All our vehicles are belong to us!

Last night, I made the final payment on the VRod so now have a garage full of completely paid off vehicles and we plan to keep it that way for a long time. As soon as I submitted the payment, I went into the garage and announced to the car and two bikes, "Attention, you no longer belong to the banks, you are ours". I didn't detect any reaction from them but I knew they were smiling on the inside. It's a great feeling knowing that a big liability like car/bike payments are no longer in our financial picture. 

I know it's a big hardship on most people when they get laid off but it has been one of the best things that could have happened to me. It made us re-examine our priorities and forced us to made some changes that have been very empowering. The next few months will be interesting because my severance ends tomorrow so we'll no longer be "DINKs". Of course, the big thing that lets all this happen is the NK part of that acronym.

Hello 2010!

It's a new year, so I figured a new post is in order.

For many, including Karen and me, 2009 was not exactly a stellar year. It started out well enough and included some nice trips to places like the Panama Canal, Cancun, New York, and even a short visit to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. It also had some very low points like the passing of Karen's mother and my being laid off. It ended on a very uplifting note though, with my decision to not go back to working in a corporate environment but to do whatever it is that makes me happy.

Karen has also been fortunate in her career to get into a position away from what she's been doing for the past 30 years and to focus more on what she loves. She's still with the IRS but working with a group that handles communications for one of the handful of main branches in the IRS. She is thrilled with the new job because it combines the security and benefits of a government job with the opportunity for her to use her highly developed communication skills. The security aspect of her job is allowing me to not have to go back to work just to make a lot of $$ so we're both thankful for that.

Being a firm believer in whatever you do on New Year's Day is what you will do the rest of the year, With that in mind, we both went out for lunch to our favorite BBQ restaurant, Jim 'N Nicks. I also make it a point to go out for a ride on the motorcycle, even if it's just a short ride. Fortunately, the weather has cooperated every year that I've been riding, beginning in 2004, and this year was no exception. It's a brisk 44° but sunny and I just got back from a 20 minute ride on the Softail. Karen wants to spend more time playing her harp so I returned home to hear the melodious tones of her rendition of Pachelbel's Canon.

One thing we avoid doing is laundry. There is an old wive's tale that says if you do any laundry on New Year's Day, you'll wash someone out of your life so we make it a point not to do any. Oh, and since I'm posting a blog entry, I plan to do more of that this year. After all, I'll have more time and energy since I won't have my life force being drained from a life in Cubeville.

So, here's to hoping 2010 is a better year for everybody. Go out and do something you enjoy today.

Snow blankets the north

Snow blankets the north

Down here, we saw only rain

Where are our snow days?

My retirement from software development

I've been out of work since July 16 following a reorganization at my former employer, Automatic Data Processing (ADP). In the 4-1/2 months since that time, I have done a lot of thinking about what I want out of a career and have come to the conclusion that corporate software development isn't it.

I have been in the software industry for almost 30 years, starting with a programmer job in the computer room at Marconi Avionics while I was CO-OPing as a student at Georgia Tech in 1979. Back in those days, I loved the challenge of designing and running programs on the refrigerator-sized mini computers. With the introduction of the Apple Macintosh in 1984, the software engineering bug bit really hard and I was fortunate enough to be a Mac developer for one of the first companies in the Atlanta area to produce programs for the new system.

I even enjoyed developing programs on the new (at that time) Windows platform when the company decided Mac software just wasn't in their future. But after 20 or so years of PC and Windows development, the thrill wore off and the passion for creating new programs just wasn't there anymore. I found that my best skills were in debugging the older systems because I've always liked fixing things and solving problems. For the last 12 years, that's basically what I've been doing and I've enjoyed it for the most part.

When I found myself looking for a job, my first thoughts naturally went toward getting a position in software development, mostly because I was familiar with the field but also because I could probably get a good salary with which I was also comfortable. I knew the job market was tight but after looking around, I found there were a lot more job openings for software engineers that I originally realized. The problem being, it was an employer's market and they wanted specific skills in newer languages with which I was not experienced. Either that or they wanted someone who had done a lot of contract jobs. As an older, long-term company employee familiar with older technology, it was hard for me to stand out among the younger engineers. I began to think "Do I really want to get back into software or do I want to do something that makes me happy?"

This past weekend, Karen and I had a long talk about what I really wanted to do. Back in July, when all this started, I was pretty sure I could find something in 3 months or less but the more I was away from the bump and grind of the software world, the less inclined I was go get back into it. Last week, I had an interview with a large company for a position that I felt was right up my alley and that my experience would make me a good fit. During the interview, I was grilled on my knowledge of the C++ programming language, one I've been using for 10 years. The position wasn't actually for a C++ developer so I wasn't prepared for those kinds of questions and the whole experience made me feel like an idiot. It hammered home the point that I just wasn't motivated enough to want to get back into software engineering, at least not working for someone else.

With all of these thoughts swirling around in my head, it didn't surprise me when Karen asked me last week "What would you think about being a 'House Husband'?" At first I thought she might be joking because that would mean having to drastically rearrange our finances but I realized she was kind of serious. Even though I had told her 2 months ago that I wanted to get back into software, she sensed that I may not really want to do that. I expressed my lack of motivation for writing code and also my concerns that we not run into any money problems. We sat down, went over our budget and came up with several ideas that would make the transition from two relatively equal incomes down to a single income almost painless. The biggest stipulation was that I had to at least do something.

So, with a plan in hand, we decided that I would officially retire from the world of corporate software development and look into doing something that stirs my soul. I still have an interest in technology but if I'm going to be a software engineer, it will be for me and not for someone else. One of my biggest interests is diving so I've been taking classes to get my Dive Control Specialist rating through a local dive shop. This is the equivalent of a Dive Master and with it, I can work in the Dive Immersion Program at the aquarium, something I've been wanting to do since they introduced the program last year. I also have a penchant for fixing things and tinkering with my motorcycle so I might also like working at a local Harley-Davidson dealer. I love cooking too and have actually talked to the manager at our favorite BBQ restaurant about working in the kitchen. He said they might use me as a prep cook if I was serious.

In the meantime, I'll be helping Karen with some administrative work she needs done for her voice-over business such as calling potential clients, sending out mailers or demos, updating her website, and directing her auditions. I also plan on doing some housework including painting and repairs while she's working. It's part of the deal we made so she won't feel jealous of the fact that she's the one who has to go to work while I get to stay home (although she actually works from home 4 days a week now).

New Arnott's Air Ride shocks on the VRod

Having some time on my hands these days, I decided to install a new set of air shocks on the VRod. I have a friend on one of the forums I frequent whose family owns Arnott, Inc., a leading air suspension manufacturing company, respected by many VRod owners. She gave me a fantastic deal on the kit I would need for the VRod so I ordered it and got it installed this afternoon.

The suspension I got replaced the stock rear shocks that originally came on the VRod. Here are some before and after pictures, along with a few details about the installation:

This is how the rear suspension looked before the Air Rides were put on. One of my goals is to reduce the amount of chrome/silver on the bike so removing the stock shocks is a good thing.

The first step then, was to remove the seat and the right and left shocks:

Once the original shocks were removed, the next step was to install the air pump. The shocks are raised by adding air from a pump that is installed in the airbox. Here is what the bike looks like with the airbox removed. The battery is in front (with the red cover over the positive terminal) and the white plastic coolant tank is in back:

Mounting the air pump was easy and only required drilling 2 small holes in the front part of the plastic airbox. Here is the airbox with one of the holes, circled in red:

And here is the airbox reinstalled with the mounted pump:

Activating the pump or releasing air is done through two buttons mounted to the left switch housing on the handlebars. Pressing one button starts the pump and pressing the other opens a valve in a manifold that distributes air to both shocks:

The next step was to install the air shocks themselves. They are very well made and being all black, help to complete the dark look I have been going for. The installation was simple, just bolt them in. I had to do a little manipulation of the bike lift to move the back wheel into the right position.

NOTE: If you are installing these, they look the same but the threaded hole where the air line attaches should be toward the inside to keep the lines hidden. I have circled a small, knurled knob that is used to adjust the flow of oil in the shock, letting you set it for a stiffer or smoother ride:

After the shocks were installed, the next step was to install the air distribution manifold. The instructions suggest putting it under the seat. There is a perfect spot for it with a single mounting hole already drilled into the metal bracket/pan where the ECM electronics are located (under the passenger pillion):

The manifold kit comes with a metal bracket that can be installed in several ways to accommodate mounting it in numerous configurations. In the picture, the manifold is attached to the black shelf with a single bolt which is also used for the ground wire coming off the air release valve of the manifold. The air pump hose attaches to the silver fitting on the left side and the hoses going to the two shocks attach to the two gold fittings in front. The gold bolt looking thing on the right is an air release muffler that can be adjusted to change the speed at which the shocks are lowered. This is so the bike won't slam down when you let air out of them.

The final step was to hook up all the wiring. The kit comes with a fuse connector, relay, and quick release crimp-on connectors. Getting everything hooked up wasn't difficult but I found that my wire crimping skills were a bit lacking so I ended up soldering several of the connectors after they were crimped just to make sure they made a good connection. The hardest part was finding a place for all the wires so they would stay hidden. Fortunately, the kit comes with plenty of black zip ties so I was able to bunch the wires together, zip them and tuck them in behind the left side cover. I didn't get any pictures of this as it was a pretty tangled mess.

Before putting all the parts back on, I tested the shocks to make sure they worked, which they did. It takes about 8-10 seconds to raise the bike and about 3-4 seconds to drop it. Here are two pictures of the new shocks, the top is when they are fully extended and the bottom, fully lowered:

And the completed bike:

Overall, I think the look is fantastic and I cannot speak highly enough about Arnott's products and customer service. If you have a question or problem with the installation, they are more than happy to help you out.

To complete the lowered look I have some fork springs from Progressive Suspension (part number 10-1565) on order that will drop the front end by 1-2". I'll give up some lean angle on cornering but I think the overall look will be much better than stock. Oh, and one thing I found is that raising the bike makes it much easier to slide the bike lift under it. No more rocking the bike back and forth while sliding the lift underneath to get it to go all the way under the frame.