Amy’s Gripping Commentary

Some recent items:

Congrats to my little brother (though he’s noted as a Clydesdale, and darn it if I’m not basically Athena weight!), Matt, on completing his first triathlon last weekend. It was in downtown Indy and so far there are no reports of anyone dying after swimming the canal.

Matt’s first triathlon 08.16.09 from Amy D on Vimeo.

Friends recently invited us to Symphony on the Prairie, where we heard Queen music in an outdoor picnic setting. Drunkenness ensued. Also the guy who sounded like Freddie Mercury threw in “I’m gonna sit by you, another one rides the bus!”

Had a bunny date at my house. Rabbits who happened to be named Bill and Hillary met, and Bill humped Hillary repeatedly. She looked annoyed and went home with Waldo instead.

I grew huge ass zucchini!

And my pepper is finally turning red!

Also note we now have cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and a wine rack! David’s work slowed to a backwards crawl but at least he had time to work on his own place.

I looked away or took a phone call or something while working, and Walter apparently brought me Thing 1 for a game of fetch.

Rode my bike to the state fair this weekend. I’ve never gone and wanted to get it out of my system. The prospect of fried food overrode the sadness at some of the animals (I managed to walk into the swine building while they were being auctioned). Of course the first building I wandered into had the rabbit judging going on. Poor buns.

There were a number of bizarre sights at the fair, including middle-aged white women belly dancing in a group (I got stuck watching this because it began pouring rain and this tree kept me dry):

An awesome mullet with balding and feathering at the same time:

Suckers with their feet in nasty brown muddy water getting ‘toxins’ removed (what a freakin’ racket):

Miss America seasoning (I almost bought it but it wasn’t worth eight bucks for a joke):

And a lady playing show tunes on an organ in the middle of Pepsi Coliseum while competing horse teams trotted around her:

It was all worth it for the funnel cake, mint ice cream, and onion rings.

Even though a draft horse farted on me.

Okay, the ‘staycation’ term is lame, but it is nice to have one place to look up all the bike path maps in town. I’m largely posting this so I’ll know where to find the info later! NIFS is National Institute for Fitness and Sport and BGI is a local bike/exercise gear shop (they sent me the email with this info).

Apparently the Pennsy Trail has some progress between Arlington and Shadeland/Shortridge now, too! That part’s not on these maps. I’ll see what else I can find out about this new greenway near home.

NEW!! Tour Du Parc Bicycle Staycation Web resource
Bicycle Staycations: Affordable Fun at Your Feet!

The “bicycle staycation” concept & the Tour Du Parc webpages are a collaborative effort between NIFS and BGI. BGI and NIFS worked together to develop suggested routes, links to resources, and discounts for downtown venues. It’s an effort to encourage individuals and families to consider the great opportunities for bicycling staycations in Indianapolis.

The mapped routes use low traffic roads and Indy Greenways to connect many parks and venues in Indianapolis, including: White River State Park, Fort Harrison State Park, Broad Ripple, Skiles Test Park, Ellenberger Park and Garfield Park.

So what are you waiting for, Hoosiers? Pack a picnic, grab your frisbee and jump on your bikes! Discover what’s in your own backyard. Spend less. Explore Indy by bike! Your imagination is the only limit!

At the “Bicycle Staycation” displays at BGI you can view some of the webpages and pick up some additional maps/resources for other areas around the state to explore.

Get the awesome, no-charge Staycation E-Book
View the linked routes, maps and discounts online by downloading a 29-page, 6.6MB PDF e-Book. It’s a great resource made by the professionals at NIFS. 6.6MB is a fairly big file, so the download might take some time.

Bike Paths pdf

I have been giving to more charities lately and every freakin’ time they add me to the mailing list. This drives me nuts. I understand I look like a good prospect because I’ve donated once, but my environmental side detests physical mail, especially solicitations, and I only donate online anyway. Why can’t there be a radio button for me to decline future mailings when I give the first time? I’d be much more likely to give again without the aggravation. They waste my donation on paper, postage, staff… that’s not why I gave them money.

Seriously, people, contact me by EMAIL if I gave you money through your website. Then I can spam or unsubscribe (or even better, set my preferences to remind me again in six months when I’ll be ready to give to you again) and you don’t waste your time and money. Let’s put the Post Office out of business. Nonsense. Why do you need my address to give you $$?

Went to Indiana Black Expo corporate luncheon this week. My company bought a lot of tickets. After a silly string of forwarded emails that never did find out if I’d have something to eat at this function, and several comments that I could always eat the salad (argh), in an ironic twist, EVERYONE ate salad! That was the meal. Sure, everyone else had a chef salad but sure enough, there was a foliage-only version for the picky weirdos like me. Wow, I had a lot of fiber that day.

Jamie Foxx and a few other folks received awards after short comments by the governor, mayor, and former mayor (who oddly enough received an award at the other corporate fundraiser I attended and he now works for my company). I was looking forward to inspirational speeches and was a bit disappointed that it focused on entertainment and awards, but I projected my previous experience here, I guess. Or perhaps that’s a cultural bias. Anyway I really preferred the Lambda Legal dinner because the speakers were good.

Okay, now my debut music video. I’ve been playing with a little Flip video camera mounted on my bike. The lame Windows MovieMaker software won’t allow me to specify how much to speed up the clip (at least I can’t find a way to do it other than double or half speed), so I couldn’t match the length to the song I chose. But I do have a video now which is just part of a cloudy Friday’s ride home, sped up so it’s less boring. Of course you won’t get to hear the guys yelling at me out their car window (the only part I understood was the F-bomb), but you will get to hear Silversun Pickups’ Lazy Eye. Until the song ends and there’s a little silent cycling left over. Ideas for better (hopefully free) software? Also, what is the best (fast, universal, whatever) file format for sharing on blogs and such? I started a Vimeo account, which is the embedded video below, but it’s showing as slightly poorer quality than the original file I uploaded, which can be clicked on with the text right above the Vimeo stuff. The direct link file format seems slow and large.

Yes, I know I have lots of room for improvement in editing. Just a first attempt.

commute071709_0001

Indy Bike Commute from Amy D on Vimeo.

I’m glad this film is coming to Indy! I can’t figure out if it’s really playing on Friday or if that’s just the national release date; the local theater says it’s coming July 31.

Coming to Indianapolis
July 17
Keystone Arts Cinema

Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, the USDA and FDA.

Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

There are some free screenings too, but not in Indy.

This one is happening at our favorite restaurant and involves bikes and the urban eastside! I hope we can get a reservation.

August 4: Urban Farm Tour & Farm to Table Dinner

Where: R Bistro (888 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis)
When: August 4:
5:30pm Urban Farm Tour followed by dinner seating at 7:00pm
OR
7:00pm Urban Farm Tour followed by dinner seating at 8:30pm
Cost: $25 for Slow Food members or $30 for non-members
(price includes taxes and gratuity – drinks are not included)
Dress: Casual with comfortable shoes, as guests will be walking or biking and exploring urban farms before dinner.
Reservations are required: Call R Bistro at 317.423.0312
*If you prefer the vegetarian option, please alert R Bistro when you make your reservation.

Join Slow Food Indy for a tour of urban farms and kitchen gardens and enjoy a local hog roast at R Bistro.
While guests have the option to skip the tour and simply make dinner reservations, we hope you’ll follow local farmer-tour guides on foot or bring your bike! We’ll tour the Big City Farms Urban CSA lots, the Cottage Home Community Garden, and several backyard kitchen gardens in the Cottage Home Neighborhood. The tours will depart promptly from R Bistro, and guests are requested to meet there at 5:30pm (in advance of a 7:00pm dinner seating at R Bistro) or at 7:00pm (in advance of a 8:30pm dinner seating at R Bistro).

Only a few seats are still available! Call R Bistro at 317.423.0312.
Reservations will be closed on July 31st (or when all places are filled).

Found both of these at Slow Food Indy. I’m not a member but they often have interesting stuff going on.

I struggle constantly with The List running through my head: all the crap I should do. I keep written lists sometimes and then got excited when Google came up with a notes-tracking application, except my stupid work computer has an old browser which I cannot upgrade and therefore I can’t use that application except at home (nor see much flash, nor load a lot of pages, nor get the computer going in less than six minutes–but that’s more a RAM problem I think).

So I signed up for Evernote, but so far haven’t really done much with it. I would rather have a quick link from my Gmail. Is there some other application that would be better? Actually I think once I (probably) get that iPhone I’ll solve my always-available-paperless-to-do-list problem quickly, perhaps then with Evernote.

Anyway my ambitious self thinks I should do all this crap. And in the late afternoon when I want to leave work but have more work to do, I keep thinking how much stuff I’ll do when I get home. By the time I get home I’m just tired and cranky and downright lazy. I need to figure out what legal drug could get me zippy and productive in the evening but still allow me to sleep! Or something. I will say melatonin before bed has been helpful to regulate my sleep more. I get sleepy faster and it’s a whole lot easier to get out of bed in the morning–maybe that’s the miracle that will ultimately get more things off my List!

A sampling so I can feel accountable:

bond Arliss and Waldo somebody (Waldo was adopted!)
finish reorganizing and cleaning bunny room
clean pig cage
scrape brick David did it!
change Jetta headlight AGAIN
clean car
get grids, get and plant hostas from Dawn
paint front porch trim
repot mint plants
mulching
medicate Vegas (re-vet Vegas’ sneeze? and Harrison’s limp? pigs need vetting too)
more dog walking, cycling, and running
haircut
meal planning
more cooking/less eating out
pick up rain barrel at KIB
call cable company to yell about the latest price hike
iPhone purchase
TV shopping
path forward: Tivo vs DVR/other source
refill Casper’s meds
update Casper’s microchip
rehab front porch mess
canoeing
iTunes from old computer
finish video edit
desk cleanoff
laundry room reorg
de-fridge the basement
continue decluttering at home
ditch financial adviser/meet w/new one
mail passport renewal
respond to old email
send Father’s Day gift to Dad
organize recipes (still looking for advice on that) I just went with a binder with tabs for now. My elegant electronic version will have to wait
go through clothes for Goodwill
dust/vacuum hooray for paying a friend to clean!

I noticed a couple of these were still there from the list I made last year…

There’s an equally long list at work, one which stresses me even more.

Earthlink update! Remember how my email stopped working in December and they were able to hang up on me but not fix the problem? This week I got an overdue bill and they threatened collections! LOL. No worries, all resolved now. And I’m happy to report they never actually got a dime from me. I hope I wasted their server space and CSR time. Navigating their phone tree was enough to make me furious all over again.

EDIT: A couple more pics showed up from work. Donations can still be made for the American Diabetes Association through this event until July 13!

I rode with my friend/coworker Brian on the 50k route, but with the hundred-plus Lilly riders we were never far from another coworker. My odometer read 39.5 miles when we got done! That’s the longest I’ve ever ridden. What’s odd is last Tuesday I ran a couple miles at lunch (more like jogged and rested intermittently) and felt terrible and sore for days, but I don’t feel ANYTHING after all that cycling. I slept a lot that evening but I was short on sleep that week anyway. I guess I’m cut out for that kind of exercise. Cycling is way more fun than running, that’s for sure. Maybe I only like sports with expensive apparatus (like rowing).

There were helpful stops along the way with snacks and water and Powerade and bike mechanics. Other than a drink and a few peanuts, I didn’t feel like I needed much. I guess I did have one of those nasty gel pack things when we started so that probably helped.

Anyway, the forecast had been terrible and then it turned out to be a perfect day! I’m really glad I did it and thanks to Dad and Mymsie for their donations. Lots of $$ raised for the American Diabetes Association!

I took some video but I’m still learning my editing software. Meanwhile (video below) another person caught us at ~3:30 (I’m on left with the blinking light, and the still has caught us in the view I keep getting). The video gives a sense of the massive start and riding around the track.

Next event: NITE ride? We can finally use some of the glowstick pile…

I’ve signed up to participate in the Tour de Cure next Saturday, June 13. What’s that? Well, hundreds of cyclists ride their bikes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on the streets of Indy to raise funds for diabetes care in Indiana. It’s a cool event (or looks to be anyway!) and this is my first time participating. I signed up for the 50k ride and, well, I’ve never gone that far before!

Fortunately this is a ride, not a race, and I think I can make it. But donations are needed! My team (Lilly) is trying to raise $100,000 and we’re a long way from that with less than a week to go. My own minimum sponsorship hasn’t been met yet either! I’m shy about asking for donations but appreciative of any help anyone is willing to give. The online donation process is very easy (link below), or you can send me a check if you prefer and I can make sure it gets applied (just let me know it’s coming so I record it in time). Lilly folks are eligible for gift matching by the company if you make a $25 minimum donation. Just let me know if you need info!

My Tour de Cure page (snoop, donate here, learn more!)

My ride… hopefully I’ll finally get a decent picture on it at this event!

Please help support the Tour de Cure!

Bike to Work Day was a couple Fridays ago in Indy, and although I was actually on vacation, I biked-to-vacation by joining the masses who converged on the circle downtown. Then the rest of the schmucks actually had to ride to work! Ha. I rode home and drove to Tennessee for a Smokies trip.

I bought a nifty camera mount to use my little Flip video thing on my bike, but due to downright user error and low batteries, I have little to show for my experiments. I hope to post a real ride soon.

Here’s the Lilly contingent gathered on the circle.

The Star caught us getting organized in their gallery.

There was also a pic taken at Indy Cycle Specialist before we left but it doesn’t seem to be posted. Meanwhile, someone from the Indy Star interviewed a few of us and, as usual, I was quoted slightly out of context and with only the dorky movie reference included. It’s still better than the rabbits jumping around misquote, and probably better than being on TV last fall.

In the meantime, I’ve been to NJ for a conference (where I also sat in a ca.1745 church’s cemetary to read for awhile), IL to transfer rescued rabbits, the northern part of the state for the annual family holiday/race day cookout, and enjoyed my tax dollars at work at Ohio’s Air force museum and that hiking trip in the Smokies national park (which ended with an energy museum visit in Oak Ridge, but I accidentally called a sex line in Jamaica when I misread their phone number on a billboard!). Being off work is great!

Those on Facebook may be familiar with recent escapades. Here’s a summary and a few extras!

Poor David Beckham, victim of endorsing a product that can vandalize.

I finally captured this bizarre vehicle while biking. I’ve seen him around but now I know where he lives! I think he collects abandoned carts from the neighborhood.

April 7: Evacuation
April 8: Unclog sewer pipe
April 10: Are four gin & tonics a lot?
April 11: Pissed about working on a Saturday during my vacation
April 12: Beat the pants off my family at Scrabble
April 13: Finished state taxes and had an embarrassing exam
April 15: Ate all the peanut M&Ms in cubicle next to mine
April 17: Rode bike to work and saw red-headed woodpecker, Christmas tree w/tinsel, middle-aged guy in fedora on BMX
April 17: Went out drinkin’ with friends and then bought cigarettes for the first time
April 18: Rode my bike to Race for the Cure
April 20: Busch Light can in my newspaper tube
April 21: Work woke me up at 1 a.m.
April 23: Casper won a photo contest
April 24: Work woke me up at 3 a.m.
April 24: Some asswipe broke into my Jeep
April 25: Rode my bike to Earth Day
April 25: Appraisal woes and bought a refrigerator
April 25: Someone stole my credit card number
April 26: Mutt Strut! Pics to come but this is my favorite:

April 28: Frustrated by canceling services and realizing property taxes are worse than I thought
April 28: Someone shit in our driveway
April 29: Sold my house! Still pissed about taxes
Next few days: Slammed at work and given an ‘opportunity’ (that means more work)
May 2: ToxDrop and electronics recycling
May 3: Insulated the attic

Don’t you want to be my friend now? My favorite FB comments had to do with the shit in the driveway.

I am wearing my candy corn socks! But I turned off the automatic porch light because we aren’t giving out candy. I guess that makes us scrooges. That’s not true; we just don’t like kids much.

The weather is nice today so I rode the bike to work, but managed to lose a nut and bolt on part of a pedal (shops guys at work hooked me up) and my bike computer flew off somewhere. Now I don’t know how fast I’m going, what time it is, or how far I’ve gone! I’m also out $55. I have another one but I’m hoping I’ll magically find the lost one on the way home today. I also broke the shower when I got to the locker room.

Something cute I found while clicking around: Tofu for Obama

This ties in nicely because I was reading a Mallard Fillmore comic last night where kids were complaining about trick-or-treating at houses with Obama signs (we have one) because they gave out tofu (ate it for lunch), baby greens (also had it in my lunch), and CFLs (got some of those too). Gotta be able to laugh at yourself. But I wouldn’t give out markers and Dentyne like that too-responsible lady in our neighborhood did when we were kids.

Coming very soon:

For my first media appearance NOT associated with rabbits, I bring you: bike lane press conference.

(No, not the prostitution arrest. That’s a different headline. Nor am I the pregnant mother who gave drugs to her kids.)

Due to limitations in software at work, I can’t link to the video directly, but let’s just say I was interviewed (and also by another station, Channel 13, which I also can’t see). Check back later for the words of wisdom.

Channel 6 story/video Quoted and videoed (~1:35), geez

10.14.08 ETA: In the event of rain, this announcement and breakfast will be held inside the Athenaeum, specifically in the Kellersaal Room located in the Rathskeller Restaurant.

A little more on the bike plan/lanes announcement next Wednesday. Join the group downtown by coming on a group ride and having free breakfast! RSVP by Sunday, Oct 12 for the food.

Bicycling Announcement by Mayor Ballard – Wed, Oct 15th

Mayor Ballard will be holding a press conference on the morning of Wednesday, October 15th at 9:30am announcing his intention to make Indianapolis a bicycle friendly city and endorsing a bike lane plan for the City of Indianapolis. It is critical that we have a strong showing of Central Indiana cyclists attend this press conference showing support for the Mayor’s commitment. There will be eight organized rides into the city from various points (similar to the routes on Bike to Work Day – 2008) which will all converge downtown at the Press Conference at Mass Ave and Michigan Street. Plan to ride, bring along a friend or co-worker, and show your support of bicycling in the Greater Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. A free breakfast will be served! If you will be joining us for any of the eight group rides to downtown and/or will be attending the pre-Press Conference Breakfast, please take the time to RSVP here by Sunday, October 12th.

Schedule of Events – Wednesday, October 15th

7:00am – 8:00am – Bicyclists commute downtown to the triangular park formed by Mass Ave and Michigan Street (click here for start locations, routes and ride leaders)

8:30am – 9:30am – Free breakfast provided by LePeep Restaurant – Coffee, Juice, Pastries, Bagels and Fruit

9:30am – 10:30am – Mayor Ballard’s Press Conference

If you will be joining us for any of the 8 group rides to downtown or will be attending the pre-Press Conference Breakfast, please take the time to RSVP here by Sunday, October 12th. See you there!

From bgindy.com

A couple of exciting announcements in the last several days: Indy is looking to be bike-friendly and environmentally sustainable! I received these press releases through various email lists.

Indy Bikeways

Important Bicycling Announcement by Mayor Ballard on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008, 9:30am

Mayor Ballard will soon have a press conference where he will announce his intention to make Indianapolis a bicycle friendly city and endorse the 4-phase bike lane plan for the City of Indianapolis. This plan, currently dubbed Indy Bikeways, will provide over 200 miles of bike lanes in Marion County over the next 15 years.

We want to make sure that as many cyclists as possible come to this event to show our support for the Indy Bikeways Plan! This is the best way to say thanks to Mayor Ballard for this endorsement and to assure him this is a popular decision among his constituents. His announcement will occur on Wednesday, Oct 15th at 9:30 am and will be held in the triangular park formed by the intersection of Mass Ave and Michigan Street (just north across the street from the Athenaeum). His announcement coincides with the start of the bike lane striping for New York and Michigan Streets. This project, along with the bike lanes on Allisonville Road, represents Phase 1 of the Indy Bikeways Plan.

I’m going to try to make it to the bike announcement, though it is during work hours. Gotta flex the schedule a bit.

Environmental Sustainability Initiative

MAYOR UNVEILS AGENDA TO ESTABLISH CITY AS ONE OF THE MIDWEST’S MOST SUSTAINABLE

INDIANAPOLIS – The City of Indianapolis will join several leaders of the environmental community to announce the City’s aggressive new greening plan and sustainability initiative.

What: Press conference to announce new sustainability initiative

Who: Mayor Greg Ballard

When: Friday, October 10, 2008
3:30-4:00PM

Where: City Market Courtyard
222 E. Market Street

Mayor Ballard recognizes that environmental sustainability is a key strategy to make sure that Indianapolis continues to be competitive in a changing world. Cities that are successful in addressing these matters have found that they can:

* Deliver long-term cost savings
* Build the local economy
* Improve community quality of life
* Enhance the local environment and public health

These objectives support The Ballard Rules, and specifically further three key Mayoral priorities: taxpayer cost-savings, community economic development, and improving neighborhood quality of life.

This one is quite lofty and vague, but you have to recognize the merit of the idea before you can get anywhere with it, so I choose to think positively!

In related news, I toured Republic’s Montcalm St. recycling facility a couple of weeks ago through arrangements from a group at work. They process 100 tons of recyclable material daily, and plan to build a new facility that will handle ten times that much! It’s a very loud, thankless operation, and I am glad the workers are willing to do such a hard job. Some general info here and a pdf with facts and figures here. Things I learned:

I’ve been taking my #3-7 plastics to IRF on West St. Apparently Republic is now picking up this stuff from IRF, so I may as well put it in with my #1-2. The #3-7 is harder to process but at this time they are able to set it aside and get it to a facility that will take it. One of the biggest issues with these plastics is getting them clean, since they often have food residue (yogurt, butter) remaining.

Republic can take some phonebooks after all, just not a lot.

Indianapolis residents using Republic’s curbside recycling service will soon be getting big wheeled toters for their recycling instead of the small bins. They will be picked up biweekly with automated trucks, which saves on trucks/drivers/gas/emissions. And they will take cardboard! That’ll save me another trip to the cardboard satellite dumpsters.

Downstream (at other facilities) the machinery can accept plastic bottles with lids still on, but if you send in your water bottles with water still in them, the Republic folks have to hand open and empty them! Don’t send partially-full bottles please.

The new facility will have sorting machines to segregate colored plastics from colorless, which can be sold at different (higher) prices, and there are also machines that can visually sort different colors of glass.

Don’t segregate your recyclables in plastic bags. They have to be hand-opened or the bags clog up the machinery.

The facility operates with a series of conveyor belts. Items pass along conveyors with shakers (to shake out loose broken glass and prevent injuries to workers), then past an inspection line of workers who pull out trash and odd items (we saw them removing a metal porch railing from the belt). Then the belt goes under a big rotating magnet that pulls out the steel items. Next a blower sends all the lightweight stuff (plastic bottles, aluminum cans) up one way and the heavier items (like glass) go down another belt. The huge cage of lightweight items separates cans from bottles somehow (weight again? charge? I forget), and then workers have to manually separate the #1 and #2 plastics to different streams. In the end they have big piles of each type of recyclable. Items like foil are recycled separately from cans, and big heavy plastics like kitty litter containers are separate from water bottles. Some items have to be paid to be taken away; it’s not all profitable, but it does keep 100 tons of waste out of landfills daily. They bale each type of item and ship to processing facilities, some in the Chicago area, but overall they try to use Indiana facilities as much as possible. They do all this with about 65 employees on 2.5 shifts. It’s loud, smelly, non-climate-controlled work. At one point bits of broken glass rained on our heads as we walked through the plant.

Even with limitations on what actually makes money (and it’s no joke we pay a fair amount each month for the curbside service), the facility is able to recycle 93+% of what comes in the door. Think of all the trash people include in their recycling–I found this number impressive. They even set aside those weird items like porch railings that never should have been in the recycling dumpsters in the first place, getting them to the metals recyclers that can handle the material.

Keep on saving the planet! Perhaps we should work on reducing, since we seem to understand the recycling part?

and everyone else on East Washington Street during rush hour,

Sorry I fell off my bike in front of you. Thank you for not laughing so I could hear it.

To the person at work with the contraband first aid kit,

Thanks for the gauze, tape, and ointment!

I was going to talk about my tour of a local recycling facility today, but I just feel like uploading pictures.

Rode to work Thursday and decided to take a new way home just to make it interesting. I discovered there is a reason I ride the normal, planned route. However, this excursion was entertaining to a degree.

Sarcastic dude on sidewalk: Hey, how far have you rode?
Someone in passing car: Get on the sidewalk!
Shirtless skinny guy on front porch scratching his armpit: Hey, your light’s on
Out the window of passing car: Wooooooo

My current setup, having transferred lights and rack from the old bike. I need to adjust the rack angle and get the computer installed. Walt thought my bike smelled interesting and he licked the tires when I got home. I need a better system to haul my laptop so the rear bag doesn’t get so bulky, but the reusable bags work great for a change of clothes and some papers.

Ewwww. Our water cooler at work has an algae problem. You should see the inside of the spigot area, which we can’t get to to clean. I do clean this accessible part now and then.

Artesian bread: local Marsh supermarket sign. I was thrilled that a previous shopper had corrected the sign to “Artisan” for me! I had to mess with the contrast to enable you to see this correction due to poor camera phone performance.