It pays to advertise

I was riding the unik to work today. As I rode across a crosswalk, I passed in front of a tree service truck with a couple of guys in it, waiting to turn right. I pulled up and waited for the lights to change, and as I did so I noticed the guy in the passenger seat 'staring', so I nodded and smiled politely. The driver then yelled out the window, "Hey, I have one of those! I don't know how to use it!"

Trying to be encouraging/polite, I responded, "Yeah, it just takes some practice."

"No, I don't want it. You want it? I'll give it to you."

Pause. "Sure!"

"Here. Here's my card. Call me."

I'm pondering what it means that a) this happens right before I go up to the mountains, and b) that my brother is thinking about buying a unicycle.

Whizzzzzzzz

Anybody here ever not have one of those dreams where you're flying? K.

I have those dreams all the time, and every time it's just as disappointing to wake up. BUT! When I was learning to ride a unicycle, I used to have similar dreams about unicycling. You know: you get up on it, and take off down the street, with the wind in your hair, and it's just effortless and fun. Okay, you probably don't know. Take my word for it.

Well, I'm happy to say that tonight on the ride home I got one of those rides. The air was cool, and I don't know if it was the fact that it was dark and I couldn't see all the imperfections in the sidewalk enough to worry about them, but I was just cruising. I think it was the fastest I've made it home since getting a unicycle (and while actually riding a unicycle).

So remember: some things may be tricky, and take some learning, and may even be a minor pain on occasion, but on other occasions they can be a real blast.

With a name like Wubi...

So I am delving into the realm of Ubuntu again. I have been toying with the idea of trying to get a computer running Linux again for a while now (the better part of a year), and have mostly been looking at SuSE or Mandriva, because my previous experience with Ubuntu left me feeling unfulfilled.

Then today, while poking and prodding the interwebs for useful content, I stumbled across Wubi. I know. Really? 'Wubby'? It turns out it might not be as dumb as it sounds.

Wubi is a 'looped installer' for Ubuntu that allows you to install Ubuntu on your system just like you would normally install a Windows application. And, more to the point, uninstall Ubuntu like you would a Windows application.

So, while Ubuntu is not my Linux distro of choice, Wubi looks like an good option for me to play with on my [ahem]work-owned[/ahem] laptop, since it should be fairly easy to remove later on (if I get that far). I'll let you know how it goes.

Unicyclical Pensations

Since we moved (you know, the reason I haven't been blogging a whole lot?) I now have a half hour walk-commute to work each way, instead of a 15-20 minute walk-commute to work each day. In an attempt to cut that time down, I have decided to take up cycling as my preferred means of (short range) transportation: Unicycling. So I borrowed a unicycle (or 'unik' as I shall henceforth be calling it) from a friend (thanks Dan!) to learn on and see if it is indeed a feasible plan. I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed feasible, but I have also come to some undeniable conclusions:

1) Uniking may not be harder than it looks, but it is indeed every bit as hard as it looks.
2) Unikers have not only a very well developed sense of balance, but also very well developed leg muscles. Just try uniking over 100 feet in a controlled manner, and see if you feel like going any further after you get off.
3) Balance is very important in learning to unicycle. However, learning to keep your balance is only secondary to learning to sense your balance. Once you can sense you balance pretty well, the unicycle almost balances itself. (okay, not really, but still...)
4) Bikers are sissies. (Sorry Dad B.)
5) I tried my first ride home from work Friday. It only took me about 45 minutes to unik what I usually take half an hour to walk. While there is definitely a mechanical advantage over walking, the time gained uniking is rather made up for by the time spent climbing back on the unik after jumping/falling/sliding/what-have-you-ing off.
6) I definitely want a unik with at least a 26" wheel. Nothing as exorbitant as this, but the larger the better.

So all that said, I am definitely making progress, but I still have a way to go. Soon, hopefully, I'll be zipping around town on my unicycle.