"The bike stops here."
Well, not really, but the pun's been in my head. Just had to use the car two days in a row because of work and errand-related stuff, and have the infamous 15-hour department meeting tomorrow. Will get back on the bike monday.
We had a great hailstorm and downpour at 5am today. Can't believe the cats still wanted to go out in it.
Sweet Dreams last night - I like my biopics using at least two actors to show the biographee at different ages, so I can compare whether the child actor looks sorta like the adult. However, "Sweet Dreams" starts in Patsy Cline's late teens, so Jessica Lange is all you get throughout. Ed Harris was good in this movie. But it didn't seem like it really gave a good feel for who Patsy Cline was, much less where she came from. Couple that with the knowledge that Lange lip-synched to Patsy's singing throughout (and imagining it in silence), I was dissatisfied with the flick.
I now own my million-dollar Mustang. Well, I got the title from Ford back in August, and have just now finally gone to the DMV to take Ford Credit off the title.
Preparatory to shopping for a new vehicle. Consider the Mustang a $300/mo rental, with a few free months as a bonus and then an $1800 surcharge.
It runs okay now, fine I guess, and it's nice to have both headlights and temp gauge golden. But, non-mechanic that I am, I can't quite shake the feeling that the car coldly betrayed me. The bicycle hasn't done this . . . yet.
Thursday, February 22, 2001
Tuesday, February 20, 2001
666.9 - the devil's mileage!
But actually not. The bike's been in for maintenance, and so rides extra smoothly today.
I get a little weary of repeatedly saying that I've just barely managed to squeak in between rainstorms, but that again has been the case. Rain in Northern California is rarely of the clouds-open-and-pour-everything-for-hours-on-end variety. We get the major downpours occasionally, but it's usually a matter of waiting a few minutes and then it peters out into drizzle. It's been raining on and off all weekend, and I kinda dreaded this morning's ride, but - part of my "resolutely get on the bike and go" morning routine.
The cold has returned, but it's now in the more-alarming bronchial area. Hawking up phlegm, yuck. Wish I had actually quit smoking one of those 18 million times I tried. I know I need to, but we're trying to get a "safe" amount of non-drinking behind us before we cross that hurdle. If we take away all of our "comforts" at once, we're WAY more likely to start 'em ALL again. "Do you know that smoking is killing you?" Duh, yes, I do, and I'm completely, horribly, addicted. I see myself sitting helpless as the cancer spreads and my life is cut short, drag by drag. Well, it won't be long now.
Nice little hike yesterday at Roy's Redwoods. Really little, like less than a mile, but a redwood grove is like a cathedral - Quiet, with a very high ceiling, and people chanting and some guy telling you what to do... Oh wait, that's a REAL cathedral.
"Get Carter," man what a stooopid movie. It could've actually been okay, but Stallone (and I should know this by now) doesn't touch anything with a light hand. What could've been an interesting psychological-suspense-noir thriller a la Frank Miller's "Sin City" graphic novels, becomes in Stallone's hands a ham-fisted bludgeoning of the viewer and all players. Flashing on the fact that we should all boycott Stallone (I suppose I'm just a little late getting to this), and get him out of the public consciousness before he runs for office or something. He's some dumb schmo from Joisey, y'know, whose sole talent lies in the arena of body-building. He really IS Rocky, and has no business "acting" in anything else. He shouldn't even get that Travolta-like hiatus and Pulp-Fiction comeback. And for trying to be Bogart in this movie, he should be shot, after being set afire and pushed out a 14th-story window. Remind me later that I said this: I will never give a penny to Stallone again. Woody Allen's unwatchable, but some of his movies are still pretty good. Stallone is waaaay beyond that.
I'm pretty indiscriminate when it comes to renting movies (I generally get 4 for $8 at local vid store), but must remember that this IS giving money to the filmmakers/cast/etc., and encouraging them to do more. Gotta be more careful about that.
Supposed to get the Mustang back today. I'll believe it when I see myself driving it home - hoping it's less than the max quoted, because that's exactly what I have in checking at the moment. Looked at Dodge (and a couple of Chevy) trucks yesterday... 'spensive, but not TOOO bad. I sorta think it'll improve my credit rating to take on SOME credit burden. They frown on people making xx,xxx a year and not owing any money to anyone, y'know.
The stuff you get used to: I don't think I'd buy a car without power windows/door locks at this point. Power windows are a safety feature: ever tried to roll down the passenger window while driving 60mph down the freeway? Or hell, even your OWN window! Considering whether I really want a CD player in the car... tapes are longer, and I have hundreds of CDs where there's only a couple songs I like. But now I can burn CDs, so could still manage to keep the CD collection intact in the house, but really, CDs max 80 minutes, tapes 110 . . . Conclusion: I don't need a CD player in the car.
Okay, to the smokes and latte and showers now...
But actually not. The bike's been in for maintenance, and so rides extra smoothly today.
I get a little weary of repeatedly saying that I've just barely managed to squeak in between rainstorms, but that again has been the case. Rain in Northern California is rarely of the clouds-open-and-pour-everything-for-hours-on-end variety. We get the major downpours occasionally, but it's usually a matter of waiting a few minutes and then it peters out into drizzle. It's been raining on and off all weekend, and I kinda dreaded this morning's ride, but - part of my "resolutely get on the bike and go" morning routine.
The cold has returned, but it's now in the more-alarming bronchial area. Hawking up phlegm, yuck. Wish I had actually quit smoking one of those 18 million times I tried. I know I need to, but we're trying to get a "safe" amount of non-drinking behind us before we cross that hurdle. If we take away all of our "comforts" at once, we're WAY more likely to start 'em ALL again. "Do you know that smoking is killing you?" Duh, yes, I do, and I'm completely, horribly, addicted. I see myself sitting helpless as the cancer spreads and my life is cut short, drag by drag. Well, it won't be long now.
Nice little hike yesterday at Roy's Redwoods. Really little, like less than a mile, but a redwood grove is like a cathedral - Quiet, with a very high ceiling, and people chanting and some guy telling you what to do... Oh wait, that's a REAL cathedral.
"Get Carter," man what a stooopid movie. It could've actually been okay, but Stallone (and I should know this by now) doesn't touch anything with a light hand. What could've been an interesting psychological-suspense-noir thriller a la Frank Miller's "Sin City" graphic novels, becomes in Stallone's hands a ham-fisted bludgeoning of the viewer and all players. Flashing on the fact that we should all boycott Stallone (I suppose I'm just a little late getting to this), and get him out of the public consciousness before he runs for office or something. He's some dumb schmo from Joisey, y'know, whose sole talent lies in the arena of body-building. He really IS Rocky, and has no business "acting" in anything else. He shouldn't even get that Travolta-like hiatus and Pulp-Fiction comeback. And for trying to be Bogart in this movie, he should be shot, after being set afire and pushed out a 14th-story window. Remind me later that I said this: I will never give a penny to Stallone again. Woody Allen's unwatchable, but some of his movies are still pretty good. Stallone is waaaay beyond that.
I'm pretty indiscriminate when it comes to renting movies (I generally get 4 for $8 at local vid store), but must remember that this IS giving money to the filmmakers/cast/etc., and encouraging them to do more. Gotta be more careful about that.
Supposed to get the Mustang back today. I'll believe it when I see myself driving it home - hoping it's less than the max quoted, because that's exactly what I have in checking at the moment. Looked at Dodge (and a couple of Chevy) trucks yesterday... 'spensive, but not TOOO bad. I sorta think it'll improve my credit rating to take on SOME credit burden. They frown on people making xx,xxx a year and not owing any money to anyone, y'know.
The stuff you get used to: I don't think I'd buy a car without power windows/door locks at this point. Power windows are a safety feature: ever tried to roll down the passenger window while driving 60mph down the freeway? Or hell, even your OWN window! Considering whether I really want a CD player in the car... tapes are longer, and I have hundreds of CDs where there's only a couple songs I like. But now I can burn CDs, so could still manage to keep the CD collection intact in the house, but really, CDs max 80 minutes, tapes 110 . . . Conclusion: I don't need a CD player in the car.
Okay, to the smokes and latte and showers now...
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