Category Archives: Status Updates

This is the catch-all category for posts that cover the development and testing of this web site. They’re not that interesting, unless you’re new to WordPress and are attempting to start your own blog on a self-hosted installation.

Introducing: the Nightowl

I recently added the Nightowl, a 2015 BMW K1600GTL, to my collection of two-wheeled conveyances. Naturally, there are a few good stories to tell about the selection and purchase process. The full-on gory details are in the following posts:

 

Anatomy of a Bike Purchase

So, about the actual purchase of the Nightowl (my new 2015 BMW K1600GTL). Well, this is a long story of research and negotiations that went on for several weeks. Continue reading Anatomy of a Bike Purchase

Head vs Heart: Selecting Your Next Motorcycle

While there are many factors that can drive the process of selecting your first motorcycle, the ultimate selection is often driven by your heart rather than your head. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been pining away for years over a specific Bike or you find yourself gobsmacked with lust over some newly-announced model.

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… –Blaise Pascal

For most people, the heart vs head battle gets inverted by the time it’s time to buy a second (or third, or fourteenth) motorcycle. The more your ride, the more you learn about how you like to ride and what you like, love, and loathe about one bike versus another. Continue reading Head vs Heart: Selecting Your Next Motorcycle

First Test of WP Google Map Plugin

I recently installed a new plugin to fix the problem where all my old route maps in previous blog posts no longer work. The problem is that Google changed the Google Maps API with regard to displaying KML layers.

In previous posts, I converted the GPS track of my trip (one track for each day) recorded by the Trails app on my iPhone to the KML format and then linked to it in the embed of the map in my blog post. None of those work anymore with Google changing over to their JavaScript API.

So, I plunked down $30 for the Pro version of the sexy WP Google Map Plugin and now I need to see if it works. This post will be my test bed for this new plugin. Continue reading First Test of WP Google Map Plugin

Road Blogging Before the Internet was Ubiquitous

I was recently musing over how evolving technology has changed the way I publicize stories about my two-wheeled travels.

With this post, I get to channel my inner curmudgeon, the old man down the street that is forever telling the neighborhood kids to get off his damn lawn. So here goes…

When it comes to telling your friends about your latest motorcycle tour, you kids have it way to easy. Continue reading Road Blogging Before the Internet was Ubiquitous

Musings on Engine Technology and the Future

Back in the mid-nineties, I began to outgrow the performance capabilities of my 1992 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail (the Cruiser). (Sport Bike riders: shut the hell up; I know Evolution Harleys weren’t high-performance to begin with.) In addition to several suspension and drivetrain upgrades, I spent a fair amount of time and money to pry more power out of the venerable Evolution power plant. Continue reading Musings on Engine Technology and the Future

Let the real blogging begin!

The basic testing is complete. The WordPress software is installed. The input methods from my computers and my iPhone have been tested. A geotagging plugin has been added.

I leave for Red’s little soirée on Wednesday and I should be able to keep those that care up to date with the latest shenanigans. It will probably be the first time that Ghost Cruises has seen live updates in about seven years and that’s embarrassing.

As of today’s date, all of the earlier posts are just tests that I will eventually delete. In the future, I will migrate over the content from the original Ghost Cruises site and that will populate the earlier dates with that content (probably all the way back to 1997 — that’s scary).