More Danger Will Robinson!

I got my first in-person look at the new Can-Am Spyder over the week-end. It was interesting to look at, in a way, because it is something totally different. But in the end, I don't think it's anything that would interest me as a motorcyclist, heck it's got one too many wheels. And I'm guessing that Bombardier/Can-Am is good with that, as they are betting the farm on selling this to a customer who probably wouldn't otherwise ride a motorcycle type vehicle, especially women, from what I'm to understand.

According to the gentleman manning the booth at the RV Show on Sunday, Bombardier already have 2800 paid pre-orders for the April 28th release date.

They had the prerequisite MTV style promo videos running in the booth, with catchy phrases like "Take back the streets", you know the kind. During one segment of the video a tester was putting the Spyder through it's paces via some slalom cones. The amount of body lean and upper body effort to get it to turn looked to me to be quite high, much like it is on an ATV, or perhaps a side-car rig. I asked the booth tender fellow about that, as I had overheard him say that he had ridden the one on dislpay around the Franklin area. His comment was, "Oh no, it steers quite easily." Hmmm.....Didn't look that way on the video.....

Course, he also said (and I had to bite my tounge to keep from laughing in his face!) how cool it was to pull up at a Starbucks in Franklin and all the attention that this never seen in these here parts machine garnered.

Piece of Meat

What's the stupidest thing you've done in the '08 New Year?

Mine was pulling the trigger on a log splitter six weeks ago, while still having my left-hand index finger involved in the proceedings.

Yep, six weeks in and it is still a swelled up stupid and dumb piece of meat, kind of like a half-thawed piece of liver. You can't type with it, it ain't worth a shit on a clutch lever, you can't start a nut on a bolt, you can't get anything out of your pocket with it, you can't pick your nose, and you damn sure can't finger any guitar chords or lead lines with any authority. It's a piece of meat. I've never had an injury to a single digit where-in the bruising went all the way to the wrist. Plus, it hurts like a bastard.

Luckily for me, I was the moron in charge of the loud pedal on the log-splitter and not The Guru. He'd probably have just watched my eyes bug out like they did, and wondered what the hell my problem was, and never let off the lever. I let off the lever as soon as I felt the pressure, when it sucked the finger-tip of my glove in, but twenty-tons of hydraulics has a way of slowly continuing to creep up on you......

This is undoubtedly the closest I've ever come to losing a digit or a limb or poking out an eye, take your pick, and I've tried to do all those things and more during my half-decade of cruising the planet. This really pissed me off though, it was definitely the stupidest thing I've done in years. I stomped around and bled every-where and Navy-cussed for at least an hour. Been a long time since I've had tears over an injury. Then I went all shocky and we had to break out the whisky......

Oxy-Morons

Oxy-Morons

Once upon a time, about a hundred years ago I was a member of a pretty good local rock-n-roll band named Bulletproof (the woman and many others may argue this point, especially if they ever heard our version of "Victim of Love". Twice.). Well, we got our big chance and were invited to a studio to record a demo. The rest of the band, with some major prompting from the cat that was supplying the studio time, had in my absence decided on the main tune to be recorded. These morons came up with the brilliant idea of playing a heavy metal version of "The Ballad of Jed Clampett". I'll not reveal the studio cat's name and his studio here, but buy me a beer and I'll be more than glad to tell you who he is, he and his studio are still on Music Row in Nash-Vegas.....

Anyway, just imagine my reaction. Actually I'll tell you my reaction. My reaction was to back my hatch-back up to our rehearsal room door and promptly get all my shit. "Hey, hand me that guitar stand, would you? Dude, unplug that. Grab a-hold of this four-twelve bottom. Ooof!" I would've gladly paid money to see my facial expression when that news was unleashed upon me.....

I didn't go anywhere near a band environment for nearly ten years, and I personally like the environment of a band, a bunch of folks working toward a goal, if you will. Hell, I didn't even really play a guitar for five or six years. But, eventually somebody I'd work with mentioned to somebody else that I knew three guitar chords and sung a bit and a conversation would ensue and maybe a jam would happen. Then bang, I'm in another band.

Sadly enough, at least for me, the last two bands I have seen fit to play with for almost a year a-piece have suddenly turned into Christian praise bands. I mean, literally overnight, it seemed. The last band, Uncle Nealy and the Barn Owls (HA!) was a major fun band, with cats that could play hard and sing all their damn parts. But, I'd show up at practice and instead of practice, the band would be standing around wringing their hands and we'd have a sort of band meeting, with them wanting to know if I'd like to pursue this Christian praise music thing with them. The answer is hell no!

I say all of that to just give y'all a laugh, pretty much at my own expense, and not really to put down any praise music bands at all. Everybody needs to play and sing whatever blows their own britches leg up. But man, what have I got scrawled on my forehead that keeps making this kind of thing happen?

I do know that the next time around (if ever) for a band situation, I'll take a page from the likes of Tom Petty or Jeff Beck or Prince and just be the main headknocker.....

Falls at the Ranch

Had a bit of a ride at the Ranch a couple weeks ago to assess the storm damage. No trees down but if you think that you had the placement of the rocks figured out in the creek, well you'd be wrong. Strong waters have rearranged them, some for the good, and some not so good.....