Halloween Happenin's

Well on our Fox 45 In The Morning show we have been having some Halloween fun today. Meghan, Dan, and I are having a competition on who can carve the best pumpkin. There is a poll set up on the station's Facebook page for people to vote, so we will have to see who can win. (Vote for me)

We saw our first snowflakes in the Miami Valley this weekend. I was at Dawn's cousins' soccer games most of Saturday, but Dawn and I left and when we pulled out of the soccer complex it started raining. Her cousins told us that the rain came down so hard that snowflakes started mixing in, despite the air temperature at 50 degrees. There were two reasons why we saw the snow even with it being so warm...the first reason is because the freezing level in the atmosphere is so low, only a few hundred feet up. This means when you get enough rain coming down fast enough the snow doesn't have time to melt all the way. Along with that, when the rain falls it evaporates. Evaporation cools the air around it...called evaporative cooling. This also made that heavy cell of rain cool off even more, and thus sustaining a few flakes of snow.

This morning we are tracking rain again and we will see warmer temperatures over the next few days with highs near 60. Today though we will only get into the lower 50's and the morning rain will end this afternoon so any trick'r treating should be dry and cool. We have a very slight chance for rain Thursday and Sunday with two week systems moving toward Ohio. I will keep you posted on that in the coming days. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Double Rainbow, Anniversary, and Frost n Fog

Yesterday was a bit of a rainy day. Light showers stuck around through most of the day, on and off. Dawn and I saw a double rainbow heading to dinner last night in Centerville. It was very vibrant and it was pretty cool to watch it form and then dissipate. We were heading to dinner to celebrate our dating of four years. We agreed that once we reach our first wedding anniversary we will cut off the dating anniversary so last night was a special night. We went out to The Melting Pot. A little pricey but quite an experience and the food was AMAZING! It was super easy to fall asleep last night with a full stomach of delicious food.

On to your frosty, foggy Friday forecast. Temps this morning are between 30-35 degrees, so scrapping the windshield will be likely. Also with the rain yesterday, cool temps, and clear skies we have fog as well. Some of the fog coming into work was VERY thick and I could barely see 50 feet into the fog. We could see more frost over the weekend in the mornings, but for the most part we will have a cool, dry weekend. Maybe a shower on Monday, Halloween, and temps will warm into the upper 50's before another cold blast of air coming later next week. Stay warm and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

New Bad Habit??? AND Snowflakes?

I normally wait until I get to work to start drinking coffee, but I have started making my own coffee at home with coffee bags. I LOVE our new tea kettle. It only takes about 45 seconds to get the water boiling. I have to rip it off the stove so the whistling doesn't wake up Dawn at 2:45AM as I am running out the door. I am not sure it if is a good idea or a bad habit to start drinking the coffee even earlier than what I normally have been. At least I have something to drink on my way to work while I am eating my bagel. Dawn hates the smell of coffee so luckily I will be making the coffee then running to get to work.

Yesterday turned out really nice in the afternoon. We saw a few hours of sunshine before the rain returned in the evening. The rain has continued overnight and now the majority of the rain has pushed off to the east, but I expect a few light showers through the early afternoon. The next few days we will only get to around 50 for the high. Saturday morning we could see a light rain shower with a few wet flakes of snow mixing in at times. It is a weak system and moving by to our north so I highly doubt Dayton will see anything, but the northern counties should keep their eyes peeled Saturday morning. No problems on the roadways because it will all melt instantly, just some fun pre-season snow possible. We will slowly warm up into the upper 50's next week and maybe a light rain shower Monday on Halloween, but that, as well, will be very light.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Rainy Weather On The Way

Yesterday was a fantastic fall day, but obviously things will change. We have a few scattered showers and thunderstorms this morning. We will dry out a little this afternoon but another round of heavy rain is expected tonight. The showers tonight will linger into Thursday morning. When all is said and done most of the area will see about half an inch and some locations will locally see over an inch. So, be prepared for a wet commute tomorrow and also much cooler weather. We got to 67 yesterday for the high, today the forecasted high is 63, and tomorrow....49 for the high. We will remain chilly for the for the weekend, as well, with highs around 50 and lows just barely above freezing. We could see an isolated flurry possible Saturday as a system quickly swings down from Canada.

Dawn and I are still debating on tailgating for the Wisconsin-Ohio State game Saturday, but by the time the game's kickoff at 8PM it will be downright chilly. I am thinking staying at home and watching the game in the warmth is a better idea...time will tell. Stay dry and warm and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights

First off I have to give credit for the photo. SwatChasers Facebook page had this photo from Joseph Griffin Lee from Beavercreek, OH. Since I wake up at 1:45AM, I had sugarplums dancing in my head when this took place. I guess there were a few rounds of it. The first was about 9:30PM and also around 11PM. Aurora Borealis is caused by sun flares and release of energy from the sun and then it interacts with the atmosphere for some amazing light shows. I got to see it once in my life here in Ohio, in 2003. Last nights northern lights looked AMAZINGLY bright and vivid. From the reports I saw online, last night's Northern Lights were seen as far south as Arkansas. Very impressive. It is very difficult to predict the Northern Lights and with rain on the way for the coming days we will have too many clouds to see it, even if it did have a repeat performance.

Today will be the nicest day of the week. We will get up to around 70 for the high and mostly sunny with a few afternoon clouds. Overnight rain will start to move in and we could see scattered showers and maybe a few storms for Wednesday with a high of 64. MUCH cooler for Thursday with pretty steady rain and a high of only 49 degrees. Heading into the weekend we will dry out and highs will only be in the low 50's and lows will be in the lower 30's...so, much cooler. I know I will be trying to soak in as much warm sunshine as possible today, hopefully you do the same. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Getting used to the chilly nights

During the warm months I normally just wear a t-shirt and athletic shorts around the house. With the chillier temperatures arriving, I have broken out the Browns sweatpants and sweatshirt to keep warm. Even Buckeye needs to stay warm. He never used to try to get under the covers of the bed, but we taught him a bad habit about two years ago. This morning I found him under as many covers as possible with his head and paws just hanging out the covers so he could get air. He has got to be the most adorable dog I know. Normally when I ask him if he wants to go outside he gets excited and jumps around with his tail wagging. However, this morning when I asked if he wanted to go outside, he pulled his head back under the covers a little further thinking I didn't see him.

Temperatures today and the next few days will not be too terrible. Today we will get into the low 60's and 70 tomorrow. Then we begin a cool down and by the end of the week we will be down right chilly. We will see a line of showers and storms this morning, but drying out this afternoon. More rain arrives Wednesday and Thursday and we could see another decent soaking. With these systems coming through with so much moisture...it begs the question...what will winter be like? Hmmm.... Have good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

So we are having fun on the morning show...so if you get this before Oct 21st, 2011 at 9AM, PLEASE VOTE! http://www.facebook.com/questions/237235636334269/?qa_ref=qd Make sure to vote for Dan or Meghan so my face is not launched across the station's property. So, here is the story...we are having a group come in with a trebuchet and launching pumpkins LIVE on the morning show. The person with the most votes will have their face attached to a pumpkin and launched several football fields...or at least I think that far. The group said they are bringing a smaller version compared to their competition version because it takes several hours to set up. Anyway vote for Meghan and Dan and watch FOX 45 In The Morning. If you live outside of the viewing area, you can watch it LIVE on an Android or Iphone/Ipad device. Just download the WRGT app.

Quick look at the forecast: Finally drying out today. No rain until Monday, but even then a slight chance. We will see a better chance Wednesday and Thursday as another cold blast of air arrives. Temperatures will be mild today in the low 50's and slowly warm into the 60's over the weekend. Sunday looks awesome for the weekend, but Tuesday looks the best...partly cloudy and close to 70 degrees! WOW! Enjoy your weekend and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Impressive Storm

It has been a long time since Ohio has witnessed a storm like what we are currently experiencing. The area of low pressure is extremely strong and one of the strongest storms I can remember. We can occasionally see low pressure this "low" in the winter across the New England area, but for here in Ohio, in October...very impressive. The two areas of low pressure basically teamed up and thus leaving us soaking wet the last few days along with today. Winds will pick up as well this afternoon at about 20-30 mph at times with gusts over 40 mph. Imagine if this was all snow... we could have close to two feet of snow across much of the Miami Valley. Temps will remain pretty chilly today with highs in the 40's and wind chills in the low 40's thanks to the strong winds.

Tonight we could see a few flurries possible to the far northwest, but most of us will be too warm. The rain will start to leave tonight and we will begin to warm heading into the weekend. There is a chance for patchy frost this weekend in the morning, but at least the afternoons will warm up into the upper 50's. The weekend looks to remain dry, but a few rounds or rain are possible early Monday and Wednesday. Temps will sit in the 60's for the first half of next week before another cold blast of air later in the week...more on that in the days to come. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Undulatus Asperatus

Nope. The title is not a spell from Harry Potter. It is the strange cloud type that we saw yesterday. I have only witnessed these clouds twice in my life...yesterday and several years ago in Lima, Ohio with similar weather. I grabbed my camera and took a panoramic photo of the clouds. The normally flat, boring, stratus clouds are forced into a wavy pattern thanks to a thunderstorm following from behind and churning up the atmosphere, with it's winds, just before the rain and lightning arrives. Needless to say, we got a LOT of great photos into the weather center of the clouds. As a matter of fact, they are not an official cloud type yet...they were submitted into the World Meteorological Society in 2009, but have yet to be approved as a cloud type...no decision yet. Either way, very rare and unique weather situation for them to occur.

Today should be another day of steady rain and cool temperatures as we get into the low 50's. Tomorrow we will only get into the upper 40's with the rain slowly becoming more scattered and leaving. Cold air will punch in and still would not be surprised with a flurry or two to the northwest. The good news is that the weekend will slowly warm up and we will spend the afternoons in the upper 50's, but a chance for frost in the mornings with lows in the mid 30's. Try to stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Honda Hobbit Initial Thoughts & Heavy, Cold October Rain On The Way

We saw GREAT weather to start October. Almost two weeks were dry with temperatures well above normal...and it looks like we are about to make up for that. Over the next three days, parts of the Miami Valley has a shot to see over two and half inches of rain. Most of the area has a decent shot to see at least an inch, but isolated spots could see much more...it all depends on how the showers are tracking from day to day, so be prepared. On top of the rain, we will be dealing with much cooler temperatures. We will spend most of the next few days in the 40's and MAYBE get into the low 50's...much chillier compared to the 70's & 80 we saw just two weeks ago.
In the moped world there is a saying that once you get moped that has a variator then you never go back. Well I did a moped trade and I now have a variated moped, a Honda Hobbit PA-50 II. I agreed with Dawn a long time ago that my limit is three mopeds, so I had to part with one of my other mopeds. It is a very sleek black bike that is completely original and stock. For those of you who do not know what a variator is, or how it works, here is a diagram I found online:
It is belt driven and there are weights that spin and when the speed of the variator is increased the weights want to spin out and thus changes the gearing ratio of the belt. So when you give it gas from the start it turns the rear wheel with more ease (faster start) and when you get your speed up then the weights spin out and thus give you a higher top speed.

My initial thought is that I kinda regret doing the trade. My old stock Puch Maxi was very reliable, however people rave about the reliability of these Hobbits. I cleaned the carburetor over the weekend and it took me a couple hours to completely dismantle the sub-frame from the rest of the bike, just to get to the carb.Now that I have been riding it a few days, it is pretty reliable, fun, and smoooooth ride, but a little more sluggish than I thought. Maybe a little work needs done to the variator weights, but I assumed that starting from a stop it would be a little quicker, however, it is the slowest of all my bikes. Once I give it gas it takes a second or two to get going. I have to pedal a little bit for it finally to really take off. I imagine with a little work to it I can make my stock bike run a lot better. Thanks to Peter for his help with his blog entry, Peter’s Formula: The Buddy Hobbit. Peter really knows his hobbit stuff and since I am about a year or two behind him, I will be taking any tips along the way. I have a few other friends as well that have tested Hobbits, so I will be able to play off their knowledge...thanks in advance, guys.

On to the forecast! Very chilly over the next few days as I eluded to earlier in the entry. Most of the next few days will be spent in the 40's and rather wet with a couple inches of rain possible. Still a slight chance for a flurry or two to the far north and west later Thursday as the coldest of the air punches into the area. The weekend is looking milder with highs in the upper 50's and dry, but rain will be on the way for Monday. Try to stay dry and as long as we get through the next cool, wet days...the weekend, not looking too bad. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Co-workers Wedding, Beautiful Weekend, Flurries?

Friday after work, I went home and crashed for a few hours...and needed it. I then packed up and went to Columbus for Nathan Baker's wedding. Dawn and I debated on get married at The Venue as well and it was an absolutely beautiful wedding. A few of the co-workers also played in the second band of the night. I normally can be found sitting and watching the dancing, however, I was on the dance floor all night long. Dawn and I hung out with Seth Bauguess and his wife at the wedding and it was great catching up with an old friend. Had a great time and congrats to the new couple.

Saturday, Nathan and Talia invited people to a cookout at her sister's house in Columbus and it was a lot of fun to just hang out, relax, and watch the Buckeyes. That game was one of the most boring Ohio State football games I can remember. Only one completed pass for a touchdown. I understand keeping the ball on the ground because of the strong winds, but it was a pretty slow-paced win. After the game I drove home into a beautiful sunset, continuing the beautiful trend of the weekend.
Dawn went to Cleveland and I went back to Dayton on Saturday. I was exhausted and I was in bed by 9:30PM...on a Saturday. I must say that was the best decision. I debated trying to stay up and hang out with friends, but I got a GREAT night of sleep. It is hard on my body to keep up much later anymore and I got to "sleep in" until 6:30AM. (four and a half hours later than a normal weekday) Browns lost just as I predicted on the morning show Friday, 24-17, to the Raiders. It is always frustrating being a Browns fan, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

On to your forecast: We should get into the low 60's today, but the rest of the seven day forecast is in the 50's, and barely there for Wednesday and Thursday with a high of 50 each day. Today will remain dry and a little breezy, but rain will arrive later tonight with scattered showers through Thursday. With temperatures getting so cold, especially the northern counties, there is a slight chance for a flurry or two on Thursday, but if we see any it will still be the far north and west...so most of us will not see any flurries. Next weekend is looking dry and partly cloudy with rain arriving late Sunday night into next Monday. Until then bundle up because with highs near 50 on the way...its going to be chilly. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Update on Flurries for Next Week

It turns out a lot of people are logging on here to get the updates on the "white stuff." That being said, it also looks like with winter storms on the way, I will be back on here at least daily during the week. For anyone new to my blog, I sometimes will update this a couple times a day right before a significant winter storm to keep everyone updated as much as possible. So right before a big snow or ice storm, make sure to check back in, often. All that being said, it doesn't look like a significant snow next week, but we are still watching our chances for a few flurries.

In the image you can see the blue line of where the freezing line will be about 0.75 miles above the surface. The image is the forecast model for Wednesday afternoon and the winds behind the cold front, coming through Tuesday, will be pretty strong. They could pick up a little moisture from Lake Michigan and we could see a lake effect flurry or two for the northwestern counties. Either way it will be very windy and cold later next week...but only a 10% chance for us to see any flurries in the Miami Valley.

The next few days will not be as cold as later next week, but today and tomorrow we will only get into the low 60's for highs...still pretty cool. Winds for the next few days will be strong, about 15-25 mph, out of the west which will make it feel blustery. Sunday we will warm up to around 70 for the high and then the rain arrives Monday and Tuesday before the cold blast of air mentioned on Wednesday. I will try to jump back on here over the weekend with an update. I have a pretty busy weekend...going to Columbus for the wedding of our sports director, Nathan Baker, and his fiance, Talia Rousseau. I am pretty excited because their wedding is at one of the venues that Dawn and I visited during our wedding search. They are also having a big tailgate on Saturday before leaving for their Jamaican honeymoon and Nathan said I am "100%" attending. Anyway, enjoy the weekend and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Homemade Skyline, Apple Cider, and Studying

If you caught my blog entry a few days ago I talked about the chili cook-off here at work. I ended up winning with my chili powder-less chili... here is the recipe:

3 lb ground beef-never frozen
2 8oz cans of Rotel Zesty Tomato & Green Chili Sauce
3 14.5oz cans of Hunts Diced Spicy Red Pepper Tomatoes
1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
3 15.5oz cans of Organic Chili Hot Beans in Sauce
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce (optional dash extra)
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 green pepper, diced
2 tbsp black pepper (optional dash extra)
2 tbsp paprika (optional dash extra)
3 tbsp dried crushed red peppers (optional dash extra)
2 tbsp seasoning salt
2 tbsp sea salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tbsp of sugar
Throw it all together and let'er simmer.

My entire crock pot of winning chili was gone in in a matter of minutes after the morning show was finished. I still had a few quarts left at the house. Dawn and I made nachos with some of it the other day by draining off the thinner materials. Since the beef was never frozen, it was really fine due to the slow cooking. I saved the rest of the liquid chili and used that yesterday to make some homemade Skyline Chili...DELICIOUS! Another thing I love this time of year is fresh apple cider. I had a great lunch and spent it over notes and study guides for the CBM test I have coming up later this year.

We had enough clearing overnight that a little morning fog has formed. Nothing too bad for the majority of the area, however we are picking up some pretty dense fog in Springfield, OH. Later today we will see showers and storms move into the area. The storms are looking less likely to be severe. We still could pick up strong winds and some hail, but not a healthy, strong, spring-like storm. Showers will continue tonight into tomorrow morning as the chilly temperatures arrive. Friday and Saturday will only warm up to around 60 degrees. Skies will start to clear up a bit later Friday and Saturday looks mostly sunny. Temperatures will only warm up a little bit, around 70, for the start of next workweek. We are still looking at colder air blasting in here next Wednesday after another round of wet weather Tuesday. As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, I am not convinced with how "bold" the models are showing the cold blast. I will update you more on that tomorrow as we get closer. Even though the weekend looks cool and breezy, at least it will be dry, not that bad. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Flurries!?!?

This time of the year it is always a good idea to keep an eye to the future...with a little hesitation. The forecast models have been pretty consistently showing MUCH colder air blasting into the area for next Wednesday. The image here is the forecast model for next Wednesday, 19th, in the evening. The blue line is the 850 mb line of below freezing temperatures, so we will be a couple degrees below freezing at 850 mb (pressure), which is about 0.75 miles above the surface. According to the models there will be a little moisture behind the strong cold front, so there is a SLIGHT chance for a flurry or two. It is a long way out, but we have about a 5% chance to see a few flurries...here are my reasons why I doubt it currently: The first reason is that the first few cold blasts never turn out quite as cold as what the models forecast...they don't realize how warm we actually are, so we may be a little warmer than it shows. The second reason is that normally when we get those cold blasts of air, the air is too dry behind the cold front and it does not support much, if any, precipitation.

Keep in mind...it is still a long way out. My best analogy of forecasting is like bowling. Forecasting one day out is about like bowling down half the distance of a normal bowling alley lane...pretty easy to get a strike or at least a spare. Forecasting two days out is a normal length of a bowling lane. You can really do some damage. The further out you go, the harder it is to pinpoint EXACTLY what is going to happen. The model shown is eight days out, so there are a lot of variables still in play and will be monitored closely.

For the near future we will be keeping an eye on a few light showers this morning. The storm system across the East Coast has a few overflowing showers affecting the Eastern part of the Miami Valley this morning. They are fairly light and will lift out of here by the afternoon. Tomorrow we will have a cold front push through the area that will bring a few thunderstorms. There is still a slight chance for those storms to be strong to severe. The threat will be strong winds and hail with the storms and once they are through it will leave us much cooler for the end of the week. Highs around 60 for Friday and Saturday. Sunshine will return for the the weekend with a few clouds as well. We look to slowly warm before the cold blast, the middle of next week. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Moped Monday at my Place

It was another great day yesterday and possibly the last great Monday for Moped Mondays. We have cooler weather on the way and we may be hard-pressed to get another day close to 80 degrees, dry, and sunny. We had eight bikes rolling out with the group and a handful of others who didn't ride with us for several reasons. We met up at my place and then rode around the countryside before returning home in the dark. I had to try to, regretfully, boot them out of my place so I could squeeze in three hours of sleep. Thank goodness for afternoon naps. We also got in our group T-shirts and hoodies and they look awesome.
Got a lot going on weather-wise. A potentially Category 4 hurricane is about to hit the coast of Mexico where Dawn and I went on our honeymoon, Puerto Vallarta. Good thing we went during the start of the rainy season. As far as closer to home...a HUGE cold blast of air has been consistent over the last couple days' forecast models. Mid-late next week looks to be cold...AND there is a chance for a little precipitation. I will keep you posted on that.

Temps will only get into the low 70's today and down into the lower 60's by the end of this week. With a cold front plowing through Thursday we have a marginal chance for severe weather. Main threat will be damaging winds and hail...I will keep you posted on that too. The upcoming weekend, although cool, looks nice, breezy, and mostly sunny...I'll take it! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Money pit

Scrooge McDuck would swim in his money, well Dawn kinda got to experience that this weekend. Her parents were in town visiting. We hung out at home and grilled out Saturday, watched a HORRIBLE Buckeye football game, then went out. Speaking of the game, what is up Bucks!?! Four unanswered touchdowns? We had that game in the bag. Anyway, we watched the first half at home, then went to her cousins house for the second half. Then I drove us, DD, to Julia's night club so the ladies could dance and her dad and I would occasionally attempt to look like we knew what we were doing on the dance floor. After we arrived, they got their drinks and in less than a couple minutes of walking in the door, they called Dawn's raffle ticket number. We had no idea that she got to go in the money pit with the dollar bills flying everywhere. She ended up winning $81. One of the security guards said that is the most he has even seen and she was the first person to get the $20 bill. That helped buy me a few energy drinks to stay awake. I gotta say, with my morning schedule, it is very difficult to stay awake Friday and Saturday nights without a nap. I am getting so used to waking up at 2AM that staying awake until then is almost impossible without some caffeinated help. Sunday we went to Ikea and showed her parents the crazy awesomeness that it has to offer.

Well the weather last week and over the weekend was FANtastic. The leaves are almost peak here in the Miami Valley, but I think next weekend we will be seeing full color. Today will remain mild and dry, getting into the upper 70's for highs. Later this week we will be dealing with rain. There is a very slight chance for rain Tuesday for the Eastern part of the Miami Valley. Wednesday will also have a slight chance for rain to the west as our next system rolls through. It will keep us cool with highs in the 60's for the end of the week and our best chance for rain will be Thursday. Maybe a few early showers Friday, but next weekend is looking great.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Early morning chili cook-off, suuuure

Well we weren't eating the chili at 4AM, but we got our crock pots brewing the chili for the morning show. Meghan, Dan, and I whipped up the chili last night and the Salvation Army and the Ohio Beef Council will be in this morning to judge our chili. I did not use any chili powder so all the flavoring came from scratch. I personally love it and it has a little heat to it. Dawn, my wife, also gave a two thumbs up and she is not a fan of chili...although I am not sure if she was just being nice, we will find out later this morning.

My analogy this morning is that the weather is like a broken record stuck on the chorus of your favorite song. The blue skies and sunshine will continue today into the weekend and highs will be right around 80 as well. No complaints here and no rain until the middle of next week. I think after seeing close to 11" of rain in September you will be hard pressed to find anyone complaining about the sunshine and comfortable temperatures. This weekend may be one last bout of summer, get out there and enjoy it. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

My pumpkin friend

Just when you think you have seen it all... my job pushes the envelope a little further. A West Carrollton business uses a laser etching machine to design artwork on lots of things... jeans, wine glasses, wine bottles, tiles, etc, etc(endless possibilities). Well instead of carving a pumpkin and it rotting in a week or so, Laser Wolf Engraving can engrave the image into the surface of the pumpkin and it can last up to eight months afterward. I was the first photo he had tried and it was quite impressive. I did the story with him because he recently did a huge job for University of Cincinnati. They had about 1400 apples engraved and sent out to high schools to help with recruitment. Very impressive technology.

Still talking about a lot of sunshine and warm temperatures, again. I am really loving this beautiful weather. Although my grass becomes a jungle after a couple days with all the sunshine, warm temps, and wet ground from last month. We will be tapping out in the low 80's the next few days and remain pretty much unchanged for a while, BUT there is rain at the end of the tunnel, mid next week. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

My Clic Stic Pen

We all have our own "odd" things that make each of us unique. One of mine, I have many, is my Clic Stic pen. I LOVE them. They are simple and you will hardly ever find me without it. I am hesitant to let people borrow it and you can ask my co-workers, I always keep track of it. I tried looking to see if any local stores sell it, when my last one went dry, but couldn't find it anywhere. Dawn luckily surprised me with a dozen of them when she put in an order to Amazon. I like the fact that they are sleek, simple, and light. Just wish I could find them locally to stock up on a few boxes.

The great weather continues. Not much more I can say other than that. Sunshine with highs in the 70's and lows in the low-mid 50's, what more can we ask for? The weekend looks great for taking a look at the fall leaves. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Pulled over on my moped

Yesterday was a fantastically beautiful day. Even though I just spent the past weekend in Michigan at a moped rally, I couldn't pass up the nice weather and got together with seven others for Moped Monday in Oakwood last night. We grilled out, wrenched a little, and then rode around the neighborhood. He has some really awesome roads for riding. I really think we need to add some of the route on our next big ride when people come to town to ride with us. We had a few issues on the route, flat tire and bad wiring on two bikes, we fixed those at one of the DAM Rider's house. We then rode around Washington Township and then I had to break off to get gas, grab some Qdoba burritos for Dawn and I for dinner, and then head home. My taillight went out and I put on my battery powered taillight so I was still visible. My brake light worked fine, but the taillight likely blew when I was zooming down a hill and the RPMs overpowered the light.

I was on my way home and instead of taking main roads I wanted to take the side streets just to be safe and avoid the heavy traffic. I noticed in my mirror, headlights that likely looked like a police cruiser behind me, I turned around after a stop sign and sure enough, it was a local police officer following me. He followed me a few more blocks and then finally turned on his lights and pulled me over. He was concerned that my LED battery powered taillight was not as visible. The brake light still worked, but he was worried that I might be rear-ended. I told him I am a very defensive driver and that was why I was taking back roads with next-to-no traffic because the light was out and I was running off of my battery(which was still very bright, but just small). He understood that I was being proactive and after running my license, we talked a little bit about my bike and how he rides motorcycles, and he let me continue on my way, just told me to be careful. Burritos lost a little heat, but were still delicious when I got home.

Well, more sunshine today, the seven day forecast for all of Ohio will be highs in the 70's and no clouds for almost an entire week. Who can complain about that? I would almost have to say that it will be MORE than great. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Moped Rally

It was a pretty chilly weekend here in the Miami Valley, even a tad cooler in Michigan. The Dayton Area Moped Riders got invited to the Red October 7 moped rally. I shared my ride to the state up north with Sam. He came up to Dayton around noon on Friday and we loaded up our bikes in my truck and some of the Northern DAM Riders followed on our caravan ride up.
It was a pretty awesome ride up...got gas for $2.92. The only downside to Friday was the rain that moved in and cancelled our evening riding. We were able to hang out with everyone though and it was nice to catch up with old friends I haven't seen in about a year. Now that I am working weekday mornings I will be able to see them a little more often. We stayed at a friend's father's house and it was awesome. He opened his finished basement to about ten of us and we had a blast...we were intending to camp outside in his backyard, but they were awesome hosts.

Our chilly Saturday ride took us around the countryside around Ann Arbor and our halfway point was a cider mill...I filled up on my weekly dose of apples and cider. I ate the best caramel apple I have ever had.
Since the rally was pretty small and almost invite only...it meant that the people that rode really knew their stuff with their bikes. I have been to several moped rallies and this was the least amount of bikes I can remember breaking down and thrown in the chase vehicle. The group was much smaller than other rallies I have attended, but still, only five bikes...pretty awesome.
The only DAM Rider to breakdown was Brandon. His bike was still running, just really slow and backfiring because of his new dual exhaust. Luckily he brought an extra moped and was still able to ride on Sunday morning to breakfast...Saline Inn, GREAT FOOD! It was a great rally and props to The Guns moped gang for really showing everyone a good time.

After a taste of late fall's chilly temperatures this weekend, we will warm up a little bit heading into the workweek. Mid 60's today and then warming into the mid 70's through the week. We will have a large, powerful high pressure system parking over us through the week, so no rain on the seven day forecast at all...weeks like this, I could take all year long. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael