speedblognesstag:speedmadness.com,2008:/sb//12008-02-28T16:54:56Zall things fastMovable Type 3.35Vonagetag:speedmadness.com,2008:/sb//1.182008-02-26T19:20:23Z2008-02-28T16:54:56ZFirst of all if your home phone is still tied to the local phone company and your phone bill is over $20.00 a month you need to take a look at digital phone service! Since both of our parents live out of state we have a lot of long distance calls. Another issue and the one that helped to motivate my wanting to change is the insane way the local phone companies hose you on local service. So here's my...racerxwww.speedmadness.comTi2TT turned me onto Vonage a few years back. He was using it for Ti2TT's phone service and he loved it. Although I was reluctant to move forward, having heard stories of dropped calls, noise on the line, setup issues were way off base. I'll admit that the price of $24.00 a month for unlimited calling nationwide with select overseas calls free as well motivated me to try it out.
So when we signed up Vonage was having a rebate deal on the Linksys VoIP box which made the hardware a freebie. And we got to keep our old number. So for little investment it seemed worth giving it a shot.
Installation was a breeze. Getting everything going was a non issue.
Two years later and I am still a very satisfied Vonage customer. Yes when the cable system (Comcast) is down we have no phone. But that goes for any digital phone service including Comcast. So if your your Internet service isn't working your digital phone service does not work. Internet connectivity is a typical problem with Comcast, so it's not a Vonage issue. Besides today most folks have at least one cell phone in the family. Also Vonage offers outage forwarding to your cell phone in the event that your Internet is down. 911 service, call forwarding, 3 way calling, email forwarding are all included.
The reality is that we have only lost service when Comcast is down, which happens far to often. Noise on the line has been minimum if at all. The bigger bonus is that with Vonage, instead of charging us more when we are up for a contract renewal, when we renewed our Vonage contract this year they helped us to further lower our rate by offering a "pay for a year in advance". So we now pay $220.00 a year instead of $288.00.We saved another $68.00.
I just hate to see people get roped into the latest Comcast advertising BS. That being the Comcast ad with the chick who acts like she has a clue, hawking the same type of digital phone service that Vonage offers. The Comcast commercial acts as if their digital service is better, and that they giving you some kind of deal at $33.00 a month. And they don't mention the additional taxes involved which get it up around $37.00 per month WOW. What a bunch of BS!
So if we look at the bottom line, the two services function the same, both are digital, both run through your cable line. With Comcast you pay $396.00 a year or $33.00 a month before taxes and additional network charges. With Vonage you pay $288.00 a year or $24.00 a month. Pay a year up front with Vonage and it's $220.00 a year or around $19.00 a month. Bottom line is you save $108.00 if you pay monthly and $176.00 if you pay a year up front with Vonage.
I am going to throw in this link to the bad press Vonage gets, you should read it before you sign up with them. I have not personally had any problems with my service. Click Here to read the article on Vonage and their current problems.
My comments on this article. Well, I have never had to use Vonage customer service other than to sign up and get my setup on the grid. It did take a few days to transfer my number, no biggie. Overall I have had far more issues with Comcast. Our Vonage box is the original, unlike Comcast where I have had at least 5 or 6 cable modems and endless amounts of downtime. Bottom line is that I have not had an issue with my service with Vonage.
I'm not getting a dime for this hyping. It just seems like the right thing to do when two competing services offer the same "EXACT" product for drastically different prices. And we all know Comcast. First they rope you in, and then they start taking away features and jacking up the price!
Jim]]>
Apple OSX vs Microsoft Windows Vistatag:speedmadness.com,2008:/sb//1.162008-02-06T15:43:03Z2008-02-27T23:58:18ZThank god the world, especially the computer software development world has Linus Torvalds the man who single handily gave us the Linux kernel. This is a guy who sees an operating system for what it should be! He has made some comments on the new Apple OS OS X Leopard and Windows Vista and I think he says it all when he laments on how these OSes are designed with one thing in mind, and that is to force consumers...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Linus Torvalds the man who single handily gave us the Linux kernel.
This is a guy who sees an operating system for what it should be! He has made some comments on the new Apple OS OS X Leopard and Windows Vista and I think he says it all when he laments on how these OSes are designed with one thing in mind, and that is to force consumers and businesses to upgrade on a regular basis.
Upgrade in the OS world stands for one thing and that is to take a bunch of your MONEY. The cost of these endless upgrades to consumers and businesses is ridiculous. With all of the bug issues these new OS models have out of the box, well I'd be much happier if they simply got one OS working correctly, let us use it for a couple of year and then release a new "fully functioning" OS. One can only hope for the day that Linux is developed so that desktop, consumers have easy access to this product. If they ever get to a GUI that works for all users and if we could see a little more support from the bigger companies like Adobe we may one day see an OS that is included in your motherboard!
At any rate, 10 stars to Linus Torvalds for developing an OS that is used for the One Laptop per Child project. Intel bailed out, no Microsoft isn't helping, nor is Apple. Hey this is to bring kids all over the world up to speed on the "New World" of technology and the big players are not interested in supporting it. I quickly forget that profit gets in the way of anything good.
Click Here to link to the Torvalds interview.
Click Here for more information on Linus TorvaldsClick Here for more information on the Linus Operating systemClick Here if you want to check out a GUI based Linus OS that has some serious potential for home PC users. And it's FREE!]]>
The furnace dilemmatag:speedmadness.com,2008:/sb//1.142008-01-26T12:48:19Z2008-02-26T19:19:57ZI thought I'd share a story about my furnace with you. Something I'm sure others have had happen to them, and that is that when it fails, it always fails at the worst time. So it is January and it was -5 degrees and our furnace which had been acting up finally quit during the night. We woke up to fifty degrees and getting out of bed was not pleasant. Of course you can't get around your daily life and...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Of course you can't get around your daily life and so Karoline headed off to work and I headed off to school. When I returned home I called Consumers Power as we have an appliance contract with them. I figured they would come out and repair it.
From that point on things got interesting.
Far be it for any employee of the power company whom sold you the supposed appliance agreement, the same people who are supposed to be the experts in getting your furnace working to be able to do that without turning it into a major ordeal. The reality is that they want to do as little as possible. And so he immediately claimed our furnace was to old to fix (20 years) and proceeded to pull out his new fangled video tool with a light to snake the heat exchanger to show me why.
Cracks in the heat exchanger can cause deadly carbon monoxide to travel throughout the house, being odorless it basically kills you and you don't even know it. He seems to think he is telling me something I don't know. At the same time I'm thinking that unless you were born under a rock and don't know this fact that you just stupid and maybe dying will convince you to learn something about those things that are dangerous within your house.
I am also thinking about the six carbon monoxide detectors I have throughout the house and I have yet to hear one go off. Besides that, it was impossible to make out anything, especially a crack or cracks with his new fangled tool. It's to damm blurry. At any rate, he kept screwing around and deems the furnace un-repairable.
He proceeds to tell me that today is my lucky day and that because he works for Consumers Power he is going to do something only someone from the company can do and how lucky I am that they did not send a contractor out for the repair because they can't do the same. He claims he does this deal all the time on old furnaces.
He then proceeds to contact his boss at Consumers Power and conjure up a deal w to give us a $400.00 credit if we bagged any repairs to the furnace and buy a new furnace from anyone we chose. Another words, replace ours with a new one. And that he would put it all in writing. Of course there was a catch. If we were to go that route he could not do any repairs. The credit came from the cost saved from him not repairing it. NICE EH!
It's like -5 degrees with a massive wind and the house is sitting around 49 degrees, it's Friday and the house is getting colder and this guy leaves me with a paper deal to replace the furnace. More on the deal later.
Of course my main concern was that the pipes might freeze and burst. I was a little ruffled to say the least.
Knowing that the furnace was 20 years old and taking into account the multiple carbon monoxide detectors I have around the house, which again have never gone off lead me to believe we had no current issues with the heat exchanger, but that the furnace was old and should be replaced. I agreed to the deal to buy a new furnace and suffer for a few days if need be.
Naturally finding anyone on a Friday afternoon to either buy one or fix the current one was next to impossible. So I decided to have a look at the problem myself. I knew before he came out that the controller box that controls everything that happens to make your furnace work had a short of some sort based on what was happening. So I shut down the power to the furnace and removed the controller box. I figured twenty years of heating and cooling on the printed circuit board might be part of the problem. I grabbed my soldering Iron and re-soldered all of the connections, re-assembled the box, re-installed it and what do you know HEAT!
Now I'm not telling you to repair your own stuff. My point is that I needed to buy some time, get some heat and I can't tell you how great full, how thankful I am for what my father passed on to me in his lifetime. He learned from his dad, who learned from his dad and so on down the generations. They almost always made an attempt to repair things before they discarded them. The problem today at least here in America is that we are so "Instant Gratification". Throw it away, get a new one that todays kids wouldn't think twice about a problem like this, let alone understand anything about what caused it. There are a lot of kids today who don't seem to be getting the kind of learning experience I got from my parent, from their parents, instead parents think playing soccer, or video games or sitting on a computer all day is ok. The sad reality of progress I suppose.
I accomplished the whole repair by thinking outside the box a little. By taking the time to think out the problem and then a reasonable solution, I was able to solve my dilemma. I know some folks just don't have the capacity to do their own work so if you fit that type of person I'm not writing this for you.
First off I'll admit that I was a little frustrated and that the cold had a direct bearing on my motivation. There is so much information out there that I just had to see for myself if this problem was something I could solve. The Internet and Google got me a head start in finding a skematic of the controller box. Now I'll admit that the reality is that anyone can write anything on the web. That being the case, I suggest that anything you might read on the web needs to be double checked, if you are not 100% positive that what you have read is going to solve your problem without destroying something.
Long of the short is that we had heat and that bought me a few days to get several estimates, to study up on what we needed so that I could make a decision based on the best deal and not the fact or the pressure that we had no heat. We ended up purchasing a combo deal from Randazzo's Heating and Cooling and I have to say that they were TOP NOTCH! I am totally satisfied with the work and the awesome price we got on a new Lennox Furnace and Air Conditioning unit. The air conditioner was the same age as the furnace and the pricing for both was so good that we decided to have them both done at the same time.
Getting back to the repair issue. Any thoughts of doing a repair like this assumes that you have some mechanical skills, that maybe your dad gave you something more than a soccer ball to learn from. If not, this kind of thing is not for you and you could get your self into serious trouble. Remember that you are dealing with a device that produces, well heat of course, but death as well. Better to freeze your ass off for a few days that to be dead, forever.
I am also a firm NON believer in service contracts. We has it based on Karoline's job at the Energy company. The fine print negates ever considering one of these contracts. And at the moment Consumers is denying that they owe us the $400.00 from the deal their technician made with me while here. That surprises me since we have the whole deal in writing. I can see a court case and lawyers sorting this matter out already.The are useless! for most anyone under 50. It has been canceled.
PLEASE NOTE that if you are elderly, disabled or otherwise unable to deal with something of this sort, as is the case with my 70+ year old mother who lives out of state and has no one to help her, a full replacement service contract is the only way to go. And yes full replacement contracts are more expensive. They do however cover repairing, up to replacing the item in question at no charge. Remember the words "FULL REPLACEMENT" which is very different than a standard service agreement.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the heat.
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Ricky Carmichaeltag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.132007-12-01T18:58:04Z2008-02-06T22:46:09Z Ricky Carmichael did the one thing few racers at his level have done and that is to forgo or rather he had a very subdued farewell tour. To many racers follow the ritual of milking their careers to the bitter end. Most are over the hill racers who haven't won in years who continue to find a way of pocketing that last ounce of cash from the fans. That is not Ricky Carmichael, who went out as a champion...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Ricky Carmichael did the one thing few racers at his level have done and that is to forgo or rather he had a very subdued farewell tour.
To many racers follow the ritual of milking their careers to the bitter end. Most are over the hill racers who haven't won in years who continue to find a way of pocketing that last ounce of cash from the fans. That is not Ricky Carmichael, who went out as a champion and rode every race to win right up to the end at the Motocross of Nations where the USA destroyed the world for a record 18th time.
Karoline and I were at the Red Bud National this year and you would have never known that Carmichael was ending his riding career. In my very humble opinion Ricky is as fast, if not faster than he has been in years past. There is no question that he could still win a slew of championships if he chose to.
Sadly for the motorcycle community he has headed off to ...... what else, Nascar. And so he joins the gang of Indycar drivers who have headed to Cashcar where he will drive around in circles until he is dizzy while making a boat load of cash.
Carmichael is one of the few riders to take motocross and supercross to another level and there are maybe two riders who have touched the level he set. Ryan Villapoto and James Stewart. Whether or not that can take that to yet another level has yet to be seen.
Carmichael's take no prisoners approach to racing might just be all that he needs to succeed in Nascar.
As could be seen in this years crop of top notch Indycar drivers who moved over to Nascar it can be very difficult to win against Cashcars regulars. Just ask Juan Montoya (multitime Indycar champion, Indy 500 winner and multiple Formula One winner) who has managed to do it. The bottom line is that if he succeeds he will be one of the few motorcycle racers to penetrate four wheeled motorsports and become a winner. John Surtees who won both motorcycle GP champions as well as the Formula One championship comes to mind, although many others have tried.
We are going to miss Ricky next year, however I think Ryan Villapoto is prepared to step into his shoes.
Best of luck Ricky, there is no question you have the talent and tenacity to do it. ]]>
Momtag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.112007-11-06T13:47:30Z2008-02-06T16:04:05ZThought I'd take a minute to write about my mom who I find to be such an incredible person. Maybe you to have a mom who has been there for you, has endured pain, who has stepped up and who has loved you through all of your trials and tribulations. Mine certainly has. My mother is a combination of everything you'd ever want in a mom. First and foremost she is just a really good person as all of my...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
My mother is a combination of everything you'd ever want in a mom. First and foremost she is just a really good person as all of my friends would attest. In my youth she was the "everyones mom" of the subdivison I lived in. My father passed away rather suddenly in 1998 and she has been alone ever since. She turned 72 this year and Karoline and I have tried to ensure that she has a good life. I think she knows that I would be there for her at a moments notice if she needs me. I figure that I owe her that much after all that she has done for me.
Today she lives what I would call a cozy life in down south where she enjoys the ocean and the year around warmth.
She is the one person in my life who does not judge me. And I've made some mistakes to be sure along my journey. I have been married twice and she has never judged the women I have chosen to be with. She gave as much and probably more to my first marriage than it deserved and paid the price by being lied to and hurt good by my ex. Like any mom the end of that marriage was very difficult on her. But she did not hesitate to let go off the past and move on. When I married my second wife some twelve years later, she was even more elated because Karoline is the real deal, a no BS, kick ass wife. She is more than my partner in life. She is rock strong and as smart as they come. It took me forty years but I think I finally have given my mom someone who she can enjoy a close trusting relationship of love and respect, More than I can say for the fiasco my first marriage brought her. For that I am greatful.
Today she volunteers at a local hospital helping cancer patients who are dying to enjoy as best they can their last months, weeks or days in this world. How she endures the constant suffering, and death I can't begin to understand. I can only say from my experience with my fathers death that dying of cancer is a lonely internal demise that effects everyone in a different way. As much as my dads death took from her she strives to know every patient by name and shows them the same kindness she gave to my father as he suffered through cancer and eventually passed away. She has a story for each person that seems to live with her long after they are gone. I just don't know if I could do the same if I were in her shoes and it says volumes about her as a person.
As a grandmother she has done everything possible to guide my niece who despite divorced parents, growing up in a less than ideal environment, has managed a 4.0 grade average, is an honor student and thankfully will get some nice grants for a college education. I thank my mom for working hard at keeping her on the right track and we all expect that she will be a stellar nurse or doctor, the field she has chosen.
She was my biggest supporter when I started racing and did what ever she could to help me during those years. I can't tell you the many times she took me to a race when my father could not or just didn't want to go.
She was always giving you the thumbs up, the you can still win it, you can do anything you put your mind to. And I have to say that at 50 I am pretty happy with my life and a lot of that has to do with her. She always instilled success in us and she never let you get down.
My mom is the most non judgmental person I have met. She just likes to be part of whatever we are doing and has followed my brother (whom I stopped speaking to many years ago) and I to a variety of racetracks (all of the country) during our dirt bike racing years. ANd during the past few years as Mark and I have ran our perspective trackday ventures. Not to mention how un-believably kind she has been to my sister.
I've had two mother in laws. Thus I have gotten a chance to see what other moms that connect to you through the virtue of marriage can be like to their kids. For me one was just not nice at all, being around her was like being tortured, constantly trying to control her daughter and who did everything possible to ruin my marriage. The other is somewhat like my mom and who allows her daughter to be everything she can be without meddling in our marriage. I have learned one thing that you should do before you chance marriage, and that is to find out whether or not your potential spouses parents suck. Trust me on this. It was something I did not do well enough the first time around. I am super lucky that my current in-laws are awesome people that I enjoy being. Live and learn!
I have achieved so much more than I dreamed in my life. Twenty years ago when I was left for dead by my ex and her family after up rooting and leaving Michigan to move back to Seattle so the ex could be by her family and and after my divorce I came back to Michigan to run my fathers company and with my mom by my side we turned that into a very good time in our lives. Nothing is more challenging than working with your family and still maintaining a fun and loving relationship while making money. But we did it and it rocked. I enjoyed every minute, there was pain, there were little victories and big victories, shit days, sometimes shit weeks and through it all, up until my fathers death we stayed a team and a family.
I can honestly say that 20 or so years ago I was the last person on earth you would have envisioned working in the computer industry. I am truly more of a mechanical person having worked on helicopters and as a welder, it was my mom who really gave me the inner strength to forge through the early days of computing and the pain in the ass that it was. I am grateful and thankful for every word of inspiration she gave me while I struggled through code, through hardware failures, through Microsoft's horrible first GUI and today it has given me an awesome life and allowed me to make some awesome money.
She also had a belief in her kids throughout our lives that helped my brother and I to win some championships on bikes as well as my ventures in karting. And although there were a lot more loses than wins getting to the championship days and she just kept on believeing and inspiring us. Another thing that makes her a cool mom.
When I left Sportbike Tracktime and started my own trackday company, Trackoholics shewas the first person to encourage me to leave them and to forge ahead with my own deal. And I am glad that I did. As it turned out we had a lot of fun and made some money running our trackday company and it gave Karoline and a I something that we could work on together.
So now as we mom and I grow older and as time goes by we realize that we are nearing the end of what has been a fantastic journey. I do my best to fly down a few times a year to her place and help her out, jazz up her computer, replace sinks, plumbing, electric, you know the usual home crap that drives you crazy, always stuff that makes life a little easier. It gives me a chance to give back to her all she has sacrificed for me and to hang out with her.
I know that I can never give back all that she has given to me, but I figure that if there is a time to try, now is it!
Ironically Karoline's parents live on the opposite side of the state in Naples and it makes it hard for both of us to see each others parents at the same time. But we plan on making bringing everyone together in 2008.
This year mom and I watched the space shuttle launch from the beach, her favorite place to hang out! Man it was an awesome sight to be sure and it was cool because I can recall the first space launch when I was a kid and President Kennedy on TV telling the country about space and how it would change the world, and it did. It has given us so many technical breakthrough’s that have allowed so many things (without listing them all, I know firsthand the cool stuff in motorcycling) to be possible today. The kids of today with all of their high tech gadgets can thank that first mission for making those toys possible.
At any rate it was a great day to stand with my mom and watch the shuttle fireball disappear into the sky and know that we had both lived through these cool experiences.
I love her and hope your mom has left as lasting an impression on you that she has on me.]]>
Doug Henrytag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.82007-09-04T00:33:34Z2008-02-06T16:03:36ZOf the many professional motocross riders who have won championships since I got involved in the sport (around 1966) You have to put AMA Motocross Champion Doug Henry near or at the top of the list in regards to greatness. Doug is the man who developed the current generation 4 stroke motocross bikes. He was the guy who made them work. He was the guy who Yamaha laid their future in dirtbikes with. Doug’s resume includes winning the 1993 AMA...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Doug is the man who developed the current generation 4 stroke motocross bikes. He was the guy who made them work. He was the guy who Yamaha laid their future in dirtbikes with.
Doug’s resume includes winning the 1993 AMA 125 Motocross and AMA 125 East Supercross Championships, the 1994 AMA 125 Motocross Championship, 1998 AMA 250 Motocross Championship and was named the 1998 AMA Professional Athlete of the Year. Winner of the gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Supermoto race. Doug recorded 25 AMA Supercross/Motocross overall wins during his pro racing career. In 2005 Doug was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
After semi retiring from professional motocross Doug won a GNCC cross-country race in his first attempt on a stock Honda.
From there Doug joined the AMA SuperMoto championship and was a title contender right from the start. And although he never won the championship, it was not for a lack of effort.
Doug Henry was the consummate racer and was a race fans dream. There were few time I can recall NOT seeing Doug accessible and hanging out with race fans. Where many of the bigger names hide in their toterhomes and come out only during autograph sessions. Doug was always out and always hanging out with his crew and the fans.
In early 2007 Doug suffered a devastating and what appears to be a career ending injury while practicing. At the 2007 AMA SuperMoto round in Detroit Doug was missed more than he can know. His legacy does however live on in his teammate Mark Burkhart who has finally ridden to his true potential. Mark won the race and you could almost see in Mark many of the qualities that Doug had in winning championships.
So the bottom line is that I feel that it is important for us to remember riders like Doug. A guy who did not just take the money and run. Doug was one of the few guys who accepted all of the corporate BS that goes along with motorsports racing today and gave everyone 150% of his time when he was at the race track. Guys like Doug and Mark Burkhart are what make motorsport racing a great place to be whether you are doing it or watching it.
Doug was and is an inspiration for any racer who is striving to win a championship.
Doug Henry was the man before and continues to be the man today.
We hope that one day Doug is able to recover and walk again. He deserves that opportunity.
At the 2007 X Games Mark Burkhart gave credit to Doug for his winning championship form.
Doug has suffered more than one devastating injury during his career. Budds Creek, MD was not a track that was kind to Doug over the years and his 1995 crash where he fell from nearly 80 feet in the air to flat ground resulted in Doug breaking his back. Amazingly Doug suffered no paralysis from this insane crash. No Fear sold a poster showing Doug's back and the incision and stitch marks running from below his neck to his waist. Check out the video of the crash. he suffered two broken wrists at Budds Creek, mere feet away from the jump where he had his earlier injury.
Despite all of the devastation to his body Doug rehabbed, rebuilt himself and went on to win yet another motocross championship on the YZ450 he developed for Yamaha.
He stormed into SuperMoto and I have to think this may have been his year had he not been injured. After talking to some Yamaha team members at the Detroit AMA SuperMoto round it appears as though Doug has a long road to travel before or if he ever rides again.
In today’s media driven celebrity, Doug Henry managed to be a credit to his team, his sponsors, to his fans and to himself. He stood out as a real winner in many disciplines of our sport and for that Doug ranks near or at the top in professional motorsports.
It's really hard to put into words all that Doug has done for the sport of motocross and SuperMoto. In terms of sheer will and determination Doug is ranks right up there with Rickey Carmichael one of motorsports elite racers.
I am hoping as I did with David Bailey, Danny Magoo Chandler, Ernesto Fronseca, Wayne Rainey and the many others who have suffered paralysis through a crash that they may have a complete recovery or something close to that so they can go on living a normal life.
As many know this was not the case with Bailey and he has suffered mightily.
One thing that Bailey has fought for and is pushing for riders to wear is the Leatt Brace and I hope that moms, dads and riders old enough to understand that they could suffer the same or like injuries as Doug Henry wear any and all protective gear that will allow them to live a full life long after their racing or riding career ends.
Karoline and I stay hopeful that we'll see Doug will walk again, we are fans Doug!
Additional informationView video of Doug Henry's 1995 crash at Budds Creek Wings of life - Spinal cord research If you want to see some of the Doug Henry photos Karoline and I shot at the 2006 Detroit AMA Supermoto race follow this link.
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Lasik Eye Surgery and Sedation dentistrytag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.72007-09-04T00:28:56Z2008-02-06T16:03:14ZThis is the "If you ever wondered what these procedures can do for your life" part of my blog. So I thought I’d throw out my thoughts on a couple of medical procedures I've gone through in the past few years. Lasik Eye Surgery: Awesome. I had the surgery in mid 2002 and it has changed my life. I wore glasses most of my life and now that I no longer have to deal with that, I have to consider...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Lasik Eye Surgery: Awesome. I had the surgery in mid 2002 and it has changed my life. I wore glasses most of my life and now that I no longer have to deal with that, I have to consider it the number two thing that has changed my life for the better. When you are in and out of a helmet as often as I am, you begin to realize how this surgery changes your life. To no longer have to deal with putting glasses on and taking them off constantly is like nothing you can imagine. I highly recommend it!
Please note: I suggest that anyone who is considering this surgery takes the time to investigate and find a lasik eye surgeon that they are comfortable with and who can produce information on previous customers and surgery's. I would also peruse the internet and find as much information as you can so that you are able to answer any questions thatyou may have regarding this surgery. There are a few specific issues that you may deal with after the surgery, such as dry eyes (solved with eye drops) and some halo issues (noticable more at night with traffic lights and outdoor lighting in general). Mine went away after about a year and they did not keep me from doing everything as I normally would.
Sedation dentistry: Another cool procedure that rocks if you hate going to the dentist.
Since I was around 10 years old I have had nothing but grief with my teeth. And I have seen my share of dentists. Some good, some even great, but many, to many to remember that were hacks.
Between a few of the hacks and the military (U.S Army) they were screwed up pretty permanently. After many root canals and a few surgeries, and a slew of caps, I finally had them completely redone between November 2006 and May of 2007. It was an expensive undertaking (around 25K) and it was a five month process.
Despite my misgivings about getting the work done, I spent some time and visited a few dentists whom were recommended before I found one I liked.
Because of the long hours I spent in the chair the sedation end of the deal made the whole process a breeze. The end result was awesome, I now have front teeth that are straight and correct in length and my bite is much better. I am very pleased with my new smile.
If you don’t like going to the dentist, sedation dentistry is the way to go. I highly recommend it!
Please Note: As with Lasik I highly recommend that you spend some time and do a little research on whom you choose to perform this work. Any sedation has possible drawbacks and there were adjustments to the amount I was given during my various visits. I can attest that I did not feel any pain, in fact I recall very little of the time I spent having the work done. It is an all day process and you can expect to spend most of the day once you've returned home sleeping.
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IRL vs Cart Auto Racingtag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.62007-09-03T21:53:40Z2008-02-06T16:02:42Z So Karoline landed a set of nice passes for the IRL (Indy Racing League) Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and I had a few thoughts on the whole deal. Belle Isle and the IRL offered a very nice layout for those who had suite passes. They included a place out of the sun in the suite area, catered food and drinks and something I have never seen before, air conditioned first class porta pottys (5 star bathrooms). But what I...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
So Karoline landed a set of nice passes for the IRL (Indy Racing League) Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and I had a few thoughts on the whole deal.
Belle Isle and the IRL offered a very nice layout for those who had suite passes. They included a place out of the sun in the suite area, catered food and drinks and something I have never seen before, air conditioned first class porta pottys (5 star bathrooms).
But what I really wanted to write about is the battle between Cart (Champ Car World Series) and Tony George and the IRL (Indy Racing League) which is just about over.
Sadly I have to think that the once mighty Cart is on it's last legs. The sad reality is that all of the big teams have packed up and left Cart and joined Tony George’s IRL. Yep most of the original founders of CART including Roger Penske have bailed out of Cart and joined the IRL.
What I find interesting is that after years of running two American road racing series that we may finally have one series without all of the drama that these two corporate groups have created over the past few years. Ya right!
Tony George has given piles and piles of money to this deal and so he deserves to win, I guess. I mean after attending this race you begin to see that Indy Car racing is simply a corporate show of money and power. As with all other motorsports the past few years, the teams and drivers are nonexistent to the core racing fan. This means that if you got money, Michael Andretti is at your beck and call. No money, no Michael.
Today you either buy grandstand seat or good luck seeing the race. By that I mean it is very difficult to wander around and watch as banners cover a great majority of the track. Next to Formula One (Number One boring race series in my opinion) there is little offered other than a sweet corporate party for a bunch of rich people.
Despite what was reported on Speed TV, the Belle Isle race was not all that great. As a roving spectator I found the viewable racing to be rather uninteresting. The reality is that it is next to impossible on a location like Belle Isle to really get more than a passing glimpse of the cars during the race.
Although we did have grandstand seats over the pits. They to offered little real viewing, even with the mega tron TV the had set up.
We did have paddock access which proved to be the best part of the day. A few of the LeMans series teams actually hung around and so there were some cool cars that you could actually walk up to and touch. They were even letting people (yes regular Joe's) sit in the cars for photo ops. The truth is the LeMan teams were very nice to the crowds. Of course there were no LeMans drivers to be seen.
None of the IRL teams were offering up anything other than a flyer or two on their drivers. In fact Team Penske had no flyers on their drivers! We found that very strange considering that this race was put back on the schedule by Roger Penske’s hard work, god bless him for bring the race back to a town that is so far on its knees that it’s hard to believe we still build cars here.
The bottom line is that the IRL teams, especially the drivers were pretty much closed off affairs.
When you did see a driver they were surrounded by corporate types and had their hands full dealing with the usual ass kissing photo ops. This is the sad reality of becoming a professional sports athlete of any sort today.
Again the race itself was a bore when compared to the AMA Motocross at Red Bud or the AMA Supermoto event at Waterford Hills. Both of which were super cheap and offered really competitive racing compared to an IRL or Cart event.
Truth is I love all motorsports. Problem is the whole corporate thing in your face at every turn is ok for showing off your product. What it has done is more though. Now the drivers are pinned down to constant corporate ass kissing. The fans are just a byproduct of a bunch of rich people looking for a pat on the back.
There is nothing wrong with sponsors playing a big role in a team’s situation. But that gets back to the heart of the problem because the drivers are constantly busy and when they have a moment of free time they hide away in there mega million dollar toter coaches until more ass kissing is called for or they have practice or the race to attend to.
Tony George (aka Mr. we want to groom American drivers from the dirt tracks of America, ect) seemed to have changed his tune. Today’s IRL has few American drivers. Sarah Fisher who is a competent race car driver despite what the press wants you to think is still driving an underfunded car that functions as a convenient backmarker. The sad state of the Toney George/IRL era of racing.
Danika Patrick on the other hand is sitting in a drivers dream situation. Lots of money coming and she still can't win a race. She raced for Bobby Rahal who through a pile of cash down to get her started. She left him for Andretti /Green and has no excuse for not winning at this point in her career and yet she continues with the standard "Book of excuses" As do Andretti/Green whose stock piles of cash can't get her to the front.
In the end Buddy Rice (another awesome US driver) who was kicked to the ground a while back (after winning the Indy 500) managed to move all the way to second place in the race (finally we had an American to cheer for Tony G) and he runs out of fuel with a lap to go. At the same time Rice ran out of juice, Scott Dixon plowed right into him collecting Dario Franchitti along the way. Yet another Yellow flag finish. Something we all looked forward to (NOT).
All around good guy (Brazilian) Tony Kannan won the race. He was a deserving winner.
He then spent at least an hour changing hats at victory circle while hugging a gazillion wanna be rich folk and of course every free loading politician from Michigan. I felt bad for the guy. I mean he just got done spending 3 hours in a massively hot racecar and now he's got to suck up to the Armani gang. After all that crap they hauled him off to the interview room for more grilling.
Along with the above mentioned torture I'm sure he made a few bucks and had a little fun along.
So here's to Tony (Mr. All American) George for dropping them Cart boys like a lead weight. Wait a minute, isn't 90% of the teams that raced in Cart back in the day now racing in Tony's IRL?
Now that I think about it who the hell do I know in Cart nowadays. Oh yes Rahal's kid. But didn't I see Rahal/Letterman Racing at Belle Isle. I suspect that Rahal knows which series might (yes I said might) get his kid to Formula One. Not that it means anything, just ask Scott Speed what it’s like to be an American in Formula One today.
I am so happy to have grown up in the 60's and 70's when racing (abate very dangerous racing) was still in the hands of MEN who raced for the love of racing. Who took chances, yes life and death chances every time that sat in a race car. Those guys and gals were racers inside and out.
That is my take.
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Pro Motocross + Toyota's support for Privateerstag:speedmadness.com,2007:/sb//1.52007-09-03T21:47:42Z2008-02-06T16:02:18ZGive it up for Toyota and their creative sponsorship of the AMA National Motocross Series! What they have done is unprecedented in motorsports. They have designed a rolling facility that travels to all of the AMA National Motocross races and gives AMA professional privateers a home away from home and it is about time that some of the kids get a reasonable shot at top level racing. I'll be the first to admit that many will not make it to...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
Check out the TMX website for more details
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Amateur Road Racingtag:speedmadness.com,2007:/MT//1.22007-06-10T02:30:32Z2008-02-06T16:01:50ZAfter spending a few years running an amateur road racing team I thought I would throw out a few of my thoughts on the riders I have worked with, sponsors and the current state of amateur road racing. First off I'll talk about the riders. From 2003 through 2006 we worked with Bojan Miljovic, Nathan Dressman, Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles, Jonas McCluskey, Dave Theil and Allan Pett in both AMA, WERA regional and national competition. The first rider we worked...racerxwww.speedmadness.com
First off I'll talk about the riders.
From 2003 through 2006 we worked with Bojan Miljovic, Nathan Dressman, Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles, Jonas McCluskey, Dave Theil and Allan Pett in both AMA, WERA regional and national competition.
The first rider we worked with was Bojan Miljovic and with Boo you never had to worry about effort or speed. He was a rider who should have had a shot at AMA Pro racing.
Boo was as mentally tough as they come and had no problem using muscle to get the bike headed in the direction he wanted it to go. He feared no one.
He probably put in the most work of any of the team riders. His long work hour and the fact that he worked nights with a lot of travel meant that it was not unusual for him to roll in from a job, load everything up and head off to Ohio, Virginia with little or no sleep and then racing for two or three days.
There were three highlights during his stay. The 2004 Grattan WERA National where he started dead last and hunted down the leaders to take three second place finishes. It was the shock of the day at Grattan as everybody wanted to know who he was.
Second was his complete domination of the Solo Twenty race at the Mid Ohio AMA Sports race in 2004. An interview with Speedvison TV surrounded by people wondering who the hell he was. He just came out of nowhere to dominate this race. Sadly while running second the following day he crashed in the keyhole destroying the bike. Oh what could have been that never was.
Lastly again at Grattan Boo as an Expert (2005) starting from last on the grid. Boo steadily ran down the leaders and had a massive three lap battle with Trackoholics rider Jonas McCluskey. End result taking second by a few feet over Jonas.
A few days later Boo wrote off the Gixxer in a massive crash at Mid Ohio. The lack of sleep, the endless outlay of cash pretty much forced Boo to put an end to the bleeding and he retired.
I have nothing but the greatest respect for the time and effort Bojan put forth for our team and without him we would have had to work a lot harder to achieve the results we did in the first year. His multiple race wins from the back of the grid are a memory of a kid who gave it his all every time out.
Nathan Dressman (Arnchu Racing), a multi-time WERA champion joined us in 2005. Nate was coming off two bad years in AMA pro racing. During our time together Nate and I joined forces in finding and bringing on sponsorship to the team.
I brought Nate in as our 2005 Lead trackday instructor. And he did not disappoint. Every customer we had loved Nate. His patience with new riders was awesome and so we also decided to work together with our two race programs. His being Anchu Racing, ours Trackoholics Racing.
Our work together was magic as we were able to go out and find the kind of sponsors we needed to make a run at the National Endurance Championship as well as provide for the whole Trackoholics race team who ran a mix of WERA regional and national events..
In 2005 Nate, Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles, and Bojan Miljovic won a few National rounds and ended the year second in National points. In 2006 Nate finally realized his dream as Anchu Racing won the WERA National Endurance title with Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles and Mark Crozier.
Although Nate and I spent a lot of time at odds. A lot of that came from the constant pressure of running multiple riders, two race teams in multiple race series as well as the trackday company.
During that time Nathan and I had formed a nice sponsorship package that covered the gamut. Those who helped us along the journey like Motion Pro, Kushitani, Oxtar, RK Chain, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Catalyst Composites, Vortex, GP Tech, Motorex, Ohlins, SBS, LeoVince, and Honda East made life a little easier on us. Their help was key to the successes we had.
Nathan currently races the MOTO ST series for the rightsforbikers.com team, as well as running various WERA regional and National events.
For 2005 I made a deal with Bridgestone to run their tires. This was ultimately the wrong decision as Pirelli had a far superior tire, not to mention awesome trackside service and assistance. Their ability to provide tires was always in question and we had a lot of issues that were never resolved. Despite the fact that they produced a very good tire in the BT-002, we were competing with Pirelli and Michelin. Bridgestone USA just never had the want to win as bad as the other two manufactures. Instead in 2006 they threw their money into becoming the title sponsor of the WERA National series, whatever that meant.
I spent 100% of 2005 working my full time job, Trackoholics trackdays, traveling to races and flying back and forth to California as I helped Aaron and Matt get Ti2TT off the ground. It's tough to recall la lot of the season as it all became a blur.
Another rider who I have worked with and have nothing but praise for was Jonas McCluskey. Jonas tops my list as a guy who puts it all on the table when he lines up on the grid. Another guy who works long hours, has a wife and a couple of kids and somehow manages to put together a handful of AMA and WERA National and regional races a year, usually winning most of them while running in the top 15 in the AMA Pro series.
His aggressive riding means he is always a threat to win.
He was very good to Karoline and I over the years.
Dave Theil was the youngest of the crop to race for us and was a Trackoholics trackday regular. Dave got his start on the track with us and when he talked to me at the end of 2004 about racing, I felt compelled to help him.
For Dave a former football player who was big and as strong as an ox the whole road racing thing was a new endeavor and learning experience.
Dave never won a race but like Boo he had his moments. By midyear he was in a groove and by August we rolled into Autobahn. By the end of the day after a couple of podiums that day he was leading the last race of the day going away when a bump unsettled the bike causing a major crash that destroyed the bike and his chance for his first win.
Another shot came at the final race of the year at Grattan. Dave ran strong early in the day and already had a couple of podiums. In thelast race of the day while contending for the lead on the second lap, another rider turned in early going up the hill running off onto the grass, he then turned back onto the track into the pack of bikes.
He T-boned Dave at around 100 MPH sending Dave through the windscreen and head first into the pavement. The bike once again was destroyed and that was the end of Daves' season.
This crash came as a bit of a blessing as doctors discovered that Dave had a tumor growing in the side of his head. The tumor was removed; Dave lost his hearing on the right side and retired.
I always liked Dave as a rider. As he gained experience his football player background came to the fore front and he ran as hard as any rider I have worked with. As well Dave developed as a rider and had very good tire control. He was the only one who could get the maximum out of the Bridgestone's. Great kid that I totally enjoyed working with.
Allan Pett is the last of the boys I have worked with. In the summer of 2006 Allan asked me to come out and help him at Grattan. At the time Allan was running both the WERA regional and national series. He had a slew of second place finishes up to that point and was trying to find a way to get his first win.
After working on a few specific rider issues with him we found the keys to the winners circle with Allan winning twice that day.
Al then went on to win a few Nationals and the WERA National 600 Superbike championship at Road Atlanta.
I continue to work with him in 2007 in his rookie expert season. Check out Allans website at 272racing.com
Based on what I've seen the past few years, amateur road racing continues to escalate in the expense to participate. Tires and fuel are the leading costs. Racers who run up front are constantly buying tires, and that requires additional wheels (another expense) and now that race fuel is legal in amateur racing they are kind of forced to run the (expensive) stuff to run up front. And to say the stuff is toxic would be an understatement.
Those who can learn and understand setup and can motivate them self’s to keep reaching for more are going to be the winners and today if you are young and can find support you have a shot at AMA Pro Racing and the chance to make some real money. Or the chance to go broke. WERA roadracing although it has produced a few champions, the Hayden boys are an example can be a very expensive venture. If you ex[ect to work your way into the AMA Pro ranks you need to be (1). young, (2). have serious financial backing, and you need to be prepared to work very hard because few make it to a paid AMA pro racing ride.
Three riders under 20 years old come to mind. Josh Herrin and Blake Young who are both AMA Pro riders now and 17 year old WERA expert Matt Lapham.
Josh and Blake both have families that supported them 110% while it appears that Lapham has the support and he certainly exhibits the skills and potential.
All in all the days of our house and garage being filled with people, bikes and parts are long over. The endless phone calls, travel, the differing egos and the insanity that is amateur and professional racing are now just a small part of my life. It is so much easier on me to work with one rider and yet I would not trade the days with Trackoholics and Anchu for anything. It was an experience and we all had a great time.
Thanks to all of the riders named above or putting it out there and getting the job done and to my wife Karoline who willingly sacrificed her time, joined in the fun and helps me make it possible.
To view the old Trackoholics Racing website follow this link.
Peace,
Jim
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Naturally finding anyone on a Friday afternoon to either buy one or fix the current one was next to impossible. So I decided to have a look at the problem myself. I knew before he came out that the controller box that controls everything that happens to make your furnace work had a short of some sort based on what was happening. So I shut down the power to the furnace and removed the controller box. I figured twenty years of heating and cooling on the printed circuit board might be part of the problem. I grabbed my soldering Iron and re-soldered all of the connections, re-assembled the box, re-installed it and what do you know HEAT!
Now I'm not telling you to repair your own stuff. My point is that I needed to buy some time, get some heat and I can't tell you how great full, how thankful I am for what my father passed on to me in his lifetime. He learned from his dad, who learned from his dad and so on down the generations. They almost always made an attempt to repair things before they discarded them. The problem today at least here in America is that we are so "Instant Gratification". Throw it away, get a new one that todays kids wouldn't think twice about a problem like this, let alone understand anything about what caused it. There are a lot of kids today who don't seem to be getting the kind of learning experience I got from my parent, from their parents, instead parents think playing soccer, or video games or sitting on a computer all day is ok. The sad reality of progress I suppose.
I accomplished the whole repair by thinking outside the box a little. By taking the time to think out the problem and then a reasonable solution, I was able to solve my dilemma. I know some folks just don't have the capacity to do their own work so if you fit that type of person I'm not writing this for you.
First off I'll admit that I was a little frustrated and that the cold had a direct bearing on my motivation. There is so much information out there that I just had to see for myself if this problem was something I could solve. The Internet and Google got me a head start in finding a skematic of the controller box. Now I'll admit that the reality is that anyone can write anything on the web. That being the case, I suggest that anything you might read on the web needs to be double checked, if you are not 100% positive that what you have read is going to solve your problem without destroying something.
Long of the short is that we had heat and that bought me a few days to get several estimates, to study up on what we needed so that I could make a decision based on the best deal and not the fact or the pressure that we had no heat. We ended up purchasing a combo deal from Randazzo's Heating and Cooling and I have to say that they were TOP NOTCH! I am totally satisfied with the work and the awesome price we got on a new Lennox Furnace and Air Conditioning unit. The air conditioner was the same age as the furnace and the pricing for both was so good that we decided to have them both done at the same time.
Getting back to the repair issue. Any thoughts of doing a repair like this assumes that you have some mechanical skills, that maybe your dad gave you something more than a soccer ball to learn from. If not, this kind of thing is not for you and you could get your self into serious trouble. Remember that you are dealing with a device that produces, well heat of course, but death as well. Better to freeze your ass off for a few days that to be dead, forever.
I am also a firm NON believer in service contracts. We has it based on Karoline's job at the Energy company. The fine print negates ever considering one of these contracts. And at the moment Consumers is denying that they owe us the $400.00 from the deal their technician made with me while here. That surprises me since we have the whole deal in writing. I can see a court case and lawyers sorting this matter out already.The are useless! for most anyone under 50. It has been canceled.
PLEASE NOTE that if you are elderly, disabled or otherwise unable to deal with something of this sort, as is the case with my 70+ year old mother who lives out of state and has no one to help her, a full replacement service contract is the only way to go. And yes full replacement contracts are more expensive. They do however cover repairing, up to replacing the item in question at no charge. Remember the words "FULL REPLACEMENT" which is very different than a standard service agreement.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the heat.
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Carmichael is one of the few riders to take motocross and supercross to another level and there are maybe two riders who have touched the level he set. Ryan Villapoto and James Stewart. Whether or not that can take that to yet another level has yet to be seen.
Carmichael's take no prisoners approach to racing might just be all that he needs to succeed in Nascar.
As could be seen in this years crop of top notch Indycar drivers who moved over to Nascar it can be very difficult to win against Cashcars regulars. Just ask Juan Montoya (multitime Indycar champion, Indy 500 winner and multiple Formula One winner) who has managed to do it. The bottom line is that if he succeeds he will be one of the few motorcycle racers to penetrate four wheeled motorsports and become a winner. John Surtees who won both motorcycle GP champions as well as the Formula One championship comes to mind, although many others have tried.
We are going to miss Ricky next year, however I think Ryan Villapoto is prepared to step into his shoes.
Best of luck Ricky, there is no question you have the talent and tenacity to do it. ]]>
She is the one person in my life who does not judge me. And I've made some mistakes to be sure along my journey. I have been married twice and she has never judged the women I have chosen to be with. She gave as much and probably more to my first marriage than it deserved and paid the price by being lied to and hurt good by my ex. Like any mom the end of that marriage was very difficult on her. But she did not hesitate to let go off the past and move on. When I married my second wife some twelve years later, she was even more elated because Karoline is the real deal, a no BS, kick ass wife. She is more than my partner in life. She is rock strong and as smart as they come. It took me forty years but I think I finally have given my mom someone who she can enjoy a close trusting relationship of love and respect, More than I can say for the fiasco my first marriage brought her. For that I am greatful.
Today she volunteers at a local hospital helping cancer patients who are dying to enjoy as best they can their last months, weeks or days in this world. How she endures the constant suffering, and death I can't begin to understand. I can only say from my experience with my fathers death that dying of cancer is a lonely internal demise that effects everyone in a different way. As much as my dads death took from her she strives to know every patient by name and shows them the same kindness she gave to my father as he suffered through cancer and eventually passed away. She has a story for each person that seems to live with her long after they are gone. I just don't know if I could do the same if I were in her shoes and it says volumes about her as a person.
As a grandmother she has done everything possible to guide my niece who despite divorced parents, growing up in a less than ideal environment, has managed a 4.0 grade average, is an honor student and thankfully will get some nice grants for a college education. I thank my mom for working hard at keeping her on the right track and we all expect that she will be a stellar nurse or doctor, the field she has chosen.
She was my biggest supporter when I started racing and did what ever she could to help me during those years. I can't tell you the many times she took me to a race when my father could not or just didn't want to go.
She was always giving you the thumbs up, the you can still win it, you can do anything you put your mind to. And I have to say that at 50 I am pretty happy with my life and a lot of that has to do with her. She always instilled success in us and she never let you get down.
My mom is the most non judgmental person I have met. She just likes to be part of whatever we are doing and has followed my brother (whom I stopped speaking to many years ago) and I to a variety of racetracks (all of the country) during our dirt bike racing years. ANd during the past few years as Mark and I have ran our perspective trackday ventures. Not to mention how un-believably kind she has been to my sister.
I've had two mother in laws. Thus I have gotten a chance to see what other moms that connect to you through the virtue of marriage can be like to their kids. For me one was just not nice at all, being around her was like being tortured, constantly trying to control her daughter and who did everything possible to ruin my marriage. The other is somewhat like my mom and who allows her daughter to be everything she can be without meddling in our marriage. I have learned one thing that you should do before you chance marriage, and that is to find out whether or not your potential spouses parents suck. Trust me on this. It was something I did not do well enough the first time around. I am super lucky that my current in-laws are awesome people that I enjoy being. Live and learn!
I have achieved so much more than I dreamed in my life. Twenty years ago when I was left for dead by my ex and her family after up rooting and leaving Michigan to move back to Seattle so the ex could be by her family and and after my divorce I came back to Michigan to run my fathers company and with my mom by my side we turned that into a very good time in our lives. Nothing is more challenging than working with your family and still maintaining a fun and loving relationship while making money. But we did it and it rocked. I enjoyed every minute, there was pain, there were little victories and big victories, shit days, sometimes shit weeks and through it all, up until my fathers death we stayed a team and a family.
I can honestly say that 20 or so years ago I was the last person on earth you would have envisioned working in the computer industry. I am truly more of a mechanical person having worked on helicopters and as a welder, it was my mom who really gave me the inner strength to forge through the early days of computing and the pain in the ass that it was. I am grateful and thankful for every word of inspiration she gave me while I struggled through code, through hardware failures, through Microsoft's horrible first GUI and today it has given me an awesome life and allowed me to make some awesome money.
She also had a belief in her kids throughout our lives that helped my brother and I to win some championships on bikes as well as my ventures in karting. And although there were a lot more loses than wins getting to the championship days and she just kept on believeing and inspiring us. Another thing that makes her a cool mom.
When I left Sportbike Tracktime and started my own trackday company, Trackoholics shewas the first person to encourage me to leave them and to forge ahead with my own deal. And I am glad that I did. As it turned out we had a lot of fun and made some money running our trackday company and it gave Karoline and a I something that we could work on together.
So now as we mom and I grow older and as time goes by we realize that we are nearing the end of what has been a fantastic journey. I do my best to fly down a few times a year to her place and help her out, jazz up her computer, replace sinks, plumbing, electric, you know the usual home crap that drives you crazy, always stuff that makes life a little easier. It gives me a chance to give back to her all she has sacrificed for me and to hang out with her.
I know that I can never give back all that she has given to me, but I figure that if there is a time to try, now is it!
Ironically Karoline's parents live on the opposite side of the state in Naples and it makes it hard for both of us to see each others parents at the same time. But we plan on making bringing everyone together in 2008.
This year mom and I watched the space shuttle launch from the beach, her favorite place to hang out! Man it was an awesome sight to be sure and it was cool because I can recall the first space launch when I was a kid and President Kennedy on TV telling the country about space and how it would change the world, and it did. It has given us so many technical breakthrough’s that have allowed so many things (without listing them all, I know firsthand the cool stuff in motorcycling) to be possible today. The kids of today with all of their high tech gadgets can thank that first mission for making those toys possible.
At any rate it was a great day to stand with my mom and watch the shuttle fireball disappear into the sky and know that we had both lived through these cool experiences.
I love her and hope your mom has left as lasting an impression on you that she has on me.]]>
In early 2007 Doug suffered a devastating and what appears to be a career ending injury while practicing. At the 2007 AMA SuperMoto round in Detroit Doug was missed more than he can know. His legacy does however live on in his teammate Mark Burkhart who has finally ridden to his true potential. Mark won the race and you could almost see in Mark many of the qualities that Doug had in winning championships.
So the bottom line is that I feel that it is important for us to remember riders like Doug. A guy who did not just take the money and run. Doug was one of the few guys who accepted all of the corporate BS that goes along with motorsports racing today and gave everyone 150% of his time when he was at the race track. Guys like Doug and Mark Burkhart are what make motorsport racing a great place to be whether you are doing it or watching it.
Doug was and is an inspiration for any racer who is striving to win a championship.
Doug Henry was the man before and continues to be the man today.
We hope that one day Doug is able to recover and walk again. He deserves that opportunity.
At the 2007 X Games Mark Burkhart gave credit to Doug for his winning championship form.
Doug has suffered more than one devastating injury during his career. Budds Creek, MD was not a track that was kind to Doug over the years and his 1995 crash where he fell from nearly 80 feet in the air to flat ground resulted in Doug breaking his back. Amazingly Doug suffered no paralysis from this insane crash. No Fear sold a poster showing Doug's back and the incision and stitch marks running from below his neck to his waist. Check out the video of the crash. he suffered two broken wrists at Budds Creek, mere feet away from the jump where he had his earlier injury.
Despite all of the devastation to his body Doug rehabbed, rebuilt himself and went on to win yet another motocross championship on the YZ450 he developed for Yamaha.
He stormed into SuperMoto and I have to think this may have been his year had he not been injured. After talking to some Yamaha team members at the Detroit AMA SuperMoto round it appears as though Doug has a long road to travel before or if he ever rides again.
In today’s media driven celebrity, Doug Henry managed to be a credit to his team, his sponsors, to his fans and to himself. He stood out as a real winner in many disciplines of our sport and for that Doug ranks near or at the top in professional motorsports.
It's really hard to put into words all that Doug has done for the sport of motocross and SuperMoto. In terms of sheer will and determination Doug is ranks right up there with Rickey Carmichael one of motorsports elite racers.
I am hoping as I did with David Bailey, Danny Magoo Chandler, Ernesto Fronseca, Wayne Rainey and the many others who have suffered paralysis through a crash that they may have a complete recovery or something close to that so they can go on living a normal life.
As many know this was not the case with Bailey and he has suffered mightily.
One thing that Bailey has fought for and is pushing for riders to wear is the Leatt Brace and I hope that moms, dads and riders old enough to understand that they could suffer the same or like injuries as Doug Henry wear any and all protective gear that will allow them to live a full life long after their racing or riding career ends.
Karoline and I stay hopeful that we'll see Doug will walk again, we are fans Doug!
Additional information
View video of Doug Henry's 1995 crash at Budds Creek
Wings of life - Spinal cord research
If you want to see some of the Doug Henry photos Karoline and I shot at the 2006 Detroit AMA Supermoto race follow this link.
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But what I really wanted to write about is the battle between Cart (Champ Car World Series) and Tony George and the IRL (Indy Racing League) which is just about over.
Sadly I have to think that the once mighty Cart is on it's last legs. The sad reality is that all of the big teams have packed up and left Cart and joined Tony George’s IRL. Yep most of the original founders of CART including Roger Penske have bailed out of Cart and joined the IRL.
What I find interesting is that after years of running two American road racing series that we may finally have one series without all of the drama that these two corporate groups have created over the past few years. Ya right!
Tony George has given piles and piles of money to this deal and so he deserves to win, I guess. I mean after attending this race you begin to see that Indy Car racing is simply a corporate show of money and power. As with all other motorsports the past few years, the teams and drivers are nonexistent to the core racing fan. This means that if you got money, Michael Andretti is at your beck and call. No money, no Michael.
Today you either buy grandstand seat or good luck seeing the race. By that I mean it is very difficult to wander around and watch as banners cover a great majority of the track. Next to Formula One (Number One boring race series in my opinion) there is little offered other than a sweet corporate party for a bunch of rich people.
Despite what was reported on Speed TV, the Belle Isle race was not all that great. As a roving spectator I found the viewable racing to be rather uninteresting. The reality is that it is next to impossible on a location like Belle Isle to really get more than a passing glimpse of the cars during the race.
Although we did have grandstand seats over the pits. They to offered little real viewing, even with the mega tron TV the had set up.
We did have paddock access which proved to be the best part of the day. A few of the LeMans series teams actually hung around and so there were some cool cars that you could actually walk up to and touch. They were even letting people (yes regular Joe's) sit in the cars for photo ops. The truth is the LeMan teams were very nice to the crowds. Of course there were no LeMans drivers to be seen.
None of the IRL teams were offering up anything other than a flyer or two on their drivers. In fact Team Penske had no flyers on their drivers! We found that very strange considering that this race was put back on the schedule by Roger Penske’s hard work, god bless him for bring the race back to a town that is so far on its knees that it’s hard to believe we still build cars here.
The bottom line is that the IRL teams, especially the drivers were pretty much closed off affairs.
When you did see a driver they were surrounded by corporate types and had their hands full dealing with the usual ass kissing photo ops. This is the sad reality of becoming a professional sports athlete of any sort today.
Again the race itself was a bore when compared to the AMA Motocross at Red Bud or the AMA Supermoto event at Waterford Hills. Both of which were super cheap and offered really competitive racing compared to an IRL or Cart event.
Truth is I love all motorsports. Problem is the whole corporate thing in your face at every turn is ok for showing off your product. What it has done is more though. Now the drivers are pinned down to constant corporate ass kissing. The fans are just a byproduct of a bunch of rich people looking for a pat on the back.
There is nothing wrong with sponsors playing a big role in a team’s situation. But that gets back to the heart of the problem because the drivers are constantly busy and when they have a moment of free time they hide away in there mega million dollar toter coaches until more ass kissing is called for or they have practice or the race to attend to.
Tony George (aka Mr. we want to groom American drivers from the dirt tracks of America, ect) seemed to have changed his tune. Today’s IRL has few American drivers. Sarah Fisher who is a competent race car driver despite what the press wants you to think is still driving an underfunded car that functions as a convenient backmarker. The sad state of the Toney George/IRL era of racing.
Danika Patrick on the other hand is sitting in a drivers dream situation. Lots of money coming and she still can't win a race. She raced for Bobby Rahal who through a pile of cash down to get her started. She left him for Andretti /Green and has no excuse for not winning at this point in her career and yet she continues with the standard "Book of excuses" As do Andretti/Green whose stock piles of cash can't get her to the front.
In the end Buddy Rice (another awesome US driver) who was kicked to the ground a while back (after winning the Indy 500) managed to move all the way to second place in the race (finally we had an American to cheer for Tony G) and he runs out of fuel with a lap to go. At the same time Rice ran out of juice, Scott Dixon plowed right into him collecting Dario Franchitti along the way. Yet another Yellow flag finish. Something we all looked forward to (NOT).
All around good guy (Brazilian) Tony Kannan won the race. He was a deserving winner.
He then spent at least an hour changing hats at victory circle while hugging a gazillion wanna be rich folk and of course every free loading politician from Michigan. I felt bad for the guy. I mean he just got done spending 3 hours in a massively hot racecar and now he's got to suck up to the Armani gang. After all that crap they hauled him off to the interview room for more grilling.
Along with the above mentioned torture I'm sure he made a few bucks and had a little fun along.
So here's to Tony (Mr. All American) George for dropping them Cart boys like a lead weight. Wait a minute, isn't 90% of the teams that raced in Cart back in the day now racing in Tony's IRL?
Now that I think about it who the hell do I know in Cart nowadays. Oh yes Rahal's kid. But didn't I see Rahal/Letterman Racing at Belle Isle. I suspect that Rahal knows which series might (yes I said might) get his kid to Formula One. Not that it means anything, just ask Scott Speed what it’s like to be an American in Formula One today.
I am so happy to have grown up in the 60's and 70's when racing (abate very dangerous racing) was still in the hands of MEN who raced for the love of racing. Who took chances, yes life and death chances every time that sat in a race car. Those guys and gals were racers inside and out.
That is my take.
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Boo was as mentally tough as they come and had no problem using muscle to get the bike headed in the direction he wanted it to go. He feared no one.
He probably put in the most work of any of the team riders. His long work hour and the fact that he worked nights with a lot of travel meant that it was not unusual for him to roll in from a job, load everything up and head off to Ohio, Virginia with little or no sleep and then racing for two or three days.
There were three highlights during his stay. The 2004 Grattan WERA National where he started dead last and hunted down the leaders to take three second place finishes. It was the shock of the day at Grattan as everybody wanted to know who he was.
Second was his complete domination of the Solo Twenty race at the Mid Ohio AMA Sports race in 2004. An interview with Speedvison TV surrounded by people wondering who the hell he was. He just came out of nowhere to dominate this race. Sadly while running second the following day he crashed in the keyhole destroying the bike. Oh what could have been that never was.
Lastly again at Grattan Boo as an Expert (2005) starting from last on the grid. Boo steadily ran down the leaders and had a massive three lap battle with Trackoholics rider Jonas McCluskey. End result taking second by a few feet over Jonas.
A few days later Boo wrote off the Gixxer in a massive crash at Mid Ohio. The lack of sleep, the endless outlay of cash pretty much forced Boo to put an end to the bleeding and he retired.
I have nothing but the greatest respect for the time and effort Bojan put forth for our team and without him we would have had to work a lot harder to achieve the results we did in the first year. His multiple race wins from the back of the grid are a memory of a kid who gave it his all every time out.
Nathan Dressman (Arnchu Racing), a multi-time WERA champion joined us in 2005. Nate was coming off two bad years in AMA pro racing. During our time together Nate and I joined forces in finding and bringing on sponsorship to the team.
I brought Nate in as our 2005 Lead trackday instructor. And he did not disappoint. Every customer we had loved Nate. His patience with new riders was awesome and so we also decided to work together with our two race programs. His being Anchu Racing, ours Trackoholics Racing.
Our work together was magic as we were able to go out and find the kind of sponsors we needed to make a run at the National Endurance Championship as well as provide for the whole Trackoholics race team who ran a mix of WERA regional and national events..
In 2005 Nate, Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles, and Bojan Miljovic won a few National rounds and ended the year second in National points. In 2006 Nate finally realized his dream as Anchu Racing won the WERA National Endurance title with Randy Sherman, Rick Knuckles and Mark Crozier.
Although Nate and I spent a lot of time at odds. A lot of that came from the constant pressure of running multiple riders, two race teams in multiple race series as well as the trackday company.
During that time Nathan and I had formed a nice sponsorship package that covered the gamut. Those who helped us along the journey like Motion Pro, Kushitani, Oxtar, RK Chain, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Catalyst Composites, Vortex, GP Tech, Motorex, Ohlins, SBS, LeoVince, and Honda East made life a little easier on us. Their help was key to the successes we had.
Nathan currently races the MOTO ST series for the rightsforbikers.com team, as well as running various WERA regional and National events.
For 2005 I made a deal with Bridgestone to run their tires. This was ultimately the wrong decision as Pirelli had a far superior tire, not to mention awesome trackside service and assistance. Their ability to provide tires was always in question and we had a lot of issues that were never resolved. Despite the fact that they produced a very good tire in the BT-002, we were competing with Pirelli and Michelin. Bridgestone USA just never had the want to win as bad as the other two manufactures. Instead in 2006 they threw their money into becoming the title sponsor of the WERA National series, whatever that meant.
I spent 100% of 2005 working my full time job, Trackoholics trackdays, traveling to races and flying back and forth to California as I helped Aaron and Matt get Ti2TT off the ground. It's tough to recall la lot of the season as it all became a blur.
Another rider who I have worked with and have nothing but praise for was Jonas McCluskey. Jonas tops my list as a guy who puts it all on the table when he lines up on the grid. Another guy who works long hours, has a wife and a couple of kids and somehow manages to put together a handful of AMA and WERA National and regional races a year, usually winning most of them while running in the top 15 in the AMA Pro series.
His aggressive riding means he is always a threat to win.
He was very good to Karoline and I over the years.
Dave Theil was the youngest of the crop to race for us and was a Trackoholics trackday regular. Dave got his start on the track with us and when he talked to me at the end of 2004 about racing, I felt compelled to help him.
For Dave a former football player who was big and as strong as an ox the whole road racing thing was a new endeavor and learning experience.
Dave never won a race but like Boo he had his moments. By midyear he was in a groove and by August we rolled into Autobahn. By the end of the day after a couple of podiums that day he was leading the last race of the day going away when a bump unsettled the bike causing a major crash that destroyed the bike and his chance for his first win.
Another shot came at the final race of the year at Grattan. Dave ran strong early in the day and already had a couple of podiums. In thelast race of the day while contending for the lead on the second lap, another rider turned in early going up the hill running off onto the grass, he then turned back onto the track into the pack of bikes.
He T-boned Dave at around 100 MPH sending Dave through the windscreen and head first into the pavement. The bike once again was destroyed and that was the end of Daves' season.
This crash came as a bit of a blessing as doctors discovered that Dave had a tumor growing in the side of his head. The tumor was removed; Dave lost his hearing on the right side and retired.
I always liked Dave as a rider. As he gained experience his football player background came to the fore front and he ran as hard as any rider I have worked with. As well Dave developed as a rider and had very good tire control. He was the only one who could get the maximum out of the Bridgestone's. Great kid that I totally enjoyed working with.
Allan Pett is the last of the boys I have worked with. In the summer of 2006 Allan asked me to come out and help him at Grattan. At the time Allan was running both the WERA regional and national series. He had a slew of second place finishes up to that point and was trying to find a way to get his first win.
After working on a few specific rider issues with him we found the keys to the winners circle with Allan winning twice that day.
Al then went on to win a few Nationals and the WERA National 600 Superbike championship at Road Atlanta.
I continue to work with him in 2007 in his rookie expert season. Check out Allans website at 272racing.com
Based on what I've seen the past few years, amateur road racing continues to escalate in the expense to participate. Tires and fuel are the leading costs. Racers who run up front are constantly buying tires, and that requires additional wheels (another expense) and now that race fuel is legal in amateur racing they are kind of forced to run the (expensive) stuff to run up front. And to say the stuff is toxic would be an understatement.
Those who can learn and understand setup and can motivate them self’s to keep reaching for more are going to be the winners and today if you are young and can find support you have a shot at AMA Pro Racing and the chance to make some real money. Or the chance to go broke. WERA roadracing although it has produced a few champions, the Hayden boys are an example can be a very expensive venture. If you ex[ect to work your way into the AMA Pro ranks you need to be (1). young, (2). have serious financial backing, and you need to be prepared to work very hard because few make it to a paid AMA pro racing ride.
Three riders under 20 years old come to mind. Josh Herrin and Blake Young who are both AMA Pro riders now and 17 year old WERA expert Matt Lapham.
Josh and Blake both have families that supported them 110% while it appears that Lapham has the support and he certainly exhibits the skills and potential.
All in all the days of our house and garage being filled with people, bikes and parts are long over. The endless phone calls, travel, the differing egos and the insanity that is amateur and professional racing are now just a small part of my life. It is so much easier on me to work with one rider and yet I would not trade the days with Trackoholics and Anchu for anything. It was an experience and we all had a great time.
Thanks to all of the riders named above or putting it out there and getting the job done and to my wife Karoline who willingly sacrificed her time, joined in the fun and helps me make it possible.
To view the old Trackoholics Racing website follow this link.
Peace,
Jim
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