RiverDogs Radio Weblog

Sat, 03 May 2008 13:25:55 GMT

Dave and Kathy At Speeding Motorcycle, Zachary Scott Theater, Austin, Texas, March 19, 2008.
R100RT, The Classic A picture of the bike, shortly after I bought it in January.

Sat, 03 May 2008 12:35:17 GMT

The weekend is finally here and we know we have some time to ourselves we aren't really sure what we are going to do. Sound familiar? I would like to do something that gets us outdoors, maybe a little exercise, and some music at the same time. Aha, sounds like the Pecan Street Festival where downtown is transformed into a giant art gallery on 6th street. There are some bands playing through the day and into the evening. Sounds like a plan. RiverDogs out.

Thu, 01 May 2008 11:04:10 GMT

Steve Earle and Allison Moorer at Paramount
We went to the Paramount last Sunday evening with Dave And Shelley to see and hear Steve Earle. I don't know how to characterize his new sound. His music has changed recently and he now is performing solo acoustic shows with the use of computers, a drum machine, DJ table, that kind of accompaniment. It was very well done with the exception of a little over production on Transcendental Blues. Overall the show was excellent and fulfilling for the listener. He did many of his old songs, reaching all the way back to songs from Guitar Town. Allison opened the show and came back during Steve's set for two or three together.

The week has been uneventful, and I guess that is generally a good thing. Here we are on the first of May. I have been riding the RVRDOG all week since the weather has been wonderful. Today the temp will range from 60-84 or so degrees, with a strong breeze to push us along. More bikes on the road than ever with gas prices hovering in the mid $3.50 range. That sucks and has kept my gas guzzling truck sidelined for most of this year. Example, I have put 6000 miles on it in the last 8 months. Normally my run rate is 1500 miles a month so I have cut that in half. The jeep sits quite a bit too since I got the bike in January. Too many toys. Must do something.

Hey, that is it for now. Breakfast awaits (yeah, for me to make it) so the RiverDogs are out for now.

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:23:30 GMT

Cold and Clear
The day is starting cold and clear but that is not going to discourage me from riding in to work. The heated handgrips make all the difference in the world on a cold day. My rear shock is the only concern I have and it isn't getting any worse than it already is. I am carrying a new one and just waiting until next Tuesday for my appointment at Lonestar. Then the ride will be incredibly good and much safer.

Nothing else to add so must get moving. See you in the funny papers.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:50:44 GMT

The day is starting with a heavy fog over the area. Thursday is garbage day and the day starts with me rolling the large and heavy container up to the end of the drive or about 600 feet. I could see maybe half way to the main road. The full moon was barely visible through the dense fog and cloud cover. It is a big day in Austin for Hillary Clinton and that Obama guy. They are in a major debate tonight that could have a direct outcome on who becomes our next President. It has to be the hottest ticket in town. Something like 2000 seats with 200 open to the public - 43,000 people in the drawing for the 200. I did not get a ticket so will enjoy the show from my own living room. Bella is visiting from Syracuse this week and we had her at our house from the early AM on Sunday until yesterday afternoon. What a great time bonding with our most precious kiddo. She and Ella really enjoyed their time together. Now she is off to the other Grandmas house until she returns to New York on Sunday. I have been riding the bike two or three days a week, putting about 650 miles on it this month. I ordered a new shock as the old one is completely worn out. Sometimes it feels like I am going down the road on a pogo stick. Not safe either. The new one is in but they cannot install it on the bike for another 10 days. Too close to spring and too many riders are getting their machines ready all at once. That's it for today. Coming back at you in a few days. RD out.

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:55:03 GMT

Wow! Here it is the end of January. John and Pat arrived late the evening of Sunday, January 13. Jeff and I were waiting for them in the driveway and immediately got busy unloading the bike and assorted other items. There was slight damage on the lower left edge of the fairing from something rubbing it raw during transport. It could have been much worse. It had not been run since late summer and after a little coaxing, the machine started right up. Very encouraging. The next couple days went quickly and Wednesday at 5AM we were on the way to the airport for our flight to Mexico AeroPuerto - Mexico City. It was an extremely long travel day with missed flights (fog in Houston) and bus layovers. When we got to our destination it was going on 11 PM. So much for our time in San Miguel that day. The rest of the week was a joyous exercise in slowing down, enjoying the sights and walking the streets of our adopted city. The house is coming along fine with completion expected in 2 or 3 months - calling it a target is too American. No one has penciled in a completion date. There were always six or seven guys working and staying busy while we were hanging around. Except when they were preparing their road kill lunch on Friday. The job is still awesome with more to learn than I expected, It also offers more chances to have a greater influence on the end result than almost any other job I have had, ever. We are in the throes of getting the current release out the door. I haven't affected much change yet. That will come with the next release. My apologies to you if you are reading this and wondering why I have been so inept at updates. I think a big part of it is that I got out of the habit when almost all my time was spent for the job hunt. Another problem is that RiverDogs hasn't had much focus. It is a diary and not much else. I am interested in many subjects and that dilutes the message as well. So I need to give some thought to sharpening the message, the topics, that RiverDogs brings to this space. Motorcycles, music, photography - those are really the top three. Travel keeps trying to sneak in - especially now with the focus on Mexico. It might end up being reports on traveling on two wheels with photography making it able for you to see what RiverDogs saw. Have a great superbowl weekend! Stay tuned. RD out for now.

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:57:03 GMT

It has been a busy past three weeks. The day after Christmas and all through the house, boxes and wrappings tripped up the spouse. We cleaned up some of the mess yesterday but there is more to be done. No rush on that point since it is back to work today for the rest of this short work week. Kathy and I made a pact to refrain from going hog wild on the gifts this year and we were successful. It really felt good not to let the commercial forces drive you into a corner. We bought gifts for the girls but not much beyond that. No if we can just avoid the sales over the next week or two, we will be happy. I sold the BMW a week ago Monday and now the empty space in the garage awaits the R100RT from St. Louis. John and Pat are coming here in mid-January and bringing the RT with them. We are going to take a long weekend trip to SMA to check the status of the house. It should have been completed in mid December but they probably still have a good month's worth or work still ahead. I know the walls are plastered which means the plumbing and electrical is done. But I don't know the state of the cabinets and any other woodwork. The trip will reveal all those details to us. The new job is staring to take shape. I have spent a good deal of the last two weeks gaining familiarity with the systems and processes. There is always so much to learn and you feel like you are behind the curve. But it is coming together and the next two weeks should be productive. Steve and Janie were over on Christmas Eve and they both were looking and feeling much better than we have seen them in some time. In fact, the last time we saw Steve his back was bothering him so much that he couldn't sit for more than 30 minutes without moving around to keep limber - limber is not the right word. Maybe to keep from locking up - does that make more sense? Anyway it was better the other night. We went to a movie yesterday with Greg - saw Walk Hard - entertaining, but really a gross spoof on the cliches of the music business and a parody of the great Walk the Line from a few years ago. Save your money. We had dinner last night with Jan and Allen at the Four Seasons. Lotsa money but great food. It's off to be the wizard so I will get back to this later but before the end of the year. RD out for now.

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:30:21 GMT

One day last week I was at lunch with two other writers and we were talking about what drives us outside of work. I guess I hadn't thought about it for a while but it was still pretty easy to come up with the answer, cameras. Normally, given a little time to think I would have said photography, but it's really more about cameras isn't it. I mean if it was just photography, wouldn't all of us just be happy with what we had? I love capturing the images as much as I like to look at them later. The weekend is rainy, windy, cloudy, but warm. Reminds me that I would rather it was sunny, even if a little chilly. Hard to feel good about riding in the wet. I had my fill of college football yesterday. Once again upsets rule - except in the case of Oklahoma beating Missouri, that was expected. But I live in Texas so Oklahoma winning is never the desired outcome.