It was...

Cold, snowing and wet. I'm a puss. Combine the two, and I found a joint to have dinner then split for warmer climes. Didn't help that by the time I left the restaurant, I had been up for nearly 32 hours straight. I need my beauty rest for shit's sake...

from this...

to this... all by the time I found a restaurant where I understood at least one thing on the menu.

I fucked up and only took the icrap phone cam out with me last night, and missed the crazy part of the population that still gets around on scooters in snowstorms. These guys rule. They tripod everywhere they go and have no fear. I'll catch some on film before I leave.

I survived...

The trip here at least. One look out my hotel window, and I'm reminded of Brooklyn... or old Communist Block Germany, one of the two. Not sure what that says about Brooklyn.

Oh well, off to find grub and good times! I'm solo and there is this weird white shit all over that ground that keeps trying to put me on my ass, so wish me luck.

I'm posting this...

Because it's just plain disturbing.

I mean, really... who wants their donuts to have arms and legs?? I'm on a plane and I'm bored...

Here's something...

To look at.

Everybody's talkin' about the new Harley 48... I'm not a fan of big tire sportys, but this one gets me goin. It gets Benny from Boneshakers goin too, he built it. 

I'm off...

Time for planes, trains, and automobiles... I'll be back for the Street Chopper release party though. We'll see how dedicated I am to this blog shit over the next week... don't hold your breath.

But you could go check out Brian Ewing's poster art book... it's cool

Holy crap, sign me up!

This thing might not be as cool as your "period correct" scoot, but watching it dive into the turns at 100mph makes me want one!

I guess I should add...

If any of our cycle-loving brethren overseas are in and around the Amsterdam area, hit me up! Always down to grab grub and shoot the shit with the locals. Wouldn't hurt if you had a bike to ride too, that way I could show off my incredible snow and ice riding skills!

Uh... Ok...

It is a cool fucking bike, but WTF?? Karl Lagerfeld?? Chanel?? Ok...

Article I found says the trump was built in France, but doesn't list the builder. Nice f'ing bike. Something about supermodels and 3 dollar bill designers looking tough makes it easy to find some humor here too.

And I'm off...

Yep, taking a jaunt over the pond to the wonderful world of Amsterdam for the upcoming ISE tradeshow. I'll be showing off the new system for the first time in Europe and hopefully making a big splash. I get a day or two where I should be able to fit in some goof time, so I'll try to relate the city in some stories and photos. It's a bitchin' place that has tons of shit to see and do. Last time I was there, they were trying to mop up all the "seediness" of the red light district, so we'll see how that went. I hear that the brothels have all been replaced by upscale clothing stores... oh, the horror!

This is a glamour shot of the St Lucia bridge...

And this is a glamour shot of the museum of sex...

It's supposed to be "snowing" over there, whatever that means. Being in Cali for the last few years has made my skin thin, so I may die. Wish me luck...

Diggin'...

This for sure.

I'd cut those fucking pipes down, but eh... that's just me.

What? Me work???

For any of you out there that actually give a shit, here's a little taste of what I do on the daily. This is a remote that we cooked up for the system I've been designing over the past 3 years. In a nutshell, the whole schebang is used to move your music and movies around your house over one wire and to any room. This bitchin' little thing takes the place of all that clutter of TV remotes you have lying around.

Here's the remote with the base it sits in...

And here it is sitting in the base... you think anyone will figure out what we modeled it after?

I love my job

The postman has been showing some love...

Marco hooked me up with this bitchin' shop sign and some shirts. They're nice, and it helped support a good cause... ain't I just a giver?

Also found a couple boards I've been hunting for. Both are great art pieces and will fit the collection nicely! The Robert Williams Dressen model and the Jason Jessee Liberty deck.

Some trends...

Need not continue. Ok, you know I love tattoos and all that, but why the fascination with the "old typewriter style adages from your favorite author / emo band" tattoos lately?? Seems like every dark, sad, wannabe punk kid now has "carpe diem" tattooed on their butthole. It may be fun for these guys to say "my phrase is more enlightening than yours", but I wouldn't want to be the artist doing these all fucking day. I guess it's easy to cover up at least.

Tuque'fer Tuesday...

Ok, this guy is one of the fabled few who owned the tuque hard enough to go down as a legend! I grew up watching him navigate his outboard dinghy around whale dicks and great whites... Here's to ya Jacques!

Holy crap...

Just realized that I didn't miss a single day on this f'ing thing last week... got a lot accomplished in the shop and around the house too. Can it be that I'm actually becoming more organized and focused? That I'm using more of my grey matter? That my brain is reaching it's destined level of functionality????

Nah... prolly just a glitch in the mechanism. We'll see how long it lasts.

Even a nice bikini...

Can't redeem this hunk of crap... seriously.

I don't even have (or want) to see the rest...

I want to hear...

These...

Shameless plug time...

Yep, I don't plug shit very often, but I have to say that this next issue of Cycle Source (the Indian Larry special edition) is a damn fine piece of magazine goodness that you need to go pick up!

The team has really put together a great read this time around and the quality has improved in everything from the cover to the interior print and stories. While other rags keep charging more and getting cheaper where it counts, the Source seems to get it... and it's hard to bitch about an entire issue dedicated to the life of one of the greats... good stuff!

Today's track...

Ghost Inside... Listen and Learn...

Check 'em out!

Go check out what Marco, Mike, and the other six or ten M's are doing over on the True East blog - They gots sickles and NY/NJ HC brewing in the pot... what else you need?

A little KINKy...

Yeah, this is the way my '56 looked before a certain pair of hands decided that this paint wasn't cool enough... Might not be your cup-o-tea, but it sure was worthy of taking off the bike and hanging on the wall! Next time you run across some fool trying to paint over this type of survivor shit, knock him upside the head and give him the money to buy new tins to save it!

Lesbian / bondage / sacrificial altar tank scene...

Neck paint has the nipple rings on the left side...

going to the crotch piercing (notice how I didn't say clit) on the other side!

And last, but not least, the seat! Bondage chick ball-gagged and handcuffed to the sissy bar... this one survived... sort of... the seat was sanded down to remove the color, but the stripper impression is still there... a faint memory of its former glory!

sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!

Yep, it's swappin' time again... bring it!

We'll be there at the usual butt-crack of dawn and leave whenever... food after?

Oh no they didn't...

Oh yes they did... the hacks at the MoCo have gone and sniped another look to add to their Dork Custom lineup... lay your eyes on this -

I'll admit I like the lines, but only if you promise not to tell anyone...

Community service alert...

Any and all dirtbags who would like to have a scoot lift, but never wanted to shell out 500 bones can now take care of that issue with THIS COUPON from the ever-wonderful Harbor Freight... I don't buy much from them other than shit I want to destroy quickly, but lifts are one of the bargains they have, and at 279.00 it really can't be beat. No, it's not the air-lift one, but it will get the job done. Hurry up and get yours and quit working on the ground fool!

Everyone's got a sexy tattooed chick on their blog lately...

SO why can't I??

This almost makes me want...

A Honda! This bike is right in a ton of ways... nothing that jumps out and says "holy shit! I wish I would have thought of that!" or anything, but just the right stance, and I love when someone actually puts the sissy bar at the fork angle... just sayin...

Stolen from the Sorry For Partyin blog

Rules to live by...

Own it!

Today's track...

Ringworm... listen and learn...

Feeling a little like home now...

Dug in and arranged a ton of shit in the garage for the first time last night... the new place is a ton bigger and lays out perfect for getting shit done! Now to move the machining tools and get 220V wired up on the sub-panel and we'll be cooking with gas!

The bench and storage  side... picked up these 4 new benches for a steal off some angry old man who loves piece of shit fords on Craigslist...

The opposite wall has the power distribution for the house on the outside, so I'll wire in the 220V sub panel there and use that blank wall for all my power tools.

All that and the car still fits in nicely with a little room to spare. If you've been working in a cramped shop, you know what I mean when I say HEAVEN!

Now I guess people are going to expect to see some progress on all these projects huh? Shit...

And another...

bike pic... proper style. It's still raining here and I spent all last night working on bullshit little stuff around the house, rather than organizing the shop, so this is all you get...

Tuque Tuesday!

Seems like the big thing is to have a "day" for your blog, so I'm gonna start a day dedicated to my favorite hat, the tuque... or toque... or touque... whatever you want to call it!

Yeah, I know everyone's like... "fuck those cali guys and their good weather" and all that, but today is actually a good toque day whether you believe it or not. So that said, here's the somewhat official history of our favorite hat -

Historically, the forerunner to the tuque we know today was, in fact, the toque. This small, round, close-fitting hat was popular as early as the 12th and 13th centuries, when women wore embroidered toques made of velvet, satin, or taffeta. Late in the 16th century, brimless, black velvet toques became fashionable with men and women. Throughout the 19th century, women wore toques, often small, trimmed with fur, lace, bows, flowers, or leaves.
The tuque, as its known today throughout Canada, is related to the Phrygian cap, a soft, red, conical hat worn by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region in what is now modern-day Turkey. This early precursor to the tuque was depicted in sculpture and paintings as a symbol of freedom and the pursuit of liberty. As such, during the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion, a red tuque became a symbol of French-Canadian pride. This symbolism of the tuque was revived again by the Front de Libération du Québec in the 1960s.
Today, tuques maintain both a functional and fashionable purpose. Throughout Canada and, indeed the rest of the world, the tuque is the common name for any of several styles of knit winter hats, designed for keeping the head warm in cold climates. And, with the variety of styles, colors and construction, today’s tuques have once again become a symbol, though now one imagines this symbolism is more about fashion than the liberty and freedom these caps once symbolized.


So, there you have it, the glorious toque and its symbol of freedom... sign me up any day! And because you can't be left with only my beautiful mugg today, here are a couple of famous toques to ponder...

my heroes...

Rainy Mondays...

Yeah, I know... next week our rain will be dumping pain on the rest of the nation while we go back to riding scoots, but today... it sucks. So... here's a pic that doesn't suck. Everyone knows rain when they see it, but not everyone knows what a proper knuck chop looks like...

Get your move on...

Big Duane, Wife Lisa and the one and only Mike D helped relocate a
large portion of the garage today... Back up and running in no time
hopefully!

Today's track...

Listen... and learn... with This Is Hell...

Little repair needed...

A little gas leak won't stop me... Not when I have triumph oil line
close by...

Oh yeah...

Scotch eggs rule... And they'll shave a few years off your life!

The new plasma cutter works...

Just not at my place! Big D and Wayne got down with their bad selves and got the new plasma cutter up and running to cut out the rear motor mounts for the kid's project! Looking good! Don't get too cozy with my shit though...

It's fucking cold...

Where I'm headed. Leaving for the heartland and hoping not to get trapped in Chicagofuckinginternationalcrapshootairport... I've had to sleep on a military cot there more times than I can count due to flying through that shithole airport this time of year... nope, I never learn!

Livin...

Looks good to me...

Today's track...

Terror... listen and learn...

Short jaunt...

Up the coast highway... 70 degrees at 9 am... Just rubbing it in