DanBailey.net

• I have survived to the age where having regular bowel movements is something to be happy about.
• I’m still capable of having regular bowel movements. When I don’t overdo it on the cheese consumption.
• That we have not been hit by a ginormous asteroid.
• I was not stabbed by anyone in 2008. (Also on my resolutions list for 2009: “Do not get stabbed.”)
• That I broke up that messy conspiracy among the housecats to stage a coup, assassinate me, and install a communist regime. (Hint: someone talked.)
• I am thankful for weird shit.
• I am thankful for the “Chinese Democracy” album coming out — even if it does suck serious ass — because it forces a half-dozen writers for Rolling Stone to find something new to do with their time, which will probably amuse me.
• I am thankful to Facebook for showing me that some douchebag who made my life a living hell in grade school is now a fucking “energy healer” or somesuch hippie foo-foo shit.
• I am grateful to Karma for letting me know that I won’t be held accountable for my negative feelings toward this guy.
• I am grateful for Battlefield: Bad Company, which is clearly written using that programming language called Awesome++, and lets me stick blocks of C4 to vehicles that are laden with people.
• Ooh. Before I forget; I am thankful that no one I know was permanently blinded by the Lasik process.
• Hooray for there being no more major disappointments disguised as Star Wars movies anywhere on the foreseeable horizon.
• Thankful for having a blog where I can spew self-indulgent crap to the whole Internet.

This holiday season, I am thankful for the following:

Kate. The last eleven-and-a-half months have been amazing, and the start of what I hope and believe will be decades of life together. I can’t imagine growing old with anyone else.

My job. This is the most stability I’ve had in a position since leaving XATA in the summer of 2006, and the best part? I actually enjoy what I do — it’s the perfect balance of my skills, I love the people I work with (even when we disagree!), and it’s mentally stimulating enough to keep me engaged in what I’m doing.

My friends. Every last one of you contributes to my life and makes it more awesome. Whether I see you every day, or just once in a blue moon, your awesomeosity rubs off on me.

What are you thankful for?

…you might have noticed the new graphical theme for the website. I was working on a new one and was most of the way through the photoshop mock-ups when I decided I had bigger fish to fry in the geek/creative frying pan. So I settled for what you currently see and will finish the new theme later.

Oh man, Kate whupped my ass last night in the pool. She’s my swimming instructor, you see. We’re actually to the point where I am swimming freestyle and side-breathing, and I feel like I’m making progress. Today, I am truly sore after swimming for the first time ever. My legs are exhausted and sore, and even my shoulders and forearms are torched.

After that, I had to drive to a couple of Targets so I could find a place to exchange our copy of WALL-E (Deluxe Blu-Ray edition). Our copy had two copies of disc one, which was a bit of a downer. Anyway, that accomplished, I hauled ass home.

At home, Kate and I spent a few hours unpacking, getting the kitchen into some semblance of order, finishing around 11:30. Then we sat on the couch while I did some Battlefield: Bad Company online. Went to bed around midnight.

Exhausted. But calm and happy.

This weekend, I’ll be drawing up my pre-season training program for the timeframe of November 2008 through March 2009. Fun!

So there’s an ongoing debate at the bike shop as to whether or not I’m an idiot for putting Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes on my current project, a Gunnar Ruffian singlespeed.

The primary person I’m arguing about this with cannot fathom why I would “skimp” on a part for a really nice bike. And I’m getting tired of that argument. I’m hoping that this posting will generate some debate and further comments.

My Bike-Building Background
For the past half-decade, I have seldom bought a complete off-the-shelf bike. In fact, it’s only happened twice. In the first case, I bought a 2007 Giant Bowery singlespeed. Over the course of it’s existence, I replaced the stock wheelset, seat, handlebars and fork. I then, later, parted it out and sold the components to fund a new commuter rig. I also purchased a Cervelo P2C to use as a time-trial and triathlon rig, and had planned for some serious upgrades. Those plans have been scaled back for a number of reasons.

So what about the bikes I’ve built? Only one, my road/criterium machine, was a case in which I spared no expense. The cyclocross rig I scaled back the plans on and “skimped” here and there. And the commuter bike, a Surly Cross-Check, even moreso.

The Current Project
So the Gunnar Ruffian. I’m planning on a hardtail 29′er. Rock Shox Reba 29′er fork. Chris King hubs and headset. Other than those items, it’ll be fairly pedestrian. This is a “fun” bike — something I’ll bomb around on at Theo Wirth, maybe race in the singlespeed category at a ‘cross race when I’m feeling saucy. It’s not intended to be a super-high-performance racing machine — just a bike to have fun on. I might take it out on a multi-day expedition at some point.

My Argument in Favor of Mechanical Disc Brakes
The first point of argument is simplicity — I want something that can be repaired trailside with easy-to-pack-and-carry parts. Carrying a bleed kit, extra hose, and extra fluid is not a realistic proposition. In the case of a mechanical, all I need to schlep around is a spare cable, which can be coiled up and weighs only a few grams.

The next point is inclement weather performance. In Minnesota, winter riding is a given. It’s going to happen, and it’s going to be ugly. The hydraulic fluid intended for mountain bike disc brakes gets sludgy and reduces responsiveness. This is not the case with a steel cable actuated brake.

Cost. The price differential between the two systems is significant and the mechanical system wins this argument hands-down.

Your Argument?
What’s your take? Hydraulic or mechanical? Why?

A friend asked me, as I’ve been categorized as “in a fulfilling relationship” as to what my must-haves are. My first reaction is:

• Kate

In all seriousness, however, I must admit that Kate is definitely unlike anyone I’ve dated before, and I think that that is why we’ve been as good as we are. I’ve dated a lot of people, I’ve been in a few serious relationships, even been married once.

What I’ve learned is that you cannot have a concrete list of things that are absolutely necessary. When you find the right one, you’ll know. Kate’s the one — we’re different in a bunch of our interests, but have a few in common. We’re different politically: I’m more engaged than she is. We differ on the abortion issue. I love football, she fell asleep at a Vikings game. She dislikes bicycling, I don’t need to point out my obvious addiction.

But we come together where it matters. We agree on the things that are truly important — the need to secure our financial future, the desire to be parents, that we support each other in pursuit of our dreams — and that our lives are richer for having fallen in love with each other.

I don’t know how to quantify her, and that’s part of what I love about her. She’s a complex woman, smart and funny and possessing of a mushy interior hidden by a tough outer shell. I do know that I can laugh with her, that I love the mischievous glint she gets in her eye sometimes, and that waking up with her in my arms is the best start to a day that I could ask for.

Chalk this up as sentimental, and not true to the original challenge, but I don’t think that love is something you can find by checking off boxes on a list.

I could talk about the emotional reaction I had to Tuesday night’s win by President-Elect Obama. I could talk about the impromptu party that burst into existence not far from my apartment and how the sounds of it kept me up until all hours. I could talk about being nervous to fall asleep and then to wake up and find out that it had all been undone. But you’ve already heard all those stories. You’ve heard them from your neighbors, co-workers, and friends. You’ve read them on the Internet. You know them.

What I’m going to say is that for the first time in over a decade, I’m hopeful about the future — not just for myself, or for those I call family and friends, hell, not even for just my country. For all of us.

Maybe we’re getting past the racism that’s plagued this country (or maybe people have learned that their needs should outweigh their fears). Maybe we’re getting to a point where we realize that America can’t go it alone and that we’re part of a bigger whole. Maybe we’ve realized that this isn’t a zero-sum game and that other people don’t have to lose for us to win.

Whatever the case, I’m glad I was right.

See, in 2004, after the DNC was over, I downloaded some of the speeches from the then-fledgling iTunes store. And when I listened to Barack Obama’s address, I was moved to tears at the idea of America actually fulfilling its promise. I told my then-wife, who listened to it, too, “That man is going to be President someday.”

I hope that I’m right and that his election signifies an underlying change in how we, as a people, see the world and each other. I hope that his willpower and political savy will be enough to move us forward economically and socially in such a way that everyone truly benefits, and so that the idea of trickle-down economics is finally laid to a well-deserved grave. I hope that we move toward true energy independence. I hope that we’ll be out of Iraq as soon as possible, and that the proper protections are put into place for our troops in Afghanistan. I hope that eight years from now, we’re moving into a new, amazing age in which peace and prosperity hold sway and that we learn from the hard work it will take to get us there.

I hope.