On this eve of Hurricane Season...

... did you remember to pick up a Hurricane License?  Don't forget your Tropical Cyclone Stamp either.

Hoo boy, one little mess forming up in the Gulf south of us already.  No wonder it was so uncomfortable offshore on Monday.  Probably won't amount to much, but you never really know until sometime after Thanksgiving.

Anyway, here are some useful sites for when things crank up.  Might want to bookmark'em.

• National Hurricane Center – the official site (do not re-publish altered maps)
• WU's Hurricane page – they give results from the various models; very useful for... worry
• Tropical Tidbits – the story behind the story, from an actual meteorologist
• Hurricane Watch Net – if you do the radio thing

Anyway, Season's Greetings, good hunting, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Seaside, pre-season

Made a day trip to Seaside FL last Thursday.  Things were ramping up for the big Memorial Day weekend, but the weekend crowds had not yet arrived.  Had a very pleasant time wandering around.  Here are some highlights:

• incredibly strong Cuban coffee, sipped while overlooking the Gulf
• Fusion gallery; chiefly glass
• back for lunch at the same Cuban place, Cocina Cubana
• stopped in at Seaside Transit, a bike rental shop
• Central Square Records; picked up a Brian Ferry disc & a few other odds & ends
• then downstairs to Sundog Books; looking forward to starting Titanium Noir, a new sci-fi novel
• more coffee, of a more normal sort
• more art at Redbird Gallery
• spent a little time wandering around Ruskin Park
• one or two more more little shops / galleries
• a quick supper at the meltdown on 30A, one of the airstream kitchens
• more Cuban coffee and one more look at the Gulf (below)

The beach is actually straight.  Pano shots always have that weird bend in the middle.

Whew, what a long day!  14 hours total, including the drive.  We paced ourselves however, and never quite hit the wall.  And, of course, the coffee and food helped immensely.

Here are some previous Seaside-related posts worth checking out:

Seaside (watch the video)  |  Seaside Continues (read the article)  |  The 5k Blues (what me run?)

News Flash: Ford Concedes that Earth is Round

... and that over-the-horizon radio reception in cars is a Good & Necessary Thing after all.

Article: Ford reverses course on AM radio, will include it in new cars.

Next Question: Will other automakers pick up on this sudden, unexpected outbreak of common sense?

Anthem Measurements

I've kept a notebook of bike measurements over the past 25 or so years.  Setups are qualitative – "does this  bike feel right," "does this bike carve correctly,"  and (most importantly) "do I feel like I'm about to go flying over the handlebars with this setup?"  Generally, I'll set up a new bike in the ballpark and then take along a wrench for the first few rides, tweaking as I go.

Some bikes just never settle down.  A few stem-swaps later, it's rideable and even a pleasure to use, but there's always a little edge of not-quite-right there.  Such was the case for the Y-22 (shown), that pitched me over into a nine-stitch faceplant.  Even so, check out all that acreage of candy-apple red carbon fiber.  What a looker.

Other bikes are simply right from the start, such as the STP-200 (link).  I wasn't even looking at bikes that day, I was out car shopping when I stopped off at the Wheel House to take a break, have a coke, and talk with friends.  "Hey, you need to test ride this one."  "Nah, finally got the Y-bike tuned down, I'm good."  "No, really, test ride this one."  That STP was my primary bike for 13 years, and I kept and occasionally rode it for 8 more.  I rode that thing until I'd worn out and replaced every single part on the frame except for the cranks and the rear shock.

The Anthem has tuned-in similarly.  No struggle, no parts swaps, no real issues.  The thing just fits.  After cleaning the chain this afternoon, I taped out the key measurements – primarily butt to bottom bracket length and butt to handlebar reach – and they were spot-on the STP.  Well, a little more leg length because of the dropper post, which gives a little tune-on-the-trail adjustment.  I still need to get up to Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee.

Stay tuned.

'Life's Been Good to Me So Far' Lyrics Explained

Man, that guy could give Woody Harrelson a run for his money.  Nice tip on chainsaws BTW.

Where MREs Come From

Medium-long article about the Natic Lab at Atlas Obscura.  Surprisingly good, as are the results from that lab.  (Far more edible than anything that I've ever produced in a lab.)  The almost complete lack of preservatives is surprising and commendable.  Be sure to read to the end to get to the pineapple upside-down cake desert.

Finally, this post gets the 'hurricanes,' 'katrina,' and 'camping' tags, all for obvious reasons.

Skylab at 50

This deserves a mention, Skylab was launched 50 years ago today on the last Saturn V booster.  Well, at least the last one to fly – two remain as museum pieces.  Article at This Day in Aviation with more at Wikipedia.

Goodby Old Paint

Closed on selling the Epic to a friend today.  Here's some theme music.  Off to a good home.

Lots of good miles and memories on that bike.  Oddly enough, nearly all were at the Bethel Trails in Desoto NF.  I didn't do a lot of traveling in those years, except for a couple of fat tire festivals here in Florida.  Here are a few selected posts centering on that bike: first ride, best spring day ride ever, and of course, the inevitable visit to ACME Medical Supply.  Only did one race on it.  Underutilized?  Maybe, but I still had fun on it over the past decade.  It is some consolation that the last real ride was truly epic.

One more view before we close out:

That Went Well

The 2023 Apalachicola Historic Home Tour.  A good time, and good to do it with old mountain biking friends.

ps 5/11: Follow-up article at The Times.

The crazy thing is that I either know or knew people who live or lived in each and every single house this year.  Small world?  No, small town.  Well, beyond that, not a lot to add.  Go through the above link and knock yourselves out.

More Sunday Virtual Lounge

Repeating last week's success, WRMI again hosts the Skybird Supper Club at 6pm EDT (2200 zulu) & 9395 KHz.  Set your clocks & set your shortwaves.  A few more details at The SWLing Post.

after-broadcast note: SINPO = 45434 into N FL, on a Tecsun PL-660 using the whip antenna.  Pretty good!

Can't Get There From Here

Trader Joe's in Tallahassee that is.  Look at this mess:

It's like it's on an island, an island adrift in a sea of eight-laned mayhem, and there's no "park next door, hop the landscaping, walk over to it" option.  Hasn't anyone read Suburban Nation?  Three damned trips to Tallahassee in the vicinity, and every single time I've said "Oh there it goes.  Eh, the hell with it this trip, will get there next time."  But somehow it still hasn't happened.

Here, have some tangentially related theme music: