Secretly Ironic

Way back in September 2005 I made some predictions about the 2007 motorcycle models. Well, the announcements for the ’07 model year came out last month and I forgot to blog about it.

My usual favorite, Honda, does nothing I care for. Plenty of updates and improvements for their class-leading race-replica sportbike, the ever-faster, ever-lighter CBR600 RR, and little or nothing for the cruisers, the cool scooters (Ruckus series), and the naked bikes (The 599 ‘Hornet’ and 919). Triumph, the other manufacturer I follow, has stuck with small improvements to its existing bikes too.

(You’ll note that while I love the Honda and Triumph brands, I ride a Suzuki. That’s because Suzuki makes a great bike at a great price. I don’t much like the direction that they’ve taken with the SV650 styling since ’02, but that’s neither here nor there: the SV series is still the best value on the market.)

Anyway, I’d hoped that Honda would come out with some screamingly cool stuff this year, and I was totally wrong about that. I was correct about the increasing sales for dual-sports and bumpy road bikes following in the wake of the Scrambler, though. Mostly it came in the form of bikes released later on into the 2006 model year: the BMW HP2, the Buell Ulysses, and I’ve heard Ducati’s coming up with a more-rugged Multistrada, too, but I can’t seem to find it right now. All of that, plus the usual stuff from KTM and the semi-street-legal Motocross bikes from all the Japanese manufacturers, seem to be popping up here and there, although nothing comes close to the popularity of the race replica sportbikes and Harley-imitators.

I’ve learned two things from these predictions. First, my tastes do not predict the markets. Second, because I am willing to admit failure, I can never be a technology analyst.

Spicy Food Hell Night at the East Coast Grill. Oh yeah.

Since we’re caught up to real-time on The Wire, Bookdwarf and I have been watching Rome, which we’ve rented from Netflix. Both shows are excellent– plenty of intrigue, good acting and strong production values.

On the other hand, I’m confused by the way that all of Rome seems to speak with a British accent, and you definitely don’t have the same feel of suspense wondering whether Marc Antony is trustworthy and what will become of young Octavian.

Slate covers dumplings. Obviously it’s time for me to learn how to make my own xiaolongbao. Apparently the trick is to make soup, chill it until it turns into a gel, dice the gel (quickly, so it won’t melt), and mix it into the filling.

Then the gel becomes a soup when you steam the dumpling. Ideally the dumpling should be very, very hot when eaten.

My newest page on TTS is the Top 10 Sources for Housing Bubble news, blogs, etc. Check it if you’re a real-estate investor or, like me, merely a spectator. Mmmmm, realtorlicious.