It Was A Busy Weekend, But I Got It All Done.

     I got a lot accomplished this weekend. I was off on Friday, so that helped out a bit. I got my channel trailer finished. I didn't get all the footage that I wanted, so I made do with what I got, and I really like the way it turned out. I'm pretty proud of myself for this one. I know that I will get better with the editing, but this exceeds anything I've done to this point. I can always make a new trailer in the future, or I can just make a new video in this fashion without it being a trailer for the channel, either way, it was the most fun I've had so far doing these videos. I guess I should show you the video. I got it live yesterday, because I couldn't wait, as I said, I'm pretty proud of it.



     Please take some time and give it a view. It's 4 minutes and 43 seconds of pure adrenaline and beauty. Well, I guess the beauty part is subjective, but it's what I think is beautiful about this area. In reality, this is what I set out to show you when I started making these videos. I think I will do more like this in the future, and get better of hitting the beat with the edits.

     Before all that happened though, I went to the birthday of a 1 year old. My very good friends were honoring their 1 year old and they were on this side of the state, so I had to go. I wasn't going to miss it even if I did have to head over to St. Pete for it, but they were here. It was fun, I rode Saki there, because I wasn't passing up a clear sky evening. I don't know how it happened, but I ended up with the 1 yr old. I don't have kids, so I don't hold them very often at all, but there I was holding a tiny little kid. She was a good kid, she just sat there and smiled, it could have been gas from all the pizza she ate, but I like to think it was my charm, or at least I was funny looking. She started climbing and I had to get instructions on proper baby handling from dad. I succeeded and the baby was ok.

     On my way home, I had a car pull out right in front of me. I thought about filming that night, but decided against it, since the party should be a private thing for family and friends, so I didn't get it on video. Here is the best part, as I had to slow down at a high rate of speed, and hit the horn. Admittedly probably a little too long, but hey, I get a little perturbed when someone nearly kills me. Here is what happened as I sat behind them. I didn't want to cut off the car to the left of me, even though they saw what was happening and they backed off to give me room to escape if needed. The passenger in the car, threw their cigarette out the window to try and hit me. Too bad I was on the driver side of the road, so it went wizzing by me. When I saw the car to my left fall back even more and then turn off, I cranked it and flew by the car that had cut me off. They tried to chase me, but there was no way they could keep up. I didn't do anything rude, I just wanted to get away from them, so I looked at them as I passed and that was it. It was the "I'm looking at you because you are a jerk" look. I guess that upset them. I got home safe without any harm to me or the other vehicle. They should consider themselves lucky. I've seen plenty of videos where riders have busted the mirrors of people that have done stuff half as bad as what they did.

     The next day was Saturday, and that was film day. I had invited 3W to come along on the ride. I knew full well that he would bail on me, and sure enough he did. I give too many people the benefit of the doubt, but that is ending with him. This was my final invitation to do anything with him. He called off at the last minute because of the rain. As you saw in the video, I rode in that rain and even did something rather stupid going over a bridge in that windy rainy condition, but I needed footage like that for the video. He saw rain as a horror, and I saw it as a challenge. I won't get better as a rider if I don't push the envelope from time to time. You have to balance on that edge sometimes in order to get better. It's like anything in life. You can sit on the sidelines safe and sound, or you can take a small risk and push yourself beyond previous limits, and become something better. I refuse to sit on the sidelines.

     When I got home from the ride, there was a package waiting for me. I had ordered a few things for Saki. Since I dropped Saki last week, I decided it was finally time to get a little protection against that. I ordered new bar ends, since one of them got damaged in the fall, and frame sliders that would definitely help out, if Saki ever fell over again.

     









     I'm a sucker for good packaging, and the frame sliders and bar ends were nicely packaged. All of it was from a company called Puig. The bar ends were a carbon fiber looking material. They aren't real carbon fiber, but they have that appearance.

     They are weighted differently than the stock bar ends, so there was a little vibration in the bars. It wasn't anything that would cause me any problems. Maybe on a long ride, I might get hand fatigue, but I have ways of dealing with that. Lessons you learn from riding. I chose the Puig Racing frame sliders, because they had a sleeker look than most frame sliders. The normal frame sliders, are just long hard rubber cylinders. They are more function than fashion, and I wanted both for Saki. These do the trick and look good as well.

     In that last picture, you can see them sticking out about half way up. You can see how they will protect the fairings in the event of a fall, or even worse, if I go down riding. Nothing is perfect, but these will save me some damage. This was my first time taking the fairings completely off, and sadly I didn't think to get any pictures of Saki letting it all hang out. I did have the windscreen off for that last one though, and Saki looks pretty rad like that. I've since put it back on. I wouldn't go out riding like that anyway. I'm too worried about something getting messed up that normally wouldn't if that was on there. 

     I only had small difficulties with the fairings, but I moved passed it pretty easily. Plus it gave me a lot of confidence for when I do tear everything down and paint it. That is still far off in the future though. I think I already mentioned that I need to get all the equipment and then learn how to use it properly first. I'm going to practice like a madman before I even think about laying the first coat of paint on Saki. I have one last really cool picture of Saki for you. After everything was bolted back on,  I wheeled Saki out of the garage and got a nighttime shot. It came out really cool.

     Oh, Just noticed when I was grabbing that one, that I do have one more picture for you. It was also a nighttime shot, but in this one, you can see the damage and the repair from the fall. Like I said before, it looks better, but nowhere near perfect, and this shot you can see why.

     Just look to the left of the R and you will see it. You will also notice the placement of the frame slider, and how if it was there, none of that damage would have happened. Once again, lesson learned. I put off getting the frame sliders because of price, but when you look at the bigger picture of the cost its going to cost to paint Saki, it is nothing. That is the main reason I'm going to do this myself. If I paid someone to do it, it would probably cost about the same amount, and I wound't learn anything from it. Same goes if I went the easy route and bought new OEM fairings. Those things are expensive. Just buying that one side fairing would cost about as much as it would to paint it. If I learn how to paint it, I can paint other things, and maybe make a little money back from people that want their bikes or what not painted. Its the whole give a man fish versus, teach a man to fish.

     I was chatting with a friend while I was putting those frame sliders on, and she mentioned how much I seemed to love doing all these repairs and such. I really do love doing it. It's relaxing to me. She also mentioned something I hadn't thought about. She said that it was very artistic. I'd never thought of it that way, because I'm really just bolting things on, but there is an artistry in it, when you take a long look at it. I'm manipulating things to get Saki to look just as I want it too. If you look at day 1 versus now, there is a major difference, and there is still more to come. The artistry will really start when I start the painting. I have ideas, I ran them by her and she was excited for them. Sorry, still not going to tell you. It has to be a surprise when I finally reveal the new look.

    Last thing for the night, and I don't have any pictures for you of it yet. My phone is about to die, and I don't want to plug it in until I go to sleep. Video would actually be better for this little thing anyway. I've been thinking about getting another Echo Dot for the lounge. The reason for this, oh wait, do you know what an Echo Dot is? Ok, quick rundown, the Echo Dot is a device from Amazon that connects to the internet and answers questions for you, plays music, orders things from you Amazon account, a few other things and most importantly for this, it can control lights and things. Phillips makes a advice called the HUE Bridge. When you use that with special lightbulbs and a little area light called the HUE Go, you can use Alexa, that is the name for the Echo, to turn on the lights. I can also turn them on from anywhere with my phone, since the HUE Bridge is hardwired to the ethernet. I can turn on or off my lights from pretty much anywhere that my phone has a signal. Pretty cool right. Here is the best part. the HUE Go is this cool little area light that is portable and changes colors. I'll get video of it doing it's thing for Tuesday.

     I had a little trouble getting it all connected to Alexa. For a brief moment I thought I was going to have to get a whole other Echo system. The Dot is the smallest version of it, and it wasn't connecting to the Phillips HUE Bridge they way I thought it would. I looked online for some answers, and it was looking like I needed to get and Echo Plus. It is about 10 inches high, with a 3 inch diameter, maybe 4 inches. I wan't against getting one, but if I did, it was going to have to wait, the Echo Dot is $49.99 while the Echo Plus is $160. Quite a big difference. Waiting also meant that I couldn't use Alexa for the lights I put in in the kitchen and living room, and of course the HUE Go. No I have not let the fact that the HUE Go is really Hugo get by me. Anyway. I found one little box on the Echo Dot page that mentioned the Phillips HUE skill. Skills are like apps in Alexa. You have to download it so that it will work in conjunction with Alexa. Once I did that and got it all dialed in, Alexa had control of the lights. I now have Alexa in my living room and in the lounge. The lounge is really my own selfishness. I can use the Echo Dot to play music and ask things of Alexa while I'm out there working on Saki, and also for that HUE Go. I have big plans for that little light. It is going to be a fixture for what will be my new photo area. You've already seen a few pictures in the makeshift area. That light is going to add some real groovy ambiance for lighting of photos. I'll get pictures and video for Tuesday, but the HUE Go is bowl shaped, and can either sit flat like a bowl, or at an angle. I'll show you it all on Tuesday.

     I got all of that done this weekend, and next weekend is going to be mostly about cleaning things out. I'm going to start getting a bunch of stuff out of the lounge that no longer belong in there. The lounge needs to be its own area, and weed killer and old paint buckets aren't going to cut it. I also need to clean out the rain gutters. It looks like another busy weekend, but one that I will enjoy when it is over. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 3)

     I rose before the sun the next day. I was tired and sore from the journey home from the Kingdom, but I was determined to do everything I saw at the arena.  I squatted, I stood on my toes and hands in a plank, I found an old log from the fire pit and carried it around. I didn't have a barrel, and I figured that a good sized fire log would be the same weight as a barrel.

     It wasn't until years later that I found out that those barrels were full of rocks, with one of them being empty. The boys weren't allowed to show any sign of who got the unloaded barrel. There were all to act as though they had it. I missed that bit of the training.

     I ran around the village and then sprinted to the tree line and back. I did each of these exercises a dozen times. For my sparring training, I found a good size tree, and a stick that felt about sword length, and attacked it until I was tired. I did this for several months. My father watching all the while from his forge in the mountain side. This would take me about an hour each morning, when I was done I would go to the forge to help my father.

     "You've been at that for months now boy, are you so determined to be a knight?"

     "Yes father."

     "I guess I should start showing you how to fight with a blade then. You look foolish slapping around that tree out there. What did it ever do to you to deserve treatment like that?"

     I was excited. I couldn't believe my own ears. My father was going to train me how to use a blade.
     "Will you father?"

     "If you are this focused after a few months, I may as well show you how to use that stick you've been slinging around. I have something for you though that might work a bit better."

      He went over to his workbench and there was a large burlap sack laying over something. I hadn't noticed it there before. He flung it off of the bench and exposed a sword underneath.

     "Here lad, this is a practice sword. The edge is blunted, so that you won't cut yourself, but it can still do some damage if you don't wield it right."

     The sword was indeed blunted. When I think back on it now, it was an ugly excuse for a sword. The blade wasn't true, and dinged in all possible ways. the guard was misshapen and lopsided, but it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in my life. It was a true sword.

     "I thought you couldn't make swords father? Won't you get in trouble with the King?"

     "This will be our little secret, and if any discerning eye laid upon that sword, I doubt they would even allow it to be called as such. If you are going to be determined to go through with what you are calling training, I can at least guide you in the right direction, and that direction is going to need a sword."

     My father handed me the ramshackle sword, and I nearly dropped it. It was heavy, so heavy that I needed both hands to hold it.

     "Yes, it's heavy boy. If you train with a heavy sword, when you get a real sword, it will feel like you have nothing in your hand. I will expect you to be using one hand to wield that sword. You will need the other to brace your shield."

     I could't imagine holding this sword in one hand. It weighed as much as a goat. I did see my father hold it though, so I would do it as well.

     "For now though, that sword will stay here in the forge. There are some things you are going to need to learn how to do first, before you get to swing that around. You've been a big help around here for me, but it's time you take on some more responsibility. Every morning, instead of those foolhardy exercises you've been doing. I want you to take the axe and go to the forest and fell a tree. You've seen the ones I fall daily for the forge?"

     "Yes papa."

     "They can't be green, and they can't be too old. You have to get one of a moderate size, so that we can cut a cord of wood for the wood pile. Once you've cut the tree down, you have to drag it up here to the forge, then you will start cutting it up for the wood pile. You will do this every morning from here on out, until I tell you otherwise."

      "Yes sir." I had never cut a tree down before, but I had watched my father do it on several occasions.

     "Also, once you have stacked all the wood on the woodpile, you will oil and sharpen the blade on the axe. I will show you how to do that after you've taken your first tree. Then you will hang the axe right were it is hanging right now. Do you see it over there on the wall?"

     "Yes sir." The axe hung to the right side of the old workbench. It was then that I noticed just how big the axe was. It was always in my fathers hands when I saw it before, and my father was a large man. I slowly walked over to the axe, and it got bigger and bigger as I got closer.

     "I see a look of concern on your face. Don't worry lad, I'll be with you tomorrow morning, to guide you through things. You will cut your first tree down, I have no doubts of that."

     If my father said I would do it, then I would. I still stared at that axe though. It looked heavier than the sword, with it's massive doubled edged head on it.

***

     Tomorrow morning arrived and I was ready. I looked all around our hut, but I couldn't find my father. I walked outside, and he was sitting on the step. He grumbled a little and said,"You're late." It was still twilight and the sun was nowhere to be seen for at least another hour. "Come on boy, quite your lallygagging." He took off in a sprint towards the forge. I had never seen my father run before, and he was fast. My father as I said, was a big man, he was by no means fat, but a man that size should not be able to move that fast. I took off after him, but he was increasing his lead on me as we went. He made it to the forge a full minute before I rounded the final corner to go up the path to the entrance in the mountain. 

     My father made his forge in an old miners cave at the foot of the mountain. He said that with all the natural stone it would be safer for the village. No house could catch on fire if the fire was no where near a house. It made sense to me.

     "Grab the axe and let's get to the forest. I need to have this forge fired up before the sunrises or I won't get anything done today."

     I looked at that axe, and groaned a little to myself. I was already winded from the run, and now I had to pick up an axe that looked the size of a horse. I had to stay focused. I walked over to the axe and grabbed the smooth wooden handle. I lifted it from it's perch on the wall, and was shocked by it's weight. It couldn't have weighed more than a chicken. "Is this a joke papa?"

     "What do you mean boy?"

     "It's so light. This won't be able to cut a  branch much less a tree."

     "Oh ye of little faith boy. It is the real thing lad, just you wait and see."

     I slung the axe of my shoulder as I'd seen my father do and we walked to the forest. We couldn't stay at the tree line because it would wake up the other villagers, so we went a few hundred yards in, so that the trees themselves would muffle our chopping.

     "Alright boy, I wan't to see how well you were watching me, pick out a tree. Walk up to it and put your hand on it first, I don't want you to start hacking away at it till I've had a chance to look it over first."

     I did as he told. I found a tree that looked like the ones I'd always seen him cut down, and placed my hand on the trunk.

     "It appears you've been watching with a sharp eye, good lad. Before you get started, I want to show you how to use the axe, and where to cut. This is very important for a couple of reasons. The first being, so that you don't cut of one of your own limbs, and the other being, that you don't fell the tree on top of you. You have to make the cuts so that it directs the tree where you want it to go. I had seen my father notch a tree before but I had no idea why he was doing it. He then showed my how to swing the axe properly. Letting it slide in my hand as the other gripped tight at the base. It was almost like my own little version of the dance with the swords, that I saw the young knights in training. Even though the axe was light, it was still exhausting. It took me until the sun was fully up in the sky before the tree went down. I still had to drag it through the woods and to the foot of the mountain. 

     I'd never given thought to how heavy a tree was. This tree was about 20 feet long and as thick as a mans leg. I hadn't noticed, but my father had a length of rope around his shoulder. He showed me how to put notches in the tree on either side so that the rope would not slip, and then he tied it around my waste. "You're going to get tired boy, but at least this way, you will still be able to lift your arms. I tugged and pulled at the rope and after an hour, I was at the foot of the path to the forge. That is when my father told me one last secret about pulling the tree up the hillside to the mountain.

     "Tomorrow, I want you to clear all the branches off first. That will make it easier to get it up the hill. Make sure you stack those branches though, the villagers often come into the woods later in the day and get those branches for their own fire pits to heat their kettles."

     I know that he did that as a lesson to me. I wasn't sure what it was then, but now I know that he wanted me to ask questions. He would have told me about the branches if I'd only asked if there was an easy way to get it to the forge. He never told me to ask questions, but I soon learned that there was always some little piece of information that he would withhold in the hopes that I would ask the right question. 

     I cleared all the branches, cut the tree into manageable size logs for the fires, and then took all the branches down to the tree line for the villagers. I then hurried back up to the forge to finish my task. I still had to learn how to sharpen the axe. My father was waiting for me when I walked through the entrance of the small cave. He pulled out a small grind stone, and a bottle of oil. He showed me how you only need a very small amount of oil on the stone and to make circular motions on the blade. He watched over me as I sharpened both edges of the axe and checked it on the nail of his thumb. "If it catches on your nail, it's not sharp enough. Make sure it glides across it, but don't push to hard, you only want to cut your nail, not chop your finger off." He showed me a fine line in the middle of his thumb nail.

     "Off you go now boy. Spend some time playing with your friends. You won't become a knight in a day, so you should spend your childhood being a child when you can. I'll be lucky to get a single horseshoe done today, with getting these fires lit so late."

     "I'll stay and help father, it's my fault you are so late."

     "Don't worry boy, you will be helping here soon enough, but for now, go play. You don't know it yet, but you aren't going to be feeling too good by tomorrow morning. Off you go now."

     "I did as my father said, and I ran off to play, it was already late in the morning, and nearly mid day, so I went looking for Arial. I'll tell you about her at another time though.

I Can See, And It Looks Like Stangelove.

     I can admit my faults when the arise, and one has. I just can't keep up with all the murders of the past couple of weeks. There was Denver, Virginia, New York, and most recent Texas. Not to mention that there is a serial killer roaming around Tampa Bay. I would like to have all the names for you, but I just haven't found the time, but I will try to get them up on Sunday night.

     I found something out about the "Featured Post" widget on the right side over there. It is only a Featured Post. It will only display one post at a time, so I can't have a list of just The Patchwork Knight chapters over there. I will try to see if there is something like a playlist widget or something like that, but in the meantime, I will put the most recent to the current chapter in that space. Chapter 1 is over there right now, but on Thursday Knight, that will change to Chapter 2, and so on and so forth, until I can figure something out to get all of them in one space, so that they are easy to find.

     I guess a few updates are in order as it pertains to my personal health. I got my knew glasses and contacts yesterday, and they are working out fantastically. The glasses are Ray Ban frames, and I really like them a lot. I think they are considered Wayfarers, but they are the new thin ones. I could swear that I saw something like that on their website. I've never owned a real pair of Ray Bans, sunglasses or otherwise, so when I saw that my optometrist carried Ray Ban now, I was all over them, not to mention, they were the best looking ones, for my opinion anyway. I was so happy that I could see again without strain. My contacts were the real problem. It was getting more and more difficult to read, and my eyes would tire out earlier in the day. Wearing those new contacts today, was a far cry from what I was used to.  I knew as soon as I put them in, that they were going to be ok. My eye doctor always wants to do a follow up with me on the contacts, to see that they are sitting in my eye right and that they are comfortable. I'll probably make that follow up visit in a couple of weeks. She always likes me to wear them for about a week before I go in, and since I'm going to try to get the final bit of footage for that video I'm working on on Saturday, I won't be able to go this week.

     My back is almost back to 100%. Did I mention that I strained my back when I had to pick Saki up? I don't remember. It's been a rough few days. No bending over, and a whole lot of bending at the knee. I had to wear Icy Hot patches on my lower back for a couple of those days. Actually, today was the first day without one, and that was only because my back was feeling so much better today, that I forgot to put one on. I'd put my back at around the 85% mark right now. It's still tight, but the pain has pretty much gone away. Just in case you were wondering, no, it has not stopped me from riding. I rode yesterday to pick up my glasses, and to work today, not to mention, to shoot all that terrible footage on Saturday that I couldn't use, I even went out for a little while on Sunday too. Riding makes me feel better.

     Speaking of riding, trust me, this is a very clever segue, the show Ride with Norman Reedus had it's premiere for the new season, Sunday night, with the second episode in it's normal time slot on Monday. I love this show, and I think anyone that rides should give it a chance. If you haven't seen it, it is Norman Reedus, he plays Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, goes around to different parts of the country and rides with some other, normally a famous persons, and checks out the culture and scenery of those areas. The premier had him in Barcelona, Spain with his costar Jefferey Dean Morgan. I can't put that one as one of my favorite episodes, and I can't really tell you why, but the second episode with Dave Chappelle, goes up there as one of my favorites. On that ride the went through the Low Country. Charlotte, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia. I've driven through that area several times in my life, but never stopped to check it out. I was always headed to Pennsylvania or West Virginia to visit family, and couldn't stop. I need to take some time some time, and head to the Low Country for a vacation some time. From the show, it really seemed like my kind of place. The show airs on AMC on Monday nights, give it a chance, you might learn something new.

     Oh, it's that time again. Favorite Song of the Week time. I'm making this one pretty easy this week. I got in a mood for Depeche Mode, one of my all time favorite bands, and had to stream the hits. There is always one song that stand out for me, because it is such an odd content for a pop song. It's clearly in my mind, about sadomasochism. It's just very odd subject matter for a fun loving pop song. It's that mixed  content that makes Depeche Mode so great. Depeche Mode were the first wave of the Industrial sound. The had effects that sounded like metal pipes clanging or barrels ringing. One song even had the sound of scissors snipping together. It was truly the dawn of industrial music. This happens to be the first year that they are up for nomination in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now, I won't get into my problems with the R&R HOF, but Depeche Mode is a band that belongs in, but I doubt they will get in on their first try, even though the inspired so many of the bands that were big in Industrial music. Anyway, here is "Strange Love" by Depeche Mode.



     I love that song. A new chapter of The Patchwork Knight goes up on Thursday, and I'm hoping to have that video ready for you on Sunday. It all depends if I can get all the footage that I want by then. The forecast is calling for rain on Saturday, but I'm going to try and push through and get it regardless of the weather. We will see how it all works out. Peace in and goodnight.

Problems, More Problems, And Fats Domino.

     It's been kind of a weekend of futility. I got some things done, but with a lot of turmoil, and when I say turmoil I don't mean anything that can't be overcome, it's just annoyances, and pretty much all my fault.

     I came across an idea for the channel trailer for my YouTube channel. What that is, is a video that displays on the front page of your channel. It's the video that introduces people to your videos, so it should be a good one. The one that is up now, wasn't my choice, and it always appears there after a few hours of a new video going up. I can replace it with another video that I have, but I don't really have anything dynamic and exclusive as an introduction, so it's time I made one. I of course have other ideas for that video, but they entail a lot of work, and the need for other people to help out. I got an idea for one that won't rely on anyone else, so I started working on it this weekend.

     The first thing I needed to do, was get Saki good and clean for it's time on camera. This wasn't going to be just a get on and ride type of video. I was going to get external shots not on the bike, with the bike riding by the camera, and what not. That Saki wash was the first problem I ran into. I got Saki out of the garage, and got the tire stands so that I could lift it up  and wash everything. As I was putting the kickstand on the block that I use to get the bike to sit straight up instead of its usual lean, I thought it felt a little of kilter. I should have stopped right there and readjusted, but I had big plans and I needed to get to them. I put the rear tire stand under the rear end and started maneuvering it in place, when Saki started to teeter. With the new rear cowl on it, I have no good place to grab and pull it to me, and it went over on it's side. It was a pretty sickening thud when it hit the ground.

     I quickly ran around and lifted it up and got it back on the kickstand to assess the damage. I managed to strain my back in the process, so I'm kind of uncomfortable right now. I deserve it. Once I got it up and steady, I gave Saki the once over, and this is what I saw.

     Needless to say, I was bummed. My washing of Saki was going to turn into a touch up of Saki. I got it all clean and looking better than it did before I started, and then rolled it back into the lounge, so that I could focus on the touch up paint. It was never going to be perfect, but I could make it look better. This is how it ended up.

     Trust me, this picture makes it look much better than it is, but it hides the majority of the flaw. This got me thinking though, and this might be the right time to start working on my painting skills. My dad taught me a long time ago, how to paint cars, so I have and understanding of it. I just need to remember everything and look a few things up. Here is the plan though, at some point, I'm going to paint Saki to colors of my choosing. I love the color it is, but I could love it even more. The biggest problem with this, is that I would be without Saki while I'm doing all this painting, and I plan on going deep with it. I'll leave the frame the same, so that I won't have to pull the engine, but I do plan on getting the wheels powder coated a different color. That means, the tires and all the fairings will be off the bike, which will make it unridable. That is going to kill me, but it will be worth it in the long run. I'll paint the fairings myself, and look into a place locally to get the powder coating done. While I'm at it, maybe I'll get new handlebars and get them powder coated to match the wheels. This little drop and flaw can turn into a good thing. No, I'm not going to tell you the color scheme, but if you know me at all, you should have a pretty good idea of what color Saki is going to be, and when that happens, Saki may have to get a new name to match the new skins.

     With Saki all taken care of, it was time to work on the footage for the opening of the video, This video is going to be a lengthy process. I have to get multiple shots from different angles, and the only way I can do that, is to set my single GoPro up in different ways, and do the same thing over and over. The one problem I might run into, is when I get the shots for the bulk of the video. I'm going to have to leave the GoPro on the side of the road, and do a few fly by's on it. That leaves it exposed to anyone passing by to take it. I'm hoping for some lonely roads with no one on them. I have a few places in mind.

     I got most of the opening done last night. The shooting at the location I chose went really well and I got some quality shots. I had the GoPro set up on the seat, the tank, the ground, and then finally on a chest mount , just to get a quality 30 seconds or so. It's tedious but worth it. Today I ran into the next big problem. I was heading out to get some of the on the bike views from my favorite twisty location, and a surprise view. I made a pretty big mistake, and it was somewhat intentional, but I should have linked the GoPro with my phone and checked the angle. It was atrocious. I was trying a different setting in hopes that the view would be better, but with the way it was mounted on my helmet, it was looking down at the handlebars the whole time, and that wasn't going to work, so everything I shot today, was useless. It was another live and learn moment, and I learned that I should always check the angle on the phone before I spend an hour and a half filming. There are a few things that I will never get the chance to shoot again, but maybe new things will pop up. I'll reshoot again sometime this week. I'm thinking Wednesday would be the best day. I'll get those locations and the shots I planned done then, and then I'll get the rest of the bulk footage this Saturday. I'm going to head to Ft. Pierce for that stuff. There are some beautiful views down there, and that is what I want. I want a lot of scenery. This is going to be a 5 minute video. No talking, only views and edits. So far, I really like what I got, so I'm excited for finishing this up this coming weekend. I'm hoping to have it up in time for next Sunday's post. I may get a little something together on Wednesday when I reshoot today's footage. I have an idea I've been wanting to talk about, and filling time in between the stuff for the channel trailer seems like killing two birds with one stone.

     On to the real reason we are here tonight, and that is Fats Domino. I wrote extensively about him in the 365 and at that time I knew, and even wrote, that I would be writing this very piece soon. Fats Domino is swirling in the ether and he is playing a mean rock piano. Born February 26th 1928 Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr., would become the first rock star. I know there is some debate on this, but Fats released this song.

In 1949 and it hit the charts in 1950, by 1951 it sold a million records. That makes him the first rock & roll star. Fats was the soul of a new sound that was being played in New Orleans for years. Here is the best part about Fats' songs, you always feel good when you hear them. Other rockers have a dark angst that Fats didn't have. It wasn't just his songs that made you feel good, it was said that he was just as jovial in person, and would often ask you to stay for dinner that he would cook. He mentioned in one interview that he spent $250 a day on groceries. If you saw him in his home of the 9th Ward in New Orleans, you could rest assured that you were going to be invited to come have some gumbo that he was going to be making later that day. When he went on tour, he would bring groceries from home and pots and pans, and cook dinner for the entire crew. He liked going around the world but he said that it was so hard to find good food anywhere else, and I can tell you, New Orleans food is the best. I've had it and I often miss it.

     The Beatles were huge fans of Fats, and John Lennon said that if there was no Fats Domino, there wouldn't be a Beatles. They would often praise him, and even took the legendary line, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from one of Fats' songs.



At about the 1 minute mark is the line, but please, listen to the whole song. That line became one of the biggest songs in Beatles history, and I know you've heard that one. Fats was honored by all the praise that was laid down upon him and he covered several of The Beatles songs, but one of them stands out as one, that seems to be written for him, and once you've heard him do it, you can't hear it being sung by anyone else, not even The Beatles. Lady Madonna was an obscure hit for The Beatles, and maybe that's because it was written for someone else. That person should be Fats Domino. Just one thing I want to point out for you to listen to, and that would be the way Fats says run. It's more like ru-onnnn. It's just fantastic. That is that deep New Orleans accent. If I spend anytime there I fall into that accent, and it is glorious.



     Several bands have covered Fats' songs, but my favorite comes from one of my favorite bands of all time. Cheap Trick did "Ain't That a Shame" on their Cheap Trick at Budokan album. There are few albums better than that one, and that songs just adds to it. Probably my favorite song of Fats is none other than "Blueberry Hill". I can remember as a kid me and my dad singing that song whenever we would hear it, and even when it would just come into our head. That song, just like all of Fats songs, put a smile on your face and made you feel good about everything around you. This world lost a good one October 24th, but the ether gained the best rocker and cajun chef that it will ever get. Go listen to some Fats and put a smile on your face. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 2)

     "I'm going to be a knight." I declared with bold resolve.

     "Slow your horses there boy. I wish that I could say that you will be one, but you have to be high born to be a knight. You can be a soldier and even become a general in the King's army, but a knight is a lofty impossible goal to strive for, when you are not high born."

     "Your father is right lad. You have to be a noble to be a knight. Even being born noble doesn't mean that you can be a knight either. It takes lots of training, which starts from the day they are born. I can take you to where the young squires train when they aren't serving their knight."

     "I'm going to be a knight. I don't care what it takes, I want to make you proud papa. I will do whatever it takes. I know there has to be a way to become a knight. Please take me to see the training."

     "Are you staying at the inn tonight?

     "Yes, we were planning on leaving first thing in the morning to get back to the village. It is a days ride from here."

     "Well, you are going to be a little late getting home tomorrow. I'll take you both to the training grounds. The training begins just before first light. I'll wake you at the inn."

     "You don't have to do this Galdren. The boy is headstrong, and if he sees the training, he will want to do it even more. The less he sees the better."

     "Trust me, once he sees what they go through in a morning training session, he will change his mind."

     "I don't care what I have to do, I will do it. I will be a knight."

     "See, he's headstrong I tell you. I'm holding you responsible for this Galdren."

     "Won't be the first time you've held me e=responsible for something Feyre. I remember a night during the campaign when we met those caravan girls..."

     "Ok, that's a story for another time. The lad shouldn't be hearing tales like that at his age."

     "Ha ha ha, fair enough. Well, if I'm going to be responsible I have something for you Pitre."

     Galdren went to the rear of his stall and started rummaging through a large box. There were sounds of metal rattling and the occasional mumble of pain as he hit his hand on something sharp or pointy.

     "Here it is. Take this boy, it will get you started on your journey to knighthood."

     Galdren handed me a gauntlet for the right hand. It was shiny and new looking, with brass filigree at the edges. It was remarkable, and very big. I gently took it from his hands and turned it over and over starring in wonder at it. I tried it on, and it fit almost all the way up my arm.

     "Thank you, it's beautiful."

     "Your welcome lad, don't worry, you'll grow into it. Take good care of it, and it will take care of you. Here, take this rag and wrap it up."

     Galdren handed me an oily rag, and I wrapped it up with the care of wrapping a priceless artifact.

     "The oil on that rag will keep the metal of that gauntlet conditioned. Neve wash that rag, and always keep that gauntlet in it when you aren't wearing it.

     "I will."

     "I'll see that he does as well. Put that in your bag boy, and don't take it out again until we get home. That will draw some eyes are way, that we don't want looking at us. I can't believe you gave him such a fine piece of armor."

     "Don't worry about it. That was one that I made for the King himself, but he didn't like the accents on it. Good thing that I only made that one piece. I would have been in a fit if I'd done the whole suit for him and he turned me away."

     "Ah, I see  you've learned from your mistakes then. There was a time when you would have done the whole suit without even getting all of he demands for the armor."

     "Right you are. It only took me 10 suits of armor to finally learn that lesson though."

     "So, that's how you got so good at your craft."

     "You old fool, That's not how I got so good, I was born that good."

     "Let's go get some lunch boy, I don't think we can fit in here with his ego present."

     Galdren laughed harder than I'd heard a man laugh. We waved good-bye with the promise that we would be awake and ready to go by the time he got to the inn in the morning.

     After lunch, we walked around the market for another hour. It was the longest hour of my life. The only thing I wanted to do, was get to the safety of our room at the inn, so that I could take that gauntlet out of my bag and look at it. That is exactly what I did until the sun went down, and even then, I simply held it, still seeing it in my mind's eye.

***

     It wasn't difficult to wake me up, I barely slept that night. I was too excited. I had a piece of actual armor, and I was going to see knights to be, train. My father usually rose before the dawn, so that he could light the forges for his daily work of hammering out horseshoes.

     "Papa, why don't you make armor, did Galdren not teach you how to do it?"

     "He taught me, but the King's law says that only the King's blacksmith can forge armor. It keeps his subjects from being armed. If the people aren't armed, they can't revolt. Although I doubt anyone would. The King has the respect of his people. It wasn't always that way, mind you."

     "What do you mean?" 

     "When I was a lad about your age, the King's father ruled over this land. Some say that he was mad with old age, but my father told me that he was always a mad fool. He would send his knights out to terrorize the border villages. He said that true citizens of the realm stayed near the castle. He would levy higher taxes the further you were from the castle, so most of the people did move there. The outliers were considered traitors to the realm. This was all before the Blind War. The Blind War was fought because he angered neighboring realms, but he died before the war began. His son had to come in and take care of the mess that he made."

     "I didn't know that. Why does no one talk of the old King?"

     "No one talks of him, because we want to forget. The Mad King cost the realm many lives. King Reese fought back the raiders of the Mudwood, and then used diplomacy to settle pacts and treaties with the other realms. He renounced all the taxes that his father had put forth, and the realm began to prosper. When the outlier villages were able to keep some money, they were able to travel to the Kingdom more often, and spend that money. That is how the birthday celebration for the King began. People would all come to the castle on the day of the King's birth, and the festival of the King began."

     "I'm glad we have our king."

     "So am I boy, so am I. Get dressed now, so we can scare Galdren before he gets here."

     Getting dressed wasn't a problem. I had kept my clothes on from the day before, so I only had to get my boots on. I got my bag with the gauntlet in it, and we headed downstairs. The inn was quiet, even the keeper wasn't up at this early an hour. We quietly opened the door, and snuck out so not to wake anyone. As we closed the door. I could hear footsteps running towards us. I clutched my bag tight, and my father spun around in a single motion. As he raised his arms in a defensive posture, I turned and saw our attacker. It was Galdren. He was running at full speed towards us, waving his arms and growling like a wolf.

     "You damned fool, I was going to beat you to a pulp."

     "I knew you would try to sneak out and get the jump on me, so I came over a little early. I've been waiting at the corner of that building for an hour. You need to get up a lot earlier if you want to catch me unawares."

     Both my father and Gandrel began to laugh, and then the hushed themselves for laughing to loud, which only made them laugh louder. After they had calmed down, we began our stroll in the early morning moonlight to the training grounds.

     "Now boy, I want you to be very quiet while we watch these lads train. They won't take kindly to someone making noise while they are hard at work. I want you to watch and learn. Just because you aren't highborn, doesn't mean that you can't learn something that might help you out later on. You can always become a general in the army, and what you learn here today, might help you then."

     "I will father. I will watch everything. Nothing will escape my eyes."

     We arrived at an arena. My father said that it was the tournament grounds. I didn't know what that meant, but I wasn't going to ask, because I wanted to be quiet and learn form what I saw. I could ask him questions later. Galdren led us to a balcony that overlooked the floor of the arena. On the far side of the grounds was a tunnel. Young boys began filing out of the tunnel and jogged to the center of arena. The looked like they were no older than I was. I'd seen 9 summers at that point in my life. The boys lined up side by side, in four rows. The stood rigid. A lone figure appeared in the darkness of the tunnel. He strode out and walked around the rows of boys, looking at each one. He would nod as he passed each one as if he had done an inspection and liked what he saw. When he had circumambulated the boys, he stood in front of them. He shouted something that sounded like "HUP" and all the boys dropped into a low squat with their hands raised in front of them, fingers pointing forward and palms down. The looked as though they were sitting in chairs, and the stayed there for what seemed to be an eternity. The band yelled "HUP" again, and they all sprung up to their originally standing position. They looked as though they hadn't just squatted for an inhumanly amount of time. They stood rigid once again. The man yelled "HUP", and the boys all dropped to the ground, on only the tips of their toes and the palms of their hands.

     After 4 rounds of those two movements they began running around the outer edge of the arena. I counted 10 laps before they stopped. Then they lined up at the far end, and sprinted back and forth from end to end. This was another 10 laps before they lined up in the center again.

     "This is just their warm-up." Whispered Galdren. The real fun is about to begin now.

     The boys broke up into four groups and went to different corners of the arena. The tunnel busted with movement, and more men dressed similar to the first one came out and went to different groups, then more men came with racks of weapons, and horse carts of barrels. The horse carts went to one of the groups nearest where we were. I heard another 'HUP" and the boys in that group unloaded the carts. Once the carts were unloaded, they lined back up and waited for their next command. When it came, they each grabbed a barrel and lofted it over their head. They formed a circle and began walking, but it wasn't normal walking. They would lunge forward and go down on one knee. They would stand from their upright leg and that leg would then go to it's knee when the lunged forward. I don't know how long they did this, because another group caught my attention.

     The group furthest from our overlook, were grabbing wooden swords and shields. On the command of the instructor, they began doing drills in unison. They would lunge and stab, step back and slash, lunge and swipe the shield in front of them in an arcing fashion, step back and thrust the shield forward. It looked like a dance with all the boys doing the same movements without flaw.

     The third group was doing grappling techniques on one another. Each tandem did the same exact moves as the others. This was a couples dance, and it was impressive. Every movement was precision. Each step had a reason, each hand hold had a cause and effect. There was no movement wasted, everything appeared to be an absolute. 

     The fourth and final group was sparring with wooden swords. Once again a dance within a dance. Every move was efficient. The instructor walked around evaluating each student. From time to time he would stop a pair, they would freeze in the position they were in when tapped. The instructor would then move their arms and legs to a position, once they were readjusted, he would have them continue.

     The sun began ago rise, and that was time for them to all rotate their position in the arena. This happened until each group had done each exercise. It was nearly noon by the time they were done with their training.

     "That is only the morning training. There is an afternoon training as well, that is even more grueling."

     "Can we stay and watch papa?"

     "No, we have to be on our way, It's already going to be past nightfall by the time we get home."

     "They don't allow anyone to watch the nightly training sessions. I've only been permitted to see it once. That is the elite training, lot's of secrets in that session. Kingdom has to keep something out of prying eyes."

     I thanked Gandrel once again for the gauntlet, and my father and his old friend embraced before we headed back to the inn, to pack the rest of our bags, before heading to the stable for our horses. Before I knew it we were riding back into our village. I didn't notice the length of the journey because I was too focused on what I had seen back at the Kingdom. I would learn all those techniques that I saw.

   

Happy Halloween From A Counterfeit Squirrel.

     I failed to mention  few things on Sunday night. The first is about The Patchwork Knight. I don't know if you noticed, but I made it easy for you to find. I added a 'Featured Posts" widget on the page. If you are viewing this on the website, still the best experience", you will see it over to the top right of the page. I'll add each one to that featured area. I'm hoping that I will be able to get all of them over there, but only time will tell if it will work out. I may have to limit the number over there at some point.

     I also wanted to mention Fats Domino. I really want to get into his life, so I think I will hold off on that until Sunday. There are a few things to talk about tonight, and it might take away from what I want to instill in you about Fats.

     I got the Halloween video up this morning. I found a out how to schedule the publishing on the video. I was done with the upload by 10 o'clock last night, but I didn't want to post it before today, so I let it go live at 2:30 this morning. I didn't know if they were going by Pacific time or East coast time. I know now that it goes by East coast. This is good news, I can schedule a video to come out at about the same time I post it here. I kind of dig that. Here is the video.



     The intro didn't work out exactly as I'd hoped that it would, but I liked it. I had a bunch of those little tea candles inside the helmet. I was hoping for a jack-o-lantern affect. The GoPro just wouldn't pick up that small amount of light behind that dark smoked shield. If I would have used my head, I would have changed out to the clear shield for that instead. Live and learn. Here is a little behind the scenes shot of what the whole setup looked like for that intro. That's right, I'm pulling back the curtain.

     I had a little light hanging above, with a black towel tied up behind it to make the backdrop. I pulled in tight, so that you wouldn't see anything other than the red top, and black background. In that aspect, it worked out exactly how I'd hoped, but I still wanted that light coming though the shield on the GoPro. You can see the inside lit up in that picture. Not bad for ordering those tea lights three days before filming that. I tried using an LED flashlight, but that was far too bright, and it didn't give me that flicker affect. I couldn't use a real candle, because, well obvious reasons clearly.

     I guess the two biggest questions I have are: Did you like the read on The Witches Song from Macbeth, and did you jump when Melvin popped up? That was the best scream I could find in the SFX section of Epidemic Sound. I was kind of hoping for that stock Hollywood Horror film scream, but I have no idea where to find that sound clip.

     That video was real fun to make. I got to play with some different editing tools. I still have a few more things I want to try out, but I need to find the right idea for a video for them. I'll figure it out soon enough.

     I almost forgot the other thing I wanted to talk about on Sunday. I wanted to talk a little about The Patchwork Knight itself. As you can see, I went with the first chapter as opposed to a prologue. It just felt right when I sat down to write. I can tell you, that what ended up going into the post, is very little like what I had in mind. It took off in it's own direction. It is going in a direction that I didn't quite expect. The prologue idea was the introduction of the villain. It was going to be set a few decades before the events of the first chapter, but it wan't really necessary. I still have a plan to introduce the big bad, but it's going to wait for now. I'm curious to see where it will take me next week. The only thing I have set, is the first sentence, and that could change before Thursday.

     The Favorite Song of the Week is another reason that I wanted to save Fats for Sunday. I was thinking of making one of Fats' songs the FSOTW, but then I heard a cover of this song earlier today. which brings me to Maroon 5. They did the cover of the song, but I'm going to share the original artist for this one. I wanted to talk a little about Maroon 5 for a second. They came on The Howard Stern Show today, and every time they do that, they remind me of how disappointing they are. I know, that sounds like I'm going to slam them, but I'm really not. When they come on, they tend to always do a cover song, and they destroy them. They are some of the best versions of these songs that I've heard. They have immense talent, and that brings me to the disappointing part. You hear them perform these songs, and then you listen to the songs they write for themselves, and they really aren't living up to their potential. They even said themselves today, that they just make average pop songs. Maybe I'm wrong, and they just can't write songs like the ones they are covering, but with that much talent, they have to be able to pull at least one of them out of thin air.

     Enough about that, let's get to FSOTW. They did this cover, and I'd never heard this song before, even though it was on the soundtrack of a pretty popular movie back in the 90's. I never saw the movie though, but know, maybe I will go back and give it a try. The artist is the incredible Chris Cornell. The guys in the band, said that this was all of their favorite song by him, and when you hear it, you can understand why. The also mentioned how the tuning for the guitar is very strange, which will give me something to talk to my guitar teacher about. We are doing weird tunings lately. Now, it took three guitars for them to pull this song off today in the studio with Howard, but I found a clip of Chris Cornell doing it with a single acoustic guitar. Here is Chris Cornell with "Seasons".

      Unbelievable song right? I only wish I'd heard it before today. I've missed a lot of time listening to it.

     Well that is all I have for you tonight. I'm watching game 6 of the World Series right now, but I won't be able to see the end of it, because I need to go to bed. I won't get into the problems that MLB has with their coverage of the World Series right now, but I do think that discussion is in order at some point. Oh wait, I nearly forgot, that I wanted to share with you what I got in the mail today. I'm not a jewelry person. I will wear a necklace from time to time, and I wear a watch, but a that is about it, outside of my plugs. I got an email a week ago from Motoloot, remember them? That's where I got Melvin. Anyway they made a ring that is a motorcycle tire tread, and I just couldn't pass that up. I got it today, and I love it. I also got a new keytag that I think is a pretty poignant saying. You judge for yourself. the keytag in question is the black one in the photo.

     Ok, that really is it this time. Peace in and goodnight.

A Little Preview Of What's To Come.

     For an uneventful weekend, it ended up being a little eventful. I managed to watch the entire 2nd season of Stranger Things, and it was better than the first. That's all I'll say about it, cause I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Definitely watch it though, and if you haven't watched the first season. What are you waiting for?

     I got to thinking, that I hadn't done a motovlog in a little while, so I wanted to do one, but what to do it about. I cam up with an idea on Friday, and I stated working on it. I had to wait until midnight to start the filming. That's the only reason I didn't watch all of Stranger Things on Friday night. I'm fortunate in that I live in an area that has quite a few ghost stories. I decided the video would be just about that. I won't give everything away, so that you can watch it when I post it on Halloween. I'm going to film the opening tonight. I have a little test photo I took to see how it would look. I'll share that with you here, so you can get your beak wet.

     This is my version of a Halloween jack-o-lantern. I tested it with the GoPro and the new tripod set up, and it looks like it's going to work out fine for what I have in store for you. You should see the finished product posted here on Tuesday night, which of course is Halloween.

     I got my eyes tested, and they are a little worse. I knew that was going to be the case. I hadn't gone in for an exam in two years, and I could tell that my eyes were getting tired a lot faster during the day, and that I was relying on my readers more in the evening when I had my contacts in. It was a hefty bill. Twice what I was expecting, so that sets back my new camera and drone fund. That's ok though. If I can't see, there is no point in trying to film things. Priorities. 

     I got a text from a buddy of mine on Friday, saying that he was off work on Saturday, and wanted to hit up Zarrella's. That is that amazing pizza/Italian restaurant that I've mentioned in the past. I had to give him the bad news, that I had my eye exam, and that would leave me with messed up eyes for quite a few hours. Fortunately, my appointment was in the early afternoon, so I had time enough to recover my eyesight by 6, so that we could head there for some dinner. The place was packed, but there were two tables left when we got there. We sat down, and then proceeded to stuff ourselves. I wanted to take a picture of the pizza to share with you, but when it arrived, I was so excited to eat it, that I forgot about the photo completely. I will try to get one the next time I go, but no promises.

     My buddy wanted to hang out a bit after, but I still had three episodes to go on Stranger Things, and I couldn't waste time around his house. He found out that he had Amazon Prime last night, and he could finally watch The Tick, so I left him thoroughly entertained.

     I finished the episodes, and they had a Beyond Stranger Things, which is a little wrap up type of show, with some of the cast from the show. There are 7 episodes of that. I watched the first one last night, and it was real interesting. I'll get the other 6 in this weekend. I was up rather late on Friday, and also Saturday, so I needed sleep. Alas, Morty wasn't going to let that happen. He has figured out that I sleep in on the weekend, so that means he gets to sleep in my room instead of the couch. That means little to no sleep for me. I only have to make it to 10 o'clock so that I can see the latest episode of The Walking Dead. I can't trust people not to spoil that show, so I have to watch it live. I can make it, and hopefully Morty will stay on the couch.

  

     I have to wait until sundown to get that footage for the intro to the Halloween video, so I'll get that done, load it up on the MacBook, and settle down and relax while I watch TWD. I'll get the editing down for the video tomorrow and then start uploading it to YouTube. It should be ready to publish by the time I wake up on Halloween morning. If you don't want to wait to see it one the Tuesday night post, you can go to my Youtube channel and watch it there after, let's say 6 AM in the morning. Here is a link to my channel. 

     That's all I have for you tonight. Peace in and goodnight.