more stuff

The mighty honda scooter is so excellent that it's making me hop on and go buy stuff that I really don't need and will undoubtedly end up in the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" pile of stuff taking up premium space.

I had the mighty scooter on the highway and took it up to 90 km/h. It got up to speed no problem and there was plenty of throttle left but it didn't feel very safe. The scooter is too light and a few times I felt like it was close to becoming airborne. I filled up the tank and calculated the fuel consumption to be 136 miles per imperial gallon. Not too shabby.

Last week I went to look at a Moorcroft lamp and somehow or other found myself driving home with the lamp and 8 additional pieces of Moorcroft along with 2 boxes of other stuff. You wouldn't believe how happy the lovely mrs myshkin was to see me carrying 3 boxes of stuff into the house.  Luckily she has no idea how much a Moorcroft lamp sells for these days.

Buying shit can be habit forming and then toss in the adventure of riding a scooter and it's impossible to resist temptation. This morning I hopped on the scooter and went to pick up 2 more character jugs. I wanted Falstaff to keep my dad company on the mantle and as luck would have it, the guy had a beautiful Don Quixote jug. I now have 4 Quixotes,  Two large character jugs easily fit into the storage area under the seat of the scooter. I was worried about breaking them but bubble wrap and foam came to the rescue.

When I finally got around to unpacking the boxes of stuff from the previous adventure, I fell in love with this little orphan:

It's an old Nippon hand painted porcelain plate, probably from the 1950's. I don't think it has much value but the quality of the metal handle caught my fancy. Excellent craftsmanship.

Billy says he loves you sons of bitches.

tradition?

The traditions and customs of our various societies are certainly interesting and diverse. There are times when you have to ask yourself, how in the wide, wide world of sports did these geniuses come up with something so brilliant. But one person's brilliant idea may be another person's idea of lunacy.

For instance, take a look at his photo and ask yourself, how did these rocket scientists come up with this wonderful practice?

Once upon a time, did a man happen to discover that his wife had done something naughty and as a punishment ordered her to hold a flaming bowl of shit in one hand until she learned her lesson?

Then did she repeat the same blunder so he decided that she should hold a flaming bowl of shit in each hand?

But she was a slow learner and transgressed again so he decided that she should also balance a flaming bowl of shit on her head?

Then did the other men of the tribe decide that it was such a good learning exercise that all the women should take part in the lesson? As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I don't know how it all started, but I'm pretty sure that the idea came from a man.

But something better than flaming bowls of shit arrived on my doorstep last week:

I now have an old copy of Dune to read after I finish House Atredies and House Harkonnen. I'm debating whether or now to read House Corrino before jumping into Dune.

Billy says he loves you sons of bitches. Billy is quite curious to find out if  ingesting spice and folding space have any connection with being unstuck in time.

something wonderful happened this morning.

i was going to buy myself a toy for retirement but as they say, the best laid plans......

i pulled the trigger yesterday and here's the new toy:

 i had decided to get a bike months ago but just couldn't make up my mind what to buy, a little scooter or a cruiser. it's been 20 years since i had a motorcycle and was wondering how good my muscle memory would be.

when i went to the honda dealer i sort of fell in love with the honda phantom but luckily i came to my senses and bought something much smaller. a phantom would be cool if i lived in the country and could do some cruising but for zipping around the city, the pcx 150 makes life easier. it was a bit of an adventure for the first few kilometers but i'll soon have the hang of it.

it zips around the city with an automatic transmission and has plenty of storage under the seat.

if this isn't wonderful, what is?

billy says he loves you sons of bitches and i should have got something bigger.