Glimpse into the future.

All your cars are belong to us. There is a big knock about automobiles and their effect on the environment. In the US, there was a 'cash for clunkers' program to give an incentive for the destruction of old (gas guzzling) cars. These cars were then lined up and scrapped or crushed, otherwise made entirely useless.

What has replaced the "gas guzzlers" of old? More fucking gas guzzlers.

The real key is to take our older cars and equip them with a new drive system. Swap out the gas engine for an electric motor, and the gas tank and exhaust system for batteries. Apparently the big business model has figured out that they can charge about ten times as much for a newly manufactured chassis than they can for one already on the road. Thus, we will not see affordable electric convenience unless we take matters into our own hands.

That is exactly what my uncle did, in his garage. Here's the first draft of his solution to our pollution-laden commute. He purchased a regular old gas guzzling BMW and swapped gas for electricity.

Perfection

It is perfect for riding. I've been ripping around on my KDX and I'm probably due for another broken limb sometime soon. We have had a long, dry summer. This lends itself to NW grown eggplant and an amazonian tomato plant (amongst other things) but also to some really dusty conditions.

That is, until three days ago, when the sky finally darkened and drizzled. Rain in Oregon, imagine that. Now that the puddles have receded into the ground and the drying action of the the first september winds have run through the forests the conditions are perfect with the mud being perfectly tacky but not too grabby.

I've graduated into fourth gear. This might not seem like a big deal to people who ride on paved roads, but the trails around here aren't really conducive to speeding along. Go too fast and you'll find yourself flying around an off camber corner and into a stump.

Some guy died at Albany SX the other day going over the whoops, a veteran rider who went to the track twice a week.

The deer have been in my garden three times now in three nights. first night was totally my fault. I left the gate open. I am an idiot. Day two the deer just jumped the gate to get into the garden. I retaliated by making the gate 7 feet tall instead of the 3 1/2 feet it was previously.

So last night I was about to go to bed reaaaaallllllyyyyy late (2:45 in the morn) and I check the security camera before I hit the sack and low and behold I see a deer on it walking next to my house. I look at the timestamp on this video and it was from 2:35... so this video is 10 minutes old and it shows me this sneaky ass deer creeping up on my house and veer off towards my garden.

I grab a flashlight and shine it toward my garden... and that's when I see these two big bright doe eyes, inside my garden, munching on my eggplant's leaves. I walk out there and the deer freaks out and tries to escape but it can't because the fence is too high, the only way out is the way in, through the gate, which I'm now standing by. So I had to open up the gate completely and walk into my garden to the deer would run out.

...and then I fixed my gate AGAIN... so hopefully this time it will work.

I trip out a lot more than you'd think.

I'm just by myself looking off into the wilderness.




I've had this feeling this summer that I haven't had since I was thirteen years old. That feeling of infinite wonder at the expanse of possibilities that surrounded me.

My garden is doing well, I'm more impressed by my green thumb than I could have ever anticipated at the beginning of the season. My Tomato plant is already over six feet tall and its tomatoes finally started to ripen and turn color today so I can safely assume even a little more growth before it's done.

The song I just posted is the theme song to...



The best movie Angelina Jolie has ever been in.

white boys love to act hard

Sometimes a rap song gets covered and it is awesome.



I hadn't heard this song in sooooo long. Enjoy, punk-ass bitches.

Justice

So I get into one album at a time and really dig on it nonstop 'til I find a new album to salivate on. I'm a product of my environment, so my tastes are really pop heavy.


...what the fuck am I blathering on about... You guys just need to check out Justice.

Justice are these two french DJs who IMHO are the second coming of daft punk (sidenote: if you don't like french people then go fuck yourself because the french are responsible for US independence. Every day I wake up glad I'm not British).

Their names are Gaspard and Xavier


They put on a really good live show



They did a US tour and made a movie about it. Someone ripped the whole thing onto youtube a while ago, I don't know if it is still there. I would suggest checking it out. It's called A cross the universe. Don't get it confused with that movie that had a beatles soundtrack, leave the space between "a" and "cross".

Washougal MX 2010 AMA Nationals

So I got a red neck by spending the day in Washougal, that place works fast.

My garden can beat up your garden

I'm in the boonies so why not plant a bunch of veggies in the ground and hope they grow?

Almost forgot!

My mom came to visit the other day. She took a picture of me!




I don't wear throwback sneakers, I ride throwback bikes.

How to be a better kisser

i've never had much luck with the laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadieeeees, but maybe, just fucking maybe, it's because I've been doing it all wrong!

I have to cast my hubris aside and step back from the situation to size it up. What can I do to improve my lot with the opposite sex?

I, personally, believe, that U.S. Americans... should look to their science fiction heroes when in need of advice on the laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadieeeees.

First step, learn from the pros.



Second step, EXAMINE HIS TECHNIQUES

Third step, practice practice practice!

Living on stolen land

So I'm watching The Only Good Indian.

Weird to think that the country you live in was stolen.

Used car salesmen...

Best quote "Tiger woods ain't got nothing on me"

I need to start using double negatives, I think it builds credibility.

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_missouri/northland/target-of-alleged-murder-for-hire-plot-talks-about-ex-wife

If I didn't have a used car salesman role model before I saw this video (I didn't), now I do

Nut up or shut up

So yesterday I was riding like a girl I guess, because today I tore that shit up.

Slaps only

I woke up around 1:30 this afternoon. I deserve a medal.

This is the laziest day I've had all week, all I did today was load up three wheelbarrows with compost, plant some more celery, and water my garden.

I have state farm for auto and renter's insurance, I pay like $97 a month or so but they charged me close to $300 this month. I called my agent up and talked to Lisa, his secretary who was just as confused as I was but said I'd get a check in the mail for the difference, in the meanwhile, I'm broke.

If you really want to win, don't follow the rules.

A lesson in humility

I cannot, for the life of me, get up the new hillclimb my uncles carved out with a 125. I bombed up it all day the first day I saw it with a 250, but on a 125 I find myself losing my line up the last section every time. I said that I would post a video of the hillclimb so here it is, complete with me losing the line and going off course right before the final crest.

If you ride, feel free to post up some tips. I already know to keep it up on the pipe and to throw my weight over the gas tank when I corner and climb. I think I am a little apprehensive about the noise on this little bike. I am fine to have it buzzing loud when I am hauling ass but I think subconsciously I am fearful of revving it up when I'm climbing in second and first gear.

I was thinking about it last night and I decided that I'm just being a pussy because my old kdx absolutely blasts once it hits the powerband, and before I had a decent back tire it would get super squirrely when I got up on the pipe with it and sometimes cause me to lose control.

Back to work

So my KDX is on the rack until tomorrow. I've been riding around on my uncle's old race bike, a 125 2-stroke from the 80s. I've got to say, I'm very lucky to have a guy like my uncle around to give me bikes to ride and advice on how to ride them. "The thing about 125s is, you've got to make them sing to really have fun on them". That is a quote from him about how to use the powerband on the little smoker. Getting up on the gas tank to take corners and keeping up on the pipe so I don't get bogged down climbing the hills, these are all little hints he'll fill me in on at opportune times.

That's another thing, everything here is a massive hill climb. I guess it's good, makes me a better rider to be learning on such hard stuff, I see people on youtube kill their bikes going up stuff that looks tame in comparison to the stuff I ride everyday. I'm just now starting to get aggressive on jumps, I used to really back off when I came up to a jump, now I wick it on just a little bit. My front end always sags so I know I can give it a lot more, I think it's just a confidence thing than anything at this point.

I have been loading rocks and shoveling gravel and dairy compost for the past two days. I swear, by the end of this summer, my forearms are going to develop into bonafide popeye-esque bluto-busters. I've already noticed since coming back from rafting that I'm not getting arm pump as quickly. I'll throw a video up of helmetcam footage from the new quarter mile of slalom that got put in while I was out on the river as soon as I finish pounding out the landing for bikes. That is what the loading of rocks and gravel is for. My uncle mentioned that he always wanted a nice level surface to park the bikes on outside of my double-wide, so I got on it immediately and starting loading the trailer on the quad with medium stones for the base. After I finished that I loaded up, drove down, and emptied over a half dozen loads of gravel ALL BY MY LONESOME to lay down on the stone foundation. Now I'm just waiting on the packing machine so I can knock all the loose gravel in and get smooth surface, I hear rumor of its arrival tomorrow around noon (one of our neighbors has it).

Epic 4th of july rafting trip

So a dozen of my friends and I went on a three day rafting trip down the grand rhonde and snake rivers over the weekend. I got a sunburn, but fortunately the only part I have that will peel is going to be my knees (I forgot sunsceen on my legs on the first day).

Independence day is a day to relax and enjoy our great country. We went to war because we didn't like taxes on our tea, and fuck the British if they think they can rule us. No one can rule us! Whoo-hoo for liberty and justice! Let freedom reign!



Three states
Two rivers
One nation

This is footage all from day one of the three day raft trip for Independence day, My camera got wet and ceased all functionality for the trip after about five hours on the river otherwise you would have seen cliff diving, horse petting, and a lot of dudes falling in the river. Pretty great feeling to go for a few days on the river with your friends. We tried fishing but all the rods broke before hit the bass spots, the only fish that got caught was an eight inch pike, which we obviously threw back.

I got mail!

I got something in the mail today.



A KICKASS MIKA AHOLA JERSEY FROM MIKA HIMSELF!



Mika has a blogspot blog www.mikaahola.blogspot.com It is really awesome to see a dedicated athlete also know enough about computers to have kickass blog and youtube site.

I think I'm gonna tie a rope to the outside of the bucket and try this again but holding onto a rope outside of the bucket instead of sitting down in it. Maybe then I will get to experience the sensation of flight.

There have been vultures circling this clearing ever since we dug it out last week. Kinda makes me feel uneasy.

All my veggies are in the ground, looks like almost everything is gonna be strong and healthy.

I hit a deer

I leak

The sun came out yesterday. June 5th and maybe spring will end on a warm note after all? Either way, I was leaking like a sieve. I only ended up getting 200ft of fencing and not the 250 I had included in my calculations, so I had to rearrange my garden a bit. After moving a bed over to save some space and helping to dig a drainage berm so there wasn't a creek running through my garden my nose started to run like a kenyan.

I decided the 15 minute ride out to town was worth it for some antihistamines. I have awful allergies to grass seed and pollen and have since I was a child (my mom says I was hospitalized a couple times). I've never found relief in the late spring and early summer from these allergies so every year I try a new approach. This year I'm trying Zyrtec.

The Zyrtec hasn't totally stopped the nose run, but it has partially definitely stymied mucus evacuation in my sinuses. I haven't rubbed my eyes since I took the pill either. The big downside is that I felt like I took a tranquilizer after I took the zyrtec. I actually fell asleep around 6pm today and just woke up around midnight.

Hopefully I won't sleep the days away this summer.

living with animals

So in my move from the city to the country the things I've cherished most is the abundance of animals. It's funny even the white moth caterpillars that hang in the sun are kind of magical as well. They bob up and down on their silk and it looks like they are floating, they're getting ready to fly i guess.

I opened my front door a couple days ago and there were three deer about 15-20 feet away, reminding me the importance for quality deer fencing. I chased them off though, I don't really want my garden picked clean.

I was riding through a little section of singletrack the other day and had to come to a complete stop because there was a little kitten in the way. It didn't even move until after I stopped! Then it bounded down the path.... me in tow until it got wise and jumped only a few feet off the path and then watched me. I think I'll leave cat food outside my house at night... hopefully the wild cats go for it and not racoons.

I have a moderate case of poison oak on my arm, it's been about five or six days now and it is starting to clear up... FINALLY. I know I was exposed when we fixed the phone line and now I am so angry with myself for not doing a better job washing up afterwards.

I hit my first bird with a car yesterday. Poor little guy was too busy eating to see me coming up the road I guess. Before I got a chance to feel bad about hitting the little bird, about a quarter of a mile down the road I saw a big hawk fly across the road in front of me. He was followed by a whole crew of sparrows chasing it off. I'm sure I'll see more in the months to come.

wtf

my head is on backwards.

Flaked on, hard.

So I bought these tickets to a music festival (two sets of three day passes) for myself and a friend a couple months ago, and then she calls today telling me she doesn't want to go (the festival starts in less than a week). I'm sort of torn, I mean I want to be pissed but I'm too busy feeling shitty about my plans getting busted up like this. In the end there is one lesson to be learned is...


...You can only ever count on yourself.

So since no one read this, and if anyone does, they're from the internet, I ought to give you a little background on myself. I was born in Oregon, moved to Washington, and am living back in Oregon now. I've always been small, I didn't crack five feet tall until well into freshman year of high school. I'm about 5'7" right now and maybe 130 lbs. That's pretty tiny, not as tiny as I was a few months ago at just under 120.

Anyways, I'm trying to get bigger, so if you see posts about how I'm like 135 or something just know that I'm trying to gain weight, not lose it. I'm thinking like 160 would be a good number to hit in the end. I can already tell the difference in my stamina and strength just from my light workouts over the last couple weeks.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that I can ride dirtbikes with a lot more confidence, hell I put them into fifth gear now whereas before I would leave it in fourth for fear that I would wreck at high speed or the bike would start to wash out and I wouldn't be strong enough to yank it back up before I was eating dirt (or mud, as is the case right now and for the last week).

Today is merely cloudy, not rainy (yet) so I should probably sign off and get my garden in order. I've got some raised beds to put down, and then I'm gonna lay down some black plastic over the soil so it will get warmer for germination.

I got a firewire card for my expresscard port, meaning I can stream hi quality video into my computer and even use this old sony hi8 cam I picked up off craigslist as a webcam. So if you have skype and want to chat, hit me up!

peace like a buddhist!

So this will be my second post from my new place, and the rain has finally stopped. I've had to be towed out of my driveway twice by my uncle. The trackhoe and the bulldozer have both really dropped the ruts low in the ground so all the rainwater collects as a stream in the middle of my driveway. I'm pretty sure a ditchdigging project is in the immediate future.

luckily, there are dirtbikes here, so I can just jet up the driveway on one of them and hit the trails if I feel like really getting muddy.

All of this rain has been messing up my other project as well, my giant garden. I'll post a video soon, once I get at least the raised beds in.

Let the posts begin

Moved out to the country. I've been riding dirtbikes, seeing wildlife everywhere, playing with a bulldozer, and buying hella vegetable starts and seeds for my GIANT garden that was carved out of a hillside a couple days ago. I just spent three hours checking phone wires so I could have internet down here. Tomorrow is gonna be another big workday, but you've got to work hard if you want to eat your own veggies and not share them with the deer. Time for a shower, hours in the woods means hours of poison oak exposure.

Moving to...




House at the bottom of the hill.