Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Leon Sinks Geological Area

Planning on a day trip once the weather cools a little.  Links:

• https://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/florida/recreation/leon-sinks-geological-area
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Sinks_Geological_Area
• https://floridahikes.com/leon-sinks/

Wow but that is a beautiful picture of Big Dismal, shamelessly stolen from the first link:

Expect a follow-up post in the coming months.

Peak Hurricane Season, and...

Noted not gloated.

(Was that ever a saying?  It sounds so trite and flippant that it should have been, decades ago.)

Anyway, on to today's NHC forecast:

I'll take it!

I've got a batch of students going in for their Tech ham license test this evening, and many-many more interesting things for  later this week.  Stay tuned.

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: The Fall of the USSR in Two Podcasts

Kind of lightweight, but still a good survey of the late 80s into the early 90s over at Stuff You Should Know.  About an hour for each segment.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Doomsday Ain't What It Used To Be

Over at JMG's weekly essay blog: Economics: The Y2K Fallacy Revisited

Or, why bad times won't necessarily be all that bad.  Just keep your head out of the sand, out of the gloomy clouds, and on straight.  Push come to shove, we still have plenty of paper how-to books in libraries.

Bike Repair Stand Score!

So I dropped by the local bike shop this morning, and some guy who's moving had dropped off a bike repair stand just to get rid of it.  The owner didn't have any use for it, so he moved it on down the line to... me.  It's the same model as in the picture, though that's not my picture nor is it my stand.

Never had a bike stand before, though I have used any number of them through the years.  I'm sure I'll get decades of good use out of it.  In fact, I have one of these frame protector spray jobs coming up, and I'm sure this stand will be a great help.

Anyway, Skunk Monkeys Bike Shop, 41 Market Street, Apalach.  Great folks.

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Cave Rescuers Use Ground-Penetrating Digital Radios

Waaaay down in the 2200m band around 137kHz.  This article at Dan Romanchik's blog initially alerted me to it, but here are all the other links:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrsuT64SFB4
• https://qrp-labs.com/qdxm.html
• https://makezine.com/article/electronics/cave-radio-talking-through-solid-rock/
• https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/new-rock-piercing-radio-tech-helps-rescue-tourist-trapped-in-canmore-area-cave

Interesting stuff.  If I had any spare time and collaborators, I'd look into how this band propagates across large bodies of salt water.  Vertically polarized, of course.  If I get around to building something, I'll call a few friends over by Biloxi, or maybe contact some Tampa area hams.  Yeah, real soon now.

Reminder to Self: ARRL September VHF Contest This Weekend

It runs from 2pm on Saturday to 11pm on Sunday.  Think I'll try at least to pick up some 6m traffic.  Since putting up the new antenna last winter, I've barely been using it.  Anyway, links:

• https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2026/09/alright-hams-next-big-vhf-contest-is.html
• https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php#20591
• https://www.arrl.org/september-vhf    <---<<< Rules.  Kind of important.

Sorry, no spiffy graphics for this post either.

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Physics and AI

Article over at Quanta.  Impossible to describe, go read the whole thing.

And yes, Demers' take is pretty close to mine too.

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Bears, Bear Spray, and Pistols

A look at the actual data at The Truth About Guns

TLDR: Use what you have at hand.  They both work, and the differences are statistically meaningless.  Use one.  Use both.  Use whatever's legal.  Use whatever you've got.

Fingers Crossed...

I'll just leave this here, and leave matters well enough alone.

Year of the Straggler

And it's been a great year on the new bike that still hasn't seen any real adventure.  No new pics, just rides around, through, up, over, and occasionally under town.  For a nice pic, see the original post announcing the acquisition.  Also, see the one month review.  Hopefully it'll see some roads up in Tates's Hell Swamp this winter and a little more adventure, or at least a trip to the Dwarf Cypress Forest.

As for changes, not really many.  Added a seat bag, have a handlebar bag ready to go.  Shorter stem, dropping from 100mm to 70mm; makes all the difference in handling.  Um... the shop here in town replaced a broken spoke, but that's not really an upgrade, nor even much of a change.  Rebuilt the pedals.  Wore out the rear stock tire; replaced it with a Ritchey SpeedMax, which is marginally faster.  I guess that counts as an upgrade.  Anyway, none of this has substantially changed the look of the bike, so that initial picture still holds.

Thinking back to getting this bike just before and unbeknownst to me the release of the new model, I'm glad I have the one I have.  I'd always admired the Straggler's predecessor, a model called the Cross-Check which was essentially the same bike with rim brakes.  Also, I was curious about Avid mechanical disc brakes, which are not on the latest version.  If I had the latest model, I'd have always wondered about what I'd missed.

All told though, I am quite surprised at the lack of pics of the bike in the photo album.  Will have to remedy that soon.  Cooler weather is just around the corner, and adventure awaits.

The Calendar Says "Fall"

But the weather says "not quite yet."  At least with my cleaning frenzy of last week, my sweaters have been located.  They'll probably be needed in a month – or two.

ps, later in the day:

The view is facing east; the red hue is sunset reflected off the fluffy popcorn clouds over Tate's Hell Swamp.  Definitely a September sky, even though the thermometer is saying "yeah, but not too far out of August either."

More Tropical Slop

Stuck inside for the... third day now.  Yes, that is a center of rotation around some weak tropical system south of the Alabama beaches, but I don't think it'll amount to much.   Neither does the NHC, which is comforting.

Anyway, I've been promising myself that I'd do some Deep Re-Arranging & Ditching of Crap around the house some nasty August days, and those days have arrived.  One weekday next week after the weather clears, I'll be taking a pickup truck load to the dump.  Still plenty of work to go, but it looks like we'll have plenty of ugly weather too.  "Make hay while the sun shines"?  "Clear junk while the rain falls."

Speaking of ugly weather, it's Katrina+21 day today!  Yes, Katrina's old enough to have a drink.  video  No mention in the Sea Coast Echo (the BSL newspaper), though I see that things have gone trendy in the old stomping grounds.

Let's finish with something good today, a breezy 15 minute run-through of how mountain bike tech has evolved since its start.  I love all the new stuff: 1x drivetrains, decent suspension, disc brakes, improved geometry, even dropper posts.  Better yet, we're seeing steps towards simplifying the new tech, making it easier to work on.  All good stuff.

I Know The Names Are Picked Months In Advance

But still there's a certain, eh, call it coincidence that this week's storm is named Dolly just after Dolly Parton's death.  Anyway, the NHC's current forecast has it weakening to a tropical depression and drifting into the Caribbean over the weekend, before dissipating in the face of El Nino year winds.  I've seen worse late Augusts.

Bookmarked Here for Future Use

Patrick Winston on How to Speak.  One hour at youtube.

If you haven't seen it already, probably worth your hour.

Re-Read Ringworld Engineers

Published in 1979 to tie up the many, many loose ends from his 1970 novel Ringworld (mentioned earlier here), it holds up well, even better than the first one.  Might get around to the remaining two books in the series later this year, but I need a break from Niven stories for the moment.

Perhaps the most entertaining part of the book is the dedication in the front matter, where the author details all of the, um, help he had from True Fans (that last really needs the old html <blink> tag) in fleshing out the Ringworld itself.  Obsessive proofreading.  Design for a seafloor sediment recycling system.  Calculations for the minimum tensile strength of the underlying structural material.  MIT students chanting at a sci-fi convention about the inherent instability of solid rings orbiting stars.  Even Freeman Dyson(!!) got in on the letter writing.  In the end it was all too much for Niven, so he had to write this book.  Honestly, the first one is incomplete without this, so if you read the first, be prepared to dive into the second immediately.  Well, maybe sandwich Protector between reading the two, mostly for the break but also for some in-universe background.

Adventures planned, so onward with the day.

Another Little Rant About e-Bikes

And this time, it's  somebody else for a change!  Listen now and hate me later, but at least hear the mechanic speak (9 minutes).  Especially that part at the very end.  All brutal, but all true.

You can find my previous thoughts on the matter here and here.

Book Mention: Take Me to Your Leader

Continuing this week's alien theme, I finally finished reading through Neal deGrasse Tyson's latest book, Take Me to Your Leader last night.  It's a fun little romp through all of the pop culture, credible sworn testimony, conspiracy theories, and blurry pictures of the last eighty or so years, along with reasonable musings on the Fermi Paradox, what forms extraterrestrial life (and their perceptions and senses) might take, etc. etc.  With all that, we are left with one stark, undeniable observation:

There is not one whit of actual evidence of alien visitation.  No artifacts, no hard data, and, despite upwards of seven billion digital cameras on this planet, no unambiguous pictures.

With that uncomfortable truth in mind, the author plows forward with his usual good-natured skeptical, slightly sarcastic way, considering all sides of the issues and philosophical conundrums.  It is very clear that he's open to any evidence, even an outright personal abduction.  However, to date, there just isn't any there there, and he's quick to gently point this out.

Recommended, but only if you generally like this sort of thing.

Finally, if you do manage to get yourself abducted, please take Seth Shostak's advice and pocket an alien artifact on your way out the door/hatch/portal/whatever.  We've all had more than enough of heartfelt testimony on these matters.  It's time for a metamaterial multitool, or whatever else they're using these days.  Plonk it down on the table in front of skeptics, say a hearty "nyeh-nyeh-nyeh," donate it to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, write a bestseller, and enjoy the good life.

Call Went to Voicemail

This week's episode of Big Picture Science is titled Calling All Aliens, which is naturally enough, about recent SETI and METI efforts.  By chance, I was asked by a friend earlier this week about my opinion on the general topic.  The three thoughts I had on the matter were:

1. 
   Imagine our galaxy as a pizza – a really big pizza – one meter across and one centimeter thick.  Now imagine a bubble of space radiating out from Earth in this pizza-galaxy.  A bubble big enough for our first powerful radio signals to have reached another civilization, and for them to have sent a reply back.  At the one meter pizza scale, that bubble would be about the size of a sesame seed.  Would we really expect to have reached anyone in such a small sample?
2. More quantitatively, take a current credible guesstimate at Drake's Number – about 86,400 contactable civilizations in our galaxy.  Seems a little high in comparison with numbers I've previously seen, but let's roll with it.  Given the speed of light, expect about a 50-50 chance of that bubble in Item 1 to encompass another civilization in about 330 years.  What's more, these Drake Equation results are all over the place, and numbers as low as 100 are reasonable.  That puts the expected time to a 50-50 chance of contact out around 3200 years.  Frankly,* it's just too soon to reasonably expect any return replies.
3. However, we should still keep listening, especially given the continuing and amazing increases in signal processing power.  Don't let those two-way contact numbers in the previous item discourage you.  Unlikely as it seems, a random alien signal could come crashing in any given day – and we'd best be listening.
4. Finally, if aliens ever do find us, they'll probably view us about the same way we view the Sentinelese (see inset picture): present, but violent and not worth contacting.  Best left alone.

On that note, time for a bike ride.  Anyway, the above-linked podcast is well worth an hour's listen, and one of the more noteworthy recent episodes  at Big Picture Science.

----------

*10 Internet Points if you caught that one.

Monday, Monday

Made my "start of the month banking and supply run" to the nearest medium-sized city.  Yes, you read that correctly, "start of the month," and yes, this is the 17th.  It has been a month indeed thus far.  The digging out continues.

Worth Noting

This has been a remarkably unnoteworthy week, beyond a trip to Wakulla Springs and a side-trip to Bald Point State Park on the way home.  However, there is one weather condition worth noting and being thankful for:

Contrast this with a visit to Bald Point this time last year.  Somewhat alarming graphic, but there is a nice picture of  the beach if you scroll down.

Thought for This Morning

I have to get ready to teach a ham radio review course later this afternoon.  First though... you guessed it.

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.

The View Up 6th Street

Just a nice sunset afterglow, seen from near the foot of the main pier at The Hole.

And yeah, the colors really were that vivid.

Short day on the Gulf today.  The snappers were small-ish but legal, caught 3/4 of limit before winds picked up.  Lots of long, moderately low swells off of TS Bertha, in the 3' range.  Here's the view from a data buoy somewhat to the SE of where we fished.  Taken at sunset this evening, you can still see the effects of the long slow swells which have subsided down to 2'.

The discontinuities between the images are caused by the swells.  You ought to see this view in a hurricane; in a Cat 5 it begins to resemble a Weierstrauss function.

With that, I Am Tired.  Good night!

A Decent Little Power Bank, With a Few Limitations

A few weeks ago FCEM purchased a few of these small 200w Powkey power banks (Amazon link, $80), and I was asked to evaluate one for possible ham radio use.  My overall impression is that it's a pretty good unit, but it is slightly dated and decidedly sub-optimal for ham field use.  Read on, but first let's get the TLDR out of the way.

Pros: Intuitive operation.  All-in-one unit.  4-LED "gas gauge."  Sine wave AC output.  Easy solar.

Cons: "12vdc" outlet is only 11.5vdc.  USB-A only outlets.  AC inverter puts out some radio interference.

Maybe/Maybe Not: Is 200 W maximum output and 146 W-H total enough for your application?

OK, now let's unpack the TLDR.  Intuitive operation, sure.  On/off switch then AC on/off switch, then plug in whatever you're using.  Be sure to take it out of the fitted foam-lined case though first, because there's a vent on each side.  That's easy.  Sine wave AC output is what you want, because that's also the kind of current that comes from home wall sockets.  (Earlier, cheaper power inverters put out "modified sine waves," a sort of stair-step approximation that could damage many devices.  Not recommended.)

It's easy to interface with solar, and in fact I'd recommend buying the combo pack with a 60 watt solar panel for $135 total (link).  Just plug it in, and in good sun it should fully recharge a spent bank in about 4 hours (if the quoted numbers are right).  Of course, you still can and should recharge the bank from a wall socket before heading out.

Now for the downsides.  First and foremost is the 11.5vdc problem, with a 10 amp maximum output current at that.   Some 12vdc devices are OK with this, many aren't.  You can step it up with a boost converter (link, $30), but (a) that's $30 more you have to spend, and (b) you now lose the all-in-one convenience factor.  Oh yeah, and (c) you've got to wire plugs on this extra unit, for whatever plugging you're planning.  But it is doable.  Finally, that 10 amp limit means that you won't be running full-power on any radios – 115 watts input maximum, which translates to about 25 watts RF power out.  So QRP, sure, and a legal-limit CB will do fine, but for typical ham base or mobile units you'll have to dial back the power.

Next up, the USB-A problem.  OK, it only has USB-A ports.  Plug your phone's USB-C charger into one of the two AC ports just like you would at home and rock on.  Don't want to give up an AC socket?  Bring along an AC power strip and you'll have as many ports as you like.  But that's... one... more... thing.

Now, how bad is the problem with the inverter putting out radio frequency interference?  In my testing, an AM radio was unusable in about a 10 foot range around the device, while broadcast FM was unaffected.  It's not bad, but it is something to be aware of, especially if you're thinking of two-way radios.  Again, not bad, but it is there and it is a consideration.

Now for the maybe/maybe nots.  With only 200 watts output, you're not going to run a 1200 watt coffee maker or your kitchen refrigerator on this thing.  Could run the coffee grinder though, and then make your coffee on a camp stove.  And it will run many, many other useful things: a household LED floor lamp (10 watts), maybe a small TV (check its specs), a Dremel tool to sharpen a chainsaw, those sorts of low-draw things.  As for its total energy (146 watt-hours), you could run a couple of lamps all evening and charge a couple of phones (about 15 watt-hours) overnight.  A floor box fan pulls 40 watts on low, so only about 3+ hours there.  Of course, when the power's flowing in from the sun during the daytime and once the battery's charged, it's all free energy until sundown.  Just know the limits and do the math: 200 watts maximum output, 146 watt-hours total, in any combo you like.

Bottom line is this is a pretty nice little plug-and-play unit, with a few hiccups in its design: namely the USB-A only and 11.5vdc output issues.  Paired with its solar panel, it will keep a few lights on, the phones charged, and the coffee beans ground on a car camping trip or after a hurricane, all at a price that won't break the bank.  If any of the cons really bug you – or you just want something with better build quality or a name you recognize – there are lots of other options out there.

Tropical Slop

Three days of stuck-inside rain from TS Bertha:

Well, can't complain too much.  It's moving on west and probably won't develop much farther:

Though, I was heading out on a bike ride when Yet Another small rain band hit.  Meh, again, can't complain too much about this particular storm.

He's a Cat, They Do That

Peter, leaping from the hood of my Mustang:

I'm guessing he has something like this on his tiny little mind:

Cats.  Bizarre as they can be, it's still way better than having rats around the place.

Moved the Old Gravel Bike

After 15 years of riding and over 10 months of casually trying to sell the thing, a friend bought my old Specialized Tricross last weekend.  Here's my favorite picture of it, and some links to relevant blog posts.  Here, have some theme music.

First ever coffeeneuring stop, at the Mockingbird in 2017

• A Nasty Surprise
• To the East End of St. George
• At the Bethel Trails
• A 2020 coffeeneuring interlude (with a nice picture)
• Waiting for Hurricane Zeta
• New pedals! (now rebuilt and transplanted to the Straggler)
• New wheel!
• Parting glamor pic, all freshly washed up and ready to move on.

It's good to see the bike go to a friend who'll both ride and appreciate it.

Re-Reading Ringworld

You know how it goes.  Or you should – in which case you should remedy this deficiency ASAP.  In any case, here's a graphic from Larry Niven's site, and encouragement to re-read it yourself.

Sometimes, you've just got to get there fast.

More on the Over-Biking Trend

The trails got smoother and the bikes got burlier.  Something has to give. over at Singletracks mag.  A little long and ramble-ish, but the problems with bike bloat are real.  Most bike customers have absolutely no use for what in a previous decade would have been considered a downhill race bike.  My 2024 thoughts on this matter.

And now in 2026, you can add an electric motor.

FWIW, it's not all that different in the computer industry:

Think I'll venture forth on my rigid chromoly under-bike now, before this fine July day heats up.  There are few things worth doing that you can't do with a bike like that and a PDP-11.

Crashlander: Some Things Are Better Left Untold

I just finished reading Larry Niven's short story collection Crashlander, a compilation of his

Known Space tales centering on ace star pilot Beowulf Shaeffer.  The collection serves as a sort of biography of one of the main characters in Niven's future history series, and knits these stand-alone shorts together with brief bridge chapters.  It also adds a new (well, 1994) Shaeffer short story, Procrustes, and somewhat ambiguously wraps it all up with a "happily ever after – maybe" epilogue, which is frustrating in and of itself.

The original set of stories dating from the 60's and 70's are all great.  The new short story is not, and neither are the bridge chapters.  The older stories are sleek tales, where Shaeffer figures out the key puzzle piece and with a narrow margin moves on in one piece himself.  Procrustes and its surrounding bridge stories are more of a wheels-within-wheels slog of tale, with several unsavory characters that a smart guy like the Shaeffer of the earlier stories would have automatically avoided.  Not worth the small price of the new collection, not worth the reading time.

All of the good stuff can be found in the earlier collections Neutron Star and Tales of Known Space, along with many other excellent short stories Niven produced in the same era.  Give Crashlander a pass, buy and read those two other collections.  Then use your leftover time to read (or re-read) Protector.

Deep Thought for Today

 

First though, a nap.  Then coffee.  Whisky... somewhat later, if at all.

More, later in the week.  These two weeks have been... special.

Bike Wisdom

Busy day today, so here's this morning's dose of bike lore from 2011: 

Some Answers to Just About Any Bike Forum Post I've Read

Heh, remember forums?  (fora? never took Latin)  So much more civilized than today's antisocial media platforms, all optimized for engagement (read: what we used to call flame wars).

Look, that's about all I got for today.  Broke a spoke on the Straggler yesterday; finished the ride and then Kevin had it all fixed before noon (Skunk Monkeys, 41 Market St., Apalach; recommended).  One silver spoke on a wheel of black spokes, the bike is beginning to show some lived-in character.  The new clothes washer will be here shortly today, and brother do I ever have a pile of shorts and jerseys to wash.  Life is good.

Graphic?  Oh OK, here's one sort of relating to bikes, broken spokes, and dental implants.

Well, maybe be a little stupid.  At least, enough to have some fun.

"Strategic Visioning" Meeting Results

Last month I sat on a 20-ish citizen panel to hammer out directions Apalachicola should be taking.  Results were presented at this Tuesday's City Commission meeting, and are also included in the agenda packet – a 24 MB beast, perhaps not to be downloaded lightly.  Anyway, results start on page 4.  If you dare.

Overall a success, but with a meeting name like that it sounds like there'd be psychedelics in the coffee pot.  Now that would have been interesting.  (not that I'm advocating...)  Who names these things?

Thoughts on In-Town Fencing

Stockade fencing discussed over at Jim Kunstler's substack, under his "Eyesore of the Month" column.

Speaking of which, that column is a hoot nearly every month.  Here's the permalink.  Anyway, it's one for the P&Z-interested people to consider.

Test Rode a Moonlander Fat Bike

A friend with one a size or two too large for me let me take his out for a spin around the neighborhood gravel, and damn but it was fun.  It's one of the 1.0 series, not the newer 2.0's, so none of the newer stuff.  In its essentials, it's probably closer to Surly's current Ice Cream Truck: derailleur gearing, 4.8" tires, somewhat normal geometry.  Anyway, here's a pic from the web site:

It was a crazy blast to take on some neighborhood dirt.  One alleyway filled with roller bearing pea gravel that always is a pain in the butt rode about as well as the paved streets.  I didn't have any deep sand to sample, but the pea gravel was enough.  On pavement, the big tires sound like a B-24 bomber, that's kind of cool.  Though for the price on the tires, I don't think I'd take it on pavement any more than absolutely necessary.  On rough descents and ascents, it just... rode.  Keep on pedaling, and it keeps going.  I shudder to think though about something harsh enough to stop it, because that stop's probably going to hurt.  In the meantime though, keep pedaling and the ride is good!

So, am I going to run out and get one?  Eh, it's kind of a specialty tool.  Definitely not an actual current model Moonlander.  At over $4k, I wouldn't get enough use of it to be worth it.  Maybe an Ice Cream Truck at about half the price.  Surly's lower-priced Wednesday option rides on 3.8" tires, and I'm not sure that would give the full-on fat tire float on sand that I'm looking for.  Right now though, I'm not going to sweat it.  I've got a couple of other bikes to move first (got to make room), and the weather's too hot to grind down the beach right now anyway.  Will revisit in the fall.

And on this 5th of July, Please Remember...

And with that, I am back to activities with out-of-town relatives.  See y'all later in the week.

All The Memes

If you're finding yourself short on Independence Day memes, According to Hoyt has them all.

Happy Independence day!  America Two Fif-TEE!  Yeah!

Though there are some corners of the U.S. I prefer over others, there's no place else I'd rather be.

3rd of July Fire & Fireworks

First, a fire at The Hole.  Details at The Times, plus one picture:

Then later in the evening, something a bit more fun, a bit more controlled:

Yeah, we do the fireworks on the 3rd here, with other towns in the area doing them on other days.  It spreads the fun around.  I think tonight is St. George Island's turn.

A Very Interesting Step Toward Synthetic Life

For the First Time, a Cell Built From Scratch Grows and Divides

No, it is not life.  But it is an interesting conglomeration that pulls together a bunch of previous research into a neat bundle, and makes one of the main features of a living cell sort of work when it is spoon-fed some complicated key ingredients.  From the article:

“I wasn’t allowing myself to believe it for a while,” she said. “It was like, ‘Holy shit, did I actually make a dividing cell?’ … At some point, you’ve been checking enough that [you think], ‘OK, now it’s real.’”

and:

“The modern cell is like a Dreamliner,” Adamala said, referring to the Boeing 787 airplane. “We built a Wright flyer… the first bike frame with wings that flies 100 feet.”

Pretty amazing.

And no, it's not going to get away and take over the world.  Real life would rip it to shreds and chow down on the innards within milliseconds.

Big Stupid Fun, and Mostly Harmless

• K0NR (aka Bob) writes about the Brass Knuckle Gang at his blog, including a link to the BKG website.
• Singletracks online mag weighs in on what is probably the first production Ti-framed 32" wheel bike, and they can't quite decide what it is.  Gravel?  Mountain bike?  Likely fun either way.

Neither one is my thing, but hey, it's good to see people out there Doing Unusual Stuff.

Monday, Monday...

First up, call the clothes washer repair guy.  No, on second thought, make that second.

Yeesh.

Sorry Man, It's a Motor Scooter. Or Maybe a Motorcycle.

In the news this week, Gov. DeSantis vetoed an e-bike regulation bill.  I have to side with the Gov. on this one, because that bill seemed to be a morass of unenforceable namby-pamby minutia.  Here's a simpler solution.  On road:

If it's got a motor, it's either a motor scooter or, above 746W / 1HP, a motorcycle.  Apply existing laws accordingly.

Yeah, that's right, I said it, I mean it.  Below I'll paste a list of relevant news links and an AI summary of FL motor scooter laws.  But first, what should be done off-road?  Here's what:

With a broad medical exemption (requiring a physician's determination followed by a visit to your local DMV or county tax office for a durable license card & license plate), no e-bikes off-road on public bicycle trails.

Harsh?  Nah.  You weren't dogged by a couple of yo-yos in the 2023 Santos Fat Tire Fest Epic 50.  They weren't pedaling at all, but had the boom box cranked to 11, yacking above the din the whole time.  I finally took an extended coffee break and flagged them by, just to get some peace.  At the trailhead they were snapping selfies with their finisher medals and generally acting like they'd accomplished something.

OK, rant over.  Here are the promised links and the AI summary of FL scooter rules:

• My previous thoughts on the matter off-road (includes much discussion about needed & reasonable medical exemptions) and a short follow-up.
• DeSantis rejects e-bike bill
• A description of the bill (with TLDR summary at the top)
• South Florida's e-bike boom (blood! scars! Darwinian selection of tweenagers!)
• E-bike vs. e-moto (at SingleTracks; mostly off-road applicable)

Are you confused at all as to whether these are actual bicycles suitable for 11 year olds?  If so, consult your friendly biologist specializing in natural selection today.  Yes, it's brutal to discuss children's lives so bluntly, but that was their parents' choice, not yours or mine.

Now for the AI cut-and-paste summary of existing Florida law:

Florida distinguishes between motorized scooters (no seat/saddle, stand-up style), motor scooters/mopeds (with seat), and motorcycles based on engine size and specs.

Key Categories and Rules (as of recent statutes)

• Mopeds / Motor scooters ≤50cc (with seat/saddle, ≤2 brake horsepower, ≤30 mph on level ground):
  • License: Valid Class E driver's license (regular car license); no motorcycle endorsement needed. Minimum age typically 16.
  • Registration: Required in most cases (as a moped).
  • Helmet: Not required for riders 16+ (but required under 16). Eye protection often recommended or required.
  • Other: Cannot operate on interstates or certain high-speed roads. Must follow traffic laws. Insurance not required (but recommended).
• Motor scooters >50cc: Classified as motorcycles.
  • License: Class E license + motorcycle endorsement (or motorcycle-only license) required.
  • Registration/Title: Required.
  • Helmet: Required if under 21, or if over 21 without qualifying insurance ($10,000 medical benefits coverage). All riders need eye protection. Under-16 rules are stricter.
  • Insurance: Not strictly required by state law for mopeds/scooters but highly advised (liability coverage recommended).

General Rules

• All riders must obey traffic laws, signals, and have lights/reflectors where applicable.
• Passengers: Limited; specific rules apply (e.g., proper seating).
• Local ordinances: Cities/counties may have additional restrictions (e.g., on sidewalks, speeds, or rental scooters).
• Electric versions often fall under similar categories depending on power/speed.

Laws can be nuanced by exact vehicle specs and may change—check the official FLHSMV site or Florida Statutes (e.g., Chapters 316, 320, 322) for your specific scooter, and verify with local authorities. Always wear protective gear for safety regardless of legal minimums.

Rant off, and now I'm off to catch a mullet for supper.

Ma & Pa Osprey say "Hi!"

Osprey nest at the Hole, taken from a passing car on the river bridge.  Cool pic, not much after that.

BBC Mid-Winter Broadcast Results

Well I was going to post this yesterday.  However, I was attacked by a fiend with a torque wrench and a laser, who made off with nearly $600.  Yes, that's right, I had a dental appointment to have a crown re-attached to its implant.  And I was damed glad to get that emergency appointment too, I might add.  Mostly painless.  So... on with the post.  Blog post that is, not the dental kind.

As noted and described two days ago, Sunday just before 5:30pm EDT I drove down to Lafayette Park in Apalach and within minutes had a sort of half-assed inverted-V random wire antenna up (no, I didn't follow my own advice and string it vertically; I was rushed by the start time, and this was good enough) and plugged into my Tecsun PL-660 shortwave receiver (see inset – actual action picture).  Then... I listened.

Propagation condition numbers are on the left; click to embiggen.  Here's the short and sweet SINPO (signal, interference, noise, propagation, overall; each on a 1–5 scale):

9460 / 31m band Woofferton (UK):  nothing heard

9510 / 31m band Ascension I. (S. Atlantic): 35422 – very wavery signal, barely usable

12070 / 2m band Woofferton (again, UK):  35433 – not bad, not great, but perfectly useable; best of the bunch

Most of the half-hour transmission consisted of families sending well-wishes, interspersed with short musical clips.  It concluded with a short clip from the Bangles' version of Hazy Shade of Winter, and then ... silence and static.

As a small technical note for the non-technical, notice those frequencies.  They're about ten times higher than typical AM broadcast band frequencies – think of WWL at 870 kHz or WLCY at 1380 – and wavelengths go as the reciprocal of frequency, i.e., the waves will be about ten times shorter.  Hence, shortwave.  There you go.  So why do they travel so much farther than say regular broadcast AM or FM?  Short answer, just as different colors of light will refract differently in glass, different frequencies of radio waves will refract differently in Earth's ionosphere, high up in the atmosphere at the fringes of space.

So what was the point of all this trip, gear, and analysis?  Because it was there, and it was fun.  Oh, and pretty easy too – total prep time, maybe 10 minutes; set-up, maybe 5.  And oddly for Florida this time of year, no bugs.

Summer Solstice... Already?

Yeah, right now, 4:24 am EDT.  Guess we're in high summer now.  Well, you probably missed the exact moment, being at awful-oh-24, but you can still get in on the BBC's midwinter transmission to Antartica from 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm EDT this afternoon.  That's 21:30 – 22:00 UTC if you're confounded by EDT.  Here are the frequencies;

• 9460 kHz (Woofferton)
• 9510 kHz (Ascension – always wanted to visit that place, might get there yet)
• 12070 kHz (Woofferton)

More details can be found over at The SWLing Post, including after-action reports and recordings eventually now up over at another post at the SWLing Post.  ps: Decent reception here on the northern Gulf. I'll have something interesting up tomorrow.

Definitely not summer solstice weather in Florida

Tick Tick Tick – but no Tock

Short and sweet, How to Remove a Tick Safely and Avoid Lyme Disease at Outside magazine.

It's very short so read the whole thing.  However, just in case, here's a refresher:

• Get it off ASAP, preferably with tweezers grabbing the head.  Don't delay for a trip to the ER!
• SNAP A PICTURE of it.  Hadn't thought of this one, but it'll help if follow-up treatment is needed.
• Wash the bite with soap & water, hand sanitizer, or similar.  Whatever you've got.

There are a few more twists and turns at the article, so go read that, but those are the basics.  I'll add two more:

• Always carry suitable tick tweezers when in the outdoors.  Way better than fingers, but if that's all you've got, get the bug off ASAP with your fingers.
• Take some form of B vitamin before heading into the woods.  Pill or a B-heavy energy drink will do.  Ticks, along with many other bugs, don't seem to like the smell.

Sorry, no pictures here.  That may come as some minor relief.

Return of the (dramatic music please) Steamroller

Surly is bringing back a limited run of their Steamroller fixie bike.  Frameset only, $699.  Drops on June 23rd at 9am CDT.  Take note of that and get your order in, because there may be a (small) run on this re-introduced classic.  Personally, my running will be more of "away" than "toward," but that's OK, you do you.  I have the greatest respect for fixie riders, but it's just not my thing.  Even the fans of fixies think the whole niche is stupid.

Here are some links: at Surly, news at Bike Radar, an old review.  Not quite sure where to order one; left as an exercise for the student, you'll figure it out.

Right now though, I'm fighting a bad jones for a fat bike.  With the relative lack of trails here in FL, having something to navigate beach sand is beginning to show its appeal.  More than anything else, it's a lack of a place to keep it that's holding me back.

And Here We Go...

TS Arthur.  Not expected to greatly affect us – or anyone else, for that matter.  Still, it is the first named storm.

source: weathernerds

"Though we don't anticipate any significant turbulence, the captain requests that you leave your seatbelt buckled."

Our Counter-Cyclical Ways

Article at The Times: Local tourism defies state decline

It's not long, so no TLDR needed.

It's always been a thing here, and I have it on good authority that bucking widespread economic trends goes back at least to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

I'd Watch It

Too bad it's not for real.  Meh, I'll be on my bike.