You may end up with 2 different types of flash memory, one for each brand.
If you stick with Sony’s, you may eventually end up with 50 different types of their flash memory - Memory Sticks. Here is yet another type of MS coming along.
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Archive for December, 2004
When I saw Alec’s helmet slipped too much forward covering his eyebrows and exposing too much behind, I asked him to move his helmet up a bit, here’s what he did immediately…
He immediately stood-up on his bike and laughed.
Alec takes 750ml of water on every 2 hour ride.
Tour de TaiPo.
A couple of days ago while Alec was biking in the parking lot, he crashed again; unhurt.
At first glance, it appeared to be the plastic Chain Guard was cracked which in itself isn’t a big deal. Last night, just before we went out for dinner, a closer inspection revealed that the Chain Ring was bent. Not enough to let the chain come off, but still too much to be fixed. Since no one saw the crash, this odd damage without getting hurt remains a mystery. Maybe Alec is afterall the Boy Wonder.
Of the 4 well used bikes I have ever owned in the last 30 some years, other than normal wear, none of my bikes needed any fixing or replacement parts. Since we lived with our cousins when we were kids, as far as I know, none of their bikes needed any repair works either. When we took the bike to the shop, the owner was so surprised to see the damage he said he has never seen anyone had so many damages within the first month after the purchase.
An aftermarket replacement Chain Ring with Guard with the same T number but longer crank set came to HKD$350 discounted with free labor.
This one is coming out of Alec’s own pocket.
For I don’t pick them anymore. Other than that, four-one is no different from four-o.
I have decided my look should reflect my age more closely. That’s why I have stop picking them for over a year now. I don’t feel like dyeing them. As once one started dyeing hair, there is no going back. One has to keep on dyeing otherwise the base of the hair would look like a mess.
By walking and biking more, hopefully I could keep the machinery going as it is.
Some chaps were speaking very loudly downstairs just moments ago. I looked out my 13th floor window and it appeared to be two guys picking a fight on each other over something on the street.
A couple of other chaps were pulling them away from each other. They stepped forword toward each other and then stopped and let pulled away by the other chaps. Back and forth, back the forth; never did fight. People like these seldom do.
The Cantonese for fighting is “打交” (Da Gaau - hit cross); but since they never do yet keep mouthing off each other, does that make their act “口交” (Hau Gaau - mouth cross - oral job)?
That might explain why people love doing that instead so often.
The Mushroom from the Mario Brothers.
The lamp post on the left across the bike path is exactly where Alec crashed into the Sunday before.
The ride itself was quite uneventful. However, I forgot my phone, so we had no means of keeping track of time either. Thus, we had to cut the ride short just in case we ran overtime and missed lunch.
Alec was riding very slowly behind me all morning. When I asked him afterwords why he was going so slow, he said he didn’t want to crash or fall anymore. He was very glad and happy that he didn’t fall at all for this 16Km ride. I think he has learned his lesson.
We met a gentleman in his late 60’s on his bike who we’ve chatted with for a while about bikes; and then he went on TCH bashing. Helloooo…, we went biking to get away from things, not to get into them. So I just “yeap…yeap…” all along just so we could get on with our biking sooner.
At the end of the ride we saw the owner of the bike shop we bought our bikes from. Since he was with a pack of riders, we just said hi and told each other where we went and parted our ways.
That’s the Cantonese saying describing one who does something that one is not supposed to just for the hell of it. Just moments before any self-inflicting unforced accidents, we have itchy bums. Like in car accidents, moments before them we suddenly have urges to do something stupid; we speed up or we cut over the car next to us etc. Watching Alec grow-up makes me realize this.
After Alec and I got new bikes, in the passed two Sunday mornings, we went to a fairly long bike path and did some long distance biking. Twice last Sunday and three times yesterday, Alec suddenly rode really fast and then put his legs up in the air and let the bike coasted. All of which I have told him not to do so. The 5th time, he had his legs up backward and his body like a flying Superman! As my heart almost beat off my chest and eyes almost popped out of their sockets, I yelled “put your feet down, put your feet down. PUT YOUR FEET DOWN!”, I watched him ran over a curb and crashed front wheel first against a lamp post with his body wrapped around the lamp post.
Almost shit my pants, I got off my bike and ran toward him, luckily found him unhurt without even a bruise or scratch. I made sure he was OK before I got mad and asked him why he would not listen even after 4 times I’ve told him not to do so. I now have a slight glimpse of what my parents must have felt during my bike accidents.
As it turned out, the front rim of his bike was warped a little which should be able to be trued out, but one side of rear fork which holds the hub screw was indented a little making the wheel can’t rotate freely. I am not sure if the rear fork could be straightened out.
I keep my processions in very good condition if not pristine. I still have a 24 year old jacket that I still wear. Because of this, I still have a whole lot of very old stuff in the house as well as brain full of memories of everyone I ever knew. But because of Alec’s itchy bum, a 1-1/2 week brend new bike, which could have lasted a life time, is now broken. Even if it could be fixed it is just not the same anymore. Apart from Alec’s well being, this is the kind of things that tears my heart.
So, in case of itchy bums, just get off whatever you’re doing at the moment and kick yourself in the butt before disasters strike. You’d feel better afterwords.
We were lucky to have just ended up with helmetheads.
Update (08:30pm) : Took Alec’s bike to the shop this evening. As it turned out, the rear fork was OK, not bent. They just made some adjustments to the front wheel and front and rear brakes, and way we went. No charge. Great service.
I have figured out what the rattling was. With the hight adjustable handlebar stem, there are two locking mechanisms. One is the obvious quick release lock. The other is the conventional Allen key lock. In order for the quick release to work what a QR is supposed to be - quick, the bike tech had left the Allen key lock loose. This let loose the part inside the stem tube which kept hitting the tube and created the rattling sound. Once I had it tightened to a point where the part inside isn’t loose yet allows the QR lock to work effectively, the rattling sound was gone.
I have also replaced one of the two medium softness rubber tubing in the Thudbuster suspension with a firmer one that came with the set. This is supposed to be a step firmer for a heavier load which is one step higher than the specified load for my weight. I have also tightened the screw adjustment one thread further for a slightly higher tolerance before the start of the compensating movement of the suspension. This is very close to my sense of optimum setting where the movement of the Thudbuster is just subtle enough that it doesn’t keep reminding me I am on a suspended seatpost yet providing me with the same comfortable ride.
The bike still feels a little lighter than I am used to with the tail bounces around a bit. Perhaps the rear tire has too much pressure which I have not adjusted and would rather like to get used to instead lowering the pressure and get a soggy feel.
During last night, I was able to ride in a mid high (2nd-7th out of 21 gear) on a small uphill where I was able to go even faster than those pathetic cargo van learners there, and which two rides ago I had to lower to the 2nd-3rd (4 gears down) gear in order a get to the top. My legs and butt feel just fine now without any pain or fatigue, although my back is a little stiff this morning.
The slightly padded full hand glove that I bought two nights ago works really well. It kept my hands warm in the wind and provided just enough padding to ease on the pressure to the palm.
The new helmet is also perfect for the fit and comfort as well as ventilation.
Hopefully, in one or two more weeks of training, I would be able to go for long distance rides.
If I could just find someone to ride with until Alec is experienced and big enough to ride in traffic…
In a discussion about bike wear in an online forum I wrote the following real live story which I thought I should post it here as well….
When I was a boy, during a time when Hong Kong was still building its Mass Transit Railway (underground subway), I lived nearby a station to be where the roads were dug up and replaced with steel slabs for the construction work. I rode my bike through one day at maxed out speed and I must have hit some small piece of rock or something which threw me off nose first. Just as I was watching the steel slab ground getting closer to my face, I managed to turn myself around with the bike on top of me. My back hit the ground and my bike and I must have slid at least 50 ft before coming to a stop. As I didn’t feel much differently, I thought I was unhurt with just some bruises and a sweat in the back.
I picked up my bike and started walking home.
It wasn’t until some female pedestrian walked passed me and screamed really loud that I realized the entire back of my white shirt was covered with blood and still running (the sweat I thought). After I got home and saw my mom and dad who were watching TV at the time, as I told them I was badly hurt they had no idea what I was talking about until I turn myself around and my mom screamed….
A trip to the doctor’s office reviewed that luckily, it was only flesh wounds on my back and arms.
That was the bigger of the two accidents that I had.
The smaller one happened earlier in my life and I cut my eyelid. The sight of the view with blood flooded my eye was definitely a sight for sore eye in that sense to say the least. That’s the time I think a helmet would have prevented the cut.
A helmet to me is still a sense of fashion and I didn’t like the look of the one I have in the last few years, so maybe that’s why I’ve never worn it. I just bought a new helmet yesterday that I like much better, and hopefully I would start wearing it.
I stick with traffic rules just as I drive my car and perhaps even more carefully so when I ride. I hate those who ride through red lights with some even go through the opposite way of the traffic.
It’s here, and downloading…
WhaUSay?!