BikeHouston Annual Meeting-January 27, 2009
BikeHouston’s invites you to attend the Annual Meeting on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at 6:30 p.m., in the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond, 1st floor conference room. Please join them in their efforts to make Houston safe and accessible for cyclists. Food and refreshments will be provided by El Meson from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM with a meeting start time of 7:00 PM. The guest speaker will be Dan Raine, AICP LCI, who currently serves as the City of Houston Bicyclist-Pedestrian Coordinator. Dan will be speaking about the Houston Bikeway Program and the measures that the City is undertaking to improve our on and off street bikeway network. Dan Raine is a Transportation Planner with 15 years experience, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and a League Certified Instructor (LCI) with the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). Prior to joining the City of Houston, Dan was the former Pedestrian-Bicyclist Coordinator with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). In addition, Robin Stallings, Executive Director of Bike Texas/ Texas Bicycle Coalition, Austin, Texas will provide a legislative update on bicycling initiatives pending before the Texas Legislature.
BikeHouston is a local Houston organization promoting bike access, safe bicycling, education, and public awareness of the personal and community benefits of cycling.
More groceries, wild photos
My wife and I baked a pretty big turkey last night. I decided to take a crack at turning the throw-away stuff into a soup base by boiling it. To crank up the flavor, though, I needed some veggies!
I got some basics, just carrots, onions and celery at the store. I cut the carrots and celery into spears, throwing the leftover hearts, ends, peels and stems into the pot for flavor with water, bay leaves, other spices and of course all the gross turkey stuff that you wouldn't normally eat. It smells great, but looks pretty disgusting while it's cooking.
I found an old tripod a few days ago. On my way home from getting groceries, I had the tripod strapped to the top of the panniers and set my camera on a timer mode. None of the photos were awesome in quality, but some were interesting enough to share.
Another awesome sunset.
I got some basics, just carrots, onions and celery at the store. I cut the carrots and celery into spears, throwing the leftover hearts, ends, peels and stems into the pot for flavor with water, bay leaves, other spices and of course all the gross turkey stuff that you wouldn't normally eat. It smells great, but looks pretty disgusting while it's cooking.
I found an old tripod a few days ago. On my way home from getting groceries, I had the tripod strapped to the top of the panniers and set my camera on a timer mode. None of the photos were awesome in quality, but some were interesting enough to share.
Another awesome sunset.
That was a blast!
As I posted last night, Jason rode along my route this morning. While I enjoy the hour of solitude that my commute has been offering me lately, sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to along the way, and I don't think I've seen Jason in person since maybe September when he gave me one of his old tail lights to use, and that was only for a few minutes.
By the way, I love reflective sidewalls.
I saw this in a used car parking lot on Southwest Blvd. Cars-R-Coffins? I hope everyone was okay after whatever caused this.
Jason usually takes a southern route into Kansas City, KS and ends up on Belinder Ave, a relatively flat road to get to work. This morning, he had to slog up the hill by Rainbow to get to 39th St. from Southwest Blvd. I felt bad for him, so I subjected myself to my own favorite slog: Summit. It earns its name, but it's hard to see just how long and steep it is in a photograph.
I was, of course, rewarded with a breathtaking view of KC's skyline, which I've photographed many times before. This was from this morning, but it looks similar to the others I've taken from the same spot.
A little bit of a zoom on the Argus building.
Lorin doesn't much care for flash photos early in the morning. He's saying "read between the lines!" here. JR is peeking his head into the photo as well. I had another photo of both of them (which provoked the profound gesture captured here) but it came out blurry: Autofocus fail.
Random Tunage:
Armin Van Buuren - Going Wrong
Fluke - Dirty Little Mouth
By the way, I love reflective sidewalls.
I saw this in a used car parking lot on Southwest Blvd. Cars-R-Coffins? I hope everyone was okay after whatever caused this.
Jason usually takes a southern route into Kansas City, KS and ends up on Belinder Ave, a relatively flat road to get to work. This morning, he had to slog up the hill by Rainbow to get to 39th St. from Southwest Blvd. I felt bad for him, so I subjected myself to my own favorite slog: Summit. It earns its name, but it's hard to see just how long and steep it is in a photograph.
I was, of course, rewarded with a breathtaking view of KC's skyline, which I've photographed many times before. This was from this morning, but it looks similar to the others I've taken from the same spot.
A little bit of a zoom on the Argus building.
Lorin doesn't much care for flash photos early in the morning. He's saying "read between the lines!" here. JR is peeking his head into the photo as well. I had another photo of both of them (which provoked the profound gesture captured here) but it came out blurry: Autofocus fail.
Random Tunage:
Armin Van Buuren - Going Wrong
Fluke - Dirty Little Mouth
My fave photos of '08
Since my wife bought me the Canon PowerShot A530 for Christmas in 2006, I've taken more than 8,000 photos with it. It goes almost everywhere with me, and I love it. If I have to replace it, it'll probably be with another Canon. Furthermore, if I ever go DSLR, it'll also likely be a Canon.
This took me a while. I uploaded nearly 1,900 photos to Flickr in 2008. I had most of the below in mind, but I had to wade through my photos to find them. Yes, there might be some repeats between this post and the most popular photos of '08.
Taken the first night I was in Vegas for DefCon 16. I went for a somewhat long exposure, then shot this by holding the camera against my chest and panning my body with the silver car. I think it came out great -- much better than I was expecting. I was just goofing off.
Element Six Triathlon bike. This was taken at Tienda Casa Paloma after a Monday night recovery ride. I actually got the whole bicycle in frame, but I felt like making it black & white and cropping it. I don't have the original photo anymore, but believe me when I say that this is a much, much better composition than the original.
Contrail. I was riding my bike to the grocery store and noticed a jetliner overhead. It was getting dark out, so I cranked the ISO up a bit. It still needed some post-processing. I think I just adjusted the white balance in iPhoto after taking this shot.
Monday night blur. I set the camera on the curb and opened the shutter for 15 seconds as the Monday Night Ride peloton cruised past.
Kansas City Skyline. After slogging up Summit, I took this photo on the bridge over I-70 near the FBI's KC Compound. No HDR, no tripod. I just set the camera on the ledge of the bridge. I do believe I adjusted the white balance in iPhoto for this one, too.
Straight up the obelisk. There was this indescribable obelisk-like structure on Mission in San Francisco when I flew out for IT Security World. I put my camera on the sidewalk beneath it, set the timer, and got out of the way.
Moon over the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Same night as the above photo.
Wheeee! Taken on one of the fastest descents on the 200k in June.
Raining on Turkey Creek. I like the depth of field effect and the composition. I had to straighten this one out in iPhoto while cropping it, because the rock I rested the camera on wasn't level.
Light show at JCCC. This is where I used to work from 1997 to 2006. This part wasn't finished yet, though. I need to tell the guys there to try to make it display Conway's Game Of Life. Usually, it's just ripping through some pseudo-random light show. I took this one night after dropping my wife off at work.
This took me a while. I uploaded nearly 1,900 photos to Flickr in 2008. I had most of the below in mind, but I had to wade through my photos to find them. Yes, there might be some repeats between this post and the most popular photos of '08.
Taken the first night I was in Vegas for DefCon 16. I went for a somewhat long exposure, then shot this by holding the camera against my chest and panning my body with the silver car. I think it came out great -- much better than I was expecting. I was just goofing off.
Element Six Triathlon bike. This was taken at Tienda Casa Paloma after a Monday night recovery ride. I actually got the whole bicycle in frame, but I felt like making it black & white and cropping it. I don't have the original photo anymore, but believe me when I say that this is a much, much better composition than the original.
Contrail. I was riding my bike to the grocery store and noticed a jetliner overhead. It was getting dark out, so I cranked the ISO up a bit. It still needed some post-processing. I think I just adjusted the white balance in iPhoto after taking this shot.
Monday night blur. I set the camera on the curb and opened the shutter for 15 seconds as the Monday Night Ride peloton cruised past.
Kansas City Skyline. After slogging up Summit, I took this photo on the bridge over I-70 near the FBI's KC Compound. No HDR, no tripod. I just set the camera on the ledge of the bridge. I do believe I adjusted the white balance in iPhoto for this one, too.
Straight up the obelisk. There was this indescribable obelisk-like structure on Mission in San Francisco when I flew out for IT Security World. I put my camera on the sidewalk beneath it, set the timer, and got out of the way.
Moon over the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Same night as the above photo.
Wheeee! Taken on one of the fastest descents on the 200k in June.
Raining on Turkey Creek. I like the depth of field effect and the composition. I had to straighten this one out in iPhoto while cropping it, because the rock I rested the camera on wasn't level.
Light show at JCCC. This is where I used to work from 1997 to 2006. This part wasn't finished yet, though. I need to tell the guys there to try to make it display Conway's Game Of Life. Usually, it's just ripping through some pseudo-random light show. I took this one night after dropping my wife off at work.
Anyone for a convoy in the morning (Tuesday AM)
Short notice, but Jason and I will be riding in tomorrow morning. We'll meet at the intersection of 85th and Quivira around 5:30 (I know, dark and early). It should be about 25-30 degrees. Great weather for a ride.
On the way home:
Parallel Parking Fail. I've written about these types before.
Groceries. Panniers make much better sustainable grocery bags than so-called "green" bags that are made in a sweat shop out of petroleum-based synthetic materials and sent here from China on a fuel-hungry cargo ship.
Of course, my Axiom panniers are probably also made in a Chinese sweat shop, and I can verify they're also made of petroleum-based synthetic materials, but somehow the fact that they snap onto my bike makes it okay to be a smug, holier-than-thou curmudgeon about things like this.
On the way home:
Parallel Parking Fail. I've written about these types before.
Groceries. Panniers make much better sustainable grocery bags than so-called "green" bags that are made in a sweat shop out of petroleum-based synthetic materials and sent here from China on a fuel-hungry cargo ship.
Of course, my Axiom panniers are probably also made in a Chinese sweat shop, and I can verify they're also made of petroleum-based synthetic materials, but somehow the fact that they snap onto my bike makes it okay to be a smug, holier-than-thou curmudgeon about things like this.
Meeh.
I'm officially rocking a bit of a new look. The cold-shock of zero-degrees in the midst of December forced me to work on a little extra insulation for the face. Hey, a beard works for Jason. Also, my shaggy mop needed a major overhaul. Avert thine eyes, you who are faint of stomach. Also, pay no attention to the Evil Fon Router, half-watt wireless adapter, Sun Ultra 5 and remote-control helicopter behind me. Ugh. I'm such a nerd.
Yesterday was Mom's birthday. My sister gave her this card, which made me chortle merrily.
My wife and I got some smoked salmon and decided to make Maki last night. This was supper, but we made much more than we could eat. I've got some at work with me for lunch. Nom Nom!
Other strangeness from last night. Dora has decided that my MagSafe power brick (for the MacBook) is her new warming device and bed.
I haven't posted a Panda Portrait in a while. 18°F this morning. Just perfect. I like this stuff because when I ride to the bus, I can just wear my normal work clothes under a baggy pair of cargo pants and my jacket, without any sweat. Notice the shirt collars under the jacket.
Random Tunage:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - If You Leave
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (Reinterpreted Remix by Mike Shinoda [of Linkin Park])
Yesterday was Mom's birthday. My sister gave her this card, which made me chortle merrily.
My wife and I got some smoked salmon and decided to make Maki last night. This was supper, but we made much more than we could eat. I've got some at work with me for lunch. Nom Nom!
Other strangeness from last night. Dora has decided that my MagSafe power brick (for the MacBook) is her new warming device and bed.
I haven't posted a Panda Portrait in a while. 18°F this morning. Just perfect. I like this stuff because when I ride to the bus, I can just wear my normal work clothes under a baggy pair of cargo pants and my jacket, without any sweat. Notice the shirt collars under the jacket.
Random Tunage:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - If You Leave
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (Reinterpreted Remix by Mike Shinoda [of Linkin Park])
Darwinian Bicycle Security
When I got out of work, I was planning on heading to the L Bus, which makes a bee-line for The Maul when it leaves downtown. It wasn't there. I rushed over to the A Express bus stop. I was a few minutes late, but all the usual A-bus riders were standing around waiting. Ah, Holiday Schedule!
I bid the bus-waiting-folks farewell and took off for The Maul, despite not feeling too well -- still fighting some bronchitis. I rolled up to my usual parking spot, and found a Trek 800, completely unlocked, just sitting there. I pulled my front wheel off, used my heavy duty chain and cable lock to secure it to a natural gas pipe that goes from the sidewalk to the building (not visible in the photo really)
Basically, my bike was pretty much the most secure bike in town.
After the meeting, we all went to a local Thai spot. I rode with a friend, who brought me back after dinner. The Mall was almost an hour past closing time. Both bikes were still there. Strange.
19.2 miles for the day, and a throat that's a little more irritated than it was this morning.
I bid the bus-waiting-folks farewell and took off for The Maul, despite not feeling too well -- still fighting some bronchitis. I rolled up to my usual parking spot, and found a Trek 800, completely unlocked, just sitting there. I pulled my front wheel off, used my heavy duty chain and cable lock to secure it to a natural gas pipe that goes from the sidewalk to the building (not visible in the photo really)
Basically, my bike was pretty much the most secure bike in town.
After the meeting, we all went to a local Thai spot. I rode with a friend, who brought me back after dinner. The Mall was almost an hour past closing time. Both bikes were still there. Strange.
19.2 miles for the day, and a throat that's a little more irritated than it was this morning.
Fenders? Really?
Via Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery, my favorite webcomic next to xkcd.
It took me a while to warm up to the look of fenders on The Twelve, but functionally, they were immediately appreciated with the first ride I took after installing them (the pavement was wet, but it wasn't raining at the time).
I'm at work today, but a lot of people took the day off. Who can blame them? We were let out early on Wednesday, so it's like a four-and-a-half-day weekend for those who opted to burn a vacation day today.
I picked up some new earphones for tunage at work. The ones I was using were cheap and tinny. These are more comfy and drown out the cubicle gossip while running at a lower volume.
More fun at The Maul tonight. First Friday of the month: the usual meeting with my geek friends.
Random Tunage:
Nine Inch Nails - We're In This Together
White Zombie - More Human Than Human
The First 15 of '09
Houston has had some mild weather for the start of the year. It was 64 Degrees when I left my house this morning. It was a thoroughly delightful ride to TSU. The only glitch (if you can call it that) is I believe I forgot to take my morning meds so I might not be very wakeful for the rest of the day. The ride itself could not be any better. Granted, it wasn't record time as I got to the back door of Hannah hall in an hour 20 minutes, but the senstations of the morning were worth the trade off.
Either we had some morning showers or a lot of sprinkler systems had run long, but the last portion of Westview and the north portion of Antoine were well soaked and I enjoyed the wet earthy smell of the wet street and felt very grateful the I speced out the '07 Sirrus with Planet Bike Cascadias as I would have been well striped without them. I also kept hitting chuck holes or seeing road irregularities that just turnd out to be shadows. Other that that, I came across a bike ninja on Hazard St. just after crossing Westhiemer and after Greeting him I warned him, "Dude! Get some lights!" I didn't hear any replies, but I found myself annoyed at him for his unsafe practice. Hell Even if he road with a flashlight in hand would be better than nothing.
Either we had some morning showers or a lot of sprinkler systems had run long, but the last portion of Westview and the north portion of Antoine were well soaked and I enjoyed the wet earthy smell of the wet street and felt very grateful the I speced out the '07 Sirrus with Planet Bike Cascadias as I would have been well striped without them. I also kept hitting chuck holes or seeing road irregularities that just turnd out to be shadows. Other that that, I came across a bike ninja on Hazard St. just after crossing Westhiemer and after Greeting him I warned him, "Dude! Get some lights!" I didn't hear any replies, but I found myself annoyed at him for his unsafe practice. Hell Even if he road with a flashlight in hand would be better than nothing.
And so it begins.
For 2008 my total mileage was 2,133.05 miles. My plan for 2009 is to either equal it or double it to 4266.10. This is based on commuting three times a week to my work at Texas Southern and my 4 mile commute to my Saturday fun job. I think it may be achievable if I can tough out the cold of January February and March.
In other news, I accomplished my first human powered grocery run since I received my 07 Schwinn Town & Country trike back from the local Performance Bicycle back on the 27th of December. I originally took it in for repair just before hurricane Ike hit as I had succeeded in stripping out the axle for the second time; however, a lack of repair parts at Pacific bicycle's facilities in California prevented them from repairing it right away. With some irony they actually got the replacement axle fairly quickly, but prior to bringing the trike into them I had attempted to repair it myself losing the key (it's really a 1 inch by half inch rectangular cube of steel) to the rear sprocket keyway. So they had to get a new key to replace the one I lost. This part had to come from China (and my best guess is they either sent them by Windjammer or literally on a slow boat from China). The one major difference when I saw between the new and the old axle is the new one looks like it's all one piece and probably will not be subject to the same kind of breakage.
Anyhow, I had stopped at Kroger's while on my way back from my fun job on 12/31. I had brought into the store with me my commuter bag which was filled with my Niterider Digital Evolution and sweat jacket as I did not want to leave them attached to the trike. I also had left it unlatched and wide open so that it could clearly be seen that the bag was full. No sooner that I had walked through the door and started to shop I was harassed by a cashier. She was one of those typical blue haired busybody types and she came up to me with a, "Excuse me sir, but we don't allow bags to be brought in. You have to turn that in to our courtesy area before you can shop." I just looked at her and said, "Sure, just soon as all the women in the store put their purses over there as well." This of course caused her to bring the manager over for reinforcement; however, when I mentioned to her that for me to do so without all the women leaving their purses at the front desk would be very discriminatory. My argument completely took the wind out of her sails because without me even saying so it became clear. The only reason this cashier came over to me is I was still pretty much in full cycling regalia as I still had my helmet and gloves on, I was male, and I had a bag about the size of a large purse. For me to have put my bag over with customer service would've been discrimination based on sex, as the only reason I would be forced to put my bag over there is because I was male. All the females would still be running around with purses about the same size as my bag and just as capable of shoplifting.
Secondly, the idiocy became clear if I had been a shoplifter I would not have gone running around in fingerless gloves and a piece of beer cooler foam festooned with reflective stickers strapped to my head. I also would be in a much faster getaway vehicle than a human powered tri-wheeler only capable of 12 mph max. The fact of the matter is if I was there to shoplift I would have none of those things on me as I would try to blend in and look like the rest of the sheep and not a helmeted "goat." I also would not shoplift at a store that was literally at my back door that I frequent and would be recognized at readily. The manager de-escalated sheepishly saying, " Well, I know that you've been here before and were only trying to prevent shoplifting." After that they pretty much left me alone; however, I did notice the security guard loitering when I was packing the trike to leave.
Theoretically I could have complied with the nosy cashiers request; however, it just rubbed me wrong that because I was male and dressed as a cyclist I had to put my bag up with customer service when there were hundreds of women walking around the store with purses approximately the same size as my bag with more available space to hide something in them than what I happened to have. Plus, extending their rationale if they were out to prevent shoplifting then they should strip everyone who walks in of their clothes so that no one can hide anything in their pockets or in the clothes themselves. I guess the older I get the less I tolerate stupidity and this whole incident was both needless and stupid on the part of the store.
In other news, I accomplished my first human powered grocery run since I received my 07 Schwinn Town & Country trike back from the local Performance Bicycle back on the 27th of December. I originally took it in for repair just before hurricane Ike hit as I had succeeded in stripping out the axle for the second time; however, a lack of repair parts at Pacific bicycle's facilities in California prevented them from repairing it right away. With some irony they actually got the replacement axle fairly quickly, but prior to bringing the trike into them I had attempted to repair it myself losing the key (it's really a 1 inch by half inch rectangular cube of steel) to the rear sprocket keyway. So they had to get a new key to replace the one I lost. This part had to come from China (and my best guess is they either sent them by Windjammer or literally on a slow boat from China). The one major difference when I saw between the new and the old axle is the new one looks like it's all one piece and probably will not be subject to the same kind of breakage.
Anyhow, I had stopped at Kroger's while on my way back from my fun job on 12/31. I had brought into the store with me my commuter bag which was filled with my Niterider Digital Evolution and sweat jacket as I did not want to leave them attached to the trike. I also had left it unlatched and wide open so that it could clearly be seen that the bag was full. No sooner that I had walked through the door and started to shop I was harassed by a cashier. She was one of those typical blue haired busybody types and she came up to me with a, "Excuse me sir, but we don't allow bags to be brought in. You have to turn that in to our courtesy area before you can shop." I just looked at her and said, "Sure, just soon as all the women in the store put their purses over there as well." This of course caused her to bring the manager over for reinforcement; however, when I mentioned to her that for me to do so without all the women leaving their purses at the front desk would be very discriminatory. My argument completely took the wind out of her sails because without me even saying so it became clear. The only reason this cashier came over to me is I was still pretty much in full cycling regalia as I still had my helmet and gloves on, I was male, and I had a bag about the size of a large purse. For me to have put my bag over with customer service would've been discrimination based on sex, as the only reason I would be forced to put my bag over there is because I was male. All the females would still be running around with purses about the same size as my bag and just as capable of shoplifting.
Secondly, the idiocy became clear if I had been a shoplifter I would not have gone running around in fingerless gloves and a piece of beer cooler foam festooned with reflective stickers strapped to my head. I also would be in a much faster getaway vehicle than a human powered tri-wheeler only capable of 12 mph max. The fact of the matter is if I was there to shoplift I would have none of those things on me as I would try to blend in and look like the rest of the sheep and not a helmeted "goat." I also would not shoplift at a store that was literally at my back door that I frequent and would be recognized at readily. The manager de-escalated sheepishly saying, " Well, I know that you've been here before and were only trying to prevent shoplifting." After that they pretty much left me alone; however, I did notice the security guard loitering when I was packing the trike to leave.
Theoretically I could have complied with the nosy cashiers request; however, it just rubbed me wrong that because I was male and dressed as a cyclist I had to put my bag up with customer service when there were hundreds of women walking around the store with purses approximately the same size as my bag with more available space to hide something in them than what I happened to have. Plus, extending their rationale if they were out to prevent shoplifting then they should strip everyone who walks in of their clothes so that no one can hide anything in their pockets or in the clothes themselves. I guess the older I get the less I tolerate stupidity and this whole incident was both needless and stupid on the part of the store.
Prime Directive 2009
This is our Focus' Odometer. Everyone wave. It's friendly.
This is our Explorer's Odometer. It's easier to photograph. Kinda.
I'm going to try to top whatever miles that my wife and I accumulate on these two vehicles combined. I'll post periodic updates. And I suppose I need to update my spreadsheet to track month-to-month how much driving we've managed to do.
This is our Explorer's Odometer. It's easier to photograph. Kinda.
I'm going to try to top whatever miles that my wife and I accumulate on these two vehicles combined. I'll post periodic updates. And I suppose I need to update my spreadsheet to track month-to-month how much driving we've managed to do.
Most popular photos of 2008
Also, I did it. 5,001.7 miles. I thought this moment would come with a lot more fanfare from me. Quite frankly, I feel like poo, and I probably shouldn't even be at work. I've got too much going on, though.
With that aside, here were the most popular photos of 2008 according to my Flickr Stats. I modified it to show only the ones I've posted here. Some are popular that I never posted here (and don't really belong here).
I need to go through and come up with my 10 personal favorites, because I have some favorites I took that weren't terribly popular on Flickr.
Not An Agent
Raglan Road in Kansas City
I Hit a GOOSE!
Epic Fail
Lego Bicycle
Homebrew Velomobile
Cassette Bottle Opener
Vegas Bike Cops (Taken at DefCon 16)
Zoom (Taken at DefCon 16)
With that aside, here were the most popular photos of 2008 according to my Flickr Stats. I modified it to show only the ones I've posted here. Some are popular that I never posted here (and don't really belong here).
I need to go through and come up with my 10 personal favorites, because I have some favorites I took that weren't terribly popular on Flickr.
Not An Agent
Raglan Road in Kansas City
I Hit a GOOSE!
Epic Fail
Lego Bicycle
Homebrew Velomobile
Cassette Bottle Opener
Vegas Bike Cops (Taken at DefCon 16)
Zoom (Taken at DefCon 16)
4,999.2
I had to leave work a little early, and take a short cut home. Although, even without the shortcut I'd be at 4,999.8 miles.
I'm not feeling too great. This sinus/throat thing is messing with me. I'll probably just ride to the bus tomorrow morning, which will get me those last eight tenths of a mile no problem.
I didn't get any pics on the way home, but here's one taken from the crappy iSight camera on my MacBook. Boots has decided that the chasm between my chest and the laptop is a bed.
I'm not feeling too great. This sinus/throat thing is messing with me. I'll probably just ride to the bus tomorrow morning, which will get me those last eight tenths of a mile no problem.
I didn't get any pics on the way home, but here's one taken from the crappy iSight camera on my MacBook. Boots has decided that the chasm between my chest and the laptop is a bed.
Standing on the shoulders of giants
This year, I've heard a whole lot of people tell me that I inspire them, that they're impressed by my drive or dedication, or that somehow or another, they look up to me.
While the ego boost is nice (I appreciate the kind words, don't get me wrong), I really have to proxy the sentiments and give credit where due.
Where I come from:
I have an inner car fanatic. I am a mechanical tinkerer, and honestly a bit of a go-fast freak. I am also an optimizer that appreciates simple, streamlined and efficient devices and processes. Some people drive for transportation and ride for recreation. I'm the other way around most of the time.
As you may know (or may not, since there are well over 1,000 posts here now), I started bike commuting because my car broke. I knew how to fix it myself, and I eventually did fix it, but the part I needed was back-ordered by a month. I started bike commuting before I knew there was even a term for bike commuting. I just knew that the bus stop I'd been driving my car to was only 2 and a half miles away from home, and that even as fat as I was (near 250 pounds), I could probably ride a bicycle there.
When I pulled my tattered Wal-Mart bike into Bike America, Kevin (the General Manager) and Libby (one of the wrenches at the time, she's gone now) mentioned bike commuting. "You're a bike commuter, huh? Let's see what we've got for you..." This phrase, "Bike commuting" would stick in my head for a few days. Some Internet searches later, I was paying attention to (if not slightly idolizing) Warren and cDude locally, and Fritz, Warren (again) & Tim, RL, Moe & Friends. I'd also found the Commuting forum at BikeForums.net, where I'd mostly lurk, but post occasionally. I'd found people kind of like me. People with more experience. People with sometimes drasically different and sometimes flat-out opposing opinions on stuff. From the crew at my local bike shop to the Internet-dwelling denizens of bike commuting: they were my inspiration.
Winter set in quickly, and I found Doug, Jill and IceBike. If these cyclists could do it, so could I. Sounds like fun!
I've since found many more friends. In fact, many of you who have said I inspire you, inspire me back with your own perspectives as you chronicle your own adventures in blogs and forums.
I'm genuinely standing on the shoulders of giants who paved the way for those of us who have just recently embraced the bicycle as more than a toy, a piece of competitive sports equipment, or fitness gadget.
Since this has basically turned into a count-to-5,000-miles... I took The Twelve this morning since temps stayed above freezing and the roads are mostly clear again. Without glancing at my spreadsheet, I think I've got about 16 miles to go. I saw the same commuter I saw on 0°F Monday last week, and JR was also out and about today. Other than that, no other cyclists in sight.
I stopped to snap this shot of the historic Midland Theater, which was recently refurbished by AMC.
Random Tunage:
Five Finger Death Punch - White Knuckles
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
(Yes, really. My tunage is actually that random this morning)
While the ego boost is nice (I appreciate the kind words, don't get me wrong), I really have to proxy the sentiments and give credit where due.
Where I come from:
I have an inner car fanatic. I am a mechanical tinkerer, and honestly a bit of a go-fast freak. I am also an optimizer that appreciates simple, streamlined and efficient devices and processes. Some people drive for transportation and ride for recreation. I'm the other way around most of the time.
As you may know (or may not, since there are well over 1,000 posts here now), I started bike commuting because my car broke. I knew how to fix it myself, and I eventually did fix it, but the part I needed was back-ordered by a month. I started bike commuting before I knew there was even a term for bike commuting. I just knew that the bus stop I'd been driving my car to was only 2 and a half miles away from home, and that even as fat as I was (near 250 pounds), I could probably ride a bicycle there.
When I pulled my tattered Wal-Mart bike into Bike America, Kevin (the General Manager) and Libby (one of the wrenches at the time, she's gone now) mentioned bike commuting. "You're a bike commuter, huh? Let's see what we've got for you..." This phrase, "Bike commuting" would stick in my head for a few days. Some Internet searches later, I was paying attention to (if not slightly idolizing) Warren and cDude locally, and Fritz, Warren (again) & Tim, RL, Moe & Friends. I'd also found the Commuting forum at BikeForums.net, where I'd mostly lurk, but post occasionally. I'd found people kind of like me. People with more experience. People with sometimes drasically different and sometimes flat-out opposing opinions on stuff. From the crew at my local bike shop to the Internet-dwelling denizens of bike commuting: they were my inspiration.
Winter set in quickly, and I found Doug, Jill and IceBike. If these cyclists could do it, so could I. Sounds like fun!
I've since found many more friends. In fact, many of you who have said I inspire you, inspire me back with your own perspectives as you chronicle your own adventures in blogs and forums.
I'm genuinely standing on the shoulders of giants who paved the way for those of us who have just recently embraced the bicycle as more than a toy, a piece of competitive sports equipment, or fitness gadget.
Since this has basically turned into a count-to-5,000-miles... I took The Twelve this morning since temps stayed above freezing and the roads are mostly clear again. Without glancing at my spreadsheet, I think I've got about 16 miles to go. I saw the same commuter I saw on 0°F Monday last week, and JR was also out and about today. Other than that, no other cyclists in sight.
I stopped to snap this shot of the historic Midland Theater, which was recently refurbished by AMC.
Random Tunage:
Five Finger Death Punch - White Knuckles
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
(Yes, really. My tunage is actually that random this morning)
Five favorite rides of '08
Kelly over on Dailymile posted the question:
5. Back in January, I had a beautiful snowy ride home, where the snow on Turkey Creek Trail hadn't been touched recently and my tires seemed to float on cottony, flocculent snow. It was awesome.
4. That last Dark-Side Ride. What an adventure, and so much participation! It's kinda tied for 4th with the June Moon Ride. I just love night rides.
3. My failed 200k attempt earlier this month. It got me a lot of miles, and even more smarts. I'll take away a whole bunch of knowledge and experience from that ride that will help me in the future.
2. My personal coldest full commute a week ago. Although it was less than 15 miles, it taught me a lot, including the fact that it really is easy to stay warm (perhaps too warm) on a bicycle in Kansas City. That, and it was cool to see another cyclist out in it.
1. The successful 200k in June. When I started riding in September 2006, if you would have asked what I thought about the prospects of a ride of this distance, I would have told you that you're nuts. Getting a Century ride out of the way was actually a legitimate concern of mine going into 2008. It was a goal I had to work very, very hard for.
What are some of your favorite rides from '08?
What are your top 5 workout / racing moments of 2008?Well, given that I don't work out, nor do I race, I opted to go for my five favorite rides of '08. How's that sound?
5. Back in January, I had a beautiful snowy ride home, where the snow on Turkey Creek Trail hadn't been touched recently and my tires seemed to float on cottony, flocculent snow. It was awesome.
4. That last Dark-Side Ride. What an adventure, and so much participation! It's kinda tied for 4th with the June Moon Ride. I just love night rides.
3. My failed 200k attempt earlier this month. It got me a lot of miles, and even more smarts. I'll take away a whole bunch of knowledge and experience from that ride that will help me in the future.
2. My personal coldest full commute a week ago. Although it was less than 15 miles, it taught me a lot, including the fact that it really is easy to stay warm (perhaps too warm) on a bicycle in Kansas City. That, and it was cool to see another cyclist out in it.
1. The successful 200k in June. When I started riding in September 2006, if you would have asked what I thought about the prospects of a ride of this distance, I would have told you that you're nuts. Getting a Century ride out of the way was actually a legitimate concern of mine going into 2008. It was a goal I had to work very, very hard for.
What are some of your favorite rides from '08?
Stopped by a train (and a geeky contest)
I took a bunch of bracketed photos of the train that stopped me on Southwest Boulevard. I liked the way this washed-out one came out.
Something a little more tame.
CARnage or Camar0wned? You decide. Sorry for the lack of quality. It's 4x digital zoom on top of 4x optical zoom. I caught it from the Frontage road west of I-35 and north of 75th St. This was all the way across the highway, probably more than 1/4 mile away.
I got my autographed copy of Schneier On Security today, too. He even left a little puzzle for me to solve. If you can't see it, zoom in. First one to post the correct answer in my comments gets a free pair of AMC Silver Experience movie passes. I've got a bunch of these things laying around and I don't get to the movies too often. If you want, email me via the form on the right after you've posted your answer, just so I have an email address to contact you with.
Something a little more tame.
CARnage or Camar0wned? You decide. Sorry for the lack of quality. It's 4x digital zoom on top of 4x optical zoom. I caught it from the Frontage road west of I-35 and north of 75th St. This was all the way across the highway, probably more than 1/4 mile away.
I got my autographed copy of Schneier On Security today, too. He even left a little puzzle for me to solve. If you can't see it, zoom in. First one to post the correct answer in my comments gets a free pair of AMC Silver Experience movie passes. I've got a bunch of these things laying around and I don't get to the movies too often. If you want, email me via the form on the right after you've posted your answer, just so I have an email address to contact you with.
How supper cost me my morning commute
- or -
A Watched Crock-Pot Never Boils
A Watched Crock-Pot Never Boils
Bean soup isn't exactly a spur-of-the-moment supper. No, it requires a little bit of planning. It starts with soaking the beans in water. For. eight. hours. No problem. I started soaking them before I left for church yesterday morning. In fact, due to some more medical emergency adventures last night, they soaked for ten hours. That doesn't really hurt anything. Around 7:00, I was finally able to start preparing things. Normally, we eat kind of late. 9:30 or 10:00 isn't unheard-of. I knew this would be a later night than that, though.
Sorry for the camera-phone photo:
At any rate, come 10:45 or so, the crock pot still hasn't even started to boil. The beans are still crunchy, and I'm not amused. Enough of the slow-cooker BS. I dumped it into a huge stock pot and set it on the stove. It was boiling in 2 minutes flat. It still took close to 45 minutes to cook all the way, though. And that's why I didn't get to bed until after midnight.
By proxy, that's also why I rode to the bus. I tried. I tried to take The Goat and make it go north. In fact, I even got about a mile north of where I live. I just didn't have it in me. I turned it around and took it to the bus stop.
I seriously need to go to bed at 9:30 or 10:00 tonight.
On an interesting side note, I found a nice Master combination lock in the gutter while I was riding home from the pizza shop yesterday. Too bad I didn't know the combination for it. It's a nice lock. Not awesome, but decent.
While I was waiting and waiting in vain for the crock pot to boil, I went about cracking the combination. You can read about that here.
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