underexposed
random musings of a neurotic
my friend Music
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.25.09 under soundtrack to life
I’ve misplaced my ipod. several days, weeks, or months ago. I can’t tell you when, exactly, because I haven’t really missed it, to tell you the truth. I realized it while driving around the other day, and it dawned on me that I haven’t even really felt like listening to anything lately. anyone who knows me knows that that’s just weird. I guess sometimes it just takes a cold, overcast, dark and gloomy late winter afternoon, preoccupied with affairs of the heart for me to remember and appreciate my old friend Music. in case you don’t know, Music is always good for some company when you don’t really feel like any. sometimes, it’s just the beauty and power in the song you’re hearing for the first time all over again that’s enough to make you feel like everything’s going to be okay. it’s a comfortable melancholy of sorts, the comfort subjective and varying, and sometimes altogether absent.
most effectively delivered by kinetically loud and enveloping transport, currently over-the-ear headphones. yes, like the ones your Dad used to have. the ones that made you look like Princess Leia. yeah, you know what I’m talking about, you little fairy.
the importance of a balanced breakfast
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.19.09 under etc.
I usually try to have a decent breakfast in the morning. I should probably reestablish a regular routine here in a bit whereby I include said balanced breakfast after a proper shower to restore consciousness.
this is what happens when I stray from that routine.
Session 2 - Carpet removed, started living space demo
[ 5 Comments ] Posted on 03.11.09 under home renovation
I’ve had two solid days over the weekend and two nights after work to work on the house. Here are the Session 2 Photos - 2 to 4 days worth of work; three weeks left on the clock… tick tock…
Over the weekend, I yanked out all the old stinky carpets and stacked it up in the garage temporarily. Got some good dust masks with the little exhalation valve, which makes these things a lot more comfortable to wear for extended periods. I probably should have opted for the hazmat clean suit though — ended up with some temporary irritation on my forearms from God knows what. Probably the microscopic residents fighting for their homes as Read the rest of this entry…
New Secret Hideout - aka Home Renovation For Irresponsible Adults
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.10.09 under home renovation
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought a house. Just the culmination of several events, a cumulative nudge… off the edge of a cliff. Session 1 Photos - Day 1
The property was absolutely disGUSTing. Multiple stains on the carpets in every room, nasty bathrooms, dust and dirt EVERYwhere, nevermind the smell. I don’t know if the previous owners/tenants had wild dogs, or just dirty kids. Read the rest of this entry…
700bn Corporate Bailout - Big Three Auto…
[ No Comments ] Posted on 11.21.08 under economy, politics
Hold out your hands and close your eyes, I’m gonna give you a big surprise!
In reading some of the articles about how this money is being spent, I’m sitting here scratching my head wondering if I’ve missed something.
BBC News - No Agreement For US Car Bailout
So these executives arrive in Washington by private jet to ask for money? Seems to me like our goverment is just handing over the money to these people, and it’s business as usual. Read the rest of this entry…
Bike Tires - Specialized Armadillo Fast Trak Elite
[ No Comments ] Posted on 10.25.08 under bikes
Talking to my friend Del about bike stuff yesterday, the subject was tires. I’d just picked up my bike from Conte’s after having the fork serviced. I wasn’t getting any rebound damping, and Roberio turned it around for me in one day!. That dude’s fast talking, but I think it’s ’cause he gets excited about bikes like we do. He ended up putting in 10wt. oil over the recommended 7.5, and it feels more solid, with plush rebound and that sweet tsssst! sound coming off of hits.
Anyway, so while in the shop Roberio and I were talking about tires and their role in a bike’s suspension. This is my first full suspension bike, bought back in April or so, so I’ve just been riding and learning how to tune it properly as I go.
For a while there, I was riding with higher pressure than I normally would on a hardtail with a crummy front fork — like around 30-35psi, thinking that, well, it’s full suspension, new technology, shouldn’t I be relying more on the suspension and getting the faster rolling benefit of higher pressure? Well, yes and no, I found. Yes I can run a higher pressure, but 35psi’s way too much, and even 30psi’s still kinda up there. Experimentation on the trail brought me to around something in the low-mid-upper 20’s for that juuust right feeling, just the right amount of squishiness to take the edge off of hits, while still making the suspension do its job, and without being overly sluggish on the straights or soaking up too much pedal power. The result is a smooth, fast rolling ride, that transfers hits into the suspension, and with a medium-fast rebound, the bike is plush over hits, and the wheels stay on the ground for better traction and control, my concerns mostly about taking turns fast without the front sliding out.
So Roberio was showing me these tires while he was explaining to me casing volume and how the tire plays a role in the suspension process, twisting and flexing, and that tires aren’t just about traction. He pulled out the Specialized catalog to point out some differences, and I saw this Armadillo line. Del and I are suckers for wide grippy tires, mostly just ’cause — I won’t lie — they look tough as hell. When we started riding seriously again, we were pretty much ignorant about all the new technologies out there these days. It’s crazy how much there is. You can’t really keep up with everything out there, but I mean, come on, bike tires? How much difference could there possibly be? Well, a lot, it seems.
This is Specialized’s Armadillo line of puncture resistant tires.
We’ve always known we need different tires for different conditions. Ipswich is loose — loamy, they’d call it; you know, loose & sort of squishy? So we need a tire that bites better back there. But remembering how smooth and fast we were saying it was up at Freedom Park in Williamsburg, I think that was probably more of a hardpack condition, which we really don’t see around here.
I currently ride with Panaracer Rampage 2.3’s, and it’s been a great all around tire so far, though I’ve read reviews that say they suck in the wet, and chunk on rocks. Well, that’s not us here in VB. I like the edge burning knobs because they bite in turns back in Ipswich. It’s also pretty smooth rolling though, which is why I really liked it for up at Freedom, too. Unfortunately, these Panaracer tires are pretty soft, and aren’t exactly puncture resistant. Apparently the entire Armadillo line is.
At first glance, I like the Armadillo Fast Track Elite. comes in a 2.2 — they say large volume tire that rolls fast and side knobs that hook up in the fastest turns.
Not to be confused with the Fast Track LK model — same tread pattern, only 30% reduction in knob height, which I imagine is to be even faster and maybe shave some weight. I’d go for the Elite. a Specialized 2.2 is probably really fat and tall. Bet it would be sweet.
shelflife of a dead chicken’s tits
[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 07.13.08 under etc.
It’s Sunday afternoon.
I have in my fridge a packet of chicken breasts.
they’ve been in there for a few days.
the sell by date is July 12th.
today’s the 13th.
I hate when I poison myself with bad chicken.
I’ve done it more times than I care to admit.
what’s the shelf life of raw chicken, do you think?
like how many days past the sell by date is it okay?
and just how arbitrary is that sell by date stamp, anyway?
how not to get a job in a record shop
[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 07.13.08 under etc.
when I was in 11th grade, I was pretty dorky. naive. quiet, except in cracking jokes in class and stuff. but I wanted to be cooler and to fit in. I can’t remember when I quit my paper route. I think it was in the early parts of 10th grade when I ran into one of the kids in the neighborhood, a little older (Matt Taylor, if I remember correctly (other Matt Taylor, not Hank’s older brother, though both had skater hair)), and he laughed at me saying, “Haha, boy’s in high school and still has a paper route!” I didn’t realize at the time that it wasn’t cool to be a paperboy in high school. but it stuck. Read the rest of this entry…
I’ve been away for a while.
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.06.08 under etc., film
So. I’ve been away for a while. Got lazy. Let my hosting lapse. blah. blah-blah. blah. blah. Lost my old blog. Eh. There were only a few things on there I remember feeling particularly satisfied with anyway.
I’m back. It’s been a busy six months. The past week and a half I’ve been playin’ around with Linux servers, web applications, and a databases. It’s fun. In a satisfying, fruits-for-your-labor sort of way.
Man, what else. Bikes. Trying to get organized. Spending too much money. I don’t know. I have been feeling more productive though. It’s a horrible feeling, feeling like you’re just spinning your wheels, isn’t it? Just… listless. It’s tough keeping up though, I’ll say that. I go through these periods of full on focus, hammering away obsessively on whatever the task, immersing myself in it, then… crash. I’m out of it for a couple of days. Don’t want to be bothered. Just need time to decompress.
I’ve been pretty bad in keeping up with friends these past few months, though, as well. Jeez, it’s actually been more like eight or nine months, now that I think about it. Eh well. Those closest to me will understand. The few. The others have been recent acquaintances through music or photo discussions, and, well, I’m pretty sure they’ll understand too. Probably need to send out some personal messages here and there.
I’m tellin’ you I’ve had it. I’ve had it with all this crap! You took her side every time all you care about is fruit… and touchin’ yourself! Well fffuck you!
- Dewey Cox, Tour Bus Conversations With My Monkey, circa ???
Walk hard, bitches.
ps.
someone remind me to edit that Naruto header to cross out the rude bit.
not sure what that’s all about. maybe stubborn & determined…
