Re: Where are the SuSE 9.2 Professional CD ISOs?

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 23:24:39 GMT
imotgm <imotgm_REM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> suddenly seeing the humor of the situation, again, as if I were an
> outside observer, in a voice as calm as if we, the driver and I, were
> having a nice little chat on a bus, I say, "Would you mind slowing
> down a bit, at the next curve, I think this is my stop."

You had me rolling on the floor with that story! :-D Reminds me of a
few spills I took, but none so dramatic.

You're right about bikers being a little nuts -- but I was a *lot*
nuts! My most dangerous spill happened one fine spring morning in 1971
when I was going to fire up the bike for the first time that year. I
noticed the throttle cable was pretty worn and figured I'd better
replace it. I went down to the Yamaha shop (I had a 1969 Yamaha 650)
and bought the replacement cable, went back home and installed it.

I'm still not sure why I didn't notice that it was about 8mm shorter
than it should be. However, I fired it up (kick start only) and it was
running a bit rough. I decided to take it around the block a few times,
slowly, because I was just too anxious to get on it.

I drove out of the driveway, turned right down the residential road and
went two blocks to a stop sign on a very busy cross road. About this
time, the engine finally noticed that the 'short' throttle cable was
holding the throttle open and it suddenly kicked in and revved to about
5000 rpm, scaring the crap out of me and causing my hand to slip off
the clutch.

The bike immediately launched itself across the busy cross road, caring
not one bit for the cars and trucks coming its way and scaring the
pickup driver that had been stopped beside me. The slow motion kicked
in and I saw, across the road, a stop sign, a speed limit sign, a very
large oak tree and an even bigger house. I was confident I could thread
between the two signs and maybe even miss the tree, but the house was
posing a more challenging issue.

About at the end of that thought, I was through the signs, having
miraculously avoided all oncoming traffic, and veering away from the
tree, but the house was starting to look like a very painful end to
this ride. Having no other option, I laid the bike on its left side and
the contact with the ground pulled me off the bike. I slid for about 7
meters. The bike, however, continued for another 15 meters, or so, with
the foot peg plowing a nice, straight furrow in this person's front
yard.

Like you, when I realized I was alright, aside from some grass and mud
stains on my pants, and that there would not be a huge, gaping hole in
that house with my broken and bleeding body hanging out of it, I started
laughing. I was shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline overdose but I
stood up, looked back from where I came and said, out loud: "Wow! What a
ride!". :-)

The pickup driver pulled up and jumped out of his vehicle and came
running over to me about the same time that the owner of the house came
running out to me. They were both worried about me and all I could
think of was what a mess I'd made of the lawn. (I went back later that
day and helped him patch his lawn.) They both wanted to take me to the
emergency room but I begged off and started pushing the bike home -- I
was *not* brave enough to fire it up again! :-)

When I got home, I called my friend at the Yamaha shop and told him
what happened. They immediately measured all the throttle cables they
had in stock and found about a third of them too short, like mine.

The next spring, when I fired it up after not running all winter, I
kept it on its center stand . . . ;-)


--
Kevin Nathan (Arizona, USA)
Linux Potpourri and a.o.l.s. FAQ -- http://www.project54.com/linux/

Open standards. Open source. Open minds.
The command line is the front line.
Linux 2.6.8-24.19-default
9:56pm up 3 days 23:15, 11 users, load average: 0.18, 0.11, 0.15
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Purrs for my Nephew, Alex
    ... bike on the sidewalk, was run over by a truck. ... The driver didn't stop until ... The victim on the bicycle is my nephew, ... ran over my nephew and then plowed into a house. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: Rear-ended first day out
    ... The bike moved forward about 10 feet and fell to ... pinning my leg against the curb. ... that I see are because the driver was yakking on the cell phone, playing with the kids, or having a conversation with the passenger while giving eye contact and using their hands to emphasize points. ... you have to be much more alert and aware all of the time than a car driver. ...
    (rec.motorcycles)
  • Road predators
    ... the Potential Bike Thief. ... Then there is the Distracted Driver. ... rear ending your bike if you happen to be there. ... A more exotic hazard is the Unstable Truck. ...
    (rec.motorcycles)
  • Re: Selling my boat...
    ... Rear axle punctures ankle with a 1/2 inch hole about an inch deep. ... tended to my wounds and repaired the bike later. ... Lady that owned the house is out there raising hell about ... If you're completely insane! ...
    (rec.outdoors.fishing.bass)
  • Re: amazing, almost on topic
    ... and door at one end only. ... The house has an fairly wide gap between the side of the ... There's currently a brick wall at the ... build a back wall to the bike storage area (with a ...
    (uk.rec.motorcycles)