAKE THIS SH*T ANYMORE! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THIS COUNTRY?!? AAAUUUUGGGHHHhhh....! ! ! ! ! ! :x IF I EVER MEET THE MARKETING SH*T-FOR-BRAINS THAT DREAMED UP THIS PROGRAMMING CONCEPT, THERE'S GONNA BE HELL TO PAY. Ok. I'm better now. Thanks. :oops:

Perhaps this is an idea for floatation? http://www.storopackinc.com/airplus.htm

We're also at about $1.65 here in Nebraska. It's far worse than just fuel at the pumps for your car. The thing about 30 dollar/barrel pricing is that it hurts absolutely EVERYTHING. I mean, think about it: Practically everything you eat, wear, consume, dispose of, whatever, is brought to your local area by truck or some other transport. All using internal combustion engines. When the price of oil goes up, the price of shipping ANYthing to your locale goes up. :x :shock: :!:

Hell, I can think of all KINDS of new things for you to design: We've already talked about a scaled down aircraft carrier that we could do R/C airplanes off of. (That's still my favorite idea) What about a Stevenson's Coffin? Laugh if you must, but have you priced a coffin lately?!? :x :roll: What about a hovercraft? I know you guys fooled around with one and really trashed up your pool when the motor puked, but that would be a good project. With all the high-output, lightweight engines these days, it'd be do-able. The original low-speed bouyancy-assisted wet bike type thing that you've shown pix of is also intrigueing to me. What about a plywood fax machine? A Stevenson's underground tunneling machine? Or a SUBMARINE.... An electric dog washer? A fur-lined sink. The list is virtually endless! Maybe we need to take up a collection to fund the R&D?

No problems when tightening down the straps on the trailer. I had a problem with a few pinhole leaks in my glass, causing the wood to swell behind it and break the glass apart. This happened in two places, but wasn't a result of the kind or type of wood. But it does reinforce your position about not glassing the keel. I'm rather inclined to believe that's a good route to go, now that I've been through it once. But the plans said to do it, so who was I to argue? Once I sealed up the holes, I haven't had any problems since. But you do have to be diligent with your glassing method.

I used plain old dirty # 2 regular pine 1x12's in the bottom of the lumberyard rack. No scarf joints or anything, I just butted it all together and kept going. That was 3 1/2 years ago, and all is well. Don't lose too much sleep over the keel material, you'll be fine with whatever you choose. (Vacationer)

Fintan, quit foolin around with them tank bags and git yerself a good strong 2 stroke motocrosser! I just got a Honda CR 500, brotha! It's the cat's ass! WOOHOO!!!