the parrishioner

The progressive dropout

Overheard today on the 71:

Man: Newsom is a joke.

Woman: Yeah, I didn't vote for Newsom, I voted for ... the other guy ... what's his name? The progressive dropout.

Do-si-do

Would you like a receipt for this transaction?
Me: No, thanks.
...
Unable to provide a receipt for this transaction. Is that ok?
Me: Yup, that's fine.
...
Your transaction is complete. Please take your receipt.
Me: Takes receipt and walks away, speechless

A little more about helmets

Please wear a helmet whenever you ride your bike.

In college I rode my bike everywhere without a helmet - didn't even own one. There was this guy in town who walked around with a limp and his head permanently cocked to one side. Whenever he saw somebody riding without a helmet he would shout "you have to wear a helmet or you will end up like me!" or some such thing. I wasn't hearing it. He was just an eccentric street person and I was young and invincible and I didn't care. My friends and I used to joke about what a weirdo that guy was.

Now that I live in California I wear a helmet whenever I ride. It's not that I suddenly decided that the eccentric guy was right and I was wrong. I started biking with a helmet because practically everybody here does it that way. Over time, I have gradually grown to believe that the protective benefits of a helmet outweigh its costs ($40+ sticker price, minor inconvenience, helmet hair, etc.). And obviously now that I've fallen and hit my head a couple of times, I'm a true believer. As one close family member put it:

Dave would be dead or at least very badly injured if he didn't wear [a helmet] religiously.

Please wear your helmet. I know that you are "just going for a short ride" and that you "don't ride on the street" and that you "can't find your helmet sometimes" and that you "think it looks dorky" and that you "don't want to mess up your hair" and so on. Just wear your helmet. Seriously. You'll be doing me a personal favor.

Want to learn more about bicycle helmets, including tips on buying the right one? Visit bhsi.org.

Still not convinced? Then at least please consider signing your state's organ donation registry.

Crashtastic

  My broken helmet

Some belated news: a few days ago I crashed my bike again. I was on my usual daily commute down Roosevelt, the road was a little wet, and the wheels slipped out from under me while I was rounding a corner, maybe at 20mph or so. My head and shoulder hit the road hard, but I didn't lose consciousness or anything, and I was able to stand up after a moment. Some nice people gave me and my bike a lift the rest of the way to work.

Later that morning Ariel took me to the ER to have things checked out. My neck and shoulder took the worst of it, but nothing is broken, and as it turns out I did not have a concussion. My bike is fine. My new helmet is totaled. Kids, please wear your helmets.

Soon I'll be feeling good enough to get back on the bike and riding again. Today I bought a new helmet - another Bell Ghisallo, since it proved so effective at protecting my skull when I crashed. My goal is to replace this new helmet in several years because I'm tired of the color or something.

Love will tear us apart, 25th anniv. ed.

If you're like me, you're probably figuring that absolutely nothing new could be done with Joy Division's 1980 chestnut "Love Will Tear Us Apart". There have already been way too many dull goth rehashes and half-hearted bar band covers.

Well today I came across this brand new take from Calexico, and I have to say it works for me. It put a big smile on my face. I actually got up and waggled my hips! (Do your best to not actually picture this.)

This track, like all good covers, makes you appreciate a great song in a brand new way. Thanks to Stereogum for showing me the way. My day is made.

Feeling guilty

I haven't posted in a while, which makes me glaringly guilty of Common Mistake #7. (And let's be honest - I'm probably guilty of most of the others as well). Thanks to Owen for the reminder. I'm hoping to get back to more regular posting soon.

In which I pray for leniency

It's my first day at the new job, but I am not going to the office - I am going to SFO so I can fly to the east coast to meet with a prospect. Fun! At the moment I am tired from a full weekend of bike rides, goodbye and hello parties, wine and cheese, cheese and wine, standing in line to get into the new de Young ... and yes, some last-minute preparation (cramming?) for the new job. And I have to say it's a good sort of tired.

Note to Great Spirits of Cycling - I've had enough practice changing punctured tubes lately, and I am truly sorry about riding home in the dark w/o a light that one time, so if you could give me a reprieve for a while, that'd be great.

The legal firm of That's Mine, This Is Yours

I start my new job on Monday. Today I am cleaning out my desk at the old job, and I am sorting everything into two piles.

Sample items from the My Stuff pile:

• Mini Super Shuttle van
• Mates of State / Rainer Maria 2003 tour poster
• Three different types of dental floss
• Scrap of paper with italicized rendering of Bayes' Theorem
• Instant oatmeal packets
• Edward Tufte's Envisioning Information, 7th ed. hardback (unsigned)
• Seven coat hangers
• Pair of underwear that was tucked into an old briefcase

Sample items from the Their Stuff pile:

• iomega zip 250 drive
• Ketchup packets
• Box of floppies (!) with 6 of 10 remaining
• Some ugly rectangular magnets
• Laptop speakers I got for $10 on eBay
• Somebody's file folders that were at this cubicle when I moved in 3 years ago

We have explosive

Add to the list of things I am not yet able to do on my bike: convincingly contest a sprint.

Now one reason for this is that I haven't had a lick of experience. Sure I can drive the pace hard at the front - I've had some chances to do this at the park ride and team tempo workouts. But I haven't mastered the technique of making the decisive move that launches me off the front. To do this I need to be able to summon an explosive burt of speed when I'm already riding at a strong pace. And then there's tactical skill/experience - this is what I'm really lacking. But this weekend afforded me an interesting opportunity...

btw

I am very happy to report that my friend Julie has started commuting by bicycle. I won't mention what her previous mode of transport was; let's just say it got something less than ∞ mpg. Even though the overall impact of her switch to bike commuting is very small, as an individual decision it is a big deal, and it's not something everyone can do.

Why not? Well, maybe we don't live near enough our workplace to bike, or the bike+transit options are too cumbersome/time consuming, or the early/lateness of our daily schedule makes biking impractical, or we can't handle the hills without working up a huge pre-work sweat, or we don't feel like bundling up for the cold/rain, or we aren't skilled/comfortable enough to ride with traffic, or our workplace doesn't have a safe place for bikes, or some a**hole stole our bike last week and we don't have one to ride.

So I'd say Julie deserves a little public recognition. Congratulations Julie! You found a way to bike to work. And your example will undoubtedly inspire others to do the same.