Friday, April 27, 2007

First Dot Com?

Being the resident "Internet geek" at work (the law firm of Murphy & Landon), from time to time I'm asked by one of our lawyers "exactly WHAT is the Internet and WHO runs it?" Despite being the best personal injury attorneys in Delaware (and yes, Murphy & Landon handles motorcycle cases!), they're not exactly familiar with things Cyberspacey, and so assume that because I seem to know a little bit about the 'Net, I must know everything about it. I wish. So, I recently decided to learn a bit of history and structure of "the Internet" so I can give an authoritative-sounding and semi-accurate answer the next time the question is asked. Surprisingly, the history isn't as well documented or clear as one may believe -- perhaps due to the fast pace at which the technology was developing.

One interesting bit of knowledge/trivia I've discovered thus far is the very first "dot com" site. The DNS (Domain Name System) was created in 1983 - 1984; on March 15, 1985 the first site under the top-level domain designation .com was registered to a computer firm called "Symbolics". Its website is still up and running, though it doesn't appear much work has been done to it over the years -- some modern spiffin' up is in order methinks. There, now take this info and go and win a few bar bets!

posted by Doug Just Doug at 9:50 AM 0 comments

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Rev'It! Fusion Boots



If you're not familiar with Rev'It!, it's a Dutch company that has within the last couple of year begun marketing motorcycle gear (including jackets, pants, gloves & boots) to we Yanks. Many of Rev'It!'s designs are unique without being radical, incorporating nice touches that will be particularly appreciated by we loonies who ride in all temps and conditions. Being of European origin, it's a sure bet Rev'It! gear is designed to withstand the wet and cold. It appears that Rev'It! has many of its products manufactured in countries with lower labor-costs in order to keep the purchase prices within reason. The various products I've seen reviewed have been generally well-received. I've been wearing a pair of Rev'It! Fusion boots for about a year and a half now. The photo here (click to enlarge) is courtesy of Rev'It! Here's what Rev'It! says on its website:
“The FUSION is a functional and comfortable sports touring boot made of quality leather with a high level of protection. The boot is fitted with a thermo formed shin plate, thermo formed inserts at the heel and toe and malleolous protection. The boot is fully waterproof featuring a waterproof membrane and zipper. The sole is petrol resistant and contains a dual injected steel reinforced mid sole making the boot highly durable and solid. The anatomically designed foot bed and unique last increase the wearability and comfort of the FUSION boot.”

To read an in-depth review, with more photos, click on over to webBikeWorld. I provided comments regarding my experience with the Fusion boots to wBW in May 2006, and again a couple of days ago as a long-term follow-up. They're published at the end of wBW's review (the jig is up: I'm "D").

posted by Doug Just Doug at 3:09 PM 0 comments

Monday, April 02, 2007

2006 USA Motorcycle Statistics

webBikeWorld is reporting 2006 U.S. sales, ownership and injury/fatality statistics here. Some very interesting (and some surprising) numbers -- check 'em out. And if you're not already an avid reader of webBikeWorld like I am, you should be. WBW has a ton of information on just about all things motorcycle-related, including timely news, product reviews and tons of links. The hot ticket is to subscribe to WBW's newsfeed.

posted by Doug Just Doug at 10:27 AM 0 comments