Once upon a time, there were two neighbors in a comfortable suburb in the Midwestern US. As spring approached, both decided that a new bike was in order. Their old bicycles, which they'd had since they were teenagers, were finally wearing to the point they could not be repaired.
Mr. R, a man who is always looking for a bargain, started and ended his bike shopping experience at J-Mart, a regional supermarket chain. Price was of utmost concern to Mr. R, who prided himself on how much money he had saved on furniture, electronics, and replacement windows in his home. Having shopped for bikes for his children, he knew there was no cheaper place than J-Mart to buy one. When he got there, he saw a bike hanging from the wall that looked fine, smiled at the price, and had the cashier ring one up. The store employee loaded a box into Mr. R's car, and Mr. R was off to assemble his shiny new bike.
Mr. S, his neighbor, was concerned with quality, especially when it came to something like a bicycle, or replacement windows. He checked out the local bike shops, which are known for carrying higher-end, and more expensive, bikes. While a good-quality bike certainly stretched his budget, he listened to the advice from the experienced salespeople (most of whom are avid bikers themselves), shopped around, and got a good price on a top-rated bike from Barry's Hometown Bicycles.
Both bought a 21-speed bike with handle brakes and red paint. Mr. R's cost was $65. Mr. S's was $350.
On the first Saturday following their purchases, Mr. R and Mr. S decided to take a ride together. As they were getting started, Mr. R discovered the seat on his bike was so high, he had trouble getting onto it. He didn't realize there were different sizes of bikes, and that some were taller than others. He had only seen the bike on display at J-Mart, but hadn't tried it out.
Mr. S had taken the advice of the salesperson at the bike shop and had ridden several bikes around the block to find the one that fit him best. He was comfortable and ready for his ride.
Mr. R lowered the seat as much as he could, they were off. "This is OK, I can get used to this," he said to himself.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. The birds were singing, the bees were buzzing, and all the moms were out on their patios and decks, lightly napping while the children played quietly nearby. No one was pushing, fighting, yelling, or refusing to share their goldfish crackers. Birds flew to remote locations to chirp so as not to deprive the deserving residents of their peace.
Mr. S and Mr. R, full of energy and anticipation, merged onto the street and down the hill towards the city limits. At the first stop sign, Mr. S brought his bike to a smooth stop by lightly applying his brakes. Mr. R sailed straight through the intersection, each hand uselessly squeezing its respective brake handle. Mr. R had assembled the bike himself, but had not realized his brakes were not adjusted for him at the factory. The 100-page assembly and maintenance booklet, with instructions in three languages, was too complicated for him to understand, and he took it on faith that the manufacturer set up everything correctly before it was put in the box.
Mr. S offered to go back to the house and help Mr. R adjust his brakes, which delayed their trip by 20 minutes. Mr. R found that Mr. S's booklet, while much smaller, did a better job of explaining brakes and how to adjust them.
With the brakes adjusted, the two started off again on their journey. At the first stop sign, Mr. S applied his brakes and came to a smooth stop. Mr. R also came to a stop, but when it came to starting up again, Mr. R's brakes appeared to be stuck to his wheel. On further inspection, they weren't actually stuck to the wheel; rather, the wheel was out of alignment, and the rim was misshapen at the location where the brake pad was resting. Mr. S had no such problem - Barry's Hometown Bicycles always adjusts and tunes a bike before selling it, and the rims were round and true on his bike, as they should be.
Mr. R decided to continue, figuring that he could just pedal a little harder to overcome the problems with the rim. On each revolution, the rim brushed the brake pad, slowing him down a little, and he worked harder and harder to keep his speed up. Mr. S slowed himself down to allow Mr. R keep pace. Mr. S was starting to wish he had gone out alone.
With some difficulty on Mr. R's part, and little difficulty on Mr. S's, they eventually found themselves about ten miles from home. Mr. R was exhausted - he had pedaled hard to keep his speed up. His legs were burning. He was also starting to realize another drawback of the great bargain he had gotten for his bike: its weight. His bike weighed a lot more than Mr. S's, and moving that extra weight over ten miles had caused him to work that much harder than Mr. S. Mr. S had taken the advice of the salesperson at the bike shop and bought a bike with an aluminum frame, which is lighter than steel. He had researched bikes before buying one, and the salesperson's recommendation of an aluminum frame made sense. Mr. S could feel the lightness of his new bike compared to his previous bike, and he was glad he spent the extra $30 for the upgrade.
As Mr. S was feeling proud of his purchase, and the good decision he had made, Mr. R was experiencing another problem: the gear shifters on his bike were no longer working properly. He could now only shift into the highest gears - shifting to lower gears resulted in a clicking and grinding noise because the chain was not being guided to the correct sprocket. Being in high gear was great going down a hill, but not going up. At first, this was not too much of a problem, but after ten miles, his problems were adding quickly. Brakes, weight, shifters, a bike that is a little too tall to be comfortable...
He didn't tell Mr. S about the shifting problems - he was already embarrassed enough.
Mr. R had his phone with him, and was considering calling his wife to come pick him up. But he knew she had earned the nap she was taking on the patio, and this was his problem. He would have to get home by himself, and he was going to have to pedal.
While Mr. R was letting the reality of the situation sink in, Mr. S was, predictably, regretting his choice of bicycle companion. He had another 15-20 miles in him, but he wouldn't be able to ride that far today. He had stuck by his friend, slowing down for him regularly, while politely assuring him it wasn't a problem. He would make it back home with Mr. R, but would find a way to take the next bike ride on his own. Mr. R was a late riser on weekends, and Mr. S could easily be out of the house before Mr. R was out of his pajamas. Mr. S penciled next week's ride into his mental calendar: 7:00 am.
Mr. S. pulled the water bottle from the holder on his bike and took a long drink. Mr. R, who had a water bottle in a small backpack, took a drink of his as well. They started to plan their return trip, with Mr. R suggesting a flatter route than the one that had brought them to this point.
As they set off, Mr. R reflected on his purchase and how much money he had saved. Originally, he had patted himself on the back for his wise purchase, and had privately criticized his neighbor for buying such an expensive bike: "Mine is the same as his, and he paid five times more than I did! I'm so smart!" Now, he wasn't so sure. Mr. S had a bike he would be able to ride for years to come, and he had a bike he was already considering selling in the newspaper for $20.
The return trip was no picnic; Mr. R, who was not used to such physical labor, strained and pushed to get his bike home. Mr. S, feeling an oddly refreshing ache from his first real bike ride in a long time, parted company with Mr. R and went in for a shower and change of clothes.
As Mr. R watched Mr. S go inside, he had an idea: "I can take my bike to the shop and have them fix all these problems for me! They can't make the bike shorter, but they can adjust the gears and the brakes and the rims. I'll be able to keep up with Mr. S next weekend!"
Twenty minutes later, Mr. R arrived at Barry's Hometown Bicycles, grunted a huge grunt as he struggled to lift his very heavy bike out of the back of his minivan, and wheeled it into the shop.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, I bought this bike at J-Mart, and it need some adjusting. The brakes are not working very well, the rim is wobbly, and I'm unable to shift into the lower gears."
"Let me take a look. Be right back."
The technician put the bike on a stand to inspect it as its owner browsed the merchandise. "$350, $450, $900? Wow! These bikes are so expensive! Who would ever pay $900 for a bike like that?" He looked at the maintenance tools, helmets, shoes, shorts, car carriers, and all the other items a serious bike rider might need.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can fix the wheel that's out of round, but I'm afraid the only way to fix the brakes is to replace them. They're made of a light metal that won't stand up to hard use, and the springs in them are not strong enough to rebound when you release the handle. The pads will wear out quickly - we can sell you some better pads that will last for much longer."
"Oh."
"And the shifters you have are not standard parts we carry because they are only used on discount bicycles, so there's not much we can do for you there. We can replace the handlebar shifters and try to adjust the shifting mechanisms, but I can't guarantee anything. Our owner usually doesn't like us to even try, because the customer is never happy with the results, but I'll give it a shot if you want."
"How much will all this cost?"
"$275."
---
Mr. R was out of options, and he couldn't justify paying that kind of money to fix a bike that was so inexpensive to begin with. He finished filling out the Classified Ad form on his local newspaper's website: "21-speed mens bike. Low miles. Red. $20".
What had started as a light rain grew increasingly harder and louder as night fell. Mr. R's tired legs and mind were a reminder of his day, and a saying he had once heard sprang up out of nowhere: "A fool is a person who knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing."
"Honey?" called Mrs. R from the upstairs bedroom.
"Yes?"
"Honey, come upstairs! The new windows are leaking!"
---
At the Stadium. Again.
We went to the U of M Spring Football Game. The team splits up and plays each other. The winning team gets a steak dinner, the losing team gets hot dogs (really).
The Wolverine football program has had its problems over the past few years, but they ushered in the Brady Hoke era with a solid win.
U of M tries to prevent U of M from scoring a touchdown.
U of M fans
For a guy who went to MSU, I sure spend a lot of time at U of M athletic events.
---
A few links I've been saving:
Think you're smart? Help the FBI decode these notes.
The boys and I have agreed that we will attend the next monster truck rally that comes to the area. Because we've never been to one. That's the only reason I can think of, but isn't that good enough?
Neat objects featuring gears and their amazing gear-ness.
M is starting to play saxophone, and I tried to get him one of these at the local music store, but they were all out, and won't have any back in stock for at least a week.
---
I've read some books lately, but haven't passed any titles along. Here are a few:
"The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion" - by Loren Estleman. One of my favorite writers, I've mentioned Estleman in the past. This is a western about a theater troupe that robs banks.
"Little America" - by Henry Bromell. A realistic fiction novel about a middle-eastern country during the cold war. Britain and the US are propping it up, trying to prevent Communism from taking over. Spies are all over, and paranoia wins more often than not.
"The Story of a Nobody" - by Anton Chekhov. A man takes a position as a personal assistant to the son of a hated political rival in order to spy on him. It doesn't go as planned.
I've also been reading some robotics and electronics books, as I am trying to revive my memory of electrical engineering and computer architecture from college. I'm surprised how much I can remember from CPS 424, Dr. Reid's computer architecture class. What's really surprising is how I struggled through it, but to this day can remember so many details. Maybe it's hard to learn something you didn't have to struggle with.
---
The Wolverine football program has had its problems over the past few years, but they ushered in the Brady Hoke era with a solid win.
For a guy who went to MSU, I sure spend a lot of time at U of M athletic events.
---
A few links I've been saving:
Think you're smart? Help the FBI decode these notes.
The boys and I have agreed that we will attend the next monster truck rally that comes to the area. Because we've never been to one. That's the only reason I can think of, but isn't that good enough?
Neat objects featuring gears and their amazing gear-ness.
M is starting to play saxophone, and I tried to get him one of these at the local music store, but they were all out, and won't have any back in stock for at least a week.
---
I've read some books lately, but haven't passed any titles along. Here are a few:
"The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion" - by Loren Estleman. One of my favorite writers, I've mentioned Estleman in the past. This is a western about a theater troupe that robs banks.
"Little America" - by Henry Bromell. A realistic fiction novel about a middle-eastern country during the cold war. Britain and the US are propping it up, trying to prevent Communism from taking over. Spies are all over, and paranoia wins more often than not.
"The Story of a Nobody" - by Anton Chekhov. A man takes a position as a personal assistant to the son of a hated political rival in order to spy on him. It doesn't go as planned.
I've also been reading some robotics and electronics books, as I am trying to revive my memory of electrical engineering and computer architecture from college. I'm surprised how much I can remember from CPS 424, Dr. Reid's computer architecture class. What's really surprising is how I struggled through it, but to this day can remember so many details. Maybe it's hard to learn something you didn't have to struggle with.
---
College Football Hall of Fame (subtitle: Notre Dame's Bulk Brick Purchase)
---
This is the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.
This is Michigan football coaching legend Fielding Yost. He was instrumental in the early years of the program, and coached the famous "point-a-minute" teams. Michigan memorialized him by naming a skating rink after him.
This is Michigan State football coaching legend Biggie Munn. Biggie may not have been real his first name, no one knows for sure. Michigan State memorialized him by naming a skating rink after him.
K executes a training exercise to see how high he can jump.
M runs in place to see how many steps he can take in ten seconds. I tried this but I ran so unusually fast that the pads could not record all of my steps. According to the machine, both K and M beat my score.
This protective gear was worn on the head, in case there is any question.
M and K in front of Notre Dame's so-called "Touchdown Jesus" artwork. It is named that because it is across the street from the football stadium. On TV it looks like it's right next to the stadium, but it's several hundred yards away.
Despite what you might think (or what Notre Dame fans might believe), wearing U of M clothing so close to Touchdown Jesus did not cause thunder, lightning, pestilence, floods, ants in the pants, or university-strength cooties. Later on the trip, however, I found that I was not enjoying my Wendy's fries very much, and I wonder if that could have been a delayed curse or plague of some sort. More investigation is needed.
Every building we drove or walked past on the ND campus, and I mean every single one, was made of the the same color and pattern of bricks. Every building. Even the stadium was made of them. This picture is of the stadium wall, but you would not know that if I hadn't told you. I cannot stress enough how every single building we saw had the same color and pattern of bricks.
Here's a closeup of the building with the artwork - it has the same bricks. See - I told you!
A fun day for us, and a quick trip in and out of Indiana. I know I spent a lot of time covering Notre Dame, but I was able to think of a lot more jokes about them than the college players and coaches (yes, I'll spare you my O.J. Simpson jokes.)
The College Football Hall of Fame was a neat place. If you're thinking of going there, you can do it in an afternoon, so don't feel like you have to be there when the doors open to get your money's worth. And don't stay in South Bend too long or you'll start humming the Notre Dame fight song...
---
Despite what you might think (or what Notre Dame fans might believe), wearing U of M clothing so close to Touchdown Jesus did not cause thunder, lightning, pestilence, floods, ants in the pants, or university-strength cooties. Later on the trip, however, I found that I was not enjoying my Wendy's fries very much, and I wonder if that could have been a delayed curse or plague of some sort. More investigation is needed.
A fun day for us, and a quick trip in and out of Indiana. I know I spent a lot of time covering Notre Dame, but I was able to think of a lot more jokes about them than the college players and coaches (yes, I'll spare you my O.J. Simpson jokes.)
The College Football Hall of Fame was a neat place. If you're thinking of going there, you can do it in an afternoon, so don't feel like you have to be there when the doors open to get your money's worth. And don't stay in South Bend too long or you'll start humming the Notre Dame fight song...
---
I Completely Forgot
---
I don't know how I forgot to mention this, but last week the four of us went to Tappan Middle School (J's employer) and saw a middle-school rendition of the musical "Grease". But it wasn't a typical middle-school performance - there were dozens of cast members beyond the T-Birds, Pink Ladies, cheerleaders, nerds, and adults. The costumes were terrific, the orchestra was first-rate, and the kids performed well beyond what you'd expect for their ages. For some numbers, students filled the aisles of the auditorium and danced, sang, and provided a lot of color and excitement.
Here is a writeup of the show, with some pictures.
It was very impressive.
The group that produced it, The Tappan Players, are not supported by the public schools other than using the facilities. They are a private group, and the students who performed paid to be a part of the show.
No expense was spared to put on this show, and it was apparent. Makes you wonder what they could possibly do next year to top it...
---
I don't know how I forgot to mention this, but last week the four of us went to Tappan Middle School (J's employer) and saw a middle-school rendition of the musical "Grease". But it wasn't a typical middle-school performance - there were dozens of cast members beyond the T-Birds, Pink Ladies, cheerleaders, nerds, and adults. The costumes were terrific, the orchestra was first-rate, and the kids performed well beyond what you'd expect for their ages. For some numbers, students filled the aisles of the auditorium and danced, sang, and provided a lot of color and excitement.
Here is a writeup of the show, with some pictures.
It was very impressive.
The group that produced it, The Tappan Players, are not supported by the public schools other than using the facilities. They are a private group, and the students who performed paid to be a part of the show.
No expense was spared to put on this show, and it was apparent. Makes you wonder what they could possibly do next year to top it...
---
Flag Football Wrap-Up, and What Really Happened to the Garage Door Opener
---
Today marked the end of M's flag football season. The semi-final playoff game was at 2:30, followed by the championship game at 3:15. M's team won the first game, 9-6, and he had three tackles (a personal best), and three receptions: one was for a first down, and one was for an extra point.
They didn't fare as well in the championship game, losing 26-6 after being down 20-0 early in the game. The other team had an outstanding runner who was able to beat everyone, and he scored three touchdowns in the first half by himself. M had another solid game, with three tackles (to tie his personal best), one reception, and he broke up a pass play on defense.
He's worked very hard at flag football, and plays a lot of football with his friends in the neighborhood, and I can tell all that practice is paying off.
---
I told you recently that we had our master bath shower remodeled, and that we also had an unfortunate failure of the garage door opener. It turns out, those two things were related. The people who installed the shower door didn't attach the shower head arm back to the supply line correctly, and water was leaking down behind the wall whenever we took a shower. We didn't notice it right away, so it wasn't apparent that the water was responsible for ruining the door opener. On Monday of last week, I left for work, opened the door to the garage (with the new opener) and saw water dripping down from about ten different spots in the ceiling. That would explain the sudden failure of the door opener pretty well, and the mysterious puddle of water J had seen the day before.
I called the contractors, who know me by name very well at this point, and they sent someone out who was able to successfully turn a threaded pipe so that it attached correctly to a threaded opening, and now we don't have a leak any more. They are going to reimburse us for the door opener, but even with their prompt attention to the problems they had with our project, we won't be calling them again. That is, unless we find some other problem, which I hope we don't.
---
After seeing a project at the Science Fair that used an Arduino, I am seriously considering buying a starter kit. I was at the school when a fifth-grade girl brought in a project that used it to demonstrate how a remote garage door opener works (yes, I've had a lot of contact with garage door opener-related things lately.) She told me her dad had worked on the project with her, and after I got all the information I could out of her, I kept a lookout for her dad during the Fair's operating hours. He was there, and I asked him every question I could think of. It looks to be a great way to start getting programmed behavior into an electronics project, which is one of those things I've had on my list of things to learn.
There are many different versions of the Arduino, small ones and large ones, and add-ons called "shields" that help perform tasks such as writing to a memory card, communicating over ethernet, or powering electric motors.
When I would find the time to do this is an entirely different question that needs to be answered first. I've also considered taking an introductory electronics/circuit analysis class at Washtenaw Community College or Jackson Community College, but getting a weeknight free is not that easy, especially in the spring with Science Olympiad and soccer.
By the way, get ready to hear a lot about Science Olympiad and soccer. I'm organizing the yearly Science Olympiad demonstration night at the school, and I'm again going to be assistant to the assistant coach for M's team.
And I still have a job I have to fit in somewhere.
---
Today marked the end of M's flag football season. The semi-final playoff game was at 2:30, followed by the championship game at 3:15. M's team won the first game, 9-6, and he had three tackles (a personal best), and three receptions: one was for a first down, and one was for an extra point.
They didn't fare as well in the championship game, losing 26-6 after being down 20-0 early in the game. The other team had an outstanding runner who was able to beat everyone, and he scored three touchdowns in the first half by himself. M had another solid game, with three tackles (to tie his personal best), one reception, and he broke up a pass play on defense.
He's worked very hard at flag football, and plays a lot of football with his friends in the neighborhood, and I can tell all that practice is paying off.
---
I told you recently that we had our master bath shower remodeled, and that we also had an unfortunate failure of the garage door opener. It turns out, those two things were related. The people who installed the shower door didn't attach the shower head arm back to the supply line correctly, and water was leaking down behind the wall whenever we took a shower. We didn't notice it right away, so it wasn't apparent that the water was responsible for ruining the door opener. On Monday of last week, I left for work, opened the door to the garage (with the new opener) and saw water dripping down from about ten different spots in the ceiling. That would explain the sudden failure of the door opener pretty well, and the mysterious puddle of water J had seen the day before.
I called the contractors, who know me by name very well at this point, and they sent someone out who was able to successfully turn a threaded pipe so that it attached correctly to a threaded opening, and now we don't have a leak any more. They are going to reimburse us for the door opener, but even with their prompt attention to the problems they had with our project, we won't be calling them again. That is, unless we find some other problem, which I hope we don't.
---
After seeing a project at the Science Fair that used an Arduino, I am seriously considering buying a starter kit. I was at the school when a fifth-grade girl brought in a project that used it to demonstrate how a remote garage door opener works (yes, I've had a lot of contact with garage door opener-related things lately.) She told me her dad had worked on the project with her, and after I got all the information I could out of her, I kept a lookout for her dad during the Fair's operating hours. He was there, and I asked him every question I could think of. It looks to be a great way to start getting programmed behavior into an electronics project, which is one of those things I've had on my list of things to learn.
There are many different versions of the Arduino, small ones and large ones, and add-ons called "shields" that help perform tasks such as writing to a memory card, communicating over ethernet, or powering electric motors.
When I would find the time to do this is an entirely different question that needs to be answered first. I've also considered taking an introductory electronics/circuit analysis class at Washtenaw Community College or Jackson Community College, but getting a weeknight free is not that easy, especially in the spring with Science Olympiad and soccer.
By the way, get ready to hear a lot about Science Olympiad and soccer. I'm organizing the yearly Science Olympiad demonstration night at the school, and I'm again going to be assistant to the assistant coach for M's team.
And I still have a job I have to fit in somewhere.
---
Update from Sunny Michigan (formerly Super-Rainy Michigan)
--
A hummingbird takes a break from humming to slurp sugar water.
All the News That's Fit to Blog
Spring is in full swing with soccer and Science Olympiad practice. If we're not driving to something, or waiting for something to start or end, or driving home from something, we're planning carpools to and from something else. Who cares if the kids are overscheduled and overstimulated? I'm the one who needs a rest. If they would lower the driving age to 11 it would be a big help.
Work is about the same as it has been. I'm learning more Silverlight and making progress on my project.
Links
Some links to interesting things:
Neat lamps made from plumbing fixtures - definitely neater-looking than some that I've seen in the past.
Inventables has lots of oddball materials you can use for your next project, if you could only think of something to do with them. The translucent concrete is pretty cool.
Read all about Impostor Syndrome here.
The Savage Chickens Guide to Vague Quantities. Now you know!
---
I'm in the middle of a terrific book I got from the library - Making Things Move by Dustyn Roberts. It's a summary of physics, force, motors, pullies, and describes in simple terms how to (say) figure out the torque of an electric motor. It's already on my Christmas list.
I now know how a semiconductor works because I read Electronic Components by Delton Horn. (It has to do with covalent bonds!) This book is a reference about all the common types of electronic components, as you may have guessed. Another Christmas list book for me...
---
All the News That's Fit to Blog
Spring is in full swing with soccer and Science Olympiad practice. If we're not driving to something, or waiting for something to start or end, or driving home from something, we're planning carpools to and from something else. Who cares if the kids are overscheduled and overstimulated? I'm the one who needs a rest. If they would lower the driving age to 11 it would be a big help.
Work is about the same as it has been. I'm learning more Silverlight and making progress on my project.
Links
Some links to interesting things:
Neat lamps made from plumbing fixtures - definitely neater-looking than some that I've seen in the past.
Inventables has lots of oddball materials you can use for your next project, if you could only think of something to do with them. The translucent concrete is pretty cool.
Read all about Impostor Syndrome here.
The Savage Chickens Guide to Vague Quantities. Now you know!
---
I'm in the middle of a terrific book I got from the library - Making Things Move by Dustyn Roberts. It's a summary of physics, force, motors, pullies, and describes in simple terms how to (say) figure out the torque of an electric motor. It's already on my Christmas list.
I now know how a semiconductor works because I read Electronic Components by Delton Horn. (It has to do with covalent bonds!) This book is a reference about all the common types of electronic components, as you may have guessed. Another Christmas list book for me...
---
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