After my weekend of motorcycle learning, I stopped off at the DMV today, got my full motorcycle endorsement without a road test based on my MSF completion, and came home ready to ride.
Of course, that would've been too easy.
Based on the advice of seemingly every motorcycle publication I've ever read, I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation of America's Basic Rider Course. Well, sort of. I actually took the Rider's Edge class offered by Harley Davidson, which is the MSF class with some Harley marketing on top. The material is the same, they just redid all the video clips so everyone rides Harleys and Buells. The other nice touch was the bikes we trained on. Rather than a smattering of random 125-200CC dirtbikes, we got to ride Buell Blasts around all day. Not exactly a super-machine, but they had enough go to keep everyone happy. I was lucky, I signed up in early July and wasn't scheduled to go until mid-September, but I requested to be on the waiting list, and after some cancelations early last week, I was in. More course details below.
Man, it's been a busy year,
I need to start working on a new todo list.
This past weekend was the "SigEp All Star Weekend - Chicago Status" trip, and as usual, it was a wild time. Everyone had a good time, everyone felt way too old by the time Sunday rolled around, and only one of us was involved with any sort of security personnel coughSparkycough.
Plus, we got to go to a ballgame at Wrigley field, which was fantastic. The bleachers at that place are a site to behold. Good times.
In this this Blizzard Press release, I'd like to point out the following (emphasis mine):
Additionally, Blizzard North will be streamlining their teams into one core group in order to focus their development efforts on one key project.
It's StarCraft 2.
Please, please let it be StarCraft 2 before all the remaining Blizzard core folks leave. Blizzard is the one gaming company that can legitimately claim to have never put out a bad game. For crying out loud, they're like 10-0. Here's to hoping that the recent exodus of developers doesn't cause that streak to end.
So, for the non-losers out there, Star Wars: Galaxies (or /.'s take)was just released. I've read ALL of the reviews, and most are quite favorable. I'm hoping my upcoming trips, a southern visitor or two, and my newfound mobility will keep me from caving in. More likely, I'll just use a cheaper and shorter crack substitute. Don't get sucked in....don't get sucked in....but it's soooo pretty....don't get sucked in...