Here and there

by Corn Dog on July 31, 2011
in Misc Updates

Once again, the month of July has been brutal for us, weather-wise… temperatures in the mid- to upper-90’s, with the heat index pushing us up into the 100’s and even 110’s for about the past three weeks. It’s deceiving to sit inside in the air conditioning (thank God for air conditioning, and for the funds to pay the electric bill) and look out at the sunshine, because when you step outside it’s like a heavy, hot blanket gets draped over you – close and suffocating. And “being in the wind” isn’t much better when it feels like a blast furnace.

Keep in mind, I’m not complaining. I’d much rather have a month – even two – of heat and humidity than a winter filled with ice, snow, and bitter cold.

At any rate, I admit I haven’t been out on the bike much these past few weeks. We did get to go to Indianola Bike Night back in mid-July; that was a great evening, as I finally got to meet Vernon Schwarte from Thunder Roads Iowa Magazine. Vernon and his wife Tina (TT) have owned the magazine for a litle over a year now, and they’ve even published a few of my rantings in the “From the Woman’s Seat” column. They’ve done a great job keeping the publication focused on Iowa.

And, just this weekend we took the opportunity of slightly lower temperatures (upper 80’s, heat index 102! LOL) to ride up to Big Barn Harley Davidson to meet Garry & Shirley and see a traveling exhibit related to the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. (My husband Steve, who is a few years older than me, served in the Marine Corps from 1967-71, including several months “in country” near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Viet Nam.) This traveling memorial was developed by the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Fund. It was particularly interesting – and moving – to see some of the items that have been left over the years as mementos at the Wall.

Followed that up with a very nice ride over to Newton along County Road F48 (one of my favorites) – where we saw that the heat has obviously been very good for Iowa‘s favorite crops: fields were a beautiful sea of deep green, the corn topped with golden tassels and the soybean plants full and bushy. Unlike the previous few weeks, riding was a pleasure – it was hot sitting still, but very pleasant once you got moving along. I got sun-burned to a crisp, having once again failed to use any kind of sunscreen. (I’m smart like that.)

We enjoyed our lunch at PJ’s Deli (Steve said the “Turkey Crisp” was really good!) then headed home back to the east where we turned south down Highway 117 at Colfax and into Prairie City, taking the four-lane 163 home through Pleasant Hill.

Now we are at month’s end already, and the Sturgis Rally is coming up in a week. If you’re headed that way – ride safe, have a blast, and say hello to the giant nipple for me!

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Twitter’s not just for Congressmen anymore

by Corn Dog on July 23, 2011
in Commentary

3 Comments

Much like Rep. Anthony Weiner, I find Twitter a lot harder to manage than Facebook. I’m very selective about who I follow, because I’ve found that some folks can really clog up the ol’ newsfeed with useless spammy crap and/or general impropriety.

But, I still want to be able to catch the occasional comment from someone outside my normal universe if they’re talking about a subject that interests me, and it’s here where Twitter has the advantage. With Twitter, I can simply subscribe to a custom feed made up of tweets that include the words “woman” and “motorcycle,” without having to actually follow every Tom, Dick or Congressman out there.

This is a double-edged sword – primarily, the feed is made up of tragic headlines (i.e., “Woman killed in motorcycle wreck…” “Woman thrown from motorcycle…” etc etc). But there are also enough amusing gems out there that make it worthwhile.

So here, I’ve decided to round up a few bits of “wisdom” about women on motorcycles, as posted on Twitter – a snapshot-in-time, if you will, of what folks really think about women who ride.

Some people immediately see the sex appeal of a woman riding a motorcycle:

Some are flat-out inspired:

And some just don’t get it yet:

Sometimes they take note when we do stupid things:

Apparently, some are in total denial about the new reality:

And, some see it but are really uncomfortable with it:

And some (and this is my favorite), know when it’s time to just accept their fate for what it is:

So how about you – are you one of the Twitterati? Find me, and let’s tweet!

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It’s Mutt Madness with Rescue Ink, August 12-14!

by Corn Dog on July 19, 2011
in Events

Avoid the pink cliche

by Corn Dog on July 15, 2011
in Blowing a Gasket

8 Comments

Let me just say this outright: if you have a product and you are suddenly deciding to tailor it to women, DO NOT make it pink. Just don’t. Painting it pink and thinking women will automatically dig it is a cliché. It’s unimaginative. It’s an insult.

This has been a beef of mine for awhile, but I’ve recently noticed more than a few examples of this happening and so it seemed timely to mention it. (I won’t name names – I don’t intend to call anyone out specifically, I just want to encourage everyone marketing to women to be smarter than this.)

Now don‘t get me wrong – I like pink, sometimes. I own things that are pink, and I am not insulted to own them. But make no mistake: I chose pink in these instances. It wasn’t handed to me along with a condescending note stating, “Here you go, this one‘s pink so you‘ll love it!”

So if not pink, what color should you pick that offers universal female appeal? Trick question – there is no such thing! If you’re tailoring something to women, you’ve got to stretch your brain past the pink and get to the idea that women are different and like different colors. Some like the colors of nature… some like the colors of the garage. Some like pastels, some like bold or jewel tones. Some like every color under the rainbow, at different times and for different purposes.

If that makes it too difficult for you to tailor your product, consider the notion that maybe a designated “female color” isn’t needed at all. In fact, I can just about guarantee you that color is not what’s keeping women from using your product. Maybe all you need to do is tweak your advertising or your outreach program to acknowledge that your product is suitable for women. Use a female spokesperson (in a non-sexual way). Encourage the women who do already use your product to show their support. (This is easier than ever in the age of social media.) Maybe your product has more serious problems that are keeping women from embracing it. The fact is, to successfully market to women, you‘ve got to uncover the real issues and address them.

All this is not to say you can’t offer a pink product. Go ahead, if it’s easy to do and you have other color options available as well. Just don’t put pink out there and proclaim, “Now in pink – just for the ladies!”

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Super spy glasses… or cheap piece of crap?

by Corn Dog on July 5, 2011
in Other news

7 Comments

I have a history of buying crap you see on television and then being disappointed in it. Ab Cruncher, Egg Rings, the Esteban Electric Guitar. Well recently at the Good Guys car show, we came upon a vendor selling products that are undoubtedly over-priced and destined to disappoint. But, one of them offers what quite possibly could be the solution to a problem I’ve had since the very first day I rode my own bike across the Mile Bridge at Saylorville Lake: I’ve been looking for a way to safely take pictures of my beautiful state, from the bike, without having to coordinate a pull-over of the whole merry band and without having to fumble for a camera stashed in a pocket.

Maybe the solution is “Mobile Eyewear Recorder,” a pair of sunglasses with a tiny still and video camera embedded between the eyes.

Let me say that after my many experiences with “As Seen on TV” products, I was skeptical. The printed instructions for the glasses did little to boost my confidence, proclaiming:

“Use USB line connect computer, click can to moved computer on the tabletop playing (when will to use PC Camera, must standby status.”

Ultimately we decided to take a chance given the price. We took the glasses for a test ride on July 4 and as these pictures prove, I still have a little to learn about getting decent results.

This photo of a rustic barn illustrates the need to snap the shutter button just a tad sooner.

This photo of Steve on his bike illustrates the point that the center of your forehead doesn’t see what you may actually be seeing in your peripheral vision.

This photo of Saylorville Lake illustrates both of the above points, and also shows that the color captured by the camera may not be the greatest. (But hey, it’s a pin-hole camera embedded in sunglasses, not Ashton Kutcher on the back of the bike taking coolpix with his Nikon.*)

Finally, I took a few segments of video with the camera too. This taught me a couple of things as well: a). I move my head around a lot when riding – and that’s good, it means I’m always looking for potential hazards on the road. And b). Watching video taken from the center of my forehead makes me queasy. The one advantage of the video? Well it appears I can snag some pretty good still shots out of it (examples below).