Thoughts on Economy, Crime and Mortgage Crisis

Posted on October 30, 2008 by patclem
I'm sitting here surfing, my usual thing before work, listening to the news.  One major news story was a possible $500 billion or million or something injection of money into the mortgage market.  The very next story was about a convenience store armed robbery.  It seems like every day I hear about a robbery.  It's a hunch, and it's probably an obvious characteristic of crime in tough economic times, but it seems like the numbers of robberies are on the rise in sync with the Keep reading [...]
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DIY Bright Bike Light

Posted on October 24, 2008 by patclem
OK, so I started receiving my parts today for my homemade bike light.  I'm following http://www.bikeled.org/, an excellent resource, and Allen is a great guy, answering stupid questions about whether to hook up the LED's in serial or parallel (serial by the way!)  Today, I received my lenses from Led-Spot.  I just ordered them yesterday from California, and they arrived DHL tonight.  Shipping was $6.  Unbelievable!  The lenses are much smaller than I imagined.  Keep reading [...]
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Walk Bike Nashville 10th Anniversary

Posted on October 24, 2008 by patclem
I rode my bike down to the Walk Bike Nashville  10th Anniversary birthday party and annual member meeting at the Farmers Market tonight.  The weather was quite mild and I was overdressed with leg warmers, long sleeve shirt and wind vest.  When I arrived, I'm so disappointed at the number of people that drive to a Walk Bike advocacy meeting.  I'd park my car around the corner and ride a block over just so I didn't have to show up in a car.  Last year, the meeting was downtown.  Keep reading [...]
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Nashville 2008 Bicycling Accidents

Posted on October 19, 2008 by patclem
I'm going to try to list Nashville-area bicycling accidents that I know of in 2008.  If you know of more, let me know and I'll put them here.August 2008:  Jeff B  - while morning commuting on Thompson Lane east-bound in the bike lane, on a downhill section, an elderly couple passed him, heading for Shoney's turned right in front of him and ran him into the curb and off the road.  Jeff was scraped up, bleeding from the road rash on his elbow.  Not sure whether it was that Keep reading [...]
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DIY Bicycle Light Resources

Posted on October 16, 2008 by patclem
I've always been toying with the idea of a homemade bicycle light.  I haven't done it yet, but here are some resources to make it happen.Some guy's site that explains what Cree is, how to pick lenses and a few sources:http://www.bikeled.org/A forum site that has tons of information for homemade bike light building addicts.  They use a lot of lingo, and assume everyone knows what a Q5 LED is, or what a Buckpuck is.http://www.candlepower.org/A good source for LED's and other parts.http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.917http://www.dealextreme.com/Microprocessor Keep reading [...]
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Presidential Debates Bike Ride

Posted on October 8, 2008 by patclem
I just got back from a bike ride - yes, almost 10pm.  I met a couple of friends down in Hillsboro Village where we had a few beers.  From there, we headed over to Belmont where the presidential debates were occurring, hopefully to catch a glimpse of the candidates as their motorcades arrived.   What a circus!  At Belmont, we witnessed the most sincere form of patriotism - dissent.  So many protesters were down there protesting so many issues, it was hard to keep up with Keep reading [...]
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2008 Natchez Trace Parkway Bike Tour South to North

Posted on September 28, 2008 by patclem
Back in the spring of 2008, I decided my week-long adventure vacation would be to bicycle the Natchez Trace Parkway from south to north self supported.  I was prepared to ride solo or with someone with conditions.  Here was my request for company to the Harpeth Bike Club General list:I'm sitting here thumbing my way through Glen Wanner's book Bicycling the Natchez Trace.  Why you ask?  It's on my "cycling list of things to do" - ride back to Nashville from Natchez MS.  Keep reading [...]
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Exped Pillow Pump

Posted on September 11, 2008 by patclem
I just got my Exped Pillow Pump that I ordered from Campmor. Of course I had to open it and see what's up with the thing. First impression, it's very light. It has a thick foam in it, which is not unexpected. The part that attaches to the air mattress has an adapter that reduces the size of the opening. I might glue it in, then the plug wouldn't fit and I couldn't use it as a pillow as well. Here's the weird part. It has a big "dump valve" on it so it will fill up quickly, but Keep reading [...]
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Jim Benson Memorial Ride

Posted on September 9, 2008 by patclem
Tonight, I drove to Murfreesboro after work to join the Murfreesboro Bike Club for the Jim Benson Memorial Ride.  Jim was killed while he was wearing his helmet, riding legally on what appears to be a fairly safe place to ride.  I think the driver must have cut the corner off while making a left turn.  She must have been hauling ass because she was taken to the hospital with injuries from htting him.At the start, Jim's widow Sandy Benson showed up.  They gave her a bullhorn and Keep reading [...]
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Rock Island to Cedars of Lebanon to Nashville

Posted on September 6, 2008 by patclem
Steve A. and I are bicycle touring, self supported from Rock Island State Park on Saturday to Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  The idea is to shake out our gear/system before we ride the Natchez Trace.  One-way drop-off's are a pretty good way to tour.   Camp at Rock Island State Park on Friday night.  Ride < 60 miles from Rock Island State Park to Cedars of Lebanon.  Route isn't perfect, and probably won't be when we're done.  We'll at least figure out how screwed Keep reading [...]
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