• Home
• About

T. Boone Pickens introduces the Pickens Plan to America

T. Boone Pickens is a well-known and legendary Texas oilman, a crusader for shareholder rights, a philanthropist, and a corporate raider. His deep pockets have been used for conservative politicians and causes, and today his official website has gone live - www.pickensplan.com - with his concept called the Pickens Plan.

The Pickens Plan focuses on cutting America’s demand for foreign oil by more than a third over the next decade, and he is bankrolling the largest public policy advertisement campaign to get this message across.

“We’re paying $700 billion a year for foreign oil. It’s breaking us as a nation, and I want to elevate that question to the presidential debate, to make it the No. 1 issue of the campaign this year.” - Source: T. B. Pickens, USAToday

My Sweet Disposition

“The sunset is just my light bulb going out.”
–Ryan Adams

How do you protect something that exists merely on the basis of faith? Where can we safely put this faith and for how long? Are we putting faith into something we want to believe in or the hope that we can compel the right actions to take place? Can one’s mind and heart turn into an opportunity to establish faith?

I once gave a lesson of faith, which echoed the truths that had been placed on my heart.

People can come up with every theory, hypothesis, or logical reasoning to not have faith in gravity. Educated people could use legitimate reasoning to discuss and disprove our faith in gravity. Yet, we live our lives and use the experiences that we know and feel, with no proof to understand. Our time on Earth is marked as a lifetime of proof of what we know, and with no absolute proof, we are compelled to have faith in gravity. We look around our daily lives, and people walk through doors. People do not walk through windows. Under no circumstance, with every ounce of coherent reasoning, can we disprove one’s faith in gravity as we never see people walk out windows. At the end of the day, while one could find continuous reasons not to have faith in gravity, there is no valid argument as they walk out the door and not a window.

History has shown us that in the past, people considered the Earth to be flat. From where we stand and see things in life, we look around and know only what we can make sense of. People would see the flat horizon, giving them the belief that we were living in a flat world. Watching the sun set would show a flat line that would not be seen again until the next morning’s sun rise. For that time period, people would continue to think the world was flat only because they could see the horizon being flat. Logic and reasoning were additional convincing factors; however we know today that the world is anything but flat. It comes to perspective, stepping away from logic and having faith. No amount of arguable facts showing the Earth is flat will ever amount to any truth. At the end of the day, the Earth was indeed as round as it had always been.

We can believe anything we want to believe in. We can choose to put our faith where we think it belongs, even if that means believing in the things that we think will work. If our perspective is wrong, then those same reasons and feelings will limit the right things we have our faith in. To rely on the same, proven logic will result in a misguided thought process in thinking the future will ever change. To keep things the same, after what time has shown, is like convincing that gravity will not work in the future.

Gravity is similar to attraction, just like attraction is similar to love. If we have proof to disprove our faith, then we should discard that faith. If we take a step back and see everything that is happening, we can believe in what will always be true and that gives us the belief and the faith.

Have faith in the things that work, and give up faith in the things that don’t work.

2008 Mercedes C300 Sport Review

  

I am a big fan of Dan Neil, an automobile columnist for the Los Angeles Times, as his humor and observations show an astounding method to keep me reading with enjoyment. I have always loved to read, especially reviews, but he takes it way further. You will catch yourself feeling as if you’re right there, understanding all the better as it makes sense. It wants to make sense too.

Jafar turned me on to Dan Neil after reading his piece on the Ducati 999, and I give credit to Keith for finding this recent column on the all new for 2008, Mercedes C300. Keith and I have had discussions on German automobile engineering. My Mercedes 190E is old school, but runs like a champion. I have always felt that Mercedes has awesome engines, with the problems being more on the electrical side, and when things break - they are definitely expensive!

Dan Neil not only reviews the new Mercedes C300, but he takes into account what Mercedes is facing as they try to improve their image in regards to quality. Dan Neil does indeed enjoy the new C300, yet reserves judgement on the improved image of Mercedes build quality - well, read it for yourself and enjoy every bit of it too.

Review of the Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport

Plagued by reliability issues, the company is doing damage control with its new C-class.

By DAN NEIL

October 24, 2007

On average, the angriest e-mails I get are from former Mercedes-Benz owners on the occasion of my saying something nice about the company’s products. I imagine an irate reader pounding away at his keyboard in the wee hours of the morning, with a shiny Lexus in the driveway and a Stuttgart-made knife still quivering in his back.

Allow me to gloss: “I can’t believe you raved about the [insert gaudy hunk of German schteel here]. I bought a Mercedes a few years ago and it was a total piece of [insert colorful metaphor here]. I took it back to the dealer [exponential figure times] and finally got sick of them looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language [English?]. So, when did you go on the company payroll, you toadying, Hun-loving shill?”

Dear Mom: Thank you for your recent e-mail. . . .

What energizes these missives is a sense of betrayal, and in a perverse way — and wholly unwelcome, I’m sure — the galled, bug-eyed fury of disappointed buyers is a tribute to the expectations attached to the Mercedes-Benz brand. It is also, I believe, a measure of the hollowness of luxury and mass-class branding in general. When the plaid patterns on a Burberry’s handbag don’t line up; when Coach boots come marching out of Chinese factories; when Breitling, Baume & Mercier, Bulgari and Breguet all sell the same watch losing the same time with Swiss precision, consumers can only hope that Mercedes-Benz — which can fairly claim to have invented the automobile — would be a redoubt of quality.

In the last decade, it’s been kind of a slum. Last year, Mercedes and Consumer Reports went all pistols-at-dawn when the magazine listed many MB models as least reliable in their respective categories. And the company has fared no better with J.D. Power’s pivotal dependability ratings. All of this, I’m sure, has occasioned a calm and orderly procession of engineers and executives off the rooftops at Untertürkheim.

This background is necessary to decode the new and ubiquitous ads for the 2008 C-class. These ads portray the heroic lengths the company has gone to to develop the vehicle: the seven years’ worth of road-pounding chassis development, the brakes fit for Autobahn duty, the doors that support the weight of a 200-pound man. Why? “Because we promised you a Mercedes-Benz, that’s why,” says the earnest spokesman. Just in case you thought you had ordered a BLT.

Of course it’s a Mercedes-Benz. But what precisely does that mean? At its best, the brand stands for over-realized, over-engineered, survive-the-apocalypse quality that, to the extent that it conveys luxury, signifies that rich people are also smart. That’s the “promise” to which is referred. That is the compact between company and buyer, recently abrogated but now, the company insists, back in force.

So, is the new C-class — in the deathless prose of the ad — a Mercedes-Benz? Well, it feels like one. The moment you touch the door handle, you register the lubricated heft, the mantle-of-the-Earth solidity of Mercedes’ biggest and best products. Fall into the stiff, low-bolster seats and the familiar comes at you in waves: The optional COMAND nav/audio/vehicle controller interface is the same as in the S-class, only the central rotary knob is a smaller, knurled aluminum wheel. Much of the switchgear is identical to that of the higher-end vehicles. I was fairly unexcited about the C-class interior until I saw it in person; the grade of materials is richer and more appealing than it looks in photos. This is an organized, serious interior with lots of evident deliberation behind it. Sightlines are excellent, and it’s especially nice to be able to see the hood stretching out with small audacity like the S-class.

In the U.S., the 2008 C-class comes in three flavors: C300 Sport and C300 Luxury — both with the 3.0-liter, 228-hp V6 — and the C350 Sport, powered by holdover 3.5-liter, 268-hp V6 mated to the seven-speed automatic. A six-speed manual is standard in the 300 models, and 4Matic all-wheel-drive is an option in all three cars. I tested the rear-drive C300 Sport with the seven-shifter and — inspired by the commercials — abused it about as hard as I could. More about that in a moment.

You can call it lines of force, graviton waves or celestial harmonics, but there is something deeply Benz-like about the C-class’ interior ambience. It’s not simply the deeply muffled interior and wind noise levels, but the timbre of those sounds. The thing sounds like it should have European air woofling through the air ducts.

It also looks like a Benz. Styling an entry-premium car is one of the trickiest exercises in the business, because the big expressive gestures of a luxury car don’t easily translate to a smaller car. The C-class shares the S-class’ stiff-necked formality — the level hood, the upright grille, the classic roof-line arch. All in all, very like an S-class, Sire. But it doesn’t look like it’s wearing its dad’s suit, the Cadillac CTS. The Sport model gets the big, three-bar grille with the three-pointed star in the center. The Luxury model gets a more traditional grille with the three-pointer as a hood ornament.

The new C is capitalized in various dimensions. Compared with the outgoing model, the car is 3.9 inches longer overall (182.3 inches). The wheelbase has gained 1.8 inches (108.7), and front/rear track are up over an inch. The biggest gainer is the trunk, which now measures a competitive 12.4 cubic feet.

The C300 isn’t drunk with power, but with 221 pound-feet of torque from 2,700 to 5,000 rpm, and a quick-witted adaptive transmission with seven gears in the transom, the car always seems to be on the right foot. Zero-to-60-mph accel is about seven seconds, and the car’s high-speed cruising has a light, effortless Zen to it. I took the car out for a flog up through the hill country to Kern County and came away thinking the larger engine option (and diminished fuel economy) couldn’t pay for itself in adrenaline. For those who simply must drive the nail all the way through the 2 by 4, MB will soon offer the C63 — the same car, plus about 300 more horsepower.

You’ll note, I haven’t mentioned BMW, the perennial bogie in this segment, pursued by Audi, Lexus and Infiniti like witches during the Inquisition. The C300 has terrific road manners: lots of raw lateral road holding from the 17-inch Continental tires, firm and composed ride with excellent transitions from corner to corner, a comfortable understeer that, with a lift of the throttle, translates to an easily catchable oversteer. This car has no bad dynamic habits. It might not be as much kinky fun with the road-to-neuron connection of a BMW 3-series, but I would be surprised if the Benz can’t hang with the Bimmer around a short road course.

Overall, I’ve got no complaints. In fact, I think this is an excellent automobile and a credit to its breed. The C-class feels precisely like what you would hope, as if Mercedes had invented a shrinking ray and turned it on an S-class.

But then, I don’t own one. The question has never been, can Mercedes blow up the skirts of an auto reviewer like me. Obviously, they make savagely cool and desirable cars. But can those cars be trusted? That is the C-class’ mission. To paraphrase Poe’s raven, Mercedes, take thy knife from out my back.

dan.neil@latimes.com

–

2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport

Base price: $31,910

Price, as tested: $41,085

Powertrain: 3.0-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 with variable-valve timing; seven-speed automatic transmission; rear-wheel drive

Horsepower: 228 at 6,000 rpm

Torque: 221 pound-feet at 2,700-5,000 rpm

Curb weight: 3,527 pounds

0-60 mph: 7 seconds

Wheelbase: 108.7 inches

Overall length: 182.3 inches

EPA fuel economy: 18 miles per gallon city, 25 mpg highway

Final thoughts: A better class of C

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Adventures of beansbaxter…

I took this from my PNW Riders motorcycle site. One of the riders there posted this, and it did bring me quite a few laughs. I’ll just let the story and the humor speak for itself:

After thinking on this for a couple days, I’ve decided to pitch “The Adventures of beansbaxter” as a possible television movie/series. So, with tongue firmly in cheek, I give you the treatment of the pilot episode. I’ve taken some liberties with a few of the details, along with adding comments (like this) on possible product placement/sponsorship opportunities. Beans, if you decide to pitch this I get a writers credit and 15% of the merchandising gross. I can see little “beansbaxter” action figures on the shelves of Wal-Mart.

Opening scene, a deserted highway, a motorcycle rider speeding down the road raising a dust cloud. (Kawasaki is unlikely to sponsor the show, would you consider riding a Harley? Or maybe a Vespa? Scooters are cool right now.) The narrator speaks.

“A single man, fighting for the glory and safety of America, riding alone against the forces of evil. Searching for injustice, and pursuing the perfect stuffed french toast.

“This week, on the Adventures of beansbaxter, the intrepid rider leaves Sturgis in pursuit of his favorite IHOP waitress, last seen duct taped and stuffed into a car trunk headed for Colorado.”

Beans pursues on his mighty (Are you sure you won’t switch to a Harley? How about a Honda?) ZX-10. Slowly gaining ground on the fleeing kidnapper. Suddenly, the fiend turns onto a deserted back road and disappears over a hill. Unseen, he dumps several bags of sand on the road then takes off. As Beans crests the hill his bike begins to slide. Despite his heroic efforts, he has a monumental high side and is tossed 30 feet into the air (We don’t have much budget for special effects or stunt people. Any chance you would be willing to re-enact the crash?) Landing hard, in a cloud of dust, he hops to his feet only to stumble and fall on his badly damaged foot. Crawling back to his bike, dragging himself with his one undamaged hand, he finally reaches his saddle bags.

Pulling a roll of duct tape from his bag he quickly creates makeshift splints and stops the bleeding by creative use of duct tape. Reaching into a secret compartment on his bike he retrieves his top secret communicator. Unable to reach his headquarters due to jamming from his enemies, he is forced to rise from the dust, push his bike to the nearest help, all while hopping on one foot.

Coming upon a closed fuel station, Beans breaks in, finds items he needs to make repairs to his bike, then leaves money and a note of apology. He fixes the damaged window with duct tape then leaves in pursuit of the kidnapper. (Would Jafar consider playing the head of the enemy syndicate?)

Switch scene to a high tech headquarters, lots of computers and flashy lights. A red light slowly flashing on a screen. No one sees it.

Back to Beans, slowly rolling into a driveway somewhere in Colorado. A helpful person catches the slowly tipping bike as Beans passes out from the pain.

Next scene, Hospital room. Beans, in hand cast and with a brace on ankle/foot limps to closet and begins dressing in riding gear. Nurse and doctor attempt to restrain him. He forces his way out saying, “She’s in danger. I can’t leave her to him!” (Rumor has it that Britney Spears has her agent negotiating for an audition for the part of Beans’ girlfriend/kidnapping victim. We’re still working on the hair thing.)

Once more on his battle scarred and damaged motorcycle (No way on the Harley? OK, we’ll give up the money, but it’s coming out of your share of the profits.) Beans speeds through a blinding snow storm on his way north, after receiving a tip from a homeless man (played by Christopher Lee).

Arriving in Seattle, just as the sun sets, shining on a gleaming white Mt. Rainier (Hey, a guy can hope, can’t he? the clouds have to clear someday.) Beans stumbles into headquarters just as the exhaust system falls from his damaged bike.

End of ep. 1.

So, what do you think? I’m thinking Russel Crowe for the part of beansbaxter. Despite Britney’s request, I think we can do better for the girlfriend. Music is still up in the air, but I’m hoping to have something nailed down by next week. We might be able to get the Possum Mountain Woodchuck Jug Band to do the theme song and first few episodes.

We all know Beans aversion to anything but water, so I was thinking, maybe product placement with Perrier, or one of the new oxygenated waters? Maybe get some riding gear donated for product placement.

They say laughter is the best medicine, and Daniel, I hope you got at least a half smile out of this.

Dave T.

Source: http://www.pnwriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48995

$5 SmugMug Coupon Code: TBYv04osA45i4

After a lot of deliberation on the various photography hosting website services available, I finally settled on one and I’m proud to announce SmugMug as my choice. If you are interested in opening an account with SmugMug (and I highly recommend that you do), please enter my referral coupon code when you sign up of TBYv04osA45i4 for $5 off the cost of the service, no matter which plan you choose.

Enjoy!

Transferring Digital Real Estate

I could talk forever about domain names, the digital real estate market of our society. I could question the legalities of squatting on a domain name, or I could vent my frustrations with kiting them. The latest thing to shake up the domain name marketplace is the new policy and procedures set forth by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

In years past, I found it very simple to transfer a domain name from one registrar to another. It was always a simple task: the new registrar would email some security codes to the administrator on file for the domain name, which would in turn be entered into the new registrar’s system to either authorize or reject the transfer. I miss those times.

As of last year, times have changed, requiring an additional step at the mercy of good business practices from the losing registrar. The original rules method still applies, and the new registrar still mails out the security codes to the administrator of the domain. The new step requires the administrator to get an authorization code from the losing registrar.

Over the last month, I have had to transfer 3 domain names for clients. Each transfer has been a long story of playing waiting games and jumping through hoops, all put in motion by the losing registrars, in hopes that they won’t lose the domain name. From a business standpoint, registrars do not want to lose domain names because they are losing business and they are losing it to their competition which is the new gaining registrar.

I have heard horror stories, but to experience them myself and having to explain to a client who does not understand the wheels of the Internet, just make the task all the more difficult. Some registrars give up the authorization number with ease, others require you to have an extra set of logins, others make you download tons of legal forms which have to be notarized and mailed in, and some require a direct email to a non-published email address in hopes that you can get that last authorization number.

I would suspect I am not the first person to make complaints of the current system of how things are. I don’t know how the bureaucratic wheels of the ICANN work enough to know if things will ever be changed. Yet while I have been frustrated at these processes, I still have somehow managed to keep the clients involved and have had complete success in eventually authorizing the domain names to transfer. I feel like a small war has just been won every time another one makes it through.

I am no Bob Parsons, but I would like to talk more about domain names and the digital real estate market that is going on right now. I suppose I will share those thoughts in the near future.

High Occupancy Espresso Lanes

There are some fears that I have in this world. I find lesser fears involving the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes that are part of the transit infrastructure of the greater Seattle region. For those that are not aware, the HOV lanes are designed to promote car pooling and are meant for vehicles with two or more people occupying the vehicle. There are some exceptions, for example, Highway 520 requires three or more people to occupy the vehicle in order to use the HOV lane. The blanket exception to use the HOV lane also pertains to motorcycle riders, which makes it very convenient to travel around during the busy times on the day as with a motorcycle, you can always get to where you need to be without having to deal with too much traffic.

For those that violate the HOV lane requirements, you can either be caught by a law enforcement officer or reported by anyone whom uses the HERO hotline. The HERO hotline is the 764-HERO that anyone can call to violate offenders of the lane. It is blatantly displayed all along the road to remind drivers of this phone reporting method.
 
There is a saying that goes: Curiosity killed the cat; satisfaction brought him back.

Without any expectations of what to expect, and how much trouble I may be getting myself into, I picked up the phone and dialed the 764-HERO hotline to do my civic duty and report the offender. I called, and when they asked for the license plate number and description of the vehicle, I gave them the information to my own car.

Time passes.

I check my mail to find out that I had been reported as a violator of the HOV lane laws. I was expecting to see a traffic infraction, but all that I received was a plethora of pamphlets and paperwork explaining to me the intention and purpose of the HOV lane, and that I had been reported as violating the laws of the land. I was curious what the consequences would have been, had I received a ticket, and had gone to court to refute my own account of reporting my vehicle as an HOV violator. I guess my day in court will never happen under these circumstances.

I can safely say that you can be reported all day long in an HOV lane without fear of ever receiving a traffic infraction in the mail, no matter who reports you to the HERO telephone hotline.

Researching further into the matter, I discovered some clarity in the disposition of getting caught driving alone in the HOV diamond/express/car pool lanes.

If you are spotted driving solo in the diamond lane, you will be setting in motion a blitz of paperwork that will arrive in the mail filled with nothing but governmental information pertinent to your actions. However, it will take a law enforcement officer to witness this same act in order for a ticket to be written.

The first time you are reported as a violator, the registered owner of the vehicle will receive an educational brochure filled with fun information and mindless facts. The second HERO report will result in an official letter being sent to the violator noting the time, date, and location of the incident. In line with the three strike system, a third violation produces another letter coming directly from the State Patrol which also includes a State Patrol officer making contact about the time(s) violated.

For those pregnant mothers out there who feel your civil rights mean everything to you, the HOV lane can only qualify the little one from the first day of birth and not before then. For everyone else, you do not qualify if you have animals, statues, mannequins, or blow-up dolls in the vehicle.

I hear different names for these high occupancy vehicles. Some use the acronym HOV, while others call them the express, diamond, or car pool lanes. I prefer to make a play on the choice of express, and I call them espresso lanes. Some may think that is because I reside in Seattle, which is known worldwide for its coffee, but that is just a little part of it. The other part of it will be revealed in a future blog.

Mobile Connectivity

I have been looking into viable alternatives to established Internet connections, looking into mobile broadband solutions for my computing lifestyle. Of course, there is the Qwest DSL versus Comcast cable debate when it comes to residential and business high-speed Internet, but what I want is something to cater to a lifestyle of mobility. My profession keeps me moving from one location to another, and my hobbies take me to different places on a daily basis. Of the various cell phone carriers, if I was to move forward with one particular choice, the Sprint PCS mobile broadband setup and service plan seem to be the best decision.

I wish I could say it stopped there, but it doesn’t. New website ventures are requiring my business to have alternative contact phone numbers that go above and beyond just the standard cell phone contact. I have never needed a business landline, even with a lease on a retail business space in downtown Spokane. Since my wired lifestyle is of the mobile kind, looking into a VoIP (voice over IP) network solution seems to fit the bill, which would just require a broadband Internet connection. Using the products and services provided by Vonage would allow the phone number to travel to wherever I am at, from my Spokane office space to anywhere I may travel. The WiFi VoIP Vonage phone would let me connect up as long as there is a wireless signal, allowing the phone number to follow me anywhere.

I remember back in the early days of the Internet when eFax used to be free. I made up business cards with my fax number listed. A year later, eFax went to a subscription based service, which made me lose my eFax number thus rendering all of my business cards frivolous. Fast forward to the present, there have been times where I have needed to send or receive a fax. Looking into the online fax solutions provided today, the first place I look at was eFax again but I cannot justify their high monthly subscription prices for what limited times I need a fax. A quick Google search helped me find a better alternative, MyFax, which was a cheaper solution that provided better features with the same functionality. From a consumer standpoint, the best choice is getting better functionality for a better price. The downfall with MyFax is a toll free fax number is issued, but contacting customer support reveals you can setup a local fax number. To send and receive fax documents in digital format is something that would bring my business convenience, and it can be done entirely on the world wide web.

Every two years, my cell phone gets an upgrade thanks to hardware promotions by my cell phone carrier and the two year product cycle that mobile hardware goes through, specifically PDA phone software. I grew up from the first generation PDA’s to today’s feature-packed PDA’s which I now realized have more features than I really need. In the early days, my life was organized with the Palm OS and Qualcomm’s Eudora Mail, but times have changed and I’ve gladly converted to Windows Mobile and Office Outlook. My life’s voice and data is taken with me everywhere I go, from my email to my calendar. The best features of today’s PDA are the mobile connections allowing me Internet access anywhere there is a cell phone signal.

Today’s cell phones bring back full circle with the mobile broadband solution I have been researching for my laptop. Both are now capable of the higher speed EVDO network, with the best access in the best markets. Using that internet access to piggyback a VoIP and digital fax solution helps evolve an ecosystem of mobile productivity that I can only be thankful for. My business and my life both thrive off of this “wired” interconnectivity. The true value of these various devices is how the data across the multiple information systems interpolate with one another making my life easier and busier all at the same time. Thank goodness for technology, as the best is yet to come!

Afraid of the Sun

It has been just ten weeks into the 2007 calendar and this year is already stacking up as one of the worst. My outlook on life seems to involve burying my emotions because I cannot cope with the things that bring me sadness. The same thing that reminds me of happy times and has with it the best feelings also brings me great sadness and I feel so out of place. Is the fear from wanting to be in that place or knowing your fooling yourself into thinking that can ever happen?

Life seems to get mentally crazier as you get older, perhaps because there is less absolute. Your perspective changes, your valuation of the time in our lives change, and the desire to have an enjoyment of life is something that exponentially becomes greater. At the end of the day, when you lay your head down, are you really happy? Do you look forward to what the next day brings? I am trying to find that happiness, and it still seems to elude me. The worst thing about waking up is the mind turns itself back on. I swear the only thing that keeps me glued together is my faith and my hope, of which both are very powerful. Those two things seem to fuel a lot of actions, especially when my past has shown I would have not gone through the torment I’m willing to endure at this present time.

My mind is filled with so many thoughts. There is so much that I want to say. There is so much that I want to happen. This sadness can really physically suffocate the lungs and is greater than any depressed state of mind.

In Memory of Gleno

Last week, a friend of mine, Gleno McIntosh, was involved in a fatal accident and has changed my perspective on life and the qualities that surround it. Gleno was 46 years old, and we had become good friends over the time we talked. I talk about Gleno now in the worst possible circumstances, yet the last time I saw him was at the end of 2006 and our paths intersected during some of the best circumstances.

Gleno flew in for the last weekend of 2006 to celebrate the New Years in the Seattle area. His exuberant character exemplified his viewpoint on life and the way he lived it. It was good times; it was funny times. Gleno seemed enamored by the flood of PNW Riders that were all around him, and I was very thankful to spend some time with him and it being just the two of us.

After our Sunday lunch, Gleno had a few hours before he needed to be at the Seatac airport to catch his airplane back to Las Vegas. Gleno and I took off in my car and from there we started talking. Gleno and I saw eye to eye on everything, and he understood what I was trying to accomplish with PNW Riders, why we started it, and why he was so in love with the PNW Riders community. I conveyed to him my vision, how it started, and my style of running things. From there, the conversation shifted along. We spent two hours just talking about life, about motorcycles, about business, about what matters most, and the good people that surround us by the way we live our life.

I give thanks to Ramona, whom I met in 2002 through motorcycling and our mutual friend, Jeff. Ramona has been with PNW Riders since well before the beginnings, and it was her that brought Gleno into the PNW Riders community where he became intertwined into our lives and daily conversations.
Then, there was the day I found out the worst. Someone from Las Vegas was posting up on PNW Riders saying Gleno was involved in a fatal accident the night before. I thought it was some sort of a cruel joke. I checked out a few other website communities that I knew Gleno belonged to, and also read the same thing. Details at the time were scarce, and there wasn’t enough confirmation out there to really force it into belief within my mind.

I had absolutely no idea that Ramona had not known already. Ramona, the same person that introduced me to Gleno, had to hear the news from me. I called her up and asked if she had heard the news, and she had not. It was the first time in my life that I’ve had to tell someone about another’s passing in that manner. Ramona was able to confirm things, and the sad truth sunk in.

The grief begins to set in.

Pushing past the grief, I have to cope through a difficult thought process. The last time I felt like this was when my father passed away when I was young. It was the collective community of PNW Riders that held things together, as I think they did a better job than I did of keeping it together. I had just talked to Gleno a few weeks before and he was telling me about some motorcycle projects he wanted me to be involved in with the Las Vegas community. He was just telling me about all the motorcycle rides we would do when I visited him this summer. He was telling me about how happy he was with his wife, his family, and his friends. He was telling me about how he missed his friends at PNW Riders. We just talked, and I can still remember his voice as we conversated.

Through the PNW Riders forum, we received updates in real-time about the details of what happened, the moments before, the candlelight vigil the following day, and saw a constant flood of emotion as we all dealt with the difficult news. Looking at his pictures on a plethora of online forums, reading through the countless postings and threads that scattered these sites, I felt like I could do nothing.

My way of paying tribute to Gleno was to create an online memorial. I wanted it to be a spot on the Internet where anyone and everyone could pay respects, tribute, and voice their thoughts and memories of our friend, Gleno McIntosh. It is very apparent that Gleno touched everyone he came into contact with, that was his character. I wanted this online memorial to be dedicated to the life of Gleno and the good that he brought into the world. I know we all miss him dearly, and I will always be compelled to remind others to value our time within this world. Life is too short.

An online memorial for Gleno can be found at www.gleno.net

Next Page »

Copyright © 1998 - 2008 beansbaxter. All rights reserved.

PNWfx Media Group · Random Computers · PNW Motorsports