By Michael, on January 2nd, 2006 Warning: lots of mixed metaphors ahead.
When Galileo was figuring out that Aristotle didn’t quite understand inertia did he ever, I wonder, consider applying that concept to human activity? I’ve spent the last month or so living in an Aristotlian world, where objects (i.e., self) come to rest unless acted upon by some outside force. At least with regard to bicycling, as I’ve slowed to a near steady state of being stopped.
Tonight a straw drifted down and landed on my back. It joined the need to return some videos, a day of warm bright inviting weather, a suggestion from Jennifer, the call of a neglected bike. My attention turned from the monkey trap of a computer screen. Oh, OK time to ride. Out of the lounge around the house clothing. On with clothes for going outside. On with the helment. On with a goodbye kiss.
Off I rode into the night. After a three day weekend of pretty pleasent weather, group rides and a new bike waiting to be ridden the back of the inertia camel broke. I rode to the video store and then west past Reed College. It was foggy there toward the Willamette river through the quiet residential area of Sellwood I rode in thinkening fog. On the edge of a bluff overlooking Oak Bottom park it cleared up. I could look at the swollen river and see rippels reflecting light from the other side.
Down to the Springwater corridor, north towards downtown, north along the riverside through downtown to the bridge that marked my turnaround point and then the familiar route from my old commute route took me home – through another fog back about a mile east of the river. Through quiet streets I slipped until I arrived at home panting. It was just shy of 15 miles, my first ride of 2006.
Update: During the month I didn’t really ride I’d usually have hashbrowns, sorta greasy hashbrowns, for breakfast at work. Today after riding they looked, well sorta repulsive. Breakfast is bran muffin, bananas and V8 juice.
By Michael, on January 2nd, 2006 Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia. If you know what a wiki is you know that the Wikipedia is editable by its web based readers. One might think this would lead to chaos and madness. In fact Wikipedia articles compare favorably to Encyclopedia Britannica. A Study by Nature (science journal) comparing articles in Wikiepedia and Encyclopedia Britannica “revealed numerous errors in both encyclopaedias, but among 42 entries tested, the difference in accuracy was not particularly great: the average science entry in Wikipedia contained around four inaccuracies; Britannica, about three.” A Slashdot article claimed that the Wikipedia articles were over twice as long as the EB ones, thus the error rate was actually lower. I’m trying to find the source of that claim.
The foundation that supports Wikipedia is having a fundraiser. Consider adding them to your list of places to give.
By Michael, on December 31st, 2005
December 2005 closes as a month with very little riding on my part. I have often gushed about the benefits of riding. What were the effects of a reduced riding schedule for one month? Jennifer comments that I’m moodier, have a quicker temper and generally not as happy as I normally am. We’ll trust her assessment. Certainly I have experienced a stress increase, commuter driving is a teeth grinding experience. I have also gained eight pounds. I’m now 10% over my target “just OK for health weight” and 22% over my target weight general, non-fat weight. Over the next week or two I’ll see how this time off the bike has affected my bike fitness.
By Michael, on December 30th, 2005
Peter Welte signs his email with this tidbit from the Cascade Bicycle Club ASCII art collection:
(*)
__o (*)|-__o- --+ --| \ / |__ o - \o/ o
_`\< ,_ --/ \ @\| \o | o/ o/--- /\ | /|\
(*)/ (*) (*) (*)` ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \
Great recovery!
By Michael, on December 29th, 2005
OK, I really love Portland. It is the only city I’ve moved to in order to live there. There was no other motivation to move to Portland, no other reason like school, job or romance. Today’s find, Portland Ground, is a wonderful look at this city. Photographer Miles Hochstein has photographed Portland and nearby places extensively. Better still he has the discipline to post a photo a day to his site. Check it out. Here’s a tiny sample of what you will find there.
   
By Michael, on December 24th, 2005
We’ve had talks about the times when she’s a "bike widow". We’ve had talks about how my health is better and my physique is changing as a result of all the exercise. We’ve talked about the dangers of bicycling and what I do to ride safely. I’m pretty sure that Jennifer is happy with my bicycling activities, including parking one in the entryway and having three bikes that I fuss over.
Actions speak loudly …
It is an Anniversary/Valentines Day present. It is not a Christmas present. Among all my mutterings about bikes Jennifer had remembered how I liked the sweeping arch of this frame, how I was going to pick one up, someday, for a project bike. She remembered the right arch, the right lines and gave me a bike.
What a sweetie!
Postscript she also gave me a clarinet for Chritmas. I’ll have to practice hard and serenade her in the garden this summer.
By Administrator, on December 23rd, 2005
Abandoned Bikes of New York. This photo project is a couple of years old. It’s funny when it’s not distressing.
By Michael, on December 21st, 2005
We thought testing formulas for skunk removal would be simple. Get sprayed, clean it off. Turned out that just finding a skunk with full juice sacks during mating season was nearly impossible. Who would have thought that? And that’s generally the rule: NOTHING is ever as simple as we think it’s going to be.
Read the rest of the story about Mythbusters
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