Tag bern 2016

Although I don’t think Trump is a viable political candidate, I do find his campaign extremely entertaining.  Yesterday he decided to lash out at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who evidently dared to say something negative about Donald.  It doesn’t really matter what your background is, if you say something bad about Trump he will find the time to throw a few “idiots” and “losers” your way.

I thought Chris Christie put the Trump hoopla into perspective during an interview I saw on Fox News at the gym.  He reminded the host that 4 years ago at this time Michelle Bachman was leading the polls for the GOP.  Although I still think it is unlikely, I actually hope Donald manages to somehow win the nomination and further hope Bernie Sanders is his opponent.  It would be absolutely hilarious to see Trump throwing endless personal attacks at Bernie and have them bounce off  like teflon.  Bernie absolutely will not participate in smear tactics.  It would be one hell of a show.

Prep continued last night for the race and departure that are both coming up this weekend. I have many fragments floating around in my head of things to get done before now and then.  I need to make sure it all gets pulled together.

Hey it’s Throwback  Thursday.  When I was a kid I was really into riding toys.  I had a number of them.  The farm I grew up on was a good place for them with many hills as well as a long, gradually sloped driveway, perfect for gravity powered vehicles.

Before a bicycle became my primary transportation I had four different “vehicles”.  Two of them were purely gravity powered.  One was a soapbox style car that my dad built for me from a kit.  It had a conventional steering system, complete with steering wheel that cleverly used a dowel and rope to control direction.  Unfortunately as the rope stretched the steering got progressively more sloppy.  It had a hand brake that consisted of a piece of wood that applied friction to one of the back wheels.  Despite my dad putting a lot of work into the project it never got an equivalent amount of riding time.

The other gravity only vehicle got even less use, an old riding mower with the engine removed.  Driving this was cool as it almost felt like a real car.  The coolness quickly faded when it came time to push the thing back up the hill.  It weighed a ton.  As a result the old mower spent most of it’s time in the barn.

The two pedal powered toys I had where the Big Wheel and the Green Machine.  The Big Wheel was the status quo of riding toys, everyone had one.  It’s light weight and reliable steering made it a solid choice for most riding conditions.  I do recall thinking that I always felt cramped in the riding position.

My favorite riding toy of all time was the Green Machine. I remember when I opened it on Christmas feeling like I hit the jackpot.  It’s aggressive styling and unheard of rear wheel, lever based steering made the toy unique and difficult for the average kid to master.   The steering on the toy wwas both a good and bad thing.  It was bad for conventional steering and became very twitchy at speed. It however was awesome for doing power slides.  I loved pedaling my ass off and then throwing the steering levers in opposite directions, sending the Green Machine into and instant tail spin.   It’s extended riding position was also unmatched in comfort.

I miss the days when the major decision I had to make for the day was which toy I was going to ride.