Snowy Monday

The ride to work this morning.



And the view from my window.

The coolest thing started to happen when the sun poked out. See all the snow stuck to the power and phone lines? As soon as the light hit them, long shafts of snow began to break free and drift downward, horizontally, wafting like long paper tubes that burst into powder when they hit the ground. It started all at once and happened fast.

Bike Thieves

This is some bullshit. 4 break-ins, no help or progress in stopping them or finding out who did it.

Sure the media coverage is weak, but at least they're there, unlike Austin's finest, who don't seem to recognize the responsibility they have to developing areas in their city. This isn't some dark corner of the outskirts, this is 4 flippin blocks from Whole Foods and one of the busiest intersections in the city. C'mon.

Austin peeps: Watch out for anyone selling Orbeas or Scotts or Fujis at prices that seem too good to be true. Because they are. Let AustinBikes know if you see any such thing.

Ardour

Another beat manufacturer from Southern California, in the vein of Flying Lotus, sure. But there's something different here.

Just picked up the first full length from Teebs, and I'm entranced. There's a subtlety and a direct aim at overt beauty that I've not come up against so much in this type of music. It's complex without trying to be complicated, forward looking and familiar at the same time, almost as much Four Tet as FlyLo.

This is thoughtful, contemplative music with some killer beats. That's a rare thing.

Back on the Range

It's been a few weeks, but Range Life is live again this week. And I have no idea what direction we're gonna go.

The new Brian Eno/Jon Hopkins record has me digging into the ambient/soundtrack bins, but there's also the new free release from Girl Talk. Then there's the Gaslamp Killer, Glasser, Tennis, Lord Huron, Minks, Shimmering Stars, The War on Drugs, Future Islands, and all kinds of other new stuff.

PLUS, just got some goodies from back in the day: Ed Hall, Stars of the Lid, Starfish, Tortoise, Pavement, Red Red Meat, Slint, and other total gold.

Tune in, won't you? 5 to 7pm Wednesday, 1 to 3pm Friday, www.radioboise.org.

Real Food!!!

Theo's first meal- 4 months old from cathy fischer on Vimeo.

Sort of...

Theo had his first taste of "solid" food today. He really seemed to enjoy it, though he had trouble getting it from mouth to stomach much of the time. Still, a good first experience.

AustinBikes Break-Ins In the News

Bad enough that Austin's finest are doing NOTHING about any of this. But they interview one cop here, and what does he say? Owner negligence. Figures.

Not much lower than a bike thief. And please, don't buy stolen bikes. That just makes it worse.

The boy loves that mobile...

Theo loves his mobile from Christopher Hess on Vimeo.

Filled with glee.

Autumn Stroll with My Boys

That's Theo's hatted head at bottom. It was a lovely day.

Pin Oak

This time of year, our pin oak's got to be the purdiest tree in Boise.

We Live In Hard Times, Not End Times

"If we amplify everything, we hear nothing."

Eloquence unlike anything from politicians or talk show hosts. And make sure to watch to the end and catch Tony Bennett singing "America the Beautiful."

Fall's Here

Rainy days have turned to chilly, sunny days. The leaves know it. The foothills are dusted high up with snow. What a great day for a ride.

Awesome coffee from... Eagle?

Anyone tried Full Circle Exchange coffee? They're a roaster in Eagle, apparently quite the socially conscious, justice-seeking, community-active local business. And they've got pretty pro marketing, too.

I bought this bag over at Cafe de Paris, and I LOVE it. It's got a delicious and mild hint of the strong chocolate flavors that made the Mexican coffee served at Ruta Maya and some of my fave breakfast Mexican joints in Austin so wonderful.

You can shop online or stop at the Cafe de Paris. Grab a loaf of bread while you're there--best in town, I think.

Jens Goes to Luxembourg

Hard man Jens Voigt will join beanpole bros Andy and Frank at the new Luxembourg team being built around the Schlecks. I feel for Bjarne Riis. His team's been decimated.

Some great stuff in the comments section of the VeloNews article, like this:

"Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas....and Chuck Norris wears Jens Voigt pajamas."

3 Bears Burnt

Rode 3 Bears on Friday and got a good look at the burn from late last week.

Looks bad, but it seems like it blew through pretty fast. Lots of the sage has one or two branches scorched and the rest left intact. There were still a few plumes of smoke smoldering on Friday.

It Gets Better

Everyone should watch this. From The Dish.

Holy F*ck: Cool Cats

In a Nutshell...

This NY Times op-ed pretty much says it all.

Mr. [Ron] Johnson, on the other hand, proudly proclaimed recently that he doesn’t “think this election is about details.” That’s as good an explanation as any of why — in Wisconsin as in so many states — candidates like Mr. Johnson are ahead in the polls. Insurgent Republicans don’t need details when they can play on the furious emotions of voters who have been misled into believing that positive changes like the health care law are catastrophic failures.

The guy's ahead of Russ Feingold in the polls, and he knows nothing. Nothing. And he's proud of it. He's mad as hell and he's taking the right-wing rubes for a ride, like so many if not all of the tea party lunatics, er, candidates. It's sad and pathetic and will do great harm in the long run. Losing a workhorse like Feingold for an idiot like this. But hey, we're mad, right? We're not sure why, or at whom, or anything, but we're mad dammit because Glen Beck says we should be.

I know that parties in power always lose seats in midterms. It's good to remember that, and to avoid the typical Democrat hysterics and handwringing over the end of the Obamaworld as we know it. But still, this has to piss off anyone with a lick of sense.

Take heed, spineless handwringers! Before it's too late!

Around the country, the Obama voters who were so energized in 2008 are rueful and dispirited, taking their cue from the timid races run by so many fearful Democratic candidates. Mr. Feingold is making the case that there is a choice to make on Nov. 2 and that there is a need for thoughtful voices in Washington.

Basil Harvest

Had to harvest basil ahead of the first frost today--so we made a mess of pesto.

And by "we" I mean me and Theodore.

He kept a good grip on his own branch and really loved the smell, not to mention the busy process.

Turned out really good. Now to bust out that shiny new pasta maker.

Matthew Dear :: The xx

Another great remix of The xx track VCR, here by Matthew Dear.

Theo Goes to Gernika

Cathy and I took Theo for his first trip to Bar Gernika on Saturday. Rigged the carseat, loaded the boy into the sidecar, and off we went.

He loved it. Well, he cried on the way, but that's because he didn't like the big bumps on the sidewalk. On the street he did just fine. And once we got there, he settled right in.

Pardon me while I brag a bit: A woman sitting at a table next to ours was watching him and smiling, as people tend to do when you're with a baby. As she got up to leave she came over to our table and said "I've been a labor and delivery nurse for 20 years, and I've seen a lot of babies, but I have to tell you that your baby is unusually cute."

Of course we think so, but it's nice to have objective verification now and then.