my poor bike

rjbs on 2004-09-29T02:24:02

It was misty, this morning, but I decided to bike to work anyway. I wasn't going to get very wet, and I don't mind getting wet coming home. When it was time to head home, it was raining like crazy. My only regret was not having my rear fender with me, because it meant that my ass was going to get soaked.

This turned out not to be the biggest problem. Coming across the bridge, I went through a puddle which turned out to be full of glass. At first, I was frightened by the chunks of glass flying up and knocking against my legs. I didn't feel anything cut me, though, so I was relieved. Then I was horrified to hear the sound of something violently blowing bubbles: my rear tire and tube were punctured, and I lost all pressure instantly. Oh well. I've been meaning to get new tires anyway!

I half-carried, half-walked my bike home in the rain; it wasn't so bad, since I'd been completely soaked during the first hundred feet from the office. Tomorrow, I may walk in, and use that time to get some more reading done. I've been reading light fiction, which has been relaxing, although I'm feeling a little lazy because of it. I finished all but one of the Jeeves stories; I'm saving the last for its proper place in the chronology, so I've moved on to the novels. I just finished reading "Thank You, Jeeves," which was very enjoyable, even though I'd seen the television episodes based on it. I also read "The Grim Grotto," the latest Lemony Snicket book. It wasn't as good as the previous few, I think, but it was still a fun (and short) read.

I've also been listening to a lot of NPR at work. I enjoy it, and it's very informative, but I think it's also somewhat distracting, and it's definitely depressing. I long for real political debate, and for people who really seem sincere in their words and deeds. NPR is a good demonstration that (a) sincere people exist and (b) they are not the people in office.

The NPR listening started because I'd sent my iPod, which was making odd noises and syncing quite slowly, to be repaired. Without my music, I looked for internet radio, and found nothing exciting until I tuned in NPR (via WMP, ugh). Today, though, I got a brand new iPod, and I'm loading it back up with my music. It's so shiny and new! I think I should consider putting it in a case to keep it that way, but that seems like it would be a bother. I'll just let it get scuffed up.

I've gotten a lot of little code-things done, but nothing particularly large or exciting. I'm sort of hoping to rewrite Module::Starter::Simple to make closing a few of its open tickets easier, and to implement a few of my own wish list items for CPAN::Mini soon. I've also got plenty of work left to do on Querylet. Seeing as my addiction to Katamari Damacy seems to be waning, this stuff may start happening soon.


Bikes vs. Public transportation

jonasbn on 2004-09-29T07:40:51

My bicycle is at the repair shop currently, so I have to take the bus to work... the trip is both long and tiresome... and I find it hard to read on the bus when you have to change busses in the middle of the trip.

The trip to work by bike is maximum 20 minutes and the trip using public transportation is minumum 30 minutes - I REALLY miss my bike.

get a set of tire liners

hfb on 2004-09-29T08:12:40

They sell these super tough tire liners that resist puncture by just about anything, including nails. I've tested the product myself on past commutes and they work. Mr. Tuffy and Slime tire liners are highly recommended.

Re:get a set of tire liners

bart on 2004-09-30T16:53:12

Maybe the tires work — or is that tire protection, but the website surely doesn't, neither on Firefox, nor on MSIE.

Judging by the look at the source, there simply are no links on that page, but only a table filled with partial images.

And on the site's root, there's only one link that works, pointing here.

Re:get a set of tire liners

hfb on 2004-10-02T10:12:34

Well, that's really not my problem. Email them, not me.

NPR junkie

cbrandtbuffalo on 2004-09-29T13:59:19

I'm a total NPR junkie and listen all the time. I actually got to go on a trip to NPR central in Washington last year. It was very cool. Our local Buffalo station streams with Real (the Helix server, I think), so you may want to try that: wbfo.org

For internet radio, I listen to radioparadise at work. You can get it through iTunes and the website is radioparadise.com. It's sort of light alternative and much of their music is non-traditional radio fodder.