I didn't think he was going that fast, tbh, but I admit know bugger all about motorcyle riding.

Translation from http://www.channel-ai.com/about555.html

Every day, with you – POP!~
Every day, as a couple – POP!~
Aa! The evening sun won’t seem like it’s setting if it’s looked at upside-down - POP!~
Every day, for some reason or another – POP!~
Every day, with a motorcyle – POP!~
Aa! The foreboding smell of rain!
I have an umbrella that’s full of holes! POP!~

POP! POP! POP!~

If I open the bottles of beer – POP!~
From here it’s jumping – POP!~

[Indistinguishable drunken(?) noises] POP! POP! POP!~

RU – JI – KA – WO – KA – YU – RI - NA
[not sure of meaning, or even sounds themselves]

Aaaa! POP! POP! POP!~

Aa! I shake hands with the guy I hate
Aa! Today also I’m doing my best!

POP! POP! POP!~

My name came from a 'teen nickname "Smiley" which quickly transmorgrified from "Schmiwy" to "Schmawy" and it stuck, so it's not my birth name but feels like my name nonetheless. Like a lot of people here, this is my first real interaction on the web, and I feel a lot like Kreegrath and Alien_concept that the idea of talking about myself feels unnatural, since I don't do it in real life so why do it here?

Sooo...

I was born in the UK, emigrated to New England in 1973. I'm pretty much a textbook definition of 'Yankee', but my parents were somewhat private people, so my upbringing was in a sense very British. I have always had a deep love of the United States, but have always felt somewhat at odds with it. There is a contingent of citizens here that cannot defend their consciousness from the media. For more information on that topic contact Choggie. Or Quantummushroom for that matter.

My interests lie in anything creative. I spend time doing oil paintings, trying to write songs, designing and building small wooden boats, restoring old 19^thC. houses, and working full time as an industrial designer. Creativity has by definition to me meant "maximizing expression within constraints". That's why I like the Sift so much, because the meat of the project is inherently someone else's work and otherwise grounds for bannination. So I express myself with what I can, and it's proven to be rewarding and fun. I mean, every artist restricts themselves with media, subject matter, style, ect., right?

This is a VERY special place on the internet If you hadn't noticed, and I have sworn to defend it by tooth and nail. If you do anything to jeopardize The Sift you can expect me, and ten others like me, to come after you. We will defend this bastion of decencey on the internet to our last keystroke. I have real relationships with the people here. I cannot abide by those who would say something in thread that they would not say in 'meatspace' or 'in real life'. I maintain that this isn't virtual at all. That's why this place is different. But I don't have to tell that to anyone here.

I'm a bit older than many, and younger than some on The Sift. I've been here from day one, counting lurking. The only other place that felt like this was MeFi. We've got DagMaggot to thank for that cultural infustion, I think. I get very upset when valued members start to feel this is no place for them, and will do whatever I can to make sure they don't leave. I have been harassing senior members lately when they start to feel disenfranchised by The Sift. We owe so much to their efforts, and as much as I feel we can carry the torch of decency for them, I get pretty broken up when they leave.

In conclusion, I have 2 ¹/₂ main principles that guide me in everything I do. The first is Love, the second is Hard Work. What one won't fix the other will, and if you use both look out! The third lesser principle is 'shoot for art', but it's far less important.

In the interest of full disclosure let it be known that I drink, smoke, own and shoot guns, ride motorcyles, climb mountains and sail seas, sew, use a straight razor, think being gay is awesome if you're into it, like paying taxes, and vote.

And I love you all.

You won't find what I wrote on google because *gasp* I made it all up.

In reply to this comment by MightyZep:
I seem to remember it being the centrifugal force of the wheels giving my bike the gyroscopic effect, but that was many, many years ago and that sounds pretty damn good, and I have yet to master the google magic, so thank you.


Dang, that google business isn't overrated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_dynamics

I hate to be a know-it-all (I love being a know-it-all), but centrifugal force has nothing to do with it. It's the forces of the spinning wheels acting as a gyroscopic flywheel that enables the motorcycle to maintain an upright axis while the operator is left behind. As the velocity of the wheels decreases, the nutation (amount of travel in the side to side tilt) of the motorcycle increases and the bike loses stability.

>> ^MightyZep:
The bike actually would right itself, how much track width needed for that speed I do not know, but centrifugal force of the wheels keeps the bike upright, you upset the balance by counter-steering and shifting weight. I know because I had first hand experience with a high-speed get off.

dupe

My father (the old soldier- what is it with vets and motorcycles?), who has ridden motorcycles for over 40 years and currently owns a Harley has always had the following things to say about owning one (as I have asked and so has my brother):

1. Don't get a Harley for your very first motorcyle. Get a smaller, lighter, not so high powered, and less expensive bike. Yeah, it might not be as macho, but you need to get used to operating one and controlling it (yes, this does take some training- and its apparently best to work yourself up to a bigger, higher powered bike like a Harley Sportster. He, for instance, rode Kawasakis and Hondas all during his military service- only got the Harley in the 80s). Also, gods forbid you crash the damn thing, you won't be destroying something beautiful (his words, he loves Harleys), or costing yourself a fortune getting it fixed or replaced (he did this once, nearly totaled his Hog when I was a little kid, had it rebuilt completely which I am sure cost $$$)

2. Never have your motorcyle be your primary mode of transportation, it is far to limiting in what you can do with it (ie. haul stuff unexpectedly, or give people rides), and it also exposes you to all sorts of other misfortunes on a daily basis, ie: inclement weather (he actually knew a guy who died of pneumonia from getting caught on his bike), or motorcycle theft (bikes are way easier to steal than cars apparently), and there is often the problem of finding a secure place to park one for several hours at a time.

3. Please, for the love of your wife and kid, take a motorcycle training and safety course and learn the proper ways to handle a bike and the laws of ownership and operation. These should be offered through your state highway patrol and I am not sure about Texas, but likely you have to take one of these courses to become a certified operator of a motorcycle.

Also, whatever bike you buy, wear a helmet... although my father is a member of ABATE and has worked to change legislation to allow riders to choose whether or not to wear a helmet, he would tell you flat out that despite his arguments for personal choice and freedoms, only an idiot would not wear appropriate head protection, and probably rattle off to you how statistically better off you are wearing the proper protection.

That's all I can think of at the moment... if anything, I would be less concerned about the service regimen than the other things, one can learn the rudiments of motorcycle maintenance fairly easily, but riding skills take time to develop, and you are far more likely to kill yourself from inexperience than a past due oil change.

I hear ya betamaxx. In the U.S mopeds by law mopeds are considered 50cc or less and you don't have to have a helmet or a motorcycle license to ride them. The best part of all is the insurance is super cheap compared to motorcyles and cars.

Ok.. so some clarification.. I mean Discovery Channel's crab fishing show could have clips deemed snuff.. and what about the blurry infrared military pr0n showing missle impacts? Technically this is showing death, but...

I believe it is the shocking upclose murder kind of videos.

I'm not sure a NASCAR crash, that someone died en route to the hospital should count as snuff. Now a motorcyle stunt video where the guy comes down, crashes and goes limp and is dead on impact, might be considered snuff. soo... I guess that is what *blog is for.

Mototricycle, if you have to be pedantic.

After all, motorcyles with sidecars also exist.