pictures from my phone

I was going through the pictures on my phone the other night, waiting for a band to start playing at Don Quixote's, and thought it would be interesting to share (most of) them.

My dentist's office, with a beach cruiser in the lobby...

My dentist's office, with CDs in the lobby. They let you pick out your music to play while they fix your mouth. They give you headphones and everything. I chose Led Zeppelin when I had a crown put on a few weeks ago. But turns out that your teeth are real close to your ears and when they drill, you can't really hear anything anyway.

Greta, running errands with me...

Fruit salad on the "community table" at work, with Adria's homemade zucchini bread next to it...

Our fresh fruits and veggies at home...

Adria's homemade zucchini bread (homegrown zucchini) at my work, about 8 minutes after announcing to work folks, "Hey, there's homemade zucchini bread in the kitchen..."

Scotch and beer at Don Quixote's show...

A nail in my foot...

What random pictures do you have on your phone?

new shoes make you a faster runner...

...and new cameras make you a better photographer.

When I was a kid and wanted new shoes, I told my parents that. Of course, new shoes did NOT make me a faster runner. I think my parent already knew that, 'cause that argument never convinced them to buy. That, or my older brother had already used that argument on them.

But, this new camera WILL make me a better photographer. I've reached the point with my digital point & shoot cameras where the vision in my head is limited by the camera's ability.

So after a lot of research, I bought the new Lumix LX3. It's an "in-betweener" - bigger than a point & shoot, but smaller than those bulky digital SLRs. The lens is Leica (excellent quality), and is only 24mm - which means very wide angle, and great in low light conditions. It's "only" 10 mega-pixels which is more than enough for my needs, and it was a conscious trade-off made by the manufacturers. Instead of competing in the "megapixel race" with other cameras, these guys decided to reserve more of the sensor technology to quality rendering.

So now I've got total control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

"Can I take your picture?"

The Band of Heathens

I stumbled upon these guys on Monday night at the best Mexican-food-slash-music-hall ever, Don Quixote's. For those who don't live in or near Santa Cruz, Don Quixote's is one of the best places to get up close to some amazing artists. The guy who books the music is phenomenal. And the people are super-nice. The lady who was collecting money at the door said to me when I walked up with my $10, "Just one?".
Me: "Yeah, unfortunately. I'm all alone."
Her: "Oh, you're never alone!"

Some of the best shows I've seen in Santa Cruz have been at DQ's.

Anyway, these guys are from Texas, and when I see Texas bands pass through I always like to check them out. The last Texas artist I saw at DQ was an old cowboy singer. He sang songs about stampedes, river crossings, and trains.

These guys sang songs about going to Mexico.
And "...girls who move like smoke, and sneak under my door..."
And "...get the girl a brisket and she's happy..."
And "...you're the sugar in my black coffee..."
And "...Jenny was a keeper. She kept my hat. She kept my truck..."
And an eight-minute jam on a song about cornbread.

Check these guys out on iTunes - you'll dig 'em if you like country-rock-bluegrass.

my quiver

I carry a little notebook around with me. I write stuff in it.

Sometimes I write a to-do or grocery list. Sometimes I write funny things I hear people say when I'm out and about. Sometimes I write down blog ideas. I was flipping through my most recent little notebook a couple of days ago and ran across this old note:

BLOG ENTRY BIKES

That reminded me that I wanted to do a blog entry about my bikes.

Now, I don't have kids, but I bet that the way I feel about my bikes is the same way that people who have kids feel about them - they love to talk about them, they love to take pictures of them, they love trying to convince their significant other that they need more of them, and they love seeing them hanging on the wall in the garage. Oh, wait.

Anyway, now seems like a perfect time to start a multiple blog entry about my quiver, since this week I just added a new push-bike to it.

It's a classic (that means old) 1973 Schwinn Continental. 

Shifters near the headset (this was the "in-between" stage, after shifters moved from the down tube, but before they made it to the handlebars)...

Look at those "classic" tires...

Front dynamo light (it'll stay on for looks)...


The full boogie...

And here's a picture of it from Schwinn's 1973 catalog:

That guy's laughing because he just found out that I paid only $18 less for it today then what it listed for in 1973.

I paid $100 for it. And it's totally worth it. I found it chained to a stop sign with a for sale sign on it, next to the Santa Cruz harbor.

I've been telling Adria for a few months now that I'm on the lookout for an old steel frame in my size (the only two disadvantages to being tall are finding clothes and bikes that fit). 

My plan is to remove the drivetrain and make a single-speed out of it. It's got semi-horizontal dropouts. Perfect. It's got almost no rust (that means it's got a little) and the chrome fenders and dynamo lights are in great shape. My vision is to leave it old and classic looking. I'll leave the faded red paint. Maybe I'll put cafe-style handlebars on it with brown tape and wide tires.

Stay tuned for updates...

joy

Young thai coconuts with the tops already cut off!
Maybe WF isn't so bad after all...

tradeoffs

I've had a vehicle now for 32 days.

In this time, I've logged my two lowest weeks of mileage since starting tracking it on April 8 - but not because I've been supporting myself via truck instead of bicycle. In reviewing my Bike Log I can pinpoint a few reason:

• two days immediately following the purchase of the truck, I did not ride at all (playing with my new toy?)
  
• the following week, I was off the bike for four days - Adria and I went to Tahoe that week, and I was off-bike for three days beforehand, then rode hard in Tahoe for two days, then stayed off-bike for one day after returning


• the third week after the purchase, Adria and I went to Humboldt for a family affair and I did not ride

So, I'm OK with how few miles I put in since buying a vehicle, and I don't connect it directly to having access to a vehicle. I think all other things being held constant, I still would have had a couple of low-mileage weeks even if I hadn't bought the truck.

And all that got me thinking about tradeoffs.

I can leave for work 20 minutes later in the mornings if I choose to drive. So, the benefit of driving is extra time. Chilling at home before leaving for work has always been valuable to me. My day is set up so much better when I don't rush out the door for work, but instead enjoy the solitude that morning presents, enjoy some good coffee while reading, make a nice breakfast, or practice yoga.

Then I thought about the cost of that tradeoff. There's the financial cost - $4 round-trip, plus wear-and-tear on the vehicle. There's the mental cost - waiting in lines of cars and not being in control of my world, and the stress that creates. There's the environmental cost - short trips put an inordinate amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There's the emotional cost - the way I feel when I arrive at work after driving versus riding is the exact opposite of empowering (just knowing that I've ridden for 45 minutes before 7am...super-good feeling).

So, yeah, the benefit of driving to work isn't worth the cost. That being said, I also don't regret having bought the vehicle - it affords me many other benefits that are worth the cost. But I also don't regret leaving it sitting in the driveway more mornings than not as I roll down the street on two wheels.

In celebration of my revelation, I share with you some pictures from my commute to and from work today:

The sky that I got to stare into as I rode my bike:The funniest bumper stickers I've seen in a while:
A guy in a lab coat staring at the ocean as two girls walk by:
Actually, the guy isn't real. He's part of a mural on the Shopper's Corner wall:

bikes I've got my eye on

Biomega's bamboo bike - shaft driven (no chain) with bamboo tubing. Bamboo, when properly handled and treated, is stronger than steel. And the hippie in me like's that it's renewable. $10,000.
Locust's folding bike - it's a concept bike, so it's not in production. If I lived in a big city and used multi-modal transport like trains or buses, I'd be all over this.

Nihola's cigar bike - a reverse trike with room for all your goodies and a little freeloader.

Pashley's Guv'nor. Strictly for major style points. Internal gearing, Brooks leather saddle, and brass fitted lugs. Handmade to order. About $2,500.

Sogreni's MountainGoat - just 'cuz.