i would like to thank sarah for introducing me to the way way cool site etsy.  here are some highlights thus far:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=cat1_gallery_3&listing_id=13619706

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=cat1_gallery_14&listing_id=13618413

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=cat1_gallery_21&listing_id=13620908

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=13387125

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_13&listing_id=11092424

we had a great time. i made a few videos, but keep in mind, this is a cell phone camera so you have to use your imagination a bit. but first, a true highlight was the cat throwing.





i didnt get a video of the other highlight which was tubing. a LOT of fun. i even got thrown off once and it was still fun. next year we will definitally go without mavis's parents, and i'd really really really like to get jacob up there as well. we can chill and have fun ect.ect. we spent a great deal of time intoxicated and swatting mosquitos, what else is new.

I needed dad's help to fix the spark plugs, turns out its not supposed to be very tight at all, and i damaged the threads a bit by over-tightening it, but its nor ruined, i just have to be really freaking careful about it... forever. so after that (BTW a huge thanks to Dad there) i took her for a spin around the block and it rode just about the same as it did the rest of the time, so i set off for overland park.  this was a two part mission: 1.) get the scoot to scooterworld where they can clean out the carb and do a couple other routine diagnostic things and 2.) get my damn accessories off the old scooter and to ppl who said they would pay monies for them.  that nubmer two has been waiting around for more than a week to get dome, i just never wanted to take my car there to get them. 

so on to my adventure, it turns out after running for about  15 minutes straight at mostly full throttle my passport starts to resent its treatment and it sort of lost some pep.  so i pretty much rode from lawrence to overland park at an average speed of 20 mph.  a bit more down hills, and definitally slower uphills.  we're talking as soon as its not level... even a slow slight incline it would chug a little harder.  however once we got to a bigger hill.. it'd drop to about 15 mph.  there really were no incidents on the trip, i stopped to re-fill the tank in eudora because most of it had leaked out last night.  i had lunch at mcdonalds in lenexa.  pretty much from lenexa onwards traffic was heavy enough that i was a nusaince on the road.  many ppl wanted to pass me, and at only two lanes it gets harder to do so with more ppl going around the car that wants to pass me ect.ect.  i even considered riding it on the sidewalk to feel a little less out of place but i was legally in traffic and i wasn't going to get myself a ticket because some dude was stuck behind me for a few miles.

  in other news thers a really annoying gnat or fruit fly that has been at my desk for a few days now, and i can never quite kill it.  it likes to linger at my lcd which means i can't even swat it either.   and in other other news i have decided to go to MN with mavis and james.  it is a little like reckless abadonment towards my duties with renae, but this is a great golden opportunity and i just can't bring myself to pass it up.  all too soon will i be trudging to school and have no free time whatsoever. 
and in *more& other news, the federal loan rate dropped from 6.8% to 6.0% AND we are able to borrow another $1000 per semester.  whohoo!! to!! that!!!

so thats pretty much all i did today.  i got up at 9:00ish, bumbled around the house and then got the scooter started up (or tried to). got it started once, then it idled for a few minutes and died, and didn't want to start.  i found some webpage to try for help, but they actually didn't help much.  i went out to try again and it DID start so i puttered around the block to warm up the engine then parked in the garage to change the oil. i got all my tools together, sat down withthe oil pan and lo and behold, i couldn't loosen the oil bolt. it was too tight.  i made a few phone calls, and dad (the herrmann problem solver) called me back around 11 and told me to pack up my oil changin stuff and go over to jiffy lube, play dumb and get one of those guys to muscle it for me. worked like a charm.

got the oil changed and one guy sat down and showed me where the carburator was and where the spark plug would be, and kind of told me how to clean things out.  from there i went 100 feet west to o'reiley's and talked to them about my spark plug and headlight. i bought a new spark plug, a spark plug rachet (which it turns out i had), and some carb cleaner.  happened to ask the guy about my headlight while i was there (BIG mistake) he couldnt find a part number, guess my manual didn't have a fitting part number he suggests we take it apart and see what it needs. (theres the mistake part) taking it apart was easy, but 10 futile minutes later trying to get it together again... it just wouldn't go.  we did manage to *get* it all back in, but it isn't fitted and straight like it was, its crooked and two of the screws aren't even screwed anymore, they're just stuck in there, because he couldn't figure out what they screwed into or behind. (there weren't holes) they definitally went into something, because they are like 2" long and he had to totally unscrew them which took a long time too.

ANYways, once he gets the headlight together enough to go back home i had to let the bike cool down to mess with the spark plug (or at least i wouldn't even attemp until it did.  luckily for me it was getting to be afternoon-ish and rained a bit on and off i think i got back to working on things around 2-2:30.  tried to wrestle the carb hose off to spray cleaner in, wouldn't come off.  eventually i gave up on that and went to work on the spark plug. **detour** i didn't give up until after i accidentally sprayed myself in the face with carb cleaner (never ever ever do, even to someone who is an asshole) for the un-learned, carb cleaner contains menthane, acetone and tur-something. warning: cannot be made nonpoisonous.  Harmful, fatal or may cause blindness if swallowed.**** back to spark plugs... it is in fact pretty easy.  pull the cover off, wrench the old one out, look at the color and be appaled that it is so dirty, and then put the new one in the wrench and tighten.  the complication showed up at "put new one in and tighten"  it took no fewer than 45 minutes to get the new one in.  not counting having to go back to o'reileys and ask them to re-adjust the width because i banged it and then it was too small. (We're talking it must be within 0.6-0.7mm gap).  while there i bought the little tool to adjust the gap while measuring it (only a dollar.) 

BACK home i fiddles with it some more, tried to put the old one back in, just to see if it would go, it wouldn't, so i tried the new one for awhile, then tried the old one again and then it DID fit, so i tried the new one some more (feeling less discouraged)  and did in fact get it to screw on.  feeling proud of having something done i turned on the scoot, started it up and it wouldn't go.  it'll turn over, and almost start if i give it the throttle but something is off and it won't quite turn on.  then mavis showed up so i showed her the bike then we went inside. we played spore, watched zim, and i went to work.  i get home at 10, and notice the smell of gas.  went outside and lo and behold i forgot to turn off the fuel reserve and it leaked gas onto the garage floor. pretty large puddle.  it stops leaking (mostly) when i remember to turn it off.

almost done, i will probably have to buy a new headlight off ebay from malasia, but luckily it is an upgrade so i wouldn't need the full closed headlight anymore, i could just buy a bulb.  and i totally don't regret buying this scoot.

heres a few pictures of my new ride. i haven't actually been able to ride it much because i've been sick the last few days, but i think i'm getting over it now. and of course i shouldnt ride it because its currently not tagged or insured. oh and btw... LJ sucks for posting pictures. i had these on photobucket and it wouldnt fucking let me post them right, i ended up having to re-upload them just for LJ.

MEME how many of the top 100 books have you read?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've only read 6 and force books upon them.



1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible - God
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. 1984- George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (in german)
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath ---one of my all time favorites
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ((i need to fucking finish this one, i've read like 150pgs)
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-in german
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

i know i haven't had as many personal posts recently so heres a good update for many of you:

so it turns out i was mis-informed about the amount mary kay was able to buyback of my inventory. instead of $938 wholesale ($1800 retail) it was $938 retail. so the check they sent me was $500 short of what i thought it would be, but the extra sent inventory is completely lost. i called them, freaked out on the phone swearing and crying and finally got to a supervisor who could possibly help me out. i kept insisting that someone on thier side had made a mistake (which they DID) and as a result i stood to lose and additional $500 to the huge hit i'm already taking. he boss was not around friday when this all transpired, so they will be in on monday to make a decision. it really is a bunch of shit that caused this to happen, i called to resign on june 3rd, and never got the pink sheet they sent (to formally quit) said pink sheet also would have said the figure was retail.

to my slight annoyance i can't get ahold of my ob teacher and get back the previous installment of my coremom project, so i can turn in the second one. addmittedly its not totally done, but its really fucking close.

OTHER news of the scooter crap, i haven't completely decided if i will buyback the scooter or not, even though i thought i had, my friends in KC encouraged me to buy it back and make what extra i can selling the parts. a brand new engine would be $1000, so they think my 4k miles but very reliable engine would be able to find a home for $500 itself. so now i need to call back my adjuster, tell her i'm sorry but i changed my mind and see if i can retain the salvage. scooterworld said they would buy it from me for $500, my response was would they buy it back for that amount if i pulled my extras and the seat? which i'm sure i'd be able to sell online. haven't heard from mike about that yet. the amount i should get from insurance will be around $2200, not bad.

the last thing that has me the most excited as of late is my impending scooter purchase. dad and i will be driving up to minnesota this thursday for me to buy a 1982 honda passport c70 in blue. it has 12,400 miles on it, but is in amazingly good condition. the paint and chrome are all very nice, electrical system works, clutch works, its a semi automatic, both brakes work and i'm getting it for $900. similar bikes on ebay albeit with fewer miles, are going for $1000- $1400. it really is a good deal, despite my travel costs. AND they can get more than 100 mpg (really depends on size of rider) and if i'm lucky i can even tag it as an antique. heres a picture my soon to be owned scoota.

BTW: his scooter didn't sell for $1499.00 who is surprised?

Q: What's the maximum speed you've had this up to yourself? Jun-27-08
A: I have had it up to 40 but no more. The steering becomes unstable after 40 because of the geometry of this style scooter if you go any faster. Same thing with a vespa. I don't need to sell this that bad so that Is why I am telling the truth here about smaller scooters.

Q: what size tires do you have on the honda? Thanks Jun-25-08
A: What difference does it make lol. The ones that came on it new. Just google this model for that year. I am not near the bike at this moment.

Q: Which "exectutive" at Exxon did a no-body like you talk to? Was it tha gas pump boy at your corner Exxon station? I see you've replaced your other silly opinions with some NEW silly opinions. And STILL-- noone has bid on your Oh, so desirable motorcycle. Jun-25-08
A: I can buy and sell you. I do not need to sell. I am rich. I am having fun talking to trailer trash like you. Have you noticed that you are the one who has to talk to me! That just shows me that you are a loser. Why don't you do some garage sales today and look for more Kaiser Car material. You are such a baffoon. The cheapest House in Hollywood cost over a Million dollars and where you live you can get a double wide trailer in your best neighborhood for $500 bucks. You are such a loser and a stalker. You love me because you get to talk to someone who is not trash from New Mexico

Q: I've been buying these for the last 4 or 5 years and paid on average $1400.00 for one like this, with this mileage. What you're asking does not seem out of line in this economey. It's still a good deal versus a new Vespa etc. Best of luck with your sale. PS I have 11 now. One with Only 140 miles on it. They are for my enjoyment and not for sale. Jun-23-08
A: Thanks. I have seen these sell for $1500 before in small towns so being that this is in Los Angeles and registered without any back fees I think the price is ok too. Thanks "wfd52" They can look at you and see that you are not a shill. They can go buy a new metropolitan but I think they are only 50 cc. Anyone who repairs Vespas is going to be a robber like a Triumph repairman I believe. Hondas save you from the vultures.

Q: Hi 2 questions...what zip code are you in and would you be willing to go 1000.00? probably not but just wanted to know. thank you! Jun-23-08
A: I am in 90046 and not interested in $1000. I have seen them sell in the middle of nowhere for over $1500 recently and I have the advantage of being local to everyone in Los Angeles and it's already registred in CA with a pink slip with no back fees so that is how I set my price.

Q: I'm keeping an eye on this one. I have an 83 passport with 6,000 miles. If you get your price, I'm selling. Jun-22-08
A: Thanks. I agree that it is overpriced but I have seen them sell well recently in other states.

Q: Hey what is the top speed, I'm 6'3" 230 lbs do you think it would move me around my small desert community, thanks for your commentary but remember "A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse" former SP4, 11 bravo Jun-22-08
A: They become unstable after 35 mph because of the way they are made. You could get up to 40 but they are unstable. It has something to do with the engineering of a scooter like this. Any bike like this becomes unstable and feels dangerous at higher speeds I think because the forks are not kicked out enough. I really do not know the reason but it is like a bike that has forks very close to the frame where you can turn great but when you go fast it feels dangerous. Know it alls will disagree with me here but I have ridden many different bikes over 40 years and it's true.

Q: Isnt this the same bike that was listed for a buy it now of $1250 a couple weeks and it didnt sell... jack it up another 5. good idea. i would have bought it for the OG price. $1750...you gotta be kidding me Jun-22-08
A: Blame Al Gore because Gas is going up to 10 bucks a gallon as China drills off Floria. When Gas hits 10 bucks a gallon you will be on your kneepads begging me to sell this to you for $3000.

Q: Dude, I've been riding one of these exclusively for the past few years and love it. As I dig your item description, it's colorful and entertaining just like the bike. I hope you get your buy it now price! Jun-21-08
A: Thanks for not insulting me like the others. You are a gentleman. They do not know or care that these are hot items today.

Q: high? try over twice the recommended price! Maybe people won't shop KBB.com Jun-21-08
A: 1_leebennett I looked at your photo on your profile and for a woman you look like Moe of the 3 stoodges. Was that haircut intentional?

Q: There are countless wimps in Hollywood today, and they're all screwing the hell out of each other. Al gore needs a huge carbon footprint up his tail-pipe. The offended wimp in the first Q&A is probably DEVISTATED by how insensitive you were to him. I have a "zero-carbon" crying towel for him. Jun-20-08
A: Thank you. I feel the same way. I mind my own business here and this baffoon is trying to control me on how I choose my words for an ebay ad. Very Typical of today's baffoons


Q: When you list things on Ebay, you should be businesslike and leave all your silly opinions out of it. I have silly opinions too sometimes, but your listing is unapealing because of how you say things. Comprende? Jun-20-08

A: "nofishin" I could care less about your opinion. You have been stalking my ads for a coonsage. My opinions are great and your opinions are silly.

The price is high because I cannot get another one of these with under 1000 miles in Los Angeles anytime soon. Al Gore rides one of these because it leaves no carbon footprint and gets 100 mpg. They use these in the far east because this is all they can afford to use for a chicken truck. This looks real good when you are paying $100 to fill up your car. It is also a chick magnet. They are made so the chain is fully covered so you do not catch your dress. When I was a kid in the 60's in Hollywood wimps would ride these with a serious face and very proper riding form.



The price is high because this is green like a pirus. I make on some and lose on others. I got killed on a yz250 I just sold for $450 that I had $ 950 into overall. This bike is not going to lose any money for me if it does not sell. It will always be easy to start up like any 70. I can wiggle this through traffic with a great basket for junk so why cut it loose for less if I don't need too. What else gets 100 mpg! It's kind of slow taking off for a heavy man but it gets up there to a pretty good speed. It shifts backwards on the rear of your foot to move forward and frontwards to lower the gears. Opposite of a trail 70.



Any recommended or blue book price really does not mean a thing. That did not take into consideration that gas is twice as much today and this gets 100 mpg.



There is no way you are going to get this bike for $500. You can keep on dreaming. You would have to put $10,000 worth of effort and you might find one for that price. Some people live that way. That's ok if you like doing garage sells 24/7.



I also will throw in a spare engine that was said to run for this same year with a carburetor that I bought for a spare last year on ebay. That way you do not have to buy any Malasian new Carbs or any other new Honda parts that are not quite real 80's honda. You do not need this second engine but if you plan on driving this 10,000 miles then you have a spare to swap in immediately. I do not want to sell this bike and then be left over with a spare engine so I am going to try to dump this on the buyer but you should want it just the same because you do not want ill fitting parts.

The bottom line is if this does not sell that I will still be getting by at 100 mpg and everyone in town will be jealous of my gas mileage. I like that kind of power and respect at the pumps.

I am not High on all my prices. I have a Husky for $375 that runs well and needs tlc. I just like to torture people when I have something in wide demand because no one feels sorry for me when I lose $500 on a YZ like 2 weeks ago. If you are a real fat bald old man you can get chicks coming up to you about this bike at the store and get your jollys for much less than a red vet. These bikes do not look wimpy anymore like they did 40 years ago.

I paid $500 for this bike back a few years but it's a whole different deal now with gas triple what it was. If it does not sell, so what! If gas goes to 10 bucks a gallon which is highly possible this will be worth more than a brand new Hummer. My Father was a car dealer during the '73 gas crisis and he was selling late model cadillacs for less than for $500 when gas went up only 10 cents. I saw a guy in a Rolls Royce mentally disturbed because his car was backed up 2 long blocks awaiting his turn for gas and a pregnant woman got punched in the stomach at my regular gas station during the '73 crisis. During the '73 gas crisis I lived near a gas station and that was better than living in Beverly Hills because I could load up all the tanks on every car on the lot as soon as the pumps opened again. 1973 is going to repeat itself. We cannot put in another Alaskan Pipeline because of the Liberals in control today. Actually I am looking forward to gas going up to Ten Bucks a gallon. I want to have the same fun with the chaos that I did in '73. I might be able to buy back my 1970 Road Runner that I sold for $500 that has a Air Grabber power air scoop on the hood. I really miss that car that I sold in '73.



It is not my intention to spread panic here but if you cannot afford to drive to work or there is a shortage of gas you will be fired. I paid my union dues for 25 years and was a true believer in the union. The first time I needed to use my Union they became useless and would not return my calls. They said we do not know what to do so what are you going to do. Your employer does not really want you anyway. They want someone who speaks Spanish and will work for half of what you are getting. If you are a man and the rug gets pulled out from underneath you at the workplace because you cannot get to work you will be thinking about jumping off a 10 story building because there are no other jobs out there that pay what you are making right now.



So do yourself a big favor and get something that will take you to work in a gas crisis and keep your nose to the grindstone. Every coworker that you think is your friend will let you down in the end!

If you live in Lancaster and drive down to L.A. for your great government paycheck job it would behoove you to take a good look at your situation. I will not feel sorry for you because no one felt sorry for me when I got stabbed in the back!

here is a picture of quohog's tail. it is turning grey. poor goofy looking critter.

And in other news... I MISS MY SCOOTER!!! i don't even have a friend that would/could lend me one. i already miss it so much. how would i ever be able to go weeks and weeks without riding? i don't think i could.

one of the guys in KC is talking about transplanting the engine into something else, which would be a lot of work... Plus the possibility that the rest of the scooter (such as brakes, headlight, or turn signals) isn't working atm. someone suggested using a little ruckus frame, which looks ok, but not really like the kind of scooter i like most. *sigh*

Yeah i was in another accident. Two days away for the one year mark of my first accident. It was a little more my fault this time, but in my opinion not really. i was riding down iowa behind a semi. he was going kind of slow and braking frequently, so i wanted to pass him. i waited for a bunch of cars to go by in the left lane and then turned around to check before i switched lanes. unfortunately, as soon as i turned around truckdriver hit his brakes suddenly (a van backed out in front of him) and whack i hit his back bumper (that inverted t-thing) before i even know what had happened.

i got a ticket for following too closely, which is BS, because if i had been looking ahead i would have had plenty of time to stop, just as i safely had been for the last few miles. heres the damage:



i pulled off the front ends of the cowling and the bumper so i could safely ride home. She drives kinda screwy, so it'll be the good folks at SW that decide my bike's fate.

I'm surprised i didn't get it from my mom when i told her, but i'm pretty sure my grandma won't like to hear about this at all. She worried alot after the first pavement encounter.

dunno what i'll do if my scooter got the frame bent or something excessively costly like that.

i have determined i cannot keep all my clothes i had in high school. i have decided to sell some of my t-shirts from that era and if you want them let me know before wednesday night, which is when i'll start listing stuff on ebay. All these are standard size XL unless otherwise noted. If you want something post here or send me a text/call. To distant buyers i can take paypal.

( cool shirts for cool people )