I’ve made a number of decisions in the last few weeks, so I figure it’s probably about time to blog and inform the world – since we know everyone cares. In addition to various decisions, I’ll throw in some other random tidbits with no real point whatsoever, in keeping with the true spirit of blogging.

To start, my Canon Digital Rebel XT needs to be sent in for warranty repairs. I’ve got some bad pixels and it irritates me greatly. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t a huge deal – I can always use the clone tool to blot out the offending BRIGHT GREEN pixels in my images, but really gets old fast. The camera is still under warranty, so I’ll send it in for a new one – hopefully it doesn’t have the same issues at any point. Another option is to do the warranty deal, then sell the returned body and upgrade to a 20D or something.

The Suzuki has 9700 miles on it right now, and has done quite well the whole time. Just this weekend I led some friends on a fun blast across GA 190 (see my flickr for photos). My friends were surprised at how well the little SV650S showed it’s stuff. Granted I’d like to think the rider had a little to do with that, but the platform certainly wasn’t hindering me any. Having virtually all of my peak torque available throughout the powerband lets me do things like concentrate on the right line, instead of doing a tap dance on the shifter to keep the engine “in the zone”. If I’m not stalling out or lugging, I know that when I roll on the throttle I’m going to power out of the turn hard, regardless of gear.

Having nearly 10,000 miles on the clock already, it’s getting to be about time to change out my brakes and investigate the clutch. There’s some squeaking to be heard from the front, so I know I’m getting due for new pads. While I’m in there I’ll go ahead and upgrade my brake lines to some stainless units front and back. I may also change pad compounds for more aggressive braking, not that I think it’s completely required that I do so. My clutch doesn’t slip or do anything to make me think it needs to be replaced, but checking can’t hurt anything, so I’ll do that in about 1300 miles when I do my next oil change.

Also related to motorcycling, I’m going to be doing some gear shuffling. While I like my leather gear it isn’t very practical (or very cool in the temperature sense). Not having a full circumference zipper, the jacket is of no use to me beyond street riding – it also has no liner, which just flat sucks when it gets cold out. The leather pants are a little better, having the appropriate zipper, and removable CE armor in the knees – but they lack sliders, and don’t fit on over regular pants at all. I’ve recently worn a Joe Rocket textile jacket that was comfortable, and quite cool – it also has a zipper in back to connect to a pair of pants, and a liner for when it gets cold. Bonus points for being “waterproof”. What I suspect I will be doing is offloading the street leather gear, and buying a set of one piece race leathers for truly spirited riding, and eventually track days. I’ll also be looking at getting a textile suit for my street/cross-country riding, simply to reduce the quantity of stuff I have to bring with me.

By now you’re probably wondering what decision I talked about earlier, if you’re even still reading this. Computer Science holds little interest for me anymore, so continuing my major in that field makes no sense. Those that knew me many years ago when I was at UTA, know I was a Mechanical Engineering major – and that is the major I will be going back to. Effectively, I’ll be a freshman again, even though I’ve got all my core classes out of the way, and a good number of CS courses as well.

Some may wonder where I plan on going, and the answer is Lamar University. The vast majority of my family and my girlfriend live in the Beaumont/Pt. Arthur area. The school is still accredited, and with a family full of engineers I’m sure I can manage to get any questions I have answered in short order. Finding a place to live, and a job to pay for personal expenses should not be that difficult – and I’ve got the G.I Bill to cover school. I’ll drop the hammer on this as soon as I get out of the Army.

That’s pretty much it for now.