During the summer in NYC, we get a lot of visitors. Yes, human friends come to stay with us - but we also get insect friends wandering into the apartment. When it rains heavily, even more of them come inside. Any relaxed insect who wants to hang out in our place is welcome, but if they want to bite or they're big flying cockroaches (the large outdoor species are driven inside by the rain) we like to return them to nature (or Brooklyn as the case may be).
How do we do it? The Humane Bug Katcher. It's a great tool for gently collecting an insect friend and returning it outdoors. I used it 3 times last night - it's a great test of your ability to move slowly and carefully. Toss that swatter and try it! You'll feel so much better re-locating your insect friends.
One of my favorite things about living in Japan is not needing a car. I have never been interested in cars, and I don't really enjoy driving. Sometimes Japanese people will tell me that one of their hobbies is "driving", but for me speeding down an asphalt road in a big hunk of metal with other bigger hunks of metal just inches away also moving at high speeds, it's just not my idea of relaxing.
Instead, I ride my bicycle just about every day of the year. I can get to any part of the city in under a half hour on my bike, often faster than a car. And over time I've learned a lot from riding a bike. These lessons also apply to a well-lived life, and so I'll share them with you now!
This article in the New York Times is just silly. It's called "Is Bicycling Bad For Your Bones?" and asks:
"Is cycling bad for the bones? A number of intriguing studies published in the past 18 months...have raised that possibility..."
Um.... No, actually all the studies they talk about are looking at "competitive bike riders" and refer to riding a bicycle as an "endurance sport." I don't know anyone who rides a bicycle as an "endurance sport" and just about everyone I know rides a bicycle.
Finally, at the end, they concede "most recreational cyclists probably don’t need to worry too much about their bones. “The studies to date have looked primarily at racers,” Smathers says. “That’s a very specialized demographic."
So, what was all that alarmist nonsense at the beginning? Oh, I get it, they're trying to hook you into the article by scaring you. When did the New York Times start using tactics borrowed from the local 6 'clock news?
"Hi,I am curious about your saddle. What kind of lepper saddle is it and are they easy to find. I am looking at getting a euro type bike and I know that many of them come with leather saddles. I will want to switch that out if that is what I get. Thanks.
I think it is awesome that you veganized your Velorbis. "
The plastic Lepper saddles are the "Comfotech" line. I would ask around and see if any of your bike shops can order Lepper saddles for you, I'm often surprised how many shops will special order something obscure. Even if the Lepper brand isn't available from your bike shop, there are many varieties of animal-free saddles available. Most seats sold in the US are non-leather.
Personally, I find a standard American gel comfort seat to be more comfortable than the Lepper Comfotech - but the Lepper is a more traditional style for a 'euro-bike.'
Hopefully you were spared the pain of reading the "vegan saddles" thread on bikeforums.net which is full of idiots writing "but the cow is already dead." If so, please whatever you do, don't google "vegan saddles."
Hey readers, what are your favorite non-animal saddles?
Last week I visited a friend of mine, Luke, who lives in a co-op in New Cross, South London. The Sanford Co-op has been around since the early 1970s and is known for its sustainable energy use and communal atmosphere.
Up until last week everyone has claimed a bike parking space next to a tree, picnic table, or various other objects. There are almost 200 people living in the flats; most have bikes. An architect Christos Choraitis designed this beautiful and smartly designed bike "shed" to house everyone's scattered bikes.
It is constructed out of re-used railway ties, perhaps referencing the industrial surroundings, and was built using co-op resident labor. (You can read about the planned design of this structure when it was reported in 2006). One can climb the outside and tend to the garden on top. Or, enter through the passcode-protected, swing-hinged door to access a bike.
The grand opening party was in full ride when I visited last Wednesday night and the "shed" makes for a natural gathering spot. We sat on top and enjoyed some sangria while others hung out by the vegetable/dip table set up inside. Luke and some others discovered the inside makes for a good climbing gym as well.
I was amazed by the co-op itself; not to mention Choraitis' design. The area surrounding the living spaces is full of gigantic plants, koi ponds and raised garden beds. The co-op was bought on the cheap due to the high levels of lead in the soil (thus the raised beds).
The houses each have their own flavor and design. The kitchens were recently refurbished and each house competed to design the best slate tile pattern. I was lucky enough to join in on the party that night and crash in one of the rooms. Everyone I met was varied in their interests and nationality. But, they all seemed to appreciate bikes, traveling and enjoying life. If I don't return to NYC it's because I moved in here.
What is the best bicycle manufactured today? Arrow? Cykelmageren? My suspicion is that it's something that's a danish-japanese hybrid that I don't yet know about.
You all know about A.N.T.'s bikes - but in case anyone hasn't seen them yet - now you too can dream of having one, here you go!
These people are roasting a dead goat using a bicycle powered spit. It's a horrifying use of a bicycle and contrary to everything we stand for. There is nothing 'green' about slaughtering animals (or any part of the animal food industry) - no matter how 'local' and 'small' it is.
There is no such thing as a 'free range' animal raised for slaughter. It's not 'free' unless it can leave without having its throat slit. A 'grass fed cow' is still terrified as its herded into a cage where its neck is sliced open as it drowns in its own blood, while other cows stand by and watch, waiting their turn to die.
Contrary to what hipsters would have you believe, eating 'local' bacon isn't any better than eating any other bacon - it's still a dead animal, an animal that was imprisoned for its whole life and then murdered. It's still the flesh of an intelligent, social being - a being capable of having relationships, of caring for children, a being that feels pain when its throat is slit and it's hung upside down with a hook in its leg.
A woman goes to jail for killing her puppy and making a belt out of it - but millions of animals are slaughtered to make your shoes, your belts, your burgers - and all of them have just as much right to live as that puppy.
I know, you might disagree. But here's the truth you'll eventually have to face: you're wrong. You're the person who said "as long as the slaves are comfortable and well fed and we let them have Sunday off to go to church, it's not so bad really, and after all, we can't release them, what would they do? how would they take care of themselves?" Those people were called welfarists and they just wanted to make the slaves living conditions better. When slavery ended, they suggested all slaves be sent to work-camps so they could be trained on how to work. The people who wanted to stop slavery were the abolitionists. Get on the right side of history, become an abolitionist today and refuse to support a culture that enslaves millions and murders them for the dinner table - just to satisfy the gluttonous appetite of America while the rest of the world starves.
Well, ehouse is in London at the moment, and we're hoping she'll be posting something about her trip soon. (Please encourage her to do so in the comments...) Next she's headed to Berlin, so if you have any ideas for her, head to the comments and post away!
Next month I'll be going to Barcelona. We're staying in Gracia and Raval, splitting our time between the two neighborhoods. I've been working on planning the trip and now that the broader details are settled, it's time to start looking into bicycle rentals.
We'll want two city bicycles that are sturdy and well kept, with all the requisite features of a real bicycle (basket or rack, lock, lights, chain guard, etc). Have an opinion, an experience to share about Barcelona or bicycling life in Spain? Please post. Do you rent bicycles in Barcelona? Why should we choose your business? Any idea where we can rent a Velorbis in Barcelona? (OK, yes we're spoiled and hate to give up our favorite bikes). Here is a list of the rental options I've looked at so far.
biciclot: Already in first place because they don't just rent bicycles, they're also a bicycle advocacy organization.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, is investigating possible sites for 12 new bike 'superhighways' throughout his city. Last Friday he and several others, including the transport minister, biked together through Canary Wharf. Watch what happened to them.
No one was seriously hurt. And London will hopefully have some damn safe bike lanes.
Madsen is running a contest for a chance to win one of their cargo bikes. You must link to them from your facebook (which is possible with an html app), myspace, twitter, blog, website, etc. to be entered. We are doing it here, obviously.
It's a beautiful spring day in New York - cloudy and a little rainy, but beautiful. And then, the chirping birds and sound of the breeze are suddenly interrupted by a penetrating, MIDI tune, and a voice saying... 'Helllo!" It's an ice cream truck, parked under the window, playing that awful song over and over and over....
It was one thing when as a kid there was one ice cream truck in our little town and if you were lucky it might come by - but in a city like this there are fleets of them, prowling the neighborhoods blasting 'songs' designed to get attention no matter how hard you try to ignore them. What can you do when they park in your hood and keep playing that music? Well it turns out that NYC accepts noise complaints for parked ice cream trucks:
"The City accepts complaints about ice cream trucks and other mobile food vendors that play music while parked. Investigations are most successful when you provide details about the problem, including the truck's license number, vendor name, and days and times that the noise occurs."
Be sure to get the license plate number and file your complaint online here.
I acquired a flat tire crossing Eastern Parkway last night. This was after riding on the new bike lane, visiting Prospect Park, and thinking about how much I loved everything. The sun had set as I sadly walked my bike up Underhill. It made a continous thump-thump sound; I felt the pity of passing pedestrians. Luckily, I was able to bring my bike by our neighborhood shop Brooklyn Bike y Board as soon as I left Manhattan earlier today.
I have to say I love the guys who work here. They are seriously hot and seriously talented. This is Zach (sp?) working on my bike. He got a kick out of my weird brake casing and told me a story about how he once bounced a phone off his shoe and caught it in superhuman fashion.
What I appreciate about the new owners/workers at BByB is their genuine interest in every bike (and bike owner) that rolls in. They drooled over a customer's perfect Frejus Campione del Mondo Olimpionico roadbike, yelled about plans to start a bike polo team, sprayed me in the face with a water gun (on accident), practiced track stands, and told me how they watch out for the extra small and extra large bikes- all of this while helping me and others. And, even though the shop was busy, the Fearless Leader heard me tell Zach about my plans for something other than my single speed and he showed me this small-framed, silver 5-speed with pink cables.The shop is going to put some narrow tires on this one, tune it up, and modify it for my liking. Then it's coming home with me. I haven't told my red bike yet.
From the decision of Judge Victoria A. Graffeo in the case of an MTA metro card bender. Thanks to the judge's decision, hackers everywhere can learn more about the MTA Metrocard design.
"The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is responsible for operating the mass transit system in the New York City area. In years past, a person gained access to the subways by purchasing a token and depositing it into a turnstile. This mechanical means of entry was eventually replaced with a computerized system that uses a "MetroCard" -- a plastic swipe card that is "read" by a scanner, embedded within a turnstile, that deducts the cost of the fare from the MetroCard.
There are two types of MetroCards: value-based MetroCards (referred to as "pay-per-ride" cards) and time-based MetroCards (referred to as "unlimited" cards). A purchaser of a time-based card is provided unlimited transportation access for a specified period of time (one day, one week or one month depending on the purchase price). The purchaser of a value card electronically stores a certain amount of money on the MetroCard that will be debited each time the user enters the MTA system. Only value cards are at issue in this appeal.
A MetroCard has two distinct magnetic fields that contain information, referred to as the primary and secondary fields. The MTA opted to use two fields so that the information encoded onto the card has "backup" storage in the event that a magnetic field is damaged. Based on the testimony of an MTA expert in this case, when a value-based MetroCard is swiped through the electronic eye of a turnstile, a computer reads both magnetic fields. If the MetroCard has monetary value remaining, the turnstile grants access and deducts the cost of the ride from the value of the card, amending the information stored on the magnetic strip to reflect the reduction in value. Thus, the expert explained, if a MetroCard is bought for $4 in value, that amount is initially encoded onto both the primary and secondary fields. When the card is first used for a $2 fare, the computer will deduct $2 from one of the fields, leaving the other field at $4. The next time the MetroCard is swiped for entry, the computer does not change the $2 field but instead reduces the $4 field to zero. Once one of the fields reads zero, the turnstile is not supposed to open. By utilizing this design methodology, which electronically leaves $2 of value on one of the magnetic fields even though the purchased value has been depleted to zero, the MTA intended to give riders "the benefit of the doubt" in the event that the magnetic strip was damaged. Thus, if the computer eye in the turnstile cannot determine the true remaining purchase value but can read the $2 backup field, one ride can be obtained.
Individuals seeking free rides on the subway soon learned how to take advantage of the system's design. By creating a small bend or crease on the section of the magnetic strip where the zero-value field is contained, a person can obliterate that information so that, when swiped, the computer is unable to detect that the MetroCard is worthless, meaning no purchase value remains. When there is a strategically-placed crease or bend on the card, the turnstile computer will read the other field containing the $2 "backup" information, which gives the user of the card a free entry to the subway. Hence, a person can bend a valueless MetroCard and swipe it once, then use or sell the free ride at a discounted price by swiping it a second time (this is referred to as "selling swipes"). The ease of this type of alteration and its popularity among individuals who are willing to defraud the MTA contributed to considerable losses of revenue for the MTA -- it was estimated that as of 2005, fraudulent MetroCard use was costing the MTA approximately $16 million per year, the equivalent of about 8 million ride fares."
If you learned anything from Michael or Biden you will know this is turning out to be a good week not to ride public transportation. So, here is some bike news. Yesterday I was riding south on Schenectady on my way back from a job in Bed-Stuy. I turned west onto Bergen St. and low and behold there is a newly (not necessarily freshly) painted bike lane!
Up until this week Bergen has had a bike lane as far east as New York Ave, and the paint was barely there anyway. But now it goes beyond what is even shown online to at least somewhere past Schenectady. Below shows the new lane painted over the old one futher west. The city must have been out painting this week (I also noticed fresh paint at Prospect Park last night). Isn't Crown Heights beautiful? I'm in love with Brooklyn today, if you couldn't tell.
New York City, State and the US Federal Government aren't using the word. But I think it's worth pointing out that it's the right word to use.
North America is currently experiencing an influenza pandemic. "What?!" you say, "they told us it's not a pandemic yet!" Well, sort of. It's not a global pandemic, but it is a pandemic. And no, a pandemic is not necessarily always global, it can also be national or regional.
Based on the guidelines in the W.H.O. document "Pandemic Influenza and Preparedness Response," we have "human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region." What we don't yet have, but will certainly have soon is "community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different W.H.O. region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5."
It seems our local, state and federal government don't want to use the word pandemic yet - perhaps simply to prevent panic. But we should be aware that there is currently a pandemic of H1N1 flu in the United States. Or as I am calling it "Factory Farm Flu."
If you pay attention, you'll hear the correct language from W.H.O. For example Margaret Chan, the W.H.O. director general was quoted by the New York Times today saying "W.H.O. will be tracking the pandemic."
Of course, there's a bright side. Riding your bicycle and avoiding the subway is a great way to avoid the Factory Farm Flu.
The New York Times thinks they've found a "new It object" - the "dutch bicycle." But points out that "Serious obstacles stand in the way." Amazing work NYT - how did you ever uncover this little known object and the secret society that uses them? (And how did the writer get away with ignoring the community that has already embraced regular bicycles... perhaps Google searching is too advanced for a Times journalist.)
I guess the times didn't feel there was a story here until Club Monoco decided to put a Gazelle for sale in their window.... It's too bad their vision is limited to whatever is going on the corporate retail world. Club Monoco is even claiming that the Gazelle they are carrying is "Exclusively for Us" and the "Ultimate Urban Accessory." Puke. It's a bicycle, not an accessory.
And back to the Times, what's with those gloves? They're writing an article about riding a regular bicycle and say "If a guy is going to get on a bike, he wants to imagine he’s Lance Armstrong"? Right, why do you need those gloves to ride a "dutch bicycle"? Has the author even been on a bicycle?
And the final insult? No mention of Denmark? No mention of Copenhagen, the worlds best cycling city? Oh nevermind, I give up.... newspapers are dead anyway...
"Bike to MoMA on April 6 and get half-price admission and free bicycle valet parking! One Monday a month, The Museum of Modern Art stays open until 8:45 p.m. Drop in after hours for exhibitions, films, DJ, cash bar, and a bite to eat at Cafe 2 (limited evening menu)—plus the first 600 ticket buyers after 5:30 p.m. get free admission on their next visit.
The evening goes green with free bicycle valet parking courtesy of Transportation Alternatives, New York City's advocate for biking, walking, and public transit. Rain or shine, park your bike (enter on 53 Street) and receive a voucher for half-price Museum admission. Carbon emissions will be offset for the event, and we're raffling off a collapsible STRiDA 5.0 Bicycle, ideal for urban transport.
Exhibitions on view include Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective and Projects 89: Klara Liden. In the theaters at 7:00 p.m., New York–based artist and filmmaker Carter introduces the U.S. premiere of his most recent film, Erased James Franco (2008), and takes part in a post-screening conversation with its star, James Franco. (Screening is included in the cost of admission; tickets are first come, first served.)
As always, members get free admission to MoMA Monday Nights, and may bring up to five guests per member for just $5 each."
“You know, the yelling and screaming about the rich — we want rich from around this country to move here,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said a few days ago. “We love the rich people.”
No, actually, we don't. The hoarding of wealth and resources might make sense to proponents of the absurd economic system we're living in now - but look at what a success that has been. Anyway, since Baron Bloomberg is the richest of them all, he must have been using the royal we.
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