Enough, already!

I am tired of it being winter.
I want to go on a bike ride and go camping. hurumph.

also, and more interestingly,
Last week was the semi annual (bi-annual? twice a year, anyway) roaster cleanup at Northwest. We took the coffee roaster apart, ground out all the accumulated crap, and put it back together.
It was like taking the ventilation system out of your house, using power tools to clean out 10 layers of paint, then putting it all back together. It was okay, but the clouds of dust nearly killed me. Better mask next time. *cough* *cough*

misanthropy

It's official.
I hate people.
Sort of surprising the number of persons I like individually. They fail to outweigh the sheer numbers of people ripe for my hatred.

Really, I should probably get out of retail.
I'm not sure if I'm just an introvert who works in retail, and I've been driven to misanthropy, or if my experience in retail has shown me the ugly underbelly of humanity. Currently, I'm leaning towards the latter.

Also, I haven't posted in a while. It's been a super-busy summer, I sold one of my bikes, and I hope to buy a new one soon.

Spring is not come.

:(
Yesterday was beautiful!
Today is cold and foul. It is supposed to snow and sleet. Again.
I want it to be spring so I can ride my bike.
There are many things I want to do when it warms up.

My faith in humanity died a little today.

How can so many people act so dumb? Are they drunk? Are they really as stupid as they act?

If that is the case, how did they manage to live so long?

They seem to not hear you unless you tell them what they want to hear. I got a phone phone call from a customer at the bike shop today.

Him: Uh... Yeah, do you guys uhhh fix uhhh hand brakes?

Me: yes, we do.

Him: how much would uhhh, it uhhh, be to uhhh, fix my hand brakes? Like it uhhh, doesn't work. (at this point, I've edited out the stammering, but it continues)

Me: Well, I can't really say for certain without seeing it. There are a wide variety of things that could be wrong. The best thing to do would be to bring it in, so I could have a look at it. Estimates are always free.

Him: well, like, how much would it be to fix?

Me: It's hard to say. I'd really have to have a look to say for certain. It would be about $10 to adjust them, or about $15 if you need to replace the cable and housing. That is a fairly common problem.

Him: well, like, the if you squeeze the lever it doesn't stop. How much to replace the cable and the back part?

Me: Well, the cable and adjustment would be around $15, and new calipers (the "back part") are around $20, though that depends some on the style.

Him: Uhh, I dont' think it's, like, the caliper. Like, when you squeeze the handle, it doesn't stop.

Me: Well, I really should have a look at it. If the caliper is not moving, it could be that your cable is seized up, and you would need to replace the cable and housing. Though I can't say for certain without actually looking at your bike.

Him: But like, how much would that cost?

Me: the cable and housing? That would cost right about $15.

Him: $15? thanks.

I mean WTF? Do people call car mechanics and say things like “so , my car doesn't run, what would it cost to fix?” ...Well, come to think of it, they probably do.

If provided with some actual information, I can make an educated guess as to what's wrong with a bike. Given a description of symptoms which are vague and possibly contradictory, there's not much I can do.

Why are people so dumb?

my fantasy conversation:

"uhh, what's it cost to fix my bike, so like when you push the thing the other thing goes "click" then it like goes thump and stops"

Me: Oh, that's the very common "thing, click, thump, stop" That's twenty billion dollars. then there's a lubrication surcharge of $1.50.

These guys give men everywhere a bad name.

So, I've been bored at work today.
I was reading some of my old blog posts, and I Have a couple of things to say.
First of all, I'm a funny guy. I never realized before.


Second, well not really. Anyway, I saw this ------------>
and.... Goddam.
I apologize to any femists I may have ever upset in anyway. Apparently, boys really are stinky. I hope that you all think of me as some sort of less stinky boy.

What the Hell would posess ANYone EVER to put FAKE TESTICLES on his damn truck?
WTF? I'll say that again. WTF? what makes you think that it's cool? are you so insecure you have to pretend your unnecessarily large vehicle is some sort of surrogate penis? Are you entirely devoid of taste?


I have some advice for anyone who owns "truckicles":

It is not too late for you to get a girlfriend.
Good luck and god speed, I hope your ungodly swelling goes down soon.

I demand substance!

I'm tired of bland chain resturants and big box retailers.
What they have in virisimilitude, they lack in true authenticity.

F**k them.

Give me real things, and real stores to buy them in.
I want joints rather than cold cuts.

And I want out of the soulless hell that is West St. Louis County.
I have had it up to here with these D-bags who sold their souls for a couple dollars.

blarrgh!

Stop polluting my Interwebs! Someone might believe you!

I have just been reading the website of a custom bicycle manufacturer. I'm in favor of custom frames for bikes. I'm in favor of small manufacturers. I'm in favor of things made in the USA.
I used to think well of Rivendell.
I once had a high opinion of both them and their bikes. It turns out that they are in fact more like the Blankenshield of bicycles. And their new website is ugly and hard to navigate. The have a lot of misinformation on their site, and seem to enjoy being a voice crying in the wilderness. They follow some very uncommon standards, not because they are better, but because they are not popular.
In some cases this is okay. In some bad (650B wheels) and in some really bad (threaded headsets) This will make anyone who has a Rivendell less happy with their bike. 650B tires are hard to get in most places. Much more so if you don't want to race. 650B wheels are usually ot of stock with bike shops's suppliers. Meaning that Rivendell is the only place to get them, really.
Don't get me started on 1" threaded headsets! When working at the Bicycle works, I came across Tons of threaded headsets that had rusted in, and will never come out of the head tube again. That meanst that the headset can Never be overhauled. Just one of the problems inherent in threaded headsets, and half the reason the Rest of the World moved away from them.
There are NO benefits to these non-standard parts choices. It's just the same foul thing that Trek and Cannondale do. Making their parts proprietary so only they can replace them.
Seems shitty to me.
I've also been reading about their opinions of tires and pressure. Totally bollocks. I tend to agree that on the narrow extreme, tires will run roughly on rough surfaces. On the other hand, having personally ridden a bike with low pressure in the tires and adequate pressure in the last week it makes a HUGE difference! You can run really wide low pressure tires if you dont' want to get anywhere, or you can run some sensible not fat tires at a decent pressure. Then you'll have a good balance of comfort, stability, and speed. Then you wont' be tired in a mile.
Their essay about clipless pedals is just dumb. It doesn't rise to the level of bolloks or misinformation. Just dumbness. It seems unlikely that anyone is confused about platform pedals being better for much. I am a big fan of toe-clips, and really, if you ride around, then put on some toe-clips, you can tell they are loads better than platforms. I don't understand why anyone is confused, about that, or why anyone not in BMX would use platform pedals.
Sorry about my incredibly long rant about a company you've probably never heard of, but well, Grump! Stop polluting my interwebs with your misiformation! Someone might believe you!