Jonathan began riding Vespas in 1983. Since then a wide variety of stylish transportation has taken him in a big full circle all the way back to riding Vespas in the San Francisco Bay Area. This time it is a veteran software developer's means of getting out of the city, with the wife to the beach (in shortest time), to and from the office downtown (in shortest time).
Neil Barton grew up in the small town of Bayonne, NJ in the shadow of NYC. He is 32 and is married to his high school sweetheart Karyn. He is a seasoned technology professional working in Manhattan as the network manager of a publishing company. He attended New York University for a bachelors of science and has traveled far and wide. He has been riding his beloved Vespa ET4 for 2 years. His personal weblog can be found at UrbanNerd.com.
Tara Calishain notes in the researchbuzz mention of the new Google Maps API release,
People were doing pretty terrific things without an API,
but this new interface makes it possible to do them
more "legally" and I expect more easily.
This is great news. If we have to wait much longer for someone to come up with maps of scooter-friendly routes, we can decide to create our own.
My Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Barinoff used to refer to our "scooters," as in, "Story Time, children! If you want to look at the pictures while I read you'll have to move your scooters forward." That's not the kind we're talking about when we say, "saw your scooter the other day!" We're talking about your very sophisticated method for getting from a reading at a café dowtown to look at pictures in a museum uptown. We see your Vespas everywhere. The subtle stenciling on the side of this ET4 stood out when the sun hit it in San Francisco's SOMA district yesterday.
Who's the owner?
Over 4th of July weekend, the Vespa Club of Seattle will host Seattle Scooter Insanity Rally 18, "a world-class motor scooter eve." To quote the official site:
New and vintage motor scooters and enthusiasts will gather from across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. The rally, one of the longest running in the PNW in it’s 18th year, is the region's largest, drawing not only scooter enthusiasts, but Seattle residents and summertime tourists for scenic rides, concerts, parties and scooter shows. Expect over 150 participants and motor scooters of all makes and models at events and venues through out the weekend. All scooterists and enthusiasts are welcome!
Every summer I always come across the "scooter fluff" pieces from various newspapers as scooters get more and more popular. They usually talk about the local scooter community and who does what with their scoots. Well as scootering has begun to take off in America especially this year, lots of these fluff pieces have popped up in smaller local papers as well, like this one in Loveland, CO:
The story of the week had to be the one scooped on Monday (Tuesday in Australia) by Nick Buchan of NEWS.com.au about the Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research in Pittsburgh success with zombie dogs. Man alive. They replace their blood with a cold saline solution and then, three hours later, swap the blood back in to bring the canines back to life.
Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.
It hurts my brain.
You don't need a steel hull to crack open a bottle of champagne. Come to think of it, opening the bottle from the top allows you to fill a few glasses as well as celebrate a launch. To mark the maiden mission of a new Vespa we recommend waiting until after the ride, when your head is already bubbly from the breeze. To mark the beginning of this Vespaway blog here, go ahead and get that chilled Prosecco out of the fridge already. If you insist on nothing but the French stuff, that's fine too, but not even a clean Californian combination of nuts and pears would lessen the occasion. Cin cin!
I love gnomes. Really I do. I have a collection of them in my garage, as the new garden hasnt quite gotten underway yet in my new house. I think as an artistic endeavor I will take pictures of my gnomes on my Vespa this summer. That is why I enjoyed reading the link to this article recently posted on FARK:
More garden gnomes have appeared at a business outside of Buffalo. This time, they brought with them what seems to be a Gnome Manifesto.Amherst, NY -- It appears the strange case of garden gnomes at an Amherst business has just gotten a little weirder.
Last week, a business owner discovered 30 gnomes strategically placed on the roof of his copy shop.
On Monday, workers at the business discovered two more gnomes on their doorstep. At first they thought the little guys were just looking for a new home, but then they found an ominous note.
The note said that gnomes were born free and they should be allowed to live free.
Color Lab's Mike Losi says they have gotten letters from as far away as Alaska from people trying to find out if they have their kidnapped gnomes.
This all makes me feel a tad bit sad that perhaps I am in fact keeping my gnomes against their little gnomey wills. But I am sure any urge to escape will be supressed by my 2 pet dalamations (aka guard dogs to the gnomes). That's it little guys, keeep smiling. Honest engine I will post some gnome on Vespa pics.
The "3rd Annual Wine Country Ride & BBQ" will happen Sunday July 10th. I love the wine country & I love scooters, but I am stuck in the NYC area so I will have to miss out on this one! Here are the details gotten via ScooterPress:
Temecula California - Sunday July 10, 2005
Meet @ Starbucks Temecula's Tower Plaza 9:30 am....(I-15 at Rancho California Road, Temecula CA.) We will ride en masse through the meandering vineyards of Temecula's Wine Country, stop at our favorite local winery for some free tasting and ambiance, and continue on through the avocado orchards of Fallbrook. We will end our trip back in Temecula with a free BBQ and raffle! Come join the fun on your Vespa, Lambretta, or asian step-thru scooters!
Contact mattgordon1@earthlink.net for more info., and see you in Temecula !
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