Three Articles

Haven't had much time to blog and am down in Iowa on Dad duties again this weekend, but there were three articles I thought were interesing today.

First, in Newsweek, there is a My Turn article on neighborhoods and sidewalks at Sidewalks Can Make a Town a Neighborhood in which the author notes how we've evolved to be dependent on cars and how un-neighborly that is. Quoting: "For kids today, geography is understood from the back seat of a car, rather than through the scents and textures of heart-beating, muscle-flexing, self-motivated expeditions that connect one place to another, one person to another. The destination has displaced the journey."

Also in Newsweek, Jane Bryant Quinn notices our addiction to oil in The Price of Our Addiction. She rumbles through some of the Peak Oil arguments, points out that our military is becoming an Oil Protection Force and concludes "We're running a faith-based energy policy—still addicted to oil. If something goes wrong, it will go wrong big." It hasn't gone wrong yet, but I bought gas tonight and it was $2.85 a gallon for the cheap stuff. We're bound to hear more about this.

Finally, in Slate the Shopping article is entitled Avoiding The Bicycle Thief which rates, of all things, locks. It's an interesting read, and it you just want to cut to the chase, get the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock for $90. Nothing's perfect, of course, but this is the best of the ones he tested.

I have been out riding a bit, the Atlantis on high-pressure tires a revelation after the Marin with it's knobbies and studs, my main mount for the winter. It felt good to click into the SPDs again, quick shifting, fast cruising. I'm looking forward to getting out some more.