The Official Post with no title...

Ok, so I could not come up with a comprehensive title for this post, lame I know. This week ended up as a blend of typical life...some bad, some good, and moving forward despite events.

So, the bad first...I should have been an IT guy, cause they got you by the balls and make some serous bank. Long story short, as a business who accepts credit card information, I have to maintain a computer system that meets PCI compliance standards, the credit card industries information processing security requirements for all virtual/online terminal marketplaces. After months of work modifying my system and learning more than I ever wanted to about computers to meet all the random security tests, I finally was successful. There is just something so satisfying about learning new skills, putting them to work, and actually being productive.

Flash forward to this week...my son, the typical teenager, likes to tinker on the computer, often venturing into areas he should not without permission, downloading and installing programs, and generally wrecking havoc on my little binary world that I have so carefully set up. Next thing I know, I get an email that I'm being fined 25 bucks a day as I'm no longer passing my randomly generated compliance security tests. WTF??? How did this happen? Oh yeah, kids.

Now, no customer info is stored electronically, so there is no fraud risk, but I also cannot run any more transactions until the system is corrected. Two days later, I've spent more hours and money than I care to share and the doggone thing is still not right...ughh! On the flip side, I've gotten to know quite a few computer techs in India that last few days :) But that is business, sometimes the convenience for the customer takes priority to ease for the merchant. The saga continues tomorrow.

What good has transpired? Well, as the heat has climbed into the high 90's, I left the paint for cooler weather and worked on finishing up the July bar orders. Lot's of steel and Ti hitting the alignment table the last few days...

I also took some time off to spend with the kids, as they were beginning to complain that they only got to see me at the shop and when they would stop by, I put them to work ;)

We traveled up to Sandusky and spent a day at Cedar Point riding the rollercoasters and then explored Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. Here are a couple of shots from the ferry as our time wound down, the first of the amusement park from the water...

The steep drop just above the flag is the Millennium, my favorite ride at the park. So smooth and fast, and the first drop is a doozy!

Enjoying a beautiful sunset as the day winds down...

Yesterday, I packed it as full as I could; got off work at 0700, hit the trail by 0730 to ride a bit, back to the shop for some organizing for Monday, spent a few hours at the MDA car wash raising money for children with muscular dystrophy, out to the race course for a few hours to do some trail maintenance, then off to Em's Skate for Life show where she raised over 700 dollars for MDA on her own through generous sponsors. Ate supper around 2300 hours and then rolled into the drive in the wee hours of the morning today...whew!

From my ride, here's a shot of our typical Ohio trails...trees, tight single track, and our own share of rocks

I ended up replacing boards and re-anchoring slats on 5 bridges on the local race course, around 36 feet of lumber and over 2 pounds of decking screws. Here's a shot of the suspension bridge, getting some new slats laid down...it sucks to have a wheel drop through when you are 20 + feet in the air :)

Hope all is well with y'all,

rody