FIXED

firstly, i want to dedicate this post to jessica. she is my nyc savior and best host ever. she pretty much treated me like a welcome house guest all summer long. i can't wait for anytime and the possibility of a goat cheese omelet next month.

with that said, here's a link to a game i made for a class. i hope it will gain a spot in the ranks with jesse's classic titled "heavy shred". brooklyn folk should note that the street names may seem familiar.

anyway, try it out and post high scores as comments. it may be a little slow depending on how fast your computer is. i plan to make a version 2.0 so i'd love to hear your comments about how to make it better.



LINK

a tip: don't run into stuff. it makes it way less fun (but if you do run into stuff, visit the bike shop).

ALTERCATION

WHEN DID FIXED-GEARS BECOME THE NEW SKATEBOARDS?

firstly, let me just apologize to all for my poor showing in the Bloggerville World Cup 08'. to be honest i just haven't had much stuff happen that feels blogworthy. but today i finally had something that is without-a-doubt worthy of blogging about.

part 1...

i was riding to school across champ drive near the quad and the building in which i work. i wasn't going fast or anything, just riding along as they say. silver saab guy ends up not seeing me as i cross the street and thusly not yielding my right of way. it wasn't a big deal to me though. i made it across without much incident at all, it may have been a little closer than it should've been but was by no means a close call. as i'm riding away from the intersection i hear him lay on his horn. i flip him the bird intending to not ever think about any of it again. he ends up pulling along side of me, rolling down his window and yelling at me.

silver saab guy: "did you just flip me off!?"
ddw: "yeah, i did. i had the right of way and you didn't see me."
silver saab guy: "that doesn't mean you can ride into traffic without looking at 30 miles an hour!"
***i was probably honestly going about 10-12 miles an hour across a gigantic open field of grass clearly as visible (if not more so) than any of the people walking***
ddw: "i saw you. you didn't see me!"
silver saab guy: "well why are you trying to start something by flipping me off!?"
ddw: "i'm not starting anything. You honked at me! it's the same thing."
silver saab guy: "well if you want a fight, why don't you come over here and we'll settle it".
***silver saab guy is stopped in the road still sitting in his car. traffic is starting to back up behind him. by this point I've pulled up to the bike rack and started locking up my bike.***
ddw: "i don't need to fight you. you're the one who honked at me in the first place. are you stupid?"
***I continue locking up my bike. silver saab guy just sits in his car still looking at me.***
ddw: "dude, what's your problem? get over it! keep driving."
silver saab guy: "why don't you come over here and tell me that?"
***i look at the dude, awe-struck by his macho behavior. i search for words and due to lack of any rational behavior on this dude's part the following words come out:***
ddw: "you're a dipshit."
***I shake my head disapprovingly to be especially condescending. I've found that to work well in the past. just then I see a kid about 6-7 years old in the backseat lean forward and look out the window. he looks half scared to death and then I kind of regret saying the word "dipshit". even so, he's gonna learn at some point what his dad is. why not now? silver saab dude slowly rolls away saying something like:***
silver saab guy: "Oh, that's real mature using language like that. Real mature, buddy!"

At that moment I couldn't help but wonder what level of maturity it takes to stop in the middle of the road, hold up traffic, and try to pick a fight with someone 10 years younger and 100 pounds lighter than you. Not to mention he had his kid(s) in the back seat.

part 2...

so, i go into the office and about 20 minutes later i end up going to get lunch with my friend carol. i'd just finished telling her about the whole ordeal. as we're sitting there eating at the italian place i see the dude pull up and walk in the building across the street (behind caffe ibis). i couldn't believe the luck. anyway, we ate and left the restaurant.

i'd like to tell you all that i was able to exhibit enough personal restraint to the position such a situation would afford me.

i'd like to tell you i'm the better person.

i'd like to tell you that i just let the whole thing go.

i'd like to tell you to look closely at the camera-phone photo below...

DC BIKE POSSE

this past week was spent by a select few in our nation's capital. that's right, washington dc. most of us arrived on thanksgiving day and were treated to one excellent meal courtesy of friends myke and dalel bybee. the days that followed would hold many exciting adventures and stories, my favorite of which being a tipsy bike ride home from the galaxy hut. i just want to extend a nice firm thank you to those that made this trip such an enjoyable experience. thank you.

A CROSSROADS...

so there i was, riding home from school about 12 minutes ago and i go to lay some mean patch and blow out the rear tire on my bike (the same one andrew and jason so lovingly crafted for me). i realize that the short life of my tires is due to all the bad-ass skidding i've been doing around campus and this poses a bit of a crossroads for me. do i ride my bike more conservatively and actually use the hand brake andrew insisted i have or, do i continue to be a bad-ass at the expense of new tires every 3 weeks or so? this is a tough question but i think you all know the answer. once a bad-ass always a bad-ass.

i ordered 4 new tubes and 4 new tires from bike nashbar minutes after getting the flat. i even paid extra for 2-day priority shipping. i'm so cool.

"A LITTLE TOO HOT"

i was riding my bicycle to class the other day. it is a fixed gear so generally the only way to slow or stop is to lock up your legs and skid the back tire. it was early and my mind wasn't fully functional for the day yet. i went to skid around a tight corner but i came in "a little to hot". i ended up going directly into a big planter of 3 foot tall juniper bushes. lesson learned: i'm a bit of a jackass.

people saw me and laughed at me. I laughed as well but we were not laughing together. so it goes.