Daniel E. Markle's Blog - Life

Thanksgiving Ride to Ohio

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:47:00 -0500

On Thanksgiving Day this year I rode over 300 miles to Cleveland on my VStar motorcycle to visit my sister. The picture at the left was taken upon my arrival at Crocker Park in the evening.

Heading out at 10:30 in the morning it was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, a beautiful day for a ride. I decided not to put the windshield on the bike as it reduces my ability to control airflow with layers of clothing and is too hot with my winter gear on at those temperatures.
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Last Day at the PA Capitol Preservation Committee

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:46:18 -0500

Today was my last day of full time employment at the PA Capitol Preservation Committee. Thanks to everyone who made me feel welcome over the years. To commemorate my many commutes, enjoy this motorcycle video including part of a favorite route to work on my 2008 Honda Rebel.

First Motorcycle Commute in Fall Fog

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:28:00 -0400

My Rebel Parked at Work on a Considerably Warmer Day, From Motorcycle Adventures

Headed to work today, it was 32.7 degrees F with fog. I was convinced, seeing the sun starting to poke out, all would be fine once I got to the top of the mountain and out of our valley of perpetual fog.

I started up the Rebel and after warming up a while, I lurched out the lane (still wasn't warm yet, had to increase choke and putter along; pretty common below 50F). Even though visibility was less than ideal, the roads were clean and dry. After puttering along across the valley, half opening my visor as needed to clear it and at times so I could see at all, I made it to the top of the mountain, but alas, the fog continued in the next valley.

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Lemon Blueberry Cake

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:06:56 -0400

From Cooking

Items we had on hand at the time and Karen's suggestion of using instant pudding as icing resulted in this delicious combination.

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2011 Loyalsock Valley Antique Machinery Association Show

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:03:47 -0400

Loyalsock Valley Antique Machinery Association Show

Although rain from the previous day resulted in the cancellation of the tractor parade and poor attendance, there were still many tractors on display at the 2011 Loyalsock Valley Antique Machinery Association Show. One advantage to going on Sunday is hearing and seeing them pull out, which was a reasonable substitute for the parade.

An operating steam-powered sawmill was at the event, along with a selection of other operating pre-gasoline tractor motors.

Other features of the event include food vendors and a flea market with a wide variety of interesting items from wooden tool handles to fine china.

Carlisle Bike Fest 2011

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:21:50 -0400

From Motorcycle Adventures

Attended Carlisle Bike Fest 2011 this year. Enjoyed looking at the rides people came in on; much of the show is the bikes people bring which they park in the middle of the show in wide enough aisles to easily wander up and down.

Other enjoyable attractions included the demo rides (which I didn't qualify for this year due to only having a permit, but watching and listening to new bikes was still cool), Biker Billy's cooking show (watch out if you're in the audience at one of these, he actively seeks victims to roast), and the Disc Connected K9's.

I drove in via a cage this year, scared off by the threat of rain which never materialized. By next year I hope to be more adventuresome.

Steele Synchronized Shooting

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:38:44 -0400

Out on the shooting range with my sister and brother in law, I recorded this fun video of them alternating shots:

As my sister says it best in the video, "that's awesome!"

Reading with the nook color

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 12:41:41 -0500

I've been looking at the various e-reader/tablet options for a while without finding anything compellingly more interesting than my netbook. Android tablets until now have been too slow to be fun to use and are riddled with technical problems, the iPad is too large for easy portability, is nearly as heavy as a netbook, and has a low ppi screen I find insufficient for reading, and the various e-readers didn't have color screens and/or had poor support for DRM-free formats.

Enter the Barnes and Noble nook color; this device has the better portability I am looking for, something I can slip into my coat pocket when I head to the coffee shop, a reasonably high ppi screen I find comfortable to read, and supports DRM-free ePub, PDF, and plain text formats. As shown on the screen, it's great for reading comic books in PDF form like Marvel's Complete Iron Man Collection. Gutenberg project ePub books work great on the device, as do other DRM-free ePub books available online directly from publishers. There are also various magazines online in PDF form including Model Railroad Hobbyist.

It has a shop as well, but until such shops are DRM-free I strongly recommend avoiding buying anything from them. Read EFF's The Right to Read before being tempted to purchase DRM materials of any kind, especially with so many other freedom preserving options available online.

Blue and White Fiesta Ware

dmarkle@ashtech.net (Daniel E. Markle) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:44:58 -0400

We've been replacing our worn dishes with made in the USA Fiestaware dishes; Joyce brought these colors home today.

I can't imagine what inspired her to select these colors . . .