Audio Bliss

My etymotic transducers arrived today. They're clear-gel with blue sparkles in the casting. -28dB resin casting, and they fit better than the non-transducer plugs I've had for a month now. The cords are stout and tough with proper strain relief to keep 'em from breaking in normal motorcycling use.

Listening to them at my desk, they do an expert job of sealing out most all outside noise, just like the static plugs do. The actual audio they produce is refreshingly accurate and scarily deep. They lose a little up at the high end -- but this is partially to be expected given the type of casting-material used. It just naturally absorbs high frequencies, including in the resonation chamber between the transducer and the hole pointed towards the eardrum. It's a forgivably minor loss, though. Bass, however... these things happily burrow down into the basement and below, with no easily discernable fluttering, even with that wonderful Ambiance for a Journey track Inari gave me. In that reguard they surprass my until-now favorite Sony silicone-padded earplugs.

Tomorrow I find out what they're like on the bike, plugged into the bike comm system instead of a walkman. If they perform this well in a quiet environment, they should do amazing things in the noisy one they're built for. I'd put up a picture, but they'd just look like little lumps of plastic that are shaped like the insides of my ears, with cords stickin' out.

If you're one of those people who likes to listen to decently accurate music, and want to really keep out the entirety of the outside world... get some of these. Seriously. Expect to spend between $110-160 depending on the hearing doc you go to. They'd be perfect for folks who bus-commute or work in constant-whitenoise server rooms. The best feature is that they'll help save your hearing: as they lower the noise floor dramatically, you need much less signal to still hear the music clearly, allowing you to listen at lower volume levels in a much more satisfying way. Good and good for you. :)

New turf, new tush-bucket

I got an odd email earlier last week, from a fellow named Turkish. It turns out he was on the same Adventure-Riders forum I was and was trying to get ahold of me. The site had gone offline for a day as a statement against the abuse a few members had put on it, but that's a separate story. Turk lived up the bay in Oakland and had purchased a used version of the same GS-ADV I have.

The fellow who originally owned the bike was about my height, and 3/4 of my weight. He'd had crafted a handmade seat using the stock seat-pan, destroying the factory-original seat in the process. The new tush-bucket was huge and reinforced with a solid metal plate and new padding. It also had a plug-in backrest and other amenities. Turk was a more normal-sized fellow, and was having trouble getting his feet down due to how wide the seatbase splayed his legs. He was proposing a swap-for-a-day, mostly so he could see what life was like on a stock seat. After a few email exchanges, we agreed to meet up at Alices and get in a good day-ride to try things out.

We met over breakfast, which was quite enjoyable. Alice's hot cocoa is kind of weak, but the rest of their morning fare is really good. We swapped a few stories, and in the middle of french toast my new roomie chipotle and local-friend shaterri show up. *blink* Apparently Shaterri was doing his usual-and-appreciated "let's take the Bay Newbie out for fun touristy bits and good eats". They were taking the long way to SanFran across Skyline, and as Turk and I were eating on the porch we were easily visible. Hell, I'm like a big blue Bates billboard (Say that five times fast) with the riding-jacket on, so I'm not surprised the spotted me even at distance. They came up on the porch to chat a few, and then were on their way for a day of city-tourist fun.

Swapping seats on the bike is as easy as turning a key and handing seats to each other. Turk's had more experience on the odd coast-side roads of the peninsula, so I followed him on a nice windy single-lane asphalt track known as Tsunitas Road. We wound up and down the coast-side of things, managing to make it all the way to Santa Cruz with only a handful of miles on Highway 1. I had no idea there were so many offshoot roads and trails. It's like finding a whole new world there in your own backyard. I'm so going back there to mentally map those out for future rides. We back-and-forthed the seats, and at one point the bikes, just to compare and contrast. On a more isolated stretch of road I tried to show him the new wheelie-skill, but a combination of nervousness-that-leads-to-caution and the new seat's posture kept me from doing more than skipping-up the front wheel a bit. I did my first stoppie, though, the hindwheel coming up just a palm's-width, even with the ABS on. Neat.

While he rode my bike and I followed, I noticed my low-beam taillight was out. Drat. Well, this just means going a few more miles past Santa Cruz to the dealer and getting a new bulb. Darkness had fallen, and he had to get back to Oakland. We agreed to swap seats for a week, and if all was good, seal the deal and come up with any money exchange that needs to happen. He thinks we can swap straight-up; I think that puts him at a loss, and I may try to pass off a little money to him to make it fair. The new seat is really nice for a person of my size, actually. It's a little stiff in spots due to the reinforcement, but that's fixable without much expense. Turk likes the stock seat much better; it lets him flat-foot it for the first time since he bought his bike. I don't like the backrest, but luckily I don't have to use it. I'll do some mods on the attachment angle later this week and give it another go before I decide to start leaving it home for good.

A side benefit: the new seat is grey and black. With the Sahara tank-panniers covering the red badging on the tank, my bike now has a nicely monochromatic grey/silver/black look to it. I dislike the red anyways, so I find this to be a style-improvement. If I make it to Death Valley Days in January *crosses fingers on both forepaws* that'll be the first long-distance test. I think it'll be a big improvement.

Moon Dragon

At the request of a Ladydragon who impresses me on a regular basis, I finally gave in and ( tried one of those silly quiz-things. )

And it's a blue critter, too. Most excellent.