Leading Racist Democrat Quits

Harry Reid is quitting the Senate, won't run for re-election. He should have been fired for his racist comments last year, but the Media is Democrats, so shushed the story. This is typical, and just shows racial bias in the media.

I don't have much faith in New York news agencies. They are racist propaganda machines and should be taxed, not paid. Treat them the same as snake oil salesmen. If Jefferson State were real, we could do that. Sigh.

Changing a Bike Inner Tube

There's a right and wrong way to do this. I learned the right way thanks to a book written by a Tour de France bike mechanic/competitor, back in the 70's. And yes, I was already reading non-fiction in the 1970's. I know way more than any sane person should about longbow construction before I was 11. We had a good library in my home town.

1. Verify your bike inner tube is flat by filling it, test, wait, test again. It should be obvious. 
2. Remove the wheel from the bicycle. 
3. Deflate the tube as much as possible. Use a tool like a phillips screw driver for this. You'll need to do this multiple times. 
4. Run your thumb around one side of the wheel, freeing the "bead" from the "rim". Repeat for the other side. 
5. Use the plastic levers common to all repair kits to very GENTLY lift the tire bead over the rim on ONE SIDE ONLY. You don't need to do both beads. Just one is fine. 
6. Grasp the inner tube, which will still have some air in it, from the side opposite the wheel with the stem and extract it from beneath the tire on the same side as the bead is free. This will be obvious. Gently remove all but the stem from beneath the tire. 
7. Remove the stem and extract the inner tube. 
8. Verify that the liner strip which covers the spoke heads/anchors on the wheel is intact. If this is damaged, replace. You can buy or you can use your old inner tube, a cloth tape measure, scissors/shears, and some rubber cement to make a new one. This strip keeps the spokes from tearing holes in your inner tube. Yes, that is a real world problem with bikes assembled by monkeys. Rather than be amazed that monkeys can build bikes, be more impressed that companies charge money for bikes assembled by workers that are monkeys. 
9. Remove new inner tube from box. If it is a slime-type self-sealing tube squish the slime around inside the tube. 
10. Coat the exterior of the new tube with baby powder, specifically talc, not cornstarch. The starch gets wet and causes damage. The talc doesn't. Talcum powder will prevent damage to the tube during inflation and while riding. This is a key trick that isn't shared in any books I've read since 1980. 
11. Partially inflate the new inner tube with a hand pump. I prefer hand pumps to mechanical air compressors. The valve may stick or be partially flooded with goo so be gentle and patient till the goo clears the valve and the air flows into the tube. 
12. Insert the valve stem into the wheel rim. 
13. Insert the tube under the tire. It should fit loosely. 
14. Slip the tire bead back over the rim. It should be much easier now. 
15. Verify the tire stem is seated deep and straight before adding air to the inner tube. 
16. Add about 10 pounds of air, then rotate and bounce the tire. This will help the tire seat to the bead. Verify the stem is still straight and seated all the way down. Add more air. Repeat until you reach about 60 PSI. If you do this correctly the inner tube will be evenly distributed and not torn. This is where that talcum powder has done its job. A surprisingly number of n00bz leave off the powder, inflate all the way, and the tube rips inside the tire. 
17. Once you are close to enough pressure, put the wheel back on the bicycle. 
18. Ride it around for a couple minutes. The tire should be fully seated at this point. 
19. Inflate to full pressure. Do not overinflate. That's how I wrecked my last inner tube, and that was an accident thanks to one of those mechanical air compressors. Again, hand pumps are better. 
20. Remember that lower pressures roll over stuff more easily and reduce punctures. The lower the pressure you use, the more fun you will have riding because the tires will absorb a lot of road bumps, like a shock absorber, and increase your contact patch. 

It is astonishing just how many people get these steps wrong. I've read so many complaints from people who buy bikes built by monkeys and tried riding it before deflating the tire to verify there's even a spoke strip inside the wheel. They don't own talcum powder, and don't adjust their brakes or know how to adjust their gear shifts so they work properly. They spend three times the value of the bike on mechanics who adjust things minimally so they can do it many times to get even with the jerk who bought a bike from someone cheaper. This is how bike shops really are, too. Their money comes from component upgrade sales, which is pretty ridiculous since the only thing that's really changed over the years is available materials. Aluminum has been around since before WW2. Plastic since after. And carbon fiber since the 90's. Most components can be had in perfectly reasonable weight for a very cheap price because the technology was perfected by 1975, or possibly 1994 if you include carbon fiber, which I generally don't. Any bike that costs more than a motor scooter is for racing events, not riding around with a club. If your club are such jerks they ride faster than you can keep up, such that the 2-5 pounds of difference actually matters, get new friends. You are carrying that much water in your blood and will piss it against a tree in a couple stops along the way. You are the heavy thing. You are the engine. You are the wind-drag. Fussing with oddly shaped spokes and carbon fiber wheels is silly and mostly just about money. Get new friends. Ride for fun, or for exercise, which is irrelevant to the weight of your bicycle or your speed. Its about heart rate and duration, and you can do that with a mommy bike up a hill. There's good reason I don't belong to riding clubs. They're just rich snobs showing off, and its not very much fun. If you want to have extra fun, put a radio/music box on your bike and ride with that playing, up the roads that end with a pretty view. That's fun. 

The Modern Gypsy Technical Worker

Airstream trailers hold their value because they last for decades. 

I am skilled labor. Not strong back labor. Not a housing contractor. Not a heavy lifter. Not a bookkeeper or accountant. I'm helpdesk IT, and I'm a librarian (in training). I am skilled just the same. I endured some terrible jobs over the years, and I don't think others should put up with a bad boss. I never plan to do so again. I would rather pack up and move somewhere else. So I've been looking into the options. While I'm already reducing my "stuff" to pretty minimal levels, I could reduce more. Ideally, I should be able to pick up every single thing I own, other than my car, by myself without help. That's true freedom, being able to move without begging someone to lift the other side of some furniture. I donated most of that stuff to charity. I will probably donate the rest as well. Light and strong are certainly possible, and I'm finding that having electronic format books is just fine.

Eventually I'm going to get down to cloud-based entertainment and basic living requirements, plus cooking gear. This gets me down to trailer size. I can really live in a trailer, and never pay $1450/MONTH for rent again. Boy, that was a ripoff. Ideally, a nicely furnished Airstream trailer, with solar panels on the roof, wifi antennas, a decent fridge, a comfy bed, and sufficient counter space to cook full meals the way I like to, that would work for me. Park this in a high end park with full hookups, do the job, finish the job, move on to the next job and good upscale park: I could live with that. I really could.

Full Sized Airstream, a small house inside, and only $135K. 

I really do think about this. It is rational and efficient. Its better than trying to get a job you don't want in a town that doesn't want you. And I sometimes feel that way here. Everywhere I interview, they only want local boys. Or chesty women with negotiable affection rates. If you aren't from here, or desperate to get a back injury, they don't want you. 

I don't own a puller vehicle, but if I did, it would probably be a pickup truck. They are boring to drive, however, and in a more perfect world, I would totally drive a motor scooter or motorcycle to work and leave the towing truck at home, just use it on rainy days and the grocery run. This is rational, and I've got experience pulling trailers. Its mostly about accepting you need to go slow, to stay on smooth roads in the slow lane, and avoiding backing up as much as possible.

Piaggio Fly 150

A light vehicle for commuting across town or into town from a trailer park or campground a little too far away for a bicycle makes good sense. That's why I keep interested in them as a viable vehicle, and you should too. These things may look antique and dangerous when considered in LA traffic, but in the boonies or a tiny town in the midwest or a farm town? These are 80 mpg fuel sippers. Compare that to a 10 mpg pickup truck or 8 mpg RV.

Yamaha SR 400

Motorcycles and scooters are light enough to carry on a ramp on the back (or front) of an RV and allow you to go for miles on country roads without getting exhausted like a bicycle can.

Bus Frame Based RV

Winnebago Sprinter, large Van based RV. 

A big RV is dandy on smooth roads and has lots of living space inside. However, if you think you need to back up a lot, or go on rough roads then a bus-frame RV like this is wrong for you. You need to be looking at an RV instead. While the huge RVs based on a tour-bus frame are the most comfortable, they are NOT capable on rough roads, nor are they much good at backing up. A proper RV is a lot smaller, and has ground clearance to backup or go over rough surfaces.

This truck-top RV camper shell  can extend its jacks and you can drive the truck out from under it. This is handy because you can then use the truck as a vehicle without all the weight. The downside is that the living space is basically room to sleep and heat a meal. Its not comfy, not like an Airstream trailer. But is is practical, and I know building contractors who use these to live in at a job site. If you're fresh out of the army and hate having the same view all the time, but want to decompress as a rentacop without the hassle of a mall crowd, an RV or trailer will work for car lot security. In towns like mine, the guards live at the lot and keep the local junkies out of the new cars. I'm not sure that's really needed, but the local car lots pay them just the same.

A couple years ago I would have thought being a Librarian is a stable job. My education is showing me that isn't the case at all. Budgets for libraries are largely controlled by property taxes, and with unfunded Federal mandates for many special programs, there just isn't enough money left over to maintain jobs at Libraries. For many new librarians, you have to be mobile if you want to make a living, or get paid consistently. Thus all the RVs and trailers.

Moving to the jobs is the rational response to the economy, and quitting jobs that are going under anyway due to budget cuts or broken promises, well that's just being responsible in the modern disloyal America of today. People are jerks. Don't let it get you down. Watch them get smaller in the rear view mirror as you abandon them to their lonely fates. A house with wheels is the ultimate "f-u and your community". That may sound hostile, but getting kicked to a curb after fixing someone's problems with the promise of continued employment? Yeah, that's what keeps happening. I'm done with that. Give me contracts with much higher pay, in writing, and none of this BS 'well we've got this job maybe you could do if you fix this little problem for us". That's ALWAYS a lie. Managers are just too comfortable being bastards.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

As a dedicated personal chef, I am cooking corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes in a big cast iron pot on my stove right now. I often feel sorry for lesbians, vegetarians, and lesbian vegetarians. They're missing out on life, and always look angry. I've got beef and cabbage and red potatoes, flavored with onion and celery and some carrot for color and sweetness. Its very healthy food, very easy to make, and very slow to cook if you're doing it right. Slow food is often best. People who don't cook learn to eat fast food and hunt for the better stuff if they can afford it. In this post-civil America that may be a very expensive hobby. I prefer slow food, exchanging time to get a better tasting result. This often works. And I'm happy for that.

I hope my readers, both of you, are cooking corned beef and cabbage today. Cheers!

F1 2015: Melbourne Grand Prix

Good race, except for all the Hybrids dying on the side of the road without any apparently visible cause. They just... stopped. 13 cars finished the race, one of which was last but considered a victory because it FINISHED. Melbourne looks like San Diego, like Mexico COULD be if it was clean and law abiding. They provided a great location for the race so kudos to Australia for hosting this race. The world often forgets Australia, but we get reminded you exist from time to time. I encourage my readers to watch Formula 1 racing. It is interesting because its a mix of technology, skill, and strategy, and I think car racing will continue after the oil age, even if they have to synthesize the fuel in factories, and fans show up to the race on bicycles or electric trams or even horsedrawn carriages and buggies. People used to show up to air races that way, did you know? Can you imagine cycling 50 miles and camping in a tent or hostel to attend a race with thousands of other people who went to similar effort just to be there? To hear a car engine and see the state of the art roaring by at speeds only the very rich can experience. That's the future.

Good times. I am excited about watching these races.

Pratchett Died

Apparently, Terry Pratchett, my favorite author these days, passed away last Thursday. A pity, and he will be missed. It is rare for an author to develop such a consistent level of writing craft. He was great, from long effort and practice. I will miss him.

Putin Stroke Rumor

Confirmed by denial? Who knows.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/vladimir-putin-health-fears-kremlin-denies-rumours-president-is-ill-after-he-cancels-second-meeting-in-two-days-10102967.html There's several different articles on this, but it is probably just a rumor. Putin acts like a maniac clown, but he was head of KGB for a decade and you don't get there by being stupid. If the Russian Oligarches mobilize their private troops or the nuke missiles get fueled or the Ukraine war gets suddenly more exciting, that tells you something. For now, this is a rumor.