A lesson in life.
A Professor stood before his Philosophy 101 class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a jar of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.
The students responded with an unanimous yes.
The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand.
The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things — your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions — things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
“The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get a medical checkup. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.
The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”
The Sun has got its hat on……
Sorry, just had to sing/say it.
The rain has finally buggered off and I have been having some great commutes.
Monday and Tuesday saw my favourites, where it is icy cold, blue skies. and a heavy frost covers everything.
The biggest plus is that it is still just about light when I get home.
I can have more “fun” on the ride home ‘cos it is dry and I can see more.
You have just got to love it 
A blatant weather post
The problem with this time of year is that many people get a preoccupation with the weather.
Winter is just coming to and end. It is getting that little bit warmer, and I can just about make it home with a glow still on the horizon.
The thing is, whilst the winter does seem to have been shorter and warmer this year it has certainly been wetter.
The one thing I look forward to over the winter is crisp frosty mornings with sunny blue sky.
Steam vapour trails whisking around in my lid, fields white with frost, mist floating in the valleys and dips, and visibility so clear that everything looks so full of beauty and vibrancy.
Sure sunny hot summer days are great, but they are just not the same.
So, it is with some sadness that I watch the Winter fade away.
Still, with the coming of the warmer weather it will not take me 10 minutes to get ready, so I can leave for work later and get home earlier.
Saying that, I could always use the 10 minutes to take the scenic route. 
Front brake on the XT
I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but the brake reservoir on the front was off a Kawasaki something or other.
The main reason the XT600 front end was put on was to take advantage of the disc, and getting rid of the drum, as apparently this would provide much better braking.
To be honest, I thought the braking would probably have been better if the drum was on it.
So, via the wonders of ebay I sourced an XT600 brake reservoir and fitted it on the weekend.
I also had to get a brake light switch, but that came from a dealer – £15 
Today I was out in the mud in the greenlanes near me. The new tyres are a revelation; the bike is so much more stable and riding sideways does not lead to randomness.
I also had a chance to test the front brake whilst out and about on the road, and it is much better.
I’m not sure what to attack next, that is not going to require removing big bits of the bike for stripping and painting.
I’m having too much fun to take it off the road
An update on the XT
I just realised that the XT is supposed to be a project, and I am supposed to be documenting the progress.
To be honest there has not really been any.
The fuel issue is sorted, which was sorted by the strip down, and ensuring that the second carb opened at pretty much the same time as the primary.
Less fuel economy, but more poke.
I have noticed that one of the tappets is a bit noisy now.
It also has some proper knobblies on it.
I went for Michelin AC10 tyres in the end, which seemed a good balance of rubber on the road and grip for the clay in the hills.
Other than that, not a lot has happened. I guess I have been too busy just having fun on it.
It is immensely practical, and came into its own in all the snow. Saying that, it would have been better with the new tyres.
It is getting lighter
Every year I dread it when the clocks go back ‘cos it means dark rides home, which when combined with the wet and cold can be a real downer.
It seems to go on and on and on and on and….
Today was a mostly sunny day and on leaving work at 17:30 I could still see a glow on the horizon.
My heart skipped and a great big smile broke across my face. That little glow makes all the difference.
The end on Winter is coming. Riding home in the light is coming back
Saying that, the clocks are not set to go forward until March 28th, which is still two blinking months away.
Riding in the sleet
Firstly, let me just say that it is not something that I would recommend.
I left for work this morning, on the TDM, and it was raining a little bit. I did contemplate taking the car ‘cos snow was forecast “a little later”.
Little did I know that in 10 minutes time I would be riding through a sleet blizzard.
The worst part is that every 100-200 yards I would have to wipe the layer of slush off the visor.
This meant that my left index finger got very cold, oh and of course the heated grips got cold.
It was a vicious circle, just as finger was getting a hint of a possibility of heat, I had to de-slush.
I got to work in good time and non the worse for wear.
Well, that is if you ignore the frozen finger, the snow cone in my crutch, and generally looking like a walking Slush Puppy.
Hey ho. At least it was relatively dry on the way home.
We used to have a carport
Up until 06:00 we had a carport just out side the front door.
It was about 8′x15′, and was great to protect from the rain, especially when get my kit on/off for the bike.
Alas, the extra snow we had last night provided the flake that was a flake too many, bringing the whole thing crashing down.
I tried to carry Samantha out the front door, when taking her to school.
The roof was made of corrugated perspex sheets, which I had replaced this Summer, so it was very slippery with the snow on.
I slipped and Samantha landed on top of me. Luckily the snow cushioned the fall
I spent all morning shovelling all the snow off, and then breaking the roof up and getting it out of the way.
Arghhh, need milk
So, we needed milk today. I rang around the various shops nearby and no one had any.
Some where expecting their delivery but were not sure when, and others did not even know if they were getting any.
I was going to dig the car out of the snow, but that just seemed like hard work. Plus, I am not sure I would have got the car back on the drive again.
What is as good as a Landrover, but only has two wheels? Oh yeah, the XT550 was coming out to play.
I got to Morrisons and picked up 12 pints. I would now be able to payback the neighbours and still have some in reserve in case anyone else needed some.
I did seem to get some very odd looks though :O
Here are some snaps of the journey:
First to plow out of the garage
Then down our road
Down the next road
Finally down a main road
Back and tucked up
The recent snow
I feel I really need to write something about the recent spate of snow.
Usually we get a light dusting that lasts about a day.
This time we had full on proper snow, well for us anyways. 8 inches dropped last night and what a sight it was.
The problem with my job is that I can do it from anywhere, so whilst many were out playing, I was in sorting out some code from the comfort of my own home.
I did get out for a walk up to the shops, and it was great fun.
Alas, my daughter has a chest infection, so whilst there were smiles her heart was not really in it. 
I did capture this photo though….
