We the undersigned, do avow and promise that, on the day of the 14th of February, we will not purchase overpriced flowers, we will not purchase frivolous trinkets and baubles, we will not battle for reservations at restaurants we may not otherwise visits amid the teeming masses.

While we reserve the right to appreciate our loved ones and relationships in whatever private and appropriate manner we see fit, we will under no circumstances purchase a premade greeting card to commemorate that occasion.

Likewise, if we are not currently romantically intertwined, we agree that the 14th of February will pass just as the 13th did and the 15th will, with no particular sadness derived from whatever pink flowers and imagined affection we may chance to see on commercials, billboards, or other advertising media.

Think Fast!

Just because people tend to have weird reactions in the US to fasting, especially for slender people, I thought I'd mention that I'm doing a 36-hour one, starting last night.

Well, I will be having a few pieces of fruit throughout the day, and a glass of juice before my ride home, so I don't bonk.

So there.

Jerome David Salinger: Rest in Peace.

That was a long, reclusive, bitter life.

You’ll be missed.

Check that.

You won’t.

But, that was the whole idea, wasn't it?

You will not be missed, because your works will outlive you -- they have done so for fifty years already.

As I've mentioned to many of you separately, I've been poking my nose around this place lately. Needs a little love, but it's all there...








Built in 1895, modest-sized place that suits my needs aesthetically / emotionally.

Here's the pro and con that I can see:

CON :
* House is not entirely free of knob-and-tube wiring. Most has been replaced with romex, but some k-t still exists in the attic. It all looks in good shape, with no splices or additions, at least.

* Foundation: Half of the structure has a full-height basement, the other half, a crawlspace. The original basement was brick, but this has been replaced with poured concrete that looks good. The other half is still the original pier-and-beam, though it looks in good shape.

* living, dining, main floor bath, mudroom all contain original double-hung, single-glazed windows that will need reglazing and new sash cords if they are to open and close correctly.

* No insulation under main floor floorboards -- combined with windows, will make keeping living room warm in the winter inefficient, if I wanted to.

* No proper garage (There's a "1 car attached garage" that is basically the basement.)

* Lot size is small (future sale price?)

* Water heater is gas, but not very new

* Front porch is not original and probably needs redoing soon, certainly aesthetically. Seems a pretty small job.

PRO :

* Location is perfect -- desirable part of town, near houses of a similar vintage that are well-kept, walk to cafes, restaurants, shops. If any part of my town is up and coming, this is it.

* Lot size is small (No yard, no worries!)

* All the aesthetic "charm" I want.

* Roof is reasonably recent and in good shape asphalt shingle. Gutters were redone, probably at the same time, and look sound from what we can tell.

* Gas furnace new, professional install in 07

* Upper floor has a recent refresher, includes energy-efficient windows of some kind, lots of insulation. Attic finished into living space well-insulated, with its own wall-mounted electric heat.

* Kitchen has a full modern remodel in 07. Not completely to my taste, but "Nice on a budget" stuff here -- Silestone countertops and ceramic tile, nice large LG appliances: fridge, "stealth" dishwasher, micro/convection, and electric range / oven. Most of the other houses I looked at in my price range had a resto that looked at least 25 years old.

* Washer / Dryer aren't particularly exciting, but they are included.

Sure sure, the house needs some "finish work" -- the old baseboard moldings are there, but the little quarter-sawn shoe molding thing, if that's the right term, is missing, etc, etc. But it's all there, and it all works.

Opine, please.

Rainy dark morning, 6:30 AM, heading east on a two-lane city street. About to turn north onto the MUT, I have to stop to allow westbound traffic to clear.

Headcheck behind me shows a car a ways back heading east as well. Westbound traffic doesn't stop for me headlight and hand signal or no.

Spidey sense tingles. Other eastbound car has not even slowed.

Nowhere to go -- I hear screeching tires and have just an instant.

Forget the turn, I point both wheels straight forward, east, hands off the brakes, and stay seated just as I feel the impact of his bumper on my tire.

My rear wheel is off the ground, my front may have lifted off for a moment, and then I'm rolling forward on both wheels. A few wobbles, I make my way to the curb.

Of course, the driver speeds off.




--

I've got a couple of bruises on my thighs and "sit bones" from the saddle, and my wrists hurt, but that's about it.

Heck, my rear wheel didn't even go out of true. Thanks, Campy.

The car that hit me was a Civic. I thank the stars that it wasn't a pickup...

I'm trying to decide whether I have anything worthwhile to write besides Cycling Product XYZ reviews, and, Commuting is Kind of Crazy Sometimes.

Right now, though, I haven't go it, so, here's what I found as I rolled through frosty Tacoma last week. I know this ain't much for hardened New Englanders, but, dang! We ain't used to this.

Sometimes, it really is that simple:

Take this call. "Bike Company, may I help?"

Caller: "Yes, hello, I bought one of your accessories, it has a mounting bracket that I'm having a hard time attaching."

Yours Truly: "Okay, what seems to be the problem?"

Caller: "Well, there is a special kind of screw in there, I can't figure out how to get it out... no screwdriver I have works."

Yours Truly: "Sir, that is an Allen bolt."

Caller: "Oh, so I need an Allen wrench for it?"

Yours Truly: "Correct, yes."

Caller: "Okay, great, you've been very helpful."

If I were feeling a little hipper, this would be high time for a facepalm.

...aaand we've got it.

Success, etc!

More later.

Snapped off frozen bolt extraction attempts o-rama!

Yeah, this is irritating.

Preamble: Costco is a company that I overall have a great deal of respect for. Their cost-cutting, volume-based business model is simple to understand, saves me and other customers money, and their equitable treatment of employees makes the shopping experience physically and ethically more pleasant.

So, please take this criticism in the spirit it is offered.

I just got a book of coupons for Costco. Actually, I got two of them, since my landlord has not changed her address with the company.

Coupons.

For Costco.

What gives? What sense does this make? These are not manufacturer's coupons being passed down to club members, they are internal, store coupons.

If you're not with me yet, let me explain: Costco is a warehouse club. This means you have to pay a modest annual fee to shop there, and then you're on the list. Once a member, you get the same low pricing (most of Coscto's products sell at about 10-12% gross profit margins) as all other members. SKU count, the total number of items, is low on the floor, as are costs.

I won't get into excessive detail about these cost cutting measures, but, the point is that on any given item, Costco makes a little money, but not very much. It is a great place to buy name brand items for reliably cheap.

This differs from premium grocery stores, like Safeway, in my area, which have single-unit items at considerably higher retail prices, but many items are frequently on sale. In a given product category, I'd wager there's at least SOMETHING on sale, every week, at Safeway. Furthermore, they sometimes offer "loss leader" sales, a doorbuster product sold for an unsustainably low price, designed to entice shoppers into the store. The idea is that you'll buy enough full-margin items to make up for it.

In your market, you probably get the traditional Tuesday grocery flier, with specials from all of the local shops, all vying for your business with specials like this. They send this flyer to literally every house in your neighborhood, attempting to lure your business.

Coscto doesn't spend the money on either the mass media advertising or the loss-leaders, as it would be antithetical to its EDLP (Every Day Low Price) business model.

The coupons they are sending me arrive at my place because I AM ALREADY A MEMBER. Their coupon distribution is one coupon book, one member.

Do you see what I am getting at?

If everyone eligible to shop at the store, and only those people, are offered the same price, what is the point of the coupon?

It's just an advertisement.

I used one, anyway, last week. Sure, I can complain, but I'm a cheap date. The cashiers scan the coupons, but they do not require their surrender.

This further demonstrates my point.

So, knock it off. Just lower the price to whatever it is that the coupon indicates, and, if you must, send members a flyer indicating what the price is.

Agreed?