Archive for May, 2009
Ready to Roll
Bike mirror. Check!
Helmet. Check!
Bike lock. Check!
Ready to roll.
Toronto’s Union station’s Bicyle Station is having an open house on the 26th. Funny, when I asked around the building, noone could tell me where the actual location was. Maybe there will be signs for the 26th!
Toronto can boast some pretty active cycling community and the city is involved. The Cyclometer, their newsletter is online for all to read.
Montreal doesn’t want to miss out of the “Green Friendly” / “Tourist Friendly” and “Bicycle Friendly” ideas and decided to implement a very Parisian bike rental solution: Bixi.
I just hope that Montreal doesn’t end up like the almost bankrupt Paris Velib: stolen and trashed bikes.
- 20,000 bicycles
- 1,250 stations
- Cost 400 euros each to replace
- 7,800 “disappeared”
- 11,600 vandalised
- 1,500 daily repairs
- Staff recover 20 abandoned bikes a day
- Each bike travels 10,000 km a year
- 42 million users since launch
Sinfest
Posted by barista in Comics, Interweeb! on 05/14/2009
Going on for more then 9 years already, Sinfest is a webcomic with sarcastic and politically incorrect streak. I stumbled upon it by accident, following a signature link on some page … and now I’m slowly working my through the years of art. Even if it tramples on your sacred cows, it does so like a very polished but bent mirror of reality.
Wartburg
Posted by barista in Vroom vroom on 05/13/2009
Opel, soon to be “formerly GM’s European branch” has a low cost brand up its sleeve: Wartburg.
Having grown-up in a family with a Wartburg 353w two-stroke engined Tourist (station wagon), I’m rather sentimental about this idea.
Blerk – Busy
I have been swearing under my breath, creatively using all the languages in my repertoire, and it’s all due to a scheduling conflict.
Oh, by-the-by, IBM x Series servers’ Remote Supervisor Adapter II and the dumb IBM re-badged Adaptec RAID controllers have wasted so much frakin time of mine… I now will recommend no more IBM hardware. So there.
I will return to schedules post once this task is off my plate.
The Weekend Report – May 9-10
Posted by barista in The Weekend Report on 05/11/2009
Star Trek was very entertaining. It neatly sidesteps the original series’ baggage in storyline and acting, by simply declaring itself as an “alternate reality”. That shouldn’t be a spoiler …
The city was covered by one nasty and destructive storm. Trees lost limbs, sky tuned black as ink and people stayed indoors. Perfect excuse to sleep!
Ultra Motor A2B
$2,700 buys you “ power (that) lasts for up to 20 miles at a cruising speed of 20 mph.”
A2B Technical Specification
- Maximum road speed under power – 20 mph
- Up to 20 miles* unassisted range (extendable to 40 miles**)
- Battery chemistry: lithium ion
- Nominal voltage: 36 volts
- Continuous power output: 500W
- Real-time state-of-charge indicator
- Frame: TIG welded 6061 aluminum
- Suspension (front): Ultra Motor shock-absorbing front fork (80mm travel)
- Suspension (rear): Ultra Motor shock-absorbing swing arm (150mm travel)
- Tires: 20 x 3.0 Kenda Kraze
- Gears: Shimano Alivio derailleur with 7-speed Shimano range 14-34T
- Brakes (front and rear): Avid BB5 disc brakes
- Saddle: oversized Ultra Motor comfort saddle
- Weight of A2B Metro with battery: 72lbs
* Dependent on rider weight, pedaling and terrain
** Based on the addition of the secondary battery pack
Chrysler&FIAT
Posted by barista in Vroom vroom on 05/06/2009
Chrysler’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing includes the cars it will import from Fiat, including two Alfa Romeos. Autoblog covers the list:
- Fiat 500
- Fiat Grande Punto
- Fiat Panda (as a Jeep!)
- Alfa Romeo Mito
- Alfa Romeo Milano
The incoming vehicles will bring along Fiat technologies as well:
- 3.0-liter diesel V6
- 1.4 liter Multiair (continuously varies the timing of the inlet valve by changing oil pressure)
- Dual clutch transmission
And then …
… the world returned to a green pallet. Welcome back Spring!
Could you please not make me sneeze though ? And the runny eyes are a pain.
Inhale the Web
Posted by barista in Interweeb! on 05/05/2009
addictomatic.com is the webpage for the newshound in you. It dynamically creates a webpage of webpages based on you topic of choice.
-
You are currently browsing the archives for May, 2009
