Month: October 2008

Yikes!

A few short weeks after buying my Prius, and I already broke the tail light cover backing into the driveway. And to make matters worse, you can’t just buy the cover, you have to replace the whole tail light assembly. The local dealer has it in stock for $225. The cheapest I found it on-line was $170 including shipping.

BTW: To all the companies that make auto parts web sites? You all suck. Go back to web design school. I should not have to put in the VIN and the type of engine and transmission (on a Prius, which only has one type of each no less) just to find out if you have any tail light assemblies. I should not have to guess if tail light assemblies are listed under “Safety”, “Body” or “Electrical”. I should not be on a page that says “Toyota Prius tail lights” at the top of the page, and still have to put in the make, model and year before I can find out if you have any.

Losing my religion?

I haven’t flown since I got back from Oshkosh. I haven’t even replaced my log book, which was stolen a few days before I left for Oshkosh. My medical expired on August, and I haven’t bothered to renew it. I’m beginning to wonder if flying, the activity that I longed to do since I was 12, and which I used to revolve my life around, just isn’t important to me any more. If that’s the case, I kind of wish I’d discovered that before I spent $2000+ on replacing stuff that was stolen before Oshkosh.

Since I’m moving from my high paying job to a lower paying one, maybe it’s time to go “inactive” in the flying club.

Sleep study

A few weeks ago, I had a sleep study. They wire you up with a bazillion wires and tubes, put you in a sterile room on an uncomfortable bed, and then say “sleep normally”. The reason for the study is that sometimes lack of sleep, especially because of apnea, is sometimes related to sensitivity to pain.

Today, I got the results. Highlights include

  • It took me only 14 minutes to fall asleep, but over 180 minutes to first get to REM sleep, and I didn’t get very much REM sleep over the course of the night
  • I experienced “arousal” (not sexual arousal, they just mean I wasn’t properly asleep any more an average of 38 times per hour
  • The “arousals” were closely correlated to snoring and some apnea, and are the probable reason for the lack of REM sleep

Upshot is that I’m going to get a “CPAP” machine for a few weeks to see if it helps.

Out with the old, in with the new

Today I said goodbye to my Valley Canoe Products Skerray RMX, and said hello to my Necky Looksha II. I’m going to miss the Skerray, since it was a great boat and I had a lot of fun in it, but I’m looking forward to mastering this extremely light and fast boat.

First the numbers:

Kayak Length Width Weight Tracking
VCP Skerray RMX 17′ 23″ 60lbs retractable skeg
Necky Looksha II 20′ 20″ 45lbs rudder

Now the pictures:
Continue reading “Out with the old, in with the new”