Mensheviks

I did make it home in time to roll out with Critical Mass. They had more of a jovial attitude than confrontational, so next time I'll play the part. I'm thinking boombox and clown wig. CK says no clown wig, but I'll beat her good. The 'official' count was 130 peeps, which isn't bad considering the ominous weather clouds around the start. It did drizzle lightly on us, and towards the end when we were riding down Hawthorne my ass got wet. It wasn't raining when I left the house, so I left the fenders at home, which I came to regret when I started towards home, down Lombard, in a full blown downpour. Meh. We all get what we deserve.

Raleigh of Nottingham

I've been feeding the Craigslist beast lately. Best Of, Musicians, Bikes and my new personal favorite: Barter. I love to cut the Feds out of the loop when it comes to interpersonal buisness. No greenbacks = no tax.
This Lady down in SE Portland was willing to clip Max's nails and 'express' his anal gland (among other grooming) in exchange for a bike. While I didn't have one lying around, I did track down a '74 Sports, with the three speed Sturmey Archer hub and a step through frame. I hope it works out well for her, and it should certainly get her to the grocery store and 4 blocks to work and back.
I was looking forward to Critical Mass all week. My anticipation was growing, until this morning when I got a call from work to go to Washington tomorrow. What a major drag. The likelyhood of my making it back by 6pm is next to nil. Oh well, I hope it doesn't rain on those mensheviks.

Barely fit to fertilize my vegetables.

 

Kitty, looking on from the saftey of the sliding door, agrees.

 

What We Think of Michelob 'round here.

What to do with 15.5 gallons of St. Louis' finest circa 2002? Certainly we wouldn't want to drink 3 year old beer, not being quite that hard up. I had to think fast. So I rolled it out to the compost heap and attempted to lift it. No dice. So I waited 'til Flint showed up and we heaved it into position. With a rag and a screwdriver I pressed in the ball on the valve that holds the beer in. I had told Flint to stand back, and I thought he was behind me, but lo and behold, he decided right in front of the valve was the best spot. We both got doused. Lukewarm, 3 year old light American Pilsner smells alot like the cab of most pickup trucks with Texas license plates. Hmm....

You haven't lived...

...until you've seen the angry faces of bmw driving yuppies stuck in traffic by anti-war protesting hippies, school teachers and other assorted leftists.
CK dragged me all over the place this weekend. Saturday night we went to the punk rock show, where I came to realize I have gotten too old for the pit. It was good times, but by the time the headliners came on I was beat. Then again, so was everyone else. I took my earplugs out while the band was saying goodbye, to realize I was glad to have brought them. It was mind blowingly loud without hearing protection. All those kids are going to be deaf.
At first I didn't feel like going downtown this afternoon, but changed my mind at the last minute. Veterans for Peace and others were rallying in the park, and though I didn't particularly want to get headstomped by the po-po, the wife was going, so I dragged myself up off the couch. It was mostly a peaceful march through downtown, except for the fixed-gear anarchist kids who were looking for trouble on Burnside. They had plopped themselves down in the street, under a 'Fuck the Troops' banner, and didn't look like they were going to move when the end of the march came. The bike cops had kinda encircled them, and were keeping their cool for the most part it seemed, but who knows what happened after the cameras were gone. Our cops aren't as bad as Seattle, NYC or Chicago's, but who knows when they'll go '68 convention on their counter-culture asses.

Dr. Strangelove

I am headed to IAH, or Houston International. The Texans renamed it, but I'll let you guess what they changed it to. I noticed the cover of the Economist this month, a lovely conglomeration of American icons, it baffles me that the limeys thought up that piece of art before us.
I've been overdosing on Kunstlerian peak oil essays the past few days. Not much new to say, but the term 'peaknik' entered my vocabulary. Always best to attack your idealogical enemies through catchy phrases than rational argument.
My active lifestyle force a difficult decision. Walking around town with the wife on Saturday morning we decided that not having a vehicle was not going to work out in the long run. Once or twice a week we need to head off to the garden supply, hardware, woods, buy something off CL, wherever. Puting off these trips is fine in the short term, but with the warm months coming we would find ourselves renting a car every weekend.
Later that same day I got a call from my ma, and she said that she was going to drive my truck out sometime this summer. When I pressed her as to why she explained she (and Dad) didn't want to see me without a vehicle, and felt that the WT was rightfully mine. After some discussion of the issue it was decided that we'll put the WT on the back of a flatbed and ship it out here, this being a more prudent option than driving it all that way.
So Sean, once again I'll have the largest V-6 in it's class.

Ted4 Appleseed

I planted 2 new trees in the front yard. They are weird Kanuck columnar apple trees. I think I'll plant a little columnar apple orchard in the front yard. Either that or apples and marionberries. The wife says no, that her 'curb appeal' will suffer, but I beat women for sass like that. I am of the opinion that fruit trees are worth more than a grass lawn. That way the neighbor kids can have some fruit to snack on.
Or throw at each other.
Meh.

Kimi

I spent the week in Federal Way changing bearings on a vertical MG set. The overall clearance on the bottom is about 4 inches of working room. I couldn't even fit my biceps under there. It was the complete suck, a week rolling around on a concrete floor cursing my father for not using contraception. I couldn't rig up the hydraulic jack, so every bearing had to be spun off and on with a wrench. Every bone and muscle in my body is sore.
I did meet up with Aaron for dinner on Wednesday. We threw some cards at some tiny casino. I hit a straight flush to the six in hearts. I hope Kimi is a better Everquest player than gambler, he had a really rough night cards-wise. I still had fun, and hope he wasn't turned off poker forever.