03/10
I count John Scalzi among my favorite writers, and while the more literary types will look down their nose at genre fiction, the man can write a novel full of big ideas, with thematic overtones that will inspire you to thought, while cranking out memorable characters that can make you laugh and cry over the course of a single work. He’s no slouch on his blog, either.
Today, he has a great post regarding political experience, in which he asks,
Likewise, of course, if Hillary Clinton really believed her “experience counts” mantra, she needs to explain why she voted for her husband over George HW Bush back in ‘92. Bush, after all, had a huge amount of experience on the national political level (including, of course, four years as president), while Bill Clinton had none, save for losing a House election in 1974.
I have a picture that I save just for these special occasions, and while it’s not exactly the thing you’d associate with intelligent political discourse, those that know me will say that I never gave much of a damn about proper debate and that my trucking it out for the whole world to see is about par for the course:
This, really, is Scalzi’s appeal. The man is a smartass, which doesn’t carry a lot of weight with me. That he’s a thoughtful and well-informed smartass does.
03/5
There are parts! Bottom bracket, tubular tire tape, lockring, track cog, and such. So yeah, right now, it’s just a trickle of the cheap stuff, as I’m just sacrificing my bike shop paychecks for these things. Once the money starts to flow from the new full-time gig, I’ll be bringing in the handlebars, crankset, etc. Specifically:
- Shimano Ultegra SL pedals
- Tufo Extreme Conditions tubular tape
- FSA Platinum Pro Track Bottom Bracket (ISIS)
- Shimano Dura-Ace Track Cog (14T)
- Surly Stainless Lockring
The frame will probably happen on the 21st. I heard from the guys at Blue today, and the news is good. The wheels, the most expensive part of the whole bike, will have to wait until April. It’s all good — with the way Minnesota is, the track won’t be open until later that month, anyway.
03/5
Photo by red5standingby. Licensed under the Creative Commons.
[This piece is the second in a five-part series in this blog about how to effectively commute by bike, as other articles appear, there will be cross-linking between them. For Part I, click here.]
Getting Started
The first thing you need to do in getting ready for a bicycle commute is a reality check. There are two questions that need answering — are you healthy enough to undertake a bicycle commute? And, is the distance to the office something you can realistically ride?
The first question is something you should discuss during a consultation with a doctor. I am not a physician, and thus not qualified to provide life-or-death medical advice in this series of articles (or anywhere else in my blog). Should you be healthy enough to make a weekly commute, by all means move on to the next question.
03/4
Photo by Richard Masoner. Licensed under the Creative Commons.
[This piece is the first in a five-part series in this blog about how to effectively commute by bike, as other articles appear, there will be cross-linking between them.]
Introduction
Recently, I wrote about the out-of-control energy costs that are plaguing the United States, their impact, and put forward a pair of ideas about reducing the amount of oil we have to import. One of these ideas was a once-a-week bike commute. (The other was adopting, nationally, a four-day work week with 10-hour days.) As a long-time cyclist, and someone who has been working in bike shops since 1999, I am exposed to all manner of cyclists, including commuters. I’ve also used a bike to commute to jobs — some as close as 2 miles, some as distant as 17 miles. This piece is intended to help you get started, plus teach you things that you’d rather not discover the hard way.
The main reasons for commuting by bicycle are obvious — you’ll save money on gas and you’ll end up more healthy. In the grand scheme of things, you’ll be helping the national economy by reducing demand for oil, and you’ll be helping the whole planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If those aren’t reasons enough, think of it as a fun way to reduce stress and get in shape, and as a reason to buy a few cool toys.
So. You’ve decided to commute to work. Part Two will explain what you need to do to get going.
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Getting Started
Part Three: Contingency Planning
Part Four: Improving the Experience
Part Five: Commuting in Extreme Conditions
03/3
So a friend astutely pointed out that if there’s a recession on, it’s not necessarily the fault of the housing market. His theory is that it’s an issue of the rising costs of energy, and I’d say that that’s fairly sound. Energy costs are up across the board — it’s more expensive to heat my apartment, run my electronics, and fuel my car. In the case of the car, almost twice as much as when Bushie came into office. The entire economy runs on gas (god help us), and when fuel costs go up, the cost of goods go up as it requires more money to get them to a point of sale.
03/3
So. I’ve started assembling parts — mostly the cheap stuff. Track cog and lockring, pedals, tubular tape, bottom bracket. I’m still waiting to hear back from Blue as to whether or not I can employee-purchase a frameset from them. If I haven’t heard anything from them by Wednesday, I’m going to give them a ring and see if that gets me any traction.
(I know this post seems odd in a day when I’d also post about financial planning, but do bear in mind that there was a reason I was sticking to a budget on the new bike.)
I’m getting more and more psyched up about the concept of racing on the track this year. I know it’s going to be a steep learning curve — in some ways the fixed gear is going to be like learning to ride all over again — and I’m going to end up with some serious splinters at least once, but I think that this is going to be awesome. It’s a distance and a format suited to my abilities, and something I think I’m going to enjoy a great deal.
This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the road or cyclocross — far from it. Even though I’m probably a little less-suited to those events, I’m still going to rock that shit every chance I get.
03/3
So I got asked today about how-to-write books — specifically, I was asked to recommend a few. Given that this seems to be a topic that comes up now and then, I am going to recommend two-and-a-half of them (one is specific for F&SF writers).
The first is On Writing by Stephen King. This is the book that I re-read every so often. King puts together an autobiography and a lecture on craft into one easy-to-read manuscript. The thing is, most writers would put together an autobiography that would read as “if you didn’t grow up like I did, you’ll never amount to much.” King doesn’t do that. Instead, he draws on elements of his upbringing that illustrate how his life shaped him as a writer, and are easily identifiable as things that could have just as easily happened to you. The result is a frank, sometimes funny, sometimes sad book on not just craft, but what it really means to be a writer.
03/3
So this is going to be my responsible side taking over the blog. I know that this might be a bit “heavy” compared to the stuff I’ve been writing in here historically, but I think it’s important write about because it’ll help me think about the issues at-hand, and hopefully spark some thinking from you, too.
As of late, I have been a lot more cognizant of saving money. Last week, part of an evening was spent looking at my 2008 budget and refining my investment plans. Again, for those that know me, this probably comes as a huge shock. Yes, I still have some spending built into my budget this year, but I also have a pretty aggressive savings/investment plan so that I can weather both personal and national economic downturns.
Dan Bailey