First Update of 2016: So far, so good
https://twitter.com/BikerWolfSDA/status/682796162248736768
Like I said in the above tweet, my New Year's Resolution is to get back to posting here more frequently. Let's see if I can at least do better than last year. ;)
I guess I'll start the main part of this update with the situation regarding my motorcycle. I finally called the repair shop about it and had to leave a message, and then the shop owner called me back later that afternoon. (This was the Monday before Xmas, by the way.) What he basically told me was that it needs so much work done to make it street-legal again that repairing it would cost a lot more than it's worth and it would be better in the long run to just replace it. He also reminded me that his mechanic has a bike in storage that he wants to sell, and it's the same model as mine, just a few years newer and with less mileage. I think in a previous time that we talked about it I was told that it was blue. I'd be all for getting a newer Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD (mine is a 2001) regardless of the color, but I just don't have $1800 lying around. Also, the Flex Funds my dad and I would have tried to get would have only paid for repairs, not a replacement vehicle. So, I don't know what to do. Now that I think about it, I'm kinda surprised that I'm not more upset about this situation. Weird.
I think the motorcycle stuff was the most important information I had to report in this update, but I'd also like to mention some computer stuff. I've started using some programs I learned about on http://lifehacker.com/, specifically on Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Essential Windows Apps. Actually, I already had a few of the programs on that list: Chrome, Skype, VLC and 7-Zip. But last month, I downloaded and started using dupeGuru to find a bunch of duplicate files that I could then delete. I just got the Standard Edition, but I'm thinking I should probably get the Picture Edition to go with it; I really don't need the Music Edition, so I can skip that one. Anyway, that List of the Essential Windows Apps had a link to https://ninite.com/, where I could select from a bunch of programs which ones to install and get updated automatically. I decided to try it to see if I could get OpenOffice 4.1.2 that way since every other attempt I had made up to that point had failed, as I reported in my previous Journal update. I also decided to select Foxit Reader since a version newer than the one I had was available. So, I managed to get both programs downloaded and installed, although the first attempt at installing OpenOffice failed and I had to re-try it once. The important thing here is that I started the new year by successfully obtaining the latest version of a program which my previous inability to get had been driving me crazy. :D
Last thing for this update: I'll be 33 on the 4th of next month, and I think I'm starting to feel old. On that note, I'm gonna brush my teeth and go to bed, right after I post this and tweet it.
Like I said in the above tweet, my New Year's Resolution is to get back to posting here more frequently. Let's see if I can at least do better than last year. ;)
I guess I'll start the main part of this update with the situation regarding my motorcycle. I finally called the repair shop about it and had to leave a message, and then the shop owner called me back later that afternoon. (This was the Monday before Xmas, by the way.) What he basically told me was that it needs so much work done to make it street-legal again that repairing it would cost a lot more than it's worth and it would be better in the long run to just replace it. He also reminded me that his mechanic has a bike in storage that he wants to sell, and it's the same model as mine, just a few years newer and with less mileage. I think in a previous time that we talked about it I was told that it was blue. I'd be all for getting a newer Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD (mine is a 2001) regardless of the color, but I just don't have $1800 lying around. Also, the Flex Funds my dad and I would have tried to get would have only paid for repairs, not a replacement vehicle. So, I don't know what to do. Now that I think about it, I'm kinda surprised that I'm not more upset about this situation. Weird.
I think the motorcycle stuff was the most important information I had to report in this update, but I'd also like to mention some computer stuff. I've started using some programs I learned about on http://lifehacker.com/, specifically on Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Essential Windows Apps. Actually, I already had a few of the programs on that list: Chrome, Skype, VLC and 7-Zip. But last month, I downloaded and started using dupeGuru to find a bunch of duplicate files that I could then delete. I just got the Standard Edition, but I'm thinking I should probably get the Picture Edition to go with it; I really don't need the Music Edition, so I can skip that one. Anyway, that List of the Essential Windows Apps had a link to https://ninite.com/, where I could select from a bunch of programs which ones to install and get updated automatically. I decided to try it to see if I could get OpenOffice 4.1.2 that way since every other attempt I had made up to that point had failed, as I reported in my previous Journal update. I also decided to select Foxit Reader since a version newer than the one I had was available. So, I managed to get both programs downloaded and installed, although the first attempt at installing OpenOffice failed and I had to re-try it once. The important thing here is that I started the new year by successfully obtaining the latest version of a program which my previous inability to get had been driving me crazy. :D
Last thing for this update: I'll be 33 on the 4th of next month, and I think I'm starting to feel old. On that note, I'm gonna brush my teeth and go to bed, right after I post this and tweet it.