Bike Mods #2 and #3

It's Springtime and I've got motorcycle fever big time. Last Sunday was great. We rode with a group of about 8 bikes, all family, out to a local state park. Beautiful weather and great company. You can't ask for anything better.

Last night I added two more modifications to my bike. [Note: Mod #1 was saddlebags.] Mod #2 is a new set of grips. I added the Kuryakyn ISO Flame Grips with the Stiletto End Caps. Very comfy!

The other mod (#3) I added was a new set of mirrors. I put on some really slick and mean looking Arlen Ness Rad II Teardrop chrome mirrors. They are tiny but still functional.

Stock Photo


Installed



Other modifications I am considering are louder pipes, a chrome air filter cover, and a Memphis Shades fork mounted windshield (right now I've got handlebar-mounted).

Creative Mentality

It's been a while since my last post. I did get a PS3 in December and have been enjoying it very much. The Blu-ray functionality works very smoothly, which is more than I can say for our HD-DVD player.

2007 has started out as a very busy and fulfilling year for me. January brought us a new Labrador puppy - a chocholate Lab we named Ryker. He's such a cutie! He's kind of a mix between what Kobe was and Dax is. Kobe was very active whereas Dax is the laid back gentle soul. Ryker is definitely somewhere in between. I'm amazed at just how calm he can be sometimes. He's very attentive, walks on a leash very well already, and a chewer. Oh boy, is he a chewer! But he's been responding to us and his obedience training very nicely. (Cute pic, but his eyes are actually green.)



February brought me back into my creative mode (hence the title of this entry). I've decided to go back to learning piano. This time I plan on going all the way. I bought a new keyboard and have been loving every minute of it. There are a couple of options for me to take lessons, but for now I am self teaching. I won't really have time for lessons until late summer/fall, so I'll re-evaluate my progress at that time. I won't go into too much detail right now about my progress. I want to set a goal to make small, frequent updates, but I will add one more tidbit. Here's a picture of the keyboard I bought:



It's a Yamaha PSR-E403 keyboard. It's got 61, full-size, and slightly weighted keys (like a real piano). It also has a feature that Yamaha calls Touch Response™ that allows me to play it like a real piano, too. In other words, I can play f (loud), mf (moderate), or p (piano) just as if I were playing an actual piano.

And finally, I've also begun writing again. Well, more gathering ideas but I have put pen to paper on a few occasions. I'm currently working on a book of poetry (with a theme) and a screenplay for a short film. My husband is a film school graduate and he, too, is getting in touch with his creative and technical side again. It's nice to be working together. Should be fun.

Why I Want A PS3 and Why I Didn't Pre-Order One

I want a PS3 so bad I can taste it. And it tastes better than a warm brownie smothered in vanilla ice cream with chocholate fudge on top. Let me just state right now that I am not a Sony fangirl. I simply love gaming. So, I make it no secret that I don't really understand why anyone would want Sony to fail. Sure, they can be seen as "uncool" by the hardcore crowd due to its mainstream appeal, but if we didn't have Sony (or more specifically, the Playstation brand), we may not have tons of killer exclusives that we all know and love.

And that is where my want for a PS3 comes in. My favorite type of game is the "samurai action" or "hack n' slash" games that run rampant on the Playstation 2. Games like the Onimusha series, Devil May Cry, Genji, Bunjingai, and hell even Chaos Legion are all games that get my gaming blood flowing and I could not and would not want to imagine a gaming world without those games or games like them. The PS3 is launching with no less than three games (I only need a few solid games to make a launch good in my eyes) that I want that are exclusives: Genji: Days of the Blade, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Did you see Genji in there? And Untold Legends? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Games like that (I loved the first Genji and enjoy both Untold Legends games on PSP) are what make it fun to be a gamer.

Not to mention the Blu-Ray player. Yeah, I'm interested in that. Since my husband is an audio/video nut, we've already been blessed with an HD-DVD player. You better believe a Blu-Ray player, in one form or another, is in our future. And the first two Blu-Ray movies I'll bring home? Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, baby!

With early impressions from the gaming journalism community stating that the launch games for PS3 are looking even *better* than current Xbox 360 games and those overall impressions being quite positive (yeah, there is plenty of positive talk out there, some folks simply tend to overlook it), what's not to love? Don't get me wrong; I'm no graphics whore. Purdy graphics certainly don't automatically make a game good cough*Kameo*cough. That game had 5-year old gameplay with a $50 coat of paint; a polished turd, if you will. But hey, if Sony's giving me crisper graphics, why would I turn that down? About the only thing I'm kind of leary of is their tilt-sensory controller... the SIXAXIS. No one will ever convince me that isn't a Wii ripoff. However, that's not to say it automatically makes it bad. I'm looking forward to playing those exclusives that I only seem to be able to get on a Playstation console and am going into the SIXAXIS control scheme with an open mind.

There's no Sony hype here; I genuinely want a PS3 not because I'm being fed reasons to own one by some corporate suit or that moron Kaz but because with the Playstation's previous record, I know I'll be getting the games I want to play. Or at least until something crazy happens and every game goes multiplatform.

So, if I want one so bad, why didn't I pre-order one?

Because I'm a dumbass, that's why. Well, that and technically I was working at the time my local EB began taking pre-orders. Although, had I been in my right mind, I would've found a way. Calling my EB's manager and telling her "I want one!" would've been a good first step. There is sort of another reason, too. My husband and I opted to go with the console that we both wanted most. With the Wii coming out two days after the PS3 launches and Christmas a month later, I thought I was doing the more responsible thing financially in deciding to wait. And I may very well have to, but it'll be a tough wait. However, it will be a glorious day when my hubby and I bring home our shiney new PS3. Whenever that may be.

Bully

Wow. Simply wow.

Ya know, I've wanted to post my impressions all weekend but have refrained until I felt comfortable with the amount of time I've invested. Now that I've put 10 hours into the game, I feel like I can give it the praise it deserves without steering anyone wrong. Needless to say, I'm hooked. Bully has taken me away from Baten Kaitos Origins (which I've also got 10 hours in), and is keeping me from two other favorite series games of mine (Tales of the Abyss and SMT: Devil Summoner). When I wasn't on my motorcycle this weekend, I was playing Bully.

Basically, if you like the structure that Rockstar implemented in Grand Theft Auto III and have a desire to play that in a prep school setting, then Bully is for you. The protagonist isn't the bully that the title (and perhaps even Jack Thompson) would lead you to believe. I've only played through the first chapter's main quests so far (there are tons of side quests, though) and I'm not really seeing that little Jimmy Hopkins is such a bad kid. Sure, according to the narrative, he has been thrown out of previous schools, arrested, etc. but when it comes to being a bully, so far I have not witnessed Jimmy beating up anyone who didn't in some way deserve it.

The mission structure may be set up very similar to GTAIII but it tosses in its own uniqueness to help gel with the school premise. You've got two classes per day that you can choose to attend or not. The first starts at 9:30 and the second starts at 1pm. By going to class and passing the lesson, you either gain new abilities or gain stat-building attributes to current abilities. I've already completed Chemistry (there are 5 lessons per subject), 3 lessons in English, Art and Gym, and just opened the ability to attend Shop and Photography classes. There are mini-games involved in the classes which make going both fun and challenging. And speaking of challenging... while the Chemistry class requires you to pass a timed button pressing mini-game, English class requires you to create as many words as you can from a handful of scrambled letters in a certain amount of time. And you have to meet a certain percentage or you fail. This class has been the most challenging and rewarding to me thus far. I'm actually having to work at gaining new abilities for my character! lol

All in all, Rockstar nailed the prep school setting, stereotypical characters and all. The voice acting couldn't be better. It is exactly what you'd expect depending on which kind of schoolmate you are talking to (this is where the stereotypes soar). The music (especially that chilling opening music - very Potter-esque) fits the mold perfectly.

The story starts out with Jimmy basically learning his way around (both physically around campus and interacting with his schoolmates). It's enough to draw you in, that's for sure. Maybe because it touches on something we've all experienced at one time or another (compared to the GTA series where we aren't all working for the mob, haha), but it's almost surreal how real Bullworth Academy is. It's a living, breathing school. Even with the not-too-surprising twist at the end of chapter one, the story is moving along at a nice pace and I can't wait to see where else is leads me.

1up's "10" for Bully caused me to have reservations at first, but after my time with it, that 10 isn't so far fetched. I'm not saying I'd award it a 10, but it's easier to swallow now that I've experienced some of the game for myself.

It comes down to one synopsis really. Definitely a rental; worth of a purchase. I am so very satisfied that I followed my instinct and took a chance on Bully. (Actually, Voodoo gave it to me as an anniversary gift, so I'm really glad that I spoke up about my interest in it.)

My .02? Opt for the $50 EB/Gamestop exclusive. The life-size (yes, it's an official playing size) dodge ball with the Bully logo on it is a very nice touch. And a fine collectible that I will proudly display.

PS3 + ebay = Capitalism

Yeah, I admit it. It pisses me off to hear or read "gamers" say that they plan to wait in line, in the freezing cold, for hours and hours, to buy a PS3 only to bring it home, take a picture of the box (if they even go to that effort) and put it on ebay for astronomical prices. Why does this piss me off? Because any real "gamer" would rather be playing that console than taking advantage of someone else's stupidity (or laziness). Of course, it is difficult to blame 'em for that; stupidity deserves to be slapped upside its head. But it is tough to swallow that the honest PS3 fan will be out the chance to get one while these other schmucks are only doing it to pad their pockets. But what can you do. Capitalism is the American way, right?

For the record, I will own a PS3 in the near future. Possibly next spring once all the hoopla has died somewhat. I could have reserved a spot on the reserve list yesterday, but elected to save my 100 bucks (and the other 500) for my motorcycle and the Wii.

Two Shadows

W00t! We did it. We upgraded to bigger bikes this past Saturday. Our Honda dealer made us a deal we could not refuse. Now I am riding a big girl's bike! LOL! It is buttery smooth, too. We went on a 75 mile trip through a nearby state park on Sunday and had the best time. The bike fits perfectly. And it's got much more power than the Rebel ever did. And even with the wider gear ratios, I have noticed a huge difference. Cruising at 45-50mph is smooth in 3rd gear. I had to be in 5th gear on that Rebel to ride 45 comfortably (what I thought was comfort!).

Here are a few pics. The first two show the bike the day we bought them (Saturday) and the last pic of mine shows my first mod (saddlebags).

Ice Queen - I'm considering this name for my bike. "Ice" is derived from the blue color and "Queen" came from my husband referring to it as "The Queen."




My husband bought a beautiful and badass 2007 Honda Spirit 750 in the Titanium color.


My first mod of many - Saddlebags


My dad (who rides a 2007 Yamaha V-Star 1100) and my husband have both riden my bike around the block a few times and both say the same thing I do.... that it's smooth as butter. It's nice to know I have the compliments of two people I respect so much. I couldn't be happier with it!

Free Spirit

Wow, it's been like... forever since I last updated. Two reasons: gaming, summer, and my new motorcycle. Ok, that's three. Sue me. I do a lot of gaming in my off time (I'm up to 26 completed games for 2006) and this past summer, my husband and I went to Disney World for a vacation. You don't have to be a kid to appreciate the magic of Disney. Anyone with an imagination can have a ball.

After our vacation, I got the fever. The motorcycle fever. See, I grew up riding dirt bikes, so I was bitten by the bug at a very early age. But it wasn't until this past July that the fever for a street bike set in. My dad bought a Yamaha 1100 V-Star during the summer and boy was I ever envious. But my husband has never expressed an interest in bikes, so I sort of ignored the green monster growing inside me. Actually, it wasn't necessarily envy; I'm just really into riding motorcycles and really wanted to be out there with him when I heard about how much fun he was having.

Well, long story short, my stepbrother's girlfriend had her bike over at my dad's one Thursday evening when I was there. It is a red 2002 Honda Shadow VLX Deluxe 600cc. And it was just my size! Needless to say, I was very anxious about telling my hubby that I wanted a bike. Basically, I was going to respect his wishes but I wasn't prepared to take 'no' as an answer. Imagine my surprise when I proposed to him two days later (I had to work up the nerve!) that I buy a bike and he.... was very interested!!!! As in interested in even getting his own!

So, that weekend we went bike shopping. By that Monday we were the proud owners of two 2007 Honda 250cc Rebels both black. We decided to go with smaller bikes since these were our first street bikes. By the following week we had our licenses and were out on the open road.



Fast forward to this past week. We've both got bigger bike envy. We are going this evening and possibly even tomorrow back to our Honda dealer to see what they can do for us. My husband has already talked to the salesman and he was very receptive to wanting to help. Hopefully Honda can do well for us and we can bring home two new bikes!

I'm looking at the 2007 Shadow VLX Deluxe in the light blue silver metallic color. It's gorgeous.