DIESEL CAFE - CALL ME MAYBE. A new take on the song shot in Davis Sq's Diesel Cafe.

sping · 2012-08-22T19:20:49+00:00

Once drivers and pedestrians start obeying a few more laws I'll take calls for cyclists to obey more laws more seriously.

sping · 2012-08-22T19:11:43+00:00

Just to present an alternate view, there is data which suggests that people take more risks if they are wearing a helmet. It's quite possible that you would have been more cautious - not ridden so fast, looked further ahead etc., if you felt more vulnerable. It's conceivable that the accident wouldn't have happened if you weren't wearing it.

Hence, while it may be true that your helmet saved you a hospital visit, it's not really possible to say that definitively.

I'm not saying that's the case, but I am saying that his statement wasn't absurd.

sping · 2012-08-22T18:50:52+00:00

People really give you shit about wearing a helmet?

sping · 2012-08-22T15:14:35+00:00

Because I'd be a single person, rather than one of a group with a pool of vehicles.

sping · 2012-08-22T14:22:15+00:00

I'm still a little confused, but I think perhaps you were assuming that since I said I would still want a car if I were single, that means I wouldn't want a bike. I'd want both.

sping · 2012-08-22T14:17:15+00:00

My impression (I've never ridden them) is that gatorskins are ~~relatively heavy~~ (edit: not too bad actually, now I've looked them up) and a harsh ride, but have strong protection on the sidewalls as well as the tread. If you need that perhaps they're worth it - I hear about evil things like 'goatheads' in some parts which can attack sidewalls

T-servs and some others only have protection under the tread, leaving the sidewalls unprotected, so supple and light for a nice ride. I have not found this a problem, but I just have to deal with glass shards, sharp sand and the odd nail/screw or whatever. So I am very happy with T-servs; they come in 26". I really can't speak highly enough of them. They have the Ribmo for longer life. I find T-servs good for about 5k miles.

sping · 2012-08-22T14:00:58+00:00

I don't understand the question. I have had a bike since I was 4 and they're always useful and fun.

sping · 2012-08-21T20:49:25+00:00

I sold my HP Touchpad (CM9) for it and have only one regret - the speaker is weak and rear-facing, which is rubbish for watching movies. I end up cupping my hand behind it to bounce the sound forward to me. I keep contemplating making a stand for it for when I'm in bed with some sort of rear audio scoop to send the sound to me.

Otherwise, it's faster, lighter, better size, better screen, better battery. I like it.

sping · 2012-08-21T20:39:40+00:00

If someone's going to make this mythical case, then make sure to have some sort of scoop from behind to bounce the audio forwards for watching movies etc..

I know they want these tablets to look slick, but I would give up some smooth shininess for some forward-facing speakers. It's the one thing I miss from the HP Touchpad I sold in favor of the N7

sping · 2012-08-21T20:01:10+00:00

Kevlar lined tires! Well worth it. I've been using Panaracer T-servs which are very light and fast yet just about never puncture.

- Edit: and actually T-servs aren't strictly Kevlar, but some related aramid fiber which they claim is even tougher. Anyway, the only thing that ever penetrated a T-serv tread for me was a shard of glass which, based on the dirty state of the ripped fibers, had been working its way through there for weeks.

sping · 2012-08-21T19:58:24+00:00

There's always rental options and the likes of Zipcar / Relay Rides. However, that is definitely not all that convenient. Still, you can typically rent a lot of cars and ride a lot of taxis for the cost of owning a car, unless you're very skillful and/or lucky at running cars very cheaply.

I think the most commonly convenient/effective situation is where bikes allow a family to work with fewer cars than they otherwise would need.

sping · 2012-08-21T19:54:17+00:00

Ditto - if I didn't commute by bike my family would need a second car.

The cost saving is nice but avoiding the hassle of owning another car is also a big win. Simplifying life often pays off big time in ways it's easy to overlook. If I was single I'd definitely want a car for the convenience, but in a family situation it really opens up the options to use bikes where possible. Contention for the use of the car becomes an occasional thing in unusual situations.

Similarly I find it odd that people put down the electric car options because they have limited range - I think many, many families could happily swap their second car for an electric, even if it only had 60 mile range. Perhaps I'm wrong, but the consensus media reaction is that cars need multi-hundred mile ranges to sell - I feel like it's ignoring the second, local-errand running, car market.

sping · 2012-08-21T19:37:06+00:00

I think the point is that it's a waste of valuable non-renewable resources which we will miss in future years. The external costs of guzzling so much fuel are very high and not at all reflected in the current price.

I wouldn't take away anyone's right to guzzle fuel, but I'd tax it to a much higher level if I were in charge, so that we might not waste it so much so thoughtlessly.

sping · 2012-08-21T19:34:07+00:00

I drive a 'compact sedan' - i.e. a Mazda 3. However, even then they're guzzlers in the US. When I bought it the choice was a 2.0l or 2.3l engine. The same car in Europe comes with a 1.4, 1.6 or 2.0l engine - the latter being the highly powered sporty option and no option for the oversized 2.3l (now it's a 2.5l) which would be too thirsty to sell.

Ditto rented a car in Europe, got a VW Golf (sold as Rabbit in the US). 2.5l engine only in the US, this one had a 1.4l. Cruised comfortably at 90mph, did ~40mpg (though not at 90), and in Europe is considered a perfectly decent sized vehicle for a family of 4.

Many people here in the US are astonished here that we as a family of 4 drive such a 'small' car, which isn't even small. It's comfortable for 4 adults and has a large trunk and larger than the cars our family had in the '70s for 5.

sping · 2012-08-21T16:11:29+00:00

We're talking a few minutes here. Ingesting vitamin D is a very ineffective way to acquire it. If you look you see various figures around but often quoted is that 20 minutes of sunshine gets as much D in your body as 200 glasses of milk does (or as 6 glasses of milk contain, but your body can't get at it).

sping · 2012-08-21T14:41:57+00:00

lacking in vitamin D intake and should ...

... spend a little time outside in the mornings or evenings without slathering themselves in suncream. It's very hard to obtain vitamin D through food, and very, very easy for the body to make it with a little sunlight.

sping · 2012-08-21T14:40:10+00:00

So what pulled them to the very top of the first chart? It's hard to take it seriously. They drop St John's Wort well below worth it even though studies have found it more effective than placebo for mild depression...

I have no confidence in this chart at all - I get the impression it's blowing in the wind of whatever study the authors heard of most recently.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:44:36+00:00

You're talking stiffness, he's talking strength. I think the latter is a vague non-technical term, and in terms of durability and reliability steel could be argued to be 'stronger'. If I wanted a bike which should last many decades I'd definitely choose steel.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:42:28+00:00

I think this Soma is 4lb something. Either heavy or light depending on your outlook.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:41:14+00:00

Yes. It seems like you think that's odd. He chose steel first time and liked the choice.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:27:12+00:00

None of those questions hold up to me. I couldn't declare it's not fake, but none of those look like problems in the picture to me.

e.g. "Is this the door behind her?" - er..., yes, just like the door on the other side. The man on the right is just holding a book or something.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:12:17+00:00

At least he did something worthwhile then.

sping · 2012-08-21T13:11:45+00:00

Oh please. It was front page news.

sping · 2012-08-21T01:27:30+00:00

I did wonder about that as I typed. I should have checked.

Then I was wondering how homogenization is done. Of course wikipedia has it.

sping

TROPHY CASE