Commercial Content

So, if you scroll down and look to the right you'll see a thing from Amazon "What is it?" you may ask. It's a place for you to give me money. Just click it and give until it hurts. You can get one for your blog too. Since hardly anyone visits this blog, I don't expect this to allow my early retirement. I think it's kind of funny, actually. The commercialization of everything is so relentless. You probably heard about the British student that sold individual pixels on his website and raised over $1,000,000.00 for his tuition. I'm amazed by stuff like that. Selling pixels. Amazing. Anyway, I hope you get a laugh out of it.

I missed the State of the Union Address. I completely forgot about it. I really hate President Smirking Monkey but, I really hate missing this particular speech. I'm sure it was inspirational yet, cautionary. Optimistic yet, grave. Mostly, I'm sure it was pie-in-the-sky earwash. I'll read all about it in the morning.

In yesterday's posting I railed against Texas A&M regarding the 12TH Man thing. I mentioned "stupid cowboys". Oddly enough, I raved about a cowboy in the post previous to that. Let me just say, Yodeling Cowboys Good, Texas A&M Cowboys Bad! I apologize if I worried any of you into thinking I could be schizo.

The rain here has been relentless. I'm pretty damned tired of riding in the rain. But, nothing I can do about it. I'll just wait it out like everyone else.

GO SEAHAWKS!!

GW Bush is a Moron!!

Texas A&M, Kiss the Seattle 12TH Man's Ass!

Well, I guess everyone in Seattle has heard about the restraining order handed down by a Texas judge prohibiting the Seahawks from using the 12th Man thing commercially. So Texas A&M owns this and they don't want the Seahawks profiting from it. How incredibly fucking petulant! They've known about this for years but choose the week before the Superbowl to pull this shit! I think it's payback for being a liberal majority state! Stupid cowboy assholes! With any luck, a 9th Circuit Court judge will kill this off tomorrow. Stupid Texans!

Smoke Free Bars

Last Saturday night, January 21st, Me and Karla went to the Tractor to see Wylie and the Wild West. If you don't know who he is, hit the link below:

www.wylieww.com

He's a yodeling cowboy, the real thing. Has a horse ranch in southeastern Washington. He did the Yahoo! yodel. We've seen him 3 or 4 times. It's always a lot of fun. But, the best part was the lack of smoke. This was our first time out since the statewide indoor smoking ban took effect. It was so great! No noxious clouds of secondhand smoke, no need to shower after we got home, no stinking pile of clothes, no headache, no sore throat. We had cut way back on our live music at the clubs because it was so bad. No more! I just hope some of the bands we've missed will be coming around soon. Yahoo Hoooo!

GO SEAHAWKS!

Time to kick some Steeler Ass!

The Bridgestone Posters

Here they are, in all of their crappily photographed glory. Photos by me.

Unbelieveable

If you scroll down a bit you'll see me standing in front of the Bridgestone posters from the mid-90's. A couple of days ago, someone sold the "Horses" poster, that is obscured by my head, for $2025.00 on eBay. Incredible! I own valuable art! I never thought I'd see the day. I'll get pix of these posters on here soon.

Does the City of Seattle hate bicycles?

The question above is a legitimate one. Things keep happening that cause it to be asked. First, there is the re-routing of the Burke-Gilman Trail to accommodate construction going on around the Fremont Bridge. I understand the need to keep people out of the construction area. I sure don't want bricks or whatever falling on me. My problem is the detour we have been given. N 34th St is an extremely busy arterial, as any road leading to a bridge would be. The cars are jockeying for position, making turns, looking for parking, and generally people are careful and aware of the cyclists presence . Part of the problem is the road surface itself. The bike lane has many seams, potholes, and cracks in it. Lots of times you will see the riders swerve to avoid these obstacles. Sometimes the swerve will put the rider out into the street. Not good. The stretch from Stone Way to Phinney Ave is pretty well pock-marked by hazards for cyclists. These are almost all problems that wouldn't even cause a motorist to notice. Plenty of problems for people on bikes, though. Second, the City has decided, unilaterally, to have the Summer Nights concert series at Gasworks Park this year. I guess it wasn't unilaterally. A meeting was held, with 2 days notice, on Friday December 23rd. Sneaky, huh? What the hell are they smoking? There isn't much parking down there, access is not good even under normal conditions, any summer evening is crowded with cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. Off the trail, on Northlake Ave., there are the boaters that moor their boats at the marinas that dot the waters edge. Now add to this 3500 people (and their cars) that aren't familiar with the Trail or it's users and you have a recipe for trouble. What makes the City think 20 or so concerts will have little to no impact here? I predict cyclist/concert-goer collisions at each show. The concerns I give here are based only on my admittedly narrow focus as a cyclist that rides this stretch of trail on an almost daily basis. Other groups, like the neighborhood associations in the area, are already in an uproar about this and are making their concerns known. This is a bad idea that will be proven out if it goes ahead. Third, the City will be selling a piece of Metro property to developers along this now crazy stretch of of the BGT. I speak of the Metro Yard located at the corner of Northlake Place and Densmore Ave North. Neighborhood groups have expressed desire to use this space as a community center. But no, the Mayor has stated more than once this land is too valuable to remain in public hands. So... on the block it goes. Now, we will have additional construction going on here. Any guesses where the construction people will want to park their equipment? How about where the concert goers want to park. They will likely also want to close that part of the Trail to create a buffer zone. The cyclists will once again be detoured. Northlake Way is a real mess at this particular spot. Choppy pavement, railroad tracks, dirt, glass, and all of the other usual debris. I'm sure this will be the designated detour for trail users. Great. I know this all seems very pessimistic. It's just that every time these projects begin, the first ones to feel the impact are cyclists. How many times have the bikes lanes around town become parking for construction? Every time it's handy, that's how many. I don't get this. The City creates these trails and bike lanes to keep cyclists out of the way and then, closes the most popular and prettiest stretches for years at a time. Is it any wonder so many riders disregard traffic law? But all is not lost. We cyclists do have a voice in city government. His name is Pauh Wang. He's the Seattle Dept. of Transportation Liaison to Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. Follow this link to see the kind of work he does on our behalf. http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/sbab/about.asp I've known Pauh for about 5 years. He's a real cyclist, not some chairborne policy maker. Late last year I rode a stretch of the BGT pointing out some problems and potential problems. Pauh was very interested in what he was seeing and, in some cases, took on the spot action. Really impressive. Don't hesitate to get in touch with him with your concerns. www.pauh.wang.seattle.gov Hopefully this all won't turn out to be as bleak as it looks here. I guess we'll see.

A Touring Bike is not a Cyclocross Bike is not a Touring Bike

Cyclocross racing is quite popular here in the PNW. Lots of people see it as an ideal way to finish their racing season. After 'cross is over they use their race bike to commute on. 'Cross bikes are great short hop commuters. Fat tires, quick handling, burly frames, it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is to try and turn a 'cross bike into a serious touring rig. 'Cross races are, at most, an hour plus one lap. Not a whole lot of consideration goes into long distance comfort or stability with a load on these bikes. A touring bike has a lower bottom bracket (for stability), longer chainstays for greater heel clearance, a slew of frame fittings, and a more upright posture for the rider. Tourers are usually a bit heavier as well. Obviously, you can ride whatever you want. Just know that 'cross and touring are not the same thing.

Republican Criminals and their Christian Right Allies

The Hammer gets nailed! Tom Delay quits! More exclamation points!!!!! I hope this is the beginning of a Great Awakening. It appears the Reds are in full damage control mode. I just hope our boys and girls have the talent and courage to press the advantage. I mean, really go for the throats of the bullies and criminals that have taken over America. If things go the way I hope they will, the next President wil have to pardon Bush. I know, I know. But that's the way it is. My most fervent hope is that all of this will be remembered in November. Unfortunately, the Republicans run the media and I'm sure they'll find some other really important issue to divert the soft-headed members of the voting public. Why are there so many of these people, anyway? And who are they? Oh yeah, "Christians". Go forth and be fruitful. Can't these people see what's happening? Do they even care? Oh yeah, "The Afterlife". Intelligent design, my ass! It's okay to destroy the earth and every living thing on it because all of the "saved" people are going to heaven. I know that there are genuinely good people doing "God's work" I'm glad they're out there. It's the ones that twist the Bible to suit themselves that really piss me off. Pat Robertson, you are a sick, sick man. Please take yourself out. The sooner, the better. This is making my stomach hurt. Good night.March 3 2021. I am no longer an anti-Christian zealot. They were right all along and the Left is turning America into a Communist cesspool.

Behind me are the rare and beautiful Bridgestone posters from the mid-90's. They have spurred my interest in Japanese woodblock art. You should see the Hokusai calendar on the side of our 'fridge!