Sadness and Filth

My new winter bike was ready! Ugly tub? Check. New front fender / splash guard kludge? Check. Awesome new studded tires? Check. Lights transferred from Summer bike? Check. Test ride. Uncheck awesome new studded tires... deep sadness.

 

I got about half a block from home before the tube squirted through this hole and popped in a nice loud way. I thought I must have mounted the tire poorly and suffered a pinch flat at first, but discovered the problem once I had the wheel off. On the up side, I will be able to report / review on chainreactioncycles.com's warranty handling and response time, I guess. I just emailed a warranty form and photo to them today.

Just in case you thought maybe you could blame me for this, you suspicious bastards, I opened the box this tire arrived in with my keys, not a sharp knife, so it weren't not me done this badness.

Now for the filth! I work with computers. I see (as I am sure many of you have seen) computers full of dust bunnies all the time. The following pictures, however, are of the filthiest computer I have ever opened up. Compressed air barely moved some of this stuff. It was gross. So, of course, I thought I would share!

I think the King will be revealed as TARATS first entry this evening... stay tuned for his glorious 2012 debut!

 

 

 

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode Twenty One: Rocket Raccoon

To be honest, I don't really like the video I'm about to post. There's a kind of lameness about it that I can't quite put my finger on. Last night when I made that same observation Mrs. Rantwick said, "well, you worked on it for a couple of hours; you should just post it anyway. It's cute." Mrs. Rantwick being someone who is very seldom wrong, here we are.

 

I had never seen a raccoon 1) sprint or 2) on open ground in the daytime until one morning last August. Here he (or she) is:

 

 

 

Hey, who knows? Given my often poor understanding of what people like, this may turn out to be my most popular video ever! Which will be great! And sad.

 

 



Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Things People Say Fridays #7 - Good Morning!

When I bicycle on the paths running along the Thames River here in London Ontario, I often say good morning to those I meet. Not always, though. I'm sure you are familiar with this: When approaching a stranger on foot or on a bike, your gut tells you whether to smile and whether to speak or greet, based on factors like age and gender and other vibes that are largely intangible or unconscious. I probably say good morning to about half of the people I approach. Because I'm on a bicycle rather than on foot, they often don't have enough time to respond; I would say that about one quarter manage to do it in time. I'm working on saying it sooner, but with increased distance comes increased volume, and with increased volume comes increased startle / "you're a freak" assessment factor.

Is it strange that I don't greet people in the same way in the afternoon or evening? Are you the same? I never say "good afternoon" or anything along those lines, or even "Hey" or "How's it goin', eh?". I only greet those I meet in the morning, which I have only just realized. It must be that what optimism and kindness I've got hasn't been stomped out of me yet. Or maybe I'm just tired after work. Let's go with that. It's a little less negative.

On Thursday morning I came across an older guy with an off-leash dog. That doesn't bother me in the least, by the way. If your dog is obedient and predictable, why not? Nicer for the dog, nicer for you, and everybody else should just relax, in my opinion. Unless you are the parent of a baby who smells like bacon. Don't relax then, or ever: If your baby smells like bacon, potential biters are EVERYWHERE and are not limited to dogs, not by a long stretch.

Anyway, that off-leash dog made me slow down more than usual, which is awesome because I recorded the best return "Good Morning!" I have ever received:

That solid, energetic "Good Morning" set the tone for my whole damned day! Thanks, oldish guy! Now, just gotta put in one good day and it's the long Thanksgiving Weekend! Superb.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K