Some number of things make a post?

[dreamshark]

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Ragweed season is peaking, but so is all the fun stuff in the Farmers Market. I am now coming home with a bucket of tomatoes for just a little more than they were asking for a single tomato a couple of months ago. And eggplants are now available in every size, shape and color. Summer squash the size of baseball bats. Overgrown green onions desperately trying to turn themselves into leeks. And those fun little baskets of mixed peppers that could turn out to be anything (caveat emptor). I've been making gazpacho twice a week. There aren't many foods that healthy that taste that good. 

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My foot is at the point where you realize that the last 10% of the healing takes 90% of the time. *sigh* At least I can do my minimal daily bike ride again, but I'm definitely not at the point where I can move to that next level I had been contemplating (ride MORE than 6 miles in a day).

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Not just one but TWO spokes on my back wheel suddenly broke yesterday. That's a nasty surprise. But judging by the chicken scratches in my little bike notebook it has been years since I last suffered through an epidemic of broken spokes. And that does appear to be the original back wheel that came with the bike back in 1995. So maybe it's actually time to replace the wheel? And maybe even that threadbare front tire? 

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tbh, I think it's a damn good mug shot. His hair and makeup and suit are perfectly put together. And it looks just like him, which is technically the point of a mug shot. It's not just a recognizable physical likeness; it captures his personality perfectly. I hope they use it as the source for his official White House portrait. 

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I found another fun thing to watch on Peacock!  It must be the gazillionth reinterpretation of War of the Worlds: a 2019 BBC mini-series (not to be confused with the OTHER 2019 mini-series by Fox-StudioCanal). This one doesn't seem to have been terribly popular, mostly because many viewers found it a little bit slow and rambling. That particular complaint usually means that it's something I'll like, and so far I do. It's true that the oddball directorial decision to provide a little back story for the viewpoint characters means that you have to wait 30 or 40 minutes before buildings start falling down and people start spontaneously combusting. If that's a negative for you, you may want to skip this one.  

Comments

[quadong]

Holy crap, your wheel lasted almost thirty years? Yeah, time to replace it. I mean, I guess you don't commute daily in the winter, but still. Yes, please replace the front tire with something that has traction.

[dreamshark]

Mind you, I have accumulated less than 7000 miles on this bike in 30 years. I am a much less intrepid biker than you. There HAVE been times that I have used it for commuting, although never in winter. There was also a period of maybe 7-10 years where I was using my "new" Marin bike as my primary bike. Then I realized that the new bike (which was the one with which I did the most commuting) was no longer in any better shape than the old one and I liked the old Univega better, so I went back to that one.

How many miles do you think it should take to wear out a wheel?

[quadong]

Well, I don't know. At a very rough estimate, my experience is that something between 2000 and 5000 miles on a bike is enough to break every single part of it, if those miles are from commuting year-round. I have no idea how much that is extended if all riding is done without salt on the roads.

[minnehaha]

What is your gazpacho recipe, if you are willing to share? I am looking for a good one.

K.

[dreamshark]

Chop up a bunch of ripe tomatoes, turn on the blender, and keep adding tomatoes until the blender is about 80% full (4 cups). Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and a teaspoon of ground cumin. Then turn on the blender again and add whatever quantity of garlic, chopped onion, and red bell pepper feels right to you. Throw in some peeled cucumber if you like cucumber. If there is still room in the blender, top it up with more tomatoes. Chill and serve with croutons. SO GOOD.

Apparently the actual Spanish recipe calls for torn up pieces of bread, with the specific type of bread varying by geographic region. I like croutons.