So yeah, I've been using my little Gomboy pruning saw a bit. Collecting a bit of wood here and there.
When I started the first goal was to make the Birch tops managable or at least not impinging on the bike path. Accomplished. And I have a pile of nice and dry green birch in my office. If anyone wants to buy it for decorative purposes lemme know. Otherwise i'll haul that shit home, stack it and burn it next year.
Last night on the way home I managed to get all but the last branch out of the tangled mess of honeysuckle and other vines (no Poison Ivy that I could tell).
This morning I took the last branch out and loaded it in the trailer (only 4 lengths). And then I rolled the pile of vines off into the flattened over growth on the side of the path, off of the grass. Beside the big trunk on the side of the path still attached to the roots, there's no evidence of the fallen tree now.
On the way home, it was pouring rain. Bitching 20-30 mph headwind and well it kind of sucked. But that's a good thing. I had the bike path to myself. There was a chunk of oak that fell just south of the fuel dock access road. a couple branches. I had pulled and rolled them of the path onto the grass on the side. But they were sitting on grass. I'd grabbed a few of the thick ends last week. Tonight I finished it off.
Cut up the lengths, not big, none more than 3" some as small as an 1.5". But this stuff is dense. It is a hard wood, takes no time to cut with that saw, and will create some good heat next year. Better than being turned into wood chips.
So I salvage the usable lengths, and then toss the bramble the vines and the rest off into the mess of the unmanaged wild along the side of the path. Beyond the grass line. Looks like nothing even fell there.
That's the plan. The goal.
Last night someone rode past me on a DUI bike and suggested the "DM" had a lot of work to do cleaning the path up. Hey you know what? Maybe they do have a lot of work to do, but I work for nearly free. Get a bit of an upper body work out, call it core strengthening if you want, and the path gets returned to pre-storm levels.
Yes, I am benefiting, but then so is everyone else.
I do have to extend a huge public thanks to whom ever broomed the shells off the southern bombing range (north side of Crescent view). That was a nice surprise riding home last night seeing the shells off the path.
The rain is pouring down now. But it is warm.
Dinner is up next for GeWilli. April is going to be a very fiscally painful month. I should work on attempting to monetize these Electron Microscope Images, or something. Fire wood is good, but it ain't gonna help much until it is all seasoned. And of course May will roll around and the damn rusty race wagon stands a not so good chance at passing inspection with the holes in the floorboards. Such is life eh? Sacrifices we make.
Give back where you can, how you can.
No one gets out of this mess alive.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Weather
Anyone who rides their bike outside much seems to eventually wind up following the weather, and more so than just looking at the temperature outside and if anything is falling out of the sky.
One of the college kids last week planned a ride, in the middle of a predicted storm. And not a short wee little bit of rain or snow. No, that big last one. Two days out we knew the day was at least going to be windy, and given the temperature and possible storm tracks we were either going to have lots of wet snow, lots of rain, or something in between, with crazy strong wind for the whole day.
Planning a group ride is good. Group rides are good social things. They can also be like the Angry Man's ride. They are not a bad thing in general. I like group rides, more because I rarely get to do them and I always invariably am riding with people I genuinely like to spend time with. Sometimes I'm the strongest on the ride, some times I'm the first in danger of being dropped.
Wednesday Night Smackdowns start tomorrow. Baby smackdown, Wed Night Leg Waster, Prov Velo Club ride. Call it what you want. 5pm Waterman Grille Circle in PVD, ~25 mile ride with a few hills, a couple sprint points (top of Pine, Rocky Hill, Hillside) and some good tempo sections mixed in.
Back last week looking forward to the time change (not really, I like waking up when it is light out, i guess that will change soon enough) there was some discussion about which day do we run the ride. Tuesday is the traditional Mark Nicholson Smack Down ride. We moved the short ride to Wed mid-season. Wed has the ninigret conflict but I can't get to ninigret mid-week except for weird rare circumstances. Just doesn't happen for me so the conflict only exists for those w/o constraints
I asked for feedback and preferences, and as can be expected there was equal amounts of "I can't do it on" either day. Can't please everyone. Derdowski and Fox were the most regular and Fox lead the ride a few times I couldn't and the three of us all figured Wednesday would work better.
But Sunday looking at the forecast, well, that's easy. I don't want to do a high speed drafting ride in pouring rain. Hell who knows what kind of pot holes are out there right now. Rain on Tuesday peak probability/intensity right around 5pm.
Wednesday it is. And will be.
Round about rambling to get to this point though.
The point and the 'inspiration' for this was riding in thinking about my current weather forecasting tools.
This works for me, there are plenty good options, some people like how pretty weather spark is (i've used it in the past but keep coming back to current set). So yeah... this is what i check, maybe it works for you, but everyone is different, which is kind of nice, what works for me probably doesn't work for you but it isn't going to stop me from talking about it.
NOAA graphics loaded with information and on the whole pretty damn accurate. It does change and you can only go out so far in the future. But it works really well for the information I process when preparing for a ride or for a commute.
For current conditions I like the weather stations on WUnderground (I turn off everything except Weather stations - sometimes I'll fire up the radar to see where the rain is and the timing)
Sometimes I'll hit weather dot com for the radar but usually for volume and rapid digestion of information I hit those two above.
Instant read the Wunderground stations and wind directions are very good indicators for me, really mostly about the commute, click to check temps what layers do i need, will i be fighting a headwind?
Weather.
We're out in it. Being prepared is part of riding. One can get really tired of accidental 'epic' weather rides. There's only room in personal experience for so many fuck ups that get turned into fun.
Gonna be a wet headwind tonight. Not a problem 'cause, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...
heddwch
G
One of the college kids last week planned a ride, in the middle of a predicted storm. And not a short wee little bit of rain or snow. No, that big last one. Two days out we knew the day was at least going to be windy, and given the temperature and possible storm tracks we were either going to have lots of wet snow, lots of rain, or something in between, with crazy strong wind for the whole day.
Planning a group ride is good. Group rides are good social things. They can also be like the Angry Man's ride. They are not a bad thing in general. I like group rides, more because I rarely get to do them and I always invariably am riding with people I genuinely like to spend time with. Sometimes I'm the strongest on the ride, some times I'm the first in danger of being dropped.
Wednesday Night Smackdowns start tomorrow. Baby smackdown, Wed Night Leg Waster, Prov Velo Club ride. Call it what you want. 5pm Waterman Grille Circle in PVD, ~25 mile ride with a few hills, a couple sprint points (top of Pine, Rocky Hill, Hillside) and some good tempo sections mixed in.
Back last week looking forward to the time change (not really, I like waking up when it is light out, i guess that will change soon enough) there was some discussion about which day do we run the ride. Tuesday is the traditional Mark Nicholson Smack Down ride. We moved the short ride to Wed mid-season. Wed has the ninigret conflict but I can't get to ninigret mid-week except for weird rare circumstances. Just doesn't happen for me so the conflict only exists for those w/o constraints
I asked for feedback and preferences, and as can be expected there was equal amounts of "I can't do it on" either day. Can't please everyone. Derdowski and Fox were the most regular and Fox lead the ride a few times I couldn't and the three of us all figured Wednesday would work better.
But Sunday looking at the forecast, well, that's easy. I don't want to do a high speed drafting ride in pouring rain. Hell who knows what kind of pot holes are out there right now. Rain on Tuesday peak probability/intensity right around 5pm.
Wednesday it is. And will be.
Round about rambling to get to this point though.
The point and the 'inspiration' for this was riding in thinking about my current weather forecasting tools.
This works for me, there are plenty good options, some people like how pretty weather spark is (i've used it in the past but keep coming back to current set). So yeah... this is what i check, maybe it works for you, but everyone is different, which is kind of nice, what works for me probably doesn't work for you but it isn't going to stop me from talking about it.
NOAA graphics loaded with information and on the whole pretty damn accurate. It does change and you can only go out so far in the future. But it works really well for the information I process when preparing for a ride or for a commute.
For current conditions I like the weather stations on WUnderground (I turn off everything except Weather stations - sometimes I'll fire up the radar to see where the rain is and the timing)
Sometimes I'll hit weather dot com for the radar but usually for volume and rapid digestion of information I hit those two above.
Instant read the Wunderground stations and wind directions are very good indicators for me, really mostly about the commute, click to check temps what layers do i need, will i be fighting a headwind?
Weather.
We're out in it. Being prepared is part of riding. One can get really tired of accidental 'epic' weather rides. There's only room in personal experience for so many fuck ups that get turned into fun.
Gonna be a wet headwind tonight. Not a problem 'cause, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...
heddwch
G
Thursday, March 07, 2013
Have to do it for C2R3
Seaweed wrapped rice cakes like Jennie talks about here.
http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/03/07/cycling-chow-fast-fuel-for-the-road/
among just about everything else.
C2R3... might be time to start delving into the routes already, looking at the dates and what not.
http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/03/07/cycling-chow-fast-fuel-for-the-road/
among just about everything else.
C2R3... might be time to start delving into the routes already, looking at the dates and what not.
Bike Path Paul Bunyan
This stuff is pretty heavy. And with the snow, grabbing a large chunk before it gets buried for who knows how long was on the list.
On the way in this morning, well I cut two 30" lengths of the branch top on the other side. Only about 3-6" in diameter maybe. A lot faster to cut than that monster I hauled home last night. Of course I'm an idiot. What did I do? I hooked the trailer up knowing I would have to ride 6-7 miles into a headwind that was reporting steady at 25 mph and gusting to 40 mph. Into the snow, and over snow on the bike path.
It is snowing horizontally right now. Very much like that last Nor'Easter except this time not nearly as much accumulation. Temps are hovering right above freezing which bodes well for the roads. The bike path in spots was pretty clear. The fucking Seagulls were still dining on the Raw bar this morning. Fucking birds. Oh well.
They will move on to less challenging food soon enough I hope. Dealing with the shells is still far preferred over dealing with the damn cars when the bike path was closed last year.
Should have a tail wind on the way home. We'll see if this snow brings down any more branches or trees. If it does? I HAVE MY SAW. Love this thing. Going to wear out the blade if I keep cutting Locust though.
I may not have a Great Blue Ox, but I have a blue trailer. and the bike is a Blue.
sort of works with the Paul Bunyan theme...
no?
Of course the extra load has my f'n under fueled. And at the end of last week I made a surprising discovery, I did have a stash of extra food. Or course I ate it. And the stuff I brought in to replace it? Ate that the day I brought it in.
Maybe I should just take to chewing on the logs I gather. Maybe I can find some Sassafras... that's good eating.
heddwch
G
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Tempting fate
Tempted fate one too many times. Since 2009 when I put these Marthon Plus tires on till now, i've had three flat with them. One in 2010 when chunk of sharpened bent steel went through everything woosh instant flat. That left me walking, i'd gotten complacent and had a tube but had recently lost my seat bag with all the goodies inside.
Second flat was a year ago or this summer. Big hung of glass cut the sidewall nearly through and went into the tube a bit. Posted pictures here IIRC. I've been talking about the flat-proof nature of the Plus tires from Schwalbe a bit more than usually lately... got my ass bit by the fates.
At some point one of the Marathon plus tires was so worn I put on an old cracked marathon tire from 2007. Some tread left. And I've been gingerly riding over the most dense seagull clam and mussel shell bombing ground I've ever seen on the bike path since commuting on it.
This morning.
Climbing the hill up to the parkway out of the saddle i looked down and the front looked squishy. Fuck. Me. Seriously? Yup. Oh hey what's that bit of white stuck to the tire?
1cm dagger of clam shell had knifed the tube.
I have a full frame pump in the trailer and made quick work of the flat change. NBD. It wasn't the marathon plus. I normally ride on the left side, upwind, fewer shells, I was on the right side. No problem.
Heading home... I get through the shell minefield and notice a guy walking his bike up ahead. I run the glove over the front tire and knock the shells off, nothing stuck in, good. Drag my toe under the BB (full coverage fender) and feel a tick, tick, tick... something isn't brushing off. Oh fuck.
I stop.
2 CM dagger burried in there.
Hsssssssss. Of course it is wet so i get a visual with the bubbles to go along with the sound. I ride up over to a spot that is out of the wind and grab my last tube and make the change.
Three flats. 2009-2013 15-20k miles.
Not really all that bad. I guess i gotta get a hold of Schwalbe spend some money on a new set of Marathon Plus tires. These are nearly blue there is so little carbon rubber down the center. Not that I have money to spend but I can easily amortize the cost out over the years right? Value for those tires is off the chart. Without question the best money spent on tires. The Racing Ralph tubulars i bought? Probably the worst tire/value money spent. Win some lose some but I'd be silly to fuck around with anything else.
Time to place an order.
I did manage to grab the final section of white birch that was hanging out over the side of the path on the way in. On the way home I grabbed a 4-5' section of black locust. That shit takes forEVER to cut through even with a super sharp pruning saw designed for the job. But the nice thing about a 5' section is it hangs back enough behind the trailer's axle that it balances a bit and there's not so much tongue weight. More firewood.
For next year.
Too green.
Maybe this snow we're forecast to get will drop me some more firewood, i mean training logs. With the 40 mph headwinds for the ride in tomorrow, i might leave the trailer at home.
Time to make some dinner.
Heddwch
G
Second flat was a year ago or this summer. Big hung of glass cut the sidewall nearly through and went into the tube a bit. Posted pictures here IIRC. I've been talking about the flat-proof nature of the Plus tires from Schwalbe a bit more than usually lately... got my ass bit by the fates.
At some point one of the Marathon plus tires was so worn I put on an old cracked marathon tire from 2007. Some tread left. And I've been gingerly riding over the most dense seagull clam and mussel shell bombing ground I've ever seen on the bike path since commuting on it.
This morning.
Climbing the hill up to the parkway out of the saddle i looked down and the front looked squishy. Fuck. Me. Seriously? Yup. Oh hey what's that bit of white stuck to the tire?
1cm dagger of clam shell had knifed the tube.
I have a full frame pump in the trailer and made quick work of the flat change. NBD. It wasn't the marathon plus. I normally ride on the left side, upwind, fewer shells, I was on the right side. No problem.
Heading home... I get through the shell minefield and notice a guy walking his bike up ahead. I run the glove over the front tire and knock the shells off, nothing stuck in, good. Drag my toe under the BB (full coverage fender) and feel a tick, tick, tick... something isn't brushing off. Oh fuck.
I stop.
2 CM dagger burried in there.
Hsssssssss. Of course it is wet so i get a visual with the bubbles to go along with the sound. I ride up over to a spot that is out of the wind and grab my last tube and make the change.
Three flats. 2009-2013 15-20k miles.
Not really all that bad. I guess i gotta get a hold of Schwalbe spend some money on a new set of Marathon Plus tires. These are nearly blue there is so little carbon rubber down the center. Not that I have money to spend but I can easily amortize the cost out over the years right? Value for those tires is off the chart. Without question the best money spent on tires. The Racing Ralph tubulars i bought? Probably the worst tire/value money spent. Win some lose some but I'd be silly to fuck around with anything else.
Time to place an order.
I did manage to grab the final section of white birch that was hanging out over the side of the path on the way in. On the way home I grabbed a 4-5' section of black locust. That shit takes forEVER to cut through even with a super sharp pruning saw designed for the job. But the nice thing about a 5' section is it hangs back enough behind the trailer's axle that it balances a bit and there's not so much tongue weight. More firewood.
For next year.
Too green.
Maybe this snow we're forecast to get will drop me some more firewood, i mean training logs. With the 40 mph headwinds for the ride in tomorrow, i might leave the trailer at home.
Time to make some dinner.
Heddwch
G
Thursday, February 28, 2013
white logs
These two 'logs' are 32" long (two lenghts of my unfolded Gomboy 210 saw) and 5-6" in diameter.
Part of the big most recent blizzard (failed tire dragging blizzard) dropped lots of trees down. This is part of one of them. cut these two on the way in. Will leave them here and hopefully get a chance to cut up a few more on the way home.
Last night I loaded the trailer up with six lengths of this paper birch. Not a light load, but no hills. Going to leave these two at the office and hope to scavenge some more of this on the way home.
There's plenty of other down small trees and branches, but this is the coolest looking, and among the highest energy content (once seasoned) of the stuff there, also highest visibility.
I'm a lycra clad lumberjack and i don't care.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Last night the rain woke me up
And it wasn't a light soothing feeling, it was more of a menacing force.
Mentally I'd sort of prepared to ride in today, NOAA suggested it would be 35-37 degrees and raining to start the day, only warming to the low 40s by the ride home and rain. Rain all day.
When I heard the rain start. Well it was sort of a resignation to the inevitable. Got everyone out the house but since I wasn't heading out with them all for a change, everything kind of ground to a halt. It wasn't so bad that I made a second cup of coffee, but I did check out playingout.net and their video, read a few other bits, found the Moss book on Salt Sugar Fat (if it was the same price as the Obree kindle edition i'd have purchased it already). Read the HuffPo piece on Pandora's Lunchbox.
And whined on twitter about not wanting to ride in the rain.
And then is started DUMPING. Like raining HARD. Oof.
I checked the radar. Oh cool, yellow, orange and almost red precipitation on the map. Ain't that special.
But it was 42F, so, not cold. Or not THAT cold.
Eventually I got ready to go. let the dog out. packed up the bag, found my gloves, my shoes, my glasses... put the backpack in the trailer... and the rain had let up a little. Nice.
But still raining.
Finally out the door. Late, but moving.
Mentally I'd sort of prepared to ride in today, NOAA suggested it would be 35-37 degrees and raining to start the day, only warming to the low 40s by the ride home and rain. Rain all day.
When I heard the rain start. Well it was sort of a resignation to the inevitable. Got everyone out the house but since I wasn't heading out with them all for a change, everything kind of ground to a halt. It wasn't so bad that I made a second cup of coffee, but I did check out playingout.net and their video, read a few other bits, found the Moss book on Salt Sugar Fat (if it was the same price as the Obree kindle edition i'd have purchased it already). Read the HuffPo piece on Pandora's Lunchbox.
And whined on twitter about not wanting to ride in the rain.
And then is started DUMPING. Like raining HARD. Oof.
I checked the radar. Oh cool, yellow, orange and almost red precipitation on the map. Ain't that special.
But it was 42F, so, not cold. Or not THAT cold.
Eventually I got ready to go. let the dog out. packed up the bag, found my gloves, my shoes, my glasses... put the backpack in the trailer... and the rain had let up a little. Nice.
But still raining.
Finally out the door. Late, but moving.
Image of the day
Not mine though so does it count?
I grabbed a pile of shots this morning. Was raining, really struggled getting out the door. Finally did. One of the more awesome rides in a very long time.
Anyway.... the image:
I grabbed a pile of shots this morning. Was raining, really struggled getting out the door. Finally did. One of the more awesome rides in a very long time.
Anyway.... the image:
A-frame near Pearl Pass Basin, Colorado.
Submitted by Jake Marty.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
an honest commercial?
Yeah it might not last up that long... snag it on YTD or something or just watch it now.
Olive oil and Nuts
ScienceNow posted a link to the study yesterday and the NYtimes did a bit of story telling and then gave a voice to a crackpot who's got a fiscal interest in this study being bad data.
The list of plant based oils to avoid:
Canola (at all costs)
Corn (duh)
Soy (again, duh)
"vegetable" is usually a mix of the second two
Or not. Doesn't really matter anyway. We're all going to die at some point. Who cares when that happens... not like we have control on this crazy ride called life.
Let go of the wheel and see where you wind up...
The list of plant based oils to avoid:
Canola (at all costs)
Corn (duh)
Soy (again, duh)
"vegetable" is usually a mix of the second two
Or not. Doesn't really matter anyway. We're all going to die at some point. Who cares when that happens... not like we have control on this crazy ride called life.
Let go of the wheel and see where you wind up...
Of course the weather is close to ideal
Yesterday and Today, weather as good as we can expect for the middle of February.
And I'm in the car.
Tomorrow I might get on the bike, and tomorrow looks kind of sucky.
Bike path is totally ridable from my place to the end, no need to jump out onto the Parkway for the final section.
No riding... oh well.
It is what it is.
And I'm in the car.
Tomorrow I might get on the bike, and tomorrow looks kind of sucky.
Bike path is totally ridable from my place to the end, no need to jump out onto the Parkway for the final section.
No riding... oh well.
It is what it is.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Perspective
Give this a read: http://richardfries.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-firefly-can-light-up-darkest-month.html
No Words.
Respect.
heddwch
G
No Words.
Respect.
heddwch
G
Waffles Yeast new recipe
The waffles, mostly for Dean, he asked about the recipe.
The basics:
3 cups whole wheat flour,
1 cup white flour
3 teaspoons Instant Yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon molassas
3 cups milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter
Mix dry ingredients together.
Melt butter
Warm milk with sugar and molassas to 120°F (mix until sugar is dissolved)
Mix milk into dry ingredients.
Mix in butter,
beat eggs, finally incorporate them into mix
Once well mixed cover in a bowl big enough to allow it to rise. Give it an hour or two at Room Temp then put it in the fridge for the night (covered).
Remove and allow to warm up, make waffles.
I used half a batch on Sat morning and the second half on sunday morning. The waffles were tangier on Sunday AM. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter but not bread dough thick. The thinner the batter often the lighter the waffles.
These were esp good. Not sure I want to tweak the batter too much. But if I find a distinctly different recipe I might try it...
This morning was a french toast made with one of the circle pastries from last week, it was getting crusty and dry, perfect for soaking up eggs and milk.
heddwch and bwyta'n dda
G
The basics:
3 cups whole wheat flour,
1 cup white flour
3 teaspoons Instant Yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon molassas
3 cups milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter
Mix dry ingredients together.
Melt butter
Warm milk with sugar and molassas to 120°F (mix until sugar is dissolved)
Mix milk into dry ingredients.
Mix in butter,
beat eggs, finally incorporate them into mix
Once well mixed cover in a bowl big enough to allow it to rise. Give it an hour or two at Room Temp then put it in the fridge for the night (covered).
Remove and allow to warm up, make waffles.
I used half a batch on Sat morning and the second half on sunday morning. The waffles were tangier on Sunday AM. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter but not bread dough thick. The thinner the batter often the lighter the waffles.
These were esp good. Not sure I want to tweak the batter too much. But if I find a distinctly different recipe I might try it...
This morning was a french toast made with one of the circle pastries from last week, it was getting crusty and dry, perfect for soaking up eggs and milk.
heddwch and bwyta'n dda
G
Thursday, February 21, 2013
evolutionary selection
So where do we go from here.
Food is innate. Can you go anywhere w/o being bombarded by advertising? I'll check into Faceplace once or twice a day maybe at most and more often than not lately there is a promoted McDonalds add on the 'wall' with a big picture and a catchy slogan. And it does nothing more than make me upset. Sure I had a few burgers now and then in the past. My mother would stop on the way home on rare occasions to the McDonalds on 6th ave just before the Narrows Bridge in the 70s. She would get a Big Mac, remove the center bun... I think I got a cheese burger. We always got milk, even she got milk with it. Never soda. It was a different place then but not really. Even in the 70s the flavors were already crafted and honed and it imprinted on me. None of the other fast foods made an impression, and it sort of bugs me in a way. Coke is the same way. Can't tell you why, because we never had soda growing up. But at some time by middle school I was already imprinted to the point where I couldn't stand the taste of Pepsi but Coke was great. Still even though I haven't eaten at a McDonalds in 8 years at all, and rarely in the handful of years before, haven't had anything more than the very occasional coke in the same time span, i know the flavors. They are in my brain. I don't like it but i recognize it and deal with it.
I wish I had done more than recognize the damage those 'brands' were doing much sooner than I did. I feel like a smoker in a way, sure it will probably kill me but who cares, this stuff is amazing. That's a mental mindset that feeds you into the control of the corporate machine. I know Solobreak and Closethedoor like to bust my balls on the exploitation thing, but yeah, exploiting the market and the weakness of the human species. Ultimate unsustainable business model: create a product that kills your customers slowly enough that they give you a massive amount of their money, make it addictive enough that they won't stop even if they realize the intent, and make it so habit forming that their offspring a drawn into the cycle perpetuating the cashflow generation after generation.
from my untrained (in sociology) view we are hitting now the 3rd generation of humans under this control. The testing ground is the USA, and many markets aren't quite on the 3rd generation. The tobacco industry had a much longer headstart and many generations before. Potentially we're looking at the same model. Although with the vastly larger global population the cash flow is higher and the curve is steeper. The breaking point will probably come much sooner for food industry than it did for the Tobacco industry. And yes, you can still buy cigarettes and they are still hella profitable, but no where near where they were before.
Broken record GeWilli. Shut up already. Yeah yeah. Here's the thing. I would like it if my friends wised up, I would like it they would all recognize the competitive advantage of not eating that shit, and the evolutionary power of teaching your kids to avoid the stuff. The kids imprint off you, and if you don't have kids? Well shit, i don't want you to die too soon. Like Nick the Dick I have a pretty bad mortality concept. I'm also fortunate to have my parents and my wife's parents all in good health. direct family is doing well. My Father's mother is turning 100 on the 25th, and her life has been full and still continues to be good for her.
Why go on about this? The NYTimes magazine piece. Yes, nothing new, but always good to read and get a new perspective and maybe begin to effect a change.
To be honest it wasn't just that, I read it and felt sad and angry, frustrated and what not. Resultboy's initial comment didn't make much sense to me but then his rephrasal helped (first comment below) and Cosmo followed up with a refinement and a seed that grew into this vomiting of words in a place that hopefully those who reading it will be more of a preaching to the choir, than shouting from the street corner.
our new predators are corporations. if only they could kill us before we reproduced, we could finally start evolving again...
and
Rejoice in the competitive advantage of realizing/avoiding the tricks of Big Food. Also, c.f. the Marshmallow Study.
heddwch, bwyta'n dda
G
Food is innate. Can you go anywhere w/o being bombarded by advertising? I'll check into Faceplace once or twice a day maybe at most and more often than not lately there is a promoted McDonalds add on the 'wall' with a big picture and a catchy slogan. And it does nothing more than make me upset. Sure I had a few burgers now and then in the past. My mother would stop on the way home on rare occasions to the McDonalds on 6th ave just before the Narrows Bridge in the 70s. She would get a Big Mac, remove the center bun... I think I got a cheese burger. We always got milk, even she got milk with it. Never soda. It was a different place then but not really. Even in the 70s the flavors were already crafted and honed and it imprinted on me. None of the other fast foods made an impression, and it sort of bugs me in a way. Coke is the same way. Can't tell you why, because we never had soda growing up. But at some time by middle school I was already imprinted to the point where I couldn't stand the taste of Pepsi but Coke was great. Still even though I haven't eaten at a McDonalds in 8 years at all, and rarely in the handful of years before, haven't had anything more than the very occasional coke in the same time span, i know the flavors. They are in my brain. I don't like it but i recognize it and deal with it.
I wish I had done more than recognize the damage those 'brands' were doing much sooner than I did. I feel like a smoker in a way, sure it will probably kill me but who cares, this stuff is amazing. That's a mental mindset that feeds you into the control of the corporate machine. I know Solobreak and Closethedoor like to bust my balls on the exploitation thing, but yeah, exploiting the market and the weakness of the human species. Ultimate unsustainable business model: create a product that kills your customers slowly enough that they give you a massive amount of their money, make it addictive enough that they won't stop even if they realize the intent, and make it so habit forming that their offspring a drawn into the cycle perpetuating the cashflow generation after generation.
from my untrained (in sociology) view we are hitting now the 3rd generation of humans under this control. The testing ground is the USA, and many markets aren't quite on the 3rd generation. The tobacco industry had a much longer headstart and many generations before. Potentially we're looking at the same model. Although with the vastly larger global population the cash flow is higher and the curve is steeper. The breaking point will probably come much sooner for food industry than it did for the Tobacco industry. And yes, you can still buy cigarettes and they are still hella profitable, but no where near where they were before.
Broken record GeWilli. Shut up already. Yeah yeah. Here's the thing. I would like it if my friends wised up, I would like it they would all recognize the competitive advantage of not eating that shit, and the evolutionary power of teaching your kids to avoid the stuff. The kids imprint off you, and if you don't have kids? Well shit, i don't want you to die too soon. Like Nick the Dick I have a pretty bad mortality concept. I'm also fortunate to have my parents and my wife's parents all in good health. direct family is doing well. My Father's mother is turning 100 on the 25th, and her life has been full and still continues to be good for her.
Why go on about this? The NYTimes magazine piece. Yes, nothing new, but always good to read and get a new perspective and maybe begin to effect a change.
To be honest it wasn't just that, I read it and felt sad and angry, frustrated and what not. Resultboy's initial comment didn't make much sense to me but then his rephrasal helped (first comment below) and Cosmo followed up with a refinement and a seed that grew into this vomiting of words in a place that hopefully those who reading it will be more of a preaching to the choir, than shouting from the street corner.
our new predators are corporations. if only they could kill us before we reproduced, we could finally start evolving again...
and
Rejoice in the competitive advantage of realizing/avoiding the tricks of Big Food. Also, c.f. the Marshmallow Study.
heddwch, bwyta'n dda
G
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Food... and food memories
Some crazy jackass on twitter started talking about Pierogi... and that lead me to day dream about the Festivals in Seattle we went to, University Street Fair, Bumbershoot, Folklife, Edmonds... those were the big ones but the food truck was always there, and invariably food would come down to two choices, an asian noodle dish (wasn't pad thai or low mein but somewhat between from memory, i can picture it, but not the name) and a Piroshki from the Kaleenka truck. Beef and Cheddar.
perfectly round balls of dough, filled with a scoop of ground beef and a square of cheddar cheese, and fried. Probably not the best food to eat every day, but a couple times a year, what a treat. Crisp but not too hard on the outside, soft warm dough and the cheese and meat intermingling in a very pleasing way. So good.
So good.
http://www.kaleenkapiroshky.com/
The Red Cossack- Boiled new red potatoes and sausage with lemon, parsley and dill sauce, was good too, actually got that a few times, once ages ago I think they even gave me a plate of it (being a booth kid and there at every festival every day, every year, and being somewhat distinctive: tall skinny, shockingly blond and pale) once probably because I only ever ordered the Piroshkys, and then I got it a few more times, Because that dill sauce and the sausage and potatoes were so good.
Yesterday I pulled a typical GeWilli. Had coffee for breakfast, dragged the trailer in (only one rock and a backpack - not too heavy), ate lunch, not quite enough lunch, was famished when I started eating it... and by 3:30 i was super hungry again, was working till about 5, hauled the trailer home into a 15-20 mph headwind over the road which adds a not-insignificant long hill to the commute on no fuel. didn't bonk, so I guess I was just feeling hungry more than being depleted.
And found this waiting at home:
And I ate a few of the pastries. Not quite seasonal, in that I think they are more Christmas Holiday pastries but hey, I'm not so set on tradition that I won't eat super yummy stuff year round.
Was so good.
Having a few of them this morning with coffee after the bumpy ride in over the bike path ice. Portaging over twisted downed trees. One of the limb debris ripped my rear fender off unfortunately. So I'm down a fender. Those SKS quick release things look pretty damn nice, I wish the Planet Bike stuff had something similar. As it is now I might be able to make it work but they are pretty damn twisted and mangled. A small price to pay to not have to ride with the 3000# death machines.
http://iamtraffic.org/
has a kick ass graphic up on Faceplace that is making the rounds. so good.
hot linking to the image
Be safe out there.
I'm going to eat some more pastries.
heddwch
G
perfectly round balls of dough, filled with a scoop of ground beef and a square of cheddar cheese, and fried. Probably not the best food to eat every day, but a couple times a year, what a treat. Crisp but not too hard on the outside, soft warm dough and the cheese and meat intermingling in a very pleasing way. So good.
So good.
http://www.kaleenkapiroshky.com/
The Red Cossack- Boiled new red potatoes and sausage with lemon, parsley and dill sauce, was good too, actually got that a few times, once ages ago I think they even gave me a plate of it (being a booth kid and there at every festival every day, every year, and being somewhat distinctive: tall skinny, shockingly blond and pale) once probably because I only ever ordered the Piroshkys, and then I got it a few more times, Because that dill sauce and the sausage and potatoes were so good.
Yesterday I pulled a typical GeWilli. Had coffee for breakfast, dragged the trailer in (only one rock and a backpack - not too heavy), ate lunch, not quite enough lunch, was famished when I started eating it... and by 3:30 i was super hungry again, was working till about 5, hauled the trailer home into a 15-20 mph headwind over the road which adds a not-insignificant long hill to the commute on no fuel. didn't bonk, so I guess I was just feeling hungry more than being depleted.
And found this waiting at home:
And I ate a few of the pastries. Not quite seasonal, in that I think they are more Christmas Holiday pastries but hey, I'm not so set on tradition that I won't eat super yummy stuff year round.
Was so good.
Having a few of them this morning with coffee after the bumpy ride in over the bike path ice. Portaging over twisted downed trees. One of the limb debris ripped my rear fender off unfortunately. So I'm down a fender. Those SKS quick release things look pretty damn nice, I wish the Planet Bike stuff had something similar. As it is now I might be able to make it work but they are pretty damn twisted and mangled. A small price to pay to not have to ride with the 3000# death machines.
http://iamtraffic.org/
has a kick ass graphic up on Faceplace that is making the rounds. so good.
hot linking to the image
Be safe out there.
I'm going to eat some more pastries.
heddwch
G
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Post Blazilla AM Commute report
That was an interesting commute.
We've got snow clearing equipment in this region. But the last time they saw this much snow at once was '78. Can't really fault the govt for not having huge snow moving equipment like they do where this much snow is more than an annual occurrence.
The roads are f'd. Bottom line. One road with two lanes in each direction is perfect for the bike. The right lane is only half plowed. Not wide enough for a car. But good for me.
other places the normally wide shouldered roads are extra narrow.
And the big city? One of the busiest streets still has 8" of salt slush.
Oh and there was some light freezing rain on the way in to add to the mix.
All in all, one honk (I think it was a friendly can i get around), one really close call (fat bald 40-50 something dude driving a massive american sedan pretty deliberately left me no space - despite no on-coming traffic), one pick up truck w/o cap middle finger (section of road where it was narrower than normal).
I'm sure they all think i'm insane dragging a kid in a trailer (no kid in trailer, just backpack and ballast rock).
It did nearly flip a half dozen times hitting chunks of ice. Needed more ballast weight. As cool as it is to do the Dukes of Hazzard with the trailer, that thing is top heavy and flips way too easily.
The ride home should be great. Esp since we're supposed to get a huge pile of rain. And there ain't no where for the water to go.
We've got snow clearing equipment in this region. But the last time they saw this much snow at once was '78. Can't really fault the govt for not having huge snow moving equipment like they do where this much snow is more than an annual occurrence.
The roads are f'd. Bottom line. One road with two lanes in each direction is perfect for the bike. The right lane is only half plowed. Not wide enough for a car. But good for me.
other places the normally wide shouldered roads are extra narrow.
And the big city? One of the busiest streets still has 8" of salt slush.
Oh and there was some light freezing rain on the way in to add to the mix.
All in all, one honk (I think it was a friendly can i get around), one really close call (fat bald 40-50 something dude driving a massive american sedan pretty deliberately left me no space - despite no on-coming traffic), one pick up truck w/o cap middle finger (section of road where it was narrower than normal).
I'm sure they all think i'm insane dragging a kid in a trailer (no kid in trailer, just backpack and ballast rock).
It did nearly flip a half dozen times hitting chunks of ice. Needed more ballast weight. As cool as it is to do the Dukes of Hazzard with the trailer, that thing is top heavy and flips way too easily.
The ride home should be great. Esp since we're supposed to get a huge pile of rain. And there ain't no where for the water to go.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
idea for article
that i will never write because I'm too lazy or busy or not fiscally motivated enough to make it happen
to the point
Someone made a comment about being unwelcome in bike shops in their region and how they have had to resort to mail order... person is a functional mechanic, does most all themselves on their bikes.
I don't know why, could be the individual is just unlikeable or a real pain... However they might not be and well shop rats are a peculiar bunch. Riding in I was thinking about it (while chasing backpack guy - actually caught him despite hauling the trailer/impact attenuator and having studded tires back on).
I've spent many years holding wrench, helping on the sales floor, not just ancient history either. I started getting paid to wrench back in 1990. Recently have spent a couple seasons again working a second job with a wrench in my hand. The current time has reinforced, nothing really has changed except the bikes.
People are still people.
Thing is, there are plenty of people who think they know more about how to do it than the person behind the counter. Just take a peek at the internet forums. Always has been that way. rec.bikes predates all the forums, that's probably the start of the internet know it all. And sure there are times when the customer might know more than the mechanic or sales person.
But here's the deal. That person at the shop? working there? getting paid somewhere between $6 and $12/hr? Yeah, they work there. Don't be a know it all dick. They aren't getting paid enough to be polite if you're badgering them, unless they own the joint, and even then, even the owners will act like the shop rats.
Don't ask for free shit, be prepared to pay for something.
anyway
yeah the analogy is sort of don't start telling your surgeon what to do just before you get gassed, maybe you are the best surgeon in the world and you need the other dude to do it, even then, let them do their job.
Problem is, everyone feels entitled to everything. People are a pain.
Common sense and respect are a rare commodity.
That and pretty much everyone reading this doesn't need to hear it.
I'll write about worlds... at some point. Maybe.
heddwch
G
to the point
Someone made a comment about being unwelcome in bike shops in their region and how they have had to resort to mail order... person is a functional mechanic, does most all themselves on their bikes.
I don't know why, could be the individual is just unlikeable or a real pain... However they might not be and well shop rats are a peculiar bunch. Riding in I was thinking about it (while chasing backpack guy - actually caught him despite hauling the trailer/impact attenuator and having studded tires back on).
I've spent many years holding wrench, helping on the sales floor, not just ancient history either. I started getting paid to wrench back in 1990. Recently have spent a couple seasons again working a second job with a wrench in my hand. The current time has reinforced, nothing really has changed except the bikes.
People are still people.
Thing is, there are plenty of people who think they know more about how to do it than the person behind the counter. Just take a peek at the internet forums. Always has been that way. rec.bikes predates all the forums, that's probably the start of the internet know it all. And sure there are times when the customer might know more than the mechanic or sales person.
But here's the deal. That person at the shop? working there? getting paid somewhere between $6 and $12/hr? Yeah, they work there. Don't be a know it all dick. They aren't getting paid enough to be polite if you're badgering them, unless they own the joint, and even then, even the owners will act like the shop rats.
Don't ask for free shit, be prepared to pay for something.
anyway
yeah the analogy is sort of don't start telling your surgeon what to do just before you get gassed, maybe you are the best surgeon in the world and you need the other dude to do it, even then, let them do their job.
Problem is, everyone feels entitled to everything. People are a pain.
Common sense and respect are a rare commodity.
That and pretty much everyone reading this doesn't need to hear it.
I'll write about worlds... at some point. Maybe.
heddwch
G
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Last lap..
Found him.
The guy in the orange jumpsuit was hanging out at that corner with the megaphone making lots of noise. It was deafening when EVERYONE came through. Even the last guy.
It was really really amazing
http://youtu.be/ljTlCPfzj-4?t=3m21s
cued up there at the spot where i'm in the video. Check out the whole lap. The camera angles made some of the most difficult features look easy.
The guy in the orange jumpsuit was hanging out at that corner with the megaphone making lots of noise. It was deafening when EVERYONE came through. Even the last guy.
It was really really amazing
http://youtu.be/ljTlCPfzj-4?t=3m21s
cued up there at the spot where i'm in the video. Check out the whole lap. The camera angles made some of the most difficult features look easy.
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