December 28, 2006 by David.

Two days before Christmas, Sharlet’s 17 year old niece was killed in a car accident.  So sad.  Sharlet was in Hawaii with her new-born grandchild at the time.  The brother of the niece that died is stationed in Hawaii so she was able to be the comforting aunt for him.  At this point, we are driving the pickup 1500 miles to Utah for the funeral.  Yesterday we went through Vail.  I haven’t been there for over ten years.  We are scrambling to beg and borrow ski clothes so on the way back we can stay a day or two and ski.  It just so happens my sister has a time share in Vail and will be arriving the day we are heading back home.  So since all of our ski equipment and clothing is buried deep in a storage unit, we have to come up with some ski clothes, which it looks like we’ll be able to do.  We may look like we have misfitting clothes from decades ago, but, dang, we’ll be skiing Vail - a first for Sharlet.

Thus, I may not have many posts to the blog for a week or so…

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December 26, 2006 by David.

While I’m on the subject of hearing loss, let me throw a little out about hearing aid styles.  About five years ago I got my first set of hearing aids, one that are completely in the ear canal (CIC).  These are the smallest and least noticeable and being a somewhat fashion conscious person, I was willing to give up some performance for style.  However, I hardly ever wore them.  They were quite uncomfortable, didn’t help in noisy situations that much, and things like hearing yourself chew was bothersome.

About two years ago I decided to try again.  A different manufacturer I thought might get a better fit and maybe electronics had improved enough to make it worth it.  While there was marginal improvement in comfort and the intelligence in sound amplification, there wasn’t enough benefit to make it worth wearing them regularly.

Well, I’m hear to tell you that the latest in hearing aid technology is the answer – the open ear design.  What this means is that the ear canal isn’t completely sealed off.  You have a behind the ear module with a tube that goes into the ear and a little soft plastic surround to help hold it in place.  The surround piece is mostly cut away with the result that the hearing aid supplements sounds the ear hears naturally.  This eliminates the chewing sound in your head and makes all sounds more natural.

I picked up the Delta by Oticon.  It is much small and sleek with leading-edge electronics.  It looks more like a blue tooth hearing piece than a hearing aid.  I can’t believe the difference in how well I can hear.  Granted, nothing will take you  back to “normal” hearing, but this is a significant improvement and the comfort level won’t be a factor to keep you from wearing them.  From the first day I received them, I have worn them all day every day.  When I take them out, it is like someone turned down the treble.  With the old CIC style, when I took them out, it was like someone turned down the volume.  The difference is these do a much better job amplifying just the sounds I need amplified.If you live in the mid-south, I highly recommend Dr. Michael Cox!  He understands hearing loss very well, is gracious, and has lower than average pricing.  His contact info is:

Memphis Hearing Aid Center
7675 Wolf River Cir
Germantown, TN 38138
901-682-1529

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December 24, 2006 by David.

When ya get “old,” something is gonna break.  I’m glad to have hair on my head, but my hearing certainly has gone to hell.

Now, there are a few things that you don’t get told when you are younger about hearing loss, at least in any of the circles I ran in.  You’ve got two factors, first the noise levels you are exposed to, which you have control over, and second, your genes, which you have no control over.  While I know by the hearing loss of my parents, particularly my dad, that I’ve got some hereditary hearing loss, I also know I subjected myself to a lot of noise over the years without using any hearing protection.  Mostly five years of construction in my 20’s and ten years driving a soft top Jeep as my only vehicle.  Ok, with the stereo usually cranked up.  I can remember driving for half a day and having my ears ring for another day.

Here’s the nasty secret of hearing loss.  You don’t just loose hearing, you gain a few things.  Constant ringing and/or clicking noises in your ears, which can get quite pronounced.  But I find the real hassle is sensitivity to noise.  In a sense,  as you hear quiet sounds less, you hear loud sounds more.  The ear becomes less tolerant of loud sounds.  In fact, loud sounds become painful.  Literally.  “Young” people like to fault older people who don’t like loud music.  Well, the problem isn’t whether or not they “like” music loud.  The problem is anything loud, even the clanking of dishes, is literally painful to a person with hearing loss.

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December 23, 2006 by David.

While I am an avid fan of the Rich Dad series of books, I haven’t paid attention to Blair Singer’s book Sales Dogs.  I recently received Blair’s CD Little Voice Management Systems.  I’ve listened to it twice already and am very impressed.  This CD is applicable to more than just sales.  It applies to your approach to life in general.  In the laast two days I’ve put into practice one of his points, making a fist and saying “Yes!” as a celebration of something good happening, even for seemingly minute, small happenings.  To my surprise, the very first time I did it, I immediately felt better, a noticable mood raiser.  It goes without saying that I’ve done the “Yes!” numerous more times.  Wow! It really works!  Doesn’t have to be big and loud, just doing it at all is all it takes.  Blair has 17 other points he makes on the CD to control your “little voice.”

I highly recommend this CD and I’m going to be checking out other material Blair has.

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December 22, 2006 by David.

Now that I’ve written about Dustin, I’ll do some crowing about Sharlet’s daughter, Jill.  Jill is 20, smart as a whip, funnier than hell, very creative, an extreme extrovert, and a looker.  No, I said Looker, NOT Hooker.  She is attending the International Academy of Design and Technology in Nashville, TN, taking courses in fashion design.  She’s a natural-born entrepreneur and no matter what she chooses to do in life, she’ll kick butt.  If nothing is happening, she makes it happen.  Both kids believe they can do anything they want - an outlook that Sharlet deserves unending accolades for instilling in them.  One of Jill’s objectives is to know seven languages by the time she’s 30.  She spent a summer in Spain in a Spanish language immersion and nine months in Venice studying Italian, working, and in general creating a ruckus and breaking hearts everywhere she went.

She has her Barista certification, so, frankly, she is a coffee snob.  She thinks she’s going to die when Sharlet microwaves her coffee to warm it up and talks about how a coffee “doesn’t hit the tongue right.”  To me, all coffee tastes like shit.  Well, unless Jill makes it, that is.  (Geez, I’m gonna pay for that smart ass remark someday)

Bottom line, there aren’t two cooler step-kids in existance.  Or two kids, “step” or not, for that matter.  I love seeing them grow up, expand their view of the world, and I can’t wait to see where their lives will lead them.  As far as I’m concerned, they are my kids.

To see pics of the kids, go to our wedding site www.misssharlet.com.

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December 20, 2006 by David.

Saturday, December 16, my wife Sharlet became a grandmother.  Her son, who is near graduation from University of Hawaii with a degree in Korean studies, had a bouncing baby girl, Aimi.  The mother is Japanese and the kid is cuter than, well, anyone else’s kid.  Ok, I guess that kinda makes me a grandpa, even if it isn’t my “bloodline.”

While I’m on this topic, I’ve gotta brag a bit about Sharlet’s son, Dustin.  He is over six feet tall, blond, blue, dang good looking.  He can be a deep thinker and come to some amazing conclusions.  He’s social and friendly and an all-around good guy.

Back in high school he roomed with a Korean and that started him on his Korean quest.  He has visited Korea a number of times.  He can speak, read, and write Korean fluently.  He spent the better part of a year going to a University in Daegu, Korea on a scholarship which he got from a referal from a Korean language teacher here in the states.  He’ll get scouped up by some company doing business in the US and Korea with such an unusual set of skills.

There are lots of stories related to Dustin and Korea (not to mention other stuff) but that’ll have to wait for some other post.

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December 19, 2006 by David.

A word about that first Harley, the Springer.  It is a 1995 limited edition Bad Boy.  What’s that all mean?  “Springer” refers to the front forks which are a throwback to over 50 years ago.  They have dual downtubes with a lever between the two to mount the front wheel, giving all of about 3″ of travel.  Other bikes have single slider tubes with twice or more travel.  As to “Bad Boy”, that just means that it has had “stuff” blacked out, primarily the forks.  I took the blacked out theme and ran with it, blacking out a lot of things.

It was a few months old and had 1200 miles on it when I got it.  It had a windshield and, yes, bags added.  That was all well and good when it was my only bike, but now that I’ve got a real bagger, what’s a guy to do with the old bike that shakes like hell?  As my friend Gary says, Harleys are like kids: you can’t ever get rid of one once you have it.  As my first Harley I really didn’t want to sell it and I admit it has languished in the garage after we got the Road Glide. 

I’ve finally settled on its future direction.  I’ll strip off the windshield and bags and turn it into a “Bobber.”  What’s a Bobber?  Back in the day, a Bobber was a bike that had been chopped and stripped down and one of the primary styles is a shortened rear fender.  I figure there is a lot I can do myself, but I’d like to fatten up the rear tire, put on flat bars, and of course hot rod the engine.  Did I mention power is good?

I’ve only seen one bike that is the style like I want to make and it confirmed that is what I want (picture above).  For more on the springer, go to www.BadBoyBobber.com.  Yes, I know the site name assumes I’m heading in in the direction of a Bobber even though it isn’t there yet… 

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December 18, 2006 by David.

Hey, it if the URL is BaggerBlogger.com, then how about starting with a post on Baggers.  For the non-Harley types, “Bagger” is a moniker used for Harley Davidson tour bikes - with the bags (usually “hard” fiberglass) on the back. 

Baggers are pretty much limited to two models, unless you want to count in custom built bikes.  First, the Electra Glide family which has a handle bar mounted fairing (called “batwing”) and is historically Harley’s touring bike.  The second is the Road Glide, which is what I have.  Road Glides have a frame mounted fairing (and I confess I still think it is kinda ugly) and is a newer machine.  Technically the “only” difference between the two is fairing (and a couple options on the Electra like plug-in communication systems).  All but one person I’ve talked to says they handle very differently, as in the Road Glide being a noticably better handler, considered to be because wind buffeting doesn’t move the frame-mounted fairing and since it weighs a little more it seems to give a better weight distribution, tracking nicely.

After having a Springer for ten years, we got the Road Glide and really love it.  Now the Springer seems small - and slow.  The  Springer only had the typical pipes, ignition, air filter improvements.  The Road Glide was bumped to 95″ and a cam before I even brought it home.  Comfort and speed.  What more could a guy want.

Oh, just for the record, the Road Glide is my wife’s bike.  Just ask her.  Never mind that she doesn’t have her motorcycle endorcement or ever gets out of the passenger seat.  That’s fine with me.  She can get as many of “her” Harleys as she’d like!

For more info in the Road Glide, go to www.BlackBagger.com.  The site has lists of enhancements, how-to pictures, dyno results, and more.

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