D&F 5/16/22

This week I’m getting excited about a big bike ride and a little trip I get to take soon. For the first time in two years, I get to leave the state briefly and explore a bit.

If you’re like me and haven’t gone far afield since COVID started, I hope you get to travel a bit this summer or fall too. The cases in my area are still spiking unfortunately, but I’m hoping they drop again in July.

For my bike prep, in addition to practice-packing which is a weird but fun hobby of mine, I am testing a new cooler and a few other bits and bobs to see if they’ll work for the camping and the cycling. I’m also watching a lot of adventure videos to try to understand the ways more experienced riders tackle off-road.

Finland came up last week at a lunch with some of my team, and around the same time I ran into this utterly bizarre link about a sculpture garden in the land of the long drink.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want from a city and a place to settle for a longer term stay, and a key need are resources and activities within 15 minutes by foot. I love riding my bike, and even driving on occasion, but living in and participating in a walkable city is an ideal. I’m still not sure how we get there in the east or west bay, but whatever it looks like, it also means alleviating houselessness and drug-overdoses. I haven’t read everything on this site, but by and large it seems like a smart way to grapple with these ideas and work towards a more sustainable and edifying society. Whatever succeeds, I guarantee it won’t be private vehicles in a shitty underground tunnel.

Links

• Here’s an NSFW thread on making custom dildos as a hobby.
• If Monday feels too far away and you want to think about work, this essay about culture by a former coworker might slate your thirst for (business) blood.
• Don’t look through this Twitter thread unless you need to obliterate your eyes.

• Damn, son.

for sale: baby shoes. heavily worn. my infant son is a fucking beast on the court. he dunked on me so im selling his shoes.

— big boy online (@idonotbleed) May 13, 2022

• I laughed

Closing

This weekend it was hot in the bay. So far this summer I haven’t worried about it, but when the sun is beating down on my back while I climb a mountain, I could feel it. I’m very hopeful the weather for my gravel bike thing holds, because I’m either going to need a lot of water or be wet and muddy I fear.

Finally, I finished watching Ozark this weekend, and if you ever wondered how Michael Bluth would behave if he got involved with a cartel, this is your show. Enjoy your Sunday, and find a tree near you to hug for an uncomfortable minute, space cowgirls~