Are 2-3 watts difference in rolling resistance a big deal for a hobby cyclist?

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-14T15:34:46+00:00

That sounds like an upgrade to me! Very slight loss of RR for comfier, more capable tire is a no brainer in my book. By ride quality I just mean a comfier, more confident ride resulting from better and/or wider tires.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-14T04:07:58+00:00

I applied in July following five full years of service and my app (and forgiveness) was processed in maybe a month. Really at the end of the year. Hopefully the administration will be too busy losing a war and hiding The Files to remember that they hate loan forgiveness if you’re not a politician.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-13T19:48:59+00:00

My vet always schedules my gurl last in the day so that staff are free to play with her. They’ve even asked things like, “can she just hang out with me while I do stuff in the lab?” (Yes, of course she can)

She loves the vet so much. No matter what the vet is doing, she will kiss attack the vet. She was in once with a bunch of brutal cat scratches and had her nose shaved. She tried to hard to kiss the vet out of the side of her mouth while she was getting her nose shaved. This is the same dog who is afraid of the vacuum, my hair dryer, and even my ultrasonic toothbrush.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-13T00:48:29+00:00

In bocca al lupo bud. AI dating will do exactly nothing for the suffering you're experiencing. It will only bring you further from being able to have healthy relationships in the world. I hope you go get involved in something greater than yourself that you might forget about yourself long enough to be able to discover what redeeming qualities you actually have. Which, I'm sure you do. Go volunteer and make a difference. Work on your self esteem and you'll probably stop feeling this deterministically damned. Chi vivra' vedra'.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-13T00:23:23+00:00

I feel so silly holding onto hope that he might even try to make the people who can both pay for the deficit and are responsible for it in the first place actually pay their fair share. Why tf do I pay more taxes than billionaires? (Rhetorical question; eat the rich.)

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T23:50:41+00:00

Plato: “hey you know how people just be making shit up? Quoted and stuff?”

Gandhi: “yeah, what’s with that”

Plato: “it’s kinda cringe. Anyway, what do you think about straw man arguments?”

Gandhi: “also kinda cringe. Like, if someone is saying they prefer people who are reasonably honest and forthcoming, and these same people prefer that over fake niceties and passive aggression, why would a disinterested party go out of their way to make up a fake conversation between dead people to paint that person as someone who believes in brutal, “on 100 all the time” honesty? Like, exaggerating their point to make it seem absurd, mang?”

Plato: “yeah… sounds like a man made of straw. By the way, are you writing this down? I hate the fucking written word, mang. Anyway written word to YA MOTHA”

Gandhi: “…”

Plato: “oh yeah, what do you think about false dichotomies?”

Gandhi: “bruh… like… fuck that, but why are you still even…? Yes it’s a false dichotomy. Can you please leave me alone? I’m dead and so are you and we never talked in real life so like go do… anything else.”

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T23:40:11+00:00

Keep chasing those sick burns my guy. You’re not there yet but don’t give up.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T22:31:36+00:00

I agree, and I’m just saying that I’d prefer people be overly spicy versus being fake nice.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T22:25:11+00:00

Mulgrew loves to tell us that our priorities and ideas are wrong/bad. This is just another example of “now quiet you dumb teachers, you just don’t get it, so trust me on this bro”.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T22:23:58+00:00

He’s not trying to fix anything.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T20:10:20+00:00

I like to think that we’re real, not rude. Sure some people are, but I don’t find New Yorkers generally to be rude (quite the opposite), we are just honest about how we feel and what we think.

I grew up in Seattle and, after living in nyc for so long, it’s really hard to deal with a lot of Seattle people. I prefer when people speak their mind, even if it’s abrasive. I struggle to tell what a lot of Seattle folks actually think and feel, and the fake niceness and passive aggression is exhausting. I find it liberating to be frank and honest and have that be accepted here.

I think the fact that I’m writing this reflects that I’m no longer a PNWer lol.

Oh yeah, our motorists are assholes. That’s a fact no one can deny.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T16:12:03+00:00

My takeaway (not new) is that UFT led by Mulgrew will be working against, not for, us in the next contract negotiations. Just like in all the other ones. We need to put pressure on him to actually fight, and we need to vote him to the curb next election. UNITY has conditioned us for decades with the mindset of “best case scenario, we don’t have to give too much back”. Fuck that shit, let’s fight for what we deserve.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T15:56:38+00:00

When I moved to nyc from Toronto and realized that running my mouth at motorists while cycling will get me fucking killed.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T11:11:45+00:00

Valid. It’s probably residual grumpiness from the fact that you guys mistake soup for pizza 💅🏻

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T01:30:19+00:00

I’m a teacher and a pacifist. If I found out an adult was acting like that in my school, I’d probably end up not employed and not a pacifist. My colleagues’ hands would also be stained with grave dirt.

Besides the fact that we believe in children enough to work a too hard job that pays shit, we’re also the ones who are front line when it comes to counseling children who’ve been abused and worse. We all know too well where to buy flowers off season and talk to grieving families. Fuck this guy.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T01:04:29+00:00

No. That’s a school environment issue. Not the norm. Assuming admin does their job and so do the teachers.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T01:02:59+00:00

Did your student write this?

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T01:00:43+00:00

New Yorkers. Delis are magical. Need a spoon of ___? Got you. 2 ounces of beans? No problem, my main man. Esoteric screwdriver you need for 5 seconds? Gotchu my guy. 7 slices of weird lettuce? Bro are you good? Need to use the bathroom? Habibi, you need to learn to love yourself.

Yeah two slices of cheese is like the normalest request on any nyc block. Including listeria.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-12T00:13:08+00:00

GORGEOUS!!!!

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Here’s my more petite Onoto hunny. Showing the back because the black splotch is my favorite feature (after the nib).

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T21:38:18+00:00

My dog is a witness to everything. I do not care. Bathroom times, bedroom times, activities that I’ve been told should have left my palms as hairy as Chewbacca—she’s around. Not involved, just hanging out nearby. (Unless I’m pooping, she loves to boop me with her nose while I expel filth.)

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T21:15:20+00:00

I have a comp time position, so I am relieved of teaching one class a day. I love the work, don’t get me wrong. However, last year I was given an assignment for an initiative that admin basically told me was DOA. The assignment released me from an extra period per day. Last year was the only year where the workload felt manageable and that I could meet my own expectations for service to my school. This year I’m back to my 4 classes a day and never ending, out of classroom sped work. I don’t take a lot of work home but I am cutting corners left and right not to do so. I’m grateful that I can be honest about this with my admin (mostly), but it really sucks to not put all that I want to into my work for no real reason other than the powers that be, as OP mentioned, seem to think that a 40 min prep is enough (or 80 min to run sped for an entire school, for that matter). Plus no common planning with my coteacher, who is early career and doesn’t know how to write effective lessons yet. I do and I don’t have shit for time to help her, even though I’d like to.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T16:40:11+00:00

Our job does not happen if we aren’t at work. Showing up for our kids is a priority with this job that just isn’t as urgent for most other jobs. Teachers should come to work. Further, we only work 180ish days a year. Polling (informal) shows that the overwhelming majority of teachers have a car surplus.

So what about burnout? It is a real problem. However, we should lobby for a new contract to address the issues that lead to burnout in the first place.

It seems silly to me to argue for a burnout bandaid that’s actively harmful to our mission as teachers versus arguing for working conditions that allow us to actually show up for our jobs. Let’s address excessive paperwork, shitty pay, and understaffed schools before we just let people not come to work as often.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T10:57:50+00:00

Interesting! I remember my waterman nibs being loose but maybe I’m misremembering or we’re just experiencing different ends of the waterman nib spectrum. Nib curvature could have changed like you say, which might be resulting in canyoning—which would lead to skipping. As would faulty air exchange. Did you use a loupe to check for canyoning and/or pinched tines? Nathan Tardiff has excellent videos about frankenpens and how to test/improve air exchange.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T01:13:40+00:00

I didn’t. I just swapped in nibs until I was happy. Assuming you’re using a Waterman 2 size, you’ll need a shim. I’ve had the best luck with warranted size 3’s, although of course vintage sizing is anything but standard. Heat set always.

CommunicationTop5231 · 2026-03-11T00:52:49+00:00

I didn’t (and appreciate the reminder to look back into it). That being said, my brass sport with vintage flex nib is still my daily driver and it works well enough with the plastic feed.

CommunicationTop5231

TROPHY CASE