Thieves Like Us">

I laughed my ass off just seeing the picture associated with this story. Ursa used to do some crazy stuff, but she definitely would never fit in an engine compartment.

So after the deliberation I went with the commuter grade Novarra Buzz V from REI. Combine their annual 15% off sale with my voucher and I basically got this $400 bike for half price.

Let me get this out of the way – I love Portland. I love all of its idiosyncracies and weirdness and public art. My software development office is housed in an artist’s loft building and I am surrounded by installations.

This latest “addition” to our city, as reported by the AP, just leaves me empty. A New York expat has decided to erect giant acupuncture needles around the city to “see the city in a holistic way” and “choosing locations where the city’s chi could use some help”.

I guess to buy into it, I have to buy into the underlying premise that acupuncture is something more than sticking needles into your body and actually has curative properties. And I’m not talking from inexperience. At one point when I was in constant pain from chronic fatigue, I tried every remedy that I could think of. I went to an acupuncturist with an open mind and a sincere desire for it to work. The most I got out of it was being forced to lie still for 35 minutes once or twice a week.

The rest of the article is a nice intro to other weirdness here in the city including Zoo Bombers, Velveteria, and the 24 Hour Church of Elvis (which now lives in my building). Check it out.

Well, the caramel and lemon-lime have been filtered and bottled and are awaiting tasting. The cantaloupe has about a week left, and since I have two “infusing units” available, I figured I would try some short duration flavors, and have all five flavors available at once.

So, I’m off to the store for vanilla beans and jalapeño peppers.

Hopefully, next weekend I can gather some guinea pigs people up and have a tasting party.

So, I have decided that I want to get a new bike. Now begins the process of figuring out what to get. Given that my usage is going to be fairly targeted (tooling around downtown city streets with weekend 10-15 mile rides) I asked my local collection of bike nerds for suggestions.

Wow – let the hate flow! Apparently there are some strong opinions out there. I should’ve known however. These are people that regularly commute long distances on their bikes. Heck, even if I use my bike to commute, I think a Schwinn Stingray could handle the 8 block distance. I just want something thats going to be comfortable to ride so that I can get some good riding time in before next winter.

And I thought this was going to be a simple process. Throw into the mix whether I should use my (rather sizable) REI dividend this year for this or for powder skis next season and the choice becomes more complicated. Then again, the dividend would just be a minor ding into the cost of some Volkls instead of a major dent into the cost of a bike.

argghh…