Good Blog

I have no idea who this is. I just like it a lot.
http://scrapola.blogspot.com/

Ahh... Fickle is the Weather

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday it was 73 and sunny, not much wind. Today, 44 and raining, light wind. It's truly amazing how quickly you can switch seasons around here.

Friday was just beautiful, really a perfect Seattle day. I'd spent most of the morning and part of Thursday evening cleaning and checking my bike. Shamefully, it's the first such inspection in a couple of months. It's been squeaking and creaking for the last couple of weeks. Cleaning, lubing and, tightening everything I could reach seemed to bring the noise down to a tolerable level.

My rear brake pads were pretty toasted , so I installed some new Swissstop brake pads in the rear. www.helvetiasports.com for info. We may carry them at the shop. I'll report about them soon. It looks like I'll need a new chain pretty quick. I've got an NOS Sachs SCM55 I'll use. I love finding stuff I've forgotten about. Being a packrat pays off sometimes.

It was the first ride this year that I'd ridden in summer kit. But, being a properly cautious rider, I packed along a vest, arm and knee warmers. No hat though. Talk about devil-may-care behaviour. I headed west around 1:30 and rode my big in-town loop. Shilshole, Ballard Locks, Discovery Park, Magnolia, Myrtle Edwards, under the Viaduct (yes, wrong way), Up Main St., to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and Museum. I stopped in and bought my 2006 National Parks Passport Stamps.

There are three or four things that mark the arrival of dependable,nicer weather to me:
1. I clean up my garage after a winter of carefully throwing stuff into it. I did that last week.
2. I give my main ride a thorough cleaning, put on the lighter wheels and, take off the serious lights. That was yesterday.
3. The wearing of summer kit. Also yesterday.
4. National parks Passport Stamps. Again, yesterday. Hit the link below: http://www.eparks.com/eparks/dept.asp?park=915&category=w
5. The announcement of the various summer concert series we have here. This year, the Summer Nights Concerts were cancelled due to poor planning by the City of Seattle. I covered that story on this very blog some months ago. However, the Zoo Tunes schedule will be announced on May 1st. It's already been made public that Doc Watson will be playing the Zoo sometime in July. I can't recall of ever hearing about him playing here before. We will be there for sure. I hope there are a bunch of good ones this year. We live a 10 minute ride from the Zoo. Love that in-town living.

So, it's all happening in a stretch of 10 days or so. I even welcome the first couple of bug inhalations of the year.

After I left Klondike (the smallest unit of the NPS), I headed over to Bikestation to see if Kent Peterson was there. I missed him the last couple of times I stopped in. Not today, lucky me! Kent welcomed me with a "Hello, Mr. President!" I waved to everyone that looked up. In a presidential manner, I hope. We chatted about lots of things: riding, politics, Pioneer Square, work. Common talk around here.

After about a half hour of talking to me, Kent's work day ended and we took off together. I was headed to Seward Park and he was headed home to Issaquah. We rode through the chaos of the International District and the heavy traffic headed towards the freeway on Dearborn. Once we passed under I-5, the traffic thinned a little. We were bracing for the sprint at Rainier Ave., when I looked across the street and saw the craziest thing. It was an electric vehicle that looked like a 1/3 scale version of a Hummer. At first I thought "How stupid." Then I thought about it a second longer and decided it was brilliant! A truly useful little truck. It cost around $20K. Here is yet another link: www.mcev.biz
These vehicles are the future. I just wish it would hurry up.

To the right we get a nice shot of Kent, the vehicle, my bike, and beautiful South Dearborn St.

The guy running the place is Steve Mayeda. He was very welcoming and quite enthused about what he was doing.
They're at 1200 S. Dearborn 206/328-1750.

Back into traffic after a few minutes, just in time to get the full length signal at Dearborn and Rainier. We mused on how often we don't catch this light. It's one of the worst lights in town. And we're right in the middle of it. Sucking up all that lovely exhaust, cars speeding by at 40 MPH. The funny thing is, as soon as you cross Rainier, you're in a very light traffic area. It's like going from rapids into an eddy. We rode up and over the hill towards MLK Way and the tunnel under Mt. Baker. On the other side we talked for another 10 minutes and said our goodbyes. I hadn't ridden with Kent in some time and this time was far too short.

Kent went to cross I-90 and I headed south. It was a lovely spin down to Seward Park, aided by a light tailwind. I rode around the peninsula the Park occupies and headed back the way I came. On longer days I'll usually continue south around the south end of Lake Washington. But, it was already late. So, north I went.

A little headwind now. It can't all be wine and roses, I guess. Still very agreeable riding.

I headed for the shop. My saddle or seatpost had begun to creak and it was making me nuts. Disturbing my revelry. raining on my parade, crying in my cereal. It was creaking really loudly! I got to the shop. It was kinda busy. I went the back bench and pulled my seatpost. Drizabone, as the Aussies would say. A bit of grease and problem solved. Out the door I went.

I took the long way home from the shop. This is about a 15 mile meander around North Capitol Hill, South Lake Union, Fremont and all of the way back to Shilshole and up Sunset Hill. I got home around 8. As I was coming in the back door, Karla was coming in the front. Normally, Friday night is date night for us ands we hit happy hour and have dinner somewhere. Too late tonight. We were both pooped anyway. Besides, we usually do something fun on Saturday.....

Like sleep late. Which I did. Karla got up and had breakfast with friends at 6:30. Madness. So when she got back at 8, she got back in bed. We both got up at 9:30. And no plans at all. It looked like rain. It was cold. by noon it had begun to rain. Hard. It was 45-50 degrees at most. Couldn't be more different from yesterday.

We spent most of the morning looking at cars online. Mostly Subarus and Hondas. The time is near. I welcome and dread a new car. It's nice not having car payments. But, it would also be nice having dependable, capable transportation. I marvel that Kent and his family have been carless for a long time. We've settled on a couple of different cars. Honda Element, Subaru Forester and, if money were no object, Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Now we just have to see how much we can afford. And try not to get totally screwed in the process.

After an exhausting morning of Googling cars, we went out for lunch. We went to the Brooklyn Grinder on University Way. This place has awesome sandwiches. The hot turkey and gravy sandwich on a cold and rainy day is perfect. Go soon.

We decided to head home in a roundabout sort of way. Out to Sand Point and up through View Ridge, Ravenna and Maple Leaf. When we turned for home I aimed for a gas station. Arco on 145th and Greenwood had regular for $2.97. Wow! I haven't pumped gas for a few months. You hear talk but if you don't do it yourself, I don't think you get the full impact. It was the shittiest use of $40.00 I could think of.

We got home around 3:30 and have been loitering around the house ever since. If you've read this whole thing, thank you. For whatever reason, I felt I needed to get this down. It sounds a lot duller than it was. It's really my typical weekend. I had a good time.

Nitto Light Mount

This is the Nitto Light Mount. It replaces the nut on the non-lever side of your quick release. I can't believe no one thought of this before now. Leave it to Nitto to solve a problem so simply. I had my light set up in about 5 minutes. It's far cleaner than any other mount I've seen aside from rack mounting. This mount puts the light a lot closer to the road than any rack mount I'm aware of. The Nitto is super clean looking and I couldn't be happier. The Minoura mount it replaced is for sale. It worked great. I just didn't like the looks. Search for Minoura Besso at www.nashbar.com Come by the shop with 5 bucks cash and you can have it.


The light on the left side of the bike is the Reelight. Made by a Danish company.
www.reelight.com The light is provided by LED's that are powered by magnets attached to the spokes. They are very effective markers that are always there. I met the woman that runs the company, Marianne Sodlund. She just showed up at the shop one day last week.Turns out her son goes to UW. He knew the shop and gave us the thumbs up after I'd contacted his mother. Small world. Come by the shop if you're interested. We have two sets for sale.

Saturday Find

Today was the annual Greenwood Garage Sale. This is an event put on by the Phinney Neighborhood Association. A hundred or so households participate. I hit about 35. You can usually find some cool stuff. I typically look for books and cd's. I put the Ortliebs onto my old MB-2 and rode off.

It isn't often I make a bicycle related find. But today it happened. I was riding down the street I was going to turn towards home from. I rolled up to a yard sale and there it was. A Silca Pista pump! I got off of my bike real fast. Two quick strides and it was in my hands. A few pump strokes and a thorough inspection confirmed good condition. I looked up and found the guy to pay. "How much?" I asked. "Two bucks" came the reply. I pulled the money out of my pocket so fast I felt heat. I practically skipped back to my bike.

On the way home, I couldn't get over what a great deal I had scored. I was so charged up I cleaned the garage, got rid of a pile of yard waste and picked up trash off of the median in the street in front of my house. Earth Day, y'know.

It was sunny, windy and, kinda chilly. And I only rode 7.5 miles. But, sometimes good things happen on rides close to home.

Addendum: Thanks to all who pointed out that my pump is a Super Pista. That makes the find even sweeter.

Oh yeah

It's also the 80th birthday of the Queen of England, Elizabeth the Second.

God Save the Queen!

Happy Birthday!

Today is the birthday of the leader of the really free world, Iggy Pop. He made it to 59. I saw the Stooges last year at Bumbershoot here in Seattle. They were amazing. Iggy really loves his audience. My son got close enough to shake his hand. And came back a sweaty, worn out mess. It was great seeing a punk legend with my son. It may be one of the last times I get to look cool to him.

I had all of the Stooges albums back in the late 70's. They were already hard to find, even in southern California. But I did. They were all imports and had nice, thick vinyl. Good thing too, I played the hell out of them. My friends didn't quite get it. My crowd listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. I usually listened to rougher stuff. Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, not a lot of hippie mellow. Punk came along and I liked it a lot. Iggy was the one that really got my attention. He sounded like an animal, the band sounded like the apocalypse. It was so primal. I didn't see how anyone could resist. A couple of years later my friends started turning on to punk. By then I'd moved to Seattle, gone nuts from the rain, and joined the Army a few months after that.

I never was part of the punk scene. I just liked the music. My kid is into the scene. He plays drums in a band and really enjoys making music. I guess it's true, you encourage your children to do the things you wanted to do but didn't.

Bad News

A friend of mine, Brad Lewis, died racing his bike today. He was a good guy.

http://www.bikecafe.net/newsmgt/bn/?a=696&z=7

A New Blog For the Party

I am just amazed by the number of people interested in this little project. I've set up a new blog to deal with my campaign. I'll put a link on this page for it soon. But, here is a direct link for now:

www.gslparty.blogspot.com

Please come visit. Not much content at the moment but, it's coming.

Are you all as excited as I am about all of the news regarding leaks? Scooter sounds like he wants to take a few down with him. Why go it alone?
And Tom DeLay's big news? It's nice he wants to spend more time at home. With the family. And his co-defendants. Just a nice man.

It's time for bed. I'm still a working man.

The Early Response

President and Mrs. Parker - Oct 2003

Wow! I can't believe the response I've had. Overwhelmingly positive. Far less joking than I'd anticipated. I think people are ready for a seriously satirical candidate. Why not me? It is said at the the heart of every joke there is a serious meaning. I am serious when I say I'm fed up with the way our country has been taken over by the religious right and corporate shills disguised as leaders. This small effort I'm making is my way of drawing attention to this criminal administration and its sociopathic policies. Unfortunately, the leading opposition doesn't seem to have a clue either. I may be shown that I'm wrong in November, and I hope I am, but, I can't sit still any longer. If you're really into this, stay tuned. Me and my very small staff will be cooking up a campaign designed to mock and ridicule both of the dominant parties while asking real questions about real issues. I'll write about the things that matter to me and, will listen to all ideas no matter how preposterous. You should hear some of the stuff that has already been suggested. Eventually a legitimate policy statement will emerge and we'll have something really worth talking about. It could happen.

In the next couple of days I'll be setting up a new blog that will deal strictly with my quest for the Presidency and give a home page to the Green Socialist Libertarian Party. Forgive me if I just start calling it the GSL. I will issue more statements regarding policy and name my key staffers. I look forward to serving our great nation. Good night and thank you.

Me for President

So, I've decided to run for President of the United States in 2008.
"Why would you do that, you crazy bastard?", some may ask. Well, I'm just about fed up with the way things are going. Here is my platform (early stage):

1. Re-instate the draft. No exceptions. Age 18. Men and women. After high school, before college. 2 years active, 3 inactive. Include the Peace Corps and Earth Corps as an alternative for pacifists. Young people today need to know what it means to serve. This will keep the Congressional chickenhawks in line. And keep our military strong and representative of our population.

2. No more gasoline powered engines. I can't think of a quicker way to halt global warming. And stop the destruction of the increasingly fragile environment. And stop imperialist aggression against the oil producing countries. Let's get bio-diesel up and running. Grow our own. American grown, American made, fuel for America!

3. A bottle and can deposit nationwide. I'm really tired of seeing cans and bottles littering our great nation. Aluminum, glass, and plastic. In addition to the beautifiying aspect of this plan, it will put money into the pockets of the people that will redeem discarded containers, cut production costs of the containers, reduce the demand for raw material, and eliminate the need for new landfills.
Let's keep America beautiful!

4. Legalize marijuana now! The continuing, futile persecution of marijuana users has got to end. I'm talking medical and recreational. The potential tax revenue stream and savings from not not clogging up the courts and penal system is mind boggling. The tax income and enforcement savings can be used to fund our law enforcement agencies to fight the far greater threat of methamphetamine use and manufacture. And for treatment centers for those who need the help. It would also allow American farmers to grow a valuable cash crop. Industrial hemp is far too rich a resource to waste like we are now doing. I know I'm not the only person or even candidate that sees this.

This is only what I've come up with in the last hour or two. More will follow as I confer with my constituents, staff, and advisors. Please donate what you can to my campaign. Use the Amazon link on this page to do so.

You might ask "What is your party affiliation, Brian?" Well, as near as I can tell, I'm A Green Socialist Libertarian. Earth first, public good second, then you can look after yourself.

Let's get America back where it belongs!

Thank you for your support,
Brian K. Parker

The AAAA

I wish there was such a thing as the AAAA. I guess there is in a grass roots sort of way. We have two cars. Both high mileage, worn out and ready to expire at an inconvienient time. I resent like hell the fact we'll need to get another one soon. We do like to travel, however. There really isn't any other way to cover the distances as quickly. Hybrids seem like a good idea. The only ones big enough are damned expensive. $40K easily. The new stuff is far more fuel efficient and give off fewer noxious emissions. What if all new cars being built were powered by bio-diesel/electric hybrids? No more gas engines. Would that help slow global warming? Ease our guilt?

I drive rarely. My skills are diminished. It's kind of funny. I used to be quite proud of how well I thought I drove. I suck at backing up now. I'm okay at going forward.

Riding home tonight there were some really awful looking clouds in the sky. The kind you expect to see funnels dropping out of, or maybe baseball sized hail. I was riding my single speed, no fenders. I spun it up and motored for home. I beat the rain by about 5 minutes. If I'd been in a car, I would have been concerned in a more detached way. Riding in bad weather makes it more personal. Your relationship with the natural world, that is.

And tomorrow is another day. Live life. It's what you're here for.