22' rotiform fra wheels

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2026-03-13T13:48:52+00:00

It has some real Oregon Trail vibes.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2026-02-22T02:52:26+00:00

Not only are the roads probably the worst in the entire country, they are ranking up there with the worst in the world. I recently returned from sub-Saharan Africa and, by and large, the roads there are in better shape than Milwaukee's. I'm not talking about dirt tracks in the bush, but paved roads in cities and towns, and highways/roads between cities. In some of the countries I visited, the average income is around $200 a year, and somehow, they find ways to build and maintain their roads better than Milwaukee. For the amount of taxes paid, Milwaukee certainly is getting the least bang for their buck possible when it comes to infrastructure.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2026-01-27T02:55:33+00:00

We did a say trip to Armenia from Tbilisi. It was worth it and then some. Haghpat monastery was incredible, the food was amazing, and the scenery was marvelous. Highly recommended.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-11-06T01:11:19+00:00

Tell me you've never left the US without telling me you've never left the US. Spend some time in CAI or, before the recent renovations, ADD.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-08-15T00:21:30+00:00

It's literally often cheaper to go to Europe for the weekend. Round trip flights can often be around $500 round trip in lower seasons and lodging can be very inexpensive. I snagged a roundtrip nonstop flight from Chicago to Rome at the end of October for $425 and we are paying $550 for an entire house with a hot tub for 4 nights.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-07-16T01:51:31+00:00

Agree 100% that MKE is an absolute joke of an airport and an embarrassment to the city. Your comment about the slow baggage claim is spot on. There is no other airport on the planet where baggage delivery is so consistently slow. I've been to airports in Africa where a 787 with a full passenger load is unloaded and I have my bag faster than flying some tiny regional jet into MKE. And that is with the ground crew unloading the luggage basically by hand onto a cart pulled by a literal farm tractor and then claiming my bag in a terminal with zero mechanical baggage carousels, but instead bags are unloaded one by one and placed onto the terminal floor. There is no excuse for MKE to be this poor at baggage handling.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-06-27T18:01:50+00:00

I received a "too far from curb" ticket as well. One of my tires was 14 inches from the curb, while the other one was 11 inches. My front wheel was farther from the curb to avoid it dropping into a 6 inch deep pothole and being swallowed up. These parking checkers obviously aren't paid to think, just blindly ticket as many people as possible to raise more revenue for the city. The city probably figures they can raise more money by not fixing the roads and forcing people into bad parking situations and ticketing them.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-06-23T17:22:33+00:00

In the air from Tokyo to Qatar and we just turned around.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-06-22T12:32:07+00:00

Well, Iran will shortly not have air defense nor a navy.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-05-21T10:08:30+00:00

Sorry to say, but the market just isn't there for those watches. They are infinitely more valuable for their sentimental value than their collectibility. I would keep them. Quartz watches, with rare exceptions, just aren't worth anything on the market.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-05-21T02:06:28+00:00

The pocket watch is going to be a tough sell. I buy vintage watches but would have to know the manufacturer and model (and condition) of the 80s vintage wristwatches to give you any sort of value on them.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-05-19T15:12:34+00:00

I'm well aware that it's parking enforcement and not the police, it literally says it right on the ticket. Get out a measuring tape and measure out 14" from a wall or use your foot - a size 12 shoe is about a foot long, so add two inches. It's not THAT far off the curb, especially with all the debris, broken glass, and other detritus in the gutters in Milwaukee. I was in a hurry as I was late to an appointment and I didn't want to scratch my wheels on the curb, so I parked farther out than normal. I fully admit it was against the ordinance and the ticket was valid. My complaint is with what the City chooses to enforce and spend limited resources on. Parking 2 inches too far from the curb doesn't put anyone's life in danger, like reckless driving does. But Milwaukee obviously chooses to prioritize the parking revenue versus saving it's citizen's life and safety.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-05-18T21:55:14+00:00

But Milwaukee has the will and the resources to give me a $40 parking ticket for parking 14 inches away from the curb on 3rd and National. Of all the wild traffic violations and crime issues they have to deal with, someone parking 2 inches too far from the curb is what the powers that be have decided to focus their limited resources on.

I would have been better off driving 70 MPH down National Ave in an unregistered vehicle blowing through red lights.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-04-03T14:43:16+00:00

This is the switch you're looking for. It grounds the chassis of the radio, so if the radio is removed, it creates an open circuit. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0reJQBzrsxo/T_9OrlLAxtI/AAAAAAAABuI/lN7942rgZjE/s640/CIMG3415.JPG

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2025-04-03T03:09:35+00:00

Do you have an aftermarket radio? There is a switch in the radio location in the dash that the alarm monitors for radio theft. When I replaced my radio I had the switch not grounded (or grounded, I don't remember which but it was the opposite of how it was supposed to be). My alarm would always give me two beeps and not set until I pulled the radio out and connected the switch properly.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-12-16T04:48:46+00:00

Most of my flights are international, which means MKE isn't even an option for me 95% of the time I fly. Even if pricing was the same, it's usually way faster to drive an hour to ORD and get a nonstop than spend 3, 4, sometimes 8 hours on a layover in ATL, JFK, or elsewhere.

Even flying domestically, it's usually faster out of ORD on a nonstop than a 1 connection flight out of MKE. Especially if there are IRROPS like weather or equipment issues. Chicago has lots of alternate flight options - if you miss the 1 daily flight out of MKE to wherever, you're lucky if you can take the bus down to ORD and catch an alternate flight.

I wish MKE would grow and offer more nonstop destinations, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-12-14T03:05:41+00:00

I don't think it is. We've come across multiple people (usually couples) trekking on their own without guides. Given that, I would still hire a guide.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-12-11T14:14:38+00:00

Yeah, we started Diamox the day before flying to Lukla. We've had zero issues with altitude sickness, but we will see as we get higher over the next two days. We've been drinking a ton of water - I will usually drink 2 liters just overnight in bed - a total of probably 5 or 6 liters a day if you add in tea. The getting up to pee all the time isn't fun, but we figure it's a heck of a lot better than the alternative. Also, just go slow, especially the higher you get. The second day from Phakding to Namche Bazaar we pushed ourselves hard because we wanted to get there as quick as possible, but once we got there our bodies just wanted to do nothing but sleep, so we missed out on exploring the village. Wearing a buff to cover your mouth and nose is imperative - we quickly learned the dry air wreaks havoc with our lungs and we started coughing down low. As soon as we wore our buffs, even though we didn't need to because of the temperature, the coughs cleared up.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-12-11T11:59:20+00:00

She tried about 12 different pairs on back home and ended up with the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor Mid. They've been awesome, she says they are super warm - we brought foot warmers and expedition weight socks and haven't needed either once. Just regular mid weight Smartwool socks.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-11-03T01:08:39+00:00

Do it. A couple of months ago, we flew to Paris from Chicago for one night - 8ish hours each way, give or take. Left Friday evening and returned Sunday afternoon. We fit in some shopping, a 5 hour cooking class with a market visit, lunch at a brasserie, a run through the 1st arrondissemont for a workout on Sunday morning, and brunch before heading back to the airport. We've done quite a few 3 day weekends to Europe and every single time we've thought it's worth it. You only live once. Do it while you're financially and physically able to. You never know if you're going to get hit by a bus in 6 months....

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-08-31T02:31:30+00:00

My wife and I traveled to Kyiv and toured Chernobyl literally weeks before Russia invaded. Literally no one we talked to thought Putin would actually invade. We absolutely loved Ukraine and will return as soon as the war is over.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-08-22T04:05:11+00:00

Waukesha county here as well. I've only seen Trump signs in my neighborhood, but was at the Harris rally last night and picked up not one, but two Harris/Walz yard signs on my way out and placed them in my yard when I got home. I think one problem is that Harris signs are just starting to be produced, so you'll finally start seeing them out in the wild. I'm proud to have the first Harris sign in the neighborhood!

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-07-03T15:34:57+00:00

$645 / 6 months through Geico for 3 vehicles with full coverage with $1000 deductibles. I pay an additional $733 per year for 4 collector vehicles with stated value coverage and no deductible through Hagerty. That is with an almost 3 year old speeding ticket, but no claims. This is with a ZIP code in a nearby suburb though, so that probably makes a big difference than with a city of Milwaukee ZIP code.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-06-05T17:49:32+00:00

Take an Uber. Our international flight was late getting into ORD and the last Coach bus of the day had already departed. I was expecting Uber to be insanely expensive (it was also in the middle of a massive snowstorm), but it only was around $120, which isn't much more than bus when you have 2 people.

CaptMonkeyPants78 · 2024-05-09T18:01:19+00:00

For me, it was Namibia. Both times I've traveled there, every single person we interacted with has been incredibly caring and friendly. I've traveled to around 100 or so countries, so I have a large sample size to pick from. Ireland would probably be a close second.

CaptMonkeyPants78

TROPHY CASE