PDX say’s it belongs to ODOT… ODOT say’s it belongs to PDX… I don’t care who owns it, it needs to be fixed *BEFORE* someone really gets stuck there. (SE 92nd Ave @ Powell)
Is this thing very old ? It seems to be rectangular but not square so it can’t be just turned 90 degrees to become somewhat safer… Doesn’t your municipality get its ass sued off every now and then ? Our pot holes may be more properly called man holes but such a grate would qualify as a criminal attempt here.
K’tesh, want the grate fixed? Call a portable welder with sympathy for the cause, Then call AP (Associated Press) and tell them NO-One will take responsibility so the cyclists in the area are taking action. AP will send someone out to shoot the the guy fixing the grate and it will go national….
I bet this will get fixed fast….
Amazing.
You’ve included a link to the photos in our complaint?
Inspired by your lead, after 2 weeks with no action on a local problem (here in Victoria, BC) I took some photos and sent a second email with a link to my flickr account. 2 days later I got a phone call saying the problem would be addressed that day, and it was! http://www.flickr.com/photos/26941526@N00/sets/72157626329587492/
This also shows Yehuda’s lack of ‘modern technology’ savvy.
Joe and Thistle should get him some mechanical stuff to work on to keep him busy
Measuring chains for ‘Quality Control’ for example?
We always used to check the specs of any new item delivered as a ‘goods inward’ inspection. ISO900 repeatabilty standards insist on everything made to the same spec being equal to the micron. Checking this insured you against arriving on site with something that didn’t fit. Assuming it was made to spec was dangerous. (‘Assume’ makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘you’ and ‘me’ was the mantra!) Theoretically, you could pass the onus on to the supplier to deliver ‘to spec’ standards and in most cases it is fine. In certain cases you cannot rely on that and if you have to drive all day to get to a customer, then find the part doesn’t fit, you have egg on your face!
I used to service them – far more complex than the electronic ones – more stuff to go wrong! Lots of tiny levers and pressure-sensitive springs that weaken etc. A Nightmare to fix sometimes. Okay when working but temperamental and temperature-dependent. DON’T use WD40 – glues them up! Good for cleaning though, and can dissolve keytops!!!
InnaGaddaDaVida the drunken recitation of the original lyric “In the Garden of Eden”. The lead singer was drunk the first time the song was performed in public, and the people like the drunk version so much they just kept it that way.
BTW, don’t you people find Thistle’s reaction a bit shocking?
When a computer crashes or a consumer product breaks down the question is more often “What did not the engineers do” than “What did the end user do”.
But even if Yehuda was somewhat at fault the first question should be something like “What happened?” or “How do we stop this?”. Thistle’s reaction is a direct aggression.
Yehuda has no luck with women in the comic, be it Thistle (who’s married anyway) and the fixie riding vestal Sprocket. Happily there is the cat
I thought Yehuda had got lucky with Sprocket just before the fire in the darkness of the power outage. If so, he’s doing a lot better than I have for the last 3 years….
As for Thistle’s direct aggression, there are circumstances when that is an appropriate response. Such as when an ‘end user’ treats machinery with such ineptitude as to insut her engineer soul.
@JX75: Not shocking at all. Standard Mommy reaction. Remember, she takes care of a little one, Fizz. Well … make that two little ones, including Yehuda.
I moved into my new office about 43 years ago and my littleist (3 yrs old) was “working” on a electric (not electronic) adding machine when he jammed it and the motor windings burned out. I went running in to see what was burning and he told me “I fixed it dad, I did this until it quit smoking” and showed me how he had waved his hand back and forth fanning the smoke. I couldn’t say much since he was being so earnest and, after all, he had fixed it. It wasn’t smoking any more.
It seems to me that Yehuda put capgun squares inside the register somehow between the keys and the contacts so that every time he pressed a key one would go off. That would explain the smell and the smoke and Yehuda’s blame. It would have to be a very old register.
1. The acronym for cash register areas nowadays is “POS” for Point of Sale.
2. Most bike shops use the basic, simple, electric/electronic non-scanner type because most bike shops don’t have integrated order/inventory/sales monitoring. Frankly, most shouldn’t as they don’t have centralized ordering systems the way the chain stores have. An entirely hand-entry price system gives the local bike shops the flexibility to easily accomodate special orders from not-their-normal distributors/suppliers/stocked brands.
3. Even a tape jam during an end of month procedure shouldn’t start a fire.
4. It’s a cartoon — I enjoyed it!
Many years ago a fantasy mag had a short cartoon depicting sentient barcode strips – the punchline was – ‘We are making progress, we are on most goods already’!
Thing is, using barcodes makes discounts difficult? LBS’ in Coventry often ask the normal price and modify after haggling. So barcodes are a waste of time generally.
I’ll be away from the computer for the next week, though the site (and comic) will continue to update as usual. Books and merchandise (except for hats) ordered during the week will ship on April 4, 2011.
If you haven’t ordered a book, yet, get one today!
Boredom is not caused by a lack of potential activities. It is a serious, even fatal, sickness of the soul. Curatives include responsibility, wonder, gratitude and challenge.
There is another cause – when the challenge is too much yet you still have to try!
I only discovered my Dyslexia in 2003. Homework at school was plagued by inability to understand the question yet when made clear, the solution was often simple. I have an IQ of 124 but Dyslexia often makes it appear much lower. So doing homework etc was boring, yet I actually loved (some) maths etc. esp Trig!
Geography was and is a joy. My grades were lower than they could have been, but if they had been matched to my IQ, I might have ended up in a job I could not do as I couldn’t understand the manuals etc… so, can’t complain
My sister gave my nephews iPhones to keep them from being bored, now they text all the time, even while they are driving. Oh wait, maybe that wasn’t such a great idea…
Yehuda needs a new cause!
How about Storm Drain Grates?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/5556260793/
PDX say’s it belongs to ODOT… ODOT say’s it belongs to PDX… I don’t care who owns it, it needs to be fixed *BEFORE* someone really gets stuck there. (SE 92nd Ave @ Powell)
I like your bike K’Tesh – be careful not to get so distracted playing with the toys that you get stuck in a storm-grate though
I like my bike too (In one piece)… Thanks!
I like my bike too!
What kind of bike do you have?
I ride a 2009 GT Transeo 1.0, retrofitted with w/disk brakes.
I’m pretty sure it’s there on purpose. It keeps you from making the mistake of going to Burgerville!
Is this thing very old ? It seems to be rectangular but not square so it can’t be just turned 90 degrees to become somewhat safer… Doesn’t your municipality get its ass sued off every now and then ? Our pot holes may be more properly called man holes but such a grate would qualify as a criminal attempt here.
No, it’s not really that old, the turn lane it’s in looks practically new…. The grate is rectangular, so it can’t be rotated.
It is a trap for gutter bunnies.
I resemble that remark!
@ K’Tesh
Ouch…
Are you sure it isn’t a dual purpose Grate and Bike Rack?
Some racks I have seen are not as good at holding your bike upright!
AGREE! A storm drain did a number on my home-spun fixie wheel NEVAR FORGET
K’tesh, want the grate fixed? Call a portable welder with sympathy for the cause, Then call AP (Associated Press) and tell them NO-One will take responsibility so the cyclists in the area are taking action. AP will send someone out to shoot the the guy fixing the grate and it will go national….
I bet this will get fixed fast….
Do any of your local media outlets–newspapers, tv stations, etc.–have consumer advocates? Have you put the case to them?
I just added two newspapers (The Oregonian, Willamette Week) to the battle… Next, I think I’ll add TV.
TV will reach the most people?
Amazing.
You’ve included a link to the photos in our complaint?
Inspired by your lead, after 2 weeks with no action on a local problem (here in Victoria, BC) I took some photos and sent a second email with a link to my flickr account. 2 days later I got a phone call saying the problem would be addressed that day, and it was! http://www.flickr.com/photos/26941526@N00/sets/72157626329587492/
Imagine if had made it to the drum solo!
How about someone planting a ruined rim in that grate? Bet someone would be out there real quick.
haha woops. at least he’s got music, now about that rythm….
It is fun playing tunes on electronic stuff.
Second day with smoke – I hope this doesn’t preclude another fire
This also shows Yehuda’s lack of ‘modern technology’ savvy.
Joe and Thistle should get him some mechanical stuff to work on to keep him busy
Measuring chains for ‘Quality Control’ for example?
We always used to check the specs of any new item delivered as a ‘goods inward’ inspection. ISO900 repeatabilty standards insist on everything made to the same spec being equal to the micron. Checking this insured you against arriving on site with something that didn’t fit. Assuming it was made to spec was dangerous. (‘Assume’ makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘you’ and ‘me’ was the mantra!) Theoretically, you could pass the onus on to the supplier to deliver ‘to spec’ standards and in most cases it is fine. In certain cases you cannot rely on that and if you have to drive all day to get to a customer, then find the part doesn’t fit, you have egg on your face!
“ASS U ME” ?
Big like.
Sorry, just re-read that and realise that there is too many letters in ‘prelude’! (Instead of ‘preclude’ which would mean ‘allow another fire’!)
Time to get a good, old fashioned, nature friendly, unbreakable, durable and mechanical cash register.
I used to service them – far more complex than the electronic ones – more stuff to go wrong! Lots of tiny levers and pressure-sensitive springs that weaken etc. A Nightmare to fix sometimes. Okay when working but temperamental and temperature-dependent. DON’T use WD40 – glues them up! Good for cleaning though, and can dissolve keytops!!!
That’s another old memory awoken, thanks
@ Tencon
Oh, well, isn’t it possible to use something like this ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus
Or this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYsOi6L_Pw4
@Tencon: WD40 = Water Displacement [formula] 40. Great for keeping electronics dry in a rocket. Also very good as a dust and crud magnet.
An excellent glue between hard surfaces too!
So did I: tho bad boys I worked on were over 100 pounds… swapped parts and mchines all the time. I was a very strong 16-yr-old girl!
do it with a dance, yehuda.
This song by Iron Butterfly is definitely one of those tunes that will haunt you, making your brain itch.
as the germans call it : an “ear worm”
What song?
InnaGaddaDaVida the drunken recitation of the original lyric “In the Garden of Eden”. The lead singer was drunk the first time the song was performed in public, and the people like the drunk version so much they just kept it that way.
8675 309
(sorry)
Thick me doesn’t get it, sorry…
That is Jenny’s phone number.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO1J6lEXRso
Pedant alert! The YouTube clip title has the phone number wrong!
modern contraption turned out not to match with ancient music
BTW, don’t you people find Thistle’s reaction a bit shocking?
When a computer crashes or a consumer product breaks down the question is more often “What did not the engineers do” than “What did the end user do”.
But even if Yehuda was somewhat at fault the first question should be something like “What happened?” or “How do we stop this?”. Thistle’s reaction is a direct aggression.
Yehuda has no luck with women in the comic, be it Thistle (who’s married anyway) and the fixie riding vestal Sprocket. Happily there is the cat
I thought Yehuda had got lucky with Sprocket just before the fire in the darkness of the power outage. If so, he’s doing a lot better than I have for the last 3 years….
As for Thistle’s direct aggression, there are circumstances when that is an appropriate response. Such as when an ‘end user’ treats machinery with such ineptitude as to insut her engineer soul.
@JX75: Not shocking at all. Standard Mommy reaction. Remember, she takes care of a little one, Fizz. Well … make that two little ones, including Yehuda.
Yehuda, if you’re bored – go and visit Idle in prison, ask her how her and Sidewalk’s lawsuits are going on.
Hopefully it’s just the machine that’s smoking and not the cash burning.
It’s a bike shop. What makes you think htere is any cash?
Clearly, too many falls without a helmet!
Took me a while to realise that was a fire extinguisher on the right – I thought it was someone with a telescope… ahem…
I thought it was a large caliber barrel — couldn’t imagine Joe getting THAT mad!
If he were around my house, he would be sent outside to do yard work.
@Larey: Presumably without any really sharp implements of destruction.
I moved into my new office about 43 years ago and my littleist (3 yrs old) was “working” on a electric (not electronic) adding machine when he jammed it and the motor windings burned out. I went running in to see what was burning and he told me “I fixed it dad, I did this until it quit smoking” and showed me how he had waved his hand back and forth fanning the smoke. I couldn’t say much since he was being so earnest and, after all, he had fixed it. It wasn’t smoking any more.
Fixing consequences rather than causes is quite common even for grown-ups…
Think about, for instance, diet food or antidepressants.
‘Tis easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
At 60 I am learning to ask etc…
…ask for permission or forgiveness?
Both!
It is definitely more efficient.
It seems to me that Yehuda put capgun squares inside the register somehow between the keys and the contacts so that every time he pressed a key one would go off. That would explain the smell and the smoke and Yehuda’s blame. It would have to be a very old register.
1. The acronym for cash register areas nowadays is “POS” for Point of Sale.
2. Most bike shops use the basic, simple, electric/electronic non-scanner type because most bike shops don’t have integrated order/inventory/sales monitoring. Frankly, most shouldn’t as they don’t have centralized ordering systems the way the chain stores have. An entirely hand-entry price system gives the local bike shops the flexibility to easily accomodate special orders from not-their-normal distributors/suppliers/stocked brands.
3. Even a tape jam during an end of month procedure shouldn’t start a fire.
4. It’s a cartoon — I enjoyed it!
Many years ago a fantasy mag had a short cartoon depicting sentient barcode strips – the punchline was – ‘We are making progress, we are on most goods already’!
Thing is, using barcodes makes discounts difficult? LBS’ in Coventry often ask the normal price and modify after haggling. So barcodes are a waste of time generally.
I’ll be away from the computer for the next week, though the site (and comic) will continue to update as usual. Books and merchandise (except for hats) ordered during the week will ship on April 4, 2011.
If you haven’t ordered a book, yet, get one today!
Have a good week everybody.
Enjoy your time away.
Looks like the titles for 20110401 and 20110402 are reversed.
Boredom is not caused by a lack of potential activities. It is a serious, even fatal, sickness of the soul. Curatives include responsibility, wonder, gratitude and challenge.
There is another cause – when the challenge is too much yet you still have to try!
I only discovered my Dyslexia in 2003. Homework at school was plagued by inability to understand the question yet when made clear, the solution was often simple. I have an IQ of 124 but Dyslexia often makes it appear much lower. So doing homework etc was boring, yet I actually loved (some) maths etc. esp Trig!
Geography was and is a joy. My grades were lower than they could have been, but if they had been matched to my IQ, I might have ended up in a job I could not do as I couldn’t understand the manuals etc… so, can’t complain
I’ve just found another Thistle here
Are they Tsunami refugees or mussel catchers?
mud wrestlers in england
My sister gave my nephews iPhones to keep them from being bored, now they text all the time, even while they are driving. Oh wait, maybe that wasn’t such a great idea…
While driving on the freeway, when I see a car swerve, I like to play a game called “Drunk or Texting.” I seem to be playing it a lot more these days.
Yehuda’s new theme song: “Light My Fire.”
@Gnu: “Burning Down the House”
Or pick one from this list: <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Title_of_songs_with_fire_in_the_title>
http://www.sayyad.ca/phonesongs.html Touch Tone Phone songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOZqa_F3t5U Ode to Joy on Touch Tone Phone.
Now if someone could do Bicycle Race by Queen on a Touch Tone Phone.
WillDo: http://www.guitaretab.com/q/queen/15258.html
hahaha … this is the funniest one i’ve read in all the days of this comic.