That's awesome. Nothing quite so dramatic for me, but it's flattened the sine waves of my moodiness. Paxil did that for me too but it was too much like watching a movie of my life.

My brother's house in SF (Pacifica) looks like its in hell. The sky is orange and you can't see anything. Down here there is smoke all over and our house smells like fire. There is the occasional ember from the El Dorado Fire, otherwise known worldwide as the 'The Gender Reveal Fire'.


@Doge I'm proud of him, so I'm sure you are doubly. We hear about him so much on this forum he's practically a member, kinda like those relatives on Facebook you've never met.

Being a fighter pilot is a prestigous and fun job, not quite like being a Marine, but he'll make more money!

Thank you for your service!
I tried. That was that trip to the Naval Academy - using rowing. He liked the bike too much, so that didn't happen. Spending 3-4 days a week on the Marine base (Camp Pendleton) I think the Marines became too familiar.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...09b4d1f170.png

Six straight days with an AQI over 500. Businesses are closed due to air quality (not that anyone is leaving their houses anyway), the state closed all of the forests, the city closed all of the parks, highways are closed, and we can only be outside for 30 seconds before the smoke starts tickling your throat and chest. Visibility this morning was less than 100'. The dog is going nuts because she hasn't been run in almost a week, and the wife and I are going stir crazy. This is more of a quarantine than Covid ever was. The temperature has been dropping throughout the week because the sun can't get through the smoke, so we are in a quasi nuclear winter.

So far, three of my friends have lost their homes. My coworker had the bonus of his Nest Cam picking up looters ransacking his house and stealing his possessions a few hours before the house burnt to the ground.

Been fun here.

Cypress I am speechless. Try to hang tough but that is not much of a helping thought. Let’s hope for some relief from the weather.

God, that's horrible. Just horrible.

Terrible to hear about your friends and coworker Cypress. Stay sane.

Sorry to hear about all the suffering going on out there. I can't imagine. Be safe as you can.

@Cypress terrible what's going on up there. Stay safe. In 2004 we were in a similar situation and had to leave our home with and wall of smoke a flame approaching. When I turned off the TV to leave our home, the news chopper was showing our neighborhood with several houses burning. Luckily they stopped it 2 blocks away.

I hope things work out for everyone up there.

Geez, that's like apocalyptic... Hopefully things get under control soon.

Been there, it sucks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_F...urray_wildfire

The only thing missing from the west coast is the appearance of Godzilla.

Don't jinx us.

Figured you guys might find this morbid/interesting.

One of my friends was able to get back to his place after it burnt. Here's what a forest fire burning down your house will do to different bikes:

A scandium Pegoretti Love #3 frame that was hung vertically on a wall:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...584028161a.jpg

I can't remember the brand, but this was a carbon gravel bike:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b68177fe00.jpg

Omg that poor pegorettiiii!

All bike forum things aside, I hope your friend is doing as well as possible given the circumstances...

He’s doing great, all things considered. Probably one of the most positive dudes I know. So far, everyone that I know that’s lost properties to these fire has a pretty positive outlook. The real estate in this area went gangbusters (beating the nationwide average) over the last 5 years, so the predicted insurance settlements are going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars over the equity people had built up. At least, that’s what they are expecting...

Bought a new car last night.

I mentioned about a month ago that my Service Engine Soon light came on on my 10-year-old BMW. I paid the $1400 to get it repaired, and started casually looking at new options. Then the light came back on this past weekend. Took it back to the shop on Monday, who fixed it at no charge. Both times, the light popped on when I was driving back from longer (2.5+) road trips, which did not inspire confidence, and my review of car forums told me I was likely looking at another 5-6, $1,200 repairs over the next 10k-15k miles. So, I accelerated my car search this week.

Took it to CarMax last night to get an appraisal, and wouldn't you know it, the stupid Service Engine Soon light came on when I went to drive the car from the parking lot to the appraisal area.

And for all you guys out west dealing with the fires, good luck and keep safe.

What did you get?

Any chance the first shop will fix it again before you get carmax to buy it?

The auto trans in my 06 acura tl has started getting a bit jerky when cold. I paid a grand in the spring to have someone flush the trans and clean /replace a bunch of solenoids that are known to cause the issue. I'm just crossing my fingers that it lasts a bit longer through training. This year is going to be a fair amount of driving for work. It's sitting right at 150k. Hoping it makes it to 175-200k. It's still been cheaper to pay to have a few things done from time to time vs car payments so...

Id probably want a fun car as my next daily. Nothing crazy, just actually kinda fun to drive. Maybe a focus st or a golf r. Though awd would be nice. Was thinking of picking up one of the last gen v6 rav4s. Still kinda mulling that over. They can be had for 8-10k with sub 100k miles. Id easily get 5-6 years out of the car.

Could also sell the project miata to fund things. That would be the responsible thing to do. But the thought of that hurts a bit 😔

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We bought this a few weeks back to pull the travel trailer
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...907967c558.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7db53dce60.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9615c7dbd.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f7426f8828.jpg

That's a sweet travel trailer.

I got a Honda Passport - I went from a small coupe to a larger SUV. But at least now I'll have no trouble hauling my bikes.

Seems there's a lot of that going on. I bought a Honda Passport three weeks ago to tow our Ridge Runner. We're heading up to Asheville this weekend to spend a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...88&oe=5F8ACD26

Been reading some awesome things about the passport but it's likely way too big for my needs.
Hell I think my TL is too big but my biggest qualm is that the rear seats won't fold down.

Hard to complain about getting a car as a hand me down though!

Kensuf, let me know when you'll be in Asheville. My wife works up there, so I am there a lot.

Looking forward to getting the trailer in November. Got one of the last ones allocated. RV places are making bank these days. Gear up for the big sell off on the backside of this.

That's a good thought. I'm hoping to upgrade to a smart trainer (or smartbike) on the cheap after it all ends and people realize they don't use them. Not that I don't like my homemade motion rollers setup with powertab hub, but I'd like controlled resistance.

Sunday.

Darn. My wife is heading back on Sunday, but I'll be at home until the first of October.

We had an RV for 2 years, wanted to use it on the weekends so we could park at the beach and go surfing. Unfortunately, its not like TV where you're alone on the beach with no one for miles. Its hard to even get a spot in RV parks near the beach, and I can't tell you how many times we were stuck with neighbors fighting late at night. Of course, that is probably more a California issue, with our dense population and everyone packing on to the beach on the weekends.

Ever go to Jalama Beach? It's kinda remote, twisty road 15 miles off Hwy 1, 15 miles from the tunnel/junction with Hwy 101 above Goleta. Years ago it had nothing but a tiny store and you could always get a spot during the week. There are miles of beach up to Vandenberg AFB and the campground is the only access.
It's been discovered, expanded, and the store has a kitchen now. Last time I went there we had to get in line for a spot, leave and sleep somewhere else, then come back the next day to wait for a spot. We stayed for 2 weeks, I had a truck camper and a bunch of my friends came, too. Even with the "crowding" it's still awesome.

I spent New Year's Eve there in Y2K. I was with my ex then and some people set up a huge tent with a bar and music and my wife got drunk and sick. Good times.

We looked forever to find a cabin in the Poconos or similar area for later this fall, and almost every single one was in some sort of community, with lakes and gyms and tennis courts and all that. And the vast majority were no more a cabin than our house is. If you're in a development and have vinyl siding and drywall, I'm sorry, it's not a cabin, even if you're in the mountains. That's just called a house.

We just want a place in the woods, quiet, dark, have a fire, walk in the woods, maybe use the telescope,

We found one that was close enough, but still not exactly what we wanted. It's crazy. Why do people like going to places where all the other people already are? I want to go on vacation to get the **** away from people