Stupid Cliche - Fight the Good Fight

Heard someone say this lately.  For a while it was Giant Bicycles' slogan.
"Fight the good fight."

Hmmm, let's try this pattern with other violent action verbs and see how it plays out.

• Kill the good kill.
• Impale the good impale.
• Behead the good behead.
• Plunder the good plunder.
• Rape the good rape.
• Pillage the good pillage.

Or cuss words....

• F#$% the good f#$%.
• S#1t the good s#1t.

Overall each of these sounds just as silly as "fight the good fight".

Wednesday Rides

Started the morning by meeting up with KR for a little off road.  Regular clockwise loop on the Fixicuff.  Saw a dead owl on Landing Road.  How does an owl get hit by a car?

Then I commuted to work.  Nice day for a commute.

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/82259921 http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/82259912

Fisticuffs Require Finesse

Ride like the Devil.  Brought to you by Vassago.

IV XX

W Must be Doping

Q:  What's a president to do after sucking the life blood out of the nation for 8 years?

A:  Enter mountain bike race and ride with a bunch of secret service ringers that let him win.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkTJQRs_PV0?wmode=transparent]

Do you think he wins the rock star award every night at camp?

Nano Bike Deal

I like the looks of this bike.  It looks like it'd be a hoot!
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/nano.htm

Beautiful Day for a Commute on The Green Giant

Messed with the drivetrain again last night.  New KMC Z Chain, old long cage Exage rear derailleur, and an almost new 12-28 8 sp SRAMano cassette that started out as a SRAM930 11-32 9 sp rear.  Rode like margarine...that's almost like butter.

A SRAMano cassette, you ask!?!?!?  Pulled the cassette pin out with the 1mm Allen key, set aside the 32T 11T and 13T, removed all the 9sp spacers, replaced six spacers with some from an old 8sp SRAM850, substituted a 12T Shimano lock ring on the little end, and voila!

 

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/82259928

MD 2011 Legislative Wrap-Up

Lifestyles.....

• 9% sales tax on Alcohol = OUCH!


• http://wine.woot.com will be particularly pleased that the the Direct Shipment of wine bill passed


• Wait just a minizzle!?!?!?! Medical Marijuana in MD?


• Civil Unions tabled again

and Energy dominated the MD General Assembly this year. 

2011 MD Legislative Wrap-up           This year, the House of Delegates focused on addressing Maryland's structural deficit, ensuring long-term viability of the retiree benefit system, and funding education programs to ensure a strong future for the State's knowledge-based economy.  During Session, a total of 2,353 bills were introduced (998 from the Senate and 1,355 from the House of Delegates) and 17 joint resolutions were considered.        By midnight on Sine Die, April 11, the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) had passed 707 bills (319 from the Senate and 388 from the House of Delegates) and one joint resolution (HJ 7 - Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law).  Below is a brief recap of some key issues considered this Session.  Maryland State Budget - PASSED - This year the MGA closed the structural deficit by 40%.  There remains a $1.2 billion deficit which the legislature will try to eliminate in the next two years.  Alcohol Tax - PASSED - The General Assembly passed two supplementary appropriation bills (SB 994 and HB 1213, both passed) increasing the sales tax on alcoholic beverages from 6% to 9% as of July 1.  The bills specify that the additional revenues fund the Waiting List Initiative in the Developmental Disabilities Administration, fund additional education aid, and provide additional money during fiscal 2012 for public school construction projects. Direct Shipment of Wine - PASSED  - Bills authorizing the direct shipment of wine to consumers in Maryland passed this Session.  SB 248 and HB 1175 (both passed) repeal a direct wine seller's permit and establish a direct wine shipper's permit, that allows licensees to ship wine directly to consumers for personal consumption.  The wine shipper's permit is available only to an applicant who is either licensed outside of the State to engage in the manufacture of wine, or is a holder of a State issued Class 3 manufacturer's (winery) license. Medical Marijuana - PASSED   - SB 308 creates a medical marijuana model program workgroup to develop a model program for facilitating patient access to marijuana for medical purposes and propose legislation to that end.  By December 1, 2011, the workgroup's findings must be reported to the appropriate legislative committees. Same Sex Marriage - FAILED - Unsuccessful legislation would have made valid a marriage between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying (SB 116, HB 55, and HB 175 all failed) and would have amended the Maryland Constitution to establish that a marriage between a man and a woman is not the only domestic legal union valid or recognized in this State (HB 963, failed).  This bill has been recommitted to the House Judiciary Committee. Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act - FAILED - Administration bills, SB 861/HB 1054 (both failed), would have required the Public Service Commission (PSC) to order certain electric companies to enter into long-term power purchasing agreements with at least one "qualified offshore wind generator."  Under the measures, the PSC would have established surcharges equitably among customers to covers costs of establishing the purchase agreements. Natural Gas Exploration - Marcellus Shale - FAILED - The General Assembly failed to pass bills that would have required the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to submit regulations related to gas exploration and production in the Marcellus Shale formation by December 31, 2011 (SB 422/HB 411, both failed) and bills that would have called for MDE and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to study gas extraction in the formation and report by August 1, 2013 (SB 634/HB 852, both failed). Higher Education - Tuition Rates - Exemptions - PASSED - SB 167 exempts certain individuals who attended and graduated from Maryland high schools or received the equivalent of a high school diploma from paying out-of-state tuition at State community colleges if they also meet certain income tax documentation and selective service registration requirements.  Those who are not permanent residents must promise to apply to become a permanent resident within 30 days after becoming eligible to do so.  An individual who satisfies the requirements for the community college out-of-state tuition exemption and who also was awarded an associate's degree or achieved 60 credits at a State community college is eligible to pay the in-state tuition rate at a State public senior higher education institution.

Bollman Bridge

 

Bollman Bridge History2.pdf
Download this file

Easter Monday Family Ride

Loaded up both vehicles and rode the Gristmill trail with the West boys.  Frequent stops for wading and hanging out.

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

Followed by Cindy's Soft Serve for lunch;-)

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/81575464

Easter Thunderstorm Ride

Checked out the new development on the way down Lawyer's. Once in the
park the rain started. On the way up Bonnie Branch the heavy stuff
soaked me bad. Sat on the West's porch for a few minutes and waited
for it to quiet down. Saw Tambo and Tim waiting for rescue at
Marshallee Exxon. Finished the ride with sun shining again.

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/81460059

Garmin Edge 205 Survives Second Surgery and Secret Codes

The good news about last week is that I scored a hat trick in bike commuting.  The bad news is that I was late for the staff meeting on Wednesday because of bike trouble.

While zipping thru a pedestrian shortcut sidewalk section, my Garmin fell off the bike.  It bounced off the crank and frame and hit the ground rolling and split into 5 pieces.  I think it was more susceptible to breaking apart because I'd already cracked the unit open earlier this year and glued her back together with rubber cement only.

After yesterday morning's ride I tried for about an hour to fix the unit.  Shaky coffee hands didn't help the soldering skills.  As a last ditch effort, I soldered the battery leads to an different pair of points than the OEM config, and with a bit of shimming and contact bending/enabling, she works once more!!!!!

The funny thing was that I stumbled on a developer's screen config mode of some sort while the unit was glued and clamped.  Some combination of buttons I pressed brought up a screen that had all types of data types.  One of them was temperature and the temp said 16 degrees (which is accurate for Celsius in my kitchen).  Pisses me off that the hardware can capture temperature but that the embedded software on this cheapest of Garmin units dummies down what the hardware is capable of.

AHA!  I found the secret codes....

Garmin Edge Diagnostic Mode

• Power + Enter (hold 5 sec)
  
  
  
  
  

Garmin Edge Reset

• Power + Lap = hardware (hold 10 sec)


• Mode + Lap = software (hold 10 sec)


• Lap + Start/Stop = data purge (hold 10 sec)

More secret codes!!!!   From http://www.penyagolosa.net/docs/manuales_gps/Manuales_GARMIN/Garmin%20ForeRun...

Garmin_ForeRunner201_Funciones_no_documentadas_Ingles.pdf
Download this file

 

Good Friday Fix

Took the Fixicuff out and rode dawn patrol with W, Nagy, Madio, Fran, and MC.  Avoided the Ridge climb and Cascade, but pretty much did the rest of the HoCo trails in the vicinity of Belmont and Morning Choicieness.  First time on the new legs since Bakers.  Felt pretty OK.  Not sure why the rest of the knuckleheads are pulling their fixie Velocogs off for Spring.

Gulf Oil Spill One Year Later

Out of sight out of mind. Film at 11.

Shadows on the Bridge at St. Peter's Basilica

Reminds me of Austin Powers...

[Noticing Dr. Evil's spaceship on radar] 
Radar Operator: Colonel, you better have a look at this radar. 
Colonel: What is it, son? 
Radar Operator: I don't know, sir, but it looks like a giant... 
Jet Pilot: Dick. Dick, take a look out of starboard. 
Co-Pilot: Oh my God, it looks like a huge... 
Bird-Watching Woman: Pecker. 
Bird-Watching Man: [raising binoculars] Ooh, Where? 
Bird-Watching Woman: Over there. What sort of bird is that? Wait, it's not a woodpecker, it looks like someone's... 
Army Sergeant: Privates. We have reports of an unidentified flying object. It has a long, smooth shaft, complete with... 
Baseball Umpire: Two balls. 
[looking up from game] 
Baseball Umpire: What is that. It looks just like an enormous... 
Chinese Teacher: Wang. pay attention. 
Wang: I was distracted by that giant flying... 
Musician: Willie. 
Willie: Yeah? 
Musician: What's that? 
Willie: [squints] Well, that looks like a huge... 
Colonel: Johnson. 
Radar Operator: Yes, sir? 
Colonel: Get on the horn to British Intelligence and let them know about this.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w_DqhpMuFY?wmode=transparent]

Raingutter Regatta

CIMG0007.mp4
Watch on Posterous

RIP Oscar

Had to euthanize Oscar today.  He was deteriorating badly, visibly worse every hour.  Benzocaine/ethanol bath is said to be painless;-(

He'd made a big recvery from HITH (Hole In The Head disease) earlier this year and had a good run for the last couple months. 

Here's a clip from his happier days.

CIMG0004.mp4
Watch on Posterous

Tonga has Already Celebrated Their AM Session

Ten minutes ago it was 04:20 4/20 in Tonga!

 

Haha! CocaCola Bike Resurrected as Dr. Pepper!

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/2334075234.html

Oscar is hurting

fin rot and on a hunger strike:-(

Spring Break Commuter

Kids are off school this week so I got a late start and commuted to work in shorts.  Loving this weather;-)

Did a bit of wrenching on the geared pig last night:  cleaned drivetrain, replaced rear derailleur, adjusted front derailleur, double wrapped handlebars, and replaced old seat with a new Fizik Gobi XM warranty unit from Nashbar.

New grips and seat and clean drivetrain made her feel like new;-)

Perfect weather for saving gasoline.

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/79997793

 

Spinnin' with Madi 'n Tracy

First time on the geared road bike in ages.  Rolled it down Lawyers Hill past road closure signs and BGE cherry pickers cutting downed trees to meet Tracy and Madi at Orange Grove pavilion.  Giant Bicycles had a big truck, tent, and dozens of squishy bikes for demo day in the mud;-(

We took it slow up to swinging bridge then made a U-turn rode back past pavilions and out the park road to Relay.  Then rolled up Rolling Road to Wilkens Ave and bid farewell to Traci.

Took private drive, Foxhall Farm Rd, for the first time ever.  Left at the gravel road at top of Vineyard Trail over to the picnic loop and then back to Pavilion.  Chris (?) new AFC dude sighting at pavilion.  YDT, Fabs, Brigitta, and Kirk stopped by to chat it up for a bit too. 

I left alone and rolled past Danny on Levering and then took the old way over the train tracks and up Old Washington.

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/79997813

Palm Sunday

Gotta love Palm Sunday!  The one mass a year that they give the kids something to hit each other with on the way in.  Weapons of Mass Destraction;-)

Pond Jump

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3GribQCg6c?wmode=transparent]

BMXtra Large

The Big Ripper

29er BMX!!!!

New Gear Inch Calculator

http://buffal0b1ll.com/gear_calc.htm

I borrowed code from Sheldon Brown and from All City Cycles to make my new favorite online gear calculator.

• Gives more tire sizes and chainring sizes like Sheldon.
• Gives skidpatch and multiselect menus like All City.

It's the two great tastes that taste great together;-)

You got your chocolate in my peanut butter.

Mowing in the Rain Before the Deluge

See the full gallery on Posterous

Bakers Dozen 2011 Videos

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g3Iy2RQWnw?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaAiwVAFRLI?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDs3j6D9vMg?wmode=transparent]

Some More Good Bakers Dozen Photos

CBC

Timmy P

XX

Jenniflower

McNeely

West
Smiling?

Ebae

BB

Ally

Dennis

Danny

Geoff

Esther

Adam

Seibold

Tim C

JF

Charly

XXX

Capt Underwear

Pattt