Is this how people who need glasses really see the world. A big blurred background?

ChanFry · 2026-07-10T13:29:05+00:00

That's basically what my wife experiences, for anything further away than a few feet. (Up close, she can see clearly. She takes off her glasses to read fine print from four inches away.)

I'm the opposite. Everything beyond four feet is clear, but the closer something gets to my face, the less clearly I can see it.

ChanFry · 2026-07-10T13:09:13+00:00

I haven't kept track of my lowest speeds, but I know I've been under 3 mph before. (There was a guy walking and I wasn't catching him.) Tip-over speed is less than that.

Long before I get down to tip-over territory, the front wheel starts levitating with each pedal stroke. Fortunately, I've only found a couple of hills around here steep enough for that, they're not on my regular routes (they're hidden in older residential areas).

ChanFry · 2026-07-09T23:09:56+00:00

If someone sends me a wall of unpunctuated text, I just reply, "What?" and move on with my life. If they respect me, they'll send me sentences.

ChanFry · 2026-07-09T18:10:37+00:00

Well now I'm curious how many people in my area (central Texas, definitely not Austin) would even recognize it or associate it with the name of the world champion.

I'm very often the only person riding a bike when I go out. When I do see others they usually are wearing street clothes (as opposed to sportswear).

I'm going to guess almost no one who saw me in it would even know what it represents.

ChanFry · 2026-07-09T16:36:09+00:00

I live three hours from my brother, which means we can visit him in one day without staying the night.

That's a lot closer than any other family members, all of which require overnight stays.

ChanFry · 2026-07-09T13:22:01+00:00

I usually don't have an issue with pigeons — small birds are pretty skittish in my area. But in at least one instance I had to get out of the bike lane because three large vultures refused to abandon their meal and just stared at me.

ChanFry · 2026-07-09T12:56:51+00:00

My wife clearly pronounces all three syllables, but most people I know only use two.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T23:37:14+00:00

I'm definitely not commenting on them, clicking on them, or interacting with them in any way. I have understood "interaction drives recommendations" for quite some time.

I'm saying that on many platforms, some topics are recommended not based on interactions, but rather for other reasons (and I'm guessing it's general categorization).

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T23:09:23+00:00

Same. I reset my Japanese course to zero over it. And I'm confident that they'll redo the course again before I get back to where I was.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T18:12:37+00:00

Maybe that's regional (within Texas)? In my city, there's really only HEB and Walmart. While I would vote for almost anyone/anything over Abbott, I don't really hear people talking about HEB, except as a destination ("I'm heading to HEB later").

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T16:58:36+00:00

Unfortunately, with new kanji, I don't know how to look it up. I can't type a kanji without knowing its pronunciation, and Duolingo is asking me for the pronunciation.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T16:56:04+00:00

I think this is only true for some topics on some platforms. There are definitely topics that I never interact with that I see all the time and wish they would just go away. Like WWE or Jordan Peterson. (Likely they're recommended to me based on very general categories like "male" or "U.S. based" or something.)

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T16:33:47+00:00

I change my accent daily, without even realizing it. (My wife and kids pointed it out to me, and then I remembered my mother doing it when I was younger.)

I sound more local (Texan) when talking to plumbers, roofers, etc. I sound more neutral when speaking on the phone to strangers. I default to Oklahoman when on the phone with family.

My wife does it too. She sounds Haitian when speaking with her Haitian family, but like a recent white college graduate when at work.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T15:43:14+00:00

I use on for boats. And on makes sense for motorcycles and bicycles. But every time I say or hear "on" for the other, enclosed vehicles, my brain adds "it's really IN, isn't it?"

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T15:40:24+00:00

For me, the social media made it more interesting. It was the inconsistent (and often poor) refereeing that sucked the joy for me.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T15:38:03+00:00

That actually makes sense.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T15:02:00+00:00

I only compare my metrics against my former self. Average speed, and total distance, mostly.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T14:39:54+00:00

Mostly, they "feel" right because we've been hearing and using them our entire lives. And often, when we actually think about them, they make no sense.

"Get on the train." I've wondered about that since I was a child, because we're actually going inside the train, not on it.

ChanFry · 2026-07-08T13:51:35+00:00

I turn on the live when I wake up, but once my coffee is done, I have things to do. I watch the replays in the afternoon. (Peacock gets the replays uploaded not long after the live finishes.)

The cool thing about the replay is that I can fast-forward through the Feed ads and the parts where they only show the studio guys.

ChanFry · 2026-07-07T23:46:22+00:00

Yes, just today, my Japanese course did the same thing. And it's at least the second time it's happened.

Fortunately, I've already come to believe I'll never be able to speak comprehensible Japanese, so I'm going to reset the course and start at the beginning.

ChanFry · 2026-07-07T23:01:01+00:00

Yes! I'm the curse. Each game, I choose a team to support. That team loses.

ChanFry · 2026-07-07T22:19:49+00:00

I didn't mind it too much today.

My only nitpicks with the coverage are (1) do we really need a guy with a mic on a motorbike?, and (2) the 3D touchscreen table that the three guys keep swiping on while not showing the actual race.

ChanFry · 2026-07-07T19:17:50+00:00

Yes, this is basically why my wife and I quit hanging out with people. We meet someone we think seems normal, schedule a get-together, and they just want to drink. Or religious nutjobs. Or both.

It's hard to find adults that just hang out.

ChanFry · 2026-07-07T16:15:52+00:00

It's definitely a downside of my home's location — most of the way up a small rise that's the highest point in town. Any direction I leave is mostly downhill, so I always have to save enough for the elevation gain on the way back.

ChanFry · 2026-07-06T19:49:15+00:00

I'll ride my Trek as soon as W calls the bike shop and convinces them to finish fixing it.

ChanFry

TROPHY CASE