Motorcycle Mechanic
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- Written by Steven Kuck
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I ride a Yamaha V-Star 1100. A few weeks ago I pulled into a parking lot and my motorcycle shut down. I mean completely! The engine quit and all the electrical turned off. There were no faintly glowing lights, the starter didn't click desperately as with a weak battery; it was simply dead.
Recovering from Surgery
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- Written by Steven Kuck
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I had surgery to remove a lymphangioma that was puffing up along my collarbone and putting pressure on my esophagus. It was at once barely noticeable and glaringly apparent. If you weren't looking for the puffiness then it was easy to miss, but once it was pointed out people wondered how they missed it. How often do you really look at someone's collarbone?
Flying Again
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- Written by Steven Kuck
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I earned my pilot certificate in 2001, but logged my latest hours flying in May 2002. Six years away from flying. For some perspective, I met, married, and divorced my ex-wife without ever touching a throttle. Last year, when I moved into this apartment, I resolved that I would get up in the air again. My apartment is minutes away from Peachtree DeKalb (PDK) so there is no excuse for me to stay earthbound.
A friend of mine happens to fly out of PDK and was able to recommend an instructor, Pascale, of Skybound Aviation. After getting an up to date airman medical and scheduling some time with my instructor, I was back up in the air!
Last week was my first flight. There is so much to remember: preflight inspection, radio communications, taxiing operations, takeoff procedures, airspace rules, flight maneuvers, navigation and pilotage, landings, securing the plane, and logging the flight. That is an abbreviated list as weather alone merits its own entry. While trying to keep all of those things in mind without going into mental meltdown, we flew out towards Lake Lanier. I performed a few easy maneuvers and decided to try to find my office building from the air.
Mike's Employed Again!
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- Written by Steven Kuck
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Mike finally got the good news a couple days ago that the company he worked for before (Manhattan Construction) would be starting him this Tuesday! It would have been Monday, but Mike won't quite be ready for that after a planned weekend in the Florida Keys. The news should make the weekend much sweeter!
An interesting an alignment occurs when he starts... It's been noticed that my Mom's three sons have spent remarkably little time all employed at the same time. One of us will be in school, taking time to explore, or sometimes just inconvenienced by joblessness. It was only within the last couple years that we were all had a job at the same time, and that didn't last long. When Mike starts this job, not only will all of us be employed, we'll all be working at a place that we stopped working for!
Mike and Dave both lost jobs to economic hard times and were rehired by companies eager to get their talent back. I lost my job to a crazy notion that I should try law school. I almost didn't get this job back because of hard times, though, and there is a real possibility that my job will evaporate. I may well be jinxing myself, but this odd little alignment isn't forever. I just want to acknowledge the moment as it happens!
Corey and Sylvia Have Privacy
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- Written by Corey Kuck
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Our dog Bongo is an escape artist. Due to neighbor issues, a quick build was done on a privacy fence for that side of the house, also where Bongo was escaping.
Steve was generous with his time and tools, and Steve and I spent our Saturday learning to hate augers and Georgia soil! But with a lot of sweat and hard work (with breaks for hailstorms!) the fence went up and was ready to hold the dogs by mid afternoon Sunday. 
I owe Steve bigtime for his help with the auger difficulties when it dug into a root and Steve was able to get it out by hand. I know Steve's in much better shape, but I imagine he's hurting at least a little bit considering how sore I feel. The auger may have been a pain, but without it we would still be on about the third post. Lesson learned from this is always rent power tools when you don't have them! The auger and the pneumatic nail gun took a week long project and made it into a day and a half project. (Oh yeah, and a great helper shortened the time as well! 
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Pictures and more to be added soon.