Mars Science Laboratory rover
NASA/JPL's MSL was launched successfully on Nov 26, 2011. It was very excited as I was watching it live as the telemetry came down. It's now on its way to Mars, exploring the unknown. The Entry-Descent-Landing (EDL) in August 2012 will be especially exciting.
In this picture are the 3 generations of Mars rovers: the smallest one was Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover. The middle one was Mars Exploration Rover's Spirit and Opportunity rovers and the largest one is Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover and the rover weights 1984 lbs (900 kgs) and is the size of a Mini Cooper automobile.
July 30, 2011 - Fountain pens...
A fountain pen is a delicate writing instrument. Writing with one is a joy and requires special care and attention. One cannot drop a fountain pen or manhandling it. Treat it right and it will reward you. There is nothing better than to write and to let the thoughts flowed on the tip of a fountain pen nib...
http://www.pbase.com/motorcyclist/fountain_pens
12-JAN-2011
Jan 12, 2011 - Hit-Air airbag vest for motorcylist
Today I just received my Hit-Air airbag vest for motorcyclist from www.safermoto.com (a US distributor of Hit-Air airbag vests and jackets.) Hit-Air, www.hit-air.com, is a Japanese company specialized in airbag systems research for motorcyclists since 1995 and the products have been evolved for the last 15 years. While the airbag vest for motorcyclists is still fairly 'new' and 'unknown' in US, it has been widely used in Japan, Europe and motorcycle racing.
24-NOV-2010
Nov 24, 2010 - Riding the San Gabriel mountains...
The Rincon shortcut has been closed for several years and was recently reopened. I and my friend Vu decided to take a day off and do some dirt riding. The road and scenery were awesome. What we did not expect was to see snow at this time and the temperature was 34F, near freezing. It was a good day's ride.
23-OCT-2010
Saturday - Oct 23, 2010 - A desperate ride
It has been raining here in Southern California the whole week and today is the first day that the weather cleared. It's still cloudy but at least it had no sign of raining. So I and 2 friends were riding to Lancaster to have lunch, through some beautiful country roads, for a total of 200 miles.
07-OCT-2010
October 2010 - Locksport - the art of lockpicking
I recently picked up a new hobby: locksport (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locksport). Locks are something that we all use everyday but very few people understand the mechanics and the inner working of the lock. So I decided to study its different mechanism, its different designs and especially the art and challenge of lock picking.
The first rule of locksport is: "You may only pick locks that you own, or those to which you’ve been given expressed permission to pick by the rightful owner"
13-AUG-2010
Friday the 13th, August 13, 2010 - Ride to Palomar Mountains, California
Today is Friday the 13th, a bad day for a lot of people. Since I am an atheist and I'm not superstitious, what better day than today to go ride motorcycle solo?
I recently installed some friction pads on both sides of the tank so that I could hold on the tank better when cornering and braking. It was time for a test in the mountains, where lots of high speed cornering can take place.
I rode up to have lunch at the Pala Indian casino. They have free soft drinks 24 hours a day and the food is reasonable. Then I rode up to Palomar mountains. I was almost by myself on a Friday. Only saw a few cars and motorcycles. With the new friction pads, I was able to anchor myself to the tank when cornering so I could hang loose on the handle bars. It was so much better that I was able to use my tires up to about 1/8" from the edge, which I have never been able to accomplish before.
I rode for a total of 285 miles today. It was a great ride.
24-JUL-2010
July 24, 2010 - replaced the motorcycle tires...
If we want to do something right, do it ourselves. That was why I and my friend Vu got the Nomar Classic tire changer and balancer and changed the tires ourselves. My last set of Michelin Pilot Road lasted 11810 miles and I have a trip to Mammoth Lakes coming up so I replaced them with another set of Michelin Pilot Road. While it took a lot longer than the shop, but everything was checked and double-checked, cleaned and lubed properly.
18-JUL-2010
July 18, 2010 - Motorcycle, shock, and cbr1100xx internet web forum
My Honda CBR-1100XX Blackbird has 56000 miles (90000 km). The rear shock was pretty tired so I found one for sale on cbr1100xx forums by another XX rider, with only 3000 miles on it. I emailed the seller and he immediately packaged it and shipped it to my home in a few days, with only a note telling me to send him a check after I received it, installed it and tested it. I was truly surprised. Lesson learned? There are always good and trusting people everywhere and I promised myself to 'pay it forward'. Thanks Howard, you know who you are.
18-JUL-2010
July 16, 2010 - The quest for hearing protection...
It doesn't matter how good a helmet is, riding motorcycle at speed is an extremely noisy endeavor. Most people didn't realize that gradual hearing loss is unrecoverable. Once it's gone, it's gone forever. There is no such thing as "getting used to the noise" as the only reason that one can get used to noise is because the hearing was deteriorating and therefore a loud noise doesn't sound that loud anymore. That's not 'get used to noise', but 'hearing damage'.
I always wear earplugs when I ride motorcycle. Earplugs, or any hearing protection devices, are rated by 'noise reduction rating', or NRR. The higher the NRR is, the more noise it can block out. The highest NRR available on the market is 33 for passive earplugs. However, not all earplugs that bear the same NRR rating block the same level of noise, due to difference in testing, I assume, but it's also due to each person's ear canal shape and size. One company's NRR 33 earplugs therefore may block more or less noise than another company's NRR 33 earplugs for the same person.
To select a proper earplug for myself, I went to
http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/foearpltrpa2.html and ordered a pack of 19 different earplugs, made by 10 different companies (as the same company may have different earplug models). I will try out all of them in the next several weeks and keep notes on them. Once I found the best one for me, I'm going to order it in larger quantity.
For the record, I am currently using Moldex's Purefit 6800 that doesn't list the NRR on the package, but they are listed as having NRR 33 on their web site. However, some recent Moldex Purafit 6800 with NRR 33 printed on the package didn't block the noise as well the older Purafit 6800. Therefore, I concluded that even the same company making the same model of earplugs don't behave the same.
The exercise begins...
08-MAY-2010
First Aid and Emergency - May 8, 2010
I recently took a Red Cross CPR and First Aid classes. I also volunteered to train for the Urban Search And Rescue. I learned a lot of things that I didn't know before. I also started to build up my own First Aid kit as I now think I know what I need in a kit. I hope that I will never need to use it, but if the need arises, at least I hope that I have what I need to do.
On the road again - May 1, 2010
Any motorcycle trip is a good trip. We ride to ride. A trip is long overdue. All of us stressed out at work, burdened by everyday life and commitments and we all need a ride. Any long ride is going to clear our head, refresh our mind and put things back into perspective. Any long ride is going to make us so much sharper and so much more energized. I can always find peace on the seat of a motorcycle and a long lonely road. Time to focus, reflect and think, where nothing else matters but me and my motorcycle.
