Quit Wasting Time on the Telephone!

How many times has it happened to you? You call a company trying to get help or information and get lost in a sea of "customer service" telephone prompts. You know the drill- answer a bunch of dumb questions by pushing so many buttons on your phone, and to your dismay you never get what you came for or worse yet you get disconnected 30 minutes into it. AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!

The fact is, many companies using automated telephone systems actually try to steer you clear from talking to a real person. Why? Who knows!

But all that's about to change.....

Check out the website- www.gethuman.com . It's dedicated to showing you all the different ways to "get around" automated telephone systems and to speed up the time it takes to actually get to a human being.

Just locate the company in the database then follow the directions in the right hand column. You'll cut your wait time dramatically!

Enjoy!

Marc

I'm Picking Up HDTV for FREE!!!!!!!

Wow! Just ran down to WalMart and picked up a Magnavox Digital-to-Analog converter and an RCA amplified indoor TV antenna. This little set up allows me to pick-up local over the air HDTV signals on my TV set for FREE!!!

Boy what a difference it makes. When I first hooked it up the picture was so crisp I just stood there dumbfounded. It really doesn't make sense for me to pay the outrageous cable fees every month since I watch so little........and this way it's FREE!

Now I get a total of 26 super high quality local channels and it only cost me $49.00 for the converter and $29.00 for the antenna. SWEET!

Here's how it looks:


You should know during the HDTV transition(which takes place in 2009), you can apply to receive up to two $40 off coupons for approved digital-to-analog converter boxes. I've already submitted my application online but just couldn't wait for the coupon!

To learn more about the TV Converter Box Coupon Program visit this website: www.dtv2009.gov

If you're interested you should apply soon since the coupons are "supply limited" and good for only 90 days after they mail them to you.

Later,

Marc

Virginia Beach Bound!

UPDATE- Check out my review of the race here: Shamrock Marathon Race Report

That's right, I just signed up to do the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA on March 16, 2008. Had a bit of a time getting a hotel room but found one about a mile away from the start/finish line. Not bad! The plan is to drive up on Saturday, meet friends, run, then return.

Looks like a great course. Check out these links:

Shamrock Marathon Main Page

Course Map


Stay tuned for the report.

Later,

Marc

How To Become a Cross Country Cyclist in 10 Easy Steps

My cross country bicycle tour is slated to begin the first week of May. Check out my online journal; "Three Spokes and a Mirror" at this link:

Marc's Coast to Coast Bicycle Trip!

I continually get questions from people asking what it's like on a long distance bicycle tour. Well my girlfriend sent me an email recently from an unknown cyclist who happened to capture the essence of life on the road.

Given my experience touring across North Carolina (x 2) I can attest the description appearing below is pretty darn accurate. Hilariously accurate.......

Here it is- Enjoy!

"As many of you know I cycled coast to coast in 2000. As time passes a person forgets the hard parts and tends to remember the good parts of the trip. I remember what it was REALLY like after reading this epilogue from a friends website……….

Step 1.
Get a spaghetti strainer and several small sponges. Soak the sponges in salt-water and paste them to the inside of the spaghetti strainer. Place the strainer on your head. Find a busy road. Stand by the side of the road and do deep knee-bends for 8 hours. This will acclimatize you to a days ride.

Step 2.
Take some sandpaper and rub your rear-end and then insides of your legs for about 20 minutes. Rinse with salt water. Repeat. Then, sit on a softball for 8 hours. Do this daily.

Step 3.
Each day, take two twenty dollar bills and tear them into small pieces. Place the pieces on a dinner-plate, douse them with lighter fluid and burn them. Inhale the smoke (simulating car-fumes). Rub the ashes on your face. Then go to a local motel and ask for a room.

Step 4.
Take a 1-quart plastic bottle. Fill it from the utility sink of a local gas-station (where the mechanics wash their hands). Let the bottle sit in the sun for 2 or 3 hours until it is good and tepid. Seal the bottle up (kinda,sorta) and drag it through a ditch or swamp. Walk to a busy road. Place your spaghetti strainer on your head and drink the swill-water from the bottle while doing deep knee-bends along the side of the road.

Step 5.
Get some of those Dutch wooden-shoes. Coat them with gear-oil. Go to the local supermarket (preferably one with tile floors). Put the oil-coated shoes on your feet and go shopping.

Step 6.
Think of a song from the 1980’s you really hated. Buy the CD and play 20 seconds of that song over and over and over for about 6 hours. Do more deep knee-bends.

Step 7.
Hill Training: Do your deep knee-bends with the salt-soaked spaghetti strainer on your head, while you drink the warm swill water and listen to the 80’s song over and over (I would recommend “I’m a Cowboy/On a Steel Horse I Ride!” by Bon Jovi). At the end of 4 hours, climb onto the hood of a friends car and have him drive like a lunatic down the twistiest road in the area while you hang on for dear life.

Step 8.
Humiliation Training: Wash your car and wipe it down with a chamois-cloth. Make sure you get a healthy amount of residual soap and road-grit embedded in the chamois. Put the chamois on your body like a loin-cloth, then wrap your thighs and middle section with cellophane. Make sure it’s really snug. Paint yourself from the waist down with black latex paint. Cut an onion in half and rub it into your arm-pits. Put on a brightly-colored shirt and your Dutch oil-coated wooden shoes and go shopping in a crowded mall.

Step 9.
Foul Weather Training: Take everything that is important to you, pack it in a nylon bag and place it in the shower. Get in the shower with it. Run water from hot to cold. Get out and without drying off, go shopping at a local convenience store. Leave wet, important stuff on the sidewalk. Go inside and buy $10 worth of Gatorade and Fig Newton’s.

Step 10.
Headwinds Training: Buy a huge map of the entire country. Spread it out in front of you. Have a friend hold a hair-dryer in your face. Stick your feet in toffee and try to pull your knees to your chest while your friend tries to shove you into a ditch or into traffic with his free hand. Every 20 minutes or so, look at the huge map and marvel at the fact that you have gone nowhere after so much hard work and suffering. Fold the map in front of a window-fan set to high."

I can't wait!

Later,

Marc

Holiday Wishes from Charlotte,NC

Visit Charlotte,NC- Home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Yeah, I'm a Homeowner Again!

That's right, I successfully placed a winning offer on a condo in the Dilworth section of Charlotte last week. It's a 1108 square ft. unit on the penthouse level. The location is great with plenty of restaurants, parks, and established running/biking trails nearby.

Now my days are filled with cleaning out all the accumulated clutter in my current place and packing boxes for the end of the month move date. Hard to imagine a single guy could have so much junk. Anyone available to help move some light furniture? Call me.....

Dilworth History

Dilworth is a neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA found south of Uptown. The neighborhood was Charlotte's first streetcar suburb and was established by Edward Dilworth Latta in the 1890s on 250 acres (1 km²) southwest of the original city limits and included the Joseph Forsyth Johnson designed Latta Park. Planned largely with a grid pattern similar to the city's original four wards, it was initially designated the Eighth Ward. The streets of Dilworth feature stately, mature oak trees, sidewalks, and houses with front porches. The homes are primarily bungalows – with the occasional Queen Anne – and some larger, two-story Colonial Revival homes lining Dilworth Road East and West. East Boulevard serves as the main thoroughfare through the neighborhood, and divides the residential. East Boulevard is lined with restaurants, offices and shops, many located in renovated homes. Charlotte’s largest hospital, Carolinas Medical Center, is in Dilworth. This 861-bed teaching hospital is the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.

Source: Wikipedia

Later,

Marc

Across North Carolina by Bicycle- SUCCESS!

We did it!

Rode across North Carolina by bicycle on the famous "Mountains to Sea" route plus a little more logging 1234 miles in 20 actual riding days. Hey, averaging 60 miles a day pulling 35 lbs in a B.O.B bicycle trailer wasn't too shabby for old men.

It was a great shakedown ride for our trip across the United States next year.

Check out the complete daily journal with pictures here:

The 2007 Murphy to Manteo and More Bicycle Tour

Later,
Marc

Bicycle Across North Carolina v.2

UPDATEx2! I did it! Rode across the USA on a bicycle! Check out my journal of the adventure here at: Three Spokes and a Mirror

UPDATE: We finished! See the full journal report here:
The 2007 Murphy to Manteo and More Bicycle Tour


That's right, it's time to do a little warm up ride in preparation for the TransAmerica ride next year. On October 14, 2007, a friend and I will ride a semi-loop course around North Carolina. We'll start in Murphy, NC and travel Bicycle Route 2- the "Mountains to Sea" course; a 700+ mile ride ending in Manteo, NC on the Outer Banks.

Once we reach the coast our plan is to head South along Bicycle Route 3- "Ports of Call" to Wilmington, NC and then bear West on Bicycle Route 5- the "Cape Fear Run". The final leg of the trip will be on the "Sandhills Sector" ending in Oakboro, NC. This adventure should take about 3 weeks to complete. Ahhhh, retirement is nice.......

Learn more about the routes we'll take at this link: NC Bicycle Routes

I'll be using my Trek 520 touring bike pulling a Bob trailer this trip. I was going to try panniers but didn't get them ordered in time due to the Africa vacation. Of course we'll be camping mostly but won't turn down a couple of motel stays to catch a warm shower, comfortable bed, and to wash out smelly bike clothes. I can't wait!

Flashback to my first bicycle tour on a recumbent here:
My 2004 Bicycle Tour

Later,
Marc

South Africa was a Blast!

Hello everyone,

I'm speechless over the South Africa trip. What an adventure! Our hosts, Peter and Gavin, rolled out the red carpet and treated us to a trip of a lifetime. Of course Kim's brother John deserves a lot of credit too for helping coordinate a fantastic journey. The sights, sounds, and culture left an indelible mark on me and I will always remember the good time our group had.

The main focus of the two week vacation was exploring Kruger National Park. We spent 12 hours a day cruising the park in search of the "The Big Five" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo). We managed to see everything but leopard- not too shabby!

Our group took just over 4500 pictures. I'm sifting through them now. The Canon Rebel XTI digital camera performed very well. The lenses I took along were the 70-300mm zoom and the 17-55mm 2.8 lens. Both were great choices even though I must admit I wanted a 400mm lens at times.

Check out a sampling of the pictures at: South Africa 2007

Here's a short video clip taken by our Brazilian friend Marilia. It gives you an idea of our daily experience. Enjoy!



Later,
Marc

Off to Africa!

To heck with Myrtle Beach, Disney World, or Six Flags..... Kim and I head to Africa for a little change of scenery. We fly into Johannesburg this weekend to meet her brother. We'll stay with friends then travel through Kruger National Park on a photo safari.

Check out the parks website here: Kruger National Park

We may hit Swaziland as we loop back to Jo'burg. Photo's soon to follow. Keep checking.

Marc