Posted On Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 By David Veatch
You may have noticed a slight dip in the number of posts here. You’ll notice a lot fewer in the future. In an effort to cut costs (no worries, I’m fine financially, I just want to be *better*), I’m dropping my static IP, my connection speed, and shutting off my server at home. Since this site is hosted at home, this site will disappear. If I post in the future, it’ll be over at dvicci.wordpress.com, or dvicci.blogspot.com. I’m really not sure. Any suggestions? I really don’t expect the number of posts to increase any time soon, but who knows… I may try to import posts and tags and whatnot. I may not. It’s hard to say! Until then… this site will stay put until the static IP runs out. And no, this is not a 4/1 joke.
Posted On Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 By David Veatch
Last night, I checked the mail and had three Netflix movies waiting for me! Excellent! Except for one small thing… I don’t have a Netflix account. Huh. Immediately suspicious, I decided to dig in and see what I could find out. My first step, having opened the movies to see what they were (nothing worth watching, and no… no pr0n), I sat down at the laptop and brought up netflix.com. I’m not a member… well… I’m not a knowing member, so I had no idea what my username would be, much less my password. Normally, you can have instructions sent to the e’mail address on file, but I was confident that in my case, my own e’mail address wouldn’t be on file. However, they have a method of logging in if you don’t remember, or have access to the e’mail address you signed up with. It asks for the first name, last name and card number used to sign up with. Using my real first and last name, I started going through my credit cards to see which one had fallen into the wrong hands. I didn’t have far to go… I got a hit on the first try. I more »
Posted On Monday, December 22nd, 2008 By David Veatch
So, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s pretty cold. It’s been in the single digits for a while now, and in case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m not a fan of riding in the cold. My excuse the last week or so has been b/c I’ve been sick with a minor upper respiratory tract infection. My excuse this week is that it’s Christmas week, and as such, is pretty hectic. My excuse next week will be b/c it’s New Years, and I’ll be very tired because of it. I know, those are excuses, not reasons. After all is said and done, the truth is if I wanted to, I’d find a way. But unlike others, I’ve had to face the cold (ha!) harsh reality that riding in the sub-zero cold is too harsh for me. I won’t whine about why it’s too harsh for me, suffice to say that for daily outings, it just is. Riding should be fun. Riding in tear-freezing temperatures, at least for me, isn’t. That’s my burden to bear, and I bear it without shame. But that leaves me with a problem. I do love to ride, and I love the benefits of riding. I’m healthier more »
Posted On Sunday, April 6th, 2008 By David Veatch
This morning was a busy morning. I got up and had a cup of coffee, and then wasted no time before heading to the garage and the yard, to work on the bikes. On the Kona: Replaced the old knobby tires with new Continental Town & Country 26″ X 2.1″ tires. Win. I cannot wait to try them out in the morning. Still, there’s a part of me that hopes with a fervor that they don’t explode or get a flat within minutes of their maiden voyage. The old tires and tubes had been around for so long that they’d nearly melded together like the rear end of some woman stuck to a toilet after two years of sedentary bathroom life. Cleaned the drive train with a toothbrush and some degreaser. Win. It’s a wonder that thing shifted at all with all the caked on gunk on the RD cogs. Amazing. Adjusted the fenders a bit. Win. It looks better… if it’s possible to make “geek” look “better.” On the Torelli: Tightened the rear brake against the seat stays in an attempt to eliminate a pesky creaking that comes with every crank revolution under stress. I don’t think it worked, more »
Posted On Monday, March 17th, 2008 By David Veatch
Reading the article on the relative costs of riding a bicycle vs. driving a car (What Right Have I?) got me thinking. How much am I paying per mile on my commutes? I took all the costs I’ve racked up, from clothing to commuting accessories to bike maintenance and parts, and divided that by the number of miles I’ve ridden so far. It’s a lot higher than I imagined it would be. I’m paying premium prices to ride my bike right now. At $1,260 spent, and 773.02miles ridden, that comes out to about $1.63/mile. I expected a lot less than that, but having thought about it, it does make sense. The cost of entry into commuting by bike amounts for most of the money I’ve spent. I had nothing. No racks, or bike bags, or lights. Those are things I had to have in order to make it work. My timing had something to do with it as well. Had I started in the summer, I could have gotten away with the clothes I had, but I didn’t. I started nearly in the dead of winter and had to gear up for sub-freezing weather. I had nothing prior to December. more »