tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13789180661912360432024-03-05T00:58:12.578-08:00Brad WorldBradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-40781289705944521562014-03-05T05:17:00.000-08:002014-03-24T17:20:50.250-07:00Rib Crackin' Fun, Ya'll!I started this entry with thoughts on how the culture of cool has rendered things so cynical and sarcastic that I feel like giving up on anybody older than 10 but younger than 35. I've since realized that this is due to what I perceive from the media I consume and the relationships that occupy most of my time. I think part of this stems from the homogeneity of the majority of those with whom I interact. Everybody is a little into everything and nothing surprises anybody...that sort of thing. Working at a bicycle shop, one might guess that more variety would be easier to find. In fact, my colleague and I have discussed this very topic, and there are not many other occupations that put one in touch with so many walks of life. We see everybody from the homeless guy that barely has enough to get a single flat repaired to those dumping $8k on a carbon tri bike. Unfortunately, though, we are often so busy that we don't get the chance to see the individuals behind the workorders or purchases. This situation is a reflection of a larger image. We are all becoming more removed from what we are seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting in front of us because we are too anxious about what is waiting for us in our screens. Oh well, it is nice to write it all down and remind myself that what so normally drives me to madness (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAY27NU1Jog">I deal with the goddamned customers!</a>) is actually a recurring opportunity for me to redeem my own tendency to cast people into the few molds that seem to represent most of those through the door.<br />
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So, you've been cruising along at 70-75 mph for 4 hours or so and your vehicle suddenly lunges slightly, loses all engine power, and flashes the message "Stop Safely Now." What do you do? What do you do if you are in the left lane, and a giant truck is behind you gaining speed as it approaches and the right lane is full of jackasses passing you on the right...oh, and you've got 2 4-year-old girls in the back seat, there is nowhere to pull over on the left side of the interstate, Roadside Assistance doesn't cover anything other than the most routine of incidents, your vehicle manual offers absolutely no more clarification regarding what the mysterious message means, and it is Sunday at 6pm, so no dealerships are open. Well, you pull over when you can, turn off the engine, then re-start it and hope for the best. When you get home, after driving under the speed limit and without A/C (in case it was a hybrid battery temperature issue...it was), you submit an e-mail setting up a meeting with the Service Manager at the dealership from which you bought the vehicle. I expressed my utter dissatisfaction with the 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid, and we are probably going to just try like hell to get a trade-in. We'll see how this develops, but, for now, I would have to say stay away from Ford, or, at least, stay away from their hybrids. This is third year in a row that we have brought the car in for this problem. (Update: After formally complaining with Ford Corporate and the NHTSA, we made a nearly even trade for a 2006 Toyota Sienna at a dealership other than Ford...no complaints at all after half a year of ownership...Ford did next to nothing to help us...fuck Ford). <br />
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We also got termites in the house, again. As always, the "tech" told us not to worry about the thousands of wings we saw on our roof or the few wriggling individuals here and there that were dropping from our ventilation outlets for a week or so. We'll take his word for it, regardless of my years studying insects at LSU, since that is why one has a bond in this veritable rainforest climate we have in Charleston. It's all in their hands if we wind up needing repairs again.<br />
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Wow! It is nearly the holiday season again, and I've entered exactly no comments since shortly after our amazing trip to Colorado. I feel no differently about the job, and I'm interviewing this Friday for another position with the county parks agency. I simply cannot tolerate the stress of trying to do everything required in a small bicycle shop any longer. On any given day, I get shat upon by everybody from the online parts shopper that doesn't understand why our labor rates are "so expensive" to the inevitable old-timers that "don't want anything fancy" and have a hard time understanding why there is a difference between the prices at big box stores and our 1-location, locally-owned shop of exactly 3 (count 'em, 3) employees (2 of which support families on their "honest" wages). Of course, I not only play psychiatrist to those griping about prices, I also have to listen to tale after tale of how "I use to race BMX," "I used to be Cat 2," "I used to commute all the time in...insert over-rated bicycle-friendly town here...but it's just so dangerous here." I also act as interpreter of mush-mouthed gin-hounds, deaf customers that refuse to just write down what they need and, instead, insist upon gesturing their entire last week before getting to what they actually need from you, and southern drawls that sound as molten springs of clay found among volcanic regions of the world. I put together $8-13000 bikes while trying to convince another bewildered belle that she just needs to put air in her tubes every month or so, and she won't get "flats." While rebuilding a fork or shifters with any number of tiny, easily-lost parts, I'm explaining to the 10th shithead that "HAS to ride this weekend" why his tubular needs to sit for an entire day after being glued to his rim. All the while, I'm thinking about the order I need to place, the fact that 80 bikes just showed up on a truck out front for which we have nearly no room, and the fact that I haven't had an ACTUAL conversation with my wife on the phone while at this job in the entire time that I've worked here (nearly 10 years) and that I'm projecting way too much of this stress at home. This industry is awesome, and this shop has been really good to me, but I finally feel like it is just time to move. I've had my differences with management (or lack thereof), but if I were to point a finger, it would be at those through the door. Yes, I get that they are why the shop makes the bottom line, but it does JUST that...makes it. We don't exceed it, we don't rise above it as a kite on a breezy day...we only make it. Sure, that is partly due to the "above-average" lifestyle of the shop owner, but he makes "respectable" money with his full-time job, so I doubt he is funding anything other than the shop with his proceeds from this enterprise. He's been fair with me, though I haven't received a raise since my initial raise in the Fall of 2011.<br />
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Beauty, breathing, and body. That is my resolution for the new year. I am in dire need of attention to these three things. I need to focus on the incredible beauty of my girls, my wife, and the world around me. There is so much that I am missing by getting dunked in the sludge of routine retail redundancy. There is beauty in hearing my daughter tell me of how "it's fun to go tripping with friends" and how my wife is more attractive every day for her commitment to her kids at school, her family, while still finding the motivation to run and make herself better for her. There is beauty in the design of that with which I work every day, regardless of how much the owners of this beauty do to make it all uglier. There is beauty in the conversations I have on a daily basis, contrary to those that would make light of such conversations as banter among a mere customer and vendor, though most such exchanges may point me down a much darker path.<br />
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Breathing needs attention. I started today with 10 breaths of as long a duration as I could stand. I need to focus on making more of the breath I take. Just as I suspect that the smallest of infractions in traffic and other fora of life lead to greater and greater ones, I suspect that ignoring the significance of the "simple" act of breathing leads to a reduced appreciation for the redemption to be found in all other forms of existence.<br />
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Finally, my body is done. It is done with the exposure to destructive toxins that are a daily part of working in a bike shop. I am not just talking about the exposure to alcoholic gifts from the occasional decent customer and other such voluntary toxins. I am talking about exposure to all the PVC, lubricants, solvents, preservatives, and other carcinogenic crap that creeps into those that pursue this career. I'm reading "The Upcycle" by McDonough and Braungart, right now, and I'm sure that is influencing my perspective on this, but I also know that I have only felt worse and worse since starting this job full-time a few years ago, regardless of reaching what is probably the second-highest activity level my body has ever seen.<br />
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The girls have one more Spring of pre-K schooling, then they start full-time, balls-out school. I couldn't be happier about this. They are ready to kick school's ass. If they don't, their parents are right there to help make sure they get up and get kicking again. <br />
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Andree passed her National Board certification, proving that she is truly a leader among her peers, whether she would admit it or not. She is a role model for her girls and, indeed, for her husband. I cannot even compare this to something in my current career (I'm not sure something so significant even exists for bicycle mechanics, aside from securing a teaching position at one of the 2 or 3 schools for bicycle mechanics).<br />
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I am listening to Karp and you should, too. It just happened to come on my "randomizer", but they definitely stand out as one of those bands that will never sound dull to me, no matter how many times I listen to them. On the same tip, I'm really into garage rock, lately, since Jeff at the shop has been plugging Black Lips into Pandora. King Khan is a current favorite. It reminds me of a much better Make Up from days gone by, but the Nerves and others have stood out, too. He's also gotten me into lots of Pentagon spin-offs like Witch, The Sword, and Early Man. Lots of that stuff sounds like stuff Nemeth and I would be spinning if he were here (I got the holiday card, by the way and I'll send something, eventually...thanks for keeping us in touch...things just get busy with two 5-year-olds...you know it doesn't mean that we don't miss you guys...hope Gov. Walker isn't docking your pay or enforcing your sexual positions, yet).<br />
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I still haven't heard from Charleston County, yet, on the Land Resources Manager Technician job, but I'm hoping something will come through in the next week or so. Let's just go ahead and say that I will end this blog if it doesn't happen. I have been a real slouch with this thing, but if such a seismic turn-of-events occurs, I promise to the handful of people that still look at this, that I will turn things around. If it doesn't, I will copy all of this to a document, print it, and file it away for the girls to read when they turn 18. I have a really good feeling about this job, and I feel like it will rejuvenate my creative tendencies that used to flow like so much blood. <br />
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Well, contrary to my feelings just listed, I did not get the job, but I am not ending this blog. I am rejuvenating it! I need to get my mind into more creative pursuits than those found in repairing bicycles. Though the profession offers many opportunities, they are not the same as those involved in playing music and writing, and I just noticed that another "follower" has been "following" this (thanks D.M....I'll give that Superchunk a shot even though I stopped listening to them after that second album so long ago). Any kind of feedback is good enough feedback for me. I need to do something in response to not getting that job, and this seems like a good reward. If I had gotten it, then I probably wouldn't have had the extra time to get this running again.<br />
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Besides, I'm laid up with 2 broken ribs, currently, from riding the shit out of the Markham Park trail in oh-so-southern Florida. This trail is like riding through a landfill. While challenging, it is not very much fun without the right bike (big travel or, at least, full-suspension) and became way less fun when I fell 6' off a slope and onto my arm, cracking ribs that are also, now, being assaulted by some kind of cough-heavy chest cold I picked up. It feels like I'm being repeatedly punched in the mid-section a few times every hour. I suddenly have an appreciation for boxers that win contests without smashing the other guy's face in.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6sOyKhF3s">Markham Park</a><br />
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Anyway, I'm glad I came back to this to see my reminder about body, breath, and beauty. I'm going to go ahead and add a fourth B to that list and say that Jeff and I are going to start playing music. I'm not sure if we'll actually get a band together and get any gigs, but this town is ripe for the picking if we do (plenty of venues).<br />
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With that, I leave you with a recently re-discovered song lyric (we've been doing a bunch of cleaning around the house, lately):<br />
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Drive-thru frozen drinks, rivers of mud,<br />
Follow veins of pavement, white boots of rubber,<br />
In a passing pick-up truck, is a story you should hear,<br />
You take me in, and you give me a smile.<br />
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And you don't even charge me,<br />
The happiness of feeling Houma<br />
The happiness of feeling Houma.<br />
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Sugar cane commands my eye, gas flares aglow,<br />
Food of human and machine, sight of pride and trouble,<br />
Bridge across the mighty one, roll me into welcome arms,<br />
That pull me close, with every mile.<br />
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Chorus<br />
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Heavy air, lead me there,<br />
Where the river used to make her bed,<br />
Cradle me in your crooked limbs,<br />
It floods again,<br />
And still she grins.<br />
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That song is about what it means to love my wife and southern Louisiana. If you've never been, it won't make sense.<br />
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Now, for some entertainment:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJOJS0ksGpU">Maps and Atlases</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUSH_okspK0">Baba Brooks</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUd0JRgZ_1E">Sub Oslo</a><br />
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Oh, and read Dirty Wars, by Jeremy Scahill. He and Greenwald are THE journalists of our generation. Apparently, they just got together on a media project, too. Check it out, Brule... <br />
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<a href="https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/02/10/the-nsas-secret-role/">The Intercept</a><br />
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<br />Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-90000219497956935292013-02-13T13:07:00.000-08:002013-02-13T13:11:18.580-08:00Snow Blind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So this is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmyz2__F6NU">Wolf Creek</a> ...<br />
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We endured the agony of flight once more (girls' first) to make it to Colorado for the biennial Dugal Christmas in Pagosa Springs, and I got to ski for the first time since I was, maybe, 12 years old? Don't get me wrong, I got to try snowboarding 4 years before in Wisconsin, and I rode a skateboard for probably 10 years as a "young adult," but skiing was something missing from my resume of cool, so it was fun to finally apply what I have learned aboard the various craft I have piloted (bikes and boards...just to be clear...it would be easy, in this town, to assume I had also actually flown an airplane or ultra-light, captained a sail boat or seal-skin and whale-bone kayak, kite-related-person-moving-thing, or some other such apparatus of the affluent, but I guess I haven't hit that sweet spot of $450, 000.<br />
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The holiday was grueling. I am not joking when I say that I actually shat 12 times a couple of days before we left. The girls and I had come down with an ear infection for which I was prescribed a massive course of amoxicillin (I had just finished by the time we came home from our 9-day adventure), and that stuff will absolutely destroy your gut flora and fauna. Of course, I abstained from alcohol and ate as much yogurt as I could stand (about half-a-cup a day), but it didn't seem to change much. I also loaded up on high-protein meals in the hopes that I could "solidify things," so to speak...even downing an entire block of tempeh on bread with spinach and mustard one morning...in vain.<br />
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The stay out there was tough. It was very, very cold (average was probably 15 degrees), and there was about 2' of snow on the ground for the duration. Of course, this provided excellent skiing conditions, and allowed the girls their first encounter with sledding and snow-angels, but it didn't permit much out-time, and the air indoor and out was so fucking dry that I was worried I would spontaneously combust half the time I was there. <br />
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The family is awesome, and Andree's brother brought a tree with lights, which absolutely crowned things as far as the girls were concerned. The town of Pagosa Springs is not much of anything, but it had what was necessary. <br />
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Wow...I really have let this thing go. Since the above material was written, I've been to Washington, D.C. for a Park Tool Tech Summit. As always, FOX had the best class, though SRAM improved this year. As for Calvin and friend...I could've just gone and signed up for another stint in the armed services if I wanted yelling. Though he showed us a really cool graphic representation of spoke tension we can draw up for customers, I didn't take home much extra knowledge, and he just seemed ready to be done talking to anybody younger than 60 years old. In his defense, his blow-hard buddy with the sweaty disposition just couldn't wait to let loose on all the "uninitiated," tubular-aversive students. "It's the ride of the gods!", he continued to yelp at any who seemed less than totally convinced of gluey magnificence. I'll grant him that he got me just interested enough to give it a shot for a while, but if I get a flat within the first few months, I'm out. Besides, I think the Icon Elite is a good complement to such an arrangement. Weirdest image from trip up I-95...Philip Morris building in Richmond:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugwMd51MU0KbPgFQP-gHno4fZxab-azRnFZ7qqOlhS5wsDn6ut0LMY92OQHF4_G0q303adCAaHEbDNJlCyoEsmnBgwMJrlxhHpe0H4etHpzC70YoMGWdOCbMCY2Zeylmo4CvR6JQxmo0/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugwMd51MU0KbPgFQP-gHno4fZxab-azRnFZ7qqOlhS5wsDn6ut0LMY92OQHF4_G0q303adCAaHEbDNJlCyoEsmnBgwMJrlxhHpe0H4etHpzC70YoMGWdOCbMCY2Zeylmo4CvR6JQxmo0/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" /></a><br />
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I'm just saying (IJS)...in my opinion, it looks like something out of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" or like a facility used for "extra-judicial renditions." You'd think they would opt for a more soothing (yeah, that's it...soothing, like menthol!) design or more subtle location than right next to the interstate, right?<br />
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The shop is coming along, though we seem headed down a path of corporate efficiency that is confused by the sudden appearance of so many meetings I can barely get anything other than my TPS reports done. It is the classic situation of a person that knows money and likes bicycling thinking they can model a shop after any other retail establishment. I grow more convinced, each passing year, that bicycle shops are just a different animal and are nothing like the others. Unfortunately, bicycles are still considered toys by even those coming in and dropping$8000 on a Cervelo P5, since such a machine is, basically, a way for the rider to ride a little faster than the others in whatever race. After the race, it will only serve as a means of training for the next race. It will almost certainly never serve as a means of transportation. Racing is not necessary...getting to work is. <br />
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I also worry that the current owners have aspirations of a bottom line that only goes up, but, since I've worked there for the last 10 years or so, the bottom line has been all over the place, through no fault of who happens to be at the helm. The housing market thing is when things really got booted down the stairs, but people make weird decisions all the time, and it just isn't worth getting worked up about how this month is different from the same month last year. There are a million things influencing that number, most important of which is who and how many are employed and what product levels and brands are on the floor. If those two parameters are not the same from year to year, there is very little value in comparing the two. I know, I know...take it to the boss. Maybe one day I'll catch him in a situation that doesn't lead me to think he's got 15 other things that he's planning or would rather be doing.<br />
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Media matters include the following:<br />
-finished Suttree by McCarthy (just can't read enough by that guy)<br />
-finally reading Tao of Physics<br />
-enjoying reading the free Progressive Populist that I got in the mail a month ago or so; might subscribe<br />
-might go see They Might Be Giants in April (here in town, again)<br />
-watched "Moonrise Kingdom" (terrific...really liked Bruce Willis' and Ed Norton's characters)<br />
-watched "Jesus Camp" and felt like it was something from another dimension; horrifying<br />
-watched "Parking Lot Movie" and wished I was back in Baton Rouge; I miss that time of my life<br />
-watched "Rush" documentary and couldn't listen to anything but for a few days after...which leads me to the following sub-list:<br />
-Parts and Labor (really good sound...like that Husker Du vocal stuff, but more interesting)<br />
-Unsane (holy hell, how did I not ever pay attention to this band?! I've only scratched the surface<br />
but the stuff I've listened to just blows me away; really dark, brutal stuff)<br />
-David Axelrod thing from the online music place we all know (so chilled it's unbelievable)<br />
-Polvo (just about anything...again, how did I miss out on this?!)<br />
-Deerhoof "Offend Maggie" (another great one)<br />
-Budos Band (can't stop listening to this stuff...goes well with anything you're doing)<br />
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Matt (shop owner) and I are scheduled to do the 12 Hours of Tsali in May. May the beatings begin.<br />
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Oh, and call your "representatives" and tell them assault rifles and handguns make great paperweights.<br />
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Lastly, can somebody please tell me why most of my "views" for this thing are from India? I just looked at the "stats" for this blog for the first time and noticed this odd situation. I have the sneaking suspicion that it has to do with data mining, but it could just be that a rarely published blog about a father of twins that likes to ride bicycles and commune with the natural world is just more important in other parts of the world...who knows?<br />
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Love and kisses,<br />
Brad<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykuTKwbRwF0">Never gets old</a><br />
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<br />Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-86443290980912041372012-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:002012-11-13T17:04:26.844-08:00You Know What's Weird?Answer: daily blog updates. It just occurred to me that it isn't weird at all that I've not updated this thing since the beginning of the "off" season for us (otherwise known as Summer, but we have two 3 1/2 year olds, so...you know). Yes, I have plenty about which to complain every day, but whether that would be a good thing is a different matter. <br />
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I have a friend that looks at BikeSnob's blog at least a few days a week. I'm a fan of the same blog, so don't misunderstand, but I think too much attention to such ramblings can exacerbate existing feelings about our clientele that are less than positive. As I've come to relate to a few customers of late, our business is one that rarely suffers from a lack of people through the door. This might sound like a good scenario; it is...in a world in which one is afforded an abundance of uninterrupted minutes with which to engage every person we encounter. However, we, like many, are overworked. We are not overworked in a normal way. We are not expected to get 15 tune-ups done each day or anything like that. Our workload is engorged by the overwhelming urge so many have to continue to vocally excrete themselves. I suppose some of this has to do with justifying the fact that they just got in a car and drove a few miles to dump a better form of transportation on us that they will barely use even after we work our magic and make a pile of rubbish into something useful. It's kind of like how I feel about why people are on their phones and in their screens so much. They think they need to use them to justify spending the $100 a month.<br />
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Anyway, the point is that too much negativity just spawns more of the same, and, while I appreciate the BikeSnob's contributions (I really do), I also appreciate that reading that stuff at work just elevates my already above-average anger level at the communication skills of the average person in this country. You honestly cannot appreciate the level of condescension and interruption that occurs in such an environment, but just knowing that we have several islands full of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH1gJESvfbc">American Taliban</a> in our midst that think $1500 in property tax on a $300K home is grounds for physical violence (of the "hurt you from a distance with my weapon sort") might help get you closer.<br />
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It is now a couple of months since I began this post, but I see an intrepid friend has made a comment, and that makes me happy to saddle up, since I'm regaining a little of my time, lately. I'm on a 4 x 10 schedule, now, at the shop, so things are looking up.<br />
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Election, huh? I don't even know where to start. Neither of these clowns has my actual (as opposed to my symbolic) support, but I'm sure I'll be voting for Obama. I enjoyed the recent comparison I heard about electing a president or a boss (I think it was a columnist/author for the New Yorker, but I could be mistaken) after one of the debates. Though there is nearly nothing as banal as post-debate commentary, I was just too lazy to change the channel, I suppose. The really sad part of all of this crap is that no matter how poor the next administration is at getting real things done, we've officially entered the era of blaming it on the last/other guy. The last four years has turned obstructionism and finger-pointing into an art, so there is no reason to expect anything different in the next four. No wonder Romney started the debates by promising the world! He can just point to the congress and say, "Take it up with them." If Obama STILL doesn't make anything universally beneficial happen, he can say the same. What a golden age for those that say they want a reduction of the very system that is their livelihood...fucking idiots. How many times must a Kucinich present himself to you morons before you all get that there are still REAL people in this world that actually want what is best for the most?!?<br />
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Speaking of what is best for others, I feel I must comment on something I heard at the gym, today. The lady that does the kid fitness thing asked if it would be okay if the girls had a donut. Let alone the fact that somebody at a gym is offering a donut to a 4 year old (not a typical gesture), but focus on the comment a bystander made..."Oh, just let 'em have one." This was offered after I said I guess it'd be fine if they split one. Does this person think the girls are mistreated if they don't get to eat such garbage? Doesn't the comment imply that I am stingy about rewards with my children? It just seems indicative of how other people can't resist implanting themselves in the lives/cultures of other people, and I guess I'm still surprised by such things.<br />
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Which reminds me of a funny story...I'm at the bank the other day, and some lady is having trouble with an ATM withdrawal at the bank, which is not where she has an account, mind you. She's acting as she's been affronted and put out. The prelude to this exhibit was the Romney/Ryan sticker on the car in the parking lot I rode by on the way to the front door...yeah, the same one with the Tibetan flag on the front license plate. So, the red dwarf is pulsing with heat energy when her bratwurst of a beau hits the front door, asking of the problem. He notes that he watched them "count it three times," whatever "it" was and that HE knows how everything should be going down. If only he ran that bank, right? In fact, if only Romney/Ryan ran this country...which is why I noted on my ride out of the parking lot that once those guys are in charge, there will be no such worries, because they'll take care of everything and life will be free of such frustrations. I just got a confused look that almost certainly morphed into rage once I was a few hundred meters away.<br />
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Enjoy the latest Neely amusement (latest for me, anyway...I don't have the time to drop in on this stuff all the time...I just pull something up every now and then):<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCjn-24mMqY">Professor Brothers-Date</a><br />
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Went to see Maps and Atlases in Asheville the other night. Absolutely one of the best bands I've ever had the good fortune to run across. Please, all, let us take up our hymn books and sing the praise of<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQklC8lAa6s">Israeli Caves</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSlA7x98Yfw&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=AL94UKMTqg-9BvvT26oWbb1DXMyHMPcCMm">Solid Ground</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrvOXjFiD7k&feature=relmfu">Living Decoration</a><br />
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White Denim are a bunch of really talented guys, but, unfortunately for them, the world doesn't even need one Widespread Panic or Dave Matthews. These two tunes don't, however, fit into that slime mold and rock pretty freaking solidly<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eYwkkujr5Y">Shake Shake Shake</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW26TBF1boo&feature=relmfu">I Start to Run</a><br />
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Oh, and Suttree by McCarthy...yet another indication that he is not Faulkner, but that the latter was a time traveler that took what little he learned of this giant and brought it back to his era for the purposes of getting laid and seeming confusing, hence talented, to masses of wealthy rednecks. Thanks for the reference on that one, Adam, and thanks for the McCarthy line, in general, Bobby Fin.<br />
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Love you all...now feast your eyes on what is, officially, on the way...<br />
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<a href="http://www.myjamis.com/SSP%20Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?model=Icon%20Elite&cat_grp=road_2">Icon</a><br />
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...carbon be damned.<br />
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<br />Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-76965110499979313912012-06-30T17:29:00.000-07:002012-06-30T17:30:24.523-07:00A Ride is a RideSo, the plan was to drive to Ocala, get a hotel, and get to the race by 8am to confirm our registration. None of that happened. The girls were sick this week, with Tillie getting to a 102.5 fever one day and Delia coughing and waking me up for the past 4 or 5 nights in a row. Matt, my teammate, and the shop owner, was running late on Friday, so I knew we wouldn't make it to ride the course before the race, but I thought we might just pull it off in the last minute. We did not, but we did run up to FATS for a 4 hour run this morning, so I don't feel as worthless as I would have, otherwise.<br />
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As always, I wrote that first paragraph months ago. Between work and my family, I just don't find the time to update this thing very frequently. I've come to accept this, however, and I've lost the guilt that I used to feel when I didn't stay up with it. It comes down to my aversion to "connectedness," I suspect. Ironically, I feel like the more I see the majority of the population trying to minimize the awkward pauses in their life conversations, the more I want to run away from it.<br />
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I did just that and finally went to see Adam in Costa Rica. He lives up the mountains from San Jose, so we were close enough to walk up into some nicely forested areas and even get lost one night while wandering around listening for goatsuckers and owls. The location also put us comfortably distant from the terrible air quality of that whole San Jose metro area. Thankfully, Adam is still into our "thing" (meandering...silently, for the most part...usually getting lost in the process), and we had some really good centering times among the flora and fauna of the wet mountain forests of the central mountains and the Caribbean coast at Cahuita. Here are some photographs from the trip:<br />
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There were so many things that were new to me down there that it isn't even worth trying to post more than this. I wouldn't do it justice, even with the 100 or so pics I snapped on Adam's camera. Life is everywhere there (bromeliads commonly seen growing upon power/telephone lines), which makes it all the more depressing to witness the black runoff in the streets and the palpable smog that seems perpetual in the skies above most of that area. I did see more bicycles than one would think, especially considering the total lack of street names and the Tron-like traffic buzzing about the horribly-maintained roads. Almost all of them were MTB's, but I did spy a few "off" roadies. There was even one Blue, which seemed a sore thumb among all the Trek-bikes and Specialized rigs.</div>
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Which reminds me of a recent oddity from the shop...Nearly every Trek-bike owner lets us know that they have just that in the car and would like us to take a look or repair. It makes me wonder if Trek is known for toasters in Thailand or recliners in Russia. To all Trek owners that may stumble here...I have nothing against your brand, but drop the "bike" part in your shop...they know you're not bringing them a television for service.</div>
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So, I also just completed my first triathlon and nabbed 4th in my age class. I must say that if I'd prepared for it a little more, I'm sure I could've won, but that wasn't my intention. The shop owner sponsored the series, so we got free slots for each one. He wanted us to participate, and I'm glad I did. I had a good time with it, chatting up the people I was passing (making jokes, commending those on less-than-feather-weight rigs, etc.), and it was a nice change from my comfort zone of commute and group ride regularity. I think it did a little to help me understand those peculiar critters that are triathletes, too. I can see how one would get hung on such a sport. It really is kind of fun, but I just don't have the inclination to trade what little free time I have for even more physical exertion. I already feel dead by the time 10pm rolls around each night. Besides, I've seen what happens with the children of competitive triathletes, and they don't seem very happy or normal.</div>
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This last item brings to mind Grant Petersen's new book, "Just Ride." He makes some really great points in it, and it is completely worth your time to read what he's gleaned after all these years. My only gripe is the dualistic racer vs. non-racer thing he presents, since I fall squarely in the middle of it most of the time. In fact, I went back to toe cages and straps for the sprint partly because of his influence (though, it just seemed dumb to me to change shoes twice in such a short event). Full disclosure: I put the clipless back on for last night's ride and felt way better...placebo or not.</div>
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The girls are in a pretty big rut, lately. There's way too much whining, possessiveness, and associated aggravating behavior, but I have to blame that on their classmates (they are, after all, carrying the burden of being December babies, so their "peers" are younger). I also get the impression that many of their cohorts have parents that communicate "at" them, rather than communicating "with" them (with consequent backsliding and compromising on disciplinary positions from the looks of it). On the other hand, the girls are making pretty big strides in vocabulary and speech, in general. They're also riding their balance bikes with great skill, at this point, so it's nearly time for some helmets and pedals. We're taking this activity slowly, since I really don't want to force my perspective on them. I'd rather let them ease into it and be riding with me well into my old age.</div>
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We also "caught" (picked up might be another way of putting this) a black swallowtail a couple of weeks ago, so there's a chrysalis on the kitchen counter, right now, that'll soon be a beautiful butterfly that they can then release in the backyard. Between insect pets and the many citrus seedlings for which they are responsible, we're hoping the puppy thing can wait.</div>
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I haven't seen much on the video front, lately, but there are a couple of things that are worth putting on here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNKe0idF7EM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNKe0idF7EM</a></div>
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My goodness...how time evaporates. It is now nearly July, and I feel like I wrote the rest of what is above months ago...oh, that's because I did. </div>
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Lots to say, but think I should probably get this post up and think about starting a new one, since things are going to be changing for the next few months with Andree home.</div>
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<br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-27063640776100935152011-12-03T16:31:00.000-08:002012-02-07T17:41:37.192-08:00Three Years Old<div style="text-align: left;">The girls' third birthday has come and gone. I'm so proud of my wife and myself for getting to this point, but there is credit due the little ladies, too. I'm amazed that I haven't bitten off my arm or something, but I'm even more amazed at just how wonderful they have turned out. They've made it through three years with two very different adults and have adjusted really well to two days a week in a creative arts school. I'm just really happy that I'm surrounded by these three wonderful women, even if it does feel like a bit of a hen house around here every now and then.</div><div><br /></div><div>Work is feeling better every day. We just got back from the Park Tool Summit, which was really cool, except for the trip there and back (man, there's just something about being in a car for 8 hours at a time that makes me want to get naked and jump in an icy pool). </div><div><br /></div><div>The Shimano and Fox workshops were the best/most valuable, though there were some cool points to nearly all of them. For example, did you know that Campagnolo tested their new electronic shifting system completely submerged? Yes, it's waterproof to 1m. As I told our new part-timer today, I'm less concerned with people riding this stuff in pouring rain than I am with how it will resist the caustic, sweaty onslaught of those riders that don't drink enough and never clean their machines (full disclo-zha...as Guy would say...I used to be one of those riders). On the same note, the Shimano stuff seemed really cool, but I couldn't help think of Robot Chicken or Frankenstein when the instructor was covering how one can remotely operate the individual derailleurs via a computer and an interface; the severed hand continuing to crawl forward.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of severing, I'm reading a book titled "Seasick," right now, and am reminded of something interesting presented in the book. It has to do with how an organism will isolate and shut down all but the most necessary of systems/functions when faced with diminishing environmental requirements per apoptosis. She borrows the analogy to apply it to the sea as a form of superorganism, but I have been playing with how it applies to our political health. Much of the rhetoric flying around seems to indicate a category of people espousing an ideology that reminds me of cancer cells.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for video stuff, I would be a jerk if I didn't share this with those that have not seen it.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfph3iNC-k"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfph3iNC-k</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Garrett sent this little gem, too. The commentary, alone, is worth the view.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYgAX6D43Q"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYgAX6D43Q</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Photographs are as follows: </div><div>A Giant Spine-Headed Bug, Acanthacephalus declivis on the screened door. This would be an example of a "true" bug (as opposed to all things exoskeleton that most lump into a big pot of "spray it, stomp it, or swat it"). This guy is relatively harmless unless handled, in which case you may receive a pretty serious bite (they do, after all, have piercing/sucking mouthparts for the plants they nourish upon). The most interesting thing I can say about it is that is very aromatic, when need be, and it can scare the piss out of 3 year olds when you trap it in a holding jar for their observation and it attempts to fly.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUt8zaP7Nuf1Wgk1ygVZCT7mnbxMhp-HSPgQVXDhRAUOy-CqRnoSnsAv3otcEOHg8sZfcLQiS4uiEOb2jE4phf-UoGfYS6RGqUpHc9WOb1ezVcwxQzbSH7TrfdZnv1JWnb-fddiKetCxA/s400/DSC01353.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706552502798410434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div>Next, is the other member of Hexapoda that I stumbled into, recently. This is from one of my favorite families of beetles; Buprestidae. Having studied forest insects in graduate school, I ran into my share of these bejeweled beasties. Many (if not most) of them have such reflective sculpturing to their elytra (first pair of wings) that creates intense colors. It is physical iridescence and not pigment, which is why I find this family so enchanting. All those colors are out there, bouncing around our world, making things more beautiful. We forget that there is a nearly infinite range of shades between red and violet, and it is refreshing that there are such organisms that concentrate these things and shoot them into our retinae...if only we care to notice them. I happened upon this fellow or female when breaking off a couple of old shoots from my struggling, but still alive, fig tree (thanks, Adam), though they can live in the dead and dying tissues of many species, I read. Wow, that was probably too many commas for one paragraph.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowz7KjNlvZAydwhfM1COzYFbnO0bqWf10rzu3mMrWTnNdUZXSJbsWc99_U7I8n6Y2UUEsTurYMA6_yKGJ1imkbvcl5rxp1jjsO1dGFe6DEIoRFGFcaXvQBRK9Qy42Ix6d5SExLzHT7S4/s400/DSC01386.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706564851549251634" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Then, we have what results from a complete lack of bicycle rider attention. This is an axle from a bicycle that had a front wheel that was ridden without any bearing ball support for far too long. This is not why the bicycle was dropped off, by the way. It was kind of a shame that they didn't quite get to the point of breaking it into three pieces, though, I must admit. Maybe that would've been enough to make them think something was wrong?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmyIiYw15swPGUxgaCuQcsA9EyNX5-3v-0pnbJ6MoUgqahNCvuPOA_1JEVSdlTZvoUVYuharAFoPFcqk9TYutM2PvG1hno4qOdm-dDby8-f_TliO7-vcdGLD_W6Lxb-jbS0iDFrzt9ig/s400/DSC01366.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706563312899810082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>Finally, we have the girls at a water wheel at Oconee State Park. It is depressing that, though the water still runs, this wonderfully simple and powerful tool is not operational. After all, our cabin DID have electricity and running water. Surely something could be run by the enormous spill of water from the pond above this wheel (at least the night lighting for the parking lot and roads, right?). I'd love to suggest the idea to them, but I suspect they've considered it more than once. Unfortunately, though, it comes down to what the citizenry will bear to share, and most politicians in this state can't plan for the weekend, let alone the next generation. Of course, I could get into how annoying it is that the base for those politicians just couldn't stay their hands from defacing a harmless fence around such a point of interest, but the scribbles are just no match for those faces.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfnyiu2VygYZi7tIP6bsOZI-Lb8Gf7sPWjNP1Srmb4Ep3i4UTA8A1n2aWNt5a7ekOyxyV0p3Fxw202dtGTlhCAWCCQsuSSB2wGd-IsJ9g7l0jHt9FOurVnnbIOGGgl86zlxoKIBebcQE/s400/IMG_2191.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706569366188434514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>Lastly, I thought I'd throw in a couple of sauce recipes, since it's something I'm not sure I've mentioned in any entries previous. Coming from a vegan/vegetarian background, I can recommend the following for improving just about any tofu or meat-substitute-based meal that also involves some rice or noodles. </div><div><br /></div><div>Moosewood Restaurant's "Spicy Broccoli Soba Saute" Sauce</div><div>1/4 cup soy sauce</div><div>2 t sugar</div><div>2 t dark sesame oil</div><div>1 T cornstarch</div><div>1 T lemon juice</div><div><br /></div><div>I use this one with baked tofu and sauteed carrots, bell peppers, and broccoli, mostly, but it works on lots of stuff. Just mix the stuff up and add it to whatever you're making. It's kind of like a teriyaki sauce, I think. You can add 1/2 cup sake when you're steaming/sauteeing the carrots, broccoli, etc., but don't cook it for too long. Use water to get things mostly done.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second sauce is from the New Farm cookbook of old. It is what I use for my gluten roast, but it works equally well with other meat substitutes that you want to assume a savory aspect.</div><div><br /></div><div>1/2 cup oil</div><div>3 T soy sauce</div><div>1 t salt</div><div>1/4 cup peanut butter (or almond butter or tahini)</div><div>1 cup water (warmed for 1 1/2 min in microwave)</div><div>1 t garlic powder</div><div>1 t onion powder</div><div>1/4 t black pepper</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope you enjoy those, and I'll be back after the big race in Florida...yes...it's 12 Hours of Santos time.</div><div><br /></div><div>B</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-36136720526453971452011-10-15T16:33:00.000-07:002011-11-26T17:19:32.744-08:00Inane Frown Posse<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJzA0jN1ESjbpmntuvUOzLviBe_wjS6_iFD6AKfEJlW06AZC4chgZNVOAESpkCvpLzx-PjgP2S_WkTTVpB6o3a51Yy-DY56-2oPfGzC10scS3IF0yN39nyKX0b1MBzaCXYK38dZPz1MU/s1600/DSC01342.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>I am the inane, and I wear the frown. I have been mired in a state that has included only anger and apathy for a long time, now, and there are only a few things slowly pulling me from the muck. Knowing that holidays are imminent, and, hence, so is real vacation time with Andree and the girls is the big one. <div><br /></div><div>I've never felt so overwhelmed by a job before in my life, and I attempted to explain why, last night, over some beer and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">tempeh</span>, to my "supervisors." I don't think they got it. It wheeled around my thought that this job (any job requiring daily interaction with the general public, for that matter) should mean more. I consider myself a devout, albeit camouflaged, optimist, and I never let a day pass that I don't expect reason or higher thought of some kind from those that enter the shop. I was met with a comment about projecting negativity and, therefore, readily finding it in others, but I don't buy that. My job is to fix bicycles, sell bicycles, answer questions, and promote the industry and lifestyle. It is not to be nice, and, honestly, I am almost always immediately distrustful of and annoyed by those at other businesses that paint the sugar on too thick. My ideal shopping experience, anywhere, is successful if two things happen. First, the product I'm looking for is in stock or I am informed that it can be obtained for me within x number of days and I am called when it arrives. Second, if I need help, somebody with appropriate knowledge is available to provide that help. I don't give two shits if the person is smiling or pissed when they help. I realize that we are all humans, and we all have bad days/weeks/months sometimes. Saying nicely that you have no idea or that you cannot help is worthless. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, that's pretty negative stuff, but I find the little moments every day that chip away at that monolith. Right now, for example, the girls are singing themselves to sleep, Andree and I have bellies full of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">channa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">masala</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">malai</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">kofta</span>, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">naan</span>, and I don't have to be to work until 12pm tomorrow. Oh, and there's this:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2PlAUzAFIU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2PlAUzAFIU</a></div><div><br /></div><div>and this:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8h4UmuN1Q&feature=grec_index">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8h4UmuN1Q&feature=<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">grec</span>_index</a></div><div><br /></div><div>and this:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/hardtails/dragon/12_dragon29race.html">http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/hardtails/dragon/12_dragon29race.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The final one is the bike that I'll be ordering next week. It took a long time to make this decision, since I have a pretty functional mountain rig, but I know it will make me ride more, and I know I will enjoy riding it more than the old 26. Besides, I feel good that I didn't flake out and buy a new, carbon featherweight for the road. I persisted with the old 1987 Schwinn Circuit and here is the result:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJzA0jN1ESjbpmntuvUOzLviBe_wjS6_iFD6AKfEJlW06AZC4chgZNVOAESpkCvpLzx-PjgP2S_WkTTVpB6o3a51Yy-DY56-2oPfGzC10scS3IF0yN39nyKX0b1MBzaCXYK38dZPz1MU/s400/DSC01342.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679470872231593394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Campagnolo</span> Centaur, which I have grown very fond of in only 5 or 6 rides, mated with some classic complements and a workhorse <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">wheelset</span> (240's and Open Pros). I'll probably still tweak a few things, but it rides very smoothly, even if it does have a little flex and spring to it (which is really more of a benefit than a detriment).</div><div><br /></div><div>As usual with this blog, almost everything above was written at least a few weeks ago, and only a few things have changed. I still don't feel like Andree and I have much of a relationship as a couple, these days, though I think that is more largely due to the girls of late than the job, as it was for most of this year...it's now been almost 7 months of continuous full-time employment with a 3-day break around the end of July and a 2-day break, just now, for T-Giving. The job is shaping up, nicely, of late, since we're finally getting the time to cull all the crap that 8 years and 2 bike shops can accumulate. I still think we're overworked, but at least we're not underpaid for our efforts. </div><div><br /></div><div>The job is my only creative outlet, I've realized, which is kind of cool and kind of sad. I used to play lots of guitar, build lots of things, and even paint and draw lots of things. Perhaps the new year will avail more time for some of that. My co-worker, after all, is a really accomplished musician, and he is somebody with whom I share many interests. I'm glad he and I are getting the chance to attend a Park Tool Summit in Atlanta at the end of January. It'll be a nice break with somebody that appreciates at what volume Sleep should be listened to while traveling. If such excursions do not provide more creative output, I take heart, since I think the girls might be headed for full-time school next Fall. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the bikes mentioned above...the Dragon is trouncing my old 631 Dakota from the same company. I feel way more stable on corners, just as able to throw the whole thing around when needed, more confident with creek crossings and related obstacles, and my ass and back haven't given me any protests, even with our root-laden (but still awesome), local trail.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Schwinn is nearly perfect. I need only replace my stem with one that I can get up slightly higher than the one I have, and I'll be happy. It has served me well on many rides, so far, and the 130mm wheel in the 126mm frame is not an issue at all. I'm happy with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Campagnolo</span> I chose, but it is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Powertorque</span> Centaur, so I'll have to buy a cheap gear-puller for when I yank the crank and grease the spline (something I think is already necessary, since I've got an annoying little creak that I can't pin down...yes...it may be the BB cups, since I chased them after the powder-coating, but they come coated with some kind of locking compound already on them, so I doubt it).</div><div><br /></div><div>Politically, I kind of feel like we're living in an alternate universe, lately, with what the Republicans are putting out there. I'm staying centered by reading a biography about Nader that is surprisingly inspiring (not because he wasn't inspiring, but because I forgot what that felt like). More on this realm, later, since I don't see any point in making more of a spectacle out of what are already annoyingly ignorant humanoids.</div><div><br /></div><div>Keep your ears on, and I'll get some more photographs up here, soon. We've been solid on Tuesday night <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">MTB</span> rides for the past 5 or 6 weeks, so maybe something on that note, though the weather is producing some pretty things, lately, too, and we've already reserved a cabin for a post-x-mas trip to the hills.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love,</div><div>B</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-18483481860488327752011-05-21T16:34:00.000-07:002011-08-11T06:19:47.456-07:00The Big Lull<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />It's been a long, long time. I raced in Florida, the girls are much bigger, precocious, and adorable, and we've just been through a whirlwind of bicycle advocacy. The job scene is still very dismal, with little hope on the Interpretation front, and a shop that may or may not be realizing the mistakes of the past and what needs to happen for future success.<div>
<br /></div><div>The 12 Hours of Santos was a blast...or should I say a wash? I flatted twice within five minutes on my third lap and seized my quadriceps on the sixth. I had never experienced muscle failure in my legs, before, and I don't plan on it happening again. I had to use my bicycle as a crutch to push myself off the trail and out of the way of other riders. It was quite pathetic. Anyway, I just quit. I didn't see any reason to wait out the regeneration of overly stressed muscles that needed more than a few minutes rest and a little food. The fact is that I just didn't train at all for it, this year. It didn't help that we rode some of the other trails in the area for a couple of hours the day before. I thought that this would help me get warmed up, but it just produced a dramatic and slightly painful front flip over the handlebars and some slightly sore legs on race day. Here's a glimpse of what southern FL has to offer...you'd be surprised...enjoy the soundtrack these guys rocked. I especially like that somebody commented that the videographer "made it look easy," with all the deadbeats on the side of the trail and crashing in front of him.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); "><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9FS3NJKeA&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9FS3NJKeA&feature=related</a></div><div>
<br /></div></span></div><div>In the hopes of conquering this demon, I spent the first few months after the race riding downtown and running 9 flights of stairs 20 or more times, with push-ups at the top. I'm really committed to nailing this next year. Ever since, I've been hitting most Tuesdays and Thursdays with the local group rides, with some Sunday mornings thrown in for good measure, though the work-outs are still just barely getting ramped back up. I've had a really bum last month or so, mostly because I'm not riding anything capable of keeping me with everybody on the road, and I've got a couple of puds for riding partners that are forever canceling on plans to hit the trails. The next plan is to start running with Mark from the shop, since he's dependable and does the kind of distance in which I need to involve myself (his trail runs are 15-20 miles). I've done more than a few 13 milers on the greenway, and I'm sure having a change of scenery and not having to do out-and-backs will motivate.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>So, all of the above was written fairly long ago, and the shop is now closing. We will, most likely, wind up with a new, well-funded, and surprisingly young owner, which is neither here nor there. At this point, I could give two poops, since the girls need a daddy with a solid job, and we've signed them up for two days of daycare each week for Fall (partly for their own benefit, partly for ours). I'm one of two former employees with a paying job, and I couldn't care less about the future of the shop, as long as it is about providing real bikes for real people. I am truly at the end of my wits with those that think gluing tubular tires or flushing disc brakes should be same-day services in a shop that truly (and obviously) services every kind of rider out there, not just those with overpriced wagons and fat wallets...fucking idiots.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I've been lightly engaged on the road, recently, and I've been doing it on an old, lugged, steel, Taiwanese, DiamondBack. I finally got the Schwinn Circuit powdercoated (for $100), but I've yet to get a new group for it (I'm probably going to go with Ultegra, even though Athena was attractive...I've just not become a fan of practically removing my hand from the bar to shift the other direction on the Camp stuff). Yes, I know, the price is right with an employee deal and the Italian stuff is rebuildable, but Shimano is just so much more intuitive.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Fuck knows where things are going, but it was good to see you still creeping on the blog, Christopher. It's more than I can say for some of my other old friends that I anticipated would've commented by now and jostled me out of my "literary" funk. Things have been overwhelming the past 6 months or so, and I appreciate any of you that are even still occasionally checking this thing to see where the Jaynes' are headed. I could get in to the fact that we've had two termite swarms in the house, and how funny/absolutely infuriating it is to deal with pest control employees that don't know that you went to graduate school to study forest insects ("Are you sure they're termites, sir?") and to get a contractor to assess the damage done. I could also get in to how much fun it is to forget your insurance card for a doctor's visit and have to receive 5 pieces of mail as a result to finally get the visit paid, or how cool it is to show up on a bicycle with two car wheels for tire replacements and then get four tires replaced when you bring the car in for a free alignment check (yes...I paid for the alignment on top of the free alignment check). Lots of cool stuff, lately, but the upshot is that I think I'll be full-time bike shop guy from here on out, unless some real dick rolls in the door with a bag of cash...not an impossible scenario, given the tiddely-winks and shenanigans the current owner got himself into over the eight years he was at the helm.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Anyway, I hope to get this thing up and running, again. I've been in a really low place for too long, now, and it helps to share with the few of you that still look in on me. Here are a couple recent photographs to visually update. We absolutely massacred the blueberry farm this year and hit the strawberries at least twice. The giant swallowtail larva is on the grapefruits I grew from seed earlier this year. Can't wait to imprison the chrysalis just long enough that the girls can watch the newly emerged adult float away.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAf0NkvYoO6c_zm1-bKrBVjgy_giRXn_KuAvaamk_LV2bzZXbVUgu-zHDX0Di3Lb8ylXqUv5nslCa63RcCo_uM-f1TMmZyDFe0QX-aGHMWEnbbTEwL3DhhQe8PgybToB5ci4m4usiSmQ/s400/IMG_2088.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637894578196619426" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;">
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<br /></div></div><div>Stay tuned...and rent Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and the Banksy movie. Those movies are really good. Oh, and don't read Derrick Jensen (it'll just depress or upset you in a do-nothing kind of way), but read Freefall by Stiglitz. Also, last month's Mother Jones is really good, albeit a little on the downer side.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Thanks for hanging in there. Things are getting better.</div><div>
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<br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-26881301455693691162011-01-15T16:47:00.001-08:002011-02-14T17:24:31.514-08:00Is it cold in here, or is it just me?<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Weeks...weeks of sub-freezing temperatures in Charleston, SC. The place I once thought of as sub-tropic has become a test of my dedication to bicycling. Amazingly, we've only missed a couple of evenings on the nocturnal mountain bike rides in the last four months (I even did one on my own...something that nearly makes me sick to my stomach...getting in a car by myself to drive somewhere to ride). I've also not missed any commutes out to the other part-time job on Sundays. However, it's like pulling teeth to get any commitment out of my associates for anything other than a single ride each week. Every time I get that urge to avoid the cold/rain/night, I think about my friends in Wisconsin and elsewhere, and the internal debate fizzles. Besides, it always feels so damned good to push through freezing temperatures for a couple of hours than to warm and wither.<div><br /><div>So, the big news is that I did NOT get the job that I used to hold. That's right, there was, apparently, a more qualified applicant than the one that successfully held that position in excess of seven years (me). Of course, I don't REALLY think that there was anybody more qualified than I, but that is what I must tell myself. Otherwise, it means that the selection was based merely upon familiarity with the individuals applying or on more nefarious grounds (as I understand it, the girlfriend of the person with whom I interviewed will be getting the job that was vacated as a result of me not being hired). Besides, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'll just keep telling myself that it just wouldn't be the same job without my good friends Thomas and Shawn in the mix. </div><div><br /></div><div>The weird part of this whole experience is that I've been reading an UTNE Reader that Garrett passed me, lately, and there are a few articles referring to the loss of identity facing people that now find themselves without a job or with a job providing much less reward for much more effort as a result of the financial "crisis" (I hesitate to use that word, since it sort of implies an element of surprise). I feel the same thing. I don't feel the new identity of "dad" has become primary, even though I get inklings of it now and then. Andree is such a terrific mother, even with the demands of being a full-time teacher, that I'm not sure I'll ever feel sealed in my new fatherly vessel (probably a good thing). At least, I don't feel enough like a dad to the point that it has replaced my desire to also be identified as the bicycle mechanic or the environmental educator or practitioner of whatever other trade/discipline in which I may find myself in the coming years. As a result, I feel incomplete (like it isn't enough to be identified as all of the above!). Of course, were I to have any friends, at all, in the immediate area, things wouldn't feel so overwhelmingly lonely and crushing and dependent upon my profession, but we have what we have. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I would suggest that it is a fault of mine to feel like I must be largely (not entirely, mind you) defined by a vocation, but when one is surrounded by such a perspective, it makes it harder to refrain. I've always thought of myself as a Brad-of-all-interests-trades-etc., but I think I might be stuck in a period of my life where a well-defined, even monotonous job would be beneficial. I know that I'll eventually get back to something more noble, but I must be honest and say that, right now, I am considering the most boring of jobs (library, warehouse, or some such thing), so that the stress of and on the girls is tempered. They don't deserve to have to deal with this crap.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm signed up for the 12 Hours of Santos race next week. We'll see what comes of it, not having had much weather that would permit trail training opportunities, lately. All told, though, I'm just happy to be getting to hang out with Dave, again, before he trades this pool of blue blood (Charleston) for the puddle of redneck (Myrtle Beach) to which he is headed. I'm also happy at the idea of spending some quality time in the meditation of the race. It's not that I've done much racing (in fact, this is only my second race...ever), but I know enough about it to know that it provides a great conduit to a level of concentration that brings me peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Cooper's Hawk was in the live oak in the front yard a few weeks back. I noticed it after the characteristic, post-kill feather rain from the unidentified carcass within its clutches. The girls enjoyed the viewing, though I'm not sure they gathered that it was at the expense of another unlucky bird.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2X-FyXymGaUsikA7XUqAzJBySFjMwIcwxBq41pKBxDhw0VNg3wN0a-TUZXYI3ZuBmUOQvfvJ4Ajz6mQcKHIJF3TqKRiDMC959pKlEGXfaXrZz8nixBVnHJw940LvNmLDoCoFmLpTtrFk/s400/DSC01125.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572607396509599394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></div><div>The witch hazel that a friend gave us is blooming, as seen in the photograph (I'm a sucker for those understated tree flowers that are so critical to getting the animal world back on track for the breeding season), and I finally got the ball rolling on the vegetables for the season...standard leafy stuff, radishes, and carrots, though I also planted some pomegranate seeds this time (I read that they're somewhat weedy and will do just fine in a temperate latitude, so we'll see). The grapefruits have done well in the cold frame box for the winter, though I can't say the same for the pineapples. The plum trees and the peach that survived the squirrels are looking good, as are the blueberries. Now, if I can just keep everything watered enough...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi-guijjrEm4a_deW1C1saroIO2YlKSJKtus7gYhgzdNP0TAIki1Px-Y4EGJxdwxdT3IZD-ROoY0EoprAj7aAOT6Zo1WRYnVjEAQnXhiDTPiz8gPymv361I9075ZKQeCApoHUjskCll0/s400/DSC01148.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573340921107083698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 344px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I don't want to get too deep into the political realm, right now, but I do want to say that I am finished caring about everything except these stupid fucking wars that still have us so embroiled and destitute and looking like a bunch of assholes to the world, especially in light of the recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen. It makes me think of recent comments I've heard about how there is no pull on the president from the progressive side of things like there is from the other side of the spectrum, so why would the milquetoast do anything other than maintain the status quo? </div><div><br /></div><div>I know that the absence of "defense" spending doesn't translate to immediate relief for everything else that ails us, but it would certainly make a huge dent and shut up a bunch of wingnuts that think their pedestrian interests have anything to do with those that make over a quarter of a million dollars a year (Do you know anybody that makes that much? What kind of person is he/she?). I know their ears are being stretched by corporate tentacles, but we've got to talk to our "representatives" and tell them that no war is good war.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and I'm reading "Interpreter of Maladies" and "Blood Meridian" among other things, right now. I'm impressed by both, but was also taken by the recent "Sunset Limited" that showed up on cable. I'm stuck on McCarthy, but will also be tackling Jensen's "What We Leave Behind," soon, so I'll be sure to comment on how positive that makes me feel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of feeling positive...this one's for you, Bob. All hail Price-Leblanc:</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0K4HtAPfJE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0K4HtAPfJE</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-19652002380610993812010-10-03T16:52:00.000-07:002010-10-26T18:06:13.345-07:00Time Outside<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhidWZPgHvNlCPlk0Ldvbwm9EFRnzJneIjApMfwPf1Q9zuKk8IGun12nNDncGPO22LyGD8WTHLjSsdypZ-SSglOI98lfvAKZ8LH7jYPbWFndDnbZr5WsjRjo0_hx4HI5Ao_BaD98P2sA/s1600/DSC01025.JPG"><br /></a></div>The job at Caw Caw has turned out well. I'm regaining my trail eyes and general awareness. It was kind of alarming to realize how far one can drift and how much can escape notice after long stints of urban-only exposure. The girls and I spend a good deal of time on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">greenway</span>, at the beach, and so forth, but it just isn't the same as really getting away from the distractions of urban existence. Of course, being away from the girls is nice, too. I love being around them most of the time, but having a day by myself is a great gift (especially at this stage in the game...they're exhibiting a more advanced independence, lately, that requires much less of my help, but much more of my attention).<div><br /><div>I've picked up on 2 new species for the plant list at Caw Caw, seen some really cool birds (including a masked lovebird that escaped the clutches of its <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">cager</span>), and tons of dragonflies and other insects (most notably a female Carolina mantis devouring her recent mate's head...a challenging interpretive feat for the younger audience that was present). </div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of things being devoured, check out this photo. It'll make you wonder why things without backbones have such a weak reputation.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/anemone-crab-grall_pod_image.html">http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/anemone-crab-grall_pod_image.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Rides are way down, lately. Nobody has any integrity, motivation, or time, so I've been going solo for most. We've switched our route for the darker season, but I might have to switch it, again. The shared use path over the Cooper River used to be a good option as part of this route, but there are so many pedestrians, these days, that it gets downright dangerous up there. Most bipeds have really weak powers of perception or totally shut them down by donning headphones to supply them with a soundtrack of music that belongs in the sewer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Have you listened to what most are listening to these days? Does the world really have room for another well-t0-do, piano-based, quirky female singer/songwriter whining about relationships or another trust fund "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">folky</span>" fellow pining about how beautiful is the natural world while he tours the country in his jet? If it isn't one of these, it's another rung for the ladder of strained Caucasian "soul" music that has been leaning against the house that built it for way too long. Of course, there are gems among the garbage, but it seems that every time a style gets recycled, lately, a million others follow (as if it's not bad enough that somebody brought back that vomit-inducing Elton John sound in the first place). We've lost some creativity, and I can see why people migrate to stuff like Arab on Radar, Zach Hill, U.S. Maple, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, there's this:</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-agl0pOQfs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-agl0pOQfs</a></div><div><br /></div><div>And the resulting and nearly equally-entertaining mockery:</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbdomlBnJM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbdomlBnJM</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Don't ask me how I wound up with this. It was one of those things where I was searching for something completely unrelated and I stumbled upon these diamonds in the rough.</div><div><br /></div><div>We went out for a night ride in the woods last Thursday. I'm kind of hoping it'll become a fixture for the winter, since we had 5 instead of the 2 that we've had for the road ride for the last 4 or 5 weeks. I only feel a little guilty about disturbing the horned owls and others that depend on the absence of our lights and loud mouths for sexual success during this season. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of the critter world, my co-worker pointed out a weird little fly the other day that I had never seen. It looked like a small wasp (thread waist and long abdomen), but it had the characteristic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">halteres</span> and antennae of a fly. I think I finally found an identification. It is a <i><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Psilonyx</span></i> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">spp</span>., but it looks like there's some discrepancy over whether they are robber flies or in their own family (I found one reference to a Grass Fly family...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Leptogastridae</span>, I believe). The crazy thing is that this thing was only 5 or 6mm. I'm surprised we even noticed it. I'd love to see what kind of prey it takes, being so small.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/81915">http://bugguide.net/node/view/81915</a></div><div><br /></div><div>So, lately, I've been a little down. It has to do with communicating less than I should with my handful of really good friends. I think it jealousy. I avoid some communication because it will inevitably remind me of just how condemned is a man that stays home with his twins. I know that sounds drastic, but, the fact is, it is drastic. I hear things about my friends' lives about which I should be happy, but I frequently (and unfortunately) force such news through my selfish filter that just leaves me thinking, "Wow, I wish I had the time/money/friends/etc. to do that." Nothing can be done about this, but I needed to say it...in case you are one of those friends. I love you guys, but I can be a petty twit on occasion...and I'm gonna' allow it. We all deserve a little wallowing in the pit.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I'd hate for there to be any misunderstanding, so here are a couple of recent images of the angels that walk among us. Even if there are some lows, I wouldn't have it any other way.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhidWZPgHvNlCPlk0Ldvbwm9EFRnzJneIjApMfwPf1Q9zuKk8IGun12nNDncGPO22LyGD8WTHLjSsdypZ-SSglOI98lfvAKZ8LH7jYPbWFndDnbZr5WsjRjo0_hx4HI5Ao_BaD98P2sA/s320/DSC01025.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532522571011886386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 259px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-KRi3xtxhn2WZe_WG8U7_WE3bD1B4-VA3WqqMtFlgfzDE4D8PY2Mn1TCtJ_rP52gig2_sMORwkViAIWSEJ2pr6x3ENSN884yMPaLBIbkiMu6KHoi6kQwsgX-UNdx8bQstRAA9ruoQLo/s320/DSC01035.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532522145031422002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm more than likely going to drop this blog thing. It's just become too much of an albatross around my neck. I feel like I don't have the time to get in depth, and I'd rather spend the time doing other things, frankly. If I do drop it, you can always get in touch through more conventional means (most of my information is the same it has always been since you've known me, but if you need an update, let me know). </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-89496015510095736062010-08-16T10:01:00.000-07:002010-09-07T04:49:07.752-07:00Vanishing of the Vinyl Veil<div style="text-align: center;">As I write, I am recording my old Harriet the Spy LP and 10" from vinyl to my computer. It took a kid to explain this to me (via YouTube) after years of hanging around "adult" co-workers that couldn't shut up about how great Apple is/was for audio/video but had no idea how to transfer "real" music to a computer.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CU-4OCLtSU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CU-4OCLtSU<br /></a><div><br /></div><div>I write "real" because I don't care what anybody says, a vinyl copy of any album will always sound better than a CD or downloaded version. Yes, I know one can screw around with mixing and make things better, but I'm not going spend a year of my time learning to efficiently use a mixing software just to make my vinyl recordings sound more like CD's or vice versa. In fact, I didn't even break out the old component equalizer, as I am after the original form of the music, hisses and pops included. I guess I'll have to get around to it, eventually, once I start recording my own music, again, but I've not picked up the guitar in nearly a year. I miss it. Maybe I'll get something recorded and get it on here in a month or so.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, the caveat with the above video, that he doesn't mention, is that recording straight from your turntable is not enough if it doesn't have a built-in pre-amplifier. So, having been fortunate enough to inherit a second component stereo system, I simply hooked up the record player to a stereo receiver (which also lets you ground the player...a good noise reduction technique) and connected the y-adapter to a stereo cable that runs to the "Tape Rec Out" on the back of the receiver. As well, I'm just recording sides at a time (though, with GarageBand, I don't think it is any big deal to split up the track into songs...I just don't need that level of compartmentalization or order).</div><div><br /></div><div>The spare stereo stuff is Japanese Technics and Panasonic stuff that a co-worker was tossing so that he could simplify his life. Again, though, I'm left thinking that those with this tendency would rather unload brain baggage but take the easy way out by dumping the dollar-based. As evidence of this argument, just think of how many people you see in a day with their faces buried in palm sand. Those that I know with "everything devices" seem to never be done learning how to use the things and to never reach the point where their second brains make their lives any easier. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh well, I've got two beastly component stereo systems, now, and it's made recording this stuff so much easier. Now if only I could keep the girls' grubby mitts off the setup.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I originally thought this entry might be filled with griping about work (although I "work" very little), but I think it will suffice to say that doing the right thing with a business and making money are not mutually exclusive, but they seem to have become so where I work. It is grueling to work for people that mistake large-scale economic booms and busts with immediate acumen and bad decisions and that are convinced that the occasional big-dollar bike sale is better than regular income from moderately-priced bikes and parts and accessories that people will always buy, economic trends be damned. I still like the job, but when days are declared good only when an unrealistic income threshold is reached, it begins to feel like I'm wearing those good old corporate concrete shoes (incidentally, the shop is now an actual corporation). </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm going to start doing Sundays at Caw Caw Interpretive Center, again, where I was once the full-time Natural History Specialist. I cannot wait, since it is a roving interpretive position facilitating self-guided canoe trips...seemingly the perfect gig. I've also still got my tie-in with Drayton Hall Plantation, where I am paid well for the very rare days when they require my assistance. I will probably try to combine these two into something more substantial in the future, since I'm about ready to get the bike shop back down to one day a week. </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>On the literary front, I just finished the Bike Snob book and, I must say, it was quite a bore. I suppose if riding is not your thing, and you just want something to help you peek in on the rest of us, it is mildly amusing and somewhat informative, but, having just read the Cyclists' Manifesto (an even bigger bore), this book is something I would recommend you just leave on the shelf. Pick up something better, like Island, by Huxley, which I just finished and by which I was amazed. It was one of those books that I finished hoping somebody capable had adapted to the screen. It was a very visually-stimulating read, and it is a terrific primer on anarchist principles and effective, egalitarian existence. It's got me so interested that I've put a hold on "Doors of Perception," which I just never gave a chance (partially, I must admit, because of the absolute garbage band that claims to have named themselves after it).</div><div><br /></div><div>I did just get another bicycling book from Garrett that looks a little more engaging (there's even a mention of RAMBO in it...the band, not Sylvester's alter-ego), but I felt drawn to another style for a break, so I started Muir's "First Summer in the Sierra." I think it'll help me get back into the interpretive frame of mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few recent photographs. The hornworm devastated my pepper plants, though they weren't producing that much this year, again. The cactus photograph is from our trip to a friend's condominium in Brevard, NC (as if <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Opuntia</span> needs any help getting new places). The girls are enjoying the recent shift from the "feels like 115 degrees" realm to the "feels like 100 degrees."</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONqi-hdRrCWRc4vtx8PwpBKYa0zYZkedu3NEr0qlcbSySIuafjhYx_82VyC0S8qO3u9_olZvcNummHs1r1o3HGUe8XPrFrfBA2PVUOJsAyi-9AtQXMIDyWDN4bY3Nw-j0sPtY9EXexOc/s200/DSC01004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512500923207476674" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClxquzETUfCsgwo4D-CRBuCNlem3Btq01nLD0nNouFu9TtpeIxdAk20oZRQnosIQ02r8Vfmx_3oPVjtnMEyRgniQTOY1RCVU4OUIR_1BgLmsXcjlrMcB2SiBDEgx0S2mWhoEXWwi-ntY/s200/DSC00970.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512503011700184290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3XoUAcpzY0k5_eHYxZysydGIX7nQIAGfRjXFeAo0aL8aTGDHlN0b5NlL_Dzmk6jYZ0YHic3_i_OKTO8crqyWRegORloo_VvdV0bK5SOj02dk4y_rvwe5ZzcTGPYZ3UduUMNo85rUAGU/s200/DSC01006.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512503674425224562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, here is something that made me laugh my ass off. Please forgive the offensive nature (don't watch it if you are easily annoyed by foul language and sexual content), but for those of you that enjoy this kind of thing, you will not be disappointed.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NisCkxU544c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NisCkxU544c</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Best album I've transferred from vinyl, so far (I'm at Dinosaur Jr., though I cheated on a few favorites, like the Harriet the Spy)...Dead and Gone "God Loves Everyone But You." Go listen to that one, again.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-49314997822498714482010-06-30T17:05:00.001-07:002010-07-26T17:39:37.527-07:00Hydrocodone Stone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eSYl1ZBsRFNDJbKO6k4azmE2TQnvGUIVQhHwdKEJyt3KRZF2qn-o4sKdwgp-FRJRt2PA0kQTEknrtOlipk4u8AtfGNfB8hrc_54hNEvclWSE4OY4uOWSZ2CYvYA5r6SR15GkFD4Hcsg/s1600/DSC00902.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPEs6CtoivFDWqv2dsd9tigAq5QjPqV-T3Es1oeQfl2mjn6ZDqySysO-WdFFSXiFHwH5A-OASvRRstlm5VIFnNi5fbEqTFfNs_-MG7hILfqJdOT1Gt1UU0QIF7uGL32XWzWSEKTRmObA/s1600/DSC00933.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPEs6CtoivFDWqv2dsd9tigAq5QjPqV-T3Es1oeQfl2mjn6ZDqySysO-WdFFSXiFHwH5A-OASvRRstlm5VIFnNi5fbEqTFfNs_-MG7hILfqJdOT1Gt1UU0QIF7uGL32XWzWSEKTRmObA/s200/DSC00933.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488728636373815122" /></a><br />I'm currently under the influence of an opiate, and I couldn't be happier. I've got two lines of stitches in the roof of my mouth where tissue was removed, in order to supplement the receding gums on three of my bottom choppers, while some kind of dental plaster is lumped all over said mandible in an attempt to hold fast the transplanted material. It feels just like being punched in the jaw, but the pills wash most of that away. The only constant is the feeling that two bristly caterpillars have parked on my palate and my tongue is no match for their tenacious prolegs. Here's a look.<div><br /></div><div>I just got back from my first actual mountain bike ride, ever. It was an event sponsored by Independent Fabrication, it was at Lake Powhatan in NC, and it was, by far, the best ride I've ever encountered. We did lots of climbing and ended with a white knuckle descent. Here's a view of the speedy stuff (though the last big climb was as beautiful, or more so, in its brutality). It was much, much greener when we rode it.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yORN4uCkc_M">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yORN4uCkc_M<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The IF guys were great, and the fact that they brought along a bean bag toss sealed the deal. There was lots of food, lots of beer, and we were the only dealers there, so things, thankfully, didn't wander off down Propaganda Path or Ego Avenue. There was one annoying owner in attendance, but that's mostly because he brought his incredible rig into which IF put their time, sweat, and souls, but which he obviously rides very little...if at all. It's just a shame to see something designed for such abuse serving as wall candy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I just registered on eBay. I'm doing this so that I no longer have to ask friends to sell stuff for me and so that I no longer have to pay them $5o or so each time I decide to hock (though, I've only sold two sets of wheels through a friend in the past...it isn't even close to being a habit). This is really just about selling the Eclipse for enough money to get a leg up on the IF to which I'm committed. Club Racer here I come.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I had this dream about Daniel Tosh. I've caught a good bit of his show on Comedy Central, and laughed my ass off a few times. On the other hand, the dream put me in the role of the butt of his jokes, and I was left feeling like I just wanted to kill him or myself or both. I don't blame him, alone, for these mental meanderings, though, since so much humor has become so caustic and degrading that I'm amazed I find anything funny anymore. So many things, even the most sacred (I'm thinking Kids in the Hall), have led us in this direction, and I'm not sure it can be turned around. Let me know what is funny to you, these days. Maybe I'm getting sensitive because of the girls, but I also think it stems from the abundance of denigration, or destruction, humor out there (I love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development, The Office, and such things, but they precisely define what I'm talking about). It's nice to think that those that act selfishly and rudely get what's coming to them, but the truth is that they rarely do, and even if it does happen, they don't deserve the kind of soul-splitting retribution that is so common in these shows. Yeah, yeah...I know...just stop watching television. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, my nose finds itself in "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" by Studs Terkel, and "The Island" by Aldous Huxley. The first is because I've loved everything he's ever gathered for books, and the second is a reference from "The Power of Now." The first is about death, and it has me thinking a tad about the dignity deserved by all, as if the previous paragraph was not a hint in this vein. I'm hoping the second will be a more understandable version of what Tolle was trying to say, even though presented in metaphor (is it feasible that we need the "story" version of the story to really get it?).</div><div><br /></div><div>A Lungfish tune just came on my random generator. It was "Instrument," and I stopped typing for the duration. For the sake of all that is holy, would you just go out and buy some of their stuff, already? On the music tip, I just downloaded some Gil Scott Heron, Brother Ali, and P.O.S., though I think some old Subhumans is on the way in the near future (Worlds Apart and 29:29 are true gems), as might be some of that really early Government Issue and Youth Brigade. </div><div><br /></div><div>We picked the hell out of some blueberries with the girls this year (two trips=4 gallons=berries for breakfast cereal and oatmeal for over a year!). They had a blast, and went, without me, to pick blackberries, too, though not as many of those came home. Hopefully, our actual friends will invite us to the only organic strawberry farm in the region next year, so that the girls can gather all their berries on their own and get used to the seasonality of such sweetness. Our non-friends went, they just forgot or neglected to extend the invite...as if anybody on the planet would turn down an offer for strawberries. I mean, really, who do you know that doesn't like strawberries? Is there even one person on the planet? I am, however, talking to a friend who has some ballasts that I will equip with full-spectrum lamps for just this purpose if he ever gets them to me. I'll make the room in the garage if it means fresh strawberries...damn the piano that Andrée wheeled in there from the neighbor's curb the other day! Of which, though, I must say, the girls are already insanely fond. Besides, how's that for a dumpster find?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eSYl1ZBsRFNDJbKO6k4azmE2TQnvGUIVQhHwdKEJyt3KRZF2qn-o4sKdwgp-FRJRt2PA0kQTEknrtOlipk4u8AtfGNfB8hrc_54hNEvclWSE4OY4uOWSZ2CYvYA5r6SR15GkFD4Hcsg/s200/DSC00902.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491339766393026754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmITQ3YaUCoYnFTVcbTouku9LzPUU87Hbv32UE1PDSoa3BeVBFTvilpk_Wd7CVZrceLAzdcGwIpZONpRxJXrAK7kFGqz7OcNc5IEzZ1dzbUeVhEX_g-5XqLC4MdDBRdmXyvdojcjW8Hc/s200/DSC00937.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491335168983586530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>On that note, I came across 8 huge cypress boards (around 3" thick and 10" wide) and around 200 bricks within the last week. I just cannot believe people put such things upon curbs. We are truly demented in our quest for physical space simplicity and I think it might reflect how much we would like to simplify our mental load...if only we could.</div><div><br /></div><div>Go search the curbs on your bicycle and find something that you can use. I promise it won't clutter your mind. It will, however, facilitate some creative thoughts. Trust me, you have the space.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and here's a really cool use for six-pack rings if you, like I, have a penchant for Organic Blue Sky sodas.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/08/remind-me-chair.php">http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/08/remind-me-chair.php<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the most recent shirt creation. Send me a shirt if you want me to screen one for you. 1628 Sanford Road, Charleston, SC 29407.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bqzLXKCiF7YBzJEP-V_OZKU41_mnGyPqvq0zvbWx2nbmNE0yHWyo5kYKd8c8NpIvJlMzCgvQhCPwvRqgnuSORjxD2g8lShUiA0TEbn3iKwb0NiLfBomCbciJWlIi-TaCrQdSySoK5ak/s200/DSC00938.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491335525125068322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-22332295922998851102010-05-01T15:22:00.000-07:002010-06-02T05:41:40.618-07:00Framed by First YearsMy life, that is. It has become defined by what is going on in the girls' lives. I don't say this because it is inherently a good or bad thing, it just is. As I sit to type this, all I can think of is how Delia has had a fever for a few days and how that really is all that truly matters to me in the world right now. I suddenly give two poops about how much oil is leaking out in the Gulf...it is oil, after all, and not one of the many more toxic things we have been known to "lose track of" in our oceans (like all that radioactive crap dumped by our armed forces off the California coast or the ubiquitous plastic masses swirling in pelagic gyres the size of states that execute, for example). Besides, this kind of concentrated attention tends to aggravate the fatigue about the real ecological crises that are not so ephemeral, like hormones in our water supply causing sex changes in vertebrates or the resulting air pollution from all that oil if it IS captured and refined and burned in motor vehicles (some of which are efficient, most of which are not). <div><br /></div><div><div>Still, as a former resident of the Gulf region and an ecologist by training and choice, I obviously am not entirely unaffected. I struggle for something to say about that poor state (literally and metaphorically) anymore, other than that this kind of thing SHOULD be the perfect catalyst for establishing some real incentives for clean energy industry in the region. I mean, if they're going to, as some have suggested, let developers go in there and repaint the canvas without color or texture, they could, at least, charge them with helping fund tax breaks and job training that would move the state in the smart direction that would help prevent such avoidable tragedy from striking again.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>So it turns out that mononucleosis is the final word, for now, on what has kept me under the weather for nearly a year. This is kind of a relief, since I was so far down that I was thinking cancer, MS (my sister and aunt has/had the misfortune of dealing with this one), Lyme disease, and other such things. On the other hand, knowing this means that there is nothing to be done. I simply must try to stay as healthy as possible if I don't want to experience the symptoms. I've knocked out smoking. It's been around 7 months, now, and I only occasionally have the urge. I've been less successful with cutting out my alcohol consumption, but I'm less concerned with that, since I don't drink excessively. The toughest parts are a) taking it easy on the physical exertion and b) keeping the stress at a manageable level. The latter has gotten me in such a fix that I gave "The Power of Now" a try, at the advice of a friend. I don't have much patience for this kind of book, but I can see how some might find it valuable. I guess I'm resisting the non-resistance that the author advocates. It's the kind of thing that makes most sense if you, as mentioned in the book, have been through some substantial tragedy or experienced significant suffering. I don't think just reading about living in the present can shift one that way. It does help to read some of the analogies and advice on how to better observe oneself, but I think one needs time for this transition, more than anything, and that is one of those things he mentions forgetting about in the book. Unfortunately, I'm convinced one first must plan and live in the future enough to present the situation where time matters so little that one can forget about it and stop living "in the mind." </div><div><br /></div><div>On a related note, how about we all agree to stop telling people that are stressed out that they need to relax? Speaking as one that is subject to an appreciable amount of stress, we all know that we need to relax, and being told that we should only reminds us that we need to but can't, which makes things worse. Trust me, we think about it all the time, but if our schedule does not allow "down time," it just doesn't. It isn't that we haven't looked into ways to create more "time for ourselves." It is, simply, that life doesn't allow for it, sometimes. This is sort of why I take issue with the book. I appreciate that it is probably easier to just identify oneself with negativity than to change things and facilitate positivity and joy, but the latter is not attainable at any given moment for everybody.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lately, I've found it closer and closer. Summer is almost here, and that means I'm back in the shop. It means prettyin' up the newest rig in the arsenal, too. It cost me $60, and it is a 1987 Schwinn Circuit with Columbus tubing, an all-original drive train of Suntour Sprint stuff, and some other beautiful attributes (everything on it is original equipment, I think). My only upgrades will be bar end shifters (down tubes just don't work efficiently enough on the group rides I do), Cinelli leather tape, a Nitto stem (only because the Cinelli was so frozen in the steerer tube that I nearly destroyed the threads in the quill bolt and wedge/cone getting it out), and some handsome old (but brand new) Campagnolo brake levers some idiot sold me for $5 long ago. I'll probably also replace the saddle and seat post down the road and even get the frame and fork painted, since I'm seriously considering making this my regular road race rig and selling my Jamis Eclipse to start a fund for the purchase of an Independent Fabrication (we just picked them up at the shop) or a Seven. I'm thinking I'll shoot for something like the Club Racer that IF does (a good all-around setup that would allow trailer pulling). Whatever I wind up with isn't that important. I'm really happy with what I've got in the garage, currently.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.ifbikes.com/OurBikes/Road/Steel_Club_Racer_/">http://www.ifbikes.com/OurBikes/Road/Steel_Club_Racer_/<br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Update: The Circuit is ready to go, and I broke it in on a 40-miler with John G. and Greg S. before work this past Saturday. I now only need replace the seat post and saddle and it'll be right where I want it. Here's a gander:</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_UDHHaFGUCDGokfuZH9rGCO3GBK1h5aiXhva81bMkVHQCLMAuOXwvVE5KD2UozyGVtKo4pPxNsO-JCI2QB28YPVm-KuanpfwbjN4-pljyP6pE1yXYWi_lyvYbZQxNoNtkCe7XwsxVL4/s200/DSC00876.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476452286018432402" /></div><div><br /></div><div>We were going to go see Modest Mouse, but the tickets were $35 each. I only once paid that much to see music in my life and that was the first Lollapalooza, so I dicked off and the show wound up selling out. Great for them, too bad for the audience. The Music Farm in Charleston is one of the worst venues on this planet. Over the years, we've seen Dalek, They Might Be Giants, and Iron and Wine there, none of which sounded good. It wasn't that they played poorly, but thanks to the retched acoustics of that dive, everything in there sounds like it's being funneled through a thin, aluminum tube. Maybe they've improved by now. It's been a long time since I've been to a show. I might go see Eyehategod in Spartanburg next week, though, which would be a great way to get back into it. Speaking of music, thanks for the tunes, Bob. The Zydepunks reminds me of Flogging Molly, but more interesting. The Cross Stitched Eyes and other punk stuff was great, too. It reminded me of all that great dual-vocal stuff we used to wear out (Antischism, Nausea, Paxton Quigley...there's an old one for you, Bob!...was that the cookie monster band?). The other disc didn't stick to me as much. I guess I've just lost some of my taste for that new "old" sound, since everybody and their brother is doing something folky, now.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm officially an iTunes idiot, now, but only on occasion. My hand was forced when I saw the price of the new Dan Le Sac/Scroobius Pip ($28) versus the download ($10). It does also get me access to some out of print stuff from Lungfish and others, too, so it ain't all bad. The problem is that now I'm thinking about getting a 160GB iPod and a USB-equipped turntable so I can download all that vinyl. Man, these things always snowball into way too much (exactly as intended by the tech pushers, I'm sure...contrary to all the "convenience" references in their propaganda).</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of convenience, we had a car-free event on one of our major downtown business district streets the other day. It sounds like it was a big success, but it aggravates me for one simple reason. It reinforces the division between those in motor vehicles and everybody else. It suggests that the only safe way for pedestrians and bicyclists to use our busiest downtown streets is to wait until all motor vehicle traffic is prohibited. It reminds me of the "rumble shoulders" that have been plopped down on many of our local rural routes. These allow drivers to be less attentive, but it also literally divides the two user groups. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to Adam for this bit of potentially really bad news. Read the comments that people posted. I was especially weirded out by the use of the word "segregate," but I guess maybe that word might not have the same weight across the pond as it does here.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7140213.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7140213.ece<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The girls are napping and have been down for nearly 3 hours, now! Today is an experiment in pushing them into 1 nap instead of 2. If they can get on this schedule, it will finally give us the time we need to get to the beach, the aquarium, and any number of other places that have just been too far on our old schedule. It has been nice, though, recently, since they've been staying up kind of late, and I've been able to see them and help Andree after the Tuesday and Thursday night rides.</div><div><br /></div><div>Update: Today was our first trip to the SC Aquarium with the girls and they seemed to really like it. We got a pass, too, so my hope is that they absolutely fall in love with it. I, of course, could spend day after day walking around that place and never get bored. Even if they don't totally dig it or get tired of it, a trip there means a short walk to the main branch of our incredible library, so I'm pretty happy about it all.</div><div><br /></div><div>I joined a mess of folks for a ride at Manchester State Forest on Sunday. The ride was nice, though I never really felt like I got my trail legs or reaction time down. There were some decent crashes, as a result, for a change (one coming down a slippery bridge ramp and another into one of the many sandy turns that make this place so much fun). We nearly got stranded when the van didn't start, but our fearless leader hailed a truck full of lounge chairs, beer drinkers, and many, many cigarettes. Jumping a motor vehicle with a few city folk and a heap of rural characters is always a good time, so I took a seat and let the entertainment commence. It was the perfect end to a good ride.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Speaking of perfect ends to good rides, USA is a Monster is the best band to which you never listened. Watch this and cry for the next force as meaningful.</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGFgM6mSVE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGFgM6mSVE<br /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-74185433063985889462010-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:002010-04-09T05:21:06.690-07:00Bike or Body?"Bike or body?," I yelled back at Kurt on the trail the other day, as he was moving way slower than normal. I wanted to know if he needed help in the form of Toast-Chee or allen key. <div><br />However, which is at the top of your list? We were rolling into West Ashley after a really hard ride on John's Island last Thursday, and one of our group nailed a huge concrete bowel movement that had wiggled from the rear end of a truck and become fossilized on the right side of the lane (a fecolith, one might say). He went over the bars and landed on his back in a busy intersection. Some of us immediately formed a phalanx and got him out of the road, as he was dazed and focused on determining the damage to his bicycle rather than recognizing that he was standing in significant traffic. The next time it happens to you, just remember that your body flushes with chemicals designed to convince you that nothing is wrong in such circumstances. In other words, take a few moments to thoroughly assess yourself...not just your rig. I say it as much for myself as for others. I'm just one of those unlucky bastards when it comes to traffic...reflective vest and associated obviousness be damned.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what is it they say about bad things happening in trios? Well, let us begin the catalog and see if the number theory holds any water.</div><div><br /></div><div>Firstly, I am still sick after nearly 10 months, and I have become <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">nearly</span> convinced that it is "simply" stress and my excessive physical exertion colluding and making me feel trapped in this fog. I've finally scheduled an appointment at a "real" doctor's office and am leaving the clinic that was my go-to for many, many years. I no longer feel like what is happening to me is within their purview, and they've always been so quick to throw prescriptions of amoxicillin at me and be done with it. At least the warmer months are upon us and, with them, a break for me from my regular role as full-time babysitter, so the stress levels should ebb a little. It's not so much that this Spring Break hasn't helped, but it takes me a while to allow myself to not feel guilty for being away from the girls. It's really gut-wrenchingly hard to just drop a role of complete supervision and ignore (at least temporarily or in part) what is going on at the house, but that is what, more and more, I'm feeling one must do if sanity is a desired state. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tillie broke her ankle. She stepped off the folded gym mat in the living room one day and began crying way louder and longer than one would have expected for something so run-of-the-mill. I guess she stepped on it crooked, and they told us it looked like a buckle fracture, so on goes the cast. The cast got wet, so on goes the second cast. The cast got wet, again, so no more tub baths for babies! We're back in the living room for what I like to call bucket baths. One bucket for clean water, one for dirty...you can imagine the rest. The only real problem with this is that it means no night rides for me for a week or so, until she gets that damned thing off of her leg, since this style of bath does not work unless one of the babies is either locked in a chair or held or engaged by a second parent (we prefer to minimize the restraining they have to endure).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The no-ride schedule is fine, since I seem to have picked up some kind of strep throat thing (already waning), which I thought I might have gotten from Delia. She's had this horrible nocturnal cough, lately. We took her to the doctor, today, though, and it looks like she's just got, like her father, allergic distress from all the pollen on the oaks and others right now. Man, I swear pollen season is getting more and more concentrated (I wonder if anybody has done any work on that as it relates to climate change).</div><div><br /></div><div>So, we've got two sick kids and one sick dad. That's three bad things. The only problem is that these three were preceded by three more.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, let's get something straight. If a smoke alarm is going to go bad on you, it will happen at exactly the most inconvenient moment possible. How is, say, 3am? Did it simply start beeping because the battery was bad? No. It erupted full-blast for the few seconds it took me to leap from the bed, run 6 or 7 steps and push the silence button. Then what? "Do you smell smoke?" "I can't really smell anything." "I'll climb into the attic and just check everything up there." Take out the batteries, of course, since maybe one of them is bad, but they're wired together, and you don't know which is which. Oh, hell, better just go ahead and flip the breaker, too, so they don't get any ideas and get rowdy later on. Well, after the fact, I learned that one must "discharge the circuit" when cutting all power. This means pressing a button to get rid of electricity that is, I guess, stored in internal batteries in the alarms. It's good to know these things are so fail-safe, but without knowing about said discharge, one will be roused once more before sleep is again possible (they will discharge themselves, eventually, so the alarm went off a second time). So, the moral of the story...get new alarms if the ones you have are 10 years old and you have replaced all the batteries and still get a warning beep. They're relatively cheap, I only had to rewire one (it was a different model than the others), and we haven't had any problems with them since.</div><div><br /></div><div>Secondly, the water filter in the refrigerator started leaking when I installed the new one. It turned out that I needed a new adapter for the filter. The price was only $7 or so, but nobody had it, locally, so for nearly another $7 I got it shipped. No problems since, and I've got 5 decent rubber o-rings off the old one that I'm sure will come in handy around the house or bike shop.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, the microwave started igniting things. Turns out the warranty on this item is up this year, too. Incredible how accurately the mechanism corresponds to the warranty, eh? Planned obsolescence at its best. So, here we go with the stupid and downright angry looks I get asking for North American appliances on the local circuit. Turns out we're just going to have to pass on US-made this time (the quote I got the other day was $1019...no shit...the most expensive models I've seen from every other brand were nearly half that). </div><div><br /></div><div>So, lots of downs, lately. Some ups, too, though. Spring Break is upon us, so I'll be getting in some extra rides and finally getting around to building the second cold frame. I just stumbled onto another huge batch of windows on the side of the road, today, though, so this may put me in the realm of having what I need for an entire greenhouse shed. The fruit trees flowered a little and are leafed out, and I think they might actually withstand the squirrels into a second year. A friend has asked me to work on the city's Bicycle Friendly Community application, which means an opportunity to emphasize how little we need separate facilities and additional impervious surface and how tremendously we need more education, enforcement, and encouragement.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recently watched District 9, The Gleaners and I, Choke, Capitalism: A Love Story, and Harlan County, USA. None of these changed my life, though they were good, so I'll just rate them quickly with a 1-5 (3, 3, 4, 3, 4). The original Inglorious Bastards is next. It looks like a cheesy one, so, of course, I can't wait. I'll get around to Tarantino's one day. The original looks so much more inviting...for the same reasons this did.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JktcQ2A32cU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JktcQ2A32cU</a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQ8bKBKaiE-HNMEo-ag0tENGagh86MoX_VRABnuRMkuR5oUKlg-UE35GztKOYX_kN2z_4HKFf0oBurc18-Aw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxMetMmBrPVk5nXOLkm9tQpAujrIdqcWSS-m7l14she0jhr_n49TPYHqmlflHyyNb5PBZ7EAC-HGAZQqCwUQw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-41680194009806836042010-02-21T15:03:00.000-08:002010-02-24T12:20:55.926-08:00Rolling the Roots<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1kmK2RVz2Qo3opbI9SokA0YFIa2GNb1iJhEYXVgkUSXGOr19s_5_ez0qjpMwkTEzxirSXCt3nbGzj2nsf9O9LsVfCwpbRA1KR5ScMLJgNyEomBQ8QgtQAsQySBThTJHL_b_bzGkBJZo/s1600-h/DSC00767.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirsXrLDKc-XF4rSYrTxq6lQFiBLuMNrLqilk56PjcZfJ88U2nOEh1O2sVhBmdo7pC8eUOTgsT0NTAyT2iTIHFLoliEyolDWJuMQewlHlH_RWYUQZFT1YKCGNBBiEHb70D3qiTcY1hfXo/s1600-h/DSC00773.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirsXrLDKc-XF4rSYrTxq6lQFiBLuMNrLqilk56PjcZfJ88U2nOEh1O2sVhBmdo7pC8eUOTgsT0NTAyT2iTIHFLoliEyolDWJuMQewlHlH_RWYUQZFT1YKCGNBBiEHb70D3qiTcY1hfXo/s200/DSC00773.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441174309218434338" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilULt-AuKt_diRbFkE0f__OO1a0UBG8Cv_Q6lLJ1vwMsOXdaiGIcxhNUn6b-PSLvbEjhlCGbaM_MROifuE2XPkZs4euXletXL3Km6BSgrlarLNB-huog6sm38fe5_cbhjwHvC9tCS71hk/s1600-h/DSC00785.JPG"></a><br />Ah, the K-3 loop at Manchester State Forest...what a trail. Kurt and I went for a day at Harbison SF, followed by an overnight at Manchester. Harbison was much wetter than expected (to the point that they probably should have just closed the whole thing down). Indeed, part of the motivation for the trip was the fact that our only local trail has been saturated and, hence, closed for what has seemed like months. The two state forests are up around the fall line (where the ocean used to reach, millions of years ago), so the soils are, generally, much quicker to drain. The problem, if one can call it such, is that we've been having record rainfall and even more than one inch of snow! <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1kmK2RVz2Qo3opbI9SokA0YFIa2GNb1iJhEYXVgkUSXGOr19s_5_ez0qjpMwkTEzxirSXCt3nbGzj2nsf9O9LsVfCwpbRA1KR5ScMLJgNyEomBQ8QgtQAsQySBThTJHL_b_bzGkBJZo/s200/DSC00767.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441174716726422978" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>We rolled one loop around the major trails, then hit the road, but not before I had time to go down hard on my head on a turn full of pine needles, fall off the side of the rock garden on the Spider Woman Trail, then go over the handlebars in the same section, smashing my left knee to a pulp. <div><br /></div><div>The overnight was preceded by an omen in the form of what looked to be one-hundred or so "hibernating" ladybird beetles in the ranger's office at Poinsett State Park. They fluttered about the window in the corner of the office, popping and clicking, filling in the dead space of our conversation with their frantic flight. They begged comment, which I supplied, though no response was offered. I speculated, later, that perhaps they are no longer a source of amusement and wonder to the ranger. Perhaps, they haunt his sleep on bad nights, the clicking of tree branches against his window waking him in cold sweats on the worst. More likely, he just considers them a nuisance and is tired of visitors making light of the situation. "It just ain't funny anymore is all I'm sayin'."</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ePOROTCyjbkj0YxDyNX8hj1R33II4cuJOrLeyJJzqo7RQxnOjI4-iQwr2mi8M2KXgItQypm-kpQJmifTrZshqP0RHBxvDUSMANYW76hV9X6f2zdQTMUl-qvl-akUMJxk4AdtfXX6H7M/s1600-h/DSC00777.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ePOROTCyjbkj0YxDyNX8hj1R33II4cuJOrLeyJJzqo7RQxnOjI4-iQwr2mi8M2KXgItQypm-kpQJmifTrZshqP0RHBxvDUSMANYW76hV9X6f2zdQTMUl-qvl-akUMJxk4AdtfXX6H7M/s200/DSC00777.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441162694165528754" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Our ride after getting set up and our neighbors might be considered one manifestation of the beetle boding. We hit the Campbell Pond loop for a ride before dinner, but we rode the same 100m section three times before we located a sharp bend that was, like the rest of the trail, hidden in loads of leaf litter. This one was a wash.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a great hot shower and got dinner in me before night fell, which meant I had plenty of time for warming up to our newly-arrived neighbors a few sites down. Now, I'm not one to size anybody up by the cars they drive, the tents in which they sleep, or the bicycles they have in tow (are you seriously going to try riding that on these trails?). At least they're out here riding, right? Wrong. </div><div><br /></div><div>They stay up late, barking like brainless bumpkins (though they also brought dogs to fill in any potential silence) and splitting wood into the wee hours. I kept waiting to hear the inevitable shriek that goes along with so many marriages of the mildly-educated with cases of crummy beer, heavy, sharp tools, and limited light. It never came, but it may as well have been every hour or so between the din of this mob and my freezing ass. Even with two extra blankets, my mesh tent with fly and 30 degree bag did very little against the slightly below-freezing temperature of the evening (though, it's hard to regret the decision when August rolls around). On the lighter side, at least I was awake to hear a couple of great horned owls talking to one another for a spell. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the other side of the office omen, the K-3 loop was everything I remembered, which is to say this trail is nearly perfect, and once my knee warmed up, I felt strong like bull. I say "nearly perfect" because there is a putrid side to this trail system that few favor discussing. There is a side that upsets and hurts. I refer, of course, to the continued discrimination against those of the equine persuasion that choose to ride fast bicycles. One day this, too, shall pass.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilULt-AuKt_diRbFkE0f__OO1a0UBG8Cv_Q6lLJ1vwMsOXdaiGIcxhNUn6b-PSLvbEjhlCGbaM_MROifuE2XPkZs4euXletXL3Km6BSgrlarLNB-huog6sm38fe5_cbhjwHvC9tCS71hk/s200/DSC00785.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440878031953504578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I just finished "Tortilla Flat," "Nickel and Dimed," and "Enrique's Journey," and I just started "The Road." I don't recall the last time I read so many closely related books in a short period of time, but they are all great reads, and they all have me tied up in knots, since they sort of represent an actual order of things. I'm not saying I expect the destruction and desolation of the last is right around the corner, but after reading the other three, it reminds one of what can lead to such a state of affairs. I hope some of you pick up "Enrique's Journey." This is the kind of book that should be required reading for any elected official involved in immigration issues. It doesn't offer solutions to the massive problem of our hugely unfair hemispheric economy, but it does help make the issue more human and less Vulcan. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fast Food Nation had me feeling the same thing. Luckily, I saw no previews for this, so, from the name, I was expecting something different than what I saw, which was an incredible film, not just a piece of visual journalism. I also watched another "First Person," by Errol Morris. Again, great interviews. We watched "9," which was good, but I think the best part of it was the concept of a human imparting his soul to little robots. The animation is good and all, it just didn't grab me, for whatever reason. It might be the way these movies seem, more and more, to be edited like some of the newer action movies (that just seem to get worse and worse as the years pass).</div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, I wanted to mention that I just sent money to a political candidate. I mention this because he is not running in my state. I will also be sending letters to those seeking office this year in South Carolina to let them know of my actions. I feel better represented, in general, by somebody from another state than I do by the menu of local loaves, and I think they should know this. It doesn't take much to earn a contribution, one only need do what is best for most, most of the time. Just something to consider if you're starting to melt from all the hot air.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and, by the way, it's time to give hip-hop another chance. Check out Dalek, P.O.S., Illogic, Aesop Rock, or Eligh, among others. There is so much good stuff out there, and I probably would've never known had it not been for Fred in Lincoln. Take my word for it. It is worth your time to stop in on some of this.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the video stuff:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOU563OvpUY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOU563OvpUY<br /></a></span></div><div>This one is pretty damned cool, though, it'd be nice to think we'll get a standard established at some point, so motorists don't have to keep re-learning what a bicyclist looks like at night.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKaTT42o4HY&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKaTT42o4HY&feature=related<br /></a></div><div>More of the animated cyclist stuff. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-13713774751212606942009-12-26T14:50:00.000-08:002010-01-08T15:42:53.973-08:00Roaming for Rings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8x8ewi4hlz36eWukCJFBPueq5au_7dhyphenhyphenyL3jqZxL3XtlsrmKv11-B2WiGqOItc2iPBb0CPjDCkDzlx_5pp0tlDiteF93QbHNVPa1Jcsip6salMOWPRk3z3pShjHNL3wApSPJU8wG_iM/s1600-h/DSC00730.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8x8ewi4hlz36eWukCJFBPueq5au_7dhyphenhyphenyL3jqZxL3XtlsrmKv11-B2WiGqOItc2iPBb0CPjDCkDzlx_5pp0tlDiteF93QbHNVPa1Jcsip6salMOWPRk3z3pShjHNL3wApSPJU8wG_iM/s200/DSC00730.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424456393719586274" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaa8F1QRXAJ4GZs8ebwP2f5xhw6DyxJlM8ntZ6bT0IBDBO9_5940bbPokpQaemEBtmfNLzNmnCPcaNl8qq58vpYuV1AHg8oAQ51TR6GH3RT0hC6sv9fgc1xQfdbaucqCt31ob9C9EeSyk/s1600-h/DSC00733.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaa8F1QRXAJ4GZs8ebwP2f5xhw6DyxJlM8ntZ6bT0IBDBO9_5940bbPokpQaemEBtmfNLzNmnCPcaNl8qq58vpYuV1AHg8oAQ51TR6GH3RT0hC6sv9fgc1xQfdbaucqCt31ob9C9EeSyk/s200/DSC00733.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424111338171230402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7N_kYbq4qyBIDP1I-Lqx1CmCGyY08fEvSUT4SGnP1BdqQU9xuQBHsyOsnlrlLwVx7ggFofPt6yCtmmHy1zqRDUUKM6cLRKMjmVtIyuaVpsvesjdQxjFVqFbYu1FoqYEFZdUuQ7_Pis8/s1600-h/DSC00731.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7N_kYbq4qyBIDP1I-Lqx1CmCGyY08fEvSUT4SGnP1BdqQU9xuQBHsyOsnlrlLwVx7ggFofPt6yCtmmHy1zqRDUUKM6cLRKMjmVtIyuaVpsvesjdQxjFVqFbYu1FoqYEFZdUuQ7_Pis8/s200/DSC00731.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424110975962009538" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Brian and I made an 80-mile day trip to see a prehistoric shell midden/ring in the Francis Marion National Forest the other day. These things are host to some interesting, endemic plant species (though this is hard to appreciate in late December), and this one is, according to the interpretive panel, the most northerly of such middens on the coasts of the Southeast. </div><div><br /></div><div>Man, was it great to get out for a really long ride. I've been on the trainer frequently, of late, since nobody seems to want to ride in the dark or in the near-freezing temperatures we've been having, so this was really special. Granted, we had planned an overnight, but the strong probability of rain kept us grounded (neither one of us wanted to sit in a tent, looking at the other, while we sipped whiskey and wished we were outside combing the beach in the sun...Hunting Island was the objective).<div><br /><div>Andr<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Cambria;">é<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;">e </span></span>was, as always, an angel, and I rode the next day, too (since the plan was for me to be away for a couple of days, anyway). The second ride was about half the distance and easier, since I rode the Eclipse, and it went out with a bang as Kurt slipped on the wet road and slid into home base (it was, literally, at the turn to the shop that this happened...that's what not eating breakfast will get you). The big ride was on my huge, 37mm Panaracers, while Brian sailed along on 25's. It was more work for me, but the ride was as smooth as butter. All told, the week landed me over 200 miles or so of real riding (pretty rare during the "cold" season...sorry Bob and others for use of that term). <div><br /></div><div>In the movie department, I just watched a good documentary about design called "Objectified." I also watched the first hour of the new "Star Trek" movie (interesting, but I'll wait to make a call on this one). "Bruno" sucked; "First Person," an Errol Morris television series, is fantastic; and "Food, Inc." is not as depressing as I was led to believe, reinforced my gardenistic tendencies, and made me admire Joel Salatin even more (of "Omnivore's Dilemma" fame). "The Soloist" was average, while "The Lucky Ones" was much better than average (I have a hard time thinking of Tim Robbins movies I don't like). </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm almost finished with "The Brothers Karamazov." I tried to get through this one years ago and got distracted. I'm glad I came back to it. It really is a great book with lots of honesty about our imperfect nature, though not to the exclusion of our redemptive qualities. It's much easier to get through books of such length when one can read on a trainer in the garage (I've given up on trying to watch movies in here while the girls nap, since it just seems too loud...you can't subtitle the online movies). I'm going to try to get through a few more "classics" before Andr<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Cambria;">é<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;">e comes home for the summer break. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and it's been about a month now with almost no nicotine (I had one weak willpower moment at a gathering last week and had about 1/2 a cigarette). The tea tree oil and cinnamon toothpicks are keeping me going (about 2 or 3 a day is all it takes), but so is the ability to just go hop on the trainer or hit the weights when the urge does hit me (not that often, anymore). </div><!--StartFragment--><div><br /></div><div><div><div>Delia is the river otter in the video. She's taken to doing laps on this little slide, and I couldn't be happier. I know they want to do more, physically, but they're still just shy of that amount of control that would have them walking/running/etc.</div></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyYRdv_wsUJbeGVJgk17YhZ7nf2WeZ-m5-9F_ZAvpJPwkwj7oCLLpuKj96Hhkmtz30aNNHE-r19t4Le4Py32Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><div>Finally, I kept thinking about a recent comment and how to respond, but realized I'm more confused by it than anything. I will simply reiterate that I am a full-time stay-at-home father of two, since I'm not sure everybody understands our situation, and I'm still baffled at the mention that I wrote a "women's work comedy" (maybe <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">you</span> should go back and read what I wrote...I did, even though I proofread all of my entries). Are there days when I would rather my wife be at home with the girls...absolutely (she would rather the same, I might add). This does not make me ashamed, nor does it make me sexist. If you presume to know me well enough to label me as the latter (by, say, telling me that I sound like somebody from the 1860's), so be it. Pat yourself on the back for the effort and go find another soul to save...I'm sure mine will be just fine. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for this link, Garrett, and for the kickass collard green sandwiches the other night: </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;"><a href="http://www.storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/">http://www.storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/</a></span><a href="http://www.storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/"><br /></a></div><div>Also, this is worth your time:</div><div><a href="http://www.conservationmagazine.org/articles/v10n4/the-unnatural-order-of-things/">http://www.conservationmagazine.org/articles/v10n4/the-unnatural-order-of-things/<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-30030119973668277562009-11-11T12:31:00.000-08:002009-12-04T08:53:04.888-08:00Doing Stupid Stuff<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7S7kbFbpfomP-pOKC-OkQgNYFFoddAZscD4MmxYGgqEKrCrp8B0_YhLUpqEg5Dt1dhybHmO0CoOcwhtts669gJWkgoYT4vj02yDczxz0KPKIx3BtVMAK2llnVfy6fmDNKQx0OOH-CJE/s1600-h/DSC00718.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7S7kbFbpfomP-pOKC-OkQgNYFFoddAZscD4MmxYGgqEKrCrp8B0_YhLUpqEg5Dt1dhybHmO0CoOcwhtts669gJWkgoYT4vj02yDczxz0KPKIx3BtVMAK2llnVfy6fmDNKQx0OOH-CJE/s200/DSC00718.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411399840207931874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vK1VmbCR2D5AmkTVlkPzYdfQIB4eV1LUl7HWZmRKfbF55gjZ4_916mphA8l8Hm7zZw_8eGk5iXnLmlxVAyNpVjibQuBZrkduMWy70gH6eJRRImK5M-D7HDS5jH3KZLulWc5qiMmVGRA/s1600-h/DSC00717.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vK1VmbCR2D5AmkTVlkPzYdfQIB4eV1LUl7HWZmRKfbF55gjZ4_916mphA8l8Hm7zZw_8eGk5iXnLmlxVAyNpVjibQuBZrkduMWy70gH6eJRRImK5M-D7HDS5jH3KZLulWc5qiMmVGRA/s200/DSC00717.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411399495530923218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoh9yFBDoZ329r3hMHtgj_JzkLgFvp2oHwY5MtL-4w9RfslV-AkYDmkhJT8TjdlA1MqFds91c4T6pYMM86pVpE-U3cUdXnIcGBQOjmp0ezYMJTQJ1MYa8upJDZeD8a9M4gm2qcPQBjdZY/s1600-h/DSC00722.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoh9yFBDoZ329r3hMHtgj_JzkLgFvp2oHwY5MtL-4w9RfslV-AkYDmkhJT8TjdlA1MqFds91c4T6pYMM86pVpE-U3cUdXnIcGBQOjmp0ezYMJTQJ1MYa8upJDZeD8a9M4gm2qcPQBjdZY/s200/DSC00722.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411398607617211826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKmWsVUL_W4ItD_ChPuIndTNrLIH5ZUrKM65izbpWvWtlgEF9FRdTCZGZJLBhTCDC4tBUTRZjblHwVVeNoL3F1rtRIoPJiL5MlmSLHVQKoe7Pz7mUDp-zSTjEeoAcuTmt26tCw9cn6T8/s1600-h/DSC00712.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKmWsVUL_W4ItD_ChPuIndTNrLIH5ZUrKM65izbpWvWtlgEF9FRdTCZGZJLBhTCDC4tBUTRZjblHwVVeNoL3F1rtRIoPJiL5MlmSLHVQKoe7Pz7mUDp-zSTjEeoAcuTmt26tCw9cn6T8/s200/DSC00712.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411398256201343730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mJa2ZO3CEfidTgd-3UVuUPsKQ82ELhlf60DKnvJ040ObwMF_p1O_jm98v2M4OBQ1nTym_S7IAx0qVxEUtmif5uSyBIxBX9w0VlXxHn0PC1UTZdZMv5rbYCIcE9Jyni1rb1vgzf3b_cc/s1600-h/DSC00697.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mJa2ZO3CEfidTgd-3UVuUPsKQ82ELhlf60DKnvJ040ObwMF_p1O_jm98v2M4OBQ1nTym_S7IAx0qVxEUtmif5uSyBIxBX9w0VlXxHn0PC1UTZdZMv5rbYCIcE9Jyni1rb1vgzf3b_cc/s200/DSC00697.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411118223521032114" /></a><br /><div>This is way too long in coming, but I felt compelled to put one up, since Christopher recently made a rather offensive comment. He stated that I implied taking care of children is work for women, only. I did nothing of the sort. I am a man. I am taking care of twin babies. Sometimes taking care of children can make one (man or woman) think negatively about that situation. It is the hardest thing you will ever do...ever...in your life. Physical and normal mental exertion has nothing on this emotional roller coaster, and it is more difficult the more you love the children because every moment is another opportunity to be teaching something or demonstrating a good or bad habit. I cannot be held responsible for reader interpretation of what I offer, here. I can only hope that most readers know me better than to make such an incorrect assumption about my gender politics. </div><div><br /></div>So a friend got a rear Mavic R-Sys wheel replaced, free of charge, because there was a recall on the front wheel of his set. In an effort to convince our staff of the durability of the new version of this wheel set, the representative from the company not only stood upon one of these wheels in their presence, he was said to have bounced upon it. I couldn't believe that such a wheel (with carbon spokes on the non-drive side) would put up with such an affront, so, the evening of a co-worker's going away get-together, I decided to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, the wheel made the most awful creaking and cracking noises one would ever want to hear while standing on a $400 wheel and after dismounting one of the carbon spokes was found to be completely cracked, lengthwise. Well, my co-workers had a good time witnessing my test, and I will never trust a company rep, again (though, it should be pointed out that my co-workers forgot to mention that the wheel the rep tested was the new version of the wheel...I, without knowledge, was testing the older, weaker version). Whatever...I should've known better, even after consuming those 4 or 5 beers. I ordered a new wheel for my friend two days later, and I'll have to get some replacement spokes for the old one and claim it for myself as a really nice spare.<div><br /><div>The Traffic Skills 101 class went fairly well, though I will not be teaching another class with my attorney friend that assisted me. While I still consider him a good friend, he, being predictably overworked, tossed the whole thing my way and helped very little in the preparation. Of course, the day of the class, he had a million things to say, so the schedule I had envisioned quickly evaporated. The worst part, however, was trying to teach two total beginners in a class with 7 others that were very well-seasoned bicyclists (the Executive Director of the local advocacy organization, a Paris-Brest-Paris veteran, a 30-mile-a-day commuter, etc.). That is the one thing I would change in the future, though, I think I'll also opt for teaching solo and reducing the maximum number of participants. One participant slammed us in the feedback, but I have a feeling he was just angry that he couldn't understand one of the questions on the written exam and that the course was not more geared to his experience level, rather than to that of EVERY participant. He made some good points, but they were not things that I did not consider before we even started the course. The trouble was that I was forced to change things or spend more or less time on certain topics due to the spontaneity of the group discussions. I was just a little rusty on my teaching technique, I guess, and teaching with somebody I admire was difficult when it turned out that we were sort of competing for speaking time. </div><div><br /></div><div>We just went for the annual pancake T-Giving ride from the downtown shop, even though I "threw out" my back the other day. I'm not sure what that means, I just know that I was moving a pineapple inside for the cold season, and when I twisted to rise with it, I felt a shooting pain through my spine and collapsed onto the porch. It was enough for Andree to take off a couple of days from work to help. The 40 miles this morning, however, seems to have really helped. We'll see tomorrow morning, I guess (update: ride a bicycle if you "throw your back out"...it seems to have really, really improved with each ride since).</div><div><br /></div><div>The photos are a yellow-rumped warbler that flew into the sliding glass door, a ladybird beetle that was looking to warm up (I guess) on the top of the garbage can, and some bird's nest fungus that came up in a pot. The 2 shirt images are things I've got in the frames right now. If you want one, send me a shirt (1628 Sanford Rd., Charleston, SC, 29407), soon, since I'm going to be doing a couple of others in the next month or so. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, in the customer service department, Moen recently sent me parts that probably would've amounted to $50 or so for a kitchen faucet that I did not purchase but that had a limited lifetime warranty. There was a small leak, but replacing the cartridge valve did not fix it, so they sent me a handle connector kit and a new hose and vacuum breaker, as well. The leak is gone, and I am reminded that there are good companies out there, still. I think it's really cool that they helped me get the old girl (easy, Christopher, it's a term of endearment) running again and that I didn't have to go and buy a new one, only to throw the old one into a landfill (though I probably would've held onto the parts for a few years, first...I'm quite the pack rat when it comes to such things).</div><div><br /></div><div>I've got some rye bread in the oven and the girls are waking up, so I'll hang it up, for now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and for those of you that do group rides or race...enjoy these</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rikLwIxRwEs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rikLwIxRwEs<br /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lDxPv0zx1g">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lDxPv0zx1g<br /></a></span></div><div> </div><div><br /></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-87482973089203665902009-10-16T11:07:00.000-07:002009-10-30T05:50:48.186-07:00Crushing a Man<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEeLVo97s8CFrWQE4H6ZP3gOksHsSACKiesMNKl2xELN-1nPD1XCn1KgrIAglYrLz0dmyhoXVKyvRh_vAHoshXPsCLCes7Wgjo1pghpWAV7dB8XoeMqMO9UuaGpWz1HZIhnZgix4_tw0/s1600-h/DSC00651.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEeLVo97s8CFrWQE4H6ZP3gOksHsSACKiesMNKl2xELN-1nPD1XCn1KgrIAglYrLz0dmyhoXVKyvRh_vAHoshXPsCLCes7Wgjo1pghpWAV7dB8XoeMqMO9UuaGpWz1HZIhnZgix4_tw0/s200/DSC00651.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398189185014280738" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70BRqOkUMc0npVeNjD1iFZRxPBdfa5bxEKfZ0DkHxqOEr0vRu3zBe3QaNZRaxPxBadvoLLjPhsyYIltYLAuTlr4D-TGHJdXp3ATGNWx6jm0zD3oYo0NR-B0mGof_peZSss0ntu35e8fQ/s1600-h/DSC00650.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70BRqOkUMc0npVeNjD1iFZRxPBdfa5bxEKfZ0DkHxqOEr0vRu3zBe3QaNZRaxPxBadvoLLjPhsyYIltYLAuTlr4D-TGHJdXp3ATGNWx6jm0zD3oYo0NR-B0mGof_peZSss0ntu35e8fQ/s200/DSC00650.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398185923888974194" /></a><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br />How might one go about such a thing? Stick him at home with two baby girls. Lately, I've just felt less human, in general, as I do my best to minimize the crying and maximize the giggling, without much success. They're doing great, for the most part, but they're getting closer to that point at which they'll not need two naps, anymore, and at which I'll have to drop even more of the few things I manage to get done around here while the wife's at work, earning the bread. As well, they're getting more and more mobile, and that, inherently, means more "no!" from me, with expected results in their demeanors. I'm trying not to limit them too much on the exploration, but there's a fine line between this and letting them break a limb or otherwise hurt themselves. Delia is going to be walking within a month or two, probably, and Tillie is more likely to take another month or two beyond that. I can't wait until we can all go explore the back yard, let alone all the hiking trails in the region.<div><br /></div><div>I just looked over the Kulture Klash website ( <a href="http://www.kultureklashartsfestival.com/">http://www.kultureklashartsfestival.com/</a> )and briefly checked out the Charleston Cycle Chic stuff, too ( <a href="http://charlestoncyclechic.com/">http://charlestoncyclechic.com/</a>) and I'm left feeling kind of sad about the state of bicycling in this town. Bicycles are cool, don't get me wrong, but to ride because it's cool?!? It used to be cool to drive cars that got 10mpg. It used to be cool to snort cocaine. It used to be cool to wear leg warmers and parachute pants, too. We all learn and we all grow. I do appreciate what people do to make bicycling more fun, but, contrary to a little video linked into the Cycle Chic site, fun is not the best reason to ride a bicycle. I think the best reasons are that a) it's easy and convenient and b) it gets one from point A to point B in a manner that asserts our independence from industry that hinges on oppression and ecological destruction. Again, I think it is fun to ride, but if I'm to be honest, I think some of the worst bicycling conditions produce some of the best rides that others would consider very little fun. Fun is a relative term, I guess, and, for me, that fun does not require other people, alcohol, or a bicycle that looks like a float from Mardi Gras. </div><div><br /></div><div>Granted, I'm probably just touchy because I won't be able to attend the "Klash" on account of it being on the same day I'm teaching the class and because the girls wouldn't be able to stand that amount of time away from home without a nap. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that selling bicycling as something that is fun is not the best way to get the majority of citizens out of their cars. There will be head winds, rain days, flat tires, collisions and confrontations with motorists, and other adversity. These things don't add up to fun for most, and they tend to steer people away from staying on the bicycle. However, if one considers that what one is doing on a bicycle is a form of spiritual and ecological redemption, it is easier to roll with said adversity, I think. Just look at what recycling has done for our collective consciousness. "Recycling rewards consumption," is what Brother Adam would say, here, and he's right. Though, I would have to argue that this reward has leaned people in a better direction. One DOES make this world a better place if one rides a bicycle for transportation, and I think that resonates with most humans, since most of us are in a fog when it comes to prioritizing our altruism (there are so many worthy causes that it sends us into a stasis...at least it does me, with the exception of Doctors Without Borders, Democracy Now!, and the ACLU). </div><div><br /></div><div>All of this relates to a conversation I had with a buddy from Asheville last night. He's working for the YMCA up there, now, and he attended a staff retreat the other day. He was a little concerned about the Christian portion of the proceedings, and I related that I've always had that sort of hesitation about such compromises (working for a group that doesn't necessarily reflect one's philosophy). My lack of conviction in just about anything (other than my marriage and our decision to have children) stems from only having confidence in speaking on my own behalf. I got outside of this a little with Dennis Kucinich's campaign, but I still preferred people listen/read him themselves, rather than taking my word for it. I'm afraid that this is why the pushover got elected and why he won't be followed by anybody with more independence and integrity. We just like things to be given to us, I guess. It's no wonder Christmas is such a hit in this country. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sorry to end on a down note, but we're currently watching "W." and we just watched the Frost/Nixon movie that Richie Cunningham directed. The latter was very well done, though I think it had more to do with the play writer's ability than that of The Fonz's boy. The former is Brolin at his best. That guy is a good actor. Also, great casting in this one, Mr. Stone. Dreyfus (two s's?) as Cheney was brilliant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not much in the realm of multi-media this time around, but after seeing this thing spoofed on the Cleveland Show (I am NOT a regular consumer of this product), I had to include this link. I'm sure this is quite old, but, damn it, this is one of those reasons why I miss the Gulf Coast so much, dahlin! I love how mad he looks at around :44.</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKK-WWwcQME">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKK-WWwcQME<br /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-16357636799119498192009-09-20T12:16:00.000-07:002009-09-29T07:05:30.158-07:00The Shout Heard Around the World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFf1Y8mcVYLj6taW0iiGjpNuRmRo57YxWlVhW5msVFxTZR0nTYikQBuB0LPb_CyrB-V5nKJ_zUCq0aDsw_K8-NqgkQWxRbx04SPPuhVj67OZGWLRtN53W7MP2be0Ae_B69j_WafTObKfc/s1600-h/DSC00594.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFf1Y8mcVYLj6taW0iiGjpNuRmRo57YxWlVhW5msVFxTZR0nTYikQBuB0LPb_CyrB-V5nKJ_zUCq0aDsw_K8-NqgkQWxRbx04SPPuhVj67OZGWLRtN53W7MP2be0Ae_B69j_WafTObKfc/s200/DSC00594.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386587354656555634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieg01Vg62_KTgYD_iakijof62pFUEeWIotIZPqPakWEClVNs7Zjbu8SY6_gDdXMPVBU2QF8DNF6f0goLJcY9_PJZC3idDr9T6nVz6Hq0n2cgv1jAnjRNge9iEMcWOC8SkbxQZyEvfRixU/s1600-h/DSC00591.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieg01Vg62_KTgYD_iakijof62pFUEeWIotIZPqPakWEClVNs7Zjbu8SY6_gDdXMPVBU2QF8DNF6f0goLJcY9_PJZC3idDr9T6nVz6Hq0n2cgv1jAnjRNge9iEMcWOC8SkbxQZyEvfRixU/s200/DSC00591.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386587350226180178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloWzcHu_WcUCtxFW8rQXrPL8tgpHXdc4ljVG7OKzrGVN7ip4V5mNBK9gjHWzn9Jsr01WbZqm9pfQ6Rsq_eHb-IqsBvkaEC1jrogIlZvkzd41zwBdsuHQO8Kqqen0uaKrmbfPk8RNerdE/s1600-h/DSC00598.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloWzcHu_WcUCtxFW8rQXrPL8tgpHXdc4ljVG7OKzrGVN7ip4V5mNBK9gjHWzn9Jsr01WbZqm9pfQ6Rsq_eHb-IqsBvkaEC1jrogIlZvkzd41zwBdsuHQO8Kqqen0uaKrmbfPk8RNerdE/s200/DSC00598.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386587338715450690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DL4bc7nTeJg0qBM4_Jy0slu3Fr6wmUE2ArWus3V4j6aGh8WKWZs2oXuySiwCY1XzB2VfAZcQJye2v1PZxBJPVou4IciNqgFp1OmH8FoJuu_Tiweshc1rahsr1zVDJSmHJ79jEpdqOQk/s1600-h/DSC00596.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DL4bc7nTeJg0qBM4_Jy0slu3Fr6wmUE2ArWus3V4j6aGh8WKWZs2oXuySiwCY1XzB2VfAZcQJye2v1PZxBJPVou4IciNqgFp1OmH8FoJuu_Tiweshc1rahsr1zVDJSmHJ79jEpdqOQk/s200/DSC00596.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386587332242316370" /></a><br />Saying somebody told a lie is one thing. Saying somebody told a lie when they did not is another. Yet again, our fair state is cast in the most gruesome of lights by one of our intellectually-stunted politicians, and, yet again, I am left thinking I must send a "proclamation of values" to them. Though only one responded to my last attempt to gain accurate representation, maybe more will raise a pen this time (or, at least, have a staffer do so). Joe Wilson is not a personal adversary of mine, nor is my governor, but from their actions (indeed, those of nearly the entire Republican party, lately), one would almost assume that such a relationship is to what they aspire. It reminds me of a somewhat morbid, yet hopeful thought I brought up to a friend the other day. In a couple of decades, the number of voters that base their political decisions on cable entertainment masquerading as news will drastically fall. The same profit motive that allowed these bottom feeders to see the light of day will return them to the abyss, and a new generation of voters with more interest in objective politics will rise. Savor what is to come, dreamers.<div><div><br /></div><div><div>Politics and bicycling collided, here, the other day when a local newspaper columnist decided that he felt victimized enough by a bicyclist running into his car to publish a rant. I, and many others, responded to his somewhat reasonable, yet ignorant and slanted, argument. Please see the following for more:</div><div><a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/22/the-rules-apply-to-you-dude/">http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/22/the-rules-apply-to-you-dude/<br /></a></div><div>and</div><div><a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/26/letters-to-the-editor/">http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/26/letters-to-the-editor/</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I've thought many other things in response to his article, but I tried to keep things toned down, since I know most human blood in Charleston lingers just below the boiling point when it comes to such topics. After all, if we can't even slow down enough to have a conversation about this kind of thing via local media, what hope do we have that we can all get along within the impulsive and excited atmosphere on the roads?</div><div><br /></div><div>We just watched a great animated film called "The Triplets of Belleville." It's about a bicyclist and very well worth watching. One cool thing about it is that there is very little dialogue (almost none), but that doesn't affect the quality of the story at all. It was a refreshing change from the animation one sees out of this country (camera perspective changes every second or two and way too much bad music...not to mention the painfully obvious computer influence...though "The Triplets" was done using CGI, they made a concerted effort to make it look as though it was not...they were very successful).</div><div><br /></div><div>The photographs depict the Gulf fritillary life cycle. Though no chrysalises have cracked at this point, I'm going to cage one of them so that I can get a good image of an adult, too. I hope this to be the beginning of a bountiful butterfly landscape. As I said, we'll put in some milkweed next year, and the parsley and dill are now flourishing (though too late for the black swallowtails). I've got lots of seeds left over from the Clemson order, so we'll plant some more sunflowers, bee balm, and others in the early spring.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cold frame has gone to crap. After the top window was smashed by a limb from the pine that no longer stands, I covered it with what I thought was really thick, clear plastic. The sun turned it into parchment in one summer. It's flaking away like filo dough. I'll be covering it with plywood until I can get some plastic glass on there. I'll have to check the habitat store or something, since the price on new plexi is way too high for a piece this big. Ultimately, I'll source some corrugated, clear fiberglass. Maybe the ACE can order it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Still nowhere on the bamboo source. May wind up using some of those paver stones from a corporate store or buying some sacks of concrete and pouring a form to make my own blocks. Besides, digging out the roots from the huge pine to bury the bamboo wasn't on my "I can't wait to do it" list, anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>The girls go in for their flu vaccine in about 2 hours. I feel bad that we're subjecting them, but with Andree in the schools, it only seems logical to give them a little bit of a sickness under controlled circumstances rather than let them get waylaid by something horrible. As well, at least this way we'll know how they react when they are sick, now (they've been in great health, so far).</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, this made me laugh until my sides hurt. I especially liked that it appears as though his body shuts down basic functions as a result of his totally unjustified fear. Note his instant inability to remain standing and breathing.</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wub1uY7IHas">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wub1uY7IHas<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, check out this clip. It's not the kind of thing I'm in the habit of passing on (especially given the title), but it just cracks me up. I'm not even sure the kid is really speaking or if they superimposed a little mouth, but it got a laugh from me more than once.</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR_G6EjYRUo&feature=PlayList&p=5683D7BD71DD670A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR_G6EjYRUo&feature=PlayList&p=5683D7BD71DD670A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-88615205871736266132009-08-26T10:54:00.000-07:002009-09-04T08:49:34.424-07:00A Punching Bag Passes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXPnLlg6_9GXeOwWjxvQXo_JAz3ccJmAV-_I3kWzHFIc0LJCrR8zys-tSh8H6o9QC2hSrh8rOZ6fPlzMwgDS6CJTFy2-dKjWhjwR77mmm99E0IGS2vudMeDALBRFGaUu7hG5oqfUPZYc/s1600-h/DSC00582.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXPnLlg6_9GXeOwWjxvQXo_JAz3ccJmAV-_I3kWzHFIc0LJCrR8zys-tSh8H6o9QC2hSrh8rOZ6fPlzMwgDS6CJTFy2-dKjWhjwR77mmm99E0IGS2vudMeDALBRFGaUu7hG5oqfUPZYc/s320/DSC00582.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377433752947304290" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xfeWsQVH3VnN2Ngkbr4xzG448HWVL43kdDzsm_BC8-2Dv65gVIKUso6eJ1u0ZIQoFvR09W5Fkl4ZMUie870Ct-JWlPeUH9-oHiALEUBhYN8dSCJF3mXVuS1GUIoF8uKuCZIKZsxQvT0/s1600-h/DSC00571.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xfeWsQVH3VnN2Ngkbr4xzG448HWVL43kdDzsm_BC8-2Dv65gVIKUso6eJ1u0ZIQoFvR09W5Fkl4ZMUie870Ct-JWlPeUH9-oHiALEUBhYN8dSCJF3mXVuS1GUIoF8uKuCZIKZsxQvT0/s320/DSC00571.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377255689879178818" /></a><br />Another Kennedy is gone. I heard the news on Democracy Now! the other day, and it makes me sad. Don't get me wrong. I don't think the man was a saint or anything, I'm just sorry to hear that a good guy is gone. Sure, there are things for which any politician could be criticized, but, for the most part, he did good things with his time, even if only dissenting from the majority. More importantly, he intended good things, regardless of how many of these things the rest of his cohorts permitted be done.<div><br /><div>This relates to what I recently realized about how one side of the political spectrum so frequently paints the other side as having intentions akin to the worst of those that ever ruled (Hitler, Stalin, etc.). It is critical that compassionate elements of our populace be cast as hateful and mean. If they are not, it becomes obvious that those for whom the dollar is savior are the truly hateful and mean. For example, it's laughable to think that those that support universal health care only do so because they wish ill-will upon others in our country, but insurance companies wish exactly that, since that is what makes their shareholders more money. It is surreal that those that wish a reasonable standard of living for all are not thought of within a pertinent context. It is as if the hyperbolists assume history has taught us nothing and that we are doomed to go down the same roads already traveled by those from other countries, during other decades, within different economies, and subject to any number of other confounding influences. In other words, communism can never become something better, socialism will always be a bad thing, and anarchy can never be improved upon. Capitalism, however, is considered flawless, and is not held to the same standard, regardless of the horrible things people have done to one another in the interest of earning more money. If anything, those that whine the loudest about how great dollar-worship is seem bent on going backwards to those "glory days" before the few, meager checks and balances we now have existed. </div><div><br /></div><div>Continue to learn and grow. That is all I wish for my parents, and my brothers and sisters in this world. I don't care if your goal is to earn millions of dollars, just realize that there are sustainable and humane ways to do that. As Seth Tobocman's book proclaimed, "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">You Don't Have to Fuck Over People to Survive</span>." The extension of this is to define the word survive, which should include not only good food, clean water, solid shelter, and clean air, but theater, literature, stimulating conversation, paint, dance, and one thousand other free and necessary things. I don't mean to imply that we all need "merely" survive, I mean to imply that there are different degrees of survival, and most of us are reasonable people...until we stop learning and stop trying to see things from new perspectives (don't worry, you can always crawl back into your shell if it gets too uncomfortable).</div><div><br /></div><div>It is this I harbor after having watched "The Garden" online, yesterday. Man, what an important movie. Go watch it and see if it changes your view on property rights. If nothing else, it will make you think long and hard about setting up a community garden in your own area (if one does not already exist). Around here, I'm hoping we can get something going on the edges of the West Ashley Greenway, since it is wide enough to accommodate a road, and I'd like to think that getting neighborhood gardens in place would help prevent any future stupidity from making this local treasure into just that...another ribbon of asphalt. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Also, I watched some of the town hall meeting S. Hoyer did in Maryland on CSPAN last night. All I can say is that it was like watching a trainwreck...so disgusting was the behavior of our fellow "Americans" that I couldn't look away. Example of the lunacy: after explaining how her son and daughter are provided health insurance through the state after losing their jobs, one idiot-in-attendance went on to say the "government" needs to get "out of our business, now!" Go ahead...watch the downfall of western civilization. In particular, watch the question from her majesty of the miniscule mind at around 46 minutes: <a href="http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/01/HP/A/22720/House+Maj+Leader+Rep+Steny+Hoyer+DMD+Health+Care+Town+Hall.aspx">http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/01/HP/A/22720/House+Maj+Leader+Rep+Steny+Hoyer+DMD+Health+Care+Town+Hall.aspx</a></div><div><br /></div></div><div>As a result of watching this kind of painful pinhead-ery, I'm considering political appointments, again. I'm trying to get into the Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee, currently. I filled out applications for the Forestry Board and one of the Park and Playground Commissions, but I think I'd rather dedicate my time to something about which I'm, currently, more passionate and knowledgeable. Besides, there are just too many stupid things happening, lately. They just put in solar-powered flashers for two greenway crossings up the road. Yes, they are nice when I'm carting the girls, but I'm responsible. I always come to a stop, anyway, to check for traffic. Nobody else will have to develop that habit, thanks to these new eyesores that were a waste of money (how about resurfacing the severely eroded and buckled section of the greenway that winds through the black neighborhoods in our area, for example?). As well, and I'll follow up on this one for sure, they just added bumps (rumble-shoulder type garbage) to the white lines on some of the roads we use for our shop rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Again, this will prevent drivers from developing the quite safe habits of staying awake while at the wheel and paying close attention to traffic on more shaded, winding roads. For riders, it presents an obstacle to quickly getting out of the way of the now-lazier drivers when they stray too close (which they will). At worst, it is something riders do not see in the dark and/or rain that causes them to lose control of their bicycle and crash on roads that regularly have car traffic traveling at speeds of up to 50-60mph. Somebody needs to be more involved in helping these road "designers," as they are clearly only considering those in cars when they pull this kind of jackass move. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the media candy section of this entry, see below:</div><div><br /></div><div>Trials riding isn't really my scene, but I am in awe of this guy's ability (good musical choice, too): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o</a></div><div>This was mildly funny, so I thought I'd throw it in, too (my favorite part is the foggy glasses when he's inside):</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4<br /></a></div><div>Also, check out the latest on the insane happening in Asheville that Garrett clued me to:</div><div><a href="http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908180328">http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908180328<br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hoping to make another trip to FATS before too long, here, and teaching a Road I course the first week of November. Off to the doctor with the girls in the morning, and watched about 30 minutes of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 with Andree before wandering in here to finish this, finally. Have a great night and don't forget to ride tomorrow. You'll feel better. Smoking status: down to 1/2 a day, but only 2 or 3 left in pack. I'll try to make it a week before buying another...if I do. The tea tree oil toothpicks are really helping out this situation, by the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Watch the babies...watch the cute, cute babies. The trailer is the summer-modified Tiger from Burley (I'm pretty happy with it, aside from the lack of carrying space for the jogging kit or a leash for towing them around when once we get to the store). Oh, and the maypop, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Passiflora lutea</span>, is growing on the lamppost in front of the house. I just saw a gulf fritillary laying eggs on it, today, so I'll try to photograph the life cycle.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpNK0v5fsbGqHchZ68ONbtDsUhVQ4z6wXZCxwNFryrMZrjjSUCXoTrZ9qpaW26-e2NYN6PJYJby0_Sf-dOvw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-75409679892356924422009-08-02T16:03:00.000-07:002009-08-11T12:53:51.868-07:00Return of the King<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_39I2LWAS_cNbQsRxo1k31YPf75HWTytBI4WywXQDEIGdWCcxxU46c133C9UoXGiApXLf9OzATpcVyqUk_RS-xOFD9Gh92Qp26RCgrXsTsLuCkpaKqcg7ULL_-TCbqlRFuupctwE8_g/s1600-h/DSC00535.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_39I2LWAS_cNbQsRxo1k31YPf75HWTytBI4WywXQDEIGdWCcxxU46c133C9UoXGiApXLf9OzATpcVyqUk_RS-xOFD9Gh92Qp26RCgrXsTsLuCkpaKqcg7ULL_-TCbqlRFuupctwE8_g/s200/DSC00535.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368794925459898402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLf1wU2ciIXbuFGKEYuREpyGBmVbI6CagdF7yTC70gjPhpyQfwsQY8ezpyWZ15G3VxZAZA52wQoqfuZmadmbOyebYA9HPwfo_pxaLUWJh_Yr7Tc3gzkbJcImVZwj7WS-KswAf6b23NbFM/s1600-h/DSC00534.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLf1wU2ciIXbuFGKEYuREpyGBmVbI6CagdF7yTC70gjPhpyQfwsQY8ezpyWZ15G3VxZAZA52wQoqfuZmadmbOyebYA9HPwfo_pxaLUWJh_Yr7Tc3gzkbJcImVZwj7WS-KswAf6b23NbFM/s200/DSC00534.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368794503603564642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqoXoQ2qEVtJCpNYWqCUaa4EHPJrWzAC3tDxAcSyOST_CBaRFAZioBo9Med2PqxsiRlX-oglvHPbWIBaSzVfC4Tg_MSMJHsZIOeTUGnjnlld8ilIwOqg2WroBajjBOHYBK9VHvOABsNk/s1600-h/DSC00557.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqoXoQ2qEVtJCpNYWqCUaa4EHPJrWzAC3tDxAcSyOST_CBaRFAZioBo9Med2PqxsiRlX-oglvHPbWIBaSzVfC4Tg_MSMJHsZIOeTUGnjnlld8ilIwOqg2WroBajjBOHYBK9VHvOABsNk/s320/DSC00557.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368789956827152034" /></a><br />Daddy comes home to the castle, as of tomorrow. Andree goes back to school, so I get to resume full-time parent status. Things have changed significantly (solid foods, longer times awake, etc.), but I can deal with it, and I think my health needs it. The stress of the girls pales in comparison to the stress at work, lately. It's just been a weird month or two since the departure of Joe, Jay, and Carl. I really respect the guys that replaced them, but it'll suffice to say that it's different, and different is the name of the game with kids. So, work changes of all sorts (a manager becoming an owner, a second shop opening, and the expected turnover of employees in such a field) are not as easy to cope with anymore, and my health has, predictably, not improved much.<div><br /><div>The doctors claim it to be a mono group virus, which means that the exhaustion I've felt for weeks now will, likely, continue for a few more weeks, at least. Cutting back on the cigarettes and booze isn't cutting it. I'm going to have to go cold turkey, here, as I'm at my wit's end on this one. One ride a week is not enough, and my workouts have completely fallen off. It's killing me. The worst part is waiting to see if the girls picked it up in the few weeks that I was contagious. They've been on mom's milk from the beginning, however, so I'm hoping that their immunity is all the experts say it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bicycle status has me motivated. I just got a Manitou R7 for very little money (they were great about their crash replacement, and it turned out nobody does much, if anything, in forks in the U.S., anymore), an XT crankset, and some XTR pedals on the MTB. The money is now officially paid back on the Raleigh, and it was worth it. The beast looks ready for engagement, and Mike, Greg, and I are supposed to go to FATS trails, near Augusta, this coming weekend for an overnight (my first since the girls were born). The road rig got absolutely swamped last Thursday night in the wettest ride we've done in a long, long time (downpour almost the entire hour and a half). So, the bottom bracket got removed and the shell faced on this one, too. Everything looked great inside (Boeshield and a gun-cleaning kit does the trick on the steel stuff), with only a little water. </div><div><br /></div><div>FATS is one of the best trails I've ever ridden. We spent around 6 hours out there, and we still didn't get to all of it (we skipped on the Brown Wave trail). Only one flat for one of us, and no spills, even though it's hard not to bomb through these insanely well-maintained and rolling trails. We pulled out our stupid caps and rented a hotel for the evening, Saturday, for $100. We could've camped at a nearby state park for $15, but I bit my tongue since we'd been trying to get this ride (or something very similar) together for nearly 5 years. It makes one wonder about the depth of this friendship, no? No matter, I'll go back with Dave or Garrett next time, and I'm sure it'll be tent city. Besides, there ain't no cell phone or fire alarm mishaps at 6 and 7am in the woods...just the Carolina wrens and pine warblers screaming for sex.</div><div><br /></div><div>I left the camera at home, as I can't lug the big guy around in the water pack, but I don't think I would've gotten many photographs of interest. As well, there are videos of the trail system on YouTube, if you're interested. They were good enough to motivate me to go. Here's one with tolerable music and that doesn't disorient with shake or bore with footage you don't need to see. You can check out the others for more of the trails. There's even one from the same day we were there (about 95 degrees out and not a cloud in the sky...I probably drank around 150 oz. of water, in addition to the post-ride ginger ale and Fat Tire). </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoWyd_tUnBE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoWyd_tUnBE</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The garden looks good, with the cayennes in the bed with the bells. The blackeye peas flushed with new foliage and keep putting out new flowers and fruits. We have a few oxheart tomatoes, now, and the potatoes are still chugging along, regardless of the summer beat down they're getting. I also planted a little chunk of ginger root, and it put up leaves in about 4-5 days. I'm not sure what species I've got, but check out this flower!</div><div><br /></div><div> <a href="http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Zing_off.html">http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Zing_off.html</a> </div><div><br /></div><div>Who wants to have to make a trip to the store just for this infrequently-needed, but essential, ingredient? Turns out, it does just fine here. Next up are the fruit/nut trees. I thought I found a good place in GA, but there are some seriously bad reviews online that made me think twice. Plus, their prices and selection were too good to be true. We're hoping on walnut, plum, and apple, though we may have to go with citrus instead of pomes. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was an editorial in yesterday's paper that reminded me of something that keeps occurring to me. A local politician was praising our state's investment in hydrogen power and other alternatives to fossil fuels. Fair enough, but it was unfortunate that he was also pushing the job creation angle. I don't doubt that alternative energies could result in more jobs, but what is the point if we retain the profit motive? What kind of jobs should we expect? The jobs will not matter if the same old share holders demand the same old unrealistic growth levels in their investment. There is a new jet part production facility coming to the area, too, and the local press had nothing but glorious things to say. Nevermind that this industry hinges on oil availability and is most likely doomed. I wouldn't be surprised if this facility is gone by the time the girls start high school. It's time to expand the concept of sustainability to include not just the products an industry is offering, but the lives of those that make the product possible. It's kind of easy to get hung up on whether something is organic or produced without mercury or with water conservation practices and forget about the people behind the product. They may or may not be able to purchase the very things they are making to the increasingly demanding standards of an informed consumer base. This is not an argument that we should go backwards on sustainable product standards, only one that we should identify more with those on the other end of our dollars. </div><div><br /></div><div>The spider is an unidentified orb weaver that lives in our metal wind chime on the back porch. She snagged this blue dasher dragonfly a few days ago. I wonder how sensitive she is to the noise of the chime pipes when they collide and how this affects her catch success. She seems to do just fine, as her abdomen is about the size of my thumb tip. The dragonfly is a Needham's skimmer, I think. It was having some trouble with the malformed wing, and I'm kind of surprised we didn't see this guy in the web. It probably wound up in the stomach of one of the many Mississippi kites that we've seen around the house this summer. They're notorious dragonfly diners. The old Raleigh is Ohio John's. What a testament that this thing from the mid-60's that has been all over the world is still rolling fine on original equipment. A couple of hub adjustments and other touches, and it was ready to roll again.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-44561554690473022472009-07-08T05:31:00.000-07:002009-07-14T06:33:28.099-07:00Mayhem at Marrington<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS95Od2KrCgqAg509Jh_yPpqzkYqhYTqDL0zyDE7LnDTk59AYMvqbxTLxExPOlrVgJTB1jmdIgMPI0Q4ZBIiEFYZ8a-HzEQ-IwHzEmjEtzMebqTUMHx0eTfbYnr9wcwJkwaip499VQvo/s1600-h/DSC00498.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS95Od2KrCgqAg509Jh_yPpqzkYqhYTqDL0zyDE7LnDTk59AYMvqbxTLxExPOlrVgJTB1jmdIgMPI0Q4ZBIiEFYZ8a-HzEQ-IwHzEmjEtzMebqTUMHx0eTfbYnr9wcwJkwaip499VQvo/s320/DSC00498.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358308042974143666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NuITi3vV1mrOY0F0sNFZC67Pp90Xcj5KmcnTIhUEAH4plfXdO7HKV8hniwrGZ1bkDDwsG9UQ3s39G16JFMqCYVYAow3WGaHHcKgDdNfdKmo-f4lwF8fIEetAUf5dRAQI6GUIijLLeJM/s1600-h/DSC00483.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NuITi3vV1mrOY0F0sNFZC67Pp90Xcj5KmcnTIhUEAH4plfXdO7HKV8hniwrGZ1bkDDwsG9UQ3s39G16JFMqCYVYAow3WGaHHcKgDdNfdKmo-f4lwF8fIEetAUf5dRAQI6GUIijLLeJM/s200/DSC00483.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358307637145161522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuywUJucGkW6i50TFdIHyjOpfDRiaAedvLof7M6hHhFPdSvZP77DFMaVXp76kayybLFFJgiACC5ByDVCtxYeMpiSmXFDcmZ28oXp2z_FdowM44CsziPoT6k3GYLNG2Kd2T6IIy6CBGQk/s1600-h/DSC00505.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuywUJucGkW6i50TFdIHyjOpfDRiaAedvLof7M6hHhFPdSvZP77DFMaVXp76kayybLFFJgiACC5ByDVCtxYeMpiSmXFDcmZ28oXp2z_FdowM44CsziPoT6k3GYLNG2Kd2T6IIy6CBGQk/s200/DSC00505.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358307467266993618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkC51JZ1aRZbCBKM8uaYjaNJR8AyJchvM24LObkYTZnHfeoIOWY4JbD1E3A886Vk1-a_z5i1SD-BryzDjDdTSjYCK_tZXVhzRzPpBcVknwXohhKRppYrr5jlrZ49-Mq-5lsIO0cQ_GGc/s1600-h/DSC00516.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkC51JZ1aRZbCBKM8uaYjaNJR8AyJchvM24LObkYTZnHfeoIOWY4JbD1E3A886Vk1-a_z5i1SD-BryzDjDdTSjYCK_tZXVhzRzPpBcVknwXohhKRppYrr5jlrZ49-Mq-5lsIO0cQ_GGc/s200/DSC00516.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358307224220746450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2nJ6LALaa80WNky5FbwJLEd8P7_8v41YW_-6LGqeG-HNE8XUlMs57P1gIcdBmVNyuOfMPTCk5A1lxah7fKrQgztmYHRIpbEsQGyEWTeoy4LDKwIP8VtrEVkYCYtmLQc63EyAO8HAUOI/s1600-h/DSC00525.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2nJ6LALaa80WNky5FbwJLEd8P7_8v41YW_-6LGqeG-HNE8XUlMs57P1gIcdBmVNyuOfMPTCk5A1lxah7fKrQgztmYHRIpbEsQGyEWTeoy4LDKwIP8VtrEVkYCYtmLQc63EyAO8HAUOI/s200/DSC00525.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358306753246884050" /></a><br />For starters, I was so anxious to be back on the mountain bicycle that, while waiting for our third to catch up after the first section, I mashed on my pedal to pull a small wheelie, without realizing I had inadvertently shifted into my smallest chainring. Well, I don't mean to overstate my strength, but I mashed with so much force that I reached the 12 o'clock position, at which point the 70 ounces of water on my back turned me into a time traveler; rocketing me to 3 o'clock. My left ass cheek and shoulder did the most to slow down my trip into the future, leaving me looking like I was peppered by a shotgun blast with my pants down. Luckily, Mike and Jay were both on the scene to at least hear the thud of my deadfall and the pained groans elicited. I gave them the go ahead shortly after the incident so that the laughter could ensue, <div>with a strained, "I'm o.k."<br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Secondly, I noticed a small clacking noise about 1/3 of the way into the ride. I just assumed I had a worn or broken bushing in my fork or something and kept riding. Over the teeter-totter, through the sharp ditch dives, and so forth, I kept hearing the noise. The brake arch on the fork had split in two, and I was riding with only my axle and brake keeping everything together. We didn't realize this until I took the wheel off to mount it atop Mike's car, but it forced a great laugh and sigh of relief. I'll try to get it warrantied through Manitou on Monday, but, in the meantime, I'll be ordering a SID Race or Team to replace it, since I've still got due reimbursement for the $5o0 worth of paint I put into the Raleigh. That was the only thing weighing the same as the one I had that was available in a rim brake version (to hell with disc brakes...I'll be the last convert to that wretched waste of money). Update: Manitou will upgrade me for very little money, but I just realized that nearly all forks are now made in either Taiwan or China (even DT Swiss, at their insane prices!). I think Fox is still made here, so I may bust my ass to set up an account with them. Besides, their reputation is impeccable. I may even go with a rigid fork, if I can find a good carbon that is US made (which would mean a weight savings of nearly a pound or more...the only good reason to do this, since I've really grown to love the wrist-saving ability of suspension). </div><div><br /></div><div>So, little to report on the road scene, of late, since I'm still kind of side-lined by the illness that has had me for the last month, but I am considering selling the Eclipse online. I realized, again, the other day, that I've let myself get swayed into the realm of competitive stupidity. I don't need a road race bike! I need a great custom-made, steel Seven for commuting and camping. The race bike has been great fun, but what a waste of money. For the retail price of this little scamp, I could get just the bike I want...I think I might still try. I'll dedicate any extra money to the MTB.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for the illness, it had turned into something that was just making me really, really tired. A shot of B12 seemed to help out, and I probably wasn't getting enough with my dietary choices. We'll start working a little more seafood and maybe even bird into our meals, but that'll come when the girls are just a little more self-sufficient. The doc prescribed an anti-depressant (sp?), but I've yet to take it. I know I'm stressed, but the side effects of these drugs are enough to stress me out even more, and I really hate the idea of having to scale back from a drug rather than just quitting if it doesn't seem to help. I think I'm just nervous about returning to the house. Andree has been the queen of the castle and has asked me for very little. I've helped out where I can, but when you work and have babies, it's easy to feel like you're neglecting your family, even if you spend most of your free time with them. Once I come home, I think the stress will be within my sphere of influence. There's nothing I can do about it, right now. Anyway, I still have a slight sore throat, my ears still feel a mite clogged, I've been through one course of reflux med., and I submitted a hemoccult card to the doc's office (always a blast to collect your own poops, eh?), at their request. Here's hoping they come back with some kind of diagnosis this time. It's getting annoying and kind of scary.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lately, I've been thinking about spitting venom, here, regarding the bitterness of friendship, but it'll suffice to say that I truly miss my buddy Rob in L.A., Rob from Baton Rouge, Bob in Steven's Point, and Adam in Costa Rica. As for the "friends" I've got in this town...I'd trade nearly all of 'em for just one of those that I've mentioned. I've recently realized that I've compromised myself in Charleston to the point that I am occasionally ashamed. I still listen to good music, ride my ass off, love my wife and girls, and would rather view the woods, work in the garden, or create some kind of art on a boring day than watch television or sit behind a monitor on a good day, but I've let myself get dragged down by the interests of others (cars, consumerism, and comparing cocks), rather than holding on to the things that have defined and interested me in the past. It's a tough thing to maintain one's identity, and "friends" (real or not) should promote the growth and refinement of that identity and not stifle it. More on this as it develops. </div><div><br /></div><div>The robber fly, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Diogmites</span> sp., was in the garage. Unfortunately, he had no other life in his hands at the time, but I've seen these guys take down prey twice their size. This may be my favorite group of flies, and this particular genus is listed as the "hanging thieves" by one online reference. Apparently, they're prone to hanging from things while they consume their captors. </div><div><br /></div><div>The question mark, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Polygonia interrigationis</span> (great specific epithet, eh?), was on the front window sill. You can see the namesake mark on the underside of the wing in this photo. We've seen many more of these since moving to the new house (return migration?), and we even had a giant swallowtail, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Papilio cresphontes</span>, buzz us on the back porch, yesterday. The former has no problem finding elms and hackberry trees in the vicinity, but I'm sort of surprised to see the swallowtail, since the native food plant for it is really confined to barrier islands, here, for the most part. I guess a few more people than I thought have cultivated limes or other citrus in their back yards in our area.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of butterflies, the dill and parsley are coming along, and they may be ready for the black swallowtails this year. If not, maybe they'll come up again for a good spring flush, and the girls will get to watch the life cycle on their back porch. We'll also be sourcing some local milkweeds for next year to attract some monarchs. Come to think of it, I think we'll just make the void where the giant pine used to stand a little butterfly garden. That way, I don't have to maintain it very much. I can just wall it in with some bamboo timbers and let it go. Now, to source some cheap/free local bamboo...the eternal quest.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sunflowers are the "teddy bear" variety we got from Clemson this year. They flowered well, but I think they will do better next year in the ground versus the pots.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not much else to say, right now, other than these little things I put together on the back porch with the girls not so many weeks ago. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ripples of bow and branch,</div><div>darkness and shine;</div><div>planet breath through photosynthetic fur.</div><div>Ringing rasps of metal birds;</div><div>the wind seeks a voice</div><div>in tree</div><div>in time</div><div>in you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Screen can a window or a fence mean. I abhor both.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-14223588123047413202009-06-03T09:25:00.000-07:002009-06-19T16:23:36.198-07:00Customer Service...fo' real<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT4yw_5S58KzWd0Rx2mw8DgUcMqVsmGigkoWxfmFLrOnVPQBedti_MRurrzzWTTbyp9-6ryWFy4rqrIdRd3taue0M6BNXkJCzEMPR1O5wAMpDPYyNhKdHUeLTzUuxTXFLu44u5Lr3Hqs/s1600-h/DSC00449.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT4yw_5S58KzWd0Rx2mw8DgUcMqVsmGigkoWxfmFLrOnVPQBedti_MRurrzzWTTbyp9-6ryWFy4rqrIdRd3taue0M6BNXkJCzEMPR1O5wAMpDPYyNhKdHUeLTzUuxTXFLu44u5Lr3Hqs/s320/DSC00449.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349181835262645282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSHTf7okGAtdTN0aN1LJCnEgiiKncArQUJMgH9yi24MNl_amCHWDJ2h9OISvjwE1ZsNqHFUqu8G5uAukUHjaooWPaAR9eX6JYb_LDkFiHbCV_Ykz-svYhzbEpau0HAxXhRz2re5RNAk0/s1600-h/DSC00467.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSHTf7okGAtdTN0aN1LJCnEgiiKncArQUJMgH9yi24MNl_amCHWDJ2h9OISvjwE1ZsNqHFUqu8G5uAukUHjaooWPaAR9eX6JYb_LDkFiHbCV_Ykz-svYhzbEpau0HAxXhRz2re5RNAk0/s320/DSC00467.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349180834814414210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3He8cTFqkiDQpYDh9QTRv7zzKJcQ3JC_EKeDDLMSK6ME1vBiDV5pXY76Katkxl15e70Om2sQ1OEiRhNvJ2G_3mcFBuySLrntu72mTFEsOG8IOPXkamrNe47mOvx0Bmquvi7O4yvzCsvU/s1600-h/DSC00466.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3He8cTFqkiDQpYDh9QTRv7zzKJcQ3JC_EKeDDLMSK6ME1vBiDV5pXY76Katkxl15e70Om2sQ1OEiRhNvJ2G_3mcFBuySLrntu72mTFEsOG8IOPXkamrNe47mOvx0Bmquvi7O4yvzCsvU/s320/DSC00466.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349180023582217522" /></a><br /><div>So I purchased the cheap cistern pump that Lehman's sells. It's cast iron, and it was made in China. When it arrived, and I opened it, my nose cringed in horror at the smell that wafted from the box. I was instantly reminded of the lead paint in toys that was such a media circus not so long ago, so I e-mailed the company and asked for confirmation that the item was safe for water that was going to be used on our food plants. I let them know that if the only confirmation available was from the vendor of the pump, then I'd just as soon return it for the US-made, plastic model. Instead of trying to sell me up on the plastic model, which was $70 more, my contact told me to wait and they would get it tested. Yes, Lehman's sent a pump (or a sample of the pump) to be tested for lead. I don't know where they sent it, and I don't know for sure that the pump is entirely non-toxic, but just knowing that they could've made a bigger sale but decided to do the right thing has me convinced that I made the right choice. I've yet to mount it, but I'm going to bolt it to a base that can be moved from one rain barrel to the next as needed (although the $7 manual siphon I got at the car parts store has served me well enough, so far). With the cistern, however, I'll be able to tap all the water in the barrels and not just the top foot or so. I've also decided to try to find some cheap lattice or fencing that will surround the barrels and serve as climbing space for some of the beans, tomatoes, and other plants growing in the back yard, now. The intention is to shade the barrels with an edible screen.</div><div><br /></div>I checked in on C-SPAN the other night and caught some Republicans discussing the proposed cap and trade implications of the new climate change bill (for those that don't know, by the way, you can review every comment your congress members make through this terrific site, <a href="http://www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/">http://www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/</a>). A representative from my former home state of Louisiana was beating that old drum about how the planet has warmed and cooled many times throughout its existence (even before fossil fuels were being used). This is a significant statement, since he related that this is an "empirical fact." I don't want to get hung up on the semantics of what is fact and what is probable, even though he is a medical doctor and should know the difference. I do want to highlight that this "proof positive that the Earth can warm under its own circumstances" is based on scientific models that ESTIMATE former planetary temperatures based on attributes of fossilized pollen and seeds, ice cores, and other components of the planet's surface. In other words, there is never proof positive of anything, but if you're willing to believe the science on temperatures that existed before human presence (or, at least, before humans were measuring temperatures accurately), than you should be willing to give estimates of future temperatures the same consideration. Are more Republicans finally seeing the light of science?<div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, it is not as simple as a one party problem. Too many of all stripes ignorantly grab whatever science suits their goals and pay no heed to the limitations of probability. Science does not prove things, it merely suggests things. Too many out there are quick to grab at the absolute choices in any given argument. This makes sense, because if we really took the time to weigh each choice "we" make as a political organism, we would have to substantially slow everything down. Think about that the next time you're waiting in a line at the bank, or the DMV, or a restaurant. Think about it the next time you click the mouse for a website link, and it takes longer than one second for your system to locate it. Think about it, also, the next time you hear somebody say they didn't vote, call/write their elected representative, or attend a county/city council meeting because they didn't have time. We suffer in a million ways from this addiction to quickness, and the entire economic and social structure reinforces it. We all need a really long vacation. </div><div><br /></div><div>At least with the girls in our lives, now, we're more likely to do just that on occasion (prior to their birth, aside from every other x-mas with Andree's family, our last real vacation was when we drove to Oregon for my first class at UBI...that was 2003).</div><div><br /></div><div>This Sunday marks my return to the world of full-time employment, and I couldn't be happier. I truly love my girls, but I need this summer break. I'm so anxious for them to be communicating, crawling, and crooning, but it's hard to see much progress when one is around them every day (the watched-pot conundrum). I've built a few wheels and fixed a bike or two in the garage over the past few months, but I miss the shop environment, and I've been smoking and drinking more than I'd prefer. Thanks to a recently acquired virus (according to my doctor) that has my lymph glands swollen, I'm down to 1 cigarette per day (from what was up to 3, at most), and I shouldn't have any problem maintaining that if I'm working (update...I've since gone a week without any). The plan is to have quit by the end of the summer (yes, please ask me how this is going closer to that time...the interaction will help motivate me, I'm sure). As for the drinking, I've been taking a week off to let the prescribed antibiotic (what else?...amoxicillin!) do the most. It hasn't bothered me, so far, and I'm hopeful that the new schedule will provide more opportunities for rides and other diversions to keep this habit subdued, as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the antibiotic issue, I'd rather not be taking them, but this thing wasn't really improving. I have a feeling it was more stress related than anything else, so the medicine was probably necessary. However, this is the first time I've taken anything in years, since most of the infrequent illness that hits me is gone pretty quickly. For others, this is, apparently, not the case. To the point that the grocery store, Publix, gave me the prescription for FREE. This kind of alarmed me, since I've seen indications that we abuse antibiotics in this country, and there are all sorts of places such things wind up once they're flushed into our water supply. </div><div><br /></div><div>Garrett sent this link along the other day, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/road-to-the-future/video-full-documentary/648/">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/road-to-the-future/video-full-documentary/648/</a></div><div>It is a fairly good assessment of what needs to happen to transportation in this country if we are to be able to survive outside our dwellings in the next 100 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>As well, I've just contacted a guy, Nelson, at Carolina Commuter to see if they will add bicycle ride sharing to their site. Right now, it is set up to get people to share car rides, but there are plenty of people that I've met through the shop that I know would ride to work if they simply had one or two other people riding the same route on the same schedule every day. </div><div><br /></div><div>The garden is coming along. The squash has completely taken over the planter I made, though the bell pepper is still holding its own in there and has produced a few respectable fruits, so far. We're harvesting about 3 squashes every few days, right now. I'm hopeful that we'll have blackeye peas within a few weeks, since they're all growing well. The tomatoes and other peppers are slowly making their ways, and we've probably already got potatoes, but I'll wait until we see the plants flower and wilt to harvest those. The bee balm was about the only wash this time, though I just planted a new batch of seeds. The parsley and dill are still small, but they'll make it. Besides, I got those more for the black swallowtails than anything, so that the girls will get to watch the life cycle next year. The sunflowers are chugging along, too, but no celebratory bouquet for Andree's school year end, unfortunately.</div><div><br /></div><div>Currently watching the film "Battle of Algiers," and it couldn't be more timely, relative to world politics. Very good movie, so far (hour into it). Also rode in a pouring rain to see a film benefit for the local advocacy group, Charleston Moves, the other night. It was called Veer, and, though good, it only briefly touched on anything other than those that use bicycles as toys, props, or fashion statements. There is a place for that stuff, and it can be fun and refreshing, but there is so much more of the education/enforcement/infrastructure stuff they could've given exposure (I know, I know...who would go see such a movie?). On the other hand, nearly 100 or so people showed up (1 of which made the decision I made to ride, by the way), and they were there to support the group as much as see the movie. That was the coolest part.</div><div><br /></div><div>Photos: </div><div><br /></div><div>The helmet pad is a chunk of old wool sock. Simply discard the old pads when they start falling apart from a season of sweat and washing and replace with a custom cut wool pad. They won't stink half as much, and you can just throw them in the compost when they're shot. Long socks that have gotten too tight to put on are the ones I'm robbing, for now. I've since washed them and they are not falling apart without the stitched top portion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Delia digesting a little of the local paper. This was right before she had me fetch her the slippers and bubble pipe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tillie's new crib-prison tattoo.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-27790433267046280252009-04-28T09:18:00.000-07:002009-05-16T06:00:02.543-07:00First Night Out<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKHl7wCCDE4wikoJgXDRqxmPhFGG4RiavqVn_TNWbJLTKganp1E77bRA0lViHqssufdRfQdRFWCVH2tr8cvztfZgiWt-LO9WczafV9b2Lz9EofH5KgWjhXMpTHZBVd8BAAyZQV41aBmQ/s1600-h/DSC00391.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKHl7wCCDE4wikoJgXDRqxmPhFGG4RiavqVn_TNWbJLTKganp1E77bRA0lViHqssufdRfQdRFWCVH2tr8cvztfZgiWt-LO9WczafV9b2Lz9EofH5KgWjhXMpTHZBVd8BAAyZQV41aBmQ/s200/DSC00391.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336108322049964082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixEgmhIoZwkaM9T7Fe5G7lqtaijbcGtxOHLET-cCyuB6KM6XJD9M0g606QDEo6PMDEtzMtu8UURmCygWtz9VIGb2DVxQvkpKRLJGE8Ae4KijCaX9cmYjSKD5Urym0DmxQtExeiAhngg4/s1600-h/DSC00403.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixEgmhIoZwkaM9T7Fe5G7lqtaijbcGtxOHLET-cCyuB6KM6XJD9M0g606QDEo6PMDEtzMtu8UURmCygWtz9VIGb2DVxQvkpKRLJGE8Ae4KijCaX9cmYjSKD5Urym0DmxQtExeiAhngg4/s200/DSC00403.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336107968814854402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1Vr-XZQToHc5EfeyHcD7rhb6gXnkPxDubj2y6UL4fpqTG7a3j8sSFqtVUgZLYUR_sMStFbfrwlTx3nuphzXPalIoLRV-D4hETRyqGIwqysRsYFFYyy7JnuJ9u15hg0x4o8UeifiYXcw/s1600-h/DSC00444.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1Vr-XZQToHc5EfeyHcD7rhb6gXnkPxDubj2y6UL4fpqTG7a3j8sSFqtVUgZLYUR_sMStFbfrwlTx3nuphzXPalIoLRV-D4hETRyqGIwqysRsYFFYyy7JnuJ9u15hg0x4o8UeifiYXcw/s320/DSC00444.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336107613803348466" /></a><br /><div><div><div>We had our first babysitters the other night. It was me Ma and Pa, which is somewhat ironic, since they've not been very much of a presence in the girls' lives, so far (except for Mom being around for the hospital stay...thank goodness for that, with all the complications). It went off without a hitch, but we were truly exhausted by the time we returned from our short engagement. They stayed asleep the entire time we were gone. Perfect.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for Jody's question about cloth versus paper diapers, I'm still unsure on this point. There are good reasons to go with cloth, but with twins that were "releasing" nearly 8-10 times a day, each, there was no chance in hell. If one looks at the life cycle cost of the two options, it is probably a little softer on the planet to go with cloth. Although a British environment agency study suggested that there is no significant difference in the footprint of the different options. Importantly, there is controversy about the methodology from that study. </div><div><br /></div><div>We're going to try switching to cloth, now that the girls are "disposing" of much less (at least on easy days...we'll probably still resort to paper on busy/errand days). In a CBC article, I came across one of the best arguments I've seen for or against cloth. It mentioned the transmission of vaccine organisms and other things that might turn up in the babies' waste. Of course, if our wastewater treatment was cutting-edge, this stuff would get eliminated when the diapers were laundered, but just what makes it through to our tap? The answer is, of course, all kinds of things of unknown toxicity. On the other hand, if the diapers get put in a landfill, bad things can still leach into aquifers, assuming landfill liners are less than perfect (they are). </div><div><br /></div><div>We've got efficient appliances, but one also has to have the time to get the laundry done (I just put back up our dryer line in the yard, which adds more stress to that time budget, but makes me much happier than drying everything in the machine). Saving the rain in barrels is only one way of making up for the strain we create by consuming paper (or cloth) diapers. Having a baby or two is, inherently, consumptive, but there is such a thing as mitigating for that consumption (luckily, we live in a less-consumptive way than most parents we know, and we will only get better at this with time). </div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of consumption, I was struck by a comment I noticed in the documentary film "The Future of Food." It was from the Director of Corporate Communications at Monsanto. He was quoted in the NY Times as having said, <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 22px; font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 22px; font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the F.D.A.'s job.'' What a refreshing moment of honesty, eh? Watch the movie and see what you think. It is available on Netflix online. Also check out the Frontline "Poisoned Waters" online, if you need some motivation for filtering your city water and saving the rain that falls upon your roof for watering your plants. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Almost finished the Greenpeace book (very movie-like...no surprise Watson went on to do the "Whale Wars" show), and I'm thinking of reading "Nickel and Dimed," next. On the other hand, I've been digesting so much negative news through Mother Jones and other media, lately, that I may have to go with another Terkel tome (And They All Sang was good stuff...good, but not great). It's got me thinking about another media hiatus, since common sense is enough to keep me living as sustainably as possible. I really don't need any more guilt about that sort of stuff, and it really does start sounding a little dogmatic and authoritarian, sometimes. As well, I'm not in a position to do much for others, right now, aside from continuing to live reasonably as an example to those that do not (though, I do not do so for them...still debating whether there is such a thing as pure altruism). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">I picked up a Clifford Brown/Max Roach disc that is one of the best jazz albums I've ever heard (and I've heard many). It's called "Study in Brown." The same applies to the Charlie Parker 2-disc set from Rhino. Check them out. I also picked up some Pteradactyl, Bamboos, Big Sleep, Hoodoo Gurus, and the first Replacements (it's amazing how far the last two strayed from the really cool stuff they did, initially). The Pteradactyl is a reference from Dirt Rag, and it reminds me of Arab on Radar mixed with Three Mile Pilot (very good stuff).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">The plants are all doing great. I added three blueberry shrubs to our mish-mash of trees and veggies that we're accumulating. I'm hoping to find some plums or apples that will do well on the coast, but I'm not too hopeful. I'm "building" out from the corner of the backyard and, so far, have a red buckeye, american elm, redbud, fig, some sweetgrass, and blueberries in place. The idea is to, eventually, transition the yard into a "working" forest (or useful, if you please). While I probably won't be crushing up the buckeye to stupefy fish (a historical use), it will provide nectar for hummingbirds and a few other organisms (useful in all ways, not just ways that benefit us). Germination continues, so lots of work in the near future.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Finally, I ordered the Jamis Eclipse. The owner of the shop has offered to cover the paint job I bought for the Raleigh, since it belonged to his brother, and he'd like to keep it. I'm converting bike money into bike money. This got me over the remaining worry about pulling money out of our family funds. As well, after last nights ride, I ate it hard in the grocery down the street from the shop. I was coming around the corner with 2 6-packs in my hands, and the super slick heel of my old Adidas shoe provided exactly zero traction to steer me through the challenge of 90 degrees. It sounded like an explosion, my knee feels like crap, and many shoppers were treated to quite the entertaining site, I am sure. I think I'm gonna' have to get rid of those shoes, finally (they're probably 20 years old, by now, and the soles are getting glued back to the shoes in the garage, as I write). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">I watched the Frontline called "Sick Around the World." It was a brief treatment of health coverage in some other countries (who knew Taiwan had universal coverage?). It was upsetting, of course, since we've had nothing but bad experiences since the girls were born (Andree's been on the phone for what must be hours, over the past 6 months). I just don't understand how people can be satisfied with a service that delivers so little for what is paid. On that note, however, it occurred to me the other day how odd it is that our discussion is so narrow. What about home and car insurance? We hear so little about these things, but they are just as much of a pain in the ass. As an example, the company that insured our former home would not insure our new one. We live less than a mile from where we used to live, and we are no closer to salt marsh than we were. If anything, we're now a few more feet above sea level. Of course, we got our former policy before Katrina and, weirdly, the guy on the phone representing our former company mentioned that we should try again 5 months from when we were calling (as Andree pointed out, AFTER hurricane season!). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">I don't know if the problem is the profit motive behind insurance companies or that we are so practiced at deflecting personal responsibility. We seem convinced that, even though we know profit is the purpose, somebody else will take care of things if we build our house in a hazardous place, or crash our car because we were texting something banal, or get cancer because we smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for years. One thing is for sure. It will be a rough transition to a better system, since it requires a sort of forced altruism that I'm afraid many in this country will vehemently resist (you can't make people love others). Down the road, perhaps everybody will realize the personal benefits of a healthy population (one can support this for purely selfish reasons...maybe that is what is missing from the arguments for a universal coverage system). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">This reminds me of the "Authority of the Resource" argument, however, which encourages an appreciation of the inherent value in the natural world. We shouldn't have to convince people that a plant is valuable to them as food or medicine, for example. It should be enough that the plant is part of a larger system that makes up the regional (indeed, the planetary) organism; humans or no. That is a subject for another time, though. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Thanks to all for the comments. Keep those coming and I'll provide more entries. It really helps to know that you all are reading this stuff. I hope at least some of it makes you think or laugh a little. Oh, and check out the Charleston Bicycle Company website for my completed animation. It will rotate into the video bar if you just wait, or you can click on it to see it on demand. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://charlestonbicyclecompany.com/">http://charlestonbicyclecompany.com/<br /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Photos: Cannibal baby, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Spiranthes</span> sp. orchid from the back yard, and the three most beautiful females in the world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 22px;font-size:15px;"><br /></span></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-26971308066293114122009-04-15T11:04:00.000-07:002009-04-24T07:00:52.182-07:00Double Trouble?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpLOCRJwKvqQpzbm6fiHkRph8u6fM3Djf1IuHvERJs2XGaKJLkBafqzzlOdAhWA0SByKlJZjLo4SYdwwg5W1_0USl6TYHsdP68Mc8TKC73MfMtjJAEcdzBoZZsFxMzqYiA38H_igB60I/s1600-h/DSC00386.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpLOCRJwKvqQpzbm6fiHkRph8u6fM3Djf1IuHvERJs2XGaKJLkBafqzzlOdAhWA0SByKlJZjLo4SYdwwg5W1_0USl6TYHsdP68Mc8TKC73MfMtjJAEcdzBoZZsFxMzqYiA38H_igB60I/s320/DSC00386.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328257477291620274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3GS3YCb1s0z5qyg39p03BU167VyT-wmWD3sNzLkq5-i-B6jhNj4CNaTfgPJkqC9EXnkyqeNLNCPojmMW5ksr1p2S0ZGYfzzwnDnXzCAr8fdFVYqoUJ_1T2lPidrto_dNtxmiuz1BjoY/s1600-h/DSC00408.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3GS3YCb1s0z5qyg39p03BU167VyT-wmWD3sNzLkq5-i-B6jhNj4CNaTfgPJkqC9EXnkyqeNLNCPojmMW5ksr1p2S0ZGYfzzwnDnXzCAr8fdFVYqoUJ_1T2lPidrto_dNtxmiuz1BjoY/s320/DSC00408.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328257149473954050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlcDWbE2SCv3-O0-x7bUEo5fqUhrVBoAeB5Kcu7s-9vYI1Cptur8djhi6zUnb2SSbuV-2iecbRceKHaXeOLD0oC8DjWAqbMX73isjvqJXYyGfNFvnPTxfabPS6T6z6LeX_bJXH_2PUy9s/s1600-h/DSC00412.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlcDWbE2SCv3-O0-x7bUEo5fqUhrVBoAeB5Kcu7s-9vYI1Cptur8djhi6zUnb2SSbuV-2iecbRceKHaXeOLD0oC8DjWAqbMX73isjvqJXYyGfNFvnPTxfabPS6T6z6LeX_bJXH_2PUy9s/s320/DSC00412.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328256821568156242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_72VnD56f7MuDJUFfFL5bwjiucBczRq8gy7IUOqAG-LHQFRi9MMWMpGWza4gaS-URe8e2EBPJMdcxTQTWT_TIsb7rlqbGJ-_Q3N4SXuJjOXndSiWagtMa-Psk06ilXfY-8LYkBdjcKVE/s1600-h/IMG_0903_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_72VnD56f7MuDJUFfFL5bwjiucBczRq8gy7IUOqAG-LHQFRi9MMWMpGWza4gaS-URe8e2EBPJMdcxTQTWT_TIsb7rlqbGJ-_Q3N4SXuJjOXndSiWagtMa-Psk06ilXfY-8LYkBdjcKVE/s320/IMG_0903_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328256476883847346" /></a><br />I swore to my wife that I was going to punch the next person that said, "Oh, oh. Double trouble." It is the most popular, laziest, and most offensive comment we hear when people see us with the girls. Our most frequent response to it is, "Double blessing." This occurs even though we are not religious people. However, we are considering a service or two at the Unitarian Church. We were both thinking about it, but neither of us had made a big case for it. I checked their website the other day, and I kind of dig the whole social justice and compassionate edge they espouse, assuming it is not sandwiched within too much of the boring and insulting ritual and ceremony that has kept us out of other such places. I also remember going to some shows at a Unitarian Church in New Orleans, while I was in school at Baton Rouge. In fact, I specifically remember seeing Policy of Three, there, which was one of the best shows I ever attended, though, I know there was at least one other (was it Men's Recovery Project, too, Bob?...ah, the scary, scary masks). If a church would host such events, it may be the church for me.<div>The girls are currently napping, but I'm doubting I'll get another two-hour spell. I screwed up this morning and got them up too early. We've been consistent about helping them go back to sleep when they wake at 5:30 or 6 most mornings, but Delia's clogged nares foiled this morning's attempt. I think the poor angel is suffering from the same pollen sensitivity her father fights every spring. They're doing fairly well, but I'm growing less and less concerned with following the Baby Whisperer book. As with most books, there is little to no attention to twins, which makes any routine much, much harder (they're individuals, and they can't always be on exactly the same time frame). We're having success going 4 hours between feeding, now, but they seem to need a little more sleep than the book suggests. They'll go from about 7 at night until 6 or so in the morning, which is awesome, but they sure get to lookin' sleepy a good bit throughout the day, and I'd rather respond to those cues of yawning, ear-pulling, face-rubbing, and thumb-sucking by putting them down, rather than trying to force them to stay up, possibly killing the chance that they'll make it through the night.</div><div>Delia sounds like a little lion compared to her sister, but Tillie is still speaking noises that are much closer to words. Delia mostly growls, squeaks, whistles, and barks. I can't wait 'till she's able to sing along with the Pete Seeger CD we've been listening to since they were born. She's going to love it...until she's 13, at which point, she'll inevitably refer to it as that embarrassing CD her father, oddly enough, seems to always put on when she has friends over. </div><div>I'm toying with the idea of buying a used Lemond Ti frame from '01. I was going to buy a Jamis Eclipse (853 steel), but I'd save some money if the seller will meet me near my asking price. Besides, it'd be nice not to have to worry about the degradation of the frame material, after having gotten rammed in the rear end by Surly and their unfaithful representation of paint finish warranty.</div><div>The garden is about the only thing that I seem to make any progress on, lately (other than the girls), which is just fine, since only producing some of our food is a big accomplishment in the face of twins that, again, are napping, albeit with much protest. I salvaged some sliding shower doors of tempered glass and made a bed with them and some concrete blocks that I finally broke down and purchased (12 at around $1.50 each). I just missed slicing this poor glass lizard in half with the pick-ax, so I released it in the compost pile for a better life. I assume he was just coming out of wintering mode; down there grabbing an earthworm here and a few ants and beetle grubs there. The bed seems to be holding after the first couple of rains, but it's a great reminder of how much more garden space I need if I'm to grow what I'd like. I got seeds from Clemson Extension, again, this year, so I got Charleston blackeye peas and cayenne peppers, some sunflowers for Andree, dill, parsley, tomatoes, bell peppers, and a few others. I'll keep updating on their progress. The lettuce has produced like gangbusters for the second year in a row, though the spinach was less prolific. It's hanging on, but we've only gotten a few handfuls from the 8 or so plants.</div><div>The rain barrel design is near completion. I now need only disguise them with some of that cheap bamboo fencing and fasten the second overflow hose. I also need to buy a cistern pump for watering purposes. I tried a cheap manual siphon pump, but with the barrels only being at ground level or only slightly above, this is none too easy. The overflow hose is pool hose from Lowes, attached to 1 1/2" couplings that have a rubber washer and a steel lockring on the inside. I originally glued this into the trash can barrel I made, but the gutter sealant I used is probably one of the most toxic substances one can buy, and the water will at least only flow by that which is in the gutters (I didn't want the water sitting in the barrel, reacting with the stuff over time and with the addition of the sun's heat). I opted for a gutter separate from the barrel, since I didn't want water backing up the gutter and spilling onto the house. I also screened the ends of the overflow hoses. The entrance to the barrel is simply a plant pot with some extra holes I drilled, some mesh screen, and some river stones to weigh down the pot and help catch any big stuff that might, otherwise, clog the screen. </div><div>After just having watched the Frontline on water pollution, the film "The Unforeseen" (about contamination of the Barton Springs area in Austin by development), the film "Flow" (about water problems the world over), and the current dialogue with Garrett about stormwater mis-management, the rain barrels are seeming more and more important. Though it'd be nice to have an entirely terra cotta or other clay or stone-based system and one that collects all that falls upon the roof, I don't have the money. The two 55-gallon, plastic barrels will have to do, and I'm comfortable watering the plants from them, since the intended use for these is drinking water storage. Ultimately, I'd like to get a table-top filter reservoir (like the ones Lehman's carries), so that we can provide most of our own drinking water from the barrels. With the current home and money limitations, the grey-water recycling probably won't happen, but that can remain a goal for down the road (drainage is critical for this sort of thing, and our lot is not amenable).</div><div>I'm thinking this may be an avenue for my next job. I could live with installing rain collection systems for a paycheck, and these will only become more important over time. I suspect it'll be either this or electronic engineering or an electrician apprenticeship (if I can't get back into teaching Natural History somewhere). These interest me for two reasons. Number one, micro-solar and micro-wind systems will only become more prevalent as we continue to phase out current electricity fuels. Second, I really, really would like to know how to make a bicycle do more, electrically. There are at least a couple of vendors online that sell storage batteries that hook up to bicycle trainers. Even as inefficient as they are, a two-hour spin on the trainer could power the television for a movie or the computer for a few hours each evening. The thing is, I'd like to know how to patch this power into a home grid, rather than just to a 12-volt battery. I'm pretty sure Ed Begley (sp?) has some such system, but I haven't done any looking to see what he uses. Ultimately, I would at least figure out a generator that would negate the need for ever needing bicycle light batteries. I've been riding Shimano's front generator for a long time, now, but it is only for the headlight. I'm very happy with the performance (I've been through at least a few hard rains with it and the resistance is minimal). I'd like a taillight, too.</div><div>The ride last night was a smasher. We went to Mt. Pleasant, then joined some of the CBC team at Hampton Park, downtown, for some very fast laps. I rode the Lemond for a second time, but I won't be buying it. I'd be replacing the wheels and the fork, and it'd wind up costing me as much as the Jamis, in the end, without a warranty that was mine (plus, it ain't steel). So, I now need to find a buyer for my huge, 58-60cm Raleigh and either my fixed gear Miyata and/or my repainted tour monster. I sold the Xtracycle to a good friend for $800, and I don't really miss it. I'm thinking I'll feel the same with the other two, if they both sell, at least until I have the time (read: the girls are old enough) to get back on the bicycle camping horse. The goal for now is to get down to 1 MTB, 1 road race bike, and 1 tour bike (though, I could always just tow the Burley behind the race frame, in a pinch). In the meantime, I miss the Marrington rides with Dave. I've got to get back off the road. </div><div>Update: the sunflowers are germinating (as are some other seeds, but I haven't yet identified them...they're all still in the cold frame, for now). </div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378918066191236043.post-62571974106555657752009-03-06T15:24:00.001-08:002009-03-06T16:46:51.022-08:00Ear Be Dragons<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFwY7AH0CqUmAGhKKMIYBeQ3ZpdQ-TsdmZCQ2RMkVzwR-2oQi7dJMe9JV7QLHhEYHiVcT7wJUjOUePyfoGIUC_RgSzTKA6Madmi250izFsNXpga7w5cZPfsW_U99ZuV-iClmgEJE-TuY/s1600-h/DSC00364.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFwY7AH0CqUmAGhKKMIYBeQ3ZpdQ-TsdmZCQ2RMkVzwR-2oQi7dJMe9JV7QLHhEYHiVcT7wJUjOUePyfoGIUC_RgSzTKA6Madmi250izFsNXpga7w5cZPfsW_U99ZuV-iClmgEJE-TuY/s320/DSC00364.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310239654025812466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY30M9wVFV8MrewhYOQzyOqvwKZ9gA1H08BKMs-AIqtCDgTmLkv8KUJnCX6UmCGoqUv7Bq4UjabBSbtTEKwurVXS2NX2Jikg8UUhmv5xzjadwyPTGiskfngyqjs0iEwrD1eOUcfK6OiJs/s1600-h/DSC00360.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY30M9wVFV8MrewhYOQzyOqvwKZ9gA1H08BKMs-AIqtCDgTmLkv8KUJnCX6UmCGoqUv7Bq4UjabBSbtTEKwurVXS2NX2Jikg8UUhmv5xzjadwyPTGiskfngyqjs0iEwrD1eOUcfK6OiJs/s320/DSC00360.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310233917354750418" /></a><br />So Mike, at work, suggested an ear wax treatment known as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Debrox</span>. We had both used the ear candles, prior, and they didn't seem to have had much of an impact (regardless of my living room clinical trial that involved burning one in my ear and the other to the exclusion of my ear...there was a definite difference between the two). We had both had issues with ringing and reduced hearing, so I figured, "What the hell?" Night one...nothing. Night two...nothing. Night three...nothing, until...4 or 5 shots of really warm water with a bulb and a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">capful</span> of alcohol later and...voila! A chunk of wax the size of a raisin plunked into the sink in front of me. I told Andree, "You will not believe what just came out of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">flippin</span>' ear, but I'm not sure you want to see. It's about the most revolting thing you've ever seen." She had to look, and her face contorted into the kind of expression one gets when biting into a chicken sandwich, only to realize they have received the "breast" composed of nearly 50% cartilage. It's been a long time, however, since I've seen that, so perhaps another analogy is in order. It looked as if she had eaten an unripe persimmon (if you've never done this, try it at least once in your life). Hence, the image that banners this post. The ear is just operating one-hundred times better than it was, and there is no longer any "squishy" sort of noise when I plunge my ear with my pinky.<div><br /><div>I got in 4 days on the trainer this week (about an hour a shot), and the plan is to ride Marrington this weekend. This is monumental, considering the girls weren't allowing anything near this a couple of weeks before. We've put them on a routine recommended by the "Baby Whisperer" that seems a little harsh but is, ultimately, really beneficial for them AND for us. It simply slates things in a logical fashion that we were sort of already doing, but with some slight variation. The biggest change is that they no longer go to sleep after eating. This is critical, it seems. I think we had established a cause and effect, feed-THEN-sleep thing. Now, they get activity time after each feeding. It seems strange that we didn't initially put them on the same kind of routine that works for us, except that when you have two crying babies, you just want them to be placated. A little crying is tolerable, but, trust me, there are just times when you do everything possible (rocking, calf raises, consoling, etc.) to reduce it (and for those of you with one child...shut your mouth and keep your advice to yourself...it is not the same at all). This can lead to some bad habits, but I think we caught them just in the nick of time to correct our mistake.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was driving to the storage unit containing the 50 or so bicycles we're servicing for Vermont Bicycle Tours the other day and noticed a peculiar billboard. It was for the Charleston Humanist Society and it simply read, "Don't believe in God? You're not alone." This struck me as funny, since most atheists I know are fairly isolationist, but then I realized there are people, like me, for instance, that would love to have the companionship and moral assistance that a church provides, if it just weren't for all the formality and blind obedience. Yes, I realize there are some lower-key churches out there that don't come off quite so dictatorial, but what I have in mind is something more along the lines of what I'd like to see happen with most groups. Instead of a Robert's Rules of Order meeting for the local cycling group, for example, how about a group ride, after which the club could discuss things over a beer or food? Instead of an art gallery having a "showing," how about an artist makes his/her showing interactive and encourages attendees to add to the art displayed? Instead of sitting in a pew for an hour, how about somebody does a workshop on landscaping, making cheese or soap, or how to roof your house. How about a gathering where people would come to learn crafts, child-rearing, and a million other things from each other? Sounds a little better to me than having to dress in uncomfortable clothes to hear one person tell me, through somebody <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">else's</span> words, how unsatisfactory is my existence. I am not making an argument for a communal situation that would only wind up eating itself, I am arguing for something that maintains the periodicity and good-natured element of church that is more constructive and realistic.</div><div><br /></div><div>I just applied for a job with the county. It is a Natural Resources Planning Project Manager position. We'll see if it works out. If it does, Andree may go down to one day a week with teaching, and I will stay at work full-time. If nothing doing, then it's daddy Brad this Fall. Either way, I'm anxious about the future. </div><div><br /></div><div>The animation is complete, but I've not seen the result, yet, since I haven't been able to download the software needed to view it. I trust that our shop website manager has put it together well, and I'll have it up here, soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Check out the You Tube of Louis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bellson</span>. I'll try to link it in, here, but, as before, it may prove beyond my grandfatherly computer understanding. I came across it while listening to satellite radio the other day. They were playing "Skin Deep," by Duke Ellington (maybe not the author of the tune, but it was his performance), and this incredible drum solo erupted. It was really fitting, since I'm nearly finished on the biography of Count Basie, and my mind is wrapped around that era, right now (to the point that I subjected my co-workers to nearly 6 hours of the forties channel on satellite the other day). When I hear that music, I feel like I have to agree with Andree that we were born a few decades too late. Beautiful. </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBQWaCLlK9Y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBQWaCLIK9Y</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Welcome home, Garrett! The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Lowcountry</span> has seen the return of a king among men. Looking forward to some bicycle camping trips this season and the hunts for rare plants we discussed. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">CCL</span> is lucky to have you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love to all. </div><div> </div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850216636328459708noreply@blogger.com0