Eggbeater Pedal Rebuild Saturday

Yesterday it was time to tackle a pair of Eggbeater 2's gone wrong after just two years' use and a nice four year old pair of Mallet 3's that were crying out for some TLC.  It wasn't particularly difficult, but the first one took a little while with flipping back and forth through videos.  Set aside some serious time for each pair of pedals.  Figure on about an hour for a pair, but have an open schedule for up to two hours in case something goes awry.  Also, you'll need a rebuild parts kit for each pair of pedals.

How?  Oh hell no, I'm not going to tell you how here.  I'm just going to link through to a couple of videos for each variety.  Required tools are also detailed in each video.  You'll want to have those rounded up before beginning along with lots and lots of paper towels.

• Eggbeaters: factory vid | some bike shop guy
• Mallets: factory vid | Park Tool vid

They all move kind of fast and take slightly different routes, so whichever model you're overhauling it's worthwhile to watch both videos.

The bottom line is that this exercise resurrected about $250 worth of pedals for $60 in parts plus a couple hours' semi-interesting work.  I can think of worse and less profitable ways to spend a chunk of a Saturday afternoon.

ps & Follow Up, 9/10: After several test rides of both pedal sets, all is functioning very smoothy.  However, thinking on the economics of this, if you're running the bottom-end Eggbeater 1's, it may make more sense to just replace a worn set.  Odds are that if a set of pedals need replacing,  you'll need new cleats too.  Digging around on ModernBike.com I see that a pair of Egg 1's goes for $54.  Compare with a refresh kit and new set of cleats – $30 and $25 respectively – and the price is a wash.  Of course, it pains to throw out when a rebuild will do; doing so reeks of wretched excess.  Hey, your Saturday afternoon, your call.

Gravel On The Block

With the new Surly Straggler well in hand, it's time to put the 2010 Specialized Tricross up for sale.  $338 bike + $315 in parts = $500 cash, firm.  You can see full details here at craigslist.

55cm / Medium, in Very Good shape

I had intended to keep this bike for a good while more – hence all the parts.  But what I'm doing on a gravel bike these days is closer to mountain biking and these old hip and knee joints aren't getting any younger.  Anyway, I hate to see it go, but an unridden bike is a sad horse.  Time to move it on down the line.

If you're reading this, you know how to reach me.

Punctuated Equilibrium Seems to be the Way of Things

Here's a short article about punctuated equilibrium in biological systems, proteins, and (surprise!) languages at Quanta.

I was very surprised to see PE arising in some genetic algorithm work I was doing several decades ago on systems that were entirely non-biological.  I simply remarked on it in the resulting paper and moved on with the main thrust of that research.  Still, the waves of evolution in this system did show significant regularity and could be useful in determining when some point of diminishing return has been reached, and hence when to stop burning computer cycles.

Looking around on the web using an AI search quickly showed that this has been observed many times before:

Give me a list of research showing punctuated equilibrium in genetic algorithm simulations of non-biological systems.

Here is a list of relevant research papers that demonstrate or analyze punctuated equilibrium (periods of stasis followed by rapid changes) in genetic algorithm (GA) simulations applied to non-biological systems, such as abstract optimization problems, engineering tasks, or artificial life models. I've focused on studies where the systems are clearly non-biological (e.g., not direct simulations of real biological processes like speciation or genetic drift in organisms). Each entry includes the title, authors, year, a brief description of the GA and system, and how punctuated equilibrium is shown. The list is chronological.

• Punctuated Equilibria in Genetic Search by Michael D. Vose and Gunar E. Liepins (1991). This paper formalizes a simple GA with selection, mutation, and one-point crossover, applied to non-biological search spaces modeled as high-dimensional dynamical systems. Simulations and mathematical analysis show punctuated equilibrium through alternating periods of relative stability (attractors) and sudden rapid evolution when populations shift between basins, supported by eigenvalue computations and trajectory diagrams.
• Genetic Algorithms and Punctuated Equilibria in VLSI by J. P. Cohoon, W. N. Martin, and D. S. Richards (1991). A distributed GA with subpopulation structures is used for the K-partition problem in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) chip design, a non-biological engineering optimization task. The approach is inspired by punctuated equilibrium theory, with empirical simulations demonstrating performance advantages from "ecological opportunities" that enable rapid evolutionary bursts after periods of stasis.
• Population-Based Incremental Learning: A Study on Genetic Algorithms and Simulated Annealing by Shumeet Baluja (1994). This work uses Population-Based Incremental Learning (an extension of equilibrium GAs) compared to standard GAs on non-biological optimization problems like numerical functions (e.g., De Jong’s, Griewangk’s), NP-complete tasks (e.g., jobshop scheduling, traveling salesman), and deceptive problems. It demonstrates punctuated equilibrium in parallel GA variants with subpopulations, where stasis in isolated groups is interrupted by migrations leading to rapid improvements, shown via a contrived example where single-population GAs fail but multi-population ones succeed.
• Punctuated Equilibria in Simple Genetic Algorithms for Functions of Unitation by Sangyeop Oh and Hyunsoo Yoon (2000). A simple GA with roulette wheel selection, mutation, and crossover is simulated on non-biological unitation functions (bit-string optimization in bistable potential landscapes). Theoretical analysis via diffusion equations and simulations reveal punctuated equilibrium, with long metastable periods at local optima followed by exponential-duration sudden jumps to global optima, visualized in population mean trajectories and parameter-dependent duration plots.
• Punctuation Equilibrium and Optimization: An A-Life Model by Ravi Jonnal and Anthony Chemero (2000). An evolutionary algorithm evolves artificial neural network weights for controlling a virtual creature in a 2D grid-based simulated environment with resources and obstacles (non-biological artificial life setup). Simulations compare standard and punctuated mutation rates, showing that introducing rare bursts of higher mutation leads to punctuated equilibrium patterns—long stasis interrupted by rapid fitness gains—resulting in significantly higher overall fitness scores.
• Punctuated Equilibrium and Neutral Networks in Genetic Algorithms by David Shorten and Geoff Nitschke (2022). A simple GA is applied to non-biological benchmark optimization functions (11 numerical ones plus Royal Road and Trap functions). Empirical simulations demonstrate punctuated equilibrium as populations explore neutral networks (genotype spaces with stable phenotypes), leading to periods of phenotypic stasis followed by rapid changes when escaping to fitter regions, analyzed via consensus sequences and genotype-phenotype

Huh.  Effect noted, explained, harnessed.  I wish search engines had been this effective in 2007.  Back to and onward with my real work.

If You're Going to Move to Apalachicola...

... then please look into these three resources.  

First off, read Suburban Nation (and if you can, order it from here; usually not in stock but quickly available) to understand how and why this town works so well.

Next, read Classic Cracker (again, DTB usually stocks it) to see how houses should be built to suit this climate.  Don't settle for a slab-foundation house; mold can set in when the power (and air conditioning) has an extended outage after a hurricane.  Build raised with a metal roof and wide porch and you'll be ahead of the crowd on both your power bills and ongoing maintenance costs.

Finally, speaking of mold and dampness, contemplate this map and related comments regarding where not to locate.  Namely in old stream beds.  As good buildable lots have filled up, people have recently taken up building in these.  Clue-by-four time: When the contractor crew has to use hip boots to get around the building site (and yes, I've seen it), just cut your losses and halt construction.  Your sinus condition will thank you a few years down the road.

These sorts of public service messages shouldn't be needed, but well, evidently they are.

Katrina plus 20

There's little to add after what's been written here at this blog over the past 15 years.  link to old posts

However, the Big Picture Science podcast had a decent series this summer on the topic, worth a listen:

• Hurricane Comms – kind of important, and near & dear to me
• Hurricane Season – mostly lessons learned
• Katrina and the River – the Mississippi, of course

It still galls that so much reporting (somewhat including the above-linked podcasts) is so New Orleans-centric when the actual ground zero was some 50 miles to the east, but urban areas seem to be all the news media cares about, so there it is.  Here, have a couple of pictures from the areas that shall not be reported on:

Downtown Bay St. Louis.  Notice the manholes sticking up towards what was ground level on Beach Boulevard.  It's not evident from the perspective here, but the original road level was about 25' above sea level.  BTW, the  pilings in the background were part of the train bridge across the mouth of the bay, and you know how solidly those things are built.

Here, this used to be (and now is again) a neighborhood, as well as the bridge into town.

Here's the Washington Street neighborhood.  The surf debris line can be seen across the horizontal middle of the picture.  Flooding extended well inland from the top of this picture for several miles.

Here's one more, taken from the overpass of I-10 and Hwy 603, about ten miles inland:

Similar pictures can be found from across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and even as far as Panhandle Florida.

ps: Nice article in the Sea Coast Echo marking today's anniversary.  RTWT.

Internal Frame Rust Protection

Here's a quick tutorial on how to spray Boeshield T9 coating into a steel bike frame.  Six minutes, but if your bike's already built up and you don't want to disassemble it to do this treatment, skip to the four minute mark.  Looks dead easy.

The real trick the guy uses is an extra-long spray hose to get way up into the frame.  Look in the video's drop-down description for an Amazon link to get these.  Never seen them anywhere before.  What a great idea.

ps, Thursday 8/28: This was a far messier project than I'd anticipated.  Of course you'll have to do the job outside or at least in a workshop.  With disc brakes do not repeat do not repeat do not get any oil on the calipers and pads – which means covering them with plastic bags and taping things down securely.  Even so, be careful.  If I had to do it over, I'd remove them entirely except for the cable, bag over the entire assembly, and seal the one opening securely with tape.  Even one drop of oil and those brakes will squeal like a banshee until you clean everything and replace the pads.

So, set things up inside.  Remove the bolts needed to get the extra-long straw up into the frame, remove the wheels (got to keep the oil off the rotors!), and mask anything you've got to mask ahead of time.  Then haul it all outside, go to work, and get it cleaned up before bringing back inside.  Might want to let it sit in the hot sun for a few hours if you can before bringing back inside.  It's a mess, but worth it for a bike you might keep for decades.

GMRS Expanding Into VHF Low-Band?

Seventeen minute video here.  TLDW: GMRS (wiki link explainer) is up in the 460 MHz range.  This proposal is to grant an additional allocation in the mid-high 40 MHz range, in some old cordless phone allocations and other abandoned spots.  Power levels are TBD, but I'm guessing in the 50 watt range.  This would give improved propagation ranges and characteristics in many settings.

This is a GREAT idea!  It's the perfect solution for rural areas, where at the current GMRS frequencies signals are absorbed wholesale by pine trees.  Think of it as "high-power CB, without all the skip noise, and with half-size antennas."  For the deer hunters currently bootlegging on the 2m ham band this would be both a big improvement and a legal solution.  I'm 100% for this, and would be in with a new radio of my own if it happens.

IF it happens.  Let's see how things roll out over the next couple of years.