Been doing a lot of biking the last couple of days. And the best kind — not the all-out, I-will-be-fit-and-live-forever kind, but the goin’-somewhere-with-friends, got-an-errand-to-run kind. Both involved coming home after dark, which is falling earlier and earlier. Alas. But is there anything sweeter than a night bike ride? Just easy pedaling, my lights flashing, enjoying the night. A bunny flushes out at the limits of the headlamp. It’s cool. Hardly anyone is out in a car, as the sidewalks have been rolled up at their customary 9 p.m.
You don’t even get too sweaty. So I’m just rolling. And soon I need to go back to work, having spent most of the past 18 hours in something that resembles it.
Which is why I have virtually no bloggage! The last time I checked the news, Paul Ryan was milling around on a stage in Tampa with a kid wearing a cheesehead. What’s THAT about?
Why don’t we just toss up an ANIMAL TALKING IN ALL CAPS and call it a day?
See you tomorrow?
Dexter said on August 28, 2012 at 2:34 am
I am out after dark on my bike nearly every night, sometimes just for a short one mile ride to get the blood stirred up, sometimes I go out for a couple hours, radio on my head, listening to baseball, pedalling slowly; I am a very slow rider most times. New Yorkers call people like me “strollers”.
Sometimes I get my thin tire big frame road bike out and ride like most folks do, probably twice the speed I ride my mountain bike or my cross bike, the Specialized bike.
My brother’s few bikes are all in such bad shape I called him when Walmart had a manager’s special on the floor, a Huffy mountain bike marked down $20. He wanted it. After a week he was livid and demanded I take it back to Walmart. It started coming apart on him. I got it, gave him his money back, and decided to make it a sort-of cross bike for myself and not take it back. I took it to Colbart’s Bike Shop in Edon, Ohio, and told John to throw away the cheap knobby tires and install some road tires, smoother tread. I also bought a decent saddle and told him to throw away the cheapo seat that Huffy installs. Then I handed him some handlebars which rise up a whole foot from the stem, and told him to install new cables which would reach the top of the high bars, and to basically disassemble the entire bicycle and put it together properly. This bike will be fun to ride.
1362 chars
Dexter said on August 28, 2012 at 2:42 am
On September 8 a pal and I are biking this trail.
http://www.traillink.com/trail/heritage-rail-trail.aspx
106 chars
Deborah said on August 28, 2012 at 4:44 am
Yes, the days are getting shorter which would normally bum me out, but this year It means I’m getting closer and closer to retirement. Less than six weeks away now.
164 chars
Icarus said on August 28, 2012 at 7:40 am
Guess you didn’t have time for the piece on lance Armstrong. Here’s my thoughts on it. http://www.mysteries-of-life.com/2012/08/a-tale-of-two-armstrongs.html
161 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 7:57 am
Icarus – your piece is interesting, but one thing you might re-edit is a conflation between the names of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
135 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 8:56 am
Dexter, that Hilliard trail looks interesting. I bet Jeff tmmo has a beautiful place or two to ride a bike, over in his part of Ohio.
And Deborah – I definitely envy the piece road you’re on, right now!
212 chars
Deborah said on August 28, 2012 at 9:36 am
Coozledad, I just read somewhere that Romney absolutely has to take North Carolina to make the electoral college numbers work for him to win. So I assume a lot of Koch dollars are pouring in to your state. What can I do to help Romney lose NC? Obviously I can’t knock on doors. I can send money though. Do you have any recommendations? My state is pretty blue so doesn’t need my help, besides voting and encouraging everyone I know to vote.
440 chars
Icarus said on August 28, 2012 at 10:05 am
Thanks Brian. I don’t know why I thought his nickname was Buzz. Blame it on the Stroop Effect, or my own laziness/cluelessness.
129 chars
Bitter Scribe said on August 28, 2012 at 10:19 am
I thought every astronaut was named Buzz.
41 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 10:26 am
Rightwing and GOPer panties are twisted bigtime over this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=democratic+national+convention+jummah&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Only problem is, this Islamic meeting takes place Aug. 31, and the convention’s opening is Sept. 3. How it can be an officially sanctioned Convention event when it takes place three days before the convention is beyond me. Perhaps it’s included retroactively. Of course, criticism of other Muslims by Islamic groups in favor with the American rightwing invariably reminds me of Ahmed Chalabi, the famous fabricator and financial criminal that told the PNAC everything it needed to know about WsMD in Iraq. These bastards will say any damn thing at all, and the truth is just foreign to them.
I had another bike stolen last week, and need to get to my bike shop to pick up my new bike today. Thanks to typical resort community entrepreneur pricing, I can take a 1.5 mile cab ride for $10, or walk. The walk seems dicey since we are still in the Isaac backwash, but I hate paying the crooks at the cab company. My car’s way cross the sound in Beaufort, and I could kayak over, but the rack’s not on the car. What a bother. Guess I’ll just walk it and bring raingear. The new bike is a Specialized model, and I’m looking forward to it. The last bike stolen (fifth in three years) was a Schwinn hybrid that I had tuned to perfection, 700c Kevlar tires that were fast as hell, and replacement drop handlebars. I had just gotten to love that bike when some prick stole it. The lock was shattered to smithereens. Saw the trick on Burn Notice. Turn an aerosol keyboard cleaner upside down. The propellant goes to the top and will freeze metal so that it can be shattered with a hammer. Damn you Michael Westen. Worst part of the theft is money I have to respend on lights, Armadillo tires, expensive lock etc. Pisses me off badly, and we have security here, supposedly.
The bike shop is a wonderful establishment, and I’ve done so much business there over the years, they give me price breaks on stuff. Great name, too–The Bike Doctor. Those Kevlar tires are one of the great innovations in the history of bikes. Every bottle thrown from every car by every yahoo here seems to shatter on the bikepath. I ride right over them with those tires and never have flats to change. Well worth the money.
Computer tracking on the Wunderground weather site shows the storm tracking west of NOLA now, so that is good news. I was kinda hoping it would drop in on Haley Barber in Miss. The winds may hit Cat 1 this afternoon. The storm is moving NW at 6mph, pretty slow progress.
2695 chars
coozledad said on August 28, 2012 at 10:38 am
Deborah: Our county is a losing fight, but it’s always good to awe the wife beaters and meth heads and make them think that money is flowing into the local campaign. Romney will have plenty of money to fight in North Carolina, but it’s money he won’t be using elsewhere.
The national campaign is run well, and they’ll have the best sense of where and when to spend what money they can get. They’re definitely tightwads, which is likely a good thing, seeing how much Koch money the addition of Ryan to the ticket bought the Republicans, which will be converted into race-baiting ads from here on out (in addition to hookers and blow in Tampa)
Locally? I’ll ask around, but my gut instinct tells me to send a few dollars to Walter Dalton for the governor’s race. He’s closed the gap with Art Pope’s caddy Pat McCrory.
The racists took over the state legislature in 2010 with the tea party and AFP and left Bev Purdue with one option: Veto the bullshit poll tax and the selling off of public holdings. She surprised me by turning out to be a great governor. She stood down most of the turd apes’ astroturf legislative priorities, and largely kept them from torching everything they wanted to.
It’s important to have a good governor here. There’s too much shit the Republicans want to get their thieving hands on and carry to the pawn shop.
1345 chars
Judybusy said on August 28, 2012 at 10:39 am
I was excited this week, as I could ride my bike to work again every day due to my work schedule. However, I continue to have neck trouble from a car accident two years ago, so I have to ride with my head down–not the safest pose. However, we’re getting another spike of heat–100 by Thursday!–and I don’t want to risk heat exhaustion. Such a delicate flower, I tell you!
A couple weeks ago, we travelled to Des Moines and biked with friends. We rode on this converted RR bridge. We’d also hoped to see the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, but it was closed for a private event. Deborah, I recall your firm did that project, correct?
Our trip to DC took place last week–we had so much fun! Thanks to all for the good suggestions. We tried to meet up with 4dbirds, but it didn’t work out. The highlight was the Renwick Gallery, which has a temporary exhibit of 40 under 40 craft artists which was amazing. I also loved spending time in the grand salon, which is full of paintings from the early 1900s. Such a great contrast in ethic and style of work. I also discovered the artist Romaine Brooks, a lesbian artist who lived in Paris. If you have access to DC, and love craft, I really encourage you to check it out. (I’d link to it, but we know what would happen!)
1654 chars
Dorothy said on August 28, 2012 at 10:51 am
Be careful when riding at night and critters cross your paths. Someone in our community hit a groundhog that dashed out on the bike trail, she crashed and got pretty severely banged up. The bigger the obstruction, the worse the boo-boos I’m sure.
Anyone else watch “Breaking Bad” this past Sunday night? Our hotel in Pittsburgh didn’t carry AMC so I got to see it last night after we unpacked the truck at home. MAN I’m sad to say goodbye to that particular character! He was my favorite.
496 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 11:13 am
Dorothy. I quit Breaking Bad back when Walt let the love of Jesse’s life aspirate on her own vomitous, but started watching again later. Walt is such a despicable asshole now, I may give it up again. I’d have rather seen Mike shoot Walt. The crap he pulled on Jesse about the money being tainted was so hypocritical, I wanted Jesse to beat him up again. Walter White has no redeeming human characteristics.
Squirrels all look like Mitt Romney changing directions when they get near bikes. I came upon a huge alligator snapper once in semi-darkness riding to early Sunday Mass. That damn thing scared the crap out of me. I tried to drag it out of the way by its tail and the damned thing almost took my hand off. Extremely long necks and vicious mouths. Gators seem to want to observe before chomping. Snappers just seem completely malevolent.I have run over snakes before, including a copperhead, that was so thick-bodied it felt like rolling over a shopping center speed bump. I doubt the snake was even injured, but it was a close call to a crash, and I’m sure the beast was mightily pissed off. I really need somebody to get me an invisible helmet for Christmas.
“hookers and blow in Tampa”? Specialties of the house. But aren’t there any S&M clubs. That’s what the Young GOPers go for.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/gop-young-eagles-rncs-big_n_517942.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogypBUCb7DA
1430 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 12:17 pm
You know, one term I’m not using anymore is “red meat”, when for example, Mitt or Randy Paul spout this or that racist or sexist thing.
Not to sound like a stuck record, but the biggest impression upon me, from last week’s experience in Angry-White-Male-America was the unanimity of rejection (if not outright hatred) for our president, based exclusively on his skin color.
So when I see Mitt (for example) “joking” about how no one asks where HE was born – it isn’t “red meat” for the crowd so much as OXYGEN for his campaign, and for him!
If he or Randy Paul tried to act like “statesmen”, and eschewed talk about “food stamp president” and birth certificates and all the rest, they’d simply lose their crowds and whatever vitality they have, and suffocate…and they know it.
Consider: look at the throngs themselves, which surround Mitt or Randy Paul on the one hand; or the president or VP Biden, on the other.
As noted before, it almost never, ever fails to strike me that almost ALL I see surrounding the R’s are white folks, whereas the crowds surrounding the D’s are always a much more diverse mix of folks. This is one “public opinion poll” that is worth pondering – especially given that it isn’t necessarily “random” at all.
Campaigns can (and presumably do) actively place whoever they want on stage with the candidates, or up-close to the rope-line. And assuming that much – why wouldn’t Mitty’s people think to get a good number of Latinos and Asians and other non-white people into the mix? Who would be put off by such an image?
In recent days, I’ve gotten a vivid image of LOTS of people who would be
1658 chars
Dexter said on August 28, 2012 at 12:36 pm
R.I.P. Michael “Mike” Ehrmantraut. Mike was droll and witty, and machine-like and also a calculating killer, and he was a great character in Breaking Bad.
His name is Jonathan Banks, and his TV credits fill a page. He is 65 years old. He attended Indiana U at Bloomington for a while. I rate him as #1 in character acting on a TV series.
Now he is free to pursue other avenues as Mike Ehrmantraut “got his” as a result of a fatal confrontation with Walter White last Sunday.
484 chars
Dorothy said on August 28, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Prospero – it’s all about the journey for Walter White. He is despicable. But he didn’t start out that way. I have loved watching him transform into this vile creature. As someone who does theater and acts occasionally, I am learning a lot when I watch exceptionally good performances, on t.v., stage, movies, etc. Doesn’t matter as long as they are good and they move me somehow. I keep wishing Walt’s wife would off him now. It’s not supposed to have a good outcome. They are dealing meth, after all.
508 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 12:39 pm
The IDF soldier that ran over Rachel Corrie with a bulldozer actually testified in Israeli army hearings he knew she was in the dozer’s path and drove over her anyway. There is no more rogue and oppressive government on earth than Israel’s, and Willard RMoney will rent out the US military to attack Iran for the Netanyahu government. Winning Persian hearts and minds, but I’m sure as shit Willard thinks Iranis are Arabs.
I mean the bloody idiot thinks Sikhs are sheiks, and America invented education. Mentally defective. I’m sure he really meant “public education”, but couldn’t bring himself to include those leeches on the economy, unionized public school teachers. And I guess they didn’t know about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and the Academy back there at BYU. Useless liberal arts kind of education, anyway. What an embarrassment.
1085 chars
Dexter said on August 28, 2012 at 12:39 pm
prospero, your new bike sounds fantastic. I have had a few bikes stolen over the past 55 years but only a few. It’s sad to read how many you have had ripped off. Specialized bikes are great, and mine is holding up after all these years, and it my #1 bike.
258 chars
Jolene said on August 28, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Deborah, if you are looking for candidates to support (other than contributing directly to the Obama campaign), look to some of the tight Senate races around the country. Jon Tester in Montana, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, Tim Kaine in Virginia, and Shelly Berkley in Nevada all have good chances to win, but they are in close contests. There may be others I’ve forgotten. (There are definitely other Dems running, but some are in safe seats (e.g., Bob Casey in PA) or are already well funded (Elizabeth Warren in MA)).
Not very likely the Dems will be able to take back the House, but, with luck, they may be able to hold the Senate.
670 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Dexter, All Specializeds come with Kevlar belted tires now. Knowing I’m not going to get caught out in the rain or 100def. changing a tube really adds to my enjoyment of my bike. And the panniers for grocery and farmer’s market shopping make it even better. I used to carry everything in a gigunda Norwegian army surplus canvas backpack. Not a very stable way to ride. The loaded panniers make the bike more stable, if anything. We are getting to primo riding season down here, with temps in the 70s pretty soon. I ride over to Savannah every once in a while, which is a lot of fun, aside from the two very steep bridge ascents and the extremely rapid rides down the other sides.
Worst bike theft: A thirty year old Motobecane road bike chained with heavy-link chain to a picnic table anchored in concrete outside of our parish church while I was at Sunday 7:30 Mass. That bike was an irreplaceable antique that I loved dearly, worth a bundle. After that, I started rebuilding bikes I got at the dump. Even those got stolen. From here on out, I’ve rented an external storage closet to lock my new bike up in. I don’t think there is an unbeatable bike lock. Our condo is second floor and I’m not about to carry the bike up and down every day.
And deploying the great Monkees/Mickey Dolenz cut in that BB episode was brilliant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URb8h4dLKps
1377 chars
Jolene said on August 28, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Brian, Mitt has almost no support among minority groups. A poll released last week showed his support among African Americans to be zero (yes, zero!), and a poll I saw yesterday showed him at 27% among Hispanic, compared to 61% for Obama. Not sure about Asians, but they are a small percentage of the electorate. That’s why Romney is leaning so hard on the appeals to whites, especially those thought to be least favorably disposed to minorities–the elderly and those without a college degree.
494 chars
Deborah said on August 28, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I want to be very strategic about the money I give. I want it to be pinpointed to where it can do the most damage to Romney. It’s such a paltry amount compared to the mega donors the GOP has. I guess I should leave it to the experts and just give more to the Obama campaign.
And yes Judy Busy, the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates was done by my firm. I designed and curated the storytelling elements for it, a great project to cap off my career.
452 chars
Candlepick said on August 28, 2012 at 1:38 pm
There’s one of those tight races in North Dakota, too. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/north-dakotas-senate-race-is-no-sure-thing-for-gop/2012/06/13/gJQAGeJQaV_blog.html I’m not from there, but friends I trust are sending all they can to Heidi Heitkamp.
271 chars
Sherri said on August 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm
I used to ride a lot when I lived in California, but I confess to being a wimp about riding where I live now. I live on top of a hill, about 400′ elevation, and the hill drops off to about 30′ in elevation within about a mile or two in any direction. Not too bad when you’re heading out to run that errand, but not so much fun when you’re coming back.
It was much easier pedaling to the grocery to pick up a few things on flat ground even with a toddler and a baby trailer than climbing a steep hill.
504 chars
paddyo' said on August 28, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Letterman nailed the Mitt problem last night when he remarked in his monologue that the theme of the GOP convention this week is “Fifty Shades of White.”
Speaking of White — Walter White, that is — Dorothy nails it, too, on the character. It has been an astounding five-season wonder to watch Bryan Cranston’s nuanced metamorphosis of milquetoast chemistry teacher Mr. White into cold-blooded yet still at-sea “Heisenberg”-in-a-porkpie-hat. We fans loved him in the beginning for the goofy audacity, loathe him now for the monster that he has become . . . and can’t wait to see what fresh discomfort lies ahead next week. Part of me wishes they’d keep going and get the rest of this final season over with — but there is something appealing, too, in the delayed gratification after this Sunday of looking ahead to next year’s second half of Season Five.
“The Wire” remains my choice as best-TV-show-ever, for now anyway — but man, “BB” is now right up there.
968 chars
Julie Robinson said on August 28, 2012 at 2:25 pm
To add to Jolene and Paddyo’ comes this Washington Post set of graphics. Republicans are 92% white, and 19% believe that abortions should never be permitted under the law. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/party-trends/2012/08/27/d74b93be-f089-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_graphic.html
284 chars
crinoidgirl said on August 28, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Bic has introduced “BIC for Her” pens in the UK. (I can’t remember how to embed links in here. Help!)
101 chars
Judybusy said on August 28, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Crinoidgirl, that is hilarious! I caught a glimpse of something on FB, but thought it was a joke a la the Onion.
112 chars
Dorothy said on August 28, 2012 at 2:35 pm
paddyo – they haven’t even started to film the last 8 episodes of BB yet. They start in November. I think we have to wait until next July again to see them! Having never watched “Malcolm in the Middle” except for maybe one or two episodes, I wasn’t really familiar with Bryan Cranston. Man, he has my undying admiration now for sure, as does Aaron Paul.
357 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 2:47 pm
The pen thing is definitely good for several giggles, plus a chuckle or two.
And Julie’s link to the crazy opinion polling graphs is coldy sobering, and indeed it dovetails – more than a little – with the suppositions that Bic apparently made, when they dreamed up that ridiculous marketing gambit…
so between the two, you come out almost even…
354 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Raging grannies make fun of Akin and the GOPers:
http://front.moveon.org/eight-outspoken-grannies-have-a-few-thoughts-on-legitimate-rape-that-you-dont-want-to-miss/?rc=daily.share
I like MoveOn as a donation recipient because Soros’ organization drives GOPers into paroxysms of fevered insanity. Which is really kinda humorous considering how much cash the Koch-heads have dumped on the electoral process. They delight in calling Soros, a Nazi target as a kid, a Nazi collaborator, when the monetary basis for the Koch fortune is direct financial dealings with the Nazis that funded WWII. Of course, that’s where the Bush family money came from too, but these lying bastards aren’t going to admit that. Anyway, MoveOn makes very amusing mockery of Willard that I appreciate, like the following:
http://front.moveon.org/sneak-peek-the-inspirational-true-story-of-what-makes-mitt-romney-better-than-all-of-us/
I have neither purchased nor used a BIC product since way back in the 60s when the company used those astoundingly sexist Flick my BIC stewardess ads. I figure, if a hormonal 60s teenager could see that shit for the foul offensive crap it really was, no business from me.
1191 chars
paddyo' said on August 28, 2012 at 2:57 pm
I know, Dorothy, I know. I was just kinda wishing . . . kinda.
Funny, the way this thing is playing out, series creator Vince Gilligan has, in effect, Walter White’d us, hasn’t he? Just like Walt did so chillingly earlier this season, in “Better Call Saul” Goodman’s office:
“We’re done when I say we’re done.”
323 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Oh, and those grannies use some bad language.
This is good too:
http://www.moveon.org/share/3c6cd4/a-flowchart-so-simple-paul-ryan-should-have?rc=frontside
and
http://front.moveon.org/going-viral-mitt-meet-mitt-because-americans-deserve-a-candidate-who-agrees-with-them/
282 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Another good place to fight the GOPers with cash:
http://www.facebook.com/ActBlue
84 chars
Chris from Iowa said on August 28, 2012 at 3:13 pm
I’ll second everything Prospero has said about Kevlar bike tires. I wouldn’t ride without them.
50 Shades of White is a great line. I read yesterday somewhere the results of a poll that said 89 percent of people who identify themselves as Republican are white. If that holds true over the next couple of decades, the Republican party will go the way of the Dodo bird.
370 chars
LAMary said on August 28, 2012 at 3:27 pm
I think those BIC for her pens are available here too. I swear I saw a TV commercial for them.
edit: Yep. They’ve been available in the US for about a year.
160 chars
Bitter Scribe said on August 28, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Don’t forget low-information voters.
Of course, there’s plenty of overlap among those three groups…
317 chars
Sue said on August 28, 2012 at 3:36 pm
bic backlash:
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/bic-her-pens-deluged-sarcastic-reviews-amazon-143145
97 chars
Jolene said on August 28, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I read yesterday somewhere the results of a poll that said 89 percent of people who identify themselves as Republican are white. If that holds true over the next couple of decades, the Republican party will go the way of the Dodo bird.
Yesterday, I heard someone say re the setting at the RNC, “It’s very patriotic. The carpets are red, the chairs are blue, and the delegates are white.”
398 chars
crinoidgirl said on August 28, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Check out the reviews for BIC for Her on Amazon.co.uk – they’re even more hilarious than the ones on the US site.
113 chars
Connie said on August 28, 2012 at 4:42 pm
The bic pen for ladies reminded of this web pages which reprints funny reviews of books etc. at Amazon and similar places. http://leasthelpful.com/
148 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Do BIC for Her pens automatically dot “i”s with smiley faces? Who the hell is going to read anything written in pink ink? They are modeled on Virginia Slims cigarettes, right?
A vituperative takedown by somebody really pissed off at the dumbass Andrew Sullivan, GOPer enabler from Teh Gay:
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2012/08/stupid-shit-andrew-sullivan-says-ctd_28.html
It bodes well for mankind that white Americans are soon going the way of Jewish Israelis, into minority-hood.
492 chars
Randy said on August 28, 2012 at 5:16 pm
@21 – Prospero, so Kevlar tires are worth the extra expense? I’m so tired of flats.
83 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 5:26 pm
The first review that came up on that Amazon review site criticized Kurt Vonnegut for starting Cat’s Cradle with “Call me Jonah.” Nothing like book reviews by the terminally illiterate. I realize that the number of people that have read Moby Dick is relatively small, but most people know the opening sentence, even if it’s only from the Gregory Peck movie.
And sorry about that smiley faces crack, couldn’t help it when I saw the ink colors.
Randy @44. They will pay for themselves in new tubes you don’t have to buy, and are well worth knowing you won’t have to be changing flats. First week I put the Armadillos on my bike, I was riding at twilight and never saw that someone had broken a whold sixpack of brewskis on the path until I was right in the middle of it. No damage. My first set also had very cool looking maroon sidewalls. And the ride is great. for the 700c size I put on the hybrids. I haven’t used any other tires the last three years and have had zero flats.
983 chars
annie said on August 28, 2012 at 5:32 pm
When Crinoidgirl first mentioned Bics for Her without a link, I thought they were pens shaped like a penis.
107 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 5:46 pm
I think annie just won the thread!
34 chars
Jolene said on August 28, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Just heard another interesting detail of the RNC staging: They have seated delegations from American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico near the stage so that when TV cameras sweep the audience, we’ll see a diverse audience. There are no limits to their cynicism.
276 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Funny Rinse Previous picture, but somehow quite believable:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/the-most-unfortunate-photo-crop-of-the-republican
Right Jolene, while they are dead set against the idea of Chocolate City DC ever having Congressional representation.
I also thought the pens were dildo-shaped.
309 chars
Bitter Scribe said on August 28, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Jolene: I suppose we should applaud their restraint in not using blackface.
75 chars
Little Bird said on August 28, 2012 at 6:12 pm
I figured Bic had a case of penis envy and didn’t quite grasp the concept.
74 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Bozo GOPers that will be trotted out tonight while we are watching White Collar and my personal copy of Bulworth. This is a group as ridiculous as the Klown Kar Kandidates from the primary days:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/08/28/754371/what-you-should-know-about-tuesdays-republican-convention-speakers/
I would like to have credentials to attend, though, so when Kasich is speaking I could pull a Joe Wilson and yell out What happened to the Ohio pension money you put down the Lehman Bros. black hole, you crook? And quote the hockey coach Jim Schoenfeld when Christie comes on. Schoenfeld was once so incensed at a referee he screamed at him “Have another donut you fat pig.”
And then are the lying turd “entrpreneurs that intend to insist “they built it, by themselves” when actually, like Ayn Rand dad, they relied on massive federal loans and contracts to build anything.
What a sorry bunch of jerks.
930 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 6:50 pm
And Goober-nor Alfred E. Newman of LA is a lying little shit entirely lacking in integrity:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/jindal-cries-wolf-on-obama-administration-response-to-hurricane-isaac.php
GOPer convention by Disney:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoysQe-2HS4
288 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 7:02 pm
And at some point, scrawny little Lee Greenwood will crawl out from under a rock to sing the most execrable excuse for a patriotic song in the history of phony patriotism being the last refuge of thoroughgoing scoundrels:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E
Sleazy prick looks more like a porn producer than anybody else on the face of the planet not named Ron Jeremy.
Other GOP Convention entertainment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=t3SA85RoJH0
497 chars
Kaye said on August 28, 2012 at 7:26 pm
I was driving in the neighborhood at the end of the Romney/Paul appearance in Powell, OH on Saturday. Did not notice any brown people in the crowd. Only the painted black re-purposed school buses were darker than WASP skin. The presence of young children surprised me a little bit. The 65-75 year-old junior league9like ladies were not a surprise.
On the other hand, our group was chosen to stand behind the podium for Shelly O’s recent OH appearance and it was apparent that people in that group were specifically chosen for camera value. (Not me! I am sure our little group was chosen because of the cute teenagers) Event staff walked through the gym and hand selected people for the stage, even personally placed some folks in specific locations on the stage. Very diverse group in the end – but – it also mirrored the entire audience.
I am counting on you folks to point out any interesting about the RNC as I cannot bear to hear these men speak.
963 chars
Rana said on August 28, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Re: the pens: it’s hard not to smirk at the “Easy Glide” aspect of the things.
78 chars
Prospero said on August 28, 2012 at 8:06 pm
the SC Superindent of Schools has a new plan for evaluating teachers:
You’re going to get a letter grade: A, B,C,D, F.
It’s going to be based on student test scores. At implementation (and for new teachers), a single year’s scores will be used.
Those scores will not even be from students you taught (Non-PASS teachers- 30% of evaluation from schoolwide scores. PASS teachers, 10%).
An “F” rating will force the district to consider terminating you.
A plan is being developed to use these ratings to determine your salary.
This plan will implement at the same time as brand new Common Core standards and tests.
In what universe on what planet does that make any sense, or is it remotely fair? That’s a Nikki Haley appointee for you. Assholes. Mittens parbly loves this bullshit. Those union teachers are just leeches, like cops and EMTs and firefighters.
912 chars
Dorothy said on August 28, 2012 at 9:52 pm
He might be on hiatus from commenting, but I’m hoping he’s still scrolling through and reading comments from time to time. Happy birthday, Jeff (tmmo)!
152 chars
brian stouder said on August 28, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Dorothy – I second the motion!
Aside from that, I gotta say – when Anne Romney laughed (and laughed, and laughed) during her speech, she reminded me of no one so much as Cruella DeVille!
I like ol’ Anne, truly. But the laugh wore me out a bit; and her faux recitation of the adversities she and Mitt faced when they were young and in love sounded…..disingenuous. If they didn’t start out on third base, then it was because they had already been handed home plate
470 chars
Crazycatlady said on August 28, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Walter White got into the business because he would do anything for his family. As he has degenerated into a powerful villain, he will now do anything to save his Empire and be Heisenberg. His family is essentially destroyed. His wife despises him, his children gone. His power is all he has and his ego is king. Can’t help but think if Jesse finds out Walt killed Mike it will be hell to pay.
393 chars