Incursio

In October I bought a 2017 Triumph Tiger Explorer XRx. So far I am enjoying this bike.  I have no connection whatsoever with Triumph other than I own a few of their motorcycles.  (Although if anyone from Triumph or wants to sponsor me I certainly wouldn't Turn them away.). Here are pictures of my TEx out and about. Northwest of Portland in the hills. Lots more after the jump!

Hey Oregon Voters, The time has come and passed. If you mail your ballot in now - it won't make it by the deadline. Instead drop them off by hand, at a ballot drop site: Multnomah County Washington County Clackamas County Links to all the other county elections offices As of today, we have about 48% of Oregon registered voters have returned their ballots . Obviously that does not include any that are currently working their way through the mail. And we have 4 full days left to drop off ballots by hand. Please vote, and Please drop your ballot off by hand, DO NOT MAIL IT! I repeat, today was the last day it could be mailed. Starting now they have to be dropped off by hand.

The Oregonian (newspaper) has decided that it cannot endorse the assisted suicide initiative that Washington voters will be deciding on this November ( WA Initiative 1000 ). Despite the fact Oregon's law has been successful: Ten years' experience with Oregon's one-of-a-kind Death With Dignity Act has shown that our deepest concerns were unfounded. Safeguards built into the law appear to be working. On the plus side, the law has not created a tidal wave of assisted suicide since its enactment in 1997. Only 341 patients, 86 percent of them with terminal cancer, have died under its provisions. More than a third of those who have obtained lethal prescriptions never used them. Despite the fact that Oregon's law has been popular: It's also true that the law is popular, twice winning voter approval, and that vigorous public debate over it has led to much-improved end-of-life care in Oregon. The state is recognized today as the national leader in providing access...

What motivation would you need to spend 4 billion dollars on one single highway project, 4 billion dollars on one single 5 mile stretch of highway. 4 billion dollars on one single project that would be considered the single most expensive public works project ever in the history of the Pacific Northwest? Would one of the nation's worst traffic bottlenecks qualify? I mean if you were going to spend twice the city of Portland's annual budget one one single project - would a nationally known and recognized traffic bottleneck be a good place to do so? If you wanted to spend four times the State of Oregon's education budget on a single 5 mile stretch of highway - would you want to cure something that was pretty bad - I mean really bad? If you were going to ignore peak oil, or climate change, or air pollution, or gas price trends, or vehicle miles traveled trends, or economic advice - and build one single massive project that is likely to suck up regional transportation fu...

I know this is kind of early, but: On February 14, 2009: Oregon turns 150. Oregon150 is looking to coordinate and plan some big time celebrations. Check it out, and if you or any organizations you are involved with have ideas for something big to say Happy Birthday to Oregon next year - let them know! Or just share your Oregon story.

Here is a real interesting counter. You can look in "real time" how many people and how much money is lost due to automobile crashes in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia). Car Crashes, By the Numbers (counter)

Pssst. Hey You. Yeah, you. My reader. It is time to raise the Oregon gas tax . Now go tell your friend(s)...

House Bill 2210B was voted on and PASSED in the Oregon House just now. This measure is designed to encourage the Oregon based growing and production of biofuels. These including tax credits for producers or growers, some easing of restrictions of where biofuels production facilities can be sited, and a standard for quality and volume of biofuels in Oregon use. However one thing that catches my eye, is the consumer tax credits: Sections 24-28 provide for: "BIOFUEL CONSUMER INCOME TAX CREDIT" 25.2.a - "A resident individual shall be allowed a credit against the taxes otherwise due under ORS chapter 316 for costs paid or incurred to purchase fuel blends for use in an alternative fuel vehicle." The sections go on to describe the details, and the amounts. But basically - for E85 or greater use, or B99 or greater use can get as much as 50 cents per gallon up to $200 max per year tax credit for using biofuels! That will be a nice benefit for those of us wh...

The Libre Maps project has purchased and made available for free all of the USGS Topographical maps of the USA. All 50 states. The maps have always been free sort-of, there was just no where until now to actually GET them for free. The Libre Maps project raised enough funds to buy the many gigabytes of data and the Internet Archive is hosting them. These are great 24k scale topographical maps folks. The same types you pay for in sporting goods stores. And many applications on your computers can work directly with them and your GPS. You can get water and tear resistant paper and print them out.. All good stuff... For the lazy in the audience, here are Oregon's.