Cost of American Justice

This week I served on a jury in a criminal court trial where the defendant was found guilty of the possession and sale of a controlled substance. I would estimate that the State of NC spent thousands of dollars on this case. The State will now spend tens of thousands of dollars to incarcerate the individual. All of this for $20 worth of cocaine.

Our government has spent billions and billions of dollars on the "war on drugs" since the Reagan administration. Yet today, almost any high school student or inner city resident can buy just about any drug they want anywhere in the country. Add to this the fact that most of the violent crimes committed today are drug related along with infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Clearly, our current policy regarding illegal drugs is not only not working but is consuming vast amounts of money and resources that could be used elsewhere.

I believe it was Albert Einstein that defined “Insanity” as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

U.S. Debt Clock

Caution: this site contains disturbing images...

• http://www.usdebtclock.org/

www.DumpTheIncumbent.com

It does not seem to make any difference which individual or party that I vote for - government just keeps getting bigger and spending more tax dollars. In my opinion, it is because long term, career politicians have figured out how to manipulate the system in order to stay in office for their own benefit. Bigger government gives them more power, influence, and money.

If you are in agreement and would like to do something, visit http://www.dumptheincumbent.com/ and add your name to the database.

Indoors Trials Riding

See what the best trials riders in the world can do...

Government Bailout

If you run your own business, you are probably wondering why you have not received any bailout money from Congress. After carefully evaluating those companies that have received taxpayer money, I believe you probably failed in the following areas:

• You did not pay yourself an exorbitant salary and outrageous bonus for poor management decisions
• You did not buy or lease any executive jets or other non-essential items for your company
• You did not hire more people than you needed
• You did not negotiate any non-competitive contracts with your employees
• You did not provide a poor, dubious product/service to your customers
• You did not use any quasi-illegal schemes to boost profits
• You did not use "creative accounting" in your books
• You did not have a highly paid lobbyist in Washington, only a highly paid elected representative

If so, you clearly do not meet the government's guidelines for assistance.

New Technologies

Here are some interesting applications using WiFi and GPS...

• Eye Fi – If your camera uses a SD memory card, you can turn it into a wireless device that automatically uploads photos to your computer &/or online photo sharing sites. You can also choose to have your photos “geotagged” to show where the photos were taken. Visit http://www.eye.fi/ for more information and costs.
  
• Koki – Is a free software application that when downloaded to your wi-fi enabled computer will automatically detect its location. This can be used with other online software applications for number of purposes including finding the location of your computer if it is ever stolen. Visit http://loki.com/ for more information.
  
• Spot – Is an affordable GPS tracking device that can identify your location and the automatically send co-ordinates and messages to family and friends via cell phone or email. You can even track your progress via Google Maps - Jason Jonas has developed a web page, http://jasonjonas.org/spot/index.jsp, to facilitate Google Map tracking. Visit http://www.findmespot.com/en/ for more information and pricing.

"Just because you are paranoid, does not mean that someone is not following you".

How To Ride A Moped

I am thinking of hiring this guy to deliver pizzas...

Lin Cove Viaduct

If you have not hiked the trail along side the Lin Cove Viaduct, I would recommend it highly. There is even a secret spot, known only to me and a few old Indian guides, where you can take photos like this...

Lin Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain, NC

Additional photos are at www.ncmotorcyclists.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=29

How to tell you're having a bad day...

Men's Room

Not for the easily intimidated...

Financial Meltdown

For a very entertaining explanation of how our country got into its present financial mess, visit www.brasschecktv.com/page/187.html

The Air Force Museum

I toured the Air Force Museum outside of Dayton, OH today. If you have not visited this facility, I would highly recommend that you put it on your "bucket list". It is a national treasure. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

Additional photos are at www.ncmotorcyclists.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=23

Stallion Trike

Recently, I rode with some friends in eastern TN and one of the ladies showed up in a new Stallion Trike. It’s a good looking machine and certainly a different approach to a trike as compared to a motorcycle conversion. For more information, visit their website at www.southwesttrikes.com/stallion.htm

The vehicle is classified as a motorcycle and requires a motorcycle endorsement to drive/ride.

Cumberland Falls "Moonbow"

Last weekend I visited the Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky to see a moonbow. It is like a rainbow but is created by the light of the moon, not the sun. Here is a photo taken at 10:00 p.m. with a five minute exposure...

Photo courtesy of Charlie West

Lees-ure Lite Motorcycle Camper

I purchased a Lees-ure Lite motorcycle camper from Jimmie Dawkins at Lite Tent Camper (www.litetentcamper.com) a couple of weeks ago and finally had the opportunity to try it out at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground (www.blueridgemotorcyclecamp.com).

I have always enjoyed the camping experience and in partiuclar the opportunity to meet other bikers at the motorcycle only campgrounds. Unfortunately, I have reached the age where I no longer like sleeping on the ground. The Lees-ure Lite solved that problem and put the fun back into camping. It is easy to tow, unfolds in seconds, and allows you to carry plenty of gear.

Communication Problem Between The Sexes...

For The Consummate Biker

www.cyclefaucets.com

Another Optical Illusion

If you stare at the photo below for serveral seconds, you will see Toronto's CN Tower...

Flying With Professionals

Some friends invited me to fly to Ocracoke Island this week end to do some kayaking. Here's a photo of Charlie and Debby making sure that I had a safe and comfortable flight...

Very Cool Illusion

If you like optical illusions, link to http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html and follow the directions. Hopefully, you will be as amazed as I was.

There is also a link on that page to other illusions at http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html.

Diesel Powered Motorcycle

I received a newsletter from Hayes Divisified Technologies announcing the commercial release of the Diesel Fueled D650-A1LE Bulldog! The 611 cc engine gets over 102 mpg and develops 32 ft-lbs of torque @ 4200 rpm. Unfortunately, the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for the D650-A1LE Bulldog will be $18,999.00.

I believe they start with a Kawasaki KLR650 and then modify it for their diesel engine.

Three Wheel Vehicle

The Carver is an interesting three wheel vehicle that steers like a car and banks like a motorcycle. Visit their website at http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Home/Index.asp?nc=1 and watch the videos at http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Movies/LoadMovie.asp?S_ID=64&nc=1.

The E-Mail Time Capsule

Send an e-mail to yourself in 20 years at http://futureme.org/

Suspending Gasoline Taxes

An article in the local paper indicated that 86.9% of NC business owners said that gas prices were having a "dramatic impact" on their business and that the state should temporarily suspend its $0.271/gallon gas tax. The governor said he would not suspend the tax because it would cause a $120 million deficit in the transportation budget.

This got me to thinking about the role of government. In school I was taught that democratic goverment was "by the people, for the people".

What better way for government to help the majority of its citizens than to temporarily suspend gas taxes. Virtually everyone gets immediate financial relief including small businesses that make up so much of our economy and without the "shipping and handling charges" that governments take out of our taxes.

The temporary loss of revenue to the transportation department would be off-set by increased sales and personal income taxes generated by people and businesses having more money to spend and invest.

Perhaps, schools should now teach that a democratic government is "by a few elected officials, for a few special interests".

Hatfield~McCoys Trails, WV

I rode the Hatfield~McCoys Trails in southern West Virginia this past weekend. There are over 500 miles of off-road riding! The trails are marked green (easiest), blue (more difficult), and black (most difficult). The black trials are down right frightening in places and are truly for the experienced and not easily intimidated riders.

ATVs can be ridden legally on the streets of most of the small towns surrounding the trail system. It's very convenient to ride into town for gas, meals, etc.