This weekend it’s below-zero (-18C) cold. The floor in my apartment is so cold that even with two pairs of socks, I can’t keep my feet on the floor for very long. And I refuse to wear shoes sitting at my desk. The bed is on the floor too, but the futon provides some insulation […]
The neighborhood branch of the public library where I work, Arnett Branch Library, was named Public Library of the Year 2015 by the Rochester Regional Library Council. what makes the Arnett Branch stand out is that the people in its community see it as integral to the community and a critical part of the heart […]
One of the things I love about my building is our informal book club. Books are passed through the laundry room, and recommendations are passed through the hallways. Of the books that I’ve read in the past couple of months, these have passed the hallway test. The first was recommended to me, and the rest […]
Spring became summer, summer is yeilding to fall, and it’s been ages since I updated here. My only excuse is that the spring was very uninteresting and the summer was very busy. We had over 530 kids registered in summer reading, which means I was exhausted every night, and it carried right through every weekend. […]
The mid-month week of July is typically our hottest week of the year. This year is following suit. While it still looks like the summer as a whole is going to be cooler and wetter than usual, this week is starting with three days forecast in the 90s. And muggy. With no rain in sight. […]
Ten years ago this past week, I started working for the Rochester Public Library. Yesterday I subbed over at my old branch, the Winton Branch. On the book sale table I spied the very book that got me the job. For years I’d done my librarying at the Central Branch downtown. At the time I […]
It’s been years since I had a decent kitchen—decades perhaps. Thinking about it, I don’t think I ever had a kitchen where I was really satisfied. Now I do. I’d have taken this apartment anyway, but I nearly wet myself with glee when I first saw the kitchen. Right from the start working in here […]
The books we read, and what we do with them, reveal much about us. Checking in books from the overnight bookdrop this morning, one caught my eye. It has to be overdue, I thought as I ran it under the scanner. Sure enough, it was. The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now […]
If it’s June in Rochester and the weather’s Aprilish, then the LPGA is in town. It’s been cold and damp since Tuesday. It’s forecast to be so until Sunday, when the damned golfers leave. Whereas last week I was disappointed that the thunderstorms happened only when I was inside, (since it was so hot and […]
I don’t always have first crack at a new book. A day or two before new books are put out, they appear on a cart in the work room behind the circ desk so the staff can look them over. They’re already wrapped, labelled, stickered, stamped and bar-coded, so they’re no longer virginal, but still, […]
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Someday we’ll all look back on this, and plow right into a parked car.
Just as man evolved from four feet to two, some have evolved from four wheels to two.
Tourers and commuters are a lot alike. Both breeds usually choose a sturdy, yet no-nonsense bike, and both usually have to carry more than your usual OCP roadie. We take tips, tricks, and underground secret information from almost every other type of cyclist, chew it up, and spit out a form of cycling science that manifests itself as a fusion of both basic transportation and recreational riding all at once.—ax0n
You shouldn’t anthropomorphize bikes. They don’t like it when you do that—JustBrowsing
Somewhere on gayforums.net there’s a thread that goes “I just shaved my legs and got some tight lycra shorts. Do you think it would make look like a cyclist or not?”—From yet another “Does wearing lycra make me look gay?” thread on bikeforums.net
I don’t hate cars per se, but the lifestyle they encourage is as lethal and self-destructive as any drug.—Cosmoline
I guess for me it boiled down to a realization that a bike was the right tool for the job. Using a 3,000 pound vehicle move me and my briefcase 2.5 miles to work everyday was like using a steamroller to press my shirts—they'd be wrinkle free, but an iron would be a better choice.—chocula
Starve a terrorist—ride a bike to work. It’s not just good for the environment, it’s good for civilization.—NotAsFat
When all the gasoline runs out, the Priuses are going to be dead on the side of the road right beside the Hummers.
Who is more patriotic, the person who commutes to work on a bike, or the guy who slaps a US flag decal on his SUV that gets 12 miles per gallon?—Jim Caple (ESPN)
I’m on the odd side of now but the right side of history.—Woodog
What’s the point of a bike if you can only ride it on weekends and you can’t even carry anything with you?—madfiNch
I don’t ride to save the environment, auto fuel, money or even to get exercise. I ride because I enjoy it and as a consequence, I get the benefit of the other things.—Charles Vail
What I need is a tandem, a squash racquet and a daring & ruthless accomplice. Is anyone in?—Chris L
My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.—Peter Golkin
If one is going to be hedonistic and NOT actually in Jamaica, well bicycles ain’t such a bad way to go.—PansyPalmetto
Skilled city cyclists move through traffic like gazelles through a field of fat cows.—JoeyBike
Biking isn’t a sport because anybody can do it. I can bike, you can bike. For goodness sakes, my mother can bike! You don’t see her on the cover of Sports Illustrated, do you?—jack002
Bicycles move with the flow of the Earth—Nikki Giovanni
Let’s have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle—US Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Putting slicks on a mountain bike is like putting a dress on your best friend Bob. He still won’t look like a woman, and he won’t ride like one either.—Platypius
They’re just bikes. Ride ’em in the rain, salt, snow and crap to fully appreciate them.—Mike Zanconato
One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work.—BikeSnobNYC
When you approach an intersection think of the cars as affectionate cats that are going to try to rub themselves against you.—BikeSnobNYC
It’s like bikes. Give yourself a budget. Then double it.—grscha
Rule 9: If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.—The Rules
I ride to work just because I enjoy it, but I keep getting told it’s for other reasons.—ThermionicScott
If I only rode my bicycle on nice days I wouldn't be a cyclist. I'd be just another old fat man with a bicycle hanging in his garage.—Dave Cutter
I took Brucew's advice ... Perfect!— ScooterDobs