Bethany's bike / Ohbadiah

I wanted to post about this a while ago, since I finished it in early November, but that would have ruined the surprise for Bethany. I built this for her out of Ebay parts and things I had laying around. The best component find was the Miyata 710 frame (in her size, 48cm! wow) for $50 on Ebay. It came as a complete bike, but needed a new fork because of shipping damage, and most of the other parts were not worth keeping.

The drivetrain is 1/8", because that's just what I had on hand, 42Tx16T gearing, flip-flop rear hub. Not a racing miracle, but sturdy and lighter than my old aluminum road bike.

...

Nick wrote a thoughtful response to my post about placelessness among global elites. Talking about these kinds of topics, he presents himself in a much more human way than I do. He also has a picture of me picking apples and wearing goofy-looking cutoff pants. He asked me to post more regularly, though I don't think this entry is as content-ful as what he had in mind.

But here's a thought on that thought:

My problem with blogging is that I'm a slow percolator, and think about one issue for months before I have a coherent idea of something to say on it. My presented hypotheses often start with vague anxiety, unease, or a complaint, which I then feel compelled to internally deconstruct. By a quirk of personality, I subject all of my emotions to analysis that is almost scientific in its rigor (because I feel, ironically enough, that emotion must be validated, or even purified, by reason). This analysis must necessarily cast a very wide net. The ideas and arguments that end up being coherent enough to write something about are usually byproducts of the process, which are then slowly refined in conversation before I ever attempt to articulate them in a formal, organized way.

In other words, it's possible that I only have external insights because I find my own internal life unacceptable.