gr (he/him)

I propose a (weak) theory there…

bsky.app/profile/0x67...

Yes, but at least that group got the right hemisphere, let alone continent.

The cluster in southwest Missouri is baffling. Even with awareness of Memphis (TN) and Cairo (IL), and the relative locations of their namesakes, that’s the wrong cardinal direction…

Believing the 50 million dollars is available to the party posing the challenge is the sticking point for me.

I thought they delayed GTA 6…?

As near as I can tell, Eighth Inch (dot com) is no longer a going concern, but… damn, they made sturdy rims!

My eighthinch.com Amelia wheel in my truing stand.

I beat the crap out of this bike frequently, and maintain it less than I think I should. This front wheel is just a *hair* out of true (after five years of my use: who knows for the prior owner) right at the product label and a 1/16th turn further counter-clockwise.

A bicycle missing its front wheel, on a repair stand in my home. For the provenance of its front wheel, see prior post.

(“The bike.”)

A bicycle wheel in a truing stand in my kitchen.

And, you know, I’ve got the wheel off and the tube back in, surely I should true it before putting it back on the bike, right?

Hard agree.

I went for a run today. I was in a miserable mood when I went. I listened to @thebugle.bsky.social on my run. @alicefraser.bsky.social had talked on Patreon about how to address Bondi. What she said was powerful. It needs to be heard.

I suggest that you listen to it in your free time.

A pinprick puncture of the same tube.

Nope! It’s here. Pinprick. I’m patching this, putting another layer over The Bulge, and putting the tube back in. This’ll be the Tube of Theseus if it doesn’t kill me by exposing explosive decompression first.

A bicycle tube with two patches, bulging outwards over the original failure.

Wrt tonight’s slow leak: surely it’s gotta be somewhere along this bulge where I previously patched a ~4cm gash in this tube, I think three years ago, right?

Had I not labeled this tube myself, on the final external surface, I could not have been certain at a glance that it was the right tube for this wheel.

(Yeah, it’s the spare I carry on that bike, but I have, three times this year, pulled my spare for somebody else’s bike! So this matters!)

A fresh bicycle tube, deflated and wound tightly so that it fits into a saddle-bag, manually labeled (by me!) with its intended wheel diameter and tube diameter (700x20-25C).

Same tube, alternate view. The manufacturer’s labeling is buried about 20mm from the valve stem on the *inside* surface of the tube.

For example, I caught a slow-leak flat on a group ride I was leading tonight (hi, @wednightrides.org), and this is the spare tube I have on that bike (I didn’t swap it in for Reasons: not the point):

Some people, who know me personally, will know *precisely* why I'm asking this question, but I'm hoping to toss it out to the larger (hate this:) #biking / #bicycle community. Ahem:

Why are bicycle tubes labeled with their dimensions on the inner surface, nowhere near visible when they're stored?

bsky.app/profile/moby...

Wouldn’t the next legislated step from there be installing JD Vance as President pro tem?

Is that better or worse?

I grew up in St. Louis, and I don’t give a shit about most popular US sports (I guess, “Go Birds!”: I live in Philly now), but there’s no shot “St.-Louis” matched with “Red[s?]” and the SF Giants logo wouldn’t piss off at least three cities. But, hey, they were mostly-legible words?

Actually, I guess, "Where's the plug?" works for the original version too.

bsky.app/profile/capn...

Where's the plug?

Cyclists dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus on a tandem bicycle, among other cyclists (all bikes themselves lit by LEDs) across a median in South Philly with holiday decorations on the trees and shrubs, backed by several row homes, also with lit decorations.

I draw your attention especially to Mr. and Mrs. Claus on a tandem.

cdn-5d792904f911c90950a587a6.closte.com/wp-content/u...

Here are some photos (and a write-up) from @bcgp.bsky.social:

bicyclecoalition.org/13th-year-at...

Oh, I knew, that was part of the point!

(The other part was that I like it a lot.)

YouTube video by Unwoman - Topic I'm Afraid of Americans

This is a hat on a hat, but maybe see also her cover of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans": www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvS...

Go ahead, scan that QR code!

But maybe don’t just scan QR codes you see out in public. Getting Rick rolled is just a demonstration of the vector.

A 16g packet of honey from Hello Fresh, with a QR code that expands just to its internal tracking code number.

Hey kids, QR codes (and their ability to be recognized on curved surfaces, maybe with small obstructions) actually have legitimate industrial and commercial use!

Riders on the Storm (by request) | Unwoman Get more from Unwoman on Patreon

It is, obviously, a very different source work, but see also her cover (shifted to a minor key — I think? I now doubt my memory of the original orchestration — and slower tempo; also all instruments are her cello) of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm":

www.patreon.com/posts/77908765

The Eldritch One, Jolene, by Unwoman from the album Untitled Scary EP No. 1

If you haven't (and you, statistically, probably haven't) consumed @unwoman.com's Eldritch reinterpretation (it's not just a "cover") of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", I recommend that you do.

(Yes, you'll need to pay for it. Suck it up and support Art.)

unwoman.bandcamp.com/track/the-el...

I took zero photos, even though I was manning several corners (and then catching the front) because gloves and phone fiddling don’t play well together. But I’m sure some will appear via @bcgp.bsky.social & @wednightrides.org soon.

[1] It does a pretty good job of looking like Real Business content (not just the message body, but also bothering to do stuff like DKIM signatures), and the sending IP wasn't yet in many RBLs (but probably is in all now), so I hope it doesn't dupe anybody else. But telling me you're my HR/IT? Rofl.