@clive I bought my first ebike back in 2020 off craigslist from a woman who received it as a retirement gift. Ironically she had worked in the oil industry in Alberta and moved here to Vancouver Island. It was a fat tire ebike with a throttle and pedal assist (iGo Fat Freddy). The ebike only had 13kms on it (a common thing it seems, elderly folks selling ebikes with really low usage!). She said it just wasn’t her thing. I rode it for a few years, basically using it for getting groceries and errands instead of driving our little Honda Fit. I think ebikes are certainly way better than electric cars, which seem to use too many resources to build. I found the fat tire ebike too heavy, large and way too much tire on pavement friction. It was like riding a tank. However, I don’t regret buying it, as it got me (and our family) into ebiking. I sold that beast last year and found a Cube Ella for sale from a retired woman in Victoria. It only had 7kms on it and she had bought it for $4500. I bought it for $3k and love it. Pedal assist only, which is great. I see the benefits of a throttle, but I don’t need that on an ebike. And the tires on my Ella are only 1.5” x 28” compared to 4.5” x 20” on the fat tire bike. We live rurally so getting groceries is a 10km round trip. Lots of highway and rural backroad cruising. Very hilly too, so an ebike is great. Our daughter tried my old fat tire ebike and got the ebike bug. So she found a retired woman who had hip surgery and was selling her almost new Velec A2 for half what she paid for it with only 120kms on the bike. Our daughter rides it all the time, getting groceries, visiting friends, library runs etc. Then my partner bought her first ebike a few weeks ago. It’s a Cube Sport Supreme Hybrid One 400. The bike shop was clearing out all last year’s models, so they knocked $1000 off the price and she got it new for $3k. So now our family rides all the time, as much as we can. Rural riding is pretty good compared with city riding, so ebikes seem a great fit for our usage. I can see how city riding would be pretty stressful. I’ve ridden motorbikes and bicycles all my life, and driven vehicles commercially, so defensive riding is a must for me. I wear extreme bright hi-visibility clothing all the time, along with a good helmet. Staying safe out there. And I wrote a song about my Cube Ella a few months ago… https://youtu.be/71Hj37uQ8JM?si=3nghxFozbbw-InJR
@clive The BC government had an ebike subsidy program last year. Apparently they got completely swamped. I’m somewhere on their massive wait list. No announcement of a new program this year. https://bcebikerebates.ca/
@clive Definitely getting closer to replacing the car with an ebike. It’s really cutting down on our use of fossil fuels in a big way, even living in a rural country setting.
So thankfully the strange 3-way pickup selector switch anomaly on the Danelectro 59M is covered under warranty. Taking it in this week to be shipped to the service department in Vancouver for a new switch. #guitars#gearsquad#repair
Some of you know I’m a big fan of LA food. I think that dollar for dollar you get a tremendous amount of cuisines, varieties of foods, in this melting pot which feels to me like it has far more immigrant and working class food than the Bay Area. Even the density and quality of ‘fancy food’ is high!
Okay, a little mystery also for today. After the Toxic Club, my
brother and I got a strawberry limeade at a little drive inn, and drove around this Conservation Area, but then we start seeing this fence with these signs, it's like 8 foot tall with lots of the fence totally blacked out, and these signs placed on them that say:
Saline Valley Ranch, No Hunting, No Trespassing
This fence went for miles, and miles had to be incredibly pricey to put in, it reminded me of the fence they'd have at a minimum security prison, but we didn't see cows, horses, crops, nothing but woods and hills and miles and miles of giant fence.
We try to find information about what it is, but there's basically nothing. My husband looks it up on Google Earth, and finds Little Saline Ranch, and I look it up, and it says permanently closed, and even less information is available about that. Google Earth shows lots of wooded land, a lake, and a few open fields, but we couldn't see any buildings or animals, nothing like that.
So, looking up that I find this article about mysterious happenings in the area:
It mentions several people seeing a Bigfoot type cryptid in the area, so obviously the fence is to keep it in. My other guesses involve a government blacksite, as it isn't too far from and airforce base, or a doomsday cult, what do you all think?
Okay just a little experiment I'm gonna link a couple songs, can you listen to a bit of it, and give me a couple adjectives about how it makes you feel?
How do you feel about physical touch? I mean this is the broad sense, not necessarily in a sexual way, but you can answer however you wish.
Personally, I enjoy it a lot, and find it comforting, but only from really specific people. If strangers or people I don't know well want to hug me, it's okay, but I won't seek it out. I think handshakes are weird. Hey, you want to hold hands with a stranger for a short amount of time for some reason?
@RickiTarr I feel the same way. Hugs and touching only feel okay with certain people in context specific ways. And handshakes are weird! I just watched a Kim Richey video a few minutes ago where at the song ending Conan goes in for the handshake. Kim gives him a hug and Conan’s response is kind of a shame cuz he growls in a subtle sexual overtone kind of way. I think she just wanted a basic hug! Looked kind of awkward. It’s great to be aware of meaning and context. Great topic to discuss and think about! https://youtu.be/ur_BtUfZyWE?si=kq7VwQD7kI17CU_C
@RickiTarr OMG, Christian side hug! That’s hilarious. Never heard that one before. It really is a thing! Now I can identify all the people that have given me those kind of hugs. They kinda feel like half-hugs.
Today I traded my 2013 black Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster Custom for a 2013 black Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster with factory installed licenced Bigsby. Kind of a rare animal. Has a Fender Fideli'Tron humbucker neck pickup and standard Tele single coil in the bridge. Pretty good tuning stability with the Bigsby so far. Neck pickup has a Gretsch Filtertron vibe. Pics are my old Tele Custom and the new Cabronita. #guitars#gear#music#musician