If you’re a lark, apt to wake as early as 6am, and go to sleep around 9 or 10 pm, you’re going to feel your nap need around 1 or 1:30 pm. If you’re an owl, preferring to go to bed after midnight or 1am, and to wake around 8 or 9am, your afternoon “sleep gate” will open later, closer to 2:30 or 3pm.

I am an owl. larks are weird, imo.

view the entire nap graphicy goodness at boston.com

you know, because they are so flipping happy.
[img via jezebel & splashnews]

as I work from home today, naturally still in my underwear, I’m overjoyed to not be stuck in the grind.

looks like fun, huh. even if it does end up being somewhere in the neighborhood of a $10-15 shot…

since purchasing my V-Strom from cyclewest, who assured me I was getting the bike on a “buddy deal,” I have received two return calls as a result of my multi-dealership inquiries back in april. the 2008 v-strom 650 abs has arrived, in great(er) numbers.

so much for getting it to me ahead of the game, jerkwads.

in believing them, I totally tossed out the negotiation card as well and paid premium. I’m not that upset about it because I love the bike, but it still ticks me off. so much so that I’m abandoning the “maintenance plan” and quite likely the “extended warranty” the dealership offered me.

I believed scarcity would drive up the cost regardless of dealership (which I suppose, may still be true…)

cest la ve~

quick-background:
I finally got my brand-spankin’ new 2008 DL650 last week (after writing about only one final contender and two months of waiting for it to arrive from the factory.)

I broke in the first ~50 miles (proper engine break-in is super important) using a combination of techniques found here, here, and the user’s manual (though not really.)

I changed my oil & filter yesterday, accidentally overfilled it then promptly drained the excess (very irritating thing to do..) I’m using a stock suzuki oil filter and valvoline 10w-40 oil for the next ~500 miles - until my 600 mile service which I expect will be by the mid-end of this month.

pros summary:
fucking fun. a very different experience than riding my ‘87 Yamaha Virago (a 700cc.) the handling is very tight and I generally always feel safe on my Wee. the breaks are astounding: I’m much more likely to fly off the bike by breaking than accelerating.

a few cons:
I can confirm that there is a lot of ‘helmet buffeting’ that is pretty headache inducing in large doses. I plan on tweaking to kingdom-come in efforts to fix but at this point, the issue is not so bad reducing the fun I am having is lessened any. milage during break in is crap. there is a lot of vacuum’y sounds from the bike at all rpms that I’m a little leary of. the dealership I purchased from is pretty shitty; also, I didn’t get a great deal on the bike.

my ride to work - through the woods, over the hills and straddle the cliffs overlooking the shore.
absolutely awesome ride for twisties:

link to googlemaps route

for years an’ years, my go-to for translations has always been babelfish.altavista.com … today, on my way to look up “va te faire foutre” I am redirected! oh my, no more Altavista.

when did babelfish.altavista.com become babelfish.yahoo.com?

according to ye’ ol’ wikipedia:

1.) “…AltaVista (part of Yahoo! since May 9, 2008)…”
2.) “After a long sojourn at babelfish.altavista.com [since 1995!], the site was moved in May 2008 to babelfish.yahoo.com.”

RIP babelfish.altavista.com

Error: Error occurred while rendering portlet - see provider log file for details

no link, no nothing but an obsecure-tech riddled message with zero indication of how to remedy the issue. WTF?!

…never a good msg to get upon resetting one’s password for the HR company that handles all my personal info.

on the plus side, it appears to have worked regardless… smooth as sandpaper!

…like what an overgrown-raised-truck-that-floors-it-between-red-traffic-lights says about the tiny package its driver has, you know, where it counts. that giggle you get knowing they’re over compensating for lacking any real virtue.

presenting the smart car monster truck:

[story linky, via justinsomnia!]

is it a cell phone or a remote control? is it part lollipop too?

well, whatever it is, it is from ESPN labs. enjoy sports fans. read more ova here

p.s. this my remote, the logitech harmony 550, procured for $50:

one sentence review: it does what I want and while it occasionally fucks up a little, is overall a good thing.

the $30 notepal ==

- a noticeably cooler (happier?) running laptop

- usb powered with an extra port so you don’t lose one to power the silent running cooler fans

- not so great comfortwise off-desk laptop experience, although a cooler lap overcomes comfort deficiencies

- according to sensors, a few C cooler while running the internal fans about 500rpm slower

- an unexpected benefit: slight upright position that makes the laptop more comfortable for long-term use

- a well designed, crafted, manufactured cooler that provides a decent amount of cooling without sacrificing silence

or should I say damn you Atlantic? who’s holding out here?!

new Death Cab for Cutie and I can’t listen to it…

(ok, ok, I get 30secs of each song. nothxfubai.)

update 5/16:
got a hold of the album; one “word” review: ehhh..