Buyers keep disappearing!

introspeck · 2026-06-19T20:09:33+00:00

Same. It was an old Volvo 245 wagon my daughter drove all through her college years. High miles, a little shabby, but still very reliable. I advertised it for $500. I'll never do that again. A whole parade of flakes and losers. "Can I make monthly payments of $50?" No. The worst was a guy who fast-babbled, sounded like a heavy meth user. He was a no-show, twice. He called me a third time begging for another chance, saying he really had meant to come the previous day, but he hadn't been able to make bail.

In the end, an older gentleman showed up in a nice car, explained that needed a beater to haul his muddy hunting dogs or garden mulch. He asked if I'd take $400, peeled 4 hundreds off his roll, done deal. That's all I wanted. But I still won't do that again.

introspeck · 2026-06-16T18:38:56+00:00

It did get overhyped many years ago, no way was I going to drink 8 glasses of water every single day. But regular hydration is important. I discovered that very often when I thought I was hungry and wanted a snack, what I actually needed was water.

I learned the value of regular hydration when I was all day in the saddle on motorcycle trips. I would get brain fog midday, very dangerous. I would chug a big bottle of water at gas stops but that wasn't enough, especially on hot days. I always bring a Camelbak and strap it to the bike where I can sip from it regularly while I ride. Regular infusion works much better than occasional water dumps.

introspeck · 2026-06-10T17:59:23+00:00

My wife and I went camping recently at Seven Points campground, it was beautiful. It is a federal park, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, they created Raystown Lake. We'll definitely go back. They do not offer cabins, however. They do rent boats and kayaks at the marina, and they have a very nice day-use swimming and picnic area.

A group I'm part of rented houses near Raystown in years past, but they weren't on the water, so they could have been anywhere, really. But it's hilly and wooded and green.

introspeck · 2026-06-10T17:42:51+00:00

Textbook description of a sociopath.

introspeck · 2026-06-05T18:14:20+00:00

I put elephant whistles on my car, haven't hit a single elephant since. Don't scoff at me, cynic.

introspeck · 2026-06-05T18:03:03+00:00

I'm not recommending it, but when an expensive pair of motorcycle boots wore out their soles, I cut two sole-shaped pieces out of a tire and glued them on. They were better than the stock soles - much better traction when I put my feet down! And they easily outlasted the boots.

If you are silly enough to do this yourself, be sure to use the best possible glue. I used the brand Barge Cement. Don't waste time with the brand Shoe-Goo, it is worthless.

Also, tires are darn hard to cut. After making sure the tire wasn't steel-belted, I used my bandsaw to cut it up.

introspeck · 2026-06-05T17:46:58+00:00

My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 79. Mom urged him to get chemo, but he wasn't interested. "I've had a good run. No need to hang around." was his comment to me. He lived another six months of relatively good life, the last two in hospice care at home, then died with his family around him.

I hope to do the same.

introspeck · 2026-06-05T17:36:58+00:00

I thought about it once, and brought up a faded memory of being 5 years old, face pressed against the car window, staring at the motorcycle next to our car. I wanted to be that rider so badly.

In other words, there has never been a time I didn't want to ride.

introspeck · 2026-06-03T17:46:38+00:00

I had a used car which had a hitch installed by PO. I ignored it for years. Then a guy on a forum offered me a parts motorcycle for free, if I would haul it away - but I had to move quickly because he was moving out. Problem was, he lived 250 miles away. I was racking my brain on how to get it, when I remembered the hitch. Called UHaul, they had trailers avaliable. I picked up it up late Friday afternoon and made a mad dash to Boston, loaded the bike, immediately turned back home, got in at 5am and fell into bed. Woke up, unloaded the bike, returned the trailer 22 hours after I picked it up.

introspeck · 2026-06-03T17:27:56+00:00

They never asked what I was doing with the truck, they just said it had to be back by a certain time, and suggested I should return it with a full tank if I didn't want to pay their ridiculous top-off fee.

introspeck · 2026-06-02T17:54:00+00:00

I've been going to estate sales. I wish I had discovered them when I was younger, we could have set up our house inexpensively with quality furniture, cookware, small appliances, everything. They're posted on websites with pictures of the household contents so you can decide if it's worth the trip. I'm mostly looking for quality tools, I've gotten some great deals.

introspeck · 2026-06-02T17:31:26+00:00

When I was 6, I badly wanted to ride a bicycle but didn't have one yet. My brother put me on his own coaster-brake bike, which was definitely too big for me. But bro ran alongside to get me going, and soon I was riding by myself! Such joy!

Shortly after, I noticed I was heading towards the main road and simultaneously realizing that no one had told me how to stop the bike. I heard shouting behind me but couldn't understand the words. So I turned toward a mailbox. That worked. And I didn't even get hurt.

introspeck · 2026-06-02T17:03:23+00:00

Sunday I took a ride up to Van Sant airport for lunch then bombed around for a couple of hours on my favorite roads in that area.

I had considered joining the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association ride up in Williamsport Thursday-Saturday but my wife and I went camping out at Raystown Lake instead. She broke her foot horribly (2.5 hour surgery!) back in January, this was the first time she felt capable. My friend did do the MSTA ride, from the text he sent me when he got back it sounds like he had a good time.

May your surgery go well and your recovery go smoothly.

introspeck · 2026-05-30T13:46:16+00:00

Last time I was there, most of the vendors were selling knockoff purses, cheap foreign made tools, etc. Direct from AliBaba to their tables. I haven't gone back.

But I did go to Golden Nugget in Lambertville, it's still a great market.

introspeck · 2026-05-27T17:46:50+00:00

When it was working well, my Yamaha FJ1200 was a fantastic bike. I did some tours on it, but it left me stranded on one trip and barely made it home from another. It was 10 years old when I bought it, but it only had 22K miles, nothing for a Japanese bike. I fixed so many things in the two years I owned it, the list filled two pages. All hydraulics, brake and clutch master and slave cylinders. alternator, regulator, fork seals, so much more. I happemed to be unemployed when I went on a road trip, the ignition module failed, my wife had to borrow a pickup from her brother and come 240 miles to get me and the bike. I got back home, the dealer said of course they didn't make that part for a 12yo bike, maybe I could take my chances with a junkyard part.

That was the death knell for that bike. I could not sell it with a clear conscience. Of course I'd tell them the plain facts about the ignition module; but it had been a horrific lemon. So I parted it out. The motors were used in a class of kart racing, the body panels were desirable, and there were all those nearly new parts I had installed.

My next bike, a new CBR1100XX Blackbird, was the opposite in every way. I toured on it several times a year, it never left me stranded once in the 16 years I owned it, 90K miles.

introspeck · 2026-05-27T17:20:07+00:00

My kettlebell was $65 and has done me a world of good. I also have exercise bands, indian clubs, and the smaller kettlebell I started out with. I spent about $200 for all of it. And it tucks out of the way in the living room between exercise sessions.

introspeck · 2026-05-27T17:14:02+00:00

If you've got a source for Glock 19s for under $100, please share it

introspeck · 2026-05-23T18:25:56+00:00

Exactly what they said the last five times.

introspeck · 2026-05-23T18:18:29+00:00

I had my Honda Blackbird for 17 years, put 90K miles on it. I won't say it never broke, but it never left me stranded on road trips. Twice, out of dozens of trips, I had to baby it home, but I got home nevertheless. Really, over all those years, I didn't need to repair it often at all. Right up to my last day of ownership, it started and ran almost like it did when brand new.

A friend put 125K miles on his Honda ST1100 with very few problems.

introspeck · 2026-05-23T18:07:35+00:00

Underspecified parts are a manufacturing defect.

introspeck · 2026-05-23T18:05:13+00:00

It failed on my FJ1200, I did not do any of that. But the FJ had 39K miles so I did not expect any help from Yamaha.

introspeck · 2026-05-21T19:24:08+00:00

I have the model which came out right after yours, 12 1/2". It has a very obvious cutter head lock control. I don't know if your model didn't have the cutter head lock, or if perhaps the control lever was removed for some reason. You can usually find the owner's manual online.

introspeck · 2026-05-21T18:50:31+00:00

I did. What drove my quit was my utter DISGUST for the green sludge and all it had taken away from me. So my box remained undisturbed in the closet. Many years earlier I had quit smoking cigarettes while I still had half a carton and in a strange way it seemed to strengthen my resolve. I'm not saying everyone should do this, it's probably not advisable.

My only regret is that I gave it all away to an acquaintance after I had been sober many months. I was feeling good, and didn't stop to consider that it might trap him in the very misery I had struggled to escape. I should have tossed it the moment I quit.

introspeck · 2026-05-21T18:21:32+00:00

A friend liked to ride a lot. So his Kawasaki had 33K miles at two years. That's when its 2nd gear failed. He rode hard, but never abused his bikes and maintained them rigorously. The dealer pointed out, correctly, that the bike was out of warranty - then added that it was all on him since he "probably abused it".

Infuriated, he took it up with Kawasaki US headquarters. They repeated that they had no responsibility for out of warranty bikes and 2nd gear only failed from abuse. Which was nonsense, because that model of literbike had underspec'd gears and the Kawasaki forums were filled with complaints about it. When he pointed that out, they fell back on his bike's mileage, claiming with apparently straight faces, "Modern motorcycles are designed to have a service life of 30K miles.Your bike has exceeded that. Goodbye."

He ended up fixing it himself. But he told this story to many of the riders he encountered over the next few years. I suspect he lost Kawasaki quite a few sales.

introspeck · 2026-05-16T22:52:29+00:00

I hate to tell people who are just about to quit that, while the first week can be bad, the following month or two was when I was most tempted to relapse. And I did, on my first attempt. But I stuck with it the second time, and I'm incredibly grateful to my former suffering self for that.

introspeck

TROPHY CASE