Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Guns Stolen From Mexican Police Arsenal

Six thieves wearing police uniforms entered the compound, drove directly to the radio room, tied up the staff, then proceeded to the armory. They took 43 H&K G36 rifles, 26 9mm pistols plus bulletproof vests and grenades. The guards offered no resistance. The State Attorney General's office has arrested the guards.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Chix Kix Lix Hix


High-schooler Ashley Flinn kicks a field goal and two point-afters to help her school's football team to a 17-10 win over their rivals from Dakota, Michigan.


The Uranian Phalanstery Is Being Evicted!

Founded by Richard Tyler:

Richard Tyler was born in Lansing, Michigan April 1st, 1926. He was the only child to an Artist Father and Mystic Mother. "Richard thought that life was a joke" Dorothea chuckles as she tells me of Richard's days of service during WWII in Japan as a Paratrooper. He was the kind of personality that would end up in the brig for robbing a Japanese bank, "disappearing with piles of void paper money. Guns, blazing to the sky".

And now it's all over.

NYT article.

A blog post about the Uranian Phalanstery.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Snapshots

Some photos from my bicycle ride:

The Browntown General Store

RC Cola sign (actually a thermometer - 92 degrees)

The bridge across the Shenandoah River - it's about a hundred yards wide here, and about three feet deep.

Mailbox made from a tractor

The ubiquitous "Posted" signs...

...and black lace panties hanging from the tree.

Beautiful old weatherbeaten farm buildings.

And another.

Weathered wood.

After work on Sunday my attention was arrested by this flower in a big planter at 6th Street and Pennsylvania Ave.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Rural Bicycling II


Today I saddled up and took a long ride on the bike, about 20 miles round-trip I believe. Crossed the Shenandoah River at a little one-lane bridge.

The GPS didn't start working for the first three miles. Blackberry GPS's are like that: they expect to have a working data connection, and if they don't have it, they'll keep looking, sometimes for hours, even though the GPS satellites are coming in loud and clear. Oh, well.

Here's the aerial view:


This was the most exhausting ride I have ever done. Nothin' but hills. I pedalled up one hill on the opposite side of the river from an elevation of 550 feet to an elevation of 850 feet. The road was "paved" with dusty, powdery dirt and gravel, and it was so steep that it was difficult to balance the bike: I had to lean forward to avoid toppling over backwards, but if I leaned forward too much, the rear wheel would lose traction. At the top of that hill, I decided, "OK, that's all I can take!" and I turned around and descended the hill; that's the steep drop in the graph.

Wheeeeee!

Over thirty minutes to climb, and then back down in about two minutes.

On the way back I stopped at the little campground store and bought an orange Popsicle: 35 cents. Best-tasting Popsicle I ever had!

I was gone four and a half hours and I was near collapse when I got home. I had plenty of water; I took a Camelback with three trays of ice cubes... I'm just outta shape!