How the Dutch got their cycle paths

If you've traveled in The Netherlands, the sheer number of  bicycles and related infrastructure is beyond belief, at least by my standards.  It wasn't always that way...

China mop ice river jumper for the win

This is my favorite photo of the year. So far.

A winter swimmer with a mop jumps into the icy water of the Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, on December 26, 2011. (Reuters/Sheng Li)

So Andy at Trashbags is now offering mittens.  If anybody has given them a try, I'd be more than welcome to hear your thoughts.

Also, to further encourage the Google bomb:

Rick Santorum

That is all, carry on.

It's a new year, do a wheelie!

Oh wait, I thought you had studded tires.

The fifteenth installment of the Stupor Bowl is coming up on February fourth.  Go to this event and have fun, but don't be a jerk about it.

Spock sings The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

You've got to be in a special mood to stand the length of this one, but if you're there, turn it up!



Now get on with your lives:

Hey there little buddy!



I've got the concert stub for the Joshua Tree tour around here someplace...

Goodbye Walgreens, though I never did like you.

About a week and a half ago, while at work, I feel a bit of nose tingling, ear ache, and head compression; the beginnings of the common cold. I decide it best to make a visit to the nearest drugstore to get some zinc lozenges in the hopes it will minimize the illness over the then upcoming T-day weekend.

So the nearest place is Walgreens, definitely not my favorite place to visit, but it's close and I want something fast.  Walking into the door over the past several years I've noticed they have more candy on display than products to improve your  health.  This visit was no exception, with over abundant displays of chocolate and other candy filling the aisles, even spilling out between the aisles, blocking what would otherwise be space to walk more than one abreast.  I scurry past 'value packs' and bulk packages of candy, past a few aisle dividers with more of the same, get my lozenges, and head to the counter.

There is a line of four people in front of me and within 15-seconds I have three more people behind me with only the single register open - this is a big issue for me, but if I can cut the length of this cold by a few days, I'm staying put.  The petite young woman directly before me in line is checking out and I can hear but not see the clerk asking her if she wants to purchase any candy, I shit you not, like that's the main reason this woman came to the store and thanks so much for reminding her or she would have clearly forgotten and had to make the trip again.  The clerk then asks the woman if she wants to donate to the cure for diabetes.  The woman kindly declines both offers.

It's now my turn, I step up and can now see around the candy shelf on the counter that the clerk is indeed a morbidly obese woman who has to be at least 350, possibly pushing 400-pounds.  The clerk first and foremost asks me if I want any Reese's or Hershey's candy bars, as they are on sale, pointing to the display that was previously hiding her from my view.  I decline her offer of candy and say the lozenges are all I need.  The clerk then asks me if I want to donate a dollar to help find a cure for diabetes.  I sarcastically ask the woman if she sees the irony of the Walgreens corporation requiring her to push candy bars while at the same time trying to find a cure for diabetes, more than arguably caused by the saturation of sugar in our diets.  She isn't in a playful mood, not that I would be either, and our conversation is already over.  I don't blame the clerk, it's part of her job requirement and is surely "happy to have a job," which should be the slogan for the decade.

Shame on you Walgreens - seriously; you are sleazy, unethical, and just plain disrespectful of the human race.  Like I have any other choice anymore, after Walgreens has gone through and killed what was left of the locally owned drugstores, but I hold grudges, and this grudge says I'm not going back.

As far as the cold goes, I'm in the post-nasal drip induced coughing stage, which is doing a hell of a job keeping me up at night.

Schneider drug near the channel 5 tower is still open, hopefully for some time.

I've been sick, give me a break here.

Eye opening photoset showing the US in the 70's.  The Atlantic does it again.  We've made some progress, but for some unexplainable reason I didn't see any obese people in the entire set of 46 photos.  Now excuse me while I eat a few Big-Mac's.

DOCUMERICA: Images of America in Crisis in the 1970s:

MN CX Championships - now with video!

It's snowed for two-years in a row now for the MN CX championship race up in Crystal.  Last year saw much thicker snow, while this year brought the cold wind and icy snow that felt like needles hitting your eyes - very hard to see even with glasses.

Warming up, Hollywood style:

Or Lady Hollywood style:

Lots of action:

Lots of burning thighs:

You have a permit for that fire, son?

Read about the race here, if you are so inclined.

Video one - beware of motion sickness:

Video dos, complete with drum corps and ass slapping action:

That's all I got.

Anyway, full set of photos here.

rage against the machine

After the recent move, my clothing is mostly stuffed in various boxes laying around the house, but I think I chose a good combination for the ride in this morning.  It's important to keep an extra pair of gloves, hat, and socks in the backpack this time of year as you never know what's in store around the corner.

I never got too far into the cassette format, sure I made a mix tape or two, but I've always preferred to listed to entire albums; I made the jump from LP to CD back to LP and have no regrets.  This one should take a few of us back to the day, depending on how young you are inside:

In other news, what's the best way to break up a non-violent protest?  Why, violence and rage, of course!  With every 84-year old woman the police pepper spray, the movement gets stronger.

Veterans Day Tribute

I first posted this video of Pearn jumping his Suzuki three and a half years ago.  It's fitting we revisit this landmark jump on Veterans day.

Turn the volume up comrade, way up!

Also, the Bottle CX race on Sunday has no limits.  Not sure what that means, but it can't be bad.

Kenilworth Bottle CX - Sunday!

Our own good man Hurl himself has put on a bit of a race.  Be there.  Bring a bottle.  Hell, who is he kidding, bring a few!

Oak Indoor Bicycle Rack for sale

Buy this indoor bicycle rack, it's wood, oak even!  Like new, holds two bikes, but has an option for 4.  $100 takes it home.

It packs a punch

I missed Halloween this year, but after this photo was forwarded to me I believe this may be the first good reason I've seen to have a kid.  I'm thinking Beam and Camel straights would be my preference.

House hunting in Faridabad - not really

A brief video taken while traveling a few kilometers across a relatively low population dense region of Faridabad, never mind the comments by my colleague regarding the touchy subject of welfare later in the video.

Highlights include a shit-ton of cargo bikes, though none too loaded down here, a cargo bike being pushed by the left food of a scooter driver (left frame at about 0:45), slums, pollution, a few bicycle repair stations, and well, just take a look-see:

I saw a well worn older man on the side of the road wearing a t-shirt with the phrase "6-pack: coming soon" written across it along with fake ab muscles.  It's little things like this that allow you to laugh a bit under the circumstances.

BMFCT - aka ???

This weekend is the HFF, or the Homie Fall Fest for those of you that fear acronyms.  Or is it synonyms, I always confused.  Since there has been little (none) mention of this event until I just manually checked the Surly Blog, we can now say there is mention of it.  It seems like it's being called the Blow Me Fall Colors Tour now, so disregard that first line up there.  Something about meating (sic(k)) at the Town Hall Tap at 11-ish, though I was told noon-ish earlier; you can never tell with this bunch.  If you miss the start, just look for group of homeless looking folks down in a nearby woods close to a body of water - even if it's not the intended crowd, try and make the most of it.  One rule of thumb to remember for those new to the event: if you don't sin, Jesus died for nothing.

This week I move on Friday, try to hit the BMFCT on Saturday for a bit, get groped by the TSA, then jump on a plane for 16-hours bound for India for a week of sleep deprivation and putting in more hours than I care to admit on the job.

Good times.  That's all I got.