The Purple Moose Gazette: This is Friday, right?

April 30, 2004

This is Friday, right?

This morning I appeared on an hour-long radio talk program along with two other bikers to promote May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. I represented Women On Wheels®, and the others represented Gold Wing Road Riders Association and ABATE (Alaska Bikers Advocating Training & Education). Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, we did. Even got a couple of phone calls with questions.

We were there to promote safety for cars AND for bikes. It would be very nice to go through a whole motorcycling season with no fatalaties. It would be nice, but I am not holding my breath. I just hope that our talk today raised awareness a bit more.

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Attended the opening of an art show tonight. A member of our writers group invited us because he has a piece in the show. I don't usually go to the openings of these things, choosing rather to go later when there is less crowd to maneuver through. I lasted about half an hour before I headed for home. Sadly, my friend wasn't there for me to congratulate.

The show is for pieces based on the theme "Bounty from the Sea". One piece cracked me up . . . a kid's sized wooden boat named S E A with a mermaid Barbie perched atop several rolls of Bounty Paper towels. Aptly titled "Bounty on the SEA." snork!

I hope to go back again while the show is still up to view it without so much jostling.
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Do you remember your first attempt at building a web page? If you are like I was, you used a free host and you used free graphics - maybe you used those whirlygigs and fancy mouse tracers and lightening bolts and such.

We were the cat's meow, weren't we?

Most of the folks I read today have grown past that - they use graphics from someone like our own Miz Kitty or their own stuff - or they utilize MT or Blogger or some such. But it is cleaner and more appealing to the eye.

Thank goodness for that!

I spotted a HUGE bumper sticker on the back of an otherwise gorgeous little VW convertible bug this evening - it advertised an Alaskan artist website. So I jotted down the address in my memory and visited there tonight thinking I could share it with you all. Not gonna happen my friends, not gonna happen. Daughter Lessa and I both screeched in pain at the viewing of the site, so I am not going to compel you to blind yourselves. Sigh!! I was so hoping.

I will keep looking. I may have to purchase special dark glasses, but I will keep looking.

heh

Posted by Purplemoose at April 30, 2004 10:40 PM

Comments

Yep I built a really pretty 9 page website, in Front Page, and it would not load, so then I went to dreamweaver, and Im lost, so then I said screw it went to blogger and went for plain vanillaand orange. I have tweaked it a bit and now it is not recognizable as that plain vanilla one. But it is

Do you reide alone or do you just hang on while he does? I soooo want to learn. I flunked out of the state sponsored class, because I had never been on a bike before. That is what it was advertised as. Beginning class. Ah well...I want to learn!!!! I want to ride...Maybe I'll get a trike!

Posted by: Mary Lou at May 1, 2004 01:53 PM

I first started with web pages back in 1995. Now you have to understand that I've been messing with computers since 1981! I decided that if I was going to make my own webpage, I'd better learn the language (html) first, so I bought a copy of HTML For Dummies and learned the code. My first html editor was HomeSite (long before it got bought out by Macromedia. The good thing about that is that I can hard code if I have to.

My first website was okay (I've never been into flashy), but my second incarnation was full of silly midi files and animated gifs (that was in 1997 or so when animated gifs were all the rage). Fortunately I got over it! My current website is much prettier :) Just point your browser to www.cathyheather.net! (Shameless plug.)

Posted by: Heather at May 1, 2004 06:53 PM

Oh, Heather - shameless plugs definitely welcome here. ;-)) I have you on my links list over there ---->>

Mary Lou, I am on my own bike #3. #2 is up for sale. I started when I was 44 on a 535 - moved up to a 750 and now ride an 1100 - all Yamaha Virago motorcycles. Sadly they don't make them anymore. ;-(

I strongly encourage EVERYONE to take the beginner's safety course that MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) sponsors. Check in your area for one - they provide the bikes and the necessary training. And, you can usually get your license endorsement by completing the MSF course.

Believe me, once you go to the front seat, you'll never be happy on the back. ;-)) As far as a trike - my 535 was triked out by the lady who bought it, btw - that takes a whole different set of muscles and training to ride. You TURN the trike rather than lean into a turn, for one thing. It is way too much fun. You come on out and join us - and check into Women On Wheels - www.womenonwheels.org - it is for riders AND enthusiasts alike.
>..<

Posted by: barbara at May 1, 2004 07:07 PM

Barbara, the link you have over there (and much appreciated) is just to my journal -- the domain link goes to the REST of my website! ;) (Including a whole bunch of wedding pictures... )

I don't think I could ever comfortably ride a motorcycle. About the closest I think I could get to one would be a scooter in the bike lane! LOL

Posted by: Heather at May 1, 2004 09:12 PM

My first web page was in 1996, and started off as an offshoot of Demon Internet's service. I still have that site, seriously morphed; it was fairly clean, but I wouldn't even use that many bells and whistles these days.

I now have six sites and maintain a couple others for people.

Yeah, fond memories. ;-)

Posted by: Linda at May 10, 2004 09:52 PM

PS - when I first flew over to visit my (soon to be) future husband in California, he sent me back with a bagfull of Dummies books, including HTML for Dummies and Creating Web Pages for Dummies. Those are the only manuals I've ever used, except I just bought a book about CSS.

Posted by: Linda at May 10, 2004 09:53 PM