I finally got my Made in America American flag up just in time for the close of Labor Day weekend. I have a University of Kansas Jayhawks flag waiting in the wings too. In the garage is my 2017 Can-Am Spyder RT.

I hope everyone living here in the United States had a good Labor Day weekend!

During this month of September, I am taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids' cancer!

Why? Because right now, cancer is the biggest killer of children from disease in the United States. Over 15,700 children are diagnosed every year, and sadly, 38 children die of cancer every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

I was asked to join my office's bike team, the SuperCells, and help in in the effort to raise money through a ride challenge intended to support the Children's Cancer Research Fund. The fund and research dollars allow research to continue their work to develop lifesaving treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer. 

During the summer months the quantity of articles I write and publish are often minimal. I enjoy my summer activities of bicycling, motorcycling, camping, and other family activities too much to sit in front of a computer all summer long. Not being much of a winter outdoorsman and living in South Dakota, the winter months have always been my time for focusing on my personal blog as well as writing some articles for socPub.

A few months ago, I reviewed six different vinyl record turntables due my renewed interest in listening to music pressed on vinyl records. Despite all six vinyl turntables being good choices to consider, I still needed to select the turntable I would bring into my home. In the end, it was the Fluance RT82 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable that I chose as my latest stereo component. 

My anxiety just kicked in knowing my wife would have me fighting a new war for her in the coming days. Keeping bunnies out of her flower garden.

A wireless Arlo Pro Webcam (720P) was used for this video. This webcam is available on Amazon via my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3avRykt

My wife couldn't resist cheering up the place with Baby Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy series. I appreciate her efforts in doing so.

This time of year, we're always on a roller coaster ride of weather with a mixture of winter and spring often rolled into one week. The past several days was no exception, with temperatures in the early week reaching highs in the 50s, 60s, and even 70s but this morning greeting us South Dakotans with temperatures in the teens.

But for the warmer days, they're perfect days to pull the motorcycle out of the garage, dust it off, and go for a ride. Every time I get on a motorcycle (or bicycle) this time of year, I'm just grateful that summer is approaching and have the opportunity to once again enjoy the open road.

When I entered college just after graduating high school in 1986, there was a new band from my neck of the woods that just spoke to me. The band was call The Rainmakers and they were from Missouri.

It wasn't just the Rainmaker's music that caught my attention but also the lyrics themselves. Many of the band's songs from their early days referenced locations and attitude that you can only understood fully if you were from Kansas or Missouri. And the "big city" they referenced most in their songs was my hometown of Kansas City. I was such an early fan that I remember this band wasn't always introduced as the Rainmakers but also as the band "formerly called Steve, Bob, and Rich".