Wrong place...wrong time

Funny how I was just talking about the very tempting but "risky" desire to own a motorcycle. My morning got off to a WONDERFUL start by a woman rear-ending me. Minding my own business, stopped for a school bus...when I glance up in the rear view to see a car fast approaching. Before I could say "shiiiii" ...*BAM*...impact to the rear. Not too much damage...but her Subaru managed to unravel my rear bumper, putting one too many scratches on it along with hacking up my front bumper by pushing me into the car in front. Ahhhh...what a great start.

So this caused me to turn around and drive back home...to hop in my other car. Not knowing any internal damage (perhaps a moved gas tank)...I opted to switch vehicles...praying that someone wouldn't hit me this time in my mazda. Being slightly agitated I went for a top speed run on the way to work. 135mph...but had to slow down for traffic. The T2 still had a lot in it and was pulling hard in 5th @ 10psi :)

Lets hope the rest of the weekend is better!

Little bit of good news when I got to work. Some laptops our company recently completed were in a photoshoot. Cool airborn shots!





Decisions, Decisions

Recently I sort of gave up my plans of purchasing a new car...still can't get myself to do it. I think its just the commitment of plumping down 30K and realizing "crap, this isn't the car I wanted..." What HAS become increasingly tempting lately is the purchase of a motorcycle. Total motorcycle newbie here...but I can't imagine anything being a better fit...right now at least. Ok, so I love cycling...the freedom of being out on two wheels on a nice day, the smell of the fresh summer air, and experiencing the technical flow of the country backroads. And, I love to go fast. Not that my turbo rotary is boring me...but sometimes I just feel its not stimulating enough. Its a stimulation I'm not sure ANY car can give me...which is why I look towards the bike.

So I'd want to start off small...not gonna jump on the Hayabusa right away :) ...Perhaps a Suzuki GSXR 600 or Yamaha YZF R6...both 600cc machines. Since I spent $3500 on a new bicycle...I think I can justify 8K on a bike that will actually POWER ME up the hills...and not my own Erik engine. Anyway, I guess first step is to get all the info needed to get my motorcycle license. For now here's some pics for temptation...ahhh, how I dream of a 15,000 redline :)

The Suzuki:


The Yamaha:



Road Trip!!! errr, bus trip!

This past weekend provided the opportunity to take a trip down to DC and visit some friends. Turned out to be a beautiful weekend afterall...despite the constant threat of rain to ruin the sushi dinner party (which was excellent, btw!!!). Good gawd...if there's one thing a man cannot turn down, is tons of sushi laid out on the table before him. Thankfully I had it in me to eventually stop...or else I'd weigh about 5 lbs more by now :)

First time for me taking the bus down as well...definitely a stress reliever compared to my past "90mph dashes" to DC. Just put on the tunes...zone out...and let the crazy asian bus driver yelling on his Nextel get you there. I must say that although I did enjoy the bus...I do miss driving the road trips. Perhaps its just the freedom or proactive feeling that YOU are getting yourself there...not someone else.

Thanks to a special someone, I became aware of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the National Gallery of Art Museum. Very interesting work...from a very strange character. The nice thing was it contained many different progressions of his art...from early sketches mostly depicting lineweight and perhaps one color (which I preferred)...to his more intricate oil paintings showcasing the interaction of prostitutes, pimps, dancers, and townspeople of the Paris nightlife. Some more famous posters below:







Finals Time

As some of you know I am an adjunct faculty member at Kean University ...a great teaching experience that I am very thankful for. Just completed my 4th semester and thought I would post up some quick images of final student projects.

Primarily the course is sketch related...working on your skill level in terms of rapid visualization and being able to communicate your ideas fluently to an audience. The last project was Photoshop focused...getting students to a point that they were comfortable in using the program as a coloring tool for their sketches.

The instructor example:


Steve's:


Amy's:


Janine:


Karen:


Up and Coming?

Yesterday provided the opportunity to visit the ICFF Furniture fair in NYC. I was hoping for a ton of cool products to jump start my motivation...but I didn't quite find what I was looking for. From a graphic perspective I was certainly inspired...new patters/colors forming some intriguing fabrics and designs to look into...but from a product standpoint nothing was truly innovative. Aside from a few pieces...a majority of the works shared the same form...rectangles with raduised (sp?) corners. Yeah...kind of like everything else that is designed today:


Not that I truly have a problem with this...who am I to complain if the design is successful...but it becomes tiring to see product after product with the same overall form. The simplicity is justified in that it "works"...and in most cases the thoughtful use of materials (or combination of) helped elevate the design. But I guess I was being greedy and hoping to be thrilled by everything...

What headwind?

Tonight proved to be an awesome night for riding. Kind of monumental too! I finally hit 5000 miles on the new bike. I "should" have hit that last year...but being a slackass I didn't. Hope to do 3000 *crosses fingers* more between now and September.

But anyway...pretty inspired 37 miles tonight. Its a great feeling to look down and see the quads splitting in half under the tougher pedal strokes. I was averaging at least a mile per hour faster up the longer climbs than I normally do...definitely a good sign.

Congrats to Dave Zabriskie who rode superbly to record victory in the Giro d'Italia individual time trial yesterday! I'm far from the most patriotic person...but it was a great feeling to see an American pop the bottle of champagne on top of the podium as winner for the day...Go Dave!

VT Graduation '05...Congrats to Justin!

This weekend involved the big roatrip to my old home of Blacksburg, Virginia for VT graduation. My whiz of a brother getting his CS degree in only 3 years! Dude...why rush?!?! hehe. Anyway...with a job all lined up he's eager to get on with working.

Its always strange to go back to a place that played such a big part in your life. Its still the same old Blacksburg...so I guess its obvious I'm the one who has changed. Could have been the fact that I was hanging out with the family instead of friends...but I didn't feel those "goosebumps" I used to when arriving in town. Who knows...maybe if I was there meeting up with my old roomates I would have been psyched.

Altogether though it was good to see Tech...talking with some of my old professors, witnessing some pretty impressive thesis projects, and seeing the younger bro graduate. Who knows...maybe soon I'll take another trip down :)


You know its the south when you see a...


The BIG graduation at the Stadium:


School of Arch graduation letting out at Buruss:


Industrial Design taking over the reception at Cowgill?


Some cool visuals:


The fam looking out at Mountain Lake:


A scenic view at 4000ft:


Giro d'Gladstone

So I thought I'd start this off with some insight into one of my passions...cycling. I have to admit that not only is it enjoyable and healthy...but has kept me mentally balanced over time. Nothing beats being out on two wheels, sun shining down on you...with a healthy set of legs to propel you through the countryside. It clears your mind...it really does. You get to sort everything out in your head...with no distractions. Except maybe a bear...which I do see occasionally :)

The co-workers left early...enabling a rather early 5pm start to my ride. Caught up to another rider along the way...who informed me of some local races every Wednesday night. Now that teaching is over...I'm free Wednesday's! woohooo! So anyway...here's some pics from the ride. Next time I should score more scenic views:

The machine: 5900 Superlight


A brisk start to the ride...will I hit 5000miles today?


Out of Far Hills:


A few hairpins along the way:



Climbing up Basking Ridge...flying like Pantani!



The calm Raritan River:


First Post!

So after much procrastination...I finally got myself in gear to start a blog. I do admit...nothing special at this point...just wanted to see how dedicated I can be before I design my own navigation. My inspiration comes from a friend, Craig, who has had his blog running for some time now...

I honestly can't say how personal I'll go with this...perhaps just a note on how my day is going...or some interesting links pertaining to my hobbies or work. But at least it will get my in the habit of documenting what I do most days...

Tonight I hope to have some pics up to initiate the virgin blog. Stay tuned!