Ah, what a nice long weekend!

Interesting stuff I saw between getting off work Thursday, and this moment in time right now:

I helped some friends hack an old payphone so we can use it as a normal (not-pay) phone. It still needs a little more work. Yes, it's legitimate and we have all the keys for it.


My wife and I saw the Wall of Infomercial Hell: Snuggies and Shamwows galore!


Five Orchids in an avant-garde arrangement for Valentine's day, because roses are cliche.




A WTF-Mobile. 90s Ford Fiesta meets Hacksaw, flat black paint, $10 fog-lights from wal-mart and some tarp material.


My camera phone makes this shot of LaCygne power plant look like it's from the 60s or something. This is the biggest plant in the region; When it's running at full tilt, it pumps out nearly 1.6 Gigawatts. Great Scott!


My wife and I had one last huzzah* at Sakura, a sushi bar and Japanese steakhouse. If you sit at the sushi bar, you can watch the chefs prepare everything, and then they load the sushi plates onto flatcars on a G-Scale electric model train. The waitstaff simply counts up how many trays you've pulled off the train to calculate your tab. It's actually a pretty affordable place as far as sushi goes, and quite tasty.


I put a new chain on The Goat on Saturday, so it's back to the grind in 10 hours or so.

* Enough fancy meals for this paycheck. Time to make a dang quesadilla!

Pea Soup

It was really foggy this morning. Knowing full well I would encounter my daily wrong-way bike ninja, I broke out the camera in video mode. Sorry the video starts sideways, I had my eyes on the road and started recording earlier than I'd intended.



The fog wasn't too bad in Johnson County. Karen and I saw a few more newbies on bikes. Bicycle commuting is getting quite popular. Furthermore, one guy who we've seen sidewalkin' it for the past few days finally got a headlight. Too bad he hasn't learned that riding on Nieman at 6:00AM won't kill him.


By the time we were getting ready to cross into Missouri, the fog was pea soup. It was so dense that it was condensing on my bike, my mirror, and leaving droplets on the hairs of my arms and eyebrows. Visibility had dropped considerably.


I had a decent breakfast before leaving home this morning, so I renounced my mocha addiction for the day, opting for a piping hot cup o' joe instead.


Oh yeah, I had some geeky security nerd fun last night. Read about it on HiR Information Report if you're into that kind of thing.

Random Tunage:
Orbital - Pants
Chumbawamba - Mary Mary

Interesting Homeward Commute

Took the A bus to Johnson Drive this evening. The bus driver had to drop me off on the south side, which put me, eventually, right here:


I rode about a quarter mile of that stuff, some of it was really steep, other parts really rocky, some well graded like what you see, and some was really dry and sinky soft. Loads of fun. As I made my way to Turkey Creek Trail, I got stopped by a train.


Found a bunch of rail hardware. Sat on my bum. Waited. Waited. Drank some water.


Turkey Creek Trail was nice with not too many people out today despite shining sun and temps in the 50's. I stumbled across this on the trail. I'm pretty sure I know how this person feels. That reminds me... I found out today that my RD Hanger for The Twelve still isn't in, and won't be in until Monday at the earliest. Grr!


I have no clue where this roller skate came from, but I took the photo op anyways.


Here's a close-up. It doesn't look like it's been touched in a few days at least because of the waterspots from recent rain. No matching skate to be found anywhere. I think someone just planted it for the WTF factor to see if someone would take it or something.


Random Tunage:
Rockell - In a Dream
TATU - All The Things She Said

As vapid as they come

A stark contrast to yesterday's lively homeward commute, rapid was replaced with vapid. 45 degrees. Piercing crosswinds hard out of the north made the ride seem longer. The stinging precipitation was blurring the line between mist and rain, with water droplets just large enough to carry momentum and just small enough to build up a lot of speed.

It wasn't a bad ride home -- it seldom is. It was just... boring. It was something that was taking up 15 minutes of my time. Sure, combined with the A bus, it wasn't much slower than if I'd have driven home, so it wasn't really setting me back. It was just something I had to do to get home, but better on a bus and on a bike than stuck in a car on the highway. I can relax on the bus and take a quick power nap if I wish. I can clear my mind on my bike. I can't do much of either when I'm driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic dealing with Kansas Citians who suddenly forget how to drive when there's a drop of rain on their windshields.

Not much more to say about that.

According to the forecasts I'm seeing, it looks like we'll be dealing with near-freezing temperatures AND the possibility of rain for my work-bound commute in the morning. Rain and sub-40 temperatures combined. That's one thing that will actually make it hard for me to see the benefit in riding my bike, even to The Maul to catch an express bus. I'll probably do it anyways, but it won't likely be any more fun than I had on my way home this evening. Where's spring? Where's this Global Warming thing we're all so worried about?

Oh, yeah. I posted a review of my Cannondale Doubletrack cycling shorts on Commute By Bike today. Quick note to anyone thinking of writing a product review: Always use the word "investment" in your review if you like the product. That way someone, somewhere, on the Internet will berate you. And you can chortle wildly while drinking a beer and not really caring.

Random Tunage:
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Lars Tindy - Past and Future

Snarky Observations

1. Have you ever watched someone turn into an OCP Roadie from scratch?  Several people I know (various mailing lists, work, etc.) have -- over the last year or so -- gone from non-cyclists to wannabe racer superheroes complete with snide remarks, battling more for points of money spent and intellectual blows delivered than the number of races they can win.  I'm not sure I'd call it evolution, but it's an interesting process to watch some of them interact with the others.  A quick little jab about age or experience or number of miles ridden or an average speed (on the rollers/trainer this time of year, of course).  It's kind of funny to watch the testosterone fly around in the wake of an inferiority complex.
2. Yes, one or more of the people I am talking about might actually be reading this.  I don't hate you, I promise.  It provides me with entertainment.  If you're a CAT 3 or better, I'm not talking about you.
3. No, I'm not jealous, other than I wish I was riding my bike today.
4. It's really funny to listen to cow-orkers whine about the recent gas price increase while I sit here in my sphere of smug.  I love smugness.  And I didn't even need to buy a canvas sack at the grocery store that was made in a Chinese sweatshop to get my smug on.  Smugness sans rabid consumerism = Awesome.

Shock value

I just got back from a fun "wintry mix" trip to the pharmacy and to pick up some supper for the misses and I. I'll mention that the ice studs helped pretty well on parts of the sidewalk that were frozen over. I also took one of my favorite "unorthodox shortcuts" behind Lenexa city hall. The ground was soupy with a crispy layer of ice and snow over it. With ragged steel edges pulverizing the ice, I sounded exactly like a snow plow on tarmac as I barged through the pristine passage with first tracks.

Along the way to the restaurant from the pharmacy, I almost got broadsided by a PEDESTRIAN who was running out of a bar to his car. Reason for running: Freezing rain. Famous last words: "Oh S*** dude! I'm sorry! Hey, it's too cold for that S***!" I laughed.

Seconds later: Some guy walking toward the same bar: "Hey Noah!" What the deuce?! It's a fellow (fair weather) bike/bus commuter that I see most every day on the bus. I stopped for a moment to show off my new kicks.

At the restaurant, the bartender/waiter who only knows me as "the bike guy" jokingly asked if I rode today. Since this place is so close to home, it's actually faster to ride there, so I often do, and bring it home on the bike. "Of course!" I reply. Quizzically, he asks if it's kind of slippery for a bicycle. "Probably for most, but I have ice tires. I was on my way home from somewhere else anyways."

I should also mention that today was a pretty heavy "20 questions" day from my "concerned" (read: critical) cow-orkers, all of which seemed to think today would be the day to break me of my riding habit. I pointed to the spiky front QR wheel sitting neatly under my desk. Reactions ranged from amusement and/or awe, to disbelief. Every last one of them felt the need to firmly prod a machine screw with their finger before telling me how sharp the studs are. I really hope none of them get Tetanus from that.

So, even if the tires didn't do any better than run-of-the-mill rolly stuff on the slushy watery roads this afternoon, the ghetto ice tires earned their keep with shock value.

Hammer Fest & Breakfast

Photo: Waiting in line behind an old Bronco II, money in hand, for my breakfast.

I upped the game this morning by riding in shorts and a t-shirt, although it was barely 50 degrees. Normally, I'd wuss out and wear jeans and at least a long-sleeve shirt, but I felt like sprinting this morning. I also felt like getting breakfast. I was also quite tired from playing around with last night's project and -- yet again -- getting to bed way too late.

So, I sprinted. I sprinted like I had rabid greyhounds chasing me. I kept it above 20 MPH going up the Quivira viaduct, which is usually the bane of my existence. I got up to 40 on the backside of the viaduct, and held it over 30 MPH to Burger King, where I pulled in to partake in a sacred tradition here in the fat belt of the USA: A breakfast comprised almost completely of carbohydrates and cholesterol. I packed my prized breakfast into the panniers, then continued my sprint to the bus stop where I sat and digested it in plain view of the few early-arrivers.

One guy didn't know what was the most peculiar part about me, as he pondered out loud whether it was the fact that I was wearing shorts in 50 degree weather or the fact that the guy taking the healthy mode of transportation was the one pigging out on cini-minis. Oh yes -- a very clever guy, indeed.

A mocha on top of cini-minis would have certainly sent me plummeting into some sort of diabetic coma, so I eschewed my usual concoction, instead quaffing whatever the dark-roast-brew-du-jour happened to be.

Random Tunage:
Britney Spears ft. Madonna - Me Against The Music (Gabriel & Dresden Club Mix)
Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone (Jason Nevins Mixshow)

Okay, what in the HELL is with the bizarre pop-star remixes in my playlist this morning?! I feel icky now.

And one for Warren, too!

From the "WTF?" department, we have a story of a squirrel. And Warren thought he had a squirrel problem.

Flaming squirrel ignites car. No. Really.

Lindsey Millar, 23, and her brother, Tony, 22, were both home Wednesday at about 12:45 p.m. when Lindsey's car suddenly started burning outside their 42nd Street home.

Tony Millar said firefighters told them it was the work of a buck-toothed saboteur that had been gnawing on overhead power lines connected to a transformer directly above the 2006 Toyota Camry.

Click to read the rest of the story. Oh well, the only purpose squirrels serve is to die and be a warning to other squirrels. Or so it seems.

Random Tunage:
Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany's
Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta

Wow.

This morning, I was extra-tired. Mostly, this was due to some consulting work I'm doing on the side that kept me up pretty late. I've had this project on my plate for a few months and really have to get crackin' on it, but keep running into hang-ups. I was up past my bedtime between working on this project and chatting with my wife while she worked.

Anyhow, when I got to the bus stop, there was a guy there on an iridescent magenta girl's Roadmaster Mt. Climber. Shortly after I arrived, Lorin showed up. The D (DREADED!) bus whizzed by without even slowing down. It usually swings through the Mall parking lot a few minutes before my Express bus. So, with three bicycles at the bus stop, we started kind of hinting at the fact that someone was going to have to lug their bike inside the bus.

The guy with the Roadmaster pipes up that he was waiting for the D bus, which he had obviously seen as it passed by. I asked where he was going, figuring he might be headed downtown. If that was the case, the Express bus could get him there. It turns out he wanted to be 2 miles up the road. 2 freaking miles. The bus fare within the county is $1.25. I just don't get it. Then again, cyclists aren't known for being normal, and a guy on a magenta girl's k-mart bike shouldn't be expected to be any more normal than, say... me, for example. If you didn't know it yet, I'm a moderately strange guy -- definitely not normal.

I don't know what came of his situation. The express bus driver radioed the bus that didn't stop, but I don't know if the bus was going to turn around or if the helpless fellow was going to have to wait for the next bus, or -- horror of horrors -- be forced to ride 2 miles to his final destination.

On a weather note, it was 50 degrees this morning and they're calling for a high of 80 or so. I'm growing weary of carrying an entire wardrobe with me so that I can ride.

Random Tunage:
Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
Filter - Hey man nice shot