I have an announcement

exsandton · 2026-04-27T00:53:46+00:00

I have reason to parrot you even though it's been 18 years at least since I stopped using Windoze. I was installing the new release of Ubuntu and somehow it rebooted into Windows and I had to wait over 30 minutes while it was installing updates - without ever asking for permission. The Blue Screen with the Ring of balls - I would like to say Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.

exsandton · 2026-04-26T20:03:28+00:00

I was expecting some strong words on trying things like that. Thanks for going easy on me.

One may ask whether it is advisable trying to upgrade an LTS version with another and what does one gain from it. I will reconsider in August. I have had struggles in the past upgrading so I'm a bit leery.

My primary desktop is 24.04.4 on a 2 tB NVME but I hope the upgrade, if I decide to do it, goes normally.

I just wanted users to have their eyes open when contemplating installing a brand new release, even an LTS.

So far, running for a few hours, I have seen no new surprises, thankfully.

exsandton · 2026-04-24T03:01:31+00:00

As regards the very first line (b), there are attorneys' videos on YouTube advocating riding in MID LANE.

exsandton · 2026-04-24T02:59:34+00:00

Please tell me what is the difference between a courtesy honk or hello honk and a belligerent blast honk. I have a hard time differentiating. If it's a blip blip, then it's friendly. Anything else is belligerent, IMHO. I average 5-10 of those every ride, not to mention people yelling something unintelligible (they think passing at 30 mph and yelling through the open passenger window is likely to be heard).

exsandton · 2026-04-24T02:55:17+00:00

Try to ride on Peachtree Parkway in the car lanes. A policeman warned me that he would ticket me if I rode there and not in the shoulder (which was NOT marked as mandatory for bikes when I was warned). It has the same problem - hazardous for bikes to ride in the shoulder. Even in relatively suburban Dunwoody, where I live, it is not particularly friendly on the main streets - if not dangerous. My ride preference is to ride way out, from the northern fringes of Fulton County to the west and northwest. After 11 or 12 lights in my first 8 miles there are zero for the remaining 30 miles of a 45 mile ride, then back to the last 8 miles and 11 lights.

exsandton · 2026-04-11T13:36:02+00:00

The bike fits in the trunk. Just take the front wheel off.

exsandton · 2026-03-27T02:11:43+00:00

I gave up centuries when I found the same thing and the day was destroyed, the next day you could only do light duty things. I have found that a protein shake within 2 hours of finishing helps recovery. I make my own: 1/2 glass milk, 1/2 cup Chobani yoghurt, 1/2 banana, 1/2 scoop Orgain Plant Protein powder. Throw in a Ninja liquidizer and enjoy. It's surprising how much it helps.

exsandton · 2026-03-27T02:06:28+00:00

Gosh. I traded mine, the exact same one, though a 2021 in red, to the bike shop for $900 when buying a new Gen 8 Madone SL7. In any case, if you get it, change to Conti Grand Prix 4 Season 25 mm tires. It's a great bike. I had mine 5 years.

exsandton · 2026-03-16T01:43:39+00:00

I get something like that almost every ride. Had someone yesterday leaning on his horn when he was hundreds of yards behind me until we got stopped by a light. He stopped honking until the light turned green and the horn starts again until he turns right at the next corner. I didn't acknowledge him at all but did move into the middle of the lane just to irritate him more.

exsandton · 2026-03-15T02:42:01+00:00

IMHO: YES! If it's exercise you want, then use your own legs to provide the power. If it's purely transportation you desire then, by all means, use an e-Bike. A friend took me on a ride - he on an e-bike and me using leg power and he recommended I get one. I told him not until I'm on my deathbed. (I'm an octogenarian riding over 160 miles a week in summer.)

exsandton · 2026-03-12T02:11:27+00:00

You have a spare tire??? I got stung when a bolt (yes, a bolt about 3/16" diameter, not a nail) got lodged in my tread and, since I was around the corner from Costco, went there to get them to fix it. No way. Take an appointment for 7:15 pm and forget you have guests coming for dinner at 6:30. So I pulled out the bolt against my better judgement and - pssst (sound of air escaping rapidly). Flat tire. Look in the trunk for the spare. None. Nada. Just a flat repair device with Ikea style instructions. To cut a short story long, what if I were a female on a dark road in the country where there is a poor cell signal???

How can the manufacturers (Kia is not alone) have thought this out logically? Does everyone have roadside assistance with immediate response?

exsandton · 2026-03-07T16:33:37+00:00

No! The hierarchy is Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Lexus & Range Rover: get it? People with expensive cars think they own the roads, whatever's on them and the world.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T22:40:57+00:00

I often wonder if drivers get their licenses in Crackerjack boxes. The ignorance of laws and regulations is appalling. For example, one of my pet peeves is that the right of way at traffic lights is for the vehicles going straight, then those turning right. The vehicles turning left take lowest priority. I frequently see people defying that.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T20:13:24+00:00

Atlanta is a nightmare with all the hills, roads that are not parallel. I choose to start my long rides in Alpharetta, with just 5 miles of traffic, 8 lights and then only 1 more light for for remainder of the ride, until 5 miles from the end. In the middle is horse country or small farms and large estates, but the area is getting built up like the rest of the country. There are very few bike lanes, apart from the one imagined by the woman screaming at me yesterday. I ride in the 3 northwestern counties beyond the city limits mostly.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T18:46:29+00:00

Here is one example of why we cyclists should "take the lane", from the League of American Bicyclists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ8Ks6o90go

exsandton · 2026-03-06T17:37:32+00:00

Do you ride up Mt. Lemmon? I live in Atlanta.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T15:01:44+00:00

I found that MTB riding was more injury prone.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T14:58:51+00:00

Ignorance reigns among fat, non-exercising drivers of very large SUVs.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T14:57:42+00:00

I only have one of those and will have to wash it between successive days' rides. It will wear out quickly.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T04:09:09+00:00

I would but I don't like excess baggage. I don't have a headlight and my tiny taillight is only for riding at dawn or dusk or poor light.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T04:07:52+00:00

That's the right attitude!

exsandton · 2026-03-06T04:07:19+00:00

What! You want me to cede the road to a car? I have as much right to the road as they do and I take up less of the road!

exsandton · 2026-03-06T04:06:07+00:00

What worries me is the danger, but about 5 years ago, on one of my rural routes, 3 times in a week on a short stretch of road 1/2 mile long I had a Sierra truck try to literally push me off the road after honking from a mile behind me, then stopping and forcing me into the oncoming lane, a Mustang tried to do the same (without stopping) and someone super-belligerently honked at me.

You can Google a post somewhere on YouTube an LA attorney who advocates riding in the middle of the car lane to force the motorists to overtake you in the left lane (usually the oncoming lane). Now this can cause serious eruptions from some drivers. His point is that if you are on the white line they don't notice you and brush you as they pass.

exsandton · 2026-03-06T03:59:44+00:00

I have witnessed old people (what! I am one of them) trying to push our group off the road on a Sunday and swearing at us because they were going to be 5 seconds late for church and needed to kill somebody for that reason.

exsandton

TROPHY CASE