2012-09-24, Beach Cruiser Revival

They were obviously trying to get the attention of male Baby Boomers, and they succeeded. Waiting for my oil change at Wal-Mart, my eyes were assaulted by several brightly-painted, 32" (yes, thirty-two inch!) "beach cruiser" style bikes.

They are single-speed, coaster brake, balloon tire, tough-as-a-boot bikes, big enough that I can barely swing my leg over, and I'm 6' 3" / 191 cm. It's a throwback to the 1930s-'50s and my first uncomplicated, pre-English racer, definitely pre-mountain bike two-wheeling experience.

It sits really well. Wonder how it rides?

http://bit.ly/Q166Ja

32in wheel bike? Cruiser sighted at Wal Mart.

bit.ly

Wandering thru Wal Mart on Saturday, saw this monster. 32 in wheels, crazy.

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  Chuck Oates The ten-speed I used in college has 27" wheels, BTW. The common adult-sized bike has 26" wheels.

  56 minutes ago · Like
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  Chuck Oates 
  Some wide-eyed young folks are evidently just as enamored with the fixies as I was when I was a kid, perhaps a good bit younger than those currently infatuated.  It was *transportation* for me!  
  
  Evidently, modern biking aficionados, who were not even a gleam in their (grand-)daddies' eyes when fixed gear ratio bikes ("fixies") were last in vogue are appalled. "They're painted like Ronald McDonald bikes." 
  
  See this video from the German High Command's bunker:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW9kRgQO-XE
  

  

  
  

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  Hilarious!
  

  
  

  Hitler rants about fixie hipsters
  

  

  
  

  www.youtube.com
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Hitler is informed that fixies have entered Berlin! The movie 'Downfall' is the
  

  property of Constantin Films, and I recommend purchasing and watching the DVD...

  about a minute ago · Edited · Like · Remove Preview
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  Chuck Oates For the less-than-sexagenarians in the group, here's some background:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiser_bicycle
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Cruiser bicycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

  

  
  

  en.wikipedia.org
  

  Acruiser bicycle, also known as abeach cruiser, is abicyclewhich combinesballoon
  

   tires, an upright seating posture, asingle-speed drivetrain, and straightforwardsteel constructionwith expressive styling.

2012-07-27, Exploration of the Texas Panhandle, 1850s, Capt. R.B. Marcy

Chuck Oates shared Traces of Texas's status.

2012-07-27

PublicFriendsOnly MeCustomClose FriendsFamilySee all lists...Amarillo AmigosOCCC Students, FacultyOrganonTekinka/bioMérieuxBeck BunchFogerty FolksNorman NeighborsTOTCO TroopersSue's CousinsRice-iesMonitronics Inc.BioMérieuxAmarillo High SchoolOrganon TeknikaNorman AreaUniversity of OklahomaRice UniversityOklahoma City Community CollegeAcquaintancesGo Back

Umm, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you're a newcomer to the Texas Panhandle look at the sky, not at the ground. The grandeur of the magnificent thunderstorms and the beauty of the sky's-on-fire sunrises and sunsets can be grasped immediately. The beauty of the vast, trackless ocean of short grass takes longer to appreciate, but is equally gorgeous.

(You can take the boy out of the Panhandle, but you can't take the Panhandle out of the boy. Sign me "Alive and Well in Oklahoma, Captured by Chickasaws")

The Texas quote of the day, July 26th: "When we were upon the high table-land, a view presented itself as boundless as the ocean. Not a tree, shrub, or any other object, either animate or inanimate, relieved the dreary monotony of the prospect .... it is a region almost as vast and trackless as the sea ---- a land where no man, either savage or civilized, permanently abides; it spreads forth into a treeless, desolate waste of uninhabited solitude, which always has been, and must continue, uninhabited forever." ------ Captain Randolph Marcy, recording his first impressions of the Texas Panhandle in his diary, 1847

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  Dottie Leathers Newkirk, Patsy Duncan and 3 others like this.
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    Chuck Oates A comment writer on the Traces of Texas fb page offered this link to a much more extensive 1850s description of the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma, written by an Army captain who wields a very descriptive pen. http://bit.ly/LTB57N
    

    

    
    

    
    

    Notes taken during the expedition commanded by Capt. R. B. Marcy, U. S. A., through unexplored Texas
    

    

    books.google.com

    7 hours ago · Edited ·  · 1 · 
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    Patsy Duncan I have the map of the route he took
    

    2 hours ago ·  · 1
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    Chuck Oates Wow, Capt. Marcy was all over the place in the European-American exploration of western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, wasn't he? Finding the headwaters of the Red River in the Palo Duro Canyon in the 1850s was no mean feat for a gringo (or whatever the Comanche word for "gringo" is). Here are a couple of links:
    
    Red River Exploration
    http://www.redriverhistorian.com/huntforredriver.html
    

    

    [corrected link]
    
    Petrified Wood Structures along the Red River in North Texas
    http://www.redriverhistorian.com/onmarcystrail.html

    

    
    

    
    

    Hunt for the Red River
    

    

    www.redriverhistorian.com
    

    

2012-07-12, Sam Noble Museum, ChinaSaurs

2012-07-13, For the U.S., a Preview of Coming Climate Attractions

Don't worry, be happy ...

http://huff.to/P4xSH0

Warmest 12 Months On Record For U.S. Mainland

huff.to

Yes, it really is getting hot out there. A new report finds that the past 12 months have been the warmest on record for the mainland United States.

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    Chuck Oates The whole story from that bunch of gullible dummies, the U.S. National Academy of Science: http://bit.ly/P4y0X7
    

    

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    Advancing the Science of Climate Change
    

    

    www.nap.edu
    

    

    
    

    Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for--and in many cases is already affecting--a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congres...