Mark Spearman Blog

I don't know how I missed this, but a year ago a Korean man named Wan undertook an amazing adventure. It's an adventure that only could come from a foreigner with a big dream to cross America on a Honda Ruckus. A Ruckus is a tiny 50cc heavy duty scooter. It's basically a trail bike.

Ohio State Route 555, otherwise known as The Triple Nickel, is one of those fable rides that surprises just about every rider on the first trip. Truth be told, the catchy name of the road lends more to the hype than the actual ride, but it's a great starting point for any ride in Southern Ohio. There are so many great roads, like Ohio State Route 78 connected to it, that you can make The Triple Nickel part of any ride in the area.

Recently we decided to cancel Windstream telephone service. Like many, my family switched to cell phone service. If you have the connectivity of cell phones and you don't use the home phone, why keep it? There are so few times that require the use of a land line, that it's good sense to eliminate the extra bill. It all sounds reasonable and simple, right? Then, you have the added benefit of Windstream not calling you every night and refusing to take no for an answer on their very lame DSL services.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing on the news. They were actually airing a story about a man that saved his own life and wounded an armed robber that was trying to kill him. The victim arrived at a property to purchase an advertised Bobcat (a piece of heavy equipment) and it turned out to be an ambush to try and rob this law-abiding citizen.

The victim had a concealed-carry permit so he legally protected himself and fired on the armed robber. The robber got away, but the news said that there was a man with a gunshot of unknown origin in the OSU Medical Center.

Update - All of these dogs now have a home. Thanks to all who helped.

Take Us Home!

Here's a picture of Hunter, our new pup. He's 1/2 Black Lab and 1/2 Miniature German Shephard. 5 weeks old and ready to tear some stuff up.

All 48 states in 106 hours!

Great story. That had to be alot of fun to plan and do. Planning may have been more fun that actually doing the drive.

I really like the fact that it was unofficiated. They have enough proof to know that they did it and it will be something the forever remember doing. One of them stated that they followed an old plan of his father's. It was funny that he said he wanted to do it before he got to old. Is there an age limit on this type of driving?

Plan aims to abate Sharon Valley traffic - NEWARK -- Buses leaving Liberty Middle and Legend Elementary schools Monday couldn't turn left from Evans Boulevard onto Sharon Valley Road. Instead, they turned right and used the North Newark Little League complex as a turnaround. [The Newark Advocate]

Check out the heat pouring from the tops of these cauldrons. Thes things were pretty intense. I had to park right next to them to unload. It was very hot just being around these things. I was waiting for the tarps or me to just start melting. Interesting stuff to see though.

So it's Friday and I'm in Chicago with no load. I had one, but it cancelled. That's broker terminology for "we found someone to haul it cheaper". If you're stuck in Chicago on a Friday with no load, that means getting back to Ohio isn't going to happen until late.

Sharpton's Baggage: Nearly $1.5M in Unpaid Taxes - Government records obtained by The Associated Press indicate that civil rights leader Al Sharpton and his business entities owe nearly $1.5 million in overdue taxes and associated penalties [Fox News Headlines]