Idaho Stop in California?

It's been a long time since I've posted. I've been busy with school and life and it makes for somewhat infrequent blogging. I've been asking myself WHY I'm still doing this. While I doubt Sammy Hagar was talking about blogging when he said "to me it's all just mental masturbation", the boot fits. Is blogging intrinsically a narcissistic form of self gratification? It could be argued successfully that indeed it is, and do I really want that mantle? Cheese & Rice, I've been spending too much in self-analysis. Never-mind, here's a little piece on the Idaho Stop, which just got shot down in the Oregon Legislature. Idaho has had the law since 1982 and it works for them, so why not for California?


Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

Passionate about Bikes

It's been a while since I posted... been busing living my life. I read something today though that I just had to share. A friend of my mom's sent me a link to this comment because he knows I'm a nut about bicycles. He was dead on: I love it.

Give IT a read. I hope y'all enjoyed your Sunday! For the record, no, I did not watch the superbowl, I was hanging with my 4 year old and he could care less about football. Neither could I. My idea of a good sport to watch on TV is cycling, but I think that's a given.

5 Second Plastebrity

Hey howdy hey! Thanks to Beth, I'm a 5 Second Plastebrity (or Plastic Celebrity... now that I type it, it doesn't sound so appealing... DOH!).

HERE's the article on FakePlasticFish.com.

It started when I read that Dr. Markus Eriksen & Anna Cummins were making a stop at the Marin Humane Society to speak on behalf of the Algalita Research Foundation for the "Message in a Bottle" tour. I thought "that doesn't ANY more convenient for me!" and planned to attend. It was a great presentation and I managed to record the audio, though not the video. I've yet to find a way to host it properly: most of the audio hosting services require folks to register and give away their info in order to use the service, and many folks aren't into that. I don't have the online storage to host the audio files myself: anyone know of a solution?

At the end of the presentation I spoke with Anna about the upcoming leg of the tour, which will involve riding bicycles from Seattle down to San Diego, bringing the Message in a Bottle tour to schools, community centers and other public forums to raise awareness. "RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!" was my thought, and I hope to do at least part of the ride with them, hopefully lightening their load and helping to haul along "Plastic Soup" samples and other presentation media. Now I've just got to get all healed up and my leg/foot rehabbed so I can make the ride!

On a personal note, I brought my stainless steel Klean Kanteen with me and I noted that there was NO one there with a single use plastic bottle: YEAH!

I also wore my Trogdor shirt (thanks to my friend Chris Gleason) which Beth immediately spotted and that made my whole evening because people so rarely know who Trogdor is: Trogdor the Burninator hates plastic waste!

My 5 minutes of fame

My xtracycle got featured as #95 at the Xtracycle Gallery: whee! I haven't posted in over a month even though I have 3 posts in draft... DOH! Hope y'all can forgive me...

Tempted more than once...

... to do THIS. Rick Smith of Yehuda Moon has got one of the best cycling based comics I've ever seen. It's funny, witty and spot on accurate. I've known and know people who are each and every character in the comic.. I feel right at home.

Those of you who aren't bikey people may not get all the humor, but those of you have seen my bicycles, will get a laugh out of THIS episode.

My sentiments exactly

There's a special place in hell for bicycle thieves, but when you catch one in the act... hell hath no fury like a cyclist catching a bike thief, and we come equipped to maim. NOW SEE HERE!

Surly's Swervy is my hero

If you've ever been honked at by a motorist (on your bicycle man, not while you were DRIVING stupid!) and wished you could have the last laugh, read THIS blog entry by Swervy. It made me laugh out loud and pump my fist in the air. I've got 2 words for obnoxious honking rude cagers... but I think you already know what I'm going to say. ;)

Security

So, I've been thinking about security for my new bike, a Surly Big Dummy that I've named Yggdrasill, aka Big Ygg. I thought I'd share my thoughts on security for bicycles, since the theft of bicycles is perhaps the most onerous type of theft, mostly due to the fact that bicycles are almost never recovered. As it says on the sticker on my water bottle "There's a special place in hell for bicycle thieves".

So let's start with a little locking strategy from the late Sheldon Brown (Ride In Peace Sheldon!). If you just want to see a picture of the U-lock scheme, the direct link to Sheldon's picture of a U-lock on his 1916 Mead Ranger is HERE. Sheldon's tips on locking are right-on if you own a U-lock AND a cable lock (I own several locks, including a "mini" lock like the one Sheldon recommends). I've used many locking options in the past and am considering new ones for Big Ygg.

I don't know how long the Pitlock has been around in Germany, but they are only really being sold by Peter White Cycles. I haven't purchased anything from Peter yet, but if I buy a SON hub for the front of Big Ygg, I'm going to get it from Peter. He is the exclusvie importer for several items from Europe and by all accounts, his work is impeccable. The Pitlock looks very nice and since it's built by Germans and Peter White Cycles carries it, it's damn nice stuff. I have no experience with it, but I'm looking for feedback. Anyone?

I've used the PinHead locks that are repackaged by OnGuard on the front and rear skewers and seatpost binder bolt of SuperVato, my stokemonkeyed Xtracycle. It was pointed out to me that they could be defeated with a nail set and hammer (by putting the nail set into the "holes" and hitting it with a hammer to turn it), but that it was unlikely that an opportunistic bike thief would be carrying these tools: only someone who'd been casing my bike for a while would know to bring these tools. Of course, if you just bought up all the different sets of Pinhead locks, you'd have a key for everything. They claim to have "dozens" of different combos, but that's not an actual number. The Pitlocks evidently have 256 different combos, which to me sounds higher than "dozens", but I digress. The hackability of a system is it's vulnerability: someone who can afford to buy up every different set of lock combinations can probably afford the bicycle parts anyways. Sure, they could slowly STEAL the keys over time, but these are far fetched as well. There are 2 ways I can see of defeating the Pitlock. The first would be to use a set of locking needle nose plyers to lock onto the locking nut and then turn it. With certain locking nuts, this might not be possible, which is where the second method could enter. The second method would be to use a material that can be injected like a syrup but that hardens very quickly (like an epoxy) with a method of turning it (maybe deep reach pin spanners?): once the material hardened enough, you could use the handle to turn the lock. I don't know if this would work: would the dimple the pit slots into be too shallow to hold enough of the hardening stuff (let's just CALL it epoxy for brevity's sake) to create the necessary bond needed to open the skewer? I dunno... all these measures are really just to slow thieves down right? The reasoning goes that the harder the theft is, the more likely they'll go for easier bait...

Which brings me to another measure. Use the pitlocks/pinhead locks AND a cable lock on the wheels. How about a cable lock that erupts with noise if it's cut or the lock is tampered with? I found the LockAlarm originally when I was first exploring the Stokemonkey world. I found another user who lives in SF by the name of Bill Manewal and I asked him about the weird lock/alarm on the top tube of his Instigator. He travels around SF a lot for his job on his bike and last time I checked, his bike hasn't been stolen yet! The system locks onto the top tube (or probably in my case, the boom tube or the downtube: I don't know where I'm gonna mount it yet) and can't be removed without setting off the alarm. Picking the lock sets off the alarm and cutting the cable does as well. It's waterproof, so you can't short it out... beating it with a hammer/stick/blunt object is going to draw a lot of attention and it's going to take a lot of abuse before it shuts up, not to mention the fact that it'll still probably be locked. If you have

If you want to be totally overkill, in addition to the previous techniques, use a heavy duty OnGuard Beast 5016 to lock the frame to something that can't move. In the realm of ridiculous, also add a RFID Registry Tag AND a GPS tracking system OR... and I love this idea most of all: hook up a battery and a rheostat to all conductive metal parts of the bike and shock this SHIT out of anyone touching the bike... oh, and add a wireless remote "off" switch for the "electrified" part so you don't have to get close to the bike. I think that electrifying the bike could violate some ordinances, but then again, so does theft :)

Oh, and I found a very interesting article about RFID tags on bicycles: The University of Portsmouth tried out a system designed to reduce/eliminate bike theft. The article is an interesting summary of the system, and I think it's something that could work in urban areas like San Francisco and L.A.

Some simple solutions for improving security on a bicycle which I've seen posted here and there on the interwebs:

-used chain run in a loop through the seat rails and through around the seat stays, seen on Flickr
-hose clamps holding the QR Skewers on the wheels closed (comment from http://bikeportland.org/2005/09/09/bike-theft-what-should-we-do-about-it/#comment-294)or alternately removing the skewers when leaving the bike (cut the lock and you STILL have to carry the bike/wheels away: no rolling away!)
-stickers and detritus added to frames to uglify the bike and reduce theftability (all over the bikewebs...)
-derailing/removing the chain to make pedaling impossible until chain is fixed/replaced.

And the best one (which I attribute to a Harley riding friend of mine by the name of Bill Langhorne):

NEVER LET IT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.

It's the hardest one to do for most people.

What happens when you stick a P-Nut in an electric sports car?

While doing a little further research on EMB's (electromagnetic batteries), I found my way over to the Tesla Motors website. I heard about the guys from Tesla years ago and I've been checking in on them from time to time to see what's developing. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd done this until this evening. There's a lot of people (ok, a LOT of people is hyperbole) who've driven them at this point, and a few that even own them. I found my way to THIS BLOG ENTRY and read with some enthusiasm about one of my favorite bass players (P-nut of the band 311) trying out the Tesla Roadster. I posted a comment: we'll see if they publish it, as I mentioned riding my bicycle past the roadsters stuck in traffic and admiring them that way due to the VERY high cost of the vehicle. I won't deny the fun factor of pressing a little pedal and getting 0-60 in under 4 seconds (WOW!), but is that REALLY necessary outside a race track? For really rich guys it sounds like a guilt free way to have your cake and eat it too, but in reality, the Tesla doesn't get us any closer to reducing our need for oil. It's a cool idea, and no doubt a blast to drive, but it's completely outside the realm of reality for the average person. The "blast" of riding a regular bicycle around a corner fast can be just as exhilarating, it WON'T break the bank, and it doesn't require a power outlet. The argument that humans have to eat FOOD for fuel doesn't hold up either: we have to do that anyway. Unless you plan on riding more than about 20-30 miles per day, you probably (unless you're a world class athlete) don't need any additional calories either. Bicycles still kick the roadsters ass in terms of fuel efficiency, if not in the acceleration dept.

And for the record, if I got a chance to test drive one, YES I would. Would I buy one for $350,000 if I had the money? Not a chance: do you know how many amazing bicycles you could own and GIVE AWAY AS GIFTS for that much money? You can buy a mansion in most parts of the WORLD for that much money. I wonder what Nicolas Tesla would think?

Sheldon Brown Memorial Ride 3.30.08

The ride will be this coming sunday March 30th (yeah, I know, I know, it's late notice. Hey, that's what the internet is good for right?) starting at 3:00pm. Meet in the parking lot in front of the Java Hut (across the street from the Iron Spring Brewery). There's a map of the route HERE.

I designed the route to be easy and fun and most of all pretty. You can do it on a tall bike, a road bike, a mountain bike, a unicycle, a recumbent, whatever. The ride will go past at least 3 LBS's, so mechanical issues shouldn't be a problem. Those who are fast are welcome to blaze ahead, but those of us riding 126lb Dutch City bikes (that includes the weight of my child) will be running a more sociable pace. When I started planning this ride, I stayed with the idea that this, while a memorial ride, should be festival and celebrate the quirky, prankster human and humane sides of SB. So the more goofy jerseys, one of a kind bikes, fun and funny accessories you bring to this ride the better. If you have a helmet, feel free to adorn it with an eagle, or whatever other totem road score you like (ala Sheldon). I appropriated one of my son's toys and turned it into a Sheldon Helmet memorial.. but come as you are. Don't feel obligated to don the Eagle on your helmet: show you own sense of flair! Also welcome are photos of you with Sheldon, photos of his life and best of all, stories and songs (some of you may not know, but Sheldon was quite fond of singing!)Children are welcome too, though they are the responsibility of their parents/legal guardians!

I will print some cue sheets for those who don't know the route. When I run out, follow those who have one, or print your own!

Some may ask "Why aren't you doing it on April 1st? That was Sheldon's day to make funny jokes about bikes!" Well... lots of folks have families and work and other things that get in the way of a evening ride, and weekends are usually better for a lot of people (me included), so we'll just PRETEND like it's the 1st, ok? If enough people come, we'll do it again on Sheldon's BIRTHDAY (July 14, Bastille Day).

One last thing: for those of you who enjoyed racing, local legend Jacquie Phelan told me she would come on the ride, so if you're feeling really saucy, ride up next to her and challenge her to race. It's been said she never turns one down.. but she rarely loses either.

The Diablo Gets It's Due: Dead Mallard

So I'm riding my son to his preschool this morning traveling down our normal route. Just before the intersection of Diablo and Novato Blvd (Northbound) in the left lane is the freshly strewn remains of a mallard duck. The vivid green/blue plumage of the neck and head contrasted rather starkly against the red and white of bone, flesh and entrails. It was pretty in an abstract kind of way, but it made me sad: Someone killed this little canard. Then I began to puzzle: ducks can fly: what happened that this guy didn't get out of the way? Did he decide to chill in the middle of the street during the night when there was little traffic? Did he not hear the car/truck?

Then I got to thinking further: why is is that we lament the loss of that that is beautiful over that of the mundane? Much of it seems to be in the eye of the beholder. My heart fell when I saw this ducky roadkill: most of the drivers were driving over it like it was a lump of dirt. Part of me wanted to scream at everyone of them "Hey assholes, don't you see the beautiful thing that died in front of your wheels?" Part of me wanted to stop traffic and carefully pull the remains off and bury them. Without a police car or ambulance running interference, this would have been a risky endeavor and I (and my son) might have ended up like the duck. So I rode on, hoping that the duck didn't leave behind a family of little ducks and a mate.

I got to thinking further: Bicyclists don't kill animals with their bikes right? Well, I know there have been some close calls: Kent Peterson and several other who've ridden the Great Divide Race have had some pretty close calls. One of the Fatcyclist's friends (I think it might be Kenny) almost hit a deer. So who would have won/lost these collisions (if there can ever be said to be a winner and loser when a collision happens) if they'd actually happened? Neither is the likely answer. The fact that these "near misses" were just "near misses" might have something to do with the fact that the vehicles being piloted were bicycles. It could be that the riders were particularly adroit. If could be that average bicycle speeds are usually slower than cars (except in urban areas where they are often the same or higher). Just as I was thinking about all this, I turned into Miwok Park for my usual shortcut. I had to slam on the brakes and swerve b/c there was a clueless squirrel who started to dart in front of my tires. He had to have heard me coming, but the squirrels in that park have seen and heard it all so I don't think he took particular note of me. Either way, I almost had to eat my own words. I don't find squirrels particularly BEAUTIFUL, but they are pretty cute. It would have been a shame to crush the little guy.

Stay alert out there... it's a beautiful world and there's lots to see. You'll see more on a bike, I guarantee it.

Oh... and watch out for ducks & squirrels.

Taken in their prime

Yeah, I'm slow. Slow on a bike, slow to post, slow to multi-task without losing my place... yeah, slow. Several folks have been talking about the deaths of Kristy Gough and Matt Peterson. Jacquie did it, and there's an AMAZING article HERE.

Last week Kristy Gough and Matt Peterson lost their lives to a car. They were riding their bicycles, Kristy was training for the Olympics. A sheriff's deputy fell asleep at the wheel (some are blaming bad scheduling plus the time change), went across the yellow and crushed both of them. Kristy's leg was severed. Matt was killed instantly. Another cyclist got hit as well, though he survived. Ugly ugly shite, and everyone's lives are ruined. I read the article in the SF Chronicle and was PISSED. Pissed that these folks lost their life and PISSED at the Chronicle for letting it create fear amongst the public. I quote "Riding a bicycle in the Bay Area is an increasingly deadly pastime". That's the first line of the "Safety" article that accompanied the photo of cyclists standing looking at the memorial on the front page. Great great... let's scare everyone into thinking that bicycling is inherently dangerous. Then call it a "pastime" and marginalize it as a valid transportation source. THEN go on to publish a study to show that bicycling crashes are down but deaths are up. Then DON'T publish a similar study that would show the number of car-car or car-stationary object crashes and deaths for the same period. NO.. let's just make cycling seem more scary. I'm NOT happy with the Chronicle, but then I rarely am. Listen, you are at least a HUNDRED times more likely to die or be seriously maimed in a car crash than you are in a bike crash. Sure, you could be the unlucky person who get's killed like Christy and Matt. More than likely, you'll live a lot longer. The more of us that are out there riding, the safer it gets, so don't submit to fear. As Paul Atreides recited when facing the Gom Jabbar:

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

RIP Kristy Gough & Matt Peterson. May you live on in the minds of those who love you and let your memory serve to inspire us to make the world a safer place for bicyclists.

As the SI article cited in it's own litany against bike accidents: START SEEING BICYCLES!

Calfee Bamboo UTILITY Bikes?

While looking through the most recent entries at Fake Plastic Fish, I stumbled upon a link to AfriGadget. There's an article up there about Bamboo Bikes, and none other than Craig Calfee of NAHBS fame was behind it.

I saw Craig's creations last week at NAHBS, and as usual, he doesn't disspoint. I would put a link here to my pictures, but since the hard drive on my Mac G4 iBook is apparently roasted, my photo uploading abilities are somewhat... limited. Anyway, check out the article.

Thank You David Sylvester

If you haven't read THIS article written by David Sylvester, you should. David "Just a man" Sylvester is an inspiration to me, and no doubt a lot of others. Though he'd likely eschew it, he gets the H.O.T.M (Hero of the Month) award from me. I hope I get to meet him someday, and maybe ride a few miles with him. His article put tears in my eyes and though that's not that hard to do (yeah, I'm a softie), those tears honor a beautiful life and a life lived beautifully.

Thanks Kent for the link.

Fallen Heros

I found out this evening while looking through the iBOB Digest (Vol 62, Issue 43) that Sheldon Brown passed away from a heart attack on Feb 3rd. It's a heavy blow and it took the wind right out of my sails. I'm headed for the NAHMBS tomorrow afternoon, and I'm sure there will be those there who knew Sheldon, at least I hope there'll be. I'm hoping I get to hear some tales of Sheldon from those who knew him. I attribute much of my "bike knowhow" to Sheldon and his loss is a loss to everyone who rides a bike. Yeah, Sheldon's one of my bike hero's. My thoughts go out to his family.

Grant Peterson of Rivendell Bicycle Works wrote a very nice article about sheldon and summed it up better than I could. So did Todd at Clevercycles. I just wanted to acknowledge Sheldon and how much he contributed to my own love and involvement with that 2 wheeled conveyance we so loving call "the bicycle".

Sheldon Brown, RIP
1944-2008

New Years Resolutions... in February

Well, I've decided (after a LONG look at the Fake Plastic Fish blog) that I have 2 goals for 2008.

1. Ride my first century, in one day. In all the years I've been bicycling, I've never ridden a century. I've never owned a "road" bike, though all my bicycles are of course capable of riding on the road. I'm told it's foolish to think I can ride a century on my Azor Oma, and the naysayers are probably right, though I may try it once I've done a century on a "go fast" bike. To this end, I've borrowed a "fast" bike from my uncle, a Kestrel 200SC. It's not set up TOO racy: a high rise stem brings the handlebars to within a reasonable facsimile of level with the seat. The bars slope more than I like, but I may be able to turn them up slightly without screwing up the cables.

2. Reduce the amount of plastic I throw away by 50% this year. After reading THIS article, I can no longer in good conscious blindly use plastic the way I have in the past. Recycling is NOT enough, reduce reduce reduce is the key. This morning when I first broached the goal with my wife she was amicable, but the realities of the loss of "convenience" may cause her and my son to balk. We (our family, and likely yours too!) have become completely blind to the "convenience" factor that plastic provides. Even at places like Whole Foods & Trader Joes, plastic is EVERYWHERE. Prepackaged foods are the worst culprits, and their lure is similar to crack cocaine to the addict. Cutting the cord won't be easy: it's harder to find things that AREN'T packaged in plastic than things that are because EVERYTHING gets packed in plastic now. Read the ARTICLE (mentioned once already) and you'll begin to understand my sense of urgency.

The Queen of Glean

Oh dear, she's done it again. "What's that?" you say? IMPRESS THE HELL OUT OF ME.

I wrote about Jacquie the FIRST TIME way back in December of 2005, not long after I started writing this blog. She's been impressing the hell out of me for a long time.

In 2007 I met jacquie's husband Charlie for the first time when he came to my house with a mutual acquaintance to check out my human electric hybrid bicycle, SuperVato. To say I was honored to have Charlie in my garage would be a gross and unjust understatement. The fact that he rode my bike and declared it a "true cyclists electric bike" made all the waiting and sweating over the details worth the trouble. To quote my former sister in law Charity, I did the "yippy skippy" inside my head when he said that.

Fast forward to December 2007 when I discovered Jacquie's Weblog and started commenting. We started corresponding shortly thereafter. We still haven't met for "tea", though I intend to change that this month if possible. Shortly after our email conversation started, Jacquie told me she was under the gun trying to finish an article for the Pacific Sun. She tried to send me a draft to preview it, but due to some technical (formatting) issues, I wasn't able to read it. I went out of town shortly thereafter (watch the blog for a entry about my trip to London and Stockholm coming up) and this evening I was catching up on the blogs I usually read. Kent Peterson's Blog is usually where I start and one of the recent entries is about Jacquie and her article in the Pacific Sun. It caused me to once again reassess my lifestyle and the daily choices I make. Her article makes a fine companion piece to the Story of Stuff, but that's hardly a surprise: Jacquie's always been ahead of her time. Her lifestyle predates the Story of Stuff by years and years and like I said in 2005, she's a continuing source of inspiration. Thanks to Kent & Jacquie!

Prototype Centerstand? Suhweet!

IMG_1958.jpg
Originally uploaded by xtracycleinc.

Ho ho ho... do I detect a prototype Surly / Xtracycle centerstand here in Red? That's something to celebrate if it's true!

Electromechanical Batteries: Electric Bicycle Dreamin'

Ok.. so this entry is slightly random, but I'm just freaking out, because it's something that's new to me, but not to the scientific community. Where the hell have I been?

Electroechanical Batteries have been in development at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories for over 20 years. According to THIS paper, they hold amazing potential for energy storage. The thing I think they're missing is the potential for vehicles that are much lighter than a car. Anyone who reads this blog knows what's coming next: electric bicycle power. If you could build a electromechanical battery using something like this Halbach array (or maybe something a little smaller) and keep the weight of the other components to a minimum, you could smash the weight/power problem that I have on my human electric hybrid SuperVato. Consider this: my current battery weighs about 26 lbs including the enclosure. The Gaussboys Halbach array weighs 32 oz. Two of em spinning in opposite directions would cancel the gyroscopic effect of the bike, and assuming they were mounted on limited excursion gimbals they could resist the braking and acceleration forces created by the bicycle. I'm guessing you could build a high capacity system for less than 10 pounds. I'm planning on going back to school in the fall for engineering, and now I think I know why: I want to build a Human/Electromechanical Battery Powered Bicycle. Maybe I've just figured out my dissertation thesis… wouldn't that be convenient?

Critics mock the electric bicycle because the products are often poorly made and poorly thought out. Electrical storage has been the Achilles heel of the electrical bicycle, but the Electromechanical Battery would have huge advantages over even the newest Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries because of the longevity and capacity. The weight differential between Electromechanical & Lithium Ion/Polymer appears to be fairly close. Electromechanical batteries would obviously cost more in the prototype phase, but because they appear to be pretty simple, I think the costs could come down significantly if production could be increased. I'd like to see a product like this made as "greenly" and equitably as possible, i.e living wages for the production crew, non toxic assembly techniques performed in energy efficient production facilities.

I can't be the first person to think of this…can I??? The designers and engineers want to make money from this by putting it in hybrid cars and in municipal systems. Most of the money for the project at Lawrence Livermore has come from corporate sponsors, so that's no surprise. That's nice for the car manufacturers, but cars still don't make a lot of sense a lot of the time, even if they DID use less fossil fuel. I'm all for putting this in municipal systems. It can't be any more dangerous than Nuclear power right?

CURRENT MUSIC: Revolting Cocks, Cocked and Loaded

-----UPDATE 7/6/08-----
I'm an idiot. Officially. Up until today I had the words "electromechanical" and "electromagnetic" used interchangeably in this article. Not ok, since they are completely different ideas! My apologies: publishing blog entries after you've been up late writing them isn't always a good idea. ESPECIALLY when you have proofread them at least twice. *Forehead Slap*