Jump to content

sasquatch69

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    597
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by sasquatch69

  1. Got the bike tuned up, spent some time getting seat height right and had a more upright stem put on since that's the stance I'm used to. Put over 50mi on the bike this weekend and it's been fun getting used to a road bike again. It's so lightweight and quiet after riding MTB for almost two decades. Sure, it's probably a little big but I'm really enjoying it and not getting any weird aches or pains (yet).
  2. I saw Vance speak at an education conference years ago, right after Hillbilly Elegy came out. At the time I was interested to hear what he had to say, but I came away thinking he was pandering a bit, and his trajectory since then has borne that out. He gamed out that he could gain power and prestige by going all-in on Trump and right wing talking points, and he was right. But he seems like a shapeshifter who doesn't really have any true compass. Not surprising he got picked.
  3. I'm a regular in the MTB thread, but haven't posted here because I haven't owned a road bike in 20+ years. However, with all the rain this spring I ended up riding my MTB on a lot of pavement while the dirt trails were closed, and realized I enjoyed it. I got into a conversation with a neighbor that led to me being gifted a 2009 Felt Z80. I'm excited, but feel like a newbie in terms of this type of bike and geometry. I know this bike is 15 years old, but the reviews when it was new are good, and I feel like it'll be a good gateway drug to see if I can adjust. It's a 61cm; I'm 6'0" 200lb so that seems a little on the large size for me, but it felt like a decent fit when I rode it a few houses down and back - and given that it was free, I'd like to give it a shot. Aside from getting the obvious checked out at my LBS (tires, brakes and gears), anything else I need to watch out for or consider for an upgrade? Here are the specs: https://99spokes.com/bikes/felt/2009/z80
  4. This reminds me, Project 2025 also sets it up to permanently defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and thus NPR and PBS. The major market stations will be able to survive for a while, but that will dry up funding for educational programming, as well as most of the rural and small market stations that rely on the federal subsidies to survive. Oh, and it also does away with license fee exemptions for non-commercial stations and seems to be pointing towards removing the 88-92 FM part of dial being reserved for public stations.
  5. I need to start doing more strength and conditioning in addition to just riding, now that I'm on the downside of my 40s. With the condition of trails around here the past few months, I've mainly stuck to paved trails (and am nearly to 700mi total for the year) so I guess that's helping, but I do feel regression of skills on MTB trails after doing paved for a while.
  6. Aaaaand he also has other prior experience...
  7. Corporate is already saying they are working to get them reopened under new ownership. We'll see. Richardson and LH *just* renovated with new seats, etc, within the past three months.
  8. We went to Pascal’s Manale with friends on our last trip and someone let me try the BBQ Shrimp, and I had the same thought - so much work to eat. It was good, but not THAT good.
  9. I was up riding my bike at Oak Point Preserve in Plano this afternoon and the sky got reeeeeally ominous all the sudden so I booked it back to my truck. The heavens opened shortly thereafter and by the time I got back into my neighborhood the streets were flooding. Tired of this.
  10. Jesse was the bartender we talked to a lot - good guy. He said he’d only been there a couple years and several others have been there a lot longer.
  11. Just got back from a long weekend in NO. Stayed on south end of Garden District so spent much of our time in this part of town (besides obligatory French Quarter and City Park). A few recs: - Had dinner at Mister Mao, a newish arrival to the scene here, and worth a visit - they got a James Beard nomination and the mix of dishes (sort of pan-Asian) is really interesting and different. Great cocktails, too. - Brunch at French Toast on Decatur in the Quarter. Small and crowded, but good. I had one of the savory crepes with egg on top and potatoes, and it was pretty much perfect. - Saw the New Orleans Nightcrawlers (Grammy-winning brass band) at Snug Harbor, which was fantastic. Try to see a show at Snug if you can - they’ve got live music almost every night of the week. - Best dive bar we visited was 45 Tchoup, on Tchoupitoulas near Napoleon. Great bartenders and cheap prices - and they’re known as a baseball bar so that adds to the vibe. And my new beer discovery from there was Canebrake from Parish Brewing - good stuff. My wife and I both agree if we lived here we’d be fat and drink too much. Not that that’s all bad.
  12. NWA got hit hard last night. Lot of folks in Bentonville for Bikefest, the grounds of which got obliterated by the storm (tents, exhibits, etc.). They’ve canceled the rest of the weekend and asked folks to leave (or just stay to help clean up).
  13. TCU went down 9-0 to Kansas in the 1st; it's been 10-1 Frogs since then with game at 10 all in the 8th. Crazy. Of course, whoever wins this one has to immediately turn around and play the buzzsaw that is Oklahoma this afternoon.
  14. When Sundance was hopping in the late 90s/early 00s, I really thought it was pretty much unstoppable. Clearly they’ve fumbled this one big time with a series of bad decisions.
  15. Spent this week in Vegas for a work thing, so wasn’t able to be a restaurant high-roller (our order was keep expenses low). Having said that, the takeaway at Bang Bar (Momofuku’s casual concept at Cosmo) was quite good. Also watched the Mavs and Stars on Monday at the Mandalay Bay sportsbook, which was great – much more space than the cramped ones at Park MGM and Caesars that I checked out. Mainly spent my non-work time walking around and people watching. Overall, it’s shockingly expensive compared to the last time I was there, too many damn people and the airport is dumpy.
  16. Dude was a big part of some legendary records, and his profile had ramped up the last year or two via podcasts, other projects and a possible concert tour later this year. https://consequence.net/2024/05/steve-albini-dead/
  17. DFW trails may not reopen for a month…
  18. White Rock Creek along Greenville in Dallas hit 17 feet above normal overnight - only 3 feet off the record. Rowlett in Garland is high as well - not up to 2015 flood numbers, but still enough to mess up the hiking/MTB trails for weeks.
  19. This is true, but one thing that seems to be lacking in a lot of young people who get involved in these efforts today is an understanding of how to tailor a message to (1) be heard/absorbed and (2) change hearts and minds. Screaming at people, scrapping with police and other extreme tactics may be seen by the actors as justified/righteous - but they don't seem to be having a positive effect in terms of the general public (e.g. people who don't already have a strong opinion one way or the other). It ends up turning the very people they're trying to convince against them.
  20. As we finished our campus tour today, one of the senior guides who was doing his last-ever tour before graduation teared up as he told the group how much his time on the 40 Acres meant to him, as his parents and friends looked on and cheered him … and then a woman rode by on a bike screaming “UT COMMITS FUCKING GENOCIDE” repeatedly in an effort to drown him out. So that happened…
  21. Same. They just marched by the admissions center with face shields, etc. My son said, “so I guess we won’t be getting the full tour today…”
  22. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1143193463379825
  23. Listened to the Downbeat on the way into work today. Switched over during a Musers commercial break and they were doing a mailbag segment where Danny and Sirois pulled back the curtain quite a bit on both their Ticket days as well as the changes during their time at 97.1 (especially moving to mornings). It was really interesting and revealing - but the guys were also fairly candid about the station's current ratings difficulties and air of uncertainty about their future.
  24. Spent a day in Bentonville last week. The new Castle Hub downhill park on the north end of Slaughter Pen network (up against I-49) was really cool. Also did the in-town greens and blues, as well as a couple loops at Blowing Springs and trails at Devil's Den State Park (an hour south of Bville, but highly worth a visit, especially for camping/cabining. (first photo by creek is Devil's Den; the rest are in Bentonville.)
×
×
  • Create New...