This is your morning linkage for Wednesday, December 9, 2009.
Because injuring innocent people is HILARIOUS
Four teenagers — children of US Air Force personnel — were arrested in Japan on charges of attempted murder after an incident in which a rope was stretched across a roadway in Tokyo. A lady motorbiker struck the rope and received severe injuries in the resulting crash.
But the TV shows make them seem so cuddly…
Last Sunday was the 40th anniversary of Altamont, a free concert held at the Altamont Motor Speedway near Tracy, California. Altamont is remembered for the quality of the musical acts (Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, etc) and because the Hell’s Angels beat a young black man to death because he dared to have a white girlfriend.
The Japanese have a thing for Goose
Does your daily commute leave you feeling like a road warrior? Have a gander at these sweet reproductions of Goose’s famous “Kwaka” from Mad Max.
Perfect for the Resident Evil fans on your Christmas list
Every chopper needs dual machine guns and a knife sheath down the forks. And who can forget the health spray? It even has a narrow front tire for “quick turns”!
A knife fit for firefighters… and for motorcyclists?
Gerber’s Hinderer Rescue Knife has features designed by and for firefighters: one handed opening while wearing gloves, window punch, pry-able blade, and hook cutter for slicing through clothing. Seems like it would make an interesting addition to a tankbag, too.
Got SPOT version 2?
New SPOT owners probably ought to read this comprehensive hands-on report by Doug Ritter. If you know anything about survival preparedness, you know Doug’s word is as good as gold.
Happy hump day. May your gas tanks be full and your roads twisty!
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Ever since I saw Steve McQueen do that in the movie “The Great Escape”, I knew that it would really hurt if it ever happened to me. It’s just pretty sick.pinwheel
Thanks for that Spot2 link Stacy, I’ve been waiting to get one of these but the jury is still out… I guess it’s better to have than not eh?
@soth: Yeah, that’s a very lukewarm review. SPOT (the company) seems to be good at doing the runaround, particularly when asked specific questions about its products and services. I’m disappointed in the lithium battery requirement, the uncertain water resistance, and a few other things Doug mentioned. It’s probably fine for tootling around the US, but would I trust a SPOT with my life on an around-the-world-ADVRider-style trip? Heck no.
Thank you for your hump day links. I was wondering about the new SPOT device. We have been testing the original model way up north and found the performance to be marginal, at best. It probably wasn’t designed for the poor satellite coverage in the high latitudes. The “I’m OK” messages rarely got through so I am assuming that the “Help!” message would be equally unreliable.
Funny you mention the hells angels. I picked up some free motorcycle mag the other day. It was your basic “cruiser lifestyle” magazine. On the cover they had some biker posing in from of city hall with his hells angels patch on his vest. I guess being in a 1% gang is something to be revered?
@Richard: That’s really good information to know. I have a riding buddy who’s planning a trip to Alaska next year and he has a SPOT. I’ll let him know.
@Mike: Anything to be a rebel, right? Even if it means dressing up like everyone else, buying the most common motorcycle in America, and pretending to be an outlaw biker. It probably makes the true %1s want to puke.