Three Years Old

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.

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).

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.

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.

As for video stuff, I would be a jerk if I didn't share this with those that have not seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfph3iNC-k

Garrett sent this little gem, too. The commentary, alone, is worth the view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYgAX6D43Q

Photographs are as follows:

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Moosewood Restaurant's "Spicy Broccoli Soba Saute" Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 t sugar

2 t dark sesame oil

1 T cornstarch

1 T lemon juice

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.

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.

1/2 cup oil

3 T soy sauce

1 t salt

1/4 cup peanut butter (or almond butter or tahini)

1 cup water (warmed for 1 1/2 min in microwave)

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1/4 t black pepper

Hope you enjoy those, and I'll be back after the big race in Florida...yes...it's 12 Hours of Santos time.

B

Inane Frown Posse

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.

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 tempeh, 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.

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 channa masala, malai kofta, and naan, and I don't have to be to work until 12pm tomorrow. Oh, and there's this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2PlAUzAFIU

and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8h4UmuN1Q&feature=grec_index

and this:

http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/hardtails/dragon/12_dragon29race.html

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:

It is Campagnolo Centaur, which I have grown very fond of in only 5 or 6 rides, mated with some classic complements and a workhorse wheelset (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).

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.

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.

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.

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 Campagnolo I chose, but it is Powertorque 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).

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.

Keep your ears on, and I'll get some more photographs up here, soon. We've been solid on Tuesday night MTB 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.

Love,

B

The Big Lull

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.

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9FS3NJKeA&feature=related

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thanks for hanging in there. Things are getting better.

Is it cold in here, or is it just me?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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?

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.

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.

Speaking of feeling positive...this one's for you, Bob. All hail Price-Leblanc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0K4HtAPfJE