tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587Sun, 06 Jul 2025 06:23:05 +0000"Green Initiative" Marketing "eco loco""Current Events" History"liberal propaganda" grumpy"silly politicians"historyliberal propagandatrivial pop pastimes"Current Events" History "March 2007""Thanksgiving 2008""end of an era" sad happy confused"rain rain go away" wet noahCatching UpHolidays "St Charles" "Thanksgiving 2008"Williamsburg Virginia "January 2007"You Tubebeer IPA mmm goodboring banal inane "come back Kelly"crappy moviegeo-tagging Flickrgrumpyguitar godsignorant cow "shut the fuck up"in a bang with a gangindefensiblephotos Flickr "living on"ungrumpySometimes I can't help but feeling that I'm living a life of illusion.http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-4331157663379857021Sun, 31 May 2020 15:03:00 +00002020-05-31T09:03:11.680-06:00I did a little trip to Carson National Forest in the north eastern part of New Mexico on Memorial Day weekend.  It's an area I hadn't explored before and I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it is.  I went with my ex-wife and our dogs.  We didn't have a particular place in mind, I had done a little research and found a nice state park but when I went to make reservations it http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/05/new-mexico-adventures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-4483482874745422430Fri, 17 Apr 2020 23:19:00 +00002020-04-18T10:09:14.467-06:00  I've always loved camping.  I've done it to varying degrees my entire life.  Some of my happiest memories are of camping with my grandparents when I had to be around five.  I remember my grandpa walking around Dillon State Park greeting all the other campers.  He would wander up and talk for what seemed like hours.  Of course I was five so it was probably more http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/04/off-roading-overlanding-and-camping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-2254686459148400969Mon, 06 Apr 2020 17:53:00 +00002020-04-06T11:53:12.356-06:00I just learned that the Federal Trade Commission requires a warning in front of videos of model building and if this title screen is to be believed you can't watch the video if you are under 13. I just assumed it was another country but, nope, it's here. 13 was the age I was building models and I had a dad that bought me the safe model glue.  Here's a link to the awesome submarine http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/04/back-to-my-usual-ranting-and-raving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-3627762588400963830Sat, 28 Mar 2020 14:08:00 +00002020-03-28T08:08:19.962-06:00I'm sure that everybody is tired of hearing about the Coronavirus but seeing as no one reads this blog I'm going to do one more. Between 1998 and 1999 (literally, this happened over Christmas and New Years week) I came down with a flu.  I'm not sure if it was a seasonal flu or what, I just remember hearing the usual anecdotal stories about everyone catching it. I was visiting my Mom and http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/03/one-last-coronavirus-post-for-now.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-2528489325603669412Fri, 27 Mar 2020 15:33:00 +00002020-03-27T09:33:43.700-06:00Turns out drinking Old Fashioneds and getting fired up about starting blogging again doesn't necessarily lead to actually blogging again.  I'm not really enthused about anything right now.  I think maybe writing about what's going may be interesting.  I'm not sure people want to hear about the Coronavirus but I've always looked at this blog like Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/03/getting-back-into-swing-of-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-887450552008442503Sat, 21 Mar 2020 03:26:00 +00002020-03-20T21:26:43.561-06:00Four long years.  It's been four long years since my last post.  A lot has happened since then.  My last post was about my father and how I miss him. Now we are going through an unprecedented event that I've not seen in my lifetime.  And bare in mind that my lifetime has included the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of Soviet Communism and also 9/11.  I'm not here http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2020/03/love-in-time-of-coronavirus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-4967519907150325032Sun, 22 May 2016 04:41:00 +00002016-05-21T22:42:15.224-06:00Is today the day my father passed away 2 years ago, or is it three?  I've always been bad on dates and times but the one thing that stays with me is his memory.  I've been thinking a lot about him lately but didn't put two and two together until my brother mentioned it.  I miss him.  He was a good dad. http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2016/05/memories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-6435356939400746525Sun, 22 May 2016 01:24:00 +00002016-05-21T19:28:36.519-06:00This is why I'll never vote for either.  An article from the Weekly Standard. The Lessons of 1912: With Donald Trump the presumptive nominee of the Republican party, conservatives face their biggest crisis in generations. Professional Republicans are mostly boarding the “Trump Train, convinced their self-interest requires party unity, but principled conservatives find the choice between http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lessons-of-1912.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-1396160724955047557Mon, 18 Apr 2016 02:45:00 +00002016-04-26T01:01:15.996-06:00So, nearly 3 years since the last post.  I haven't gone back to check what was on my mind.  I know I was probably in a dark place back then.  I've not been happy the last few years but some things have changed so I thought I'd check in.  I just did not want to turn this blog into a bitchfest. I've been driving the wife's car with the XM Sirius radio so I'm on a musical http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2016/04/wow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-2550142834867245421Tue, 01 Oct 2013 23:19:00 +00002013-10-01T17:21:55.389-06:00So the Government has shut down.  Now what?  As some of you know I work for the G'mint.  I'm considered essential and what this means is if the budget thing isn't settled by the next pay period I'm working for an IOU from Uncle Sam.  That's reassuring.  I'm also not allowed to take leave which is convenient since we were leaving for Ohio this Saturday (or I should say we http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/10/not-feeling-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-9146309443646543191Fri, 27 Sep 2013 04:31:00 +00002013-10-04T14:50:46.259-06:00I thought I would write a separate entry for the rest of the week, I don't want to end it on a sad note.  The rest of the week has been pretty good.  I've been riding the new bike all week and it's been a blast.  It's got 444 miles on the odometer now.  I'm looking forward to taking a ride tomorrow up to Deckers.  It's suppose to be 67 and rainy so we'll have to see.&nbsphttp://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-1875223974158276339Fri, 27 Sep 2013 03:28:00 +00002013-09-26T21:28:33.670-06:00A co-worker passed away late last week from a heart attack.  He was a pretty good guy.  He always went out of his way to help me and did it in a timely fashion.  Most everyone else you have to beg for help. They had his memorial service today and I went.  It was a pretty rough one.  He was obviously loved by his family.  I am however doomed to be a social misfit.&http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-memorial.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-3042715687912243410Fri, 20 Sep 2013 00:28:00 +00002013-09-21T09:48:31.701-06:00Tomorrow Lisa and I are headed to Gunnison to pick up a (almost) new Yamaha FZ1.  If you've been paying attention (I won't hold it against you if not) you'll know that I love to ride my '02 FZ1.  Just a little.  I'm looking forward to getting the new bike.  I took a spin on a co-worker's '08 model which is similar to the '12.  It was more comfortable on the tailbone and http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/ole-blue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-2060994599363240863Wed, 18 Sep 2013 23:26:00 +00002013-09-18T17:28:59.448-06:00I was looking at the intended route for the ride and discovered that the mileage for a trip around the perimeter of the United States is about 10,000 miles.  I'm not so much worried about the distance as the time.  I have a pretty generous vacation plan but I think three weeks will be the maximum I care to be away from home.  I was looking at the map of the U.S. and noticing how http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-change-of-plans-already.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-740540407861442088Tue, 17 Sep 2013 23:35:00 +00002013-09-17T17:35:36.768-06:00I spent some more time thinking about the trip today.  A few more things I would like to do: Get my DSLR camera cleaned professionally.  It might even be time for a new lens.  Along with that a waterproof camera bag might be handy. Get a GPS.  This one is a maybe.  I've wanted one for a long time.  The Garmin zumo 350LM looks pretty sweet.  I don't understand http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/trip-prep.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-4476207976577126651Tue, 17 Sep 2013 03:38:00 +00002013-09-16T21:46:05.417-06:00I'm not much of one for mid-life crises but I'll be turning 50 in a few years and while driving in to work I got to thinking about that.  What I consider a brilliant idea hit my like a bolt of lightning.  I am also not one for grand gestures but this one seems appropriate.  In 2015 I plan on taking a three week motorcycle ride around the outer perimeter of the US.  That http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-plan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-9050090546313488944Fri, 13 Sep 2013 01:50:00 +00002013-09-12T19:50:00.921-06:00I was on a roll for awhile so I thought I better get to posting, the month is already half over.  So, some random things: I'm reading The Sword of Shannara.  It's a book I read when I was 12 or so.  It was 1977 and it was a good time to be a young boy in central Indiana.  Star Wars, The Sword of Shannara, Action Comics with Curt Swan illustrating, Hot Wheels cars, camping andhttp://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/gotta-write-something.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-618161629705318119Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:27:00 +00002013-09-05T19:53:32.345-06:00I took a Labor Day ride with my brother-in-law this weekend.  I left the Springs yesterday morning at 0930, met Chris in Buena Vista and arrived in Gunnison at 1500 or so after 201 miles.  We stayed at the Inn at Tomichi Village over night.  It is a pretty nice motel.  I like staying at motels on motorcycle rides better than hotels.  Hotels might be more secure but I likehttp://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/09/gunnison-ride.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-8214753977975485164Fri, 02 Aug 2013 22:36:00 +00002013-08-02T16:43:18.099-06:00I love doing this, I haven't done it in awhile so it's about time for a new one. iTunes shuffle When Doves Cry - Prince.  Even when I was too cool for Michael Jackson and pretty much anything not Van Halen I knew Prince was the Man. My Love Is A Rock - REO Speedwagon.  Honestly I probably loved REO much longer than I should have, this is from the first album without Gary Richrath.&http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/08/songs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-7356404055645578860Fri, 02 Aug 2013 20:51:00 +00002013-08-02T14:55:32.947-06:00I've been re-reading a series of books I read back in the late eighties or early nineties by Harry Turtledove called The Videssos Cycle.  It's about a legion of Roman soldiers  and a single Gaul soldier flung into a fantasy world where magic exists while not being common place.  It's an interesting concept.  The story doesn't spend a lot of time exploring the hows of what http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-viddesos-cycle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-5109361854139314115Fri, 02 Aug 2013 17:35:00 +00002013-08-02T11:35:35.072-06:00I just read an "interesting" article this morning.  If you're one of those people that prefers his news from a more "neutral" source than "Faux News" here are the articles Fox got the story from; "'Brown bag' and 'citizen' too offensive for use in Seattle", and "City officials urge ban on 'potentionally offensive' language".  Sorry for all the quotation marks.  Anyway.  I see http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/08/language-is-funny-thing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-688877704673841268Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:03:00 +00002013-08-02T17:21:22.576-06:00Yesterday I rode the bike up to Denver to meet Lisa for a night out at Cirque De Soleil Amaluna.  It's a touring show with a big tent set up in the Pepsi Center parking lot.  The show was good.  I know that's not a ringing endorsement and I feel like I should be more enthusiastic than I am.  There were some moments of stunning amazement.  There were moments that I http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-night-out-more-motorcycle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-5078587668943571004Tue, 16 Jul 2013 18:58:00 +00002013-07-16T12:58:23.984-06:00I took a week off to get some things done around the house.  So far I performed a half ass clean up of the garage.  Mostly I've enjoyed going to Starbucks in the morning and reading for an hour.  I'm reading The Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove.  I read it years (actually a decade) ago and loved it.  It's as good as I remember.  I know the sitting and reading at http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/07/vacation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-7039073360087112521Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:09:00 +00002013-07-15T09:09:50.717-06:00My God, July 15th and I'm just getting the bike out.  What's happened to me?  The last couple of years I've not been riding much.  I blamed the new job, new house and other things for being too busy but I think part of it is I got fat.  I was kind of embarrassed to be seen on my little sporty motorcycle.  I've seen other fat guys on FZ1s also and they aren't doing http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/07/first-ride-of-2013.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12927587.post-8589472566111931399Sun, 14 Jul 2013 17:08:00 +00002013-07-15T09:15:56.239-06:00I've been reading a lot lately.  I got a Nook last year.  That model is mine by the way.  Nothing fancy, no apps or movie capabilities, just a small device that's easy to carry.  I used it for awhile then it set collecting dust for another while.  I picked up a book I had been wanting to read for a some time now and started it.  Turns out it was a terrible, terrible http://lifesbeengood.blogspot.com/2013/07/ive-been-reading-lot-lately.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0