Before collaborating with Oltman on many articles for Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) magazine, I knew him as the slightly curmudgeonly Honda Goldwing expert who dispensed advice to riders in the GWRRA (Goldwing Road Riders Association) at their monthly meetings at Chompie’s Deli on Shea Blvd. in Scottsdale, AZ. Stu’s level… Continue reading
My friend Barney Watson passed away in the morning hours of Feb 18, 2023. He’d just turned 80 years old. His brother Rex, and Rex’s wife Tana were with him, along with Barney’s best friend, Roger Meinershagen. Barney is survived by his wife, Claudia. My path to meeting Barney was… Continue reading
After seeing posters and promotions for Shen Yun, Maggie and I finally went to a performance this past Sunday at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix. Going in I had little idea of what it was other than the acrobatic dances in the previews. The dancing and music looked pretty… Continue reading
The final twenty years of my career was directly involved in disrupting large companies stuck with stale “we are too big to fail” thinking. Running into a person near my age, as I did at lunch last week, espousing today’s version of “It’ll never fly, Orville Syndrome,” irritated me. Don’t… Continue reading
I’ve just completed the latest (32nd) book in John Sandford’s “Prey” series which features cop, detective, Marshall, and sleuth Lucas Davenport. This series began in 1989 with Rules of Prey, and the word “Prey” is in all the titles. I’ve become a solid Sandford fan over the years and have… Continue reading
Those following this newsletter know of my Tesla involvement. I’m a car guy. My initial unpremeditated purchase of the Tesla Model 3 happened in early 2020. No long study or evaluation. Just boom. I wrote about that experience in May 2020. For context, you should read about it here. In… Continue reading
After participating in an international riding competition as a member of the Arizona Precision Motorcycle Drill Team and taking second out of 15 teams, our group of riders split up to ride back to Phoenix from Nashville, TN. The competition had been held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Teams from… Continue reading
This year I read 61 books, about ten more than average, roughly equally split between fiction and non-fiction. As I get older, the number has begun to creep up. I’ve always been a reader. A speed-reading class in high school gave me techniques for increasing speed and comprehension, and I… Continue reading
I’ve just finished Frank J. O’Connell’s book, Jump First, Think Fast, and found it more fun, interesting, and inspiring than I had thought possible. I’ve known Frank and his wife Barb for more than twenty-five years. There was never a doubt Frank’s life and career would make a great story.… Continue reading
In all, we spent 21 days away from Phoenix. From Sept 20 th to October 10th. Roughly 1,600 miles on a rented 2022 BMW 1250GS with Maggie navigating driver Kim Marin’s rental car, mostly following the seven 1250GS rental bikes with nine passengers across 3 countries. The weather was highly… Continue reading