Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Types of bikes

There are so many types of bikes.  I've ridden plenty of different kinds of bikes...but I've never ridden a true track bike or a folding bike.

I have ridden:
a fixed gear, a no-, front-, and dual-suspension mountain bike, 26er; 29er, disc brakes, a road bike, full carbon bike, a time trial bike (only for a short ride), a polo bike (as a converted single speed), a penny farthing, a tall bike, a recumbent, a trike, a tandem, a BMX, a cruiser, a mini bike, and probably some more.

I guess I should work on trying out those that I haven't ridden.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Petition Netflix to Stream on Linux

Found this petition which asks Netflix to provide streaming for Linux systems.  The text is a bit outdated, but the concept is not.  I would love to be able to watch Netflix from my Ubuntu desktop.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Pennies

I've been hesitant to support getting rid of pennies.  After watching this, I say "let's stop making pennies."  We could phase them out from use.  If the copper is worth more than the penny, let's even melt them down...

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Frugal February

I decided that I'm going to try to get through the month of February spending as little money as possible.  Of course I'm still going to have to pay utilities and my mortgage, etc.  I will have to eat, but will not eat out and can only buy junky food at the store if it's buy one, get one free.  I need to establish some more rules:

1. no impulse spending.  at all.
2. can't buy gasoline, but I can start the month with a full tank if I want.
3. if I need to buy something like toilet paper, I can buy in bulk if the unit price is cheaper  (I'm out to save money, not waste it).
4. no purchase of alcohol.  I can drink what I have left at home.  From this point on, I can't buy a new bottle until the end of February.  I can buy more beer to keep at home as long as it's before Jan 20th.  I won't stock up on it though, because that seems like cheating.
5. only buy necessary things for my bikes.  I have spare tubes if I get a flat so I shouldn't need that.  If I get a blowout or something then it's ok to buy a new tire since it's needed.
6. I can use groupons if they expire before March 15th.  This would get around the no eating out rule, but I couldn't spend more than the groupon amount.  I can't change my groupon buying behavior in order to have more of them in February than I otherwise would.
7. If I come across a really good deal (better than 50% off), then I can deliberate on a purchase.  If it's something I would have had to buy anyway, then it makes sense to get it cheap.  If it won't be as cheap in March, then I can pick it up.


Last of all, I will keep track of everything I buy that is not a regular, recurring bill and see how much I spend at the end of the month.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

USAT's Favorite Tweets of 2011

I made the list of USAT's favorite tweets of 2011.  I'm in good company with Lance Armstrong, USC Triathlon, Greg Bennett, and Jarrod Shoemaker.