Really.
I don’t think there is anywhere in the world where this is acceptable. There is no way any responsible person with even rudimentary mental functioning can see this and deliver it as-is and not return it to the sender. WTF!
Archive for the 'rant' Category
Page 46 of 54
Shafts of sunlight cut through the clouds above the Ko’olaus as I made my way home after work. It was still early enough to turn in a little riding even though I had to make a stop for gasoline. As I went up through the neighborhood, I saw a bike rider at the curb near the park at the bottom of the hill. Rounding the turn, I saw the infamous entropy herd stacking up at the end of the street. Not them again! I almost gave up on riding for the day, but I wasn’t about to let them spoil my fun. I geared up, pumped up the tires, and hit the road.
The beginning of my ride went pleasantly with no signs of them as I spun through the neighborhood and ripped down the highway. Climbing up to WCC, I spotted a pair of them at the circus at the entrance to campus. I gave them a wide berth and went through the lower parking lot and worked around them via the back road and climbed to the top. Happily, I didn’t see them for two laps. Smiley security guard was walking his rounds and was as cheerful as usual. On lap three, I saw the horde going up the climb. A couple of show-offs had gone blitzing it up the hill, but I had to carefully work my way around the slower riders as they weaved haphazardly up the narrow roadway. One person was pushing her bike up, and she was the only one moving in a reasonably predictable fashion. On lap four, they were clogging up the top road, making life unhappy for car drivers. I gave them a lot of space when I passed them and put them well behind me. On lap five, they were lingering at the blind corner at the end of the road under the mango trees, circling and turning like a roiling whirlpool of cheap metal, rubber, flesh and sweaty lycra. My knees were hurting a little, so I bailed home through the park and did a little weight training.
D = 13.97 km (8.68-miles), Vavr = 21.1 km/h (13.1 mph), Vmax = 51.1 km/h (31.8 mph), T = 40-minutes
Damn it! Just when I thought it was all good with the FX, I stopped by the Koko Head jumps on way home from SCCA to check out the old school BMXers. To tired to contemplate going home and jumping on bike, I hop in car to start it to go home. Nothing. Sheeze! I try a couple more times, pause for a while to silently curse, then try again and it goes. Nuts, looks like I’m going to have to bypass most of the stock wiring, put in my own, and a big red start button. I can be all trendy like those fancy shmancy S2000’s and Lexus’. If I do that, then it’ll eliminate all other sources of problems and it’ll come down to the starter.
I was doing a tune-up on a “Next Power Climber†department store bike, and when I got to the loose headset, I got out my trusty 12†Craftsman adjustable wrench to cinch down on the overlocknut. I didn’t even get the satisfaction of hauling off on the handle and locking the nut down – as soon as the wrench touched the nut, it crumbled! Really! I didn’t even get to turn the adjuster pinion to clamp the wrench jaws down on the flats of the nut before it fell to pieces! At first I thought it was made from plastic and it crumbled from degradation from environmental exposure, but closer examination revealed that it was some porous-cast mystery metal.
WTF?!
Setting out from home for a little spin on the Mountain/cross, I was almost immediately beset by that which would be the bane of my existence for the remainder of the ride. I didn’t know at the time, but the three people who passed in front of me were just a hint of what was to come. Maybe I had seen them before, maybe not – one younger heavyweight on a department store dually, and a pair of older gents on upright 26-ers. Nothing objectionable – just some friends out for an afternoon ride like me. Everyone had helmets, but the cotton tees and white tennies hinted at “people who owned bicycles†and not “cyclistsâ€. I was coming to a stop and concentrating on trackstanding at the corner of the stop line while vigilantly watching the oncoming white Jetta whose driver didn’t know how to complete a turn without coming into the oncoming traffic lane, so I didn’t wave. We all shared friendly smiles, and they rolled off downhill, and I stood in the pedals and climbed in the opposite direction. Continue reading ‘Blundering Masses’
There’s an Albizia tree that I drive past on the way to work every weekday. Back in March it bloomed along with the rest of its bretheren. A few weeks ago, its branches were hanging heavy with brown seed pods, but lo and behold, it has just flowered again! Now it has both brown seeds and white flowers. If this were a mammal, it would be tantamount to being nearly full-term pregnant and being able to conceive the next litter! WTF?! Will these evil things flower every three months?
Albizia must be destroyed!
Anyone out there have a Toyota Camry Hybrid? If so, then the blood of the lead engineer who developed you car is on your hands! The Aichi-ken Labor Bureau ruled in favor of the family of the 45-year engineer that they be entitled to compensatory payments from his work insurance. The engineer who died in January of 2006 typically worked 80-hours of overtime per month in the time leading up to his death. All this work was in preparation for the roll-out of the first-generation USDM Camry Hybrid for the North American International Auto Show. If you have a second-generation Prius, Highlander hybrid, or RX-400h, you might be just as guilty.
Are you happy now?
I violated one of my cardinal rules last night. I knew I was violating it while I was doing it, but I figured it would be okay (just this once!). I bought a cheap bike floor pump…
Sunday found me, “The Wife†(just an FYI, sometimes when you refer to your wife as “the wife†instead of her actually name, certain fringe segments of the female gender get PISSED. So you have been warned!) and “The Kid†up at my parents house, having a cook out.
Personally, I was engaged in a personal fashion show, looking for the gaudiest cycling clothes I could find as I was finally going to start commuting to work a couple of days a week. I’m getting old and weak and it’s time to put the 8 inch hydraulic brakes on that! (nice deft cycling metaphor there, eh?) Continue reading ‘Go Play In Traffic’
I forgot a pair of Oakley Ballistic shorts on Maui at Dr. Kenny’s. I also lost a new bottle of allergy eye drops and forgot a four-pack of Maui Brewing Coconut Porter in the fridge. I know I’ll eventually get the shorts back, but in the meantime I have to pick up another pair of something. Herein lies the bug in the plan of “packing light and washing in between rides” – forgetting the stuff that’s hanging out to dry.
The ferry back was much smoother than the ride out. After the initial motion leaving Kahului harbour, the ship was very smooth and there was no weirdness from the following sea. About half-an-hour out of Honolulu, the helmsman changed hte throttle position or something, and a fairly pronounced vibration and noise began – not sure if the engines weren’t running in their “sweet spot”, or maybe one was set slightly different from the other and the difference set up a harmonic vibration.
I must sat that the operation is well done, especially the ground crew that checks in passengers and vehicles, directs them to the appropriate waiting area, and guides them aboard into the the parking dock. Everyone we met up to the stairways leading to the passenger deck were courteous and professional, and most importantly, nice. Continue reading ‘Smooth Sailing’