Velocipede

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Tall guy and podcaster Jesse Thorn likes to refer to those old-timey bicycles with one giant wheel in the front and one small wheel in the back. Apparently these are called “velocipedes,” although that usage seems to be a subset of the more general term. From dictionary.com:

noun
1. a vehicle, usually having two or three wheels, that is propelled by the rider.
2. an early kind of bicycle or tricycle.
3. a light, three-wheeled, pedal-driven vehicle for railway inspection, used for carrying one person on a railroad track.

Jesse Thorn also has a fascination with donks, which are miniature donkeys and natural friends of mini-horses, and mediocre baseball players of the 1980s such as Ken Oberkfell. This is why I can’t stop listening to Jordan, Jesse, GO!

Choose your own adventure: ND-USC edition

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Win or lose, there’s no way that I’m going to be able to say something coherent after the ND-USC game this weekend, which is why I’m giving my opinions in advance…

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Toyota RV (Seacliff State Beach)

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A couple of quick notes about this stuffed animal laden motorhome:

  • This is the second Berkeley vehicle I’ve acquired with the owner present. The first was a be-starred Vanagon in Berkeley proper.
  • This is the first vehicle spotted by Mel while competing in a triathlon.
  • This is the first vehicle that I’ve been told not to photograph. As I pointed the camera, a woman was walking behind me said, exasperated, “Don’t encourage him.”

[stuffed animal laden Toyota RV]
[stuffed animal laden Toyota RV]
While the sign on the back says, “Just Married,” there only appeared to be one human in the front seat. There was however a puppet that the driver was controlling. I’m sure this is what those Prop 8 supporters were scared of.

Harriet Tubman was great, but not that great

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Char wrote a post about Harriet Tubman, which reminded me of this episode from my youth.

In 6th grade, we were going to do a presentation that was a series of skits on the Civil War. One of the skits was about the Underground Railroad. The girl in charge thought it was literally an underground railroad and wrote the skit under this premise. I asked her if she really thought 1860s engineering was capable of a designing and building a nationwide subway system quiet enough to keep the entire project hidden and unknown to half of the country.

She still didn’t understand.

My only restitution was that from then on, I always put a bit of egg shell in any cupcakes or brownies I made for the class, with the hopes that she would end up eating the piece of shell. This may sound ridiculous, but it was more likely than an 1860s stealth slave-freeing subway system.

Thankfully, the entire performance was quashed before we could perform it in front of the school and parents.

Restoring my faith in humanity

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Just when the Twins suffered a brutal defeat at Yankee Stadium, sending their season to the brink…

Just when I was facing a Notre Dame-less weekend and dreading the reality that I had to put on this shirt (Note that I am wearing the hat by design):

[Just to be clear, I did not buy this myself.]

Just when I had started three machines at laundromat, I knocked my book (Rock, Paper, Scissors – Game Theory in Everyday Life) down into the void behind the washing machines. From the end of the row I could see it standing up amid the pipes and cords and dust and socks in that place that only a licensed professional should go.

How do I describe this item? It’s not lost, because I know exactly where it is. I can see it even. It’s just inaccessible. Is it still mine even? Does it belong to the laundromat now? Forget these philosophical questions. Do I buy another copy of this book? I’m only on the third chapter, and not really enjoying it, but I do want to learn more about game theory…

Then the laundromat attendant guy shows up. I explain the situation. He starts laughing and looking around the washer. He is not optimistic, and tells me that the technician can get there from underneath the washer on Monday. Then we start to look at the counter for folding clothes that is back-to-back with the row of washing machines. He realizes that the panel underneath the counter is only held in place with a couple of screws. A couple minutes later, he grabs a power screwdriver from the laundromat office, removes the panel, and the book is recovered.

No guff, no you’ll have to call the owner, or I can’t help you. Just a laugh, and then let’s see what I can do. God bless the Sunset, and God bless America.