Damn Good Bikes

My friend Micah is opening up a new bike shop in town called Damn Good Bikes. The grand opening will be Saturday, June 19. Crazy discounts. New KHS bikes and all kinds of used ones.

I've been helping Micah transition from the Green Bicycle Project to DGB. The new shop is way bigger, air conditioned, visible from the street (located at 652 B Capital Circle NE Tallahassee, Florida 32301...right across from the Women's Prison and next to the Sprint Store on the West side of the street).

Pick #193

Aiden - "Die Romantic" from Nightmare Anatomy

The Sound of Keys

When I was younger I could tell that my mom was nearby if I heard the sound of her keys jingling. No other key chain made that noise. I don't know exactly what the difference is in different key chains. I guess different keys make different noises and it's really unlikely for two people to have the same combination of keys and key chain(s). It's just amazing to me that you can tell the difference in the noise one set of keys makes over another.

Papyrus

I was helping Erin prep for a class she was teaching at art camp about ancient Egypt. The students were going to make papyrus. However, since they're kids they couldn't do the entire process. Enter prep. Here's how the process works:

You cut a stalk of papyrus grass out of the ground and remove the top because the leaves and seeds get in your way. Next you strip off the outer green layer (kind of like the grass equivalent of bark). Then you expose the grass equivalent of wood on the inside. You cut this woody stuff into strips that are as thin as your knife allows. Next the thin sheets are laid side by side in 2 layers; one of the layers is horizontal and the other is vertical. The modern way of making the paper involves putting the 2 layers between newspaper and laying a heavy book on top. I'm sure the ancients were able to find heavy things to lay on top, but I don't know what they used instead of newspaper...I'm guessing cotton.

Anyway, at the end of this process I was thinking...HOW did someone come up with this idea? Was there prize money for the first person to invent paper? I mean, it's far from obvious that this grass can be written on. I wonder if the paper making technology built on some other form of technology. Maybe the grass was used in another application and one day someone chopped a piece with a knife then the piece dried and there was a eureka moment. I doubt the discovery process is documented. It's kind of fun to come up with your own scenarios when you don't know. I have one more idea:

Maybe Egyptians tried to eat the grass. They peeled it and it didn't cook up right as the entire stalk. Someone had the idea that they could cut it into thin strips to make it cook better. Some of it didn't get cooked, was laying on a plate and someone stacked all the dirty dishes on top of it. The dishwasher discovered the paper the next day.

Pick #192

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" from Veckatimest

Fjord Flower

Look closely and see the water and the snow capped mountains in the background.

Pick #191

A Change of Pace - "Prepare the Masses" it's the title track.