psychedelicbike
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "psychedelicbike" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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11:04 am
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10:17 am
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Mad props to Annie Lennox
for understanding what allowing others to use your copyrighted creations can do for you.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/07/30/annie-lennox-gives-h.html
She provided her multi-track masters to mashup artist DJ Earworm, and the above video was the result.
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11:49 am
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Dear self,
Yes, you did have access to a half-pound box of nerds last night. I request that in the future, you attempt to exercise some form of restraint. Though we both enjoyed consuming all of that sugar and citric acid, the ensuing stomach cramps detracted from the experience slightly.
Please note, I'm not requesting that you give up candy altogehter. Far from it, in fact. Just recognize that when it starts to get difficult to shove more into your cavernous maw, it may be time to put the box aside. Keep in mind that, since said candy contained red food colouring, there was zero risk of it being consumed by the other human resident of the house.
Sincerely,
Me.
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10:02 am
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Just the right amount of sore in my muscles
You know that feeling, when your calves are just tight enough to feel like stretched rubber bands. When there's just enough ache in your shoulders to remind you of the fun things you were doing that resulted in said ache.
The shoulders, I'm pretty sure, are from katana drills. The legs, from running on sand yesterday, and epic dives to catch frisbees.
I'm going to relish these aches for the rest of the day.
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11:10 am
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Tour de Grand Update
http://www.cambridgetourdegrand.com/
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) moonlight_mile and I will be riding the 25km route, starting at 10am, on Sunday, June 14th. Any and all people who want to join us, please register online and let us know, so we can figure out where to meet before the ride.
I'll be riding down to Cambridge as well, if there are any masochists amongst you who want a total of about 75km of riding for the day.
PS - the registration form notes that helmets are mandatory for the event.
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04:12 pm
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Tour de Grand
Anyone out there want to go on a bike ride?
The Tour de Grand is happening Sunday June 14, and I'd love a cycling companion. $15 gets you in, gets you a t-shirt if you're amongst the first 600 registrants (still not sold out yet), gets you race support (sag wagon, etc), and, apparently, lunch.
Ride lengths of 10, 15, 25, 50, 60, 72, 100 and 160km. I'm game for distances of up to 100km, since I figure I'll have to ride down to Cambridge to start.
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11:55 am
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Enviromomentalism
Hey! There's flyers at work! Flyers!
The PeakSaver program is being supported by Kitchener Wilmot Hydro, and Waterloo North Hydro (and Guelph Hydro, and probably others, too).
The hydro company will (for free) install a $250 programmable thermostat in your home, AND give you $25 bucks, if:
o You have central air conditioning
o You give them permission to cycle down your thermostat by 2C during critical peak-use periods
As a side benefit, you also get internet control of your thermostat (apparently).
http://everykilowattcounts.ca
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03:30 pm
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KWLT officially announces new One-Acts Location
We have a new performance location for the May One Acts! Instead of being performed in the St. Jacobs Church Theatre, they will be performed on the Waterloo Stage in Uptown Waterloo.
The Waterloo Stage can be found at 24 King St. North in Uptown Waterloo, on King St between Erb and Dupont.
Click here for directions (Google Maps)
PERFORMANCES:
* Thursday, May 28 at 8pm
* Friday, May 29 at 8pm
* Saturday, May 30 - Special matinée at 2pm
* Saturday, May 30 at 8pm
Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. You can also buy a special membership combo at the door: for $25 you get a full year’s membership and entry into the show.
FEATURING:
The Stranger Beside You
Letting Go
The Linen Letter
Written by Sandee Lovas, directed by Sandee Lovas and Kevin S. Magri
All in Disguise
Written by Gene Traylor and James Michael Elrod directed byAdam Cyr
Vic Diver Private Detective
Written and directed by Jean-Paul Yovanoff
Another Swing Night in the City Shallows
Dave's Choice
Written by Logan C. Fellows and directed by Andrew S. Harris
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02:41 pm
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Music at Work
Dear livejournal,
I am a cheap bastard. And I want to listen to music at work. I have (nearly) full access to this wonderful data repository call "the Internet." The Internet is a series of tubes that can deliver content directly to my desk, unless the tubes get clogged (or contain pornography, but that's more a function of the gatekeeper to our LAN. He won't let past pictures that can't answer his questions three).
Anyway, the salient points here are:
o I want to listen to music at work
o I'm a cheap bastard
Are there any ad-supported sites similar to last.fm where you can automagically build a library of songs you like as you listen to them? Failing that, are there any good internet radio stations that are free to listen?
I'm looking for brainless music here. Something to fill the empty space that is generated in my head while I toil away at my desk.
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09:42 am
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Acksellerashun! I haz it!
Whee! My new speed struts are awesome!
Now that they're installed on my bike, I don't have any fears of the seat collapsing if I push back on it. That's an integral part of being able to use the full power of my quad muscles to accelerate off a stop light. Prior to this, I had to use my hammies and pull on the pedals to accelerate, lest I risk catastrophic seat failure.
Damn, does being able to push on the seat back ever make a difference. Once again I'm traveling 30kph before I leave the other side of the intersection. The whole bike just feels more responsive, and fun to ride.
There is no emoticon large enough for the joy that I'm feeling :D
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04:28 pm
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K-W Rapid Transit
For those that don't see it elsewhere, the report on the preferred rapid transit system for the Waterloo Region is now available online:
http://rapidtransit.region.waterloo.on.ca/pdfs/E-09-056_PREFERRED_RAPID_TRANSIT_SYSTEM2.pdf
Short story:
LRT. A staged implementation that starts with:
o LRT from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall
o aBRT from Fairview Park Mall to Ainslie St. Terminal
o Express bus service to high-volume destinations (like Conestoga College)
o Re-aligned GRT service for better connection to the RT spine along primary feeder corridors
o Connections to inter-city public transit (bus terminal, GO trains, GO buses, VIA station)
I could not derive from the report what the proposed LRT route is, unfortunately. I think that's buried a couple of layers deep.
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08:26 pm
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Sharing the Road
is the current segment on The Agenda:
http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=7&bpn=779507&ts=2009-05-07%2020:00:35.0
I disagree with the Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union.
Her position is that bicycles are better than cars because (among other things) they don't get stuck in traffic. Also, that dedicated bike lanes are the optimum solution to get more cyclists on the road and make them feel more comfortable.
Number one, if a cyclist in heavy traffic is not being slowed down by the heavy traffic, that means they are travelling faster than the traffic, between cars that are stopped. The most common form of this is bikes travelling up the right hand side of the road, beside a lineup of cars stopped at a red light.
To me, this is an especially bad idea, as the number of motorists that actually perform a shoulder check every time before turning right can probably be counted on the fingers of a leper. Seriously. I drive cars as well, and I know that I don't shoulder-check before turning right, unless I've passed a cyclist or jogger on the sidewalk, and know that they are there and travelling at higher speeds than a walker.
My personal opinion is that a cyclist is safest when they (as much as possible) act just like a car. Yes, a cyclist is more manoeverable than a car. Yes, they can hop onto the sidewalk to get around obstacles (sometimes). However, a cyclist can only avoid obstacles that they recognize. By riding in a predictable manner, motorists that the cyclist does not see (on side streets, or behind them, or wherever) can more accurately predict what the cyclist will do. This is the number one reason to ride on the road, in a lane of traffic, with traffic.
Two - she feels that dedicated bike lanes are the best way to make cyclists more comfortable on the road, and to increase bike ridership. This may be true, but I feel less safe riding in a bike lane. The top three collision situations between adult cyclists and automobiles in cities are:
1. motorists turning left
2. signal lights changing (running lights?)
3. motorists turning right
My opinion is that a cyclist in a bike lane is something that is easier for a motorist to ignore. They don't have to take any special action in order to pass the cyclist, so the cyclists are less prominent in their sphere of consciousness, and more likely to be right-hooked.
In addition, my experience with bike lanes is that their maintenance is terrible. Almost universally in this city, bike lanes are full of storm drains, potholes, loose gravel, and broken glass. I wouldn't ride in them even if it was the law that I had to. And many motorists believe that, according to the law, it is mandated that I ride in the bike lanes. This is far from the truth. The actual wording of the Highway Traffic Act is that a cyclist should ride as far to the right "as practical." The MTO website, though, notes that a cyclist is entitled to as much of any lane of traffic as the cyclist deems necessary. And notes that under no circumstances should a cyclist sacrifice their own safety for the convenience of a motorist behind them.
I will admit that it takes a lot of chutzpah to get a bike into the middle of a lane in a heavily-trafficked road. And I will admit that having a space designated as exclusively for cyclists will make novice riders more comfortable. I just worry that said novice cyclists in said designated lanes will lead to more collisions. Ideally, I would like to see a significant amount of education, of both motorists and cyclists, to facilitate more reasonable road use by both parties.
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07:09 pm
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Dammit! I can't, I have rehearsal
Or, more properly, tech weekend.
May 23/24 is Doors Open Toronto, with 175 sites opening doors that are normally closed.
The U of T Robarts Tower (rare book library)
Don Valley Brick Works
Dozens of historical houses
Green roofs on MEC and Exhibition Place
Poop. Everyone else should plan to go, though.
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09:14 am
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By the screaming of my thighs
Hills are wicked exercise.
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09:29 pm
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Goodbye, crappy no dogs bylaw
It appears (from signage) that the City of Kitchener has changed their by-laws, and dogs are no longer prohibited in city cemeteries. Huzzah! Now the hundreds of people who walk their dogs in Mt. Hope each day are not breaking any laws. Finally.
I have been unable to find confirmation online, because the most up-to-date version of municipal code 210 (that deals with cemeteries) dates from 2004, when dogs were still prohibited.
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09:42 am
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Dayum, I lurve my new tires
Now that I'm not battling a 200 kt headwind, while desperately trying to avoid traffic in a raging blizzard, I'm able to assess the difference that my new tires make to the ride.
Some of you may remember my new tires. 20 x 1.125, rated for 125PSI. These are the tires that I was unable to use for months because Braun's kept giving me tubes that were too long for them. I finally did get an appropriately sized pair of tubes, but it was at the end of the season, so this week is the first time I've ridden on them.
And, as per the title, they feel freaking awesome. Skinny, rock-hard tires like those, and I feel like I could coast forever. When I get to work, I usually coast circles in the parking lot to kill speed, mostly to cool down and rest, but I figure it saves wear and tear on my brake pads too. This morning? I was circling for what seemed like 60 seconds. Around and around and around and around and around and I'm not slowing down yet and around and around . . .
Me likey.
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09:42 pm
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Free books! Downtown Kitchener!
I found a few boxes of abandoned books outside of Casablanca Books on King Street tonight (just across from the pub with the beach volleyball court). Granted, it's books that a used book store thinks they could never possibly sell, and I don't know how long they've been out there, so the pickings are pretty slim. However, I did manage to pick up a half-dozen pulps that look like they're going to be amusing reads, including:
The soul-chilling novel of gruesome horror from beyond the grave . . . The SURVIVOR
Heh.
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08:11 pm
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Plain potato chips? No dip?
No onion soup mix?
No problem!
I faced the above dilemma today, and did the following:
Take 1 cup sour cream
Add approx 2 tsp beef broth powder (or veggie beef broth powder)
Add approx 2 tsp onion powder
Add approx 3 shakes garlic powder
Stir
Enjoy your dip.
K says she's going to pick up some dehydrated onion chunks for the next time we do this. It's awesome, because making dip was the only thing that we kept onion soup mix in the house for. All of the ingredients listed above are what we consider to be pantry items, and are always on hand. Now we don't need to buy onion soup mix any more.
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01:37 am
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Dear Global Television,
Please be so kind as to suck my left nut. I've taken great pains to ensure that it is both hairy and sweaty, so it is currently in a prime state for your attentions.
This request brought to you by Global's unannounced movement of House from Tuesday at 8pm to (apparently) Wednesday at 10pm. WTF guys, WTF?
I honestly wouldn't mind so much if they'd give us some advanced warning. It reminds me of the time that the cancelled Scrubs with no warning, so they could air more shitty "reality" television shows.
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12:12 am
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Mystery Meal
The craving:
Leeks wrapped in ham, drenched in a rich cream sauce, covered with melted smoked gruyere.
The on-hand ingredients:
leeks (chopped into bite-sized bits)
potatoes (ditto on the chopping, skins on)
butter
flour
swiss cheese
vegetarian chicken broth
liquid smoke
wine vinegar
sour cream
salt & pepper to taste
The approach:
boil the leeks & potatoes (separately) until they are cooked. In salted water. Use the butter and flour to make a roux. Add the chicken broth to the roux to make gravy. Put the liquid smoke into the gravy, along with some sour cream to make it richer. Add wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss everything in an oven-safe casserole. Top with cheese. Bake until cheese is melty, house smells like a campfire, and you're too hungry to wait any more.
The results:
Too much gravy made for a more soup-like experience. But, it's strangely pleasant. Probably too heavy on the smoke this time. Really tasted like it could use some bacon. Deferred on account of a vegetarian spouse.
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