Bike Update, Correction, Misc BS

First, an update on Veronica, since several have asked — It's been raining for about 2 solid weeks, which is nearly as much fun as it sounds like it is, and between (and frequently during) those raining stretches, I've been working like a dog. Nothing new here, but mentioned by way of explaining why I still haven't gotten Veronica diagnosed and/or autopsied. I'm expecting to have her in Tuesday, and should shortly thereafter get an update on whether she's worth fixing or not. Initial phone diagnositc news so far is pretty grim, as they seem inclined to agree with the upfucked valve-train diagnosis. Speaking of which after getting my ass jumped in, I re-read my original post. I've discovered I listed "bent push-rod" as a potential problem. Well, for anyone shaking their head and calling me a dumbass, what I mean was a bent or warped VALVE STEM. It's a SOHC engine, which means no push rods, of course, but I'm so used to pulling apart Harleys and other big twins (most of which DO have push-rods) I misspoke. I know better, I really do.

At any rate, we'll see where it goes. Thanks for asking, and I'll keep you up to speed.

In the meantime, I entered a piece into a writing contest. It lost. So, since I didn't make any money on it, I've decided to grace y'all with it. The idea was to write 50 words or less that begins a story with the "Twist" right up front. As they noted, "twists" are so commonplace that any 3rd grader can see them coming from the end of the block (or, beginning of the story, as you prefer) and as a result "twist" books/stories are boring as beige paint. Their idea was to see if one can write an opening that presents the "twist" right away and still leaves a desire to read the rest of the thing. So, I sent in my 50 words:

"The Hunt"

Charlie7 ran toward the small copse of trees under heavy machinegun fire, but Delta3 crab-crawled toward the colorful flash.

A trap? He carefully picked up the iridescent oval.

"Found one, huh?" Charlie7 called.

"Yeah," said Delta3, storing it in the basket.

"Damn, these Easter Egg hunts get tougher every year."

Ta-Dah!  Oh, fine, you do better.  As at least several who won did…hah! Maybe next time I'll take longer than 5 minutes throwing one together.

In Our Next Episode: Hopefully some real news about Veronica. Also another contest. They want 5000 words. You better hope I win, or I'm dumping it all here.