so since gina broke her leg i've been on a bike once - actually i was on three bikes, as i did a little maintenance work to my "fleet" and strolled around the neighborhood. but no serious miles.

what i've learned from this experience is that lazy breeds lazy. and tired. i've told myself i'm just gonna take the time off until she's healed, and i've come to grips with that, and although i go home tired everyday (which never happened before) i'm just kinda rolling with it. the plan is/was to hit bike commuting hard once she's back to normal.

and then i started waking up to darkness at 6:30 am. and it's still dark at 7 am.

although i'm ready for the weather to switch, i'd kind of forgotten about darkness at 7am. luckily i've got a light... it just doesn't last the whole commute. so i'll get another light, i guess. anyway. man i'm boring.

I suppose if i'm keeping track of things here i should note that i spent this past tuesday/wednesday at the indianapolis city/county building serving jury duty on the case of middle aged black people vs old possibly wealthy dead woman who wasn't dead when she was sued.

mabp wanted compensation for pain and suffering due to an auto accident that opwdw has admittedly caused.

mabp 1 was the woman who was struck by opwdw's car. she had reoccuring back pain. she saw a doctor about it alot. she went to chiro. he cleared her to return to work. then she took up a job lifting 60 lb boxes. back pain returns.

mabp 2 was the husband of the woman, looking for loss of consortium money - he testified that they hadn't had sex since the accident. she testified that they had had sex 1-2 times a week after the accident. something ain't quite right here.

mabp 2 asked for $300,000 - $500,000 for the loss of consortium. his wife didn't ask for specific monies, but the total came up to around $750,000 if you figured in medical cost and stupid crap.

we, the jury, awarded mabp2 (the husband) $0.
she got $15,000, which was a roundabout number for the damages prior to her returning to work and taking a job lifting.

since we finished, i've had second thoughts on giving her that much money. it was a number i came up with in the deliberation room as a starting point - her total bills over the past three years divided by 3 (which would basically cover the time before she took a job lifting)

it was a starting point. i started to argue for less but everyone else was happy with the total. so i agreed.

the end.

by the way, jury duty is slightly interesting, but also very boring.

hmm

just got a little too upset over comments on a blog. well, not upset, just bothered enough to respond. i should know better.

also, check out this development in michigan city, in. rad houses, way too much money, of course.

here's a link to the development website with more pics.



hey this one is only $244,000.

when compared to the prices of rocio romero's (architect, prefab, perryville missouri) lv homes (which have a similar look), i think i'll take a pass.

but neat anyway.

* * * * *

and on a completely different note - an art project entitled "america the gift shop"

what is new and exciting

nothing.

putting finishing touches on the vacation savings plan. our plans as of right now included being in denver wednesday through saturday. and a visit to bike shops in boulder, and a stop in fort collins, and a visit to gina's brother. other than that? dunno. we're going to wing it. we may just spend half a week in kansas.

never ever will that happen.

i'm looking forward to post-vacation, though, because i like blowing money on stupid stuff. i've had a serious stupid stuff money blowing shortage in the past three months. it breaks my heart. really. it does.

what else.

i'm completely addicted to Ovation TV's Art Safari, which I think was originally a BBC series. Here's a YouTube of a segment on Murakami. Not the author.



The episode I viewed last evening was on Maurizio Cattelan, an artist I was not previously aware of. To be honest my art knowledge is very lacking. But I do enjoy it.

Cattelan is funny.


La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour)

that's the pope struck by a meteroite.

the show also featured a (well, sort of) mockery of the vietnam wall - "a tomb-like, marble epitaph listing all the football matches lost by the England (national football) team"

anyway, good show. i'm afraid that perhaps there aren't enough episodes to keep me happy, though. i need more television along those lines.

so.

hey i had chili for lunch

this weekend was a big ol' ball of nothing. fulham won (6th place!) but it wasn't on the tv, which was fucking annoying.

since that 75 mile ride last week? zero miles. this is a long layoff for me.

the weather is getting coldish and it won't be long until i feel like i'm super-dedicated just for riding in the weather. but i'm not riding. so.

um.

i'm ready for vacation.

Who are you voting for and why.

the accidental 75

today after solving all life's mysteries i set off on a bike ride, with the thoughts of riding over to brooklyn, in using a backwards route than i normally take. it's the little things that make the work seem exciting.

anyway, that's about 30-40 miles round, i guess. i rode to brooklyn, and then noticed some route markings painted on the road. thinking that perhaps i could add a little on, i started to follow them, down roads i wasn't quite familiar with, but eventually ending up on the route to martinsville, in, which is a nice little road along a bluff.

so i rode to martinsville, stopped at a gas station for a water refill and something to eat, then heads back the way i came.

a little while in i realized that on the way to martinsville i had completely forgotten the road markings, and noticed that they made a left i wasn't familiar with. in any case, i decided to explore that later.

back to brooklyn, almost, as i took a different road thinking that i could shortcut it home.

a couple turns, quite a few miles, and suddenly i had no idea where the hell i was. i thought i was going to run into familiar territory (that happens quite a bit) but it just wasn't happening. i called gina. "i am lost"

gina has a broken leg right now (rollerderby practice, it just happened, she's in a cast, we are fine), so i was hoping she could pull up the map and straighten me out. i didn't except to be far off.. but i was off on what ended up being a 17 mile loop. (see everything south of mile marker 55 on the map)

the other thing about being lost out in the middle of nowhere is that you have no frame of reference. "pull up a googlemap of bill smith road and sr 44" with no town reference doesn't always work. but if the road is named oddly enough - bill smith being a pretty odd name for a road, i'd guess - googlemaps will find it. and if gina wasn't home? your best option is always to backtrack, but when you think you have an idea of where you might be, and you're already sort of exhausted, backtracking is not what you want to do.

anyway, backtracking is what i did. and eventually i made it home, not exactly happy about being an idiot, but... whatever. i lived. and now i've got an idea for a new riding route, because where i was lost ties in to a few places i've been before.

HEY MARK GET ME A JOB

i know you're making more money than me. what if i was totally serious what would you say.

anyway, i'm going to go back to school, for something that makes a lot of money. i don't mind staying in computers. i just need to be absolutely sure i make at least 75 grand a year. i'm not anywhere near that now. i make 11. dollars.

so any suggestions? i'm really smart. i think. i just never really tried before.

if jim d is reading

this is of interest to me, so it might be to you...

went to a party last saturday night. i didn't get laid, i got in a fight. uh huh. it ain't no big thing.

did you know that if i drink beer at night at home it almost guarantees that i won't bike to work the next day? doesn't matter how little. except last night i had a sam smith nut brown and today i made it in on a bike.

tuesday after i got done typing a long scree on jason's blog about riding on streets vs sidewalks i rode home and encountered three idiot drivers in about a mile stretch. that very rarely happens. anyway, no harm no foul. i do a lot of headshaking though. THAT'LL TEACH EM.

it's getting dark earlier now, and when i get on the bike in the morning it's dark, so the headlight has made a reappearance. won't be long now and it'll be long tights and jackets and headlights both ways. i look forward to next year, knowing my knee is probably not going to be right then either. at least it works on the bike. that's all i can ask.

also i need to play soccer. the end.

all well

the past week:

khloe's open heart surgery went well - a lot of nervousness lead up to the wednesday morning procedure but then it was all over in 2 hours and they were talking about bringing her home friday already. i'd guess she's coming home today (monday)

saturday fulham (0-1) played arsenal (1-0) at craven cottage and with a committed and organized effort pulled off the victory. i expect more of the same all year long.

also took a call on commuter bicycle selection for a friend. haven't heard how that went yet. anyway. rad.

yesterday i spent the day making vegetarian food for the week - quiche (use five eggs, skim milk, and fat free yogurt in place of the mayo), curry. I am not going vegetarian; despite not paying any attention to the nutritional values of any of it, eating this stuff makes me feel better about my diet. so.

also did a bunch of laundry, kinda watched some soccer, typed up a big list of cheese/beer pairings... and never stepped out the front door. well, once, to inflate my bike tires for the ride to work.

and:

jason likes bicycles? here's what most fans consider to be the most perfect example -



last i had heard there was a five-six year wait if you wanted one of these... and they've probably 4-6 grand(ish?) if i'm guessing. still...

more here - vanilla bicycles

the same builder also started a second line so that the wait wouldn't be so long... not quite as handcrafted, still really excellent - speedvagen.

and if you're really into this stuff, like i am, you'll be happy to know that the north american handmade bicycle show, which is normally held in portland, because duh, is in (of all places) Indianapolis next year. I've already signed up to volunteer. Doing what, I dunno.

why is it in indy? because the guy who throws the thing wanted to move it around. and he lives here.

someday..

i've looked at having shamrock cycles (site is a piece of crap when viewed on firefox) build me a bike - i like the idea going with these bikes - all day bikes, not super racey, with enough tire clearance for maybe 25s and possibly fenders. all day epic sort of bikes. anyway.. this is a sketch pad for later.

fulham loses

to hull city. great start to the season. next week arsenal. we were supposed to have man u third - but they've been called to europe for something. so arsenal, a week off, blackburn i think...

anyway.

watched brian mcbride's debut with chicago fire - he attempted a bicycle kick and hit santino quaranta instead of the ball. fire lose. nice start, anyway, though the whole thing felt fulhamish.

speaking of.. odd rooting for the team now that half the americans have left. all the same, it's early, and i'll have to settle in to these new guys.

tuesday, as i rolled up to the stoplight - two lane one way street, me in the right lane, cars in the left - I unclipped my right foot and rolled to the stop line.

it was at that point the bike started to lean right.

and then i couldn't get that foot out of the pedal.

and then i fell over.

the older you get, the less you fall over. until you get really old, then you fall over alot. i'd like to think this random falling over is keeping me young.

it keeps me humble anyway.

i heard someone laughing, i think. can't blame them...

addendum:

this is the home shirt:


this is the away:



holy cow is that horrible.

radiohead

on the way home from the radiohead show last night, I told gina that if you're lucky, you get maybe one hour - one hour of your favorite band before the weight of the idiots overtake the place - the girl in the seat(s) next to you who can't contain her joy - so much that she feels the need to dance in your space - the girls next to you who are yelling 'WE'RE AT RADIOHEAD!!!' into their cell phone - the girls in front of you who CAN'T STOP TAKING PICTURES OF THEMSELVES...

i understand - you're having a good time, it's not that big a deal, you drop $100 on stupid shit all the time... but maybe, just maybe, you might think that someone else at the show is actually trying to enjoy themselves LISTENING TO THE FUCKING BAND.

Anyway, that makes it sound worse than it was. We did get our hour, the lights and sound were great, they seemed really "on".

But I think I'll come back and read this before I do that again.

He's talking about Belleville

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in Indy's local free rag:

NUVO: I can see how it would be difficult to gauge the impact of where you live on your life, but does it interest you to think about unique characteristics of Chicago, Illinois or the Midwest, and kind of what’s similar about culture in a particular region or a state?

Tweedy: I don’t want to sound insulting — it sounds like it’s something that you care about and think about a lot, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way — but it’s really not where my head’s ever been. I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois and it took me a long, long time to come to terms with not hating that place. Also, I think even at this age, I feel like I sort of have survivor’s guilt for even getting out of where I grew up, and a lot of people don’t want to or don’t ever do that. But I also have to come to terms with that a lot of people don’t want to, and it works for them. It never worked for me; it wasn’t the place where it was really comfortable. So whenever you bring up that topic, that’s what I’m reminded of. I really wanted a bigger picture of the world that I was living in than what was available to me growing up. So I think the second I was able to get anywhere outside of those confines, I started doing that, you know, I started going to St. Louis. I grew up going to St. Louis to buy records and people looked at you like you were insane; it’s like going to Mars.

for the record, i don't hate home. and i don't think it's so "small" anymore, though this might contradict that opinion. but i can see, just a little bit, where he's coming from.

reading? do i know you?

it seems unlikely but there's a chance someone i don't actually know reads this blog regularly - there are plenty of blogs i read everyday that i've never commented on..

so if you're reading, and i don't know you, leave a comment, please. say hello.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU STINK.

hmm.

last night i rode home from work with a tailwind. then i took a shower. then i played half a game of fifa08, which i was losing 3-0 when i forfeited.

gina went to rollerderby practice, i looked at email, ate some trader joe's ranch fries, a hot pocket soft sandwich thing (horrible), drank a Aventinus (super tasty. i should have more more often), drove to the liquor store, spent $30-ish dollars on two bottles (three floyds fantabulous resplendence and mikkeller IT'S ALIVE!), walked over to borders, bought two beer magazines, went home, considered cutting the grass (nope), read from the book of vice (blah), went to bed.

standard formula. big city life.

i got a flat on the way to work this morning - 4 blocks from work and i heard a HISShissHISShiss that is the trademark sound of a full on tire puncture.

luckily the glass stayed in the tire, making clean up a lot easier. most flats you gotta search all over the tire, running you fingers along the inside, waiting for something to cut you so you can clean it out.

changing a tire when you've been putting in a full-on effort means you're going to sweat a ton - when you're moving on a bike, the air helps. standing on a corner, not so much.

at work i'd immediately get under the air vent in the server room and start toweling off. that's the trick. that, and stinking. anyway.

knock on wood. first flat in a while.

colorado is still 3 months away and i'm getting itchy for vacation. i think i'd like to jump in the car and go drive in the mountains. or maybe bike the mountains. the key is mountains.

this week we're hitting a different bar every night because it's indiana beer week. maybe that was better in idea form than practice, though we've been having a good time with it. we now roll with a refreshed posse.

um... what else. they grated the road i use to ride my bike out of downtown so i've got to find a different route today. i think i've got it figured out.

what's the excitement in the county? did Breese build an Ikea yet?

zamora zamora

we got bobby zamora. i guess.

he's tall. so that automatically means he's good for like 20 goals, right?

hi jim brown

gina's friend roni from finland just bought a srt8 dodge magnum with the 6.1 hemi - then he threw on some flowmasters and he's got a supercharger on order. because 425 horsepower isn't enough, i guess.

roni makes nice money, but i think he's sorta like 'oh well whatever'.

hmm what else.

watched the rain ride roll by the subdivision this weekend. well, before that we saw a guy spin his taurus and nearly end up in the pond. not really sure how that happened. instead of ending up in the pond he just ended up in a field. no damage. it was entertaining.

and.

bought some beer, rode a bike, watched persopolis (A-), caught up on the tour (whatever), made a vegetarian quiche (A+). ate chicken curry. got the AIDS. Thug Life.

so if you're wondering what i've been doing, it's ride a bike to work, work, ride home, shower, eat, sit on couch playing grand theft auto iv or watching a movie from blockbuster

be kind rewind = c-
cloverfield = b+/a-
walk hard = c

also i've been waiting for fulham to sign someone worth being excited about, but as it turns out fulham are a mid to bottom table club and they don't do that sort of thing.

i've still got that mls package but i haven't watched an mls game in months. i will not purchase again next year.

i haven't been drinking a beer every night like i had been. empty calories. well, not empty. tasty. but not really benefitial.

what else. hmm.

nothing.