Stuff we “Like”

We’re still building our list of sites, local businesses and online stores that we patronize/frequent/harrass/love/hate/etc. . .  In the meantime, here is our take on:

The Big Boys:

Google.com
Google is the Oracle at Delphi. Her internal workings are arcane and poorly understood, and she is pretty clearly high on something. But, she must be consulted before any important undertaking.  To not consult the great omniscient Google is to set one’s self up to fail.

Bing.com
Bing is David to Google’s Goliath.  Faster, meaner and with something to prove, Bing is loaded with innovative features ’cause to not be would spell certain doom.

Craigslist.org
craigslist is like the internet itself: an enormous collection of garbage with rubies and diamonds buried in under tons of pigshit, rusty old hulks, Cabbage Patch dolls, rotten fruit and broken bottles. Going shopping on Craigslist is like diving for pearls in a cesspool. It is the Alpha and the Omega of a thousand roadtrips, and adventures; the source of many frustrations and of the elusive score. You gotta love it. But, for the love of all that is holy, stay off the forums.

eBay.com
eBay is for when craigslist fails. It is overpriced, inefficient, frustrating, duplicitous, and terribly necessary if you need the correct piece for some vintage project.  With all the new fees and BS, selling stuff there is a wash, but as a buyer, you can still source the unobtanium –if you’re willing to outbid some rich concourse jackass.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is what happens when “truth” becomes a democratic process. Half the time the information is dated, incomplete or just plain wrong. But, every now and then the info you’re looking for has been lovingly compiled with otaku thoroughness and is just waiting there for you to find it.

Twitter.com
Twitter proves the classical notion of Reductio ad absurdum — anything reduced to 140 character becomes absurd, and usually pretty worthless. But, it allows the the inarticulate the fantasy of “writing” and provides content for the semi-literate, so I guess it has its place.

Facebook.com
Facebook is a painful but necessary contrivance in this modern day. It gives shut-ins a facsimile of normal human social interactions, and probably keeps them from becoming serial killers or stalkers (maybe it facilitates it, the jury is still out). It is a window into the minds of your friends and acquaintances.  All too soon you will know just how shallow and ignorant they are, although some of them may surprise you. . .

PDX Area MOTO Resources:

Marshallsautobodyandpaint.com
Marshall’s is a bit of a drive from downtown PDX, but totally worth it.  They have done three hotrods for me and I can’t imagine getting more for my money than they have given me.

Cycle Metrics (503) 292-5510
Gary’s little indy MC shop is so old school he doesn’t have a website, and so good he doesn’t need one.  He has been working on vintage Japanese and European bikes since they were new, and he is the guy I take my old bikes to when I get stumped.

Cascademoto.com
Cascade Moto Classics is the Portland area Triumph dealership, and the only dealership of any kind I have ever liked. It is literally a “mom and pop” business, and the owners and employees are all real bikers who love bikes and riding. They are the only ones I trust to work on my modern Triumph — I certainly don’t trust myself to do it.

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P.s. this format owes a lot to the late, great Ambrose Bierce and his amazing Devil’s Dictionary. It is over 100 years old but still the best work of it’s type.