Banal Leakage » scooter

What Happens Before Vegas

martymankins — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:26:04 +0000

Original photo found at Classic Las Vegas

My list of things I need to do before heading to Vegas on Wednesday [tomorrow]:

Charge my scooter battery (not that I am driving it to Vegas… )
Pack (I’m taking two bags, one for clothes, one for tech gear)
Work 6 hrs (please let no stupid shit happen during that time)
Pack a rain coat (it’s still winter time, even in Vegas)
Charge phones (both my Treo and my iPhone)
Post this blog post (the fact that you are reading this means I can check off this item)
Remember to tell my brother-in-law “Happy Birthday” without mentioning how old he is (he’s older than I am)
and…. think positive about winning at the penny slots (I might play some roulette, too)

I think that’s it. Wish me luck. I’ll post again soon.

Scooter Sunday – Season 2 Ep. 14

martymankins — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:56:01 +0000

Remind me to not tear up at the end of the season.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click Here (opens a new browser window)

The End of the Season

This episode is the end of Season 2. I thank you, my readers and viewers, for being patient with me this year. While there have been some great videos I’ve done, the creator is always the worst critic. I had wanted to do more episodes, especially given the time I had during the entire month of October. But it didn’t happen. And I’m ok with that, for the most part, because it wasn’t due to the fact that I don’t love riding my scooter and making videos. No no.. there were other factors, which I hope to blog about here soon.

But enough of that. I do have some great plans for Scooter Sunday Season 3 and hope to get back to my regular, creative self during the winter months.

Speaking of Winter…

Which brings me to the return of Snowy Sunday on December 6th, 2009. There will be a new episode each and every week during the winter months, come rain, snow, sleet, distractions, lazy ass syndrome… no exceptions [well, there's always *some* exceptions, but I will try to keep them from interfering with my video making]. I’ve got some great kick ass episodes in store for you, the viewing audience.

Scooter Sunday – Season 2 Ep. 13

martymankins — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:42:34 +0000

It should come as no surprise, as seen in previous episodes, that I do enjoy ice cream.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click here.

Two In A Row

With summer officially gone and fall started, I am doing what I can to get a few more episodes of Scooter Sunday in before it gets too cold to ride. The forecast is looking pretty cold and grim for this next weekend, so there will most likely not be a new episode next week.

Which means I should (that’s the key word there) be able to get caught up on my other blog posts I’ve been wanting to post.

Scooter Sunday – Season 2 Ep. 12

martymankins — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:42:39 +0000

I’ve been docked too long… Let’s head back out to sea.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click here.

Winner Winner, Memory Card Winner

And as promised, based on random numbers picked for each comment left on this previous post, here are the winners of the SD cards:

1Gb SD card – Avitable
2Gb SD card – Sybil Law

And the winner of the 8Gb SD card is….

Hello Haha Narf

Congrats to the winners. Emails will be going out soon with details on how to claim your prize.

Scooter Sunday – Season 2 Ep. 11

martymankins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:00:17 +0000

It’s not so much Casey Kasem, but rather more like John Cusack.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click here.

UPDATE:

– I forgot to add proper credit to the opening song in this weekend episode.

Band: The 13th Floor Elevators

Song: “You’re Gonna Miss Me”

Snowy Sunday #02

martymankins — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:48:44 +0000

Starting to get the swing of things here. All new episode. Enjoy.

Snowy Sunday Ep. 002 from Marty Mankins on Vimeo.

For the YouTube version, click on this link: Snowy Sunday Episode 002

Make sure you tune in next week. I’ve got something cool planned that everyone will like.

Scooter Sunday #30

martymankins — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:41:03 +0000

The last episode of Scooter Sunday Captured for the season. Enjoy a look back at some scooter moments from 2008.

Scooter Sunday Captured Ep. 009 from Marty Mankins on Vimeo.

For the YouTube version, click on this link: Scooter Sunday Captured Episode 009

The End For Now

As Scooter Sunday comes to an end for 2008, it brings some sadness, as there are times when I wished I lived in a warmer climate and be able to ride year round. But reality slaps me in the face and I realize we get a good 6 months of winter here in Utah. Oh, we have some nice days here and there, but “nice” in the winter is anything above 45 degrees during the day. Still not exactly scooter friendly, considering the roads are pretty icy most of the time. If all things go as planned, Scooter Sunday should be back sometime in late March.

Since last Sunday, the weather turned pretty cold. We had some warm weather, but it was a lot less than we’ve seen in previous weeks. I still need to winterize the scooter, but I’m putting it off, thinking we’ll get one more day in the 60’s… one more quick ride before I unplug the battery and cover up the scooter in a nice warm blanket. I know… fat chance, but wishful thinking on my part.

Winter Plans

So what am I doing for the winter? Hibernating like a bear and snacking on my ration of Mother’s Circus Animal cookies? Not exactly [although I do have a hidden bag somewhere]. Be patient, people. I will reveal all next week.

Scooter Sunday #27

martymankins — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:28:14 +0000

Here you go, you Scooter Sunday addicts…. All New Episode! All New Song! Watch it now!

Scooter Sunday Captured Ep. 006 from Marty Mankins on Vimeo.

For the YouTube version, click on this link: Scooter Sunday Captured Episode 006

Minor Formatting Change

All of my previous posts have had some form of formatting to them. I used a SPAN tag that formats the text to a Verdena font. It seemed to work ok, but there’s some feed readers and browsers that had an odd display to it. The formatting looked like there were tons of space between paragraphs [I am still using the < p > tags for each paragraph]. So the last post and all posts from here on out will not be using the SPAN tags. It appears to format the text better, at least from what I’ve seen. Let me know if you see any difference.

How Many More Episodes?

I’ve had a couple of people ask me how many more video episodes of Scooter Sunday Captured will I be doing this year. Well, that all depends on the weather here in Utah. So far, it’s been cold in the mornings, but warm during the day. We had a cold snap last weekend with some snow, but this weekend has been very nice… in the low 70’s. Perfect for scooter riding. But as I’ve mentioned before, cold weather is just around the corner. So enjoy the videos while I still have scooter-friendly weather. Once I’ve put the scooter away for the season, I’ll still be making videos… just something that’s more winter-friendly. I’ll post the details on that soon.

Scooter Sunday #26

martymankins — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:52:53 +0000

All new episode this week. The rest of the blog post follows the video.

Scooter Sunday Captured Ep. 005 from Marty Mankins on Vimeo.

Special mention to Beth from Copasetic Beth [the word 'copasetic' is part of the song's lyrics used in the above video]

For the YouTube version, click on this link: Scooter Sunday Captured Episode 005

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Gas Mileage Update

The last three tanks I’ve used in my scooter have gone 110, 109 and 115 miles, respectfully. My tank holds 1.1 gallons of gas. Doing the math, I ended up getting almost 105mpg on my last tank.

I’ve been riding my scooter to work most days, not driving my car much. As a matter of fact, I went from August 15th to September 29th on a single tank of gas for my car. That figured out to be 28mpg in my car. Not bad and the savings on gas was nice, too. Not to mention reducing the amount of emissions I added to the air.

The weather here in Salt Lake is changing quick. This last Friday was pretty damn chilly. A high of 47. Brrrrr! I bundled up for my ride, but I can tell you that it was a bit tough. My days of daily riding are coming to an end. So sad.

R.I.P. Mother’s Cookies

Speaking of sad, One of my favorite cookies that I’ve eaten for years will soon be gone. Mother’s Cookies abruptly shut their doors after 92 years in business.

“Goodbye frosted rhinos, tigers and elephants”

I had so many memories as a kid, eating those frosted Circus Animal cookies. When I heard the news, I wiped the tears from my eyes and drove to the two local Albertson’s and bought several bags. I am now on a daily ration, which is proving to be difficult. Can’t. Resist. Cookie.

I always preferred the smaller bite-sized version of the iced oatmeal

While the Circus Animals were my all-time favorite, the iced oatmeal were a close second. So tasty and a great little snack. I know there may be another brand out there that’s similar, it just won’t be a true substitute. I will miss Mother’s brand when they are no longer found at the stores.

Scooter Sunday #25

martymankins — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:15:44 +0000

I provided some cool media to hold you over between new episodes. Kris’ “Road To Nowhere” video was awesome. I threw together a few outtakes from previous Scooter Sunday Captured episodes. But as it turns out, you guys are addicted. So here you go…. all new episode this week. Then stick with me after the video for the rest of today’s post on what I did and where I went last weekend.

Scooter Sunday Captured Ep. 004 from Marty Mankins on Vimeo.

For the YouTube version, click on this link: Scooter Sunday Captured Episode 004

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Utah’s first In-N-Out Burger

a double-double with grilled onions is calling for me

I grew up in Southern California [Garden Grove to be exact] and loved going to In-N-Out Burger. Their simple menu, use of fresh ingredients and great taste make it the king of burger joints. So when I had heard they built their first location in Utah [All restaurants are company owned], we had to stop on our way to Nevada. Nothing hits the stop like a double-double with grilled onions (sorry no pic this time around). Yum!

Valley Of Fire

The entrance to Valley of Fire

I had previously mentioned we had plans to go to Bryce Canyon. It turned out we didn’t have as much time as we wanted to, so we changed plans. Instead, we decided to visit Valley of Fire, which is just 30 minutes north of Las Vegas. The area was very cool, with red rock, different formations and all sorts of wonderful scenery.

Awesome view of the Valley of Fire

It was still pretty warm (temps were in the high 90’s) so walking around was a bit of a challenge for the few hours we were there. We brought some liquids, but not enough. Need to remember to bring more next time we visit. Regardless, my wife and I had a good time there.

17??

“Hey dad… hurry up… we’re hungry!”

My daughter turned 17 this last week. Looking back when I was that age, I was just starting my senior year [She's in 11th grade]. Of course, looking forward to the present day, that means I’m older. But according to my daughter, I’m still cool to hang out with. That’s a plus for both of us. I will enjoy it while it lasts.