I Hate Blog Titles

PrimalCon Fun

2013-04-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

This year's PrimalCon in Oxnard, CA was a lot of fun. Between the great weather, food and fun there is too much to cover here. Google it.... or click this... Recap of the event

The grass-fed beef, the fresh (slightly undercooked) salmon, the bacon and piles and piles of salad was all delicious.

I got to crush a part of the Earth over and over with my body in an attempt to stand on a slackline. The people there were cool and it is very much worth the trip. Here is me on the last day.

Adventures in Wiring

2013-04-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Last night when I left work I got a text message from my neighbor (damn, this is an exciting way to start off) asking where I was. Apparently the lower level of his house had power in about every other opening. I tested to see where had power and where there was none; next thing I did was to make sure something inductive worked there.

After removing the nearby plate covers, I found several bundles of wires that looked awful. The people who lived there before must have had a fear of neat electrical junction boxes. After 2 hours of testing plugs and re-doing the neutral bundles, we found one that when you jiggle the box, the lights come back and BAM! There is the missing neutral….

We opened up that plug, which this guy has never used in 2 years at the house and found a ratty job, a crushed up box and a small burn mark on the wire nut as well as the loose wire. So, there must be monsters who go around loosening wire nuts just slightly. That is all I can figure, so it must be the answer.

Anyway, after just over two hours of re-doing every outlet in the garage and about half those in the downstairs living area, it works. I finally went in my place at about 9:15 and made food (which is actually breakfast) and went to bed.

Here is one example, though not the culprit) of the wiring in the house.

One year

2013-04-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

Today marks one year of my business (not according to the state, but rather when I chose to officially “open”) and it has been fantastic. First, I have met a bunch of great, honest people who are asking me to do work that they either don’t have the time for or are simply over their head with; lots of my customers are enthusiasts in the field.

So, with the recent madness that is the gun-grabbing, ammo hoarding and all this other nonsense, I have a couple things to offer (you’re welcome 6 readers).

· Price gouging saves lives

· Free market, given a lack of regulation, wins every time

· Prices should be what the economy should bare

· Don’t bust your ass to save $6 on a $550 purchase (yes, I have had one person tell me they could save $6 online)

· Honest work gets more work: a la “get more flies with honey, etc”

Hey-ooooo… So yeah.. there is another April 2^nd post on here from years back. Consider it overwritten.

Holler back at ya boy!

Shrinky Dinks

2013-03-18T17:19:00.001-07:00

Anyone remember Shrinky Dinks? Those little plastic, probably horrible-caustic, deals that you would put in the oven and shrink… anyway, that is how my stomach is… boooyah!! After 8 days on a nice tight ketogenic diet, I can already see the results I am looking for. After a hard Sunday kettlebell workout, I feel great and continue all efforts to sleep well.

I called the local tanning place today, and felt like a douchebag while doing so, in order to prepare my oh-so-fair skin for the sun of California. I do not want to be a crispy critter after my first game of Frisbee, but that might happen; If I wear a green hat they’d call me Sriracha…. Yeah, let’s not…

You can’t tell by this page and my 6 readers don’t care, but I was touching up on my HTML and CSS skills today and it is all coming back. Hey, perhaps eventually I’ll get off my ass and fix myself a dope-ass website for my business.

Also, tomorrow is like Christmas!! It’s the 10 year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war!! That was fun times for all involved. Lots of surfing, some high fiving and ultimately a positive effect on our world.

Peace.

Day whatever... no one cares...

2013-03-11T17:22:00.001-07:00

Today makes day 7 from my no-booze-to-escape-from-reality-time…. Weeeee don’t I sound like a winner? Ha! Seriously though, I am now in the process of gearing up to feel awesome for PrimalCon 2013 in Oxnard, CA so I can chill in the sun, play Frisbee, eat badass food and hopefully not screw myself up trying to slackline.

Watching me on a slackline will most likely look like a baby giraffe trying to ice skate or something equally-stupid, but maybe someone gets it on film. Meh. Two new fricken sweet supplements I have been taking to mitigate stress are Holy Basil Leaf, in liquid drop form and Phosphatidyl serine in capsules. Even if they aren’t doing ANYTHING, I still feel great and whatever. Placebo effect still works, so party on Garth!

Hey-oooo!!

3 months til Primal-Con

2013-01-13T15:19:00.001-08:00

Since getting my kettlebells and learning some of the many techniques, I have tried to work out with them weekly. I feel a lot stronger from just the first few sessions and I certainly feel good. Today I am 220 pounds and I am working toward performance goals instead of numbers on a scale.

Basically, I need to find metrics for a goal that will be something like number of pullups, 400m sprint time, max # of Turkish Get-Ups in one minute, etc to use as a goal. My left shoulder really gives me some grief when using the bells, but that is nothing new; one of these days I will go have them lightsaber it out.

E'erbody Be Calling Me!

2012-12-17T06:35:00.001-08:00

Since the tragedy that happened last week in Connecticut last week, I have had people calling in droves to get their hands on varied items before any bans are proposed. I’m just trying to curb their enthusiasm. Calm the fuck down people. That is all.

Wall of Warmth and Security

2012-11-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

My garage was terribly cold and hard to get the motivation to work in. Since I sold the Versys and the dirt bike, I have more room to work and I decided to build a wall. Garry (handsome man in the Cereal Killer shirt) helped me frame it in, hang the drywall and plywood and install the door. I did the insulation myself after he left on day one, but that was quick and easy. Day two lasted all of 2 hours as hanging drywall is pretty straight forward.

The garage now stays about 59 degrees all the time and outside temps are usually below freezing. I have a small heater in there that kicks on when it dips below 64, but only when I am out there. The option of a warm room is great in assisting with curing and other “room temp” activities. Pretty soon here I will be building two more benches, some shelves and running some more circuits for machinery.

A customer came in last night and saw the wall and was impressed that I had built it since he had been in two weeks prior. I am going at this as hard as I can without it becoming a burden, so someday I will tear this thing down and work out of a separate space; all in good time.

Saiga 12 build V2.0

2012-11-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

I have done several Saiga builds over the last couple years and this time I am going as fast as I can in an effort to see what the quickest possible turnaround time would be. The first pic was at the 23 minute point if I am remembering clearly and the second was at about 30 even. The grip screw hole was cut, some parts were slapped in and the hammer was ground down to allow full range of motion and I re-colored the receiver; to this point it was about 1:30 of solid pit crew work.

Last night I fitted the Mako folding stock which took all of 10 minutes, but I will have to be creative with where to shave what in order for it to lock in the folded position without making it look obscene when open. Clearance issues will make or break any machine as well as draw undue attention to it.

So…. Tl;dr Most people don’t care about guns like I do, but this is fun. The completed shotty should come in at about the 3 hour mark and be fun and cool. My buddy will be pleased at the progress and hopefully enjoy it for years to come.

Saving Some MON-AAAYYY!!

2012-11-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

Last year I tried to refinance my castle and got kicked in the proverbial nads due to my credit score. I had even worked a night shift at a new job site to pick up some overtime and was woken up with a denial phone call. Sweet!

So, I tried to re-fi again this year and have not been holding my breath. This morning, I was woken up by a call from the bank saying that it was all approved! This is great news. The interest rate is going down by almost 3% and I am changing insurance companies; turns out I’ve been paying nearly double for insurance for the last four years.

Below are a few examples of what I can now afford each month due to my savings!

· 91 pounds of grass-fed organic ground beef at Bill the Butcher

· 279 cans of C20 coconut water. (Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night… all day)

· Four new tires for my car

· Fancy smart phone without contract

· 110 Pumpkin spice lattes

· Full service on the Subaru’s front and rear differentials.

· 29 boxes of ammo for my .45

Getting the picture now?

Actually, this just means I’ll stress less and not actually GET more. It is something that, on the surface, seems like extra cash, but I’ll be doing my best to put this “breathing room” to use.

Holler back

Zombie blog... I'm back!!

2012-11-09T07:13:00.001-08:00

So… it’s been super long since I have added anything here… updates since last post are the following

· My friend Ken died October 13^th, peacefully in his home.

· Managed to not shoot a deer all season

· Business is picking up and I have been learning more and more all the time

· Quit school (not as tragic as some might think) and I feel great!

· Been making lots of changes to the shop

· Sold the Versys and the Honda; I am motorcycle free.

Aside from these bullet points, I have just been doing the norm. Eating a semi-strict Primal or Paleo diet has kept the pounds off, kept me in less pain and my family annoyed.

What Day is it Now?

2012-07-31T10:36:00.001-07:00

Sheesh… First of all, I sound like a wino for even starting a blog post about this, but since I even HAVE a blog that pretty much throws my decency out the window. Today is day 15 of my 30 days without alcohol and it’s been fine. I mean, there have been a few times that I would have enjoyed a beer, but it probably would have been more than one or perhaps a 22oz one.

I have a “Hop in the Dark” by Deschutes, waiting for me when I complete this test of my will and sanity. I suppose this small period of time will help me lose the last few pounds that I am packing around, but if not I don’t really know. Maybe I sleep better, but that’s still undecided.

Last night would have been a nice night for a cigar… yeah…. Sitting on the deck taunting the chickens and enjoying the sun set.

Personality test

2012-07-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Eysenck's Test Results

Extraversion (72%) high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.
Neuroticism (36%) moderately low which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.
Psychoticism (40%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly kind natured, trusting, and helpful at the expense of your own individual development (martyr complex).

Take Eysenck Personality Test (similar to EPQ-R)
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Versys Gypsy Bikes

2012-07-22T10:52:00.001-07:00

The last long trip for me on the Versys was one to Kalispell, Montana. What an amazing place that is!! Once you get past the locals telling you that your helmet will kill you and apply enough chemicals to deter the bugs that surely will, it's a fun place. It was like camping everywhere we went. I even got to use the Versys for what it was intended for; it is an adventure bike after all.

Riding on the rocky, gravelly roads leading up to our hangout was a trip. A 400+ pound dirt bike (although clearly not a dirt bike) is a bit more fun than it should be. Anyhow, the chances are good that the next trip report of mine will be in a car. Once business picks up some more, I will be getting another bike, but not now.

Learning From the Master

2012-07-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, an old gunsmith who did work on my beloved 1911 pistol offered to teach me the way he does things. Now he might just be the most humble man I have spoken with in a while saying things like “This is just the way I do it, but you should keep an open mind because there is probably something better out there”. Larry is 71 years old, with 45 years of gunsmith work to draw from.

Monday morning I went over to his shop and he taught me how to prepare rifles and pistols for bluing. This is the nice shiny black finish you will see on some new guns and most old ones. The process is very involved and I think the 160 dollars he charges for it is very fair. There is at least an hour worth of setup, some waiting for the chemicals to work and then another hour or so of tear down and clean up.

Yesterday, Larry showed me how he does a trigger job on the 80 series 1911 pistols; these are stupid lawyer guns and Great Grandpa Browning would not be happy to know that some companies have bastardized his perfect creation. Well, after that gun was done, we moved on to something that is a pit fall for many new gunsmiths. The process of glass bedding a rifle stock is something that helps accuracy and also allows for adding strength and minimal weight.

As we prepared the stock, mixed the epoxy and taped off surfaces, we spoke about what it meant to be happy. The most enthralling part of the learning came from that of the time where we waited between steps. Not wanting to make small talk, we spoke about very poignant and remarkable things of Larry’s life. He has been married for 49 or 50 years this coming Friday.

There are more things to write about with this, but it has been such a dramatically wonderful experience for me to learn from someone that knows this trade better than anyone I’ve ever met. I saw the stock that he bedded and subsequently ruined when he was 19 years old; I am happy to see and hear about these stories in hopes that I can avoid these things. I will certainly make errors, but that is only human.

I spent a shit ton of money on supplies today, but I should make it all back with these three jobs that I’m doing tomorrow. Anyway, it has been awesome and will only get better.

Free Mauser: Off to a Bad Start

2012-07-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the Argentine Mauser receiver out of the WD-40 bath and knocked off the major crud with a few taps of a rubber mallet. After this initial removal, I went out and sprayed the part down with some heavy duty oven cleaner. This sounds super ghetto, but the person who told me to do it has been a gunsmith for 45 years and never has a lack of work. The first couple pics of the part on the white rack are with the foaming, caustic spray on there.

After rinsing off the oven cleaner, I dried the part as well as I could and went to work with the sand blast cabinet. Now, my compressor is small and cannot really stand up the rigors of sandblasting for any sort of extended period. Now, I know the part is nowhere near completely clean as I was only trying to free up the action. The bolt release is still stuck shut, so I might have to end up drilling out the screw and knocking the part off.

I am not going to invest any money into the part until I can confirm that the mating surfaces inside the barrel threads and where the locking lugs of the bolt (the thing you crank down to lock the round in the chamber) are fitting well. At a minimum, this will be good practice for me in metal preparation and surface restoration. The stamp is beyond saving as can be seen, but I am sure I can make a good use of the parts somehow.

Good times.

The Initial Haul: Box One of Many

2012-07-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

So, Tom has been mentioned on here before and he is a good friend of mine, but this time he could not make it to get the lathe. What I did get, though, is very interesting. I paid half the money and brought home a ton of tools of all types, reloading dies, cutting tools, files, gun parts and even an old rusty Mauser action. I would like to see how I can get that thing to work here in the not too distant future. That will be an interesting project to say the least because it is rusted shut now and is in an ammo can soaking in WD-40 as I type.

The couple boxes I got were the tip of the iceberg from this purchase. I got very lucky with this lathe deal and the lady who I bought it from is glad that it's going to a good home. I guess the pictures are just a bunch of parts to most people, but do a search for machining bits and you will quickly see why this is a great deal.

Lost and Found Goggy

2012-07-08T09:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday while sorting through my new lathe and gun parts box, this big dog walked up to my oldest son. I was a bit startled at first, but it was not aggressive and was panting heavily. I called to him, but he gave no indication that he heard me. Even when I clapped loudly and whistled, the thirsty thing didn't move. I walked over, knelt down and let him sniff me. I then petted him and took a look at his tags. Luckily, Dakota had tags on and I called his family.

We gave him water and a few minutes later, his human neighbors came to get him. I was surprised at how strong, yet docile this thing was. I mean, it was not huge, but I drastically underestimated Dakota's strength. I have not had the best luck with dogs at this house, so this is a good experience.

A Lathe... Here Goes Nothing

2012-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I’ve posted (I’m a busy dude), but this is a good one. I asked the old gunsmith who did work for me years ago to keep an ear out for any machinery or tools that are selling locally. Well, old Larry came through in a big way and I got hooked up with a customer of his.

The lathe is made back in the 50s or possibly before; it needs some TLC, but I am hopeful. The lady who has it is very nice and made me a fair deal. I have to borrow money to get it, but it will only take me a little bit to pay it back. Anyway, I will post pics when I get it home and set up. It is a Logan 922 and it is HEAVY!!

This is the very first step to my next phase of my gunsmithing dream. With this, I will be able to re-chamber barrels, add threading, fluting and a variety of other things that involve spinning metal. I still have to learn all the ins and outs so I will be taking a class whenever I can. So yeah. Awesome.

Every Single Year....

2012-05-28T12:16:00.002-07:00

Each year, we do this really cool thing in America we call "celebrating Memorial Day" and do so in various ways. Now I'm not going to haul off and bitch about people water-skiing when they should be remembering dead soldiers; I don't care what you do. If you want to remember someone, great... there are 364 other days a year for that too.....

Every year on Memorial Day, I find myself watching war documentaries, scanning through the Faces of the Fallen and old pictures. Do I miss the Army or being gone in a foreign land? Hell no. Do I get a wash of emotions when I see young men firing rifles into buildings and hear the zipping of rounds? Sure. The AK-47 and the RPK are two things you will never forget the sound of; they are so unique a sound due to their construction and design.

I often wonder if I've got any of the old gunslinger left in me, but it doesn't matter now. Still, it's just an errant thought that goes as quickly as it came. My answer to myself is always yes.

Not more than a few hours ago, I was pondering something really deep and meaningful to write and I dismissed it in lieu of this. I used to get emails, phone calls and text messages (I did get a few today) thanking me for my service, but I have to tell them "This isn't meant for me. I'm not dead". I can say, however, with resounding sadness that no person I know who has died in combat has done so for anything other than the men to their left and right at that time.

This has turned out disastrously... well.. here are links to the couple vids of interest I saw today.

Panic, Fear and Frustration

2012-05-07T06:23:00.001-07:00

*Re-posted today... formatting fixed...

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept at all. My entire body hurt and I was exhausted. I realized that I had been tossing and turning all night due to a fucked up dream.

I found myself among an Army unit very similar to my old one, but with nobody I recognized. I was clearly a replacement and was sent to the front lines of the conflict. I had no gear, no clothes beyond what I wore and my rifle had been lost somewhere in shipping. I was frantic as the enemy assaults hit like waves and I continued to duck into bunkers and craters.

I continued to charge into fighting positions, flip over my dead comrades and check their weapons. Each time, the weapon was either broken, missing or otherwise unsuitable. The grim mess of congealed blood and organ tissue was mixing with the mud and ash of the area all over my clothes. I didn't have the sense to strip the dead of their armor, as it hadn't done them any good.

I never saw the enemy, but I heard and felt the tremors caused by their bombardments and their small arms fire. Everywhere in the din of battle I could hear the screams of the dying and the commands of the Sergeants leading our men over the bulkheads. It was so strange of me to not be in the fight.

I met with one soldier who was clearly not in the fight; I tried to get him to give me his rifle. He denied my request, which is smart for him. This entire time, I never lined anyone up in my sights, I never held an operating weapon and I never saw anyone I knew. It was pretty nuts.

------------------------------------

Anyway, yeah... there it is... I woke up feeling like 217 pounds of smashed ass... I slept much better last night.

First Bit of Profit

2012-05-01T17:42:00.001-07:00

With this little teeny bit of profit from my business, I am now only upside down about 235 bucks in licensing costs and a grand in tools. Could be way worse. Today, I set up my first 1911 trigger job and I am stoked. I am really thankful that people in the community believe in me enough to give me the chance. Well, this is a short post because it's not that important of a subject. We shall see what happens over the next few months. Hopefully it will be filled with blog posts about how I have work coming at me left and right and I have tons of spare cash. *fingers crossed*

To the Iraqi People..

2012-04-18T18:04:00.001-07:00

Many things have come to light for me in the last several years that were not so apparent as a young man. I love my country and what it is supposed to stand for. I, and many others like me, was lied to, trained and used as a tool to oppress others. Many of these things were not my fault, but I was there to witness. So, like the man I want to be:

To the people of Iraq,

I’m sorry for helping do to you, what I would never let happen to me or my loved ones. I am sorry for having hate in my heart; bringing my horrible skills to bear upon your brave men is a saddening thing for me in retrospect. I feel guilt for terrifying the people who I was supposedly protecting. I’m sorry for having had the drive to be better at tracking people in my scope, when I should have been opposing the occupation. I’m sorry that I was skilled and able to deal death at extreme ranges; what was once impressive is now repulsive.

Although I will never deserve or receive your forgiveness, know that I am sorry for helping give my people a bad name. We often helped, but more often hurt people. I have joked about the death of others, but cried over those we suffered; no humans should have lost lives on either side. I am sorry for allowing spite, revenge or rage to fill me up and flow over. I’m sorry for being another invader into your sovereign land and removing your civil liberties at gunpoint. I’m sorry for using superior technology and deception to take away your family members. I’m sorry that we removed innocent men from their homes, without cause, in the name of security.

I’m sorry I took away your guns. I’m sorry that your land has been ravaged by war and that men like me and my brothers were your enemy. If we had been born on the same block, we would probably been friends. I’m sorry that my friends glorified me for my successes in battle and boasted about their own. I’m sorry also that the common condition in wartime troops is to dehumanize their opponents to make them easier to mistreat; I am just as guilty of this. I’m sorry for being a part of something our Forefathers fought against.

I’m sorry that I, at one time, thought that the ability to take a life was power. I’m sorry that my country is plagued by young men and women who suffer with guilt over things they did. I’m sorry that we had to kill to ensure the safety of others. I’m sorry that war is ironic at times. I’m sorry that the man in Tal Afar who guarded the bank, who treated us with such kindness, is not able to live in peace. I’m sorry that the Christian family in Mosul, who showed us love, has to live in hiding from sectarian violence.

To the children, I am sorry that you had to witness young American men as monsters. I’m sorry that your childhood was filled with explosions, gunfire and large, armored men kicking in doors. I’m sorry that your soccer fields became a danger zone. I’m sorry that your kindness and wonder was not able to be spent in peace time. There was an old man and a young boy in the car that was hijacked by another man and all three had their hands up. I shot the hijacker when he pulled out a pistol; I am sorry that boy and old man had to fear for their lives.

I’m sorry that it took nearly a decade to leave your land. I am sorry that thousands of peaceful people per year were killed by ordinance, stray bullets or carelessness. We accidentally killed a woman and went to pay reparations to her family; I’m sorry to that husband and those children that his wife and their mother died. I’m sorry that there were so many dinner tables with families waiting for their loved ones to come home, who never did.

I’m sorry that it was “us versus them” and that you paid that price by proximity. I can say that I never targeted an unarmed person with lethal force, but some of my peers may have. I’m sorry that communications get confused, descriptions are vague, maps are not marked clearly and that our judgment is not always sound. I’m sorry that I thought my squad leader was a coward for leading us away from the fighting when he could.

All these things and more are ones I and tens of thousands of military vets get to live with. We all have the chance to make good lives and we have an obligation to work hard accordingly. I saw the error of my ways and now try to teach my friends that respecting others is the only way we will ever evolve as a species. My son asked me “what’s a war?” and it broke my heart. I am glad though, that he has no clue about the horror so many children experience daily.

Wrong number... awesome!!!

2012-04-16T09:07:00.001-07:00

So I had a friend, who grew up with me, was in my wedding and we even both joined the military after high school. He was a Marine Infantryman and I, an Army Infantryman. After two tours in Iraq, he got out and joined the masses of weak, mostly-helpless folks that make up our society. I did one tour in Iraq, doing the same stuff as him and got our a few months after he did. At my 24^th birthday party, he showed up and brought me 200 rounds of .45 ammo; that was a great gift.

Well, at said party, I got drunk as I tend to do at gatherings and began to rant about all the junk I do. The war was a hot topic for me at that time, since I had only been out of the Army for about 5 months at that point. I stressed the fact that is was unjust and that the men we fought in the streets were the same type of people as us. I made the point that we would do the same things to repel invaders in America. We love our country and they love theirs; it is pretty simple.

Well, my buddy didn’t much like my views (probably in part because I lose all sense of tact or kindness when taking vodka shots) and we didn’t speak again. I kept in touch with his dad, but never got details on my friend. We had been close since I was 12.

Well, last night on the way home, I was using my headset on my awesome new phone and thought I’d call his dad to let him know about my business. He has always been a hunter and firearms enthusiast so it is right up his alley. I heard an unfamiliar voice answer and ask me to hold on. Then my friend’s voice came on the line and I was momentarily speechless.

It was suddenly all okay. Four years had gone by and we hadn’t spoken; now he was totally different and speaking just like I had years prior. He apologized, but I told him not to; we all have to take whatever time is needed to heal. It’s just really awesome to, once again, have one of my best friends back. I should see him in the next month or so when he is back in town so that will be great.

It took me arriving home, with him still on the line to realize that I had mistakenly dialed him instead of his dad. Another factor is: I had been transferring contacts all day to the new phone and actually considered not transferring his. I am glad I did.

Home Stretch

2012-03-25T09:25:00.001-07:00

While I am certainly not super close to being debt-free, I am very close to paying off the bike. If not the whole thing, then most of it. The APR jumps to 29% next month and I have known the whole time it was coming. Luckily, my better half is being cool whilst I work 6 days a week to make it happen and dodge the big black shaft of interest.

My impulsive nature is also difficult to justify, if not impossible, and yet I am still overcome from time to time. A prime example is right now; I have a Amazon.com cart full of parts to finish off one project which I know damn well can wait. The reason I didn't just check out is because it is primarily my impulsiveness that got me to the point of needing to work this much (which I am glad to be able to, don't get me wrong) in order to save my own ass.

I would be a fool to fall prey to the allure of the Amazon monster at this point. In a couple months, the ATF will hopefully grant me my Federal Firearms License (FFL) so I can finally begin to get customers and make some money. Anyway, it has been great so far. The bike more than pays for itself when I ride it. I get to make it home faster due to carpool lane and also save 5 bucks a day in gas alone. It's damn cold though.