kenr Posted January 2, 2005 Posted January 2, 2005 Not a book but a great way to waste some time over the holidays...... A couple of years ago I bought an Xbox to entertain the hordes of kids expected over during Christmas. I am not particularly into games so it spends 99.9% of its life switched off in the cupboard, however I had read a while ago about a mod chip that allows you to turn the Xbox into a media server, so I spent some hours doing research and purchased an Xecuter3 modchip. Installed the Modchip and the EvolutionX bios and dashboard, and Xbox Media Center, and hey presto I now have a great media server. I put a 160Gig disk in and loaded up all my mp3s, DivX movies and photos - the Xbox is plugged directly into the TV and surround system so it works great. It also means I can surf the web - not so great on the TV as the resolution isnt that good, however it does mean I can listen to web based radio from anywhere in the world, and quickly check the weather forecast, etc.... I have also loaded up all the games DVDs to disc so I can put the originals away from destructive powers of our 2 year old ! Considering the modchip is around $50 and everything else is a free download its really turned a little used box into a great piece of hardware - does make you wonder why Microsoft didnt exploit the full potential of the hardware. If anyone feels like giving this a try let me know and I can point you in the direction of the files, etc you need. Well worthwhile
Guest Steve_W Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Considering the modchip is around $50 and everything else is a free download its really turned a little used box into a great piece of hardware - does make you wonder why Microsoft didnt exploit the full potential of the hardware. They aren't interested in anything that acts in any way like a computer but doesn't run Windows. They'd frown on the mod chip too, since it takes away from their World Domination Plan... Don't get me started on my Microsoft rant.
Guzzirider Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon is well worth a read. This book has inspired many riders to get on their bikes and travel the world. http://www.realclassic.co.uk/books04081600.html
antonio carroccio Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 You bunch af sissy!!! You've never read Charles Bukowsky, don't you?
TX REDNECK (R.I.P.) Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 This one's for you Antonio http://entropy.brneurosci.org/reviews/redneck.html
GuzzTim Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Tx.. I've had this cookbook for a couple of years. You may enjoy. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846 Cheers Tim
Motomonster Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 You bunch af sissy!!! You've never read Charles Bukowsky, don't you? 40173[/snapback] Don't call me a sissy until you've read John Fante!
mojohand Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 I heartily recommend The Perfect Vehicle. It's one of the best-written books I've ever read, and her weaving of personal experiences in with history is a great way to bring that history to life, IMHO. As far as what she's doing, apparently she got a bit burned out on the whole biking scene. Whether she bought a horse & gave up motorcycling is unknown to me, but she did write about being a horse fan as a young girl. In fact her book Dark Horses and Black Beauty examines that. I found this great quote about the book: The very best thing about this book is that it has been written by a woman. Women have this refreshing tendency to understand that books can be about other subjects than themselves alone, and they write them with the reader in mind. Pierson’s book is about her experience with motorcycles, but only within the larger work at hand, which is communicating the experience and background of the machine and mileu. The next best thing is that it is written by somebody who is primarily a writer who rides motorcycles rather than the other way around. Pierson’s work is pleasant, interesting and it flows well, which is a very good thing for a book whose job it is to explain a pastime which is foreign to most of the western world. Much of the writing about motorcycling suffers from being overspecialized—it caters to a crowd already immersed in the sport. This book is elemental enough to draw in the neophyte, but the quality of the work held my attention to the end. Pierson is addicted to the beautiful and quirky Moto Guzzis, an Italian make with more personality than is perhaps beneficial to any but a writer. Great stuff.
antonio carroccio Posted January 4, 2005 Posted January 4, 2005 This one's for you Antonio http://entropy.brneurosci.org/reviews/redneck.html 40182[/snapback] I will see if I can get some LSD while I am reading this book, TX.
belfastguzzi Posted January 8, 2005 Posted January 8, 2005 Unfortunately I have not come across many good motorbike adventure/riding books. As mentioned various times before on this site, The Perfect Vehicle was a huge disappointment and the way that it was hyped perhaps points up the fact there aren't many other good books available. I hope I'm wrong and that I'll find some. Excuse me as I perhaps wander into fantasy: so far, I think that the 'Guzzi spirit' (as I imagine it) has been better portrayed in the writing of mountaineers and sailors. For me, Bill Tilman and Eric Shipton from around the 40s/50s certainly hit the mark. Instead, Shipton and his climbing partner, Bill Tilman, joked that “they could organize a Himalayan expedition in half an hour on the back of an envelope.” Unusual in the 1930s, their no-frills style has since become the standard—lightweight, low impact, self-propelled, culturally sensitive, and motivated by the sheer joy of exploration. > Here's an arbitrary nice pic BTW, Shipton was famous at the beginning of the fifties for his yeti footprint photo. What brought me to this subject tonight was that I noticed in Amazon that Mick Walker is producing another Guzzi book very shortly: "Moto Guzzi: The Racing Story"
Admin Jaap Posted January 9, 2005 Posted January 9, 2005 Next book on my reading list is Ghost Rider, by Neil Peart. He's the drummer of my favourite (canadian) rockband Rush. Synopsis: In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. This memoir tells of the sense of loss and directionlessness that led him on a 55,000-mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again. He had needed to get away, but had not really needed a destination. His travel adventures chronicle his personal odyssey and include stories of ... He also wrote: The Masked Rider: Cycling In West Africa Dysentery, drunken soldiers, and corrupt officials provide the background for Neil Peart's physical and spiritual cycling journey through West Africa. The prolific drummer for the rock band Rush travels through African villages, both large and small, and relates his story through photographs, journal entries, and tales of adventure, while simultaneously addressing issues such as differences in culture, psychology, and labels. Literary and artistic sidekicks such as Aristotle, Dante, and Van Gogh join Peart and his cycling companions, remin ...
not_scooter_Scura! Posted January 9, 2005 Posted January 9, 2005 Really??? I read it back in the '70's and found it boring, self-indugent and turgid. I tried to read it again a couple of years ago and was still confronted by the same things. Certainly when I'm riding my bikes, or working on them, I'm not in the least bit concerned with quasi-God-bothering nonsense of a very sophomorc nature. I thought the book stank! One * Pete 40093[/snapback] Pete, Pete, Pete - how many times have you tried to take THAT bolt out? Each time I think you live the book cover to cover without knowing it, as a mechanic (you are a mechanic right? ) you obviously know about sequences. As always it;w what YOU bring to the book (or movie), I was ready at the time to really dedicate myself to it all. Why did you go back to it? But hey, we just like the same bikes, I can live with that.
GuzzTim Posted January 9, 2005 Posted January 9, 2005 Next book on my reading list is Ghost Rider, by Neil Peart. He's the drummer of my favourite (canadian) rockband Rush small world. the woman who cuts my hair (her band is at www.mobiusdonut.com) is a huge Rush fan, and she mentioned that one today.. its on my list now... Growing up in Toronto (and playing bass) in the 70's Rush was a huge influence.
stormsedge Posted January 9, 2005 Posted January 9, 2005 I forgot "Uncle John's Biggest Ever Bathroom Reader"...it's one you'll like and no one will ask to borrow... k
Admin Jaap Posted April 14, 2005 Posted April 14, 2005 Finished "Ghost Rider" by Rush drummer/songwriter Neil Peart a few weeks ago. Bloody brilliant. He travels 55.000 miles in almost two years (on a BMW 1100 GS) The long trip helps him struggling with the loss of his wife and daughter. As a long time Rush fan this book put his lyrics in a whole new perspective.
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