Monday, August 04, 2014

Click on this link for the Dell 24" monitor information on Amazon for the craigslist ad:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B005JN9310/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Here are my Segway Haikus from 2007 - just now getting around to posting them...:

On my Seg I Glide
Oblivious to the Stares
I must Get To Work

Honks and Stares abound
Most Have Not Seen a Segway
I wave When I Can

The wind in my face
The hum of motors below
I love my Segway

Step onto the Seg
I'm standing on the platform
Lean forward to glide

Nice, cool morning breeze
Segway hums along just fine
Two more miles to work

Some girls smile at me
As I glide on my Segway
I blow them kisses

One day a girl yelled
Hey, I really like your car
I just had to smile

My helmet is tight
When on my Segway I ride
I get helmet hair

Monday, November 26, 2007

Well, It Was Fun While It Lasted - 3,936 Miles

In what might be the shortest life ever of a $5,000 Segway, my Segway has ceased to function as a commute vehicle. I used it for about 20 months every workday.

It has some sort of hardware problem that causes "Emergency Shutdowns" during my commute rides. Last Friday it would not restart like it normally had in the past, and it left me stranded. The Segway does not do this in the afternoon as much as in the morning, so SOMEHOW I think it is related to temperature. But to repair it outside of warranty is not a financially sound decision, because it needs tires ($279) and new batteries ($1200) and the shipping ($200) to Segway Corp for repair (more hundreds of $$ for labor and parts) so it can no longer be my commute vehicle.

SO:

I have purchased an IZIP Electric Bike to replace the Segway as my commute vehicle of choice. I live in Phoenix, so during the hot summer months I cannot just "ride a bike" because it would mean showering at work in the morning and again in the afternoon after the commute. I'm too old for that hassle - so an electric bike, which allows me to pedal "WHEN I WANT TO" is almost a perfect choice. It will allow me to exercise a small bit as I can pedal when I want to and use electric assist when I want to, something the Segway could not provide.

Putting the IZIP together tonite (November 26th, 2007) and will keep this Blog updated with the tales of my new-fangled commute vehicle.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Driver of Highlander Hybrid Forces Me To Yell (and Cuss) At Him

I was having a nice, peaceful glide home yesterday afternoon. Came to a red light at the entrance to the 202 Freeway near the Salt River Bridge. The left turn lane on the other side was in full flow, turning in front of me. There was a line of cars at the red light behind me (I was at the entrance to the crosswalk waiting for the line of left-turners to finish so I could go.) I had pulled forward to "nose ahead" of the green Highlander which was the first car waiting to turn right onto the freeway entrance ramp. I was there to let him know that "as soon as this line of cars finishes, I'm GOING because I'm in the crosswalk and I have the right-of-way by both my position ahead of you and by Arizona law which gives pedestrians in the crosswalk the right-of-way over vehicles."

Well, the flow of cars finally ended and I started to go. In the corner of my ever-alert little eye, I saw HIM pulling out ALSO !! I turned my Segway toward him a little and he honked, so I honked back and he stopped and I continued to pull on out into the crosswalk. His belligerent act made me instinctively turn my head toward him and yell very loudly, "CROSSWALK, MOTHERFU**ER!!!!" while pointing down at the ground. He gave me a glare which he got back in full, and we both went our merry ways.

This event in essence ruined my evening. I was not in a good mood the rest of the night. I hope I see him again there at some point. I'd like him to mouth off to me about the incident and let me rip into him again about not giving a pedestrian the crosswalk right-of-way as law and common sense requires !! Sometimes people are such arseholes.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

RAIN?!?!?!? In Phoenix ?!?!?!?!? No way !!!!

Well, after 16 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days of riding the Segway to work every day, I *FINALLY* had a weather event which delayed my commute. I had gone through wind storms, dust storms, ice on the sidewalks, medium rain, light rain, fog, darkness, 115 degree days, etc. But about 8 minutes into my commute yesterday, with a big rainstorm visible to the east of me, the rain started coming down on me. HARD and FAST rain - not some normal little Phoenix sprinkle. By the time I got across the Salt River bridge and to an area which had a little business strip mall and an available dry area under an overhang, I was soaking wet on my left side. My right side was mostly just sprinkled on, but I was drenched on the left side, which was the direction the rain had been coming from.

I parked the Segway and stood around waiting for it to die down - rainstorms in Phoenix, even in the rainy season which is now, are usually very short. If you get 5 minutes of steady, solid rain on you, consider yourself lucky. But this rain was hard and persistent. That first "rain-forced stop" was about 15 minutes. When it had died down a little and was raining slower, I took off again. Made it about 5 blocks and the rain started coming down hard again. I took shelter under a good, thick tree canopy and waited about 5 minutes, where it slowed again. Made it about 2 blocks this time before I had to take shelter under another overhang at a doctor's office. This time it slowed down to a mostly hard sprinkle and I was able to make it all the way home. So the rain managed to delay me about 25 minutes total.

Last year I purchased a rain parka JUST for this moment - but of course it was home in my closet, not in my Segway bag where I should have had it. NOT ANY MORE IT'S NOT !!! I packed that puppy this morning and if this happens again (which it of course WON'T now that I am prepared for it) then my parka will save me. BRING IT ON, MOTHER NATURE !!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

More Holey Tire Problems

Slime finally failed me!! I finally had a hole too big for Slime to fill. Had to go get a "self plug kit" from AutoZone and I think the hole is "plugged" for now. Survived the first morning trip anyway.

Hopefully it will hold. I want to get 18 more months out of these tires but they sure are looking thin. At $275 for a new set, I want to put that off as long as I can.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Long Segway Rides Stimulate Thinking

I just decided recently that I do some of my best thinking during my afternoon 40 minute glides to home from work.

Like many people, I have historically done most of my best thinking while in the shower; but the Segway rides have replaced that now.

Yesterday I decided to start writing Segway haikus. I came up with two on the ride home, and two other haikus to share with my kids. I'm going to put the haikus on a page on my new website I'm starting, segwaydork.com.