They're tracking me

Just because I'm reading 1984 doesn't mean I've gotten paranoid.  And furthermore, just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you.

But seriously, I am being tracked via the Zap Twin Cities program.  I willingly submitted to this surveillance, mostly because I'm a sucker for bike related programs, regardless of how privacy invasive they are.  I showed up at the IDS Center and they slapped this thingy on my spokes that will register me at certain checkpoints in Minneapolis/St. Paul:

Plus, they promise rewards will be given, and it's nice that somebody else will be counting my commutes for me.  Didn't Benjamin Franklin say something like "he who sacrifices bike privacy for prizes deserves both."  I think that's pretty much the quote, right?

Reconciliation

It's time for a new chain on the Long Haul Trucker, and because I remember encountering some challenges with a previous chain replacement, I consulted my friends at Surly Bikes to make sure I had my facts right.  Here's what my friends in Bloomington said I needed:

I visited my local bike shop and grabbed the SRAM PC-971 (which I prefer to Shimano chains because the removable master link because it's easier to clean).  No problem, right?

After I got home with the goods, I did a double check to make sure I had grabbed the right one, here's what I found:

Don't get me wrong, as a lusophile (and someone with an interest in the health of the global economic system of which we are a part), I'm ecstatic that products are still being manufactured somewhere in southern Europe, but I'm not so thrilled about the link count.

They may as well have made the chain out of braided unicorn hair because I can't buy that anywhere in the right quantity either.

Work-Bike Balance

After seven years of chasing the "work-life" balance dragon in public accounting, I'm happy to report that I'm embarking on a new, attainable challenge at Target, my new employer: work-bike balance.

As you might recall, over a year ago I discussed the difficulties in biking more miles in a given week than hours worked for the same work.  I'm happy to report that things are looking good, even after two weeks on the job.

Hours worked: 45
Miles biked: 78.8

Of that total, about 50 of them were from commuting, and my new gig has a bike locker room and showers. And since I also found out that I can keep current on my CPEs, too, I will be able to keep my active CPA license, and thus, this blog.