Tag Archives: Scooter

Completely Random Things – Olympic Edition

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted as it has appeared that I have caught the “Olympic Fever”. I’m not really much of a sports watching guy. I’m more of a get out there and do it type of person. However, every four years, for some reason, I find any sport that one of my fellow Canadians are competing in, interesting…even badminton. Here are a few completely random things that I’ve got on my mind…

Why Do My People Have to Pull This Shizzle?

If you haven’t already seen it, the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Beijing were probably some of the most spectacular ever. They better be for a cool hundred million or so. I thought it was a solid 4.6 out of 5.0 though it did drag for me in some section.

If you haven’t heard already, it appears the event wasn’t totally authentic. For example, the 29 foot steps that paved the way to the birds nest: Fake. CGI was introduced into the first 55 seconds of the opening ceremonies to give the effect of footsteps walking into the city of Beijing. Chinese officials say that it was too dangerous to have a helicopter pilot follow real fireworks foot steps so they faked it.

That wasn’t really such a big deal, but the biggest fakery: Lip Syncing Nine Year Olds. The little girl that sang the song that opened the cereomonies wasn’t cute enough to be in front of the camera so they replaced her with a lip syncing double. The original girl was singing live in the background. We like your voice, but your face is fugly. Wow.

I can’t say I’m really suprised. I mean, fake things have been coming from China for years, from Gocci, Prado to Rolax. I just didn’t expect them to perpetuate the stereotype. Oh, my peoples…

Peanut Butter Scooter Time!

After picking up my scooter in June, I’ve been amazed at how useful it has been. I ride it almost every day and its saved me a whole ton of money on gas. For example, a fill up on my Subaru Impreza which costs around $70 to fill up on 89 octane, gets me about 400KM’s. My scooter sucks in about $6.00 bucks of 94 octane for a tank. How many Kilometers you ask?

Well, I hadn’t filled up since Dot Com Scooter Gang so today I decided to fill’er up and put in only $5.61 of 94 octane with the needle at a millimeter or two from the red mark, at 697KM’s. It’s actually my first full 94 octane fill up as I did a half tank before Dot Com Scooter, after finally cluing in that they use a separate hose only for 94 octane while the other grades share the same hose. Though this is not a big deal for a car, the scooter takes far less fuel so I probably got 87 octane when I paid for a 92 octane fill up at 322KM’s.

After Dot Com Scooter Gang, Carl filled up at just over $6.00 for half a tank after riding 5 hours on the Honda Metropolitan that CycleBC rented out. Kwanye was a hair above $4.00 because he never cracked the throttle wide open. I can’t count Gary’s total because John ripped the nozzle from out of his hand and proceeded to fill his own scooter.

I rode out from Port Moody to Vancouver for Dot Com Scooter Gang and back and hadn’t filled up for eight days till today. It’s already over 60 KM’s from Vancouver and back, plus five hours of non-stop scooter terrorism with the Dot Com Crew and I always ride nearly wide open throttle. I think this is a new mileage record but I forget how many KM’s I filled up at last time. I guesstimate that this is just over 200 KM’s on a tank. Let’s see how many KM’s till the next fill up on this tank so we can find out for sure.

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The Dot Com Scooter Gang Aftermath

Yesterday was a blast! Dot Com Scooter Gang was a complete success (with some FAIL) all at the same time. On one hand, everyone had a blast terrorizing and honking at the citizens of Vancouver. On the other hand, Michael Kwan the Internet Famous Segway Crasher, bailed once again and we now add Scooter Crasher to his list of nicknames in addition to Kwanye. Thankfully, Scooter was unscathed and was able to stay away from any Kwan Carnage though there were a few other close calls besides the one in the video.

Of course, no Dot Com Adventure would be complete without John Chow doing something mischievious as he tears up a gravel parking lot doing scooter burn outs. Gary Ng tries to prove that the iPhone 3G is actually useful for something and Carl Nelson takes us down to the Barefoot Kitchen for some authentic Japanese fast food. It’s all right here in the first ever Dot Com Scooter Gang Video…

If you liked the video, definitely head on over to YouTube and give it a rating. You might make Kwan “Internet Famous”.

Was It The Helmet?

I have to hand it to Kwanye. By the time the day was over, he was ripping the throttle wide open instead of putting around like granny on a mobility scooter. His cornering and handling was also 100% improved over earlier in the day. No longer was he causing women to scream because it looked like he was bailing into the cars in the turning lane from the curb at Spanish Banks, or rubbing up against inanimate objects with his body parts, leading to required first aid assistance. It was like he had changed from Scooter Crashing Kwanye into Somewhat Sketchy Kwanye. I’d ride with Somewhat Sketchy Kwanye any day at a safe distance. I’m still cracking up over how he tried to keep a straight face and tried to hide the gaping hole in his jeans as he explained to CycleBC how he didn’t know how the huge scratches got on his scooter.

Don’t forget to catch up with us again at Dot Com Pho. We’ll be heading down to the Congee Noodle House this Saturday. Watch for complete details posted on Friday or put me on your Twitter Hot List for up to the minute Dot Com Pho updates.

Next week, we’ll be doing our first Dot Com RockBand. Stay tuned as Michael Kwan tries to redeem himself with the soothing sounds of Timmay and the Lords of the Underworld. I am sure that EPIC Hilarity will be on the menu in some shape or form.

Three More Useful Scooter Accessories

My first Yamaha C3 Scooter modifications addressed some basic comfort and styling issues that were nagging me. Sticking to the non-warranty voiding modifications that don’t allow me to personally crack open the engine, I’ve done a few more small mods that offer some utility, safety, and fun.

This One’s For Kwanye The Segway Crasher

Three More Useful Scooter Accessories

If Danger Prone Kwanye bites it today at Dot Com Scooter Gang like the poor guy did at Dot Com Segway, we’ll be well prepared. Because of the cavernous storage compartment in my Yamaha C3 Scooter, I can fit a whole ton of things in here. One of those things is this first aid kit that I picked up at MEC for $14.50. This kit gives you all the basics including rubber gloves so you can tend to your own wounds or the wounds of your wiped out comrades without catching cooties. The kit is small, flat, and waterproof so you don’t end up applying soggy bandages. Even if you don’t plan on spilling, you never know when someone else will.

The Dot Com Scooter Cam

There is no better way to capture the action than with a video camera. However, video cameras and digital cameras in general are expensive and running over them with a Segway or a Scooter isn’t a great way to take care of them. That’s why having a cheap and useful video camera in your reportoire like the Flip Mino is great for those times when you know (or don’t know) how much carnage may happen on a machine that is built to be crash proof. But how are you going to mount it so that someone can’t blame it for causing the Segway to crash? How about an UltraPod Mini!

Three More Useful Scooter Accessories

Unlike the poor Manfrotto ModoPocket Mini Tripod that got bent in the Great Segway Crash of 2008, the Ultrapod Mini tripod features a pivoting head and legs that are folded down the center at 90 degrees for stiffness. They fold apart like a fan when in use, and fold together when you need to store it. The best features of this tripod is the attached velcro strap that not only helps the Ultrapod stay together for storage, but also allows you to secure it to a pole, structure, or in this case, the handlebars of my Yamaha C3 Scooter.

The mounting is very secure and you can tighten it quite snuggly with the velcro around the bars. Since the head mounts on a ball socket, I can pretty much move it wherever I want. It got this at MEC as well for $13.50. Not bad at all.

I Need NOS! Two Bottles!

How about one bottle and a straw?

Three More Useful Scooter Accessories

One of the things that many scooters lack is a place to put a beverage. This handy beverage holder, originally made for things like JetSkis and other watercraft , is perfect for the less choppy waters of a scooter. Using a pair of suction cups, this thing sticks to any flat clean surface on your scooter. I chose to mount it down low to keep the center of gravity intact, but you can mount it up higher if you wish. It’s excellent for mounting a bottle of NOS (or two if you buy a second one for the other side) to help you race for those pink slips…NOT!

Stay tuned for the Dot Com Scooter Gang Video later today! Hopefully a camera survives to tell the tale.