A Series on The Grateful Dead

Just noticed this morning, over at NPR.  Will get back to it later in the week, as events allow.

All for now, off to ride momentarily.

Hmmm, a Tad Colorful

Still, nothing unusual for mid-August.  In fact, a little on the calm side, though not entirely calm.

We shall see.

81 Years Ago Today, the Future Began

Article on the bombing of Hiroshima at This Day in Aviation.  Go read the whole thing.  Then read the comments, especially this one:

One of the things that most irritated my dad about WW2. People assume the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a sneak attack. Far from the truth he would tell you if he were still with us. Around this time every year, as we were growing up, he would repeat his bit of history. He was a sailor aboard the aircraft carrier YORKTOWN. For a solid two weeks before the atom bomb was dropped he and his shipmates loaded the small bombers launched off his carrier’s deck with leaflets. Not bombs, but leaflets written in Japanese, warning of the imminent and total destruction of their city. That was one point he would god damn anyone for if you disagreed. He and his comrades in arms spent two weeks sweating their guts out giving Hiroshima a chance we didn’t get at Pearl Harbor.

Onward with matters at hand.  The past is settled.  We have our own times, our own challenges.

A Little Something I Heard Last Sunday Morning

The Sound of Soft Power, from the BBC (just under 1 hour), about the use of shortwave broadcasting for soft power projection beginning in WWII up through the current day.  Naturally it wasn't archived on any their sites – or at least none that I could easily find – but fortunately we have the above link from The Shortwave Archive.  Additionally, here are two brief articles on the show from The SWLing Post, from May and July.

Somewhat ironically, I didn't hear the show on shortwave.  Rather, it was on an extremely local WFSU FM translator station W244BM-FM, a mere 7 miles away in Eastpoint. (coverage map inset right)  Not nearly as impressive as global shortwave, but when it's all that's currently available you take what's there.

Anyway, give it a listen.  It gives an interesting historical perspective.

On This 1st Day of August, Fingers Crossed

So far, so good.

I'll Be There

Trailer for Coyote vs. Acme

Opens August 28th.

Fat Tire Musings

Following up on an earlier test ride of a friend's fat tire bike, I've done some looking around at these weird beasts of burden.  With no real mountain biking nearby but plenty of bikeable beaches, one might make sense.  First question: 4.8" wide tires, or will 3.8" tires suffice?  It took a few searches, but this forum discussion at Mountain Bike Review sums it up nicely: you can get by with 4", but when the tide's in and you can't ride down on the hard damp sand, something in the 5" range is the way to go.  

Next up, can I get by with a cheap big-box store-grade bike for $500, or do I have to shell out 5x bucks for the real deal?  I mean, sure, for something I'm going to ride all the time it's a no-brainer.  On the other hand, if it's  something I'm going to take on the beach a half-dozen times a year, maybe cheap is the way to go.  Hopefully "cheap but serviceable" and not "cheap disposable junk."  Here's a video comparison close to what would be my options.  Unfortunately they've both gone up about 25% in price since that video was made, but that is the way things go these days.

Other significant considerations are how much would I actually use the thing, and do I already have a bike that can do the job well enough?  Looking around, I was able to identify eight nearby areas where a fat bike would be useful, of which perhaps half are terrain where nothing else will serve.  So maybe that's justification enough.  Maybe.  Frankly, I need to do some exploring when the weather cools.

And finally, where to keep the thing?  I live upstairs in a fairly small place, and hauling 35 lbs+ of steel each way while tripping over an idle bike when it's not in use, well, it's just not all that appealing.  But it could be, given good enough reason.

Will mull on this one some more, and with data from some exploratory trips once the weather cools.  Not a decision to be made lightly.  Still though, the idea of doing some more beach-centric yet still hardcore biking has a lot going for it.