Tinkering With Harleys

Woke up this morning thinking about expanding my skills and maybe start working in other motorcycle brands. If I put my mind into it, I can probably dabble part-time into Harley-Davidson's repairs. As a former motorcycle technician of Japanese motorcycles, I believe I can transition to work on Harley-Davidson motorcycles as long as I get the proper tools to work on them. 

My only concern is that as part of my retirement, I only plan to work part-time on bikes. Harley-Davidsons, especially older ones generally require more frequent maintenance and repairs compared to newer models. And from what I gather, there are lots of Harleys in Puerto Rico. 

Would it be worth it to spend more time at the motorcycle shop than enjoying my retirement? Regardless of what happen once I am living permanently in the island of Puerto Rico, I don't expect that to be the case.

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

Ayer finalmente termine el proceso del papeleo de los impuestos del 2025. Nunca he entendido porque rayos tengo que hacerlo si lo que me devuelven son unas migajas. He tenido suerte que la contable que me hace el papeleo de los impuestos ha sido la misma persona por los ultimos 15 años. Ayer termine con el papeleo, y ya estoy pensando en que voy a gastar las migajas que el gobierno federal me va a devolver. Jajaja

My 70th Birthday - part 2

Today Is My 70th Birthday

So, this is 70. Like most folks turning 70, I never expected I would be here. I can't believe how fast life goes by. Seventy years, it literally went by in a blink.

I am celebrating my 70th birthday without a party, I honored the occasion with a scenic day trip to NYC, by focusing on an intimate, quiet dining experience with myself in New York doing things that I truly enjoy.

Later today, I would be engaging in my favorite hobby at the garage with the motorcycles. To me, the little things are the ones that matter, like spending the afternoon changing oil and filter on my motorcycle and making sure the Ninja is ready for the upcoming riding season. I also went out on a shopping spree for colorful and vibrant clothing; the color clothing that enhance my personal style.

My 70th birthday is a milestone worthy of a quiet celebration, focusing on gratitude, family and my small circle of friends. This coming week I would be reflecting on 70 years of life and focusing on what truly matters. Happy birthday to me. 😀

I Am Glad I Stopped Drinking Alcohol 30 Years Ago

After reading an amazing testimonial about his journey to sobriety, from a FB friend earlier this morning, I realized that this coming Saturday marks my 30 years of abstaining from alcohol.

To make a long story short, I am glad I stopped drinking in 1996. It was the week I was turning 40 years old. Giving up alcohol has been by far one of the best decisions of my life. 

When Tools Become Extensions of You

When a tool in your hand "becomes part of you" it's not just a metaphor. Whether they are tools, toys, a musical instrument, or a smartphone, they become extensions of you. Tools relax me, they make me feel good knowing that I have the ability to fix things. I feel most comfortable surrounded by them.

A person losing their belongings in a fire is a traumatic experience I don't wish on my worst enemy. It happened to me at a storage unit I rented 3 hours away from Philadelphia over 25 years ago. Some of the things lost that day, held deep sentimental value and they are irreplaceable. 

What I miss the most are all my personal school notes, my Kawasaki KX-125 dirt bike, and a lifetime collection of tools used to make a living as a motorcycle technician. Tools of all brands acquired since the 1970's. 

It's been more than three decades since the last time I worked at a motorcycle dealership and or worked full time on motorcycles. Returning to the motorcycle repair business, at least part-time, it is going to be a huge adjustment for me. Especially with all the new motorcycle technology available now. 

At this stage of my life, I plan to spend time at the motorcycle repair shop as a part-time hobby and to stay busy for a few hours. I had been preparing to this day for years now. I've been buying tools gradually, little by little, to replace the ones lost in the fire. Knowing myself, just in case I live to be a productive 100 years old, I'll probably keep buying new tools until the day I die. 😀

The Rat Race in a Nutshell

This AI caricature image of myself, encapsulates the long hours and hectic schedule that surrounded my previous work life. 

Managing time between patient's home visits and completing documentation on time was very time consuming. In the meantime, they were days where you have to add education workshops, pre-post test HIV counseling and testing. Helping people with HIV with access to medical care and social services. Assisting with appointment adherence and to stay engaged with HIV treatment. Plus offering street sex workers outreach, and last but not least, visiting shooting galleries to promote our health center medical and mental health services. 

As is always the case, the documentation often falls behind due to high caseloads, and not enough staff to complete all the tasks. If the worker does not take care of him/herself and manage stress effectively, work burnout and employee turnover is usually the end result in most healthcare scenarios. 

It is a mystery to me how I did it for 26 years. Passion for one's work is a great motivator for success. In my opinion, when you have a genuine passion for what you do, it becomes easier to overcome challenges.

All-White Attire Party

Looking at some old pictures from 2018, I came across the image that inspired this caricature. Earlier that same year, I was invited to an all-white attire birthday celebration during the month of August at Willie's Steak House in the Bronx. 

Prior to this event, I had never been at Willie's before and didn't knew many people at this bar/restaurant. The one thing I was confident was that they play and dance Salsa music. I don't drink alcohol, so I knew I would feel weird to sit at the bar if I am not spending money in alcohol. I contacted a friend from the Bronx to meet me there; so she and her partner could make my visit at Willie's Steak House more comfortable. 

I rented a hotel in midtown Manhattan and spend my first full day in NYC taking pictures. The following night I took the #6 subway train to St Lawrence Ave Subway Station in the Bronx. I am glad I attended the all-white party event. It was a great birthday celebration among friends. As I recall, I didn't even dance once, not sure why. It didn't matter, it was a great night listening to good Salsa music and hanging out with friends. 

Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, I was able to revisit the all-white attire I was wearing that night, and the NYC subway ride to the Bronx. AI created this new caricature from one of the pics taken that night. Cheers!

No Kings Philadelphia Protest - Saturday, March 28th, 2026

Parece Que Fue Ayer - Seems Like Only Yesterday

Uno de los logros mas significantes para mi, lo fue el dia que me gradue de mi alma mater, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute en el 1986. Este año marca el aniversario numero 40th de mi graduacion. Para ser honesto, la unica razon por la cual vine a Estados Unidos lo fue para estudiar en MMI en Phoenix, AZ. Tengo que admitir que ha sido una de las mejores decisiones de mi vida.  

Uno de las motivos por el cual personas buscan una educacion avanzada es para tener un mejor futuro. Ya sea un futuro financiero o para desarrollar su maximo potencial intelectualmente. Es importante adquirir las herramientas necesarias para crecimiento personal y para mantenernos actualizados; a la misma vez se abren nuevas puertas y oportunidades en el futuro. Parece que la graduacion en MMI fue los otros dias; ya han pasado 40 años. 

Seems Like Only Yesterday

When it comes to education, nothing means more to me than the day in 1986 when I graduated from my alma mater, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, AZ. 

While looking at some old pictures, I came to the sudden realization that this year marks a significant milestone, my 40th year graduation anniversary from MMI. To attend MMI is the only reason why I relocated from the Enchanted Island to the United States many years ago. Seems like only yesterday.

HIV/AIDS Education Workshops

There are many things I miss about my old job. If given the choice to pick the top two, they would be running the support groups. And doing HIV/AIDS prevention & education workshop presentations in schools and the local community. It was a deeply rewarding experience, while cultivating lasting connections with students and families.

Dreaming Of Being Back At My Old Job

For the last several weeks I keep having recurring dreams about my former job at the Health Center; a job I haven't had since retiring in 2021. It's been five years since retirement, and I am very happy to be retired. So, I don't understand why this keeps happening since I haven't even set foot in any of the Health Centers.

Soñando Con Mi Antiguo Trabajo

Llevo semanas que frecuentemente he estado soñando con mi ultimo trabajo en el Centro de Salud. Han pasado cinco años, ya que he estado retirado desde el 2021. Estoy contento y satisfecho con mi retiro. En todo este tiempo tampoco he visitado ninguno de los Centros de Salud y son pocos los ex-compañeros de trabajo con los que he compartido o me mantengo en comunicacion.

My Golden Era of Motorcycling

In the late 1970's, when I was in my early 20's, I had the good fortune to work at motorcycle dealerships in my hometown. Motocentro del Oeste (Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki) and years later at Centro Honda (Honda/Triumph) dealerships. 

At the time, I didn't know how lucky I was to be part of two dealerships that competed against each other by running successful motocross teams. One thing I miss about those times is the competitiveness and camaraderie among members of both teams. Once a month the entire team would travel to the racetrack at another town to compete against each other; to us it felt like going to a family picnic. Friendships were forged and have survived the test of time.

It was a great time to be involved with motorcycles. That's what I call perfect timing, since I'd happen to purchase my first bike in 1974. The Kawasaki 900 ZI's, the two stroke Kaw 750 triples, Honda CB 750's, Honda CBX 6 cylinder, the Yamahas XS1100's, Suzuki's GS-1000, and many others were the kings of the street during that era. To this day, they are still my favorite motorcycles. 

Fleetwood Mac Under the Museum Lights

The original "light-painted" image (shown at the end of this post) was taken on May 2, 2016, in front of the steps where the iconic Rocky statue is shown standing on the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

To create or edit some of my photos, sometimes I use music. Music helps me relax and inspires my editing process. For this AI cartoon selfie, I listened to one of my favorite rock bands, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.

Donald Trump Now Wants To Terrorize Our Airports By Sending ICE Thugs

The Orange Turd, our authoritarian fascist dictator wannabe is now threatening to send masked armed ICE thugs to our airport checkpoints starting tomorrow to create chaos and terrorize travelers. Who wants to be bothered by ICE at airports? TSA was bad enough, now you got these fools itching to rough people up and shoot them.

Untrained ICE thugs working at another job they are not trained for. Long TSA lines full of frustrated travelers, adding ICE, what could possibly go wrong? That tactic worked out so well in Minneapolis.

This proves yet again that they aren't an actual federal organization, just the private militia for the Orange Turd. Definitely not a good time to be traveling in the United States.

There goes ALL international travel, and the billions it brings. Are we winning yet?

Donald Trump Now Wants Immigrants Back, As Labor Crisis Explodes

To show you how out of touch our government is, now all of the sudden they understand that they need the migrants they already locked up or deported in other foreign countries that they are not from. MAGA cultists are surprised and upset that their dear moron leader wants immigrants back.

Earlier this month, the Orange Turd ordered his allies to stop using the phrase "mass deportations" and to adopt a new approach on one of his top campaign promises. He is concerned that the term "mass deportations" is unpopular to voters and the Orange Turd is worried about losing votes on the next election.

You know all those farm workers that the Orange Turd has been deporting? Those deportations caused a labor shortage because they can't get enough Americans to get off their lazy ass to go out in the field and pick those veggies. Our "stable-genius" moron president doesn't understand why Americans don't want to go work on farms for subpar wages.

Our government plan is to lower the wages they could pay them, and the farmers can deduct for room and board. Sounds like sharecropping to me. We are back to the Civil War era where formerly enslaved poor farmers were trapped in cycles of debt and poverty. Our government is going back to what they know best, indentured servitude and modern-day slavery.

What do these geniuses in our government were expecting to happen after deporting all these farm workers? Who is going to pick your crops? The Orange Turd is too stupid to realize that you need people to get the produce from the farm to the grocery shops.

Do these racist fascist clowns in our government think farm workers are coming back? In my opinion, migrant workers are not going to come back to the US as long as the Orange Turd is in office.

How Photography Changed My Life

When people ask me how I keep myself grounded, especially when overwhelmed, I tell them that photography has been a tremendous therapeutic tool. It keeps me focus and it also has improved my mental well-being. At the same time, it helps me appreciate the beauty in everyday life.

To me, photography is more than just taking pictures and creating/documenting my life. It may sound silly, but photography has made me feel alive. I think it is fair to say that getting involved in this hobby, has saved my life. It isn't just what I do; it is who I am. Photography defines me, I know that it has changed my life for the better. It has taught me how to live in the moment and look for beauty where others may miss it.

Now that I am turning my old pictures in a cartoon or AI caricatures of myself, it has added a new dimension to it. Not only I am having fun taking pictures, am also personalizing them by creating unique funny cartoons and inserting myself into them. I love it!

This last picture if of la Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The Catedral was built in 1763.

Throwback Thursday

This picture was taken in 2020 at the George Washington Bridge overlook in New York. That weekend I traveled to NYC specifically to take pictures of the GWB, the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge from the top of the Manhattan Bridge walkway, and a couple of sunset pictures from Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center.

It was a lot of fun to travel all over New York to photograph those locations. Just for fun, last night I created this AI caricature of the same picture. Enjoy !!!

The Mark of the Beast

Wearing baseball caps since my Little League days, has become an everyday thing for me. I even used baseball caps for business. I have a photo collage where the first pic was taken in 1996 during my second year working in the HIV/AIDS field. These days baseball caps are acceptable gear for casual, and also business attire. 

Have you noticed? Since the Orange Turd decided to enter politics, wearing a MAGA red baseball cap is the "mark of the beast". It is viewed as a symbol of divisiveness, or a "cult-like" and blind loyalty to their "really smart - a very stable genius" leader. 

Now I can't wear a red baseball cap in public (which happen to be my favorite baseball cap color), to prevent being mistaken of supporting the MAGA movement. The Phillies team uses a red baseball cap, and my favorite Yankees hats are also red. It has become politicized due to the popularity of the MAGA hats. To avoid confrontations during my daily commute, I stopped using my Yankees red hats as the MAGA red hats became popular. 

I just spent a couple of hours editing some of my earlier photos from past years, turning my red baseball caps into dark blue or black. What a conundrum.

Venezuela Es El Nuevo Campeon del Clasico Mundial de Beisbol

Venezuela vence a Estados Unidos 3-2 en el Clasico Mundial de Beisbol. 

Venezuela beat United States 3-2 at the World Baseball Classic.

Dominican Mangu

After confessing that I never tasted this particular breakfast dish before, I was challenged to order a dish of Mangu at my favorite Latin restaurant yesterday morning. After admitting to never having tried Mangu, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. 

Ayer por la mañana en un restaurante de comida Latina que frecuento, acepte que nunca habia probado el desayuno de Mangu. El empleado del establecimiento me reto a probarlo y me sirvio un plato. Me sorprendio gratamente la experiencia. Todavia no puedo creer que es la primera vez en mi vida que he probado Mangu.

Let The Good Times Roll

Finally got the paperwork out of the way and renewed my motorcycle registration and insurance documents. I am officially ready for the riding season.

Not sure how other states handle their vehicle paperwork, but when it comes to vehicle and insurance renewal here in Pennsylvania, everything can be handled online. At the end of the transaction, you simply print your credentials, and you are done. 

I am looking forward to this year riding season. Let the good times roll !!!!

Amanecer en Mayaguez

Llevo un tiempo tratando de acostumbrarme a salir temprano en la mañana a tomar fotos. No voy a negar que mi preferencia es tomar fotos durante la puesta del sol en el horizonte. No hay nada mas deslumbrante que los colores de la puesta del sol, principalmente los rojos, naranjas y amarillos.

Dicen que al capturar amaneceres, las fotos pueden ser impactantes. Muchos fotografos dicen que el mejor momento del dia para tomar fotos es media hora antes o despues del amanecer o el atardecer.

El problema de la fotografia es que uno como fotografo tiene que estar preparado a que el tiempo coopere. En ocasiones he viajado a un lugar en especifico a tomar fotos y de repente llueve o ocurren otros percances.

Anoche hize esta foto imaginaria AI de un amanecer en la plaza de mi pueblo. Es la plaza donde se encuentra la catedral de la Iglesia y las oficinas del ayuntamiento del alcalde. Quizas esta foto creada en AI me inspire a salir mas temprano en la mañana a tomar fotos. Veremos a ver, solo el tiempo lo dira. 

Hope Springs Eternal

Yesterday I was reading about a young man who inherited a 1982 Kawasaki KZ 550 from his grandfather. The young man is in the process of restoring the bike to its former glory. 

Reading this, reminded me that life has an expiration date, and in a couple of weeks I am turning 70. Even though I still feel young and 1982 looks like just the other day, truth of the matter is that it was a long time ago. Heck, 1982 was 44 years ago and I was only 26 years old. 

Ideally, I would love if my grandnephews took care of my bikes and other collectibles when I am no longer around. These things have monetary value but most importantly, to me they also have a lot of sentimental value. Hope springs eternal. 

Maybe I am overthinking things too much. The way things are going in this chaotic unstable world, we could all die in a nuclear explosion tomorrow, so all my stuff will be vaporized with me. Hahaha.

A Nostalgic Reminder Of Great Times

It is being said that acknowledging the need for honesty with yourself is a courageous first step toward clarity and personal growth. For that reason, I have to be honest and confess that for reasons I won't get into it here, initially I wasn't open about using AI in photography, until now. 

First, let's go back 40 years. In 1986, a few months after graduating from MMI, I purchased a SuperFlow 110 flowbench. For my own selfish reasons and to save money in the process, my initial interest was to build my own Kawasaki drag racing cylinder head for a Kawasaki dragbike I was putting together at that time. The SuperFlow 110 flowbench was the best motorcycle tool to optimize performance I've ever owned. 

Unfortunately, taking selfie or casual photos was not a common trend back then. Throughout the years, I recall having maybe three images of my SuperFlow 110 flowbench. The selfie pic sitting next to the flowbench disappeared years ago during one of my many moves; only the two images shown here have endured the test of time. 

That is where AI comes in. For the past two weeks, I've been using AI to create motorcycle scenarios using old photos taken years ago during motorcycle events and gatherings I've attended. 

I made a decision last night, to try to recreate a SuperFlow 110 flowbench using one of the remaining flowbench old photos taken in my Brooklyn apartment. I gave AI a few prompts, and in less than 5 seconds the application created the amazing photo featured on this post. 

It even shows a Mitutoyo Micrometer, the Neway Valve Seat Cutters and a Mitutoyo Dial Indicator with a Magnetic Base Kit.  I know is not the real thing, but to me this AI caricature is better than nothing. It is also a nostalgic reminder of great times during the first part of my life as a motorcycle technician.