Mike’s Typo

Catchy title, right?  Occasionally, after a Typo newsletter goes out, I get a flurry of emails or content suggestions.  Usually, these are in reference to something in that issue of the Typo.  Last night was no exception.  Lots of mail this morning, with some pretty funny video clips.  I’m not sure what prompted these videos - ’cause there was some real variety (translated: some wild shit).  I trashed the over-the-edge ones and settled on three that I feel fairly certain you will want to pass on.  Warning: these are inappropriate for anyone not old enough to ride a Harley.  That satisfies our staff legal beagle.  (He hates that title!)

#1: A funny moment meant to loosen up the laughing muscles.  Think of it as a warm-up.

#2: Well this one goes down as laugh-out-loud, with a serious message embedded.  Perfect amount of humor, and other ingredients to get the ultimate point across.

#3: This one could be offensive - but, given who is doing what to whom, and how the discussion plays out it’s just funny.  In fact, I think it is Carlin-esque.  Watch it all the way through.

A bit of levity for the weekend.  Hope you enjoy these.  And, a big thank you to the readers who passed them my way.  To the rest of you who submitted video suggestions, please don’t assume that just because you videos didn’t get included that I think you are warped and demented - although some of you clearly are!  Keep it comin’ our editorial intern is over-18 and has, now “seen it all.”

Ok.  One more.  I’d characterize this one as a “cool-down” for those laugh muscles.

How much the insurance is….  You can’t afford it.  Stumbled across this interesting section of Business Week online.  What a beautiful car from one of the most reveled design houses in the world.  We do custom motorcycles all the time.  Some very high-end, very expensive stuff.  You think it’s outrageous for someone to pay north of $100,000 for a motorcycle.  To put it in another perspective, a couple of trips out to see their bike being build (on the private jet) rack up a tidy bill that gets real close to $50000.  Different world isn’t it?

Here is a beautiful ride - even though it’s got 4 wheels.  More.  You want more pics.  Here you go.

Technical note:  Been outsmarted by the techies at Bus Week.  Scroll to #2 when you click-through to the Business Week online concept of the week page.

It’s been suggested that I stay away from politics.  So.  I’ve tried.  But, this is just too much to ask now that our Repub prez candidate has decided to take a page from the reality tv phenom.  Gov. Sarah and her bode make Ozzie and the Osborne family seem - well, kinda normal.  My bets are that the good Gov. Sarah won’t hit the home stretch.  But, who knows.  Gotta hand it to them, they’ve taken back the air waves.

In all these revelations, we americans just can’t help but wonder - who’s the pa?  A big thank you to the New York Post.  They dug faster than the rest and found the MySpace page.  Here’s the article and a pic.

What?  Well, lots of things.  Many of you know I’m into photography.  (Should update my site to include some of my new stuff - too busy writing Typos).  So, when I stumble across the unique, it often makes me pause and read the article (or look at the pictures).  So.  This one is worth a gander.  I gotta say, “I would never have thought of this.”

How would you like to be sitting quietly eating your lunch at your desk, scrolling the news feeds to see what’s the latest from the Dems in Denver or the world, when there before your eyes is your obituary?  Wouldn’t it cause you to pause, look around, and wonder: am I on Candid Camera?  Then, just maybe, the thought crosses your mind: “I’m dead.”  All very morbid.  But, not too far fetched for Steve Jobs - yesterday.

Seems Bloomberg Newswire was updating Steve’s obit (a common practice) and they hit the wrong key.  Opps.  They published his obituary to the entire world across the world wide web and across all the newswires.  How can that happen?  Shouldn’t there be a bunch of screens you have to go through before an obituary can “go live” so-to-speak?  Who knows.  Well they retracted it - quickly.  So.  Almost no harm done.

With a wee-bit of sleuthing, the Typo is proud to be able to provide the link to the opps.

Wouldn’t that be a weird feeling to read your own obituary?  Wouldn’t you want to edit it?

So much about the new FLs.  Too much?  Naw.  Come on, this is good stuff.  And…  there’s one more thing.  My favorite new feature.  I love this.

You’re at a light.  Instead of blipping the throttle and annoying the hell out of everyone around you, now you just roll the throttle forward.  Presto.  Your rear cylinder shuts down.  Benefit: less heat.  Who said Harleys are low-tech.  This is high-tech, baby.  I love this feature.  You will too.

I think I mentioned previously, that I signed up to be a Charter Member of the Harley-Davidson Museum.  (I’m too young to have made the charter member status of the Mikey Mouse Club.)  So.  They’ve been sending me all sorts of stuff.  More swag than I know what to do with.  Cool stuff.  Not sure what I’ll do with it stuff.  But, cool stuff.

I get back from the family vac.  Here is a envelop from the Museum.  I skip the bills.  Pass right over my copy of Wired mag and rip open that really cool envelop.  Opps.  Shoulda saved the envelop.  What was I tinkin’?

Low and behold (where’d that expression come from; better yet - what does it mean?) here is The Backroad Chronicles.  It’s a neat little book that they describe as the inside scoop on the stories that pay tribute to Harley-Davidson.  I love this piece.  Cover to cover - really cool.

So, here is one little tid-bit.  You know I often appear sexist with my beach volleyball, etc.  It’s true - I like lookin’ women a whole lot more than men.  But all that aside, I have a healthy respect for what a woman can do when she sets a mind to it.  Always have.  Here is an example - from 1915 mind you.

“It’s a misconception that women only recently took an interest in motorcycling.  Nothing could be further from the truth.’

‘With only 10 days of riding experience, Della Crewe of Waco, Texas and her dog, Trouble, racked up huge miles together during the spring of 1915.  With 125 lbs. of gear stuffed in the sidecar, Della and Trouble headed to the races in Dodge City, Kansas.  After discovering how much fun that road trip was, they continued on to New York, often on dirt roads that were rutted by buggies, cars, excessive rain, and severe erosion.  But that didn’t stop them….”

That was in 1915.  Tough lady that Della.  Hats off to you!

Join up.  Get the swag.  It’s cool.

I needed to come back to work to recover from the family vacation.  Whew!  What a time had by one and all.  It was great to get away and recharge the batteries.  Although they (the batteries) seem to be showing their age a bit.  Don’t seem to hold a charge as long!  Anyhew, lots of great things to blob about.  So.  I’m ready to jump in.  I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks hitting the high points - as I see them - of the new model year.  And, I’ve got some other great stuff to throw out there - nuggets that I’ve been collecting over the past month or so.

Oh, btw.  Seems someone was masquerading as FMT or Fake Mike’s Typo in my absence.  That problem has been solved - we’ll have no more of that.  Or, will we?

Thanks for being patient with the re-runs while I was gone.  Here comes some new stuff.

Where do concept cars go - when their luster is gone?  I’ve always wondered that.  Thanks to the good folks at Wired, I’ve got an answer.  Somehow they make their way into private collections and then someone gets the grand idea to build an auction around them.  And, hold it during the Pebble Beach Concours.  The Wired article offers a rare glimpse into some pretty cool rides.  I could see myself going down the road in one of these.  Check that thought - $500,000 is a bit out of my price range.  Enjoy the photos.  As always, the fantasy is FREE!

Why didn’t I think of that?  That’s just one of the seven secrets of Southwest Airlines’ success.  This kind of article wouldn’t typically hit the Typo editorial radar.  But, we’re dealing with an airline that for some time has “done everything right.”  So.  When you read this article, you quickly get the sense that it’s the unconventional decisions that fueled their success.  I can just picture Herb Kelleher (Southwest’s founder) riding his Harley with a bunch of buddies - stopping for a beverage - talking about all that’s wrong with the airlines - and then ole Herb sticks out his chest and says, “Shit, I’m gonna start me an airline and do everything the opposite of these yoyos!”  He did it, and, well he was right.  The article is a quick read.  Very interesting.  I’m sure there is a book on it’s way.