It's a 320i. Vinyl seats, original coco mats, it's in pristine condition. Slow as molasses, though. And the AC could use a recharge. But when I drive it, it makes me smile. It's like being in on an inside joke.
I used to have an old Bimmer a 1984 BMW 528e the fuel efficient version of the 535i I loved it, then three months after buying it I was going through an intersection when I got hit and goodbye car. Now I have a Beemer a 1971 R75/5 love that too, I'll love it even more when I get it running again.
I had a 1981 BMW 320i and it was one of the best cars I have ever had. Simple, fuel efficient and fun to drive. Sarah, you are driving a classic. People are restoring them like crazy in Los Angeles.
I've been in the market for an '86 or 87 320i for years and had two in my sights but couldn't buy either. I am annoyed to hear that the classics market is catching up with me because that means I'll never be able to afford one anymore...
Manta, I don't know if you'd ever want to come here for a car, but Husband comes across many great deals. I can put him on the hunt. We recently sold a near mint e30. It could've been yours!
Orhan, your 320 had power, mine has the slowest 4banger in the world. I still love it though. It took me an entire wintry day to figure out the heater, and to make matters worse, Abe decided to open the pop-out window in the back. Then I hit every green light on my way to where I was going. Brrrr.
Sidebar: Archinect powers, the last few times I've posted from my iPhone, within Safari, none of my returns has shown up. While the text is fine, not having paragraph breaks is awkward, and makes me look like a haphazard idiot.
Just thought you should know. -P.S. There was a return after "idiot."
Actually Sarah I would come down for that. I have a reason to visit friends in Austin some time anyway. Plus one of the ones I was going to buy was in the Bay Area but my cousin decided at the last minute not to sell. He was the original owner, had never sold, barely drives it, AND we picked it up for him in Germany FROM THE FACTORY back in '86 and put it on the boat to ship to him!! That's how perfect his car is. And he decided not to sell to me :-( For a really patronizing reason, too, which annoyed me. This was just a couple of years ago, so it still rankles. Anyway...
I'd love to get a e30 series 2 model, because I've heard the engines are better, but I dunno what I could even find nowadays. Haven't looked in awhile... they used to be a dime a dozen but I guess people want them for classics now. I definitely want the coupe, and had been thinking 320, but am open to whatever is in good condition & not too expensive. How much did you sell your e30 for?
Course if I got it in TX it would have to be in good enough condition for me to be comfortable driving it back up here... That might be nerve-wracking. I could always ship it...
Am I the only liberal (actually, socialist) that doesn't agree with the healthcare law?* Seems to me like the way to bring health care costs down is not to give more money to the insurance companies, but to fix the root causes of skyrocketing costs... kill the pay-for-service model, reform tort law, and bring down the costs of medical education... and single-payer health care.
In fact it shouldn't even be called the health care law, because it doesn't even address CARE. It should be called the health insurance law. Paying for health insurance is not the same thing as receiving better care. Argh.
*Although of course on a partisan political level I suppose I am happy that Obama was vindicated. But I don't agree with the stupid law! I just can't stand the thought of yet another wealth-worshipper in the White House. The amount of money one has should not equal one's human worth, and that is what Romney and his ilk believe. To them, riches = moral value.
Manta, the liberal wing of the democratic party aka bernie sanders, wanted medicare for all, not the massive subsides provided to the insurance companies by romneycare that we got. But a half-assed version of the swiss model of health care as reform is still better then the status quo it replaced - we progressives can only dream of getting the swedish model someday.
Manta I think those are all valid points, and since I rarely venture out of TC, I'd like to address your comment here.
I agree that buying insurance isn't the answer. Yes, I think something should be done about healthcare, but I see the problem as lying with the insurance companies in the first place. I don't yet know why we can't just do away with insurance all together. At the same time, I think about how it is a law that you must have car insurance if you drive a car, and I'm glad for that law. I don't know what the answer is. Yours sound intriguing.
I did an assessment once - really simple to do - comparing American middle-class tax rate to French.
Once you figured in a very basic cost for health insurance and education costs (I based it on average single person - NOT family - coverage cost (I think ~$300/mo) + average PUBLIC uni 4-yr Bachelor's, and assumed that some would be paid for by parental savings, thus only counting the average student debt - and once you actually counted those costs, the French came out wayyyy ahead.
AKA, our effective tax rate, apples to apples, is higher than France's......... and they have FREE healthcare. Not insurance - just free care for all and free education. It made me so mad... I don't know why none of the democrats publish that kind of info. Instead they let the right malign socialism without ever answering back... The fact is that the average American lives a lower quality of life than the average French person.
(I didn't even count in the fact that they have more vacation, a 35hr work week, long standard maternal and paternal leaves, generous retirement for all (no putting aside half your money into a 401k and hoping the stock market doesn't tank!), subsidized cost for fresh vegetables, wine and coffee, AND free, high-quality child care until your kid is school-age. That's right - imagine how much further American moms could get in their careers if they had free quality child care? Not that everyone WANTS to work outside of the home, but it would be nice to have that be an OPTION.)
ok rant over. Back to your normally scheduled TC programming! I think the heat is making me rabid today.
while i also would have preferred a more gutsy health care proposal, this first step is a.... first step.
i saw this remarkably clear-headed and non-propaganda-laden description of what's in the whole ACA: http://www.reddit.com/tb/vbkfm
not that the author's opinions aren't made clear. it's just pretty fairly presented.
now that the court case is over, principled conservatives who have been braying for years about the need for 'stability' and 'certainty' for small business, the need for businesses to know what's going to happen, should back off and let it happen so that some measure of certainty and planning-ahead can be realized.
they won't, of course. we'll be dealing with the repeal fight for another year at least when the republicans have announced (already!) their 'date-certain' vote to repeal in july'13.
What Barry and Steven said. It's not a great bill, but it's a good step towards what will hopefully improve access to health care for everyone.
And manta the part that has pissed me off about the entire health care debate since it started has been what you said: instead of discussing access to health care, we've been discussing access to health insurance. Perhaps if we had access to actual care we wouldn't NEED insurance, right?
Community Service Day here at GSA today - I'll be working in Habitat for Humanity's warehouse all day in 102 d. heat. I'm fortunate to be able to do so and hope I can help my students feel the same way!
That's a great read, Steven. Very helpful. And glad to know that my under-19 year old son's pre-existing condition is already not allowed to be used as a reason to deny him coverage woo!
Thanks for the link Steven. Very informative. Looks like, though not perfect, there are a lot of good things in the bill. I'm glad to see that life-time maximums are gone and that they can't drop customers who are sick. I'm still worried though that, based on the basic Law of Supply and Demand, this will drive up the price of premiums. I'm aware premiums go up every year regardless, but will they go up more because of the new mandate? Good start, but obviously further steps need to be done.
Ahhh the French, subsidizing wine and coffee. So smart ;o)
the thing about the doctor's opinion (linked to in the breakdown that Steven linked to) that stands out to me is that it's such a cynical viewpoint of what the job of a doctor is: to dispense medicine, not to promote health. It's also ignoring one of the things that results-based payment is meant to promote, which is connected health technologies. What if every time you had an allergic reaction (that you'd had before, that you'd been treated successfully for before) you didn't have to go into your doctor, but instead send them a photo and receive a prescription without an office visit? It would cost you less, it would cost your doctor less, they would have more time, and it would be equally effective. What if that extra time could be spent by doctors receiving updates on whether their diabetes patients were taking their medicine, or communicating with them more? Studies have shown that increased *contact* whether it be in-person or digital, makes patients feel more like their doctors are invested in their outcomes and actually produces better outcomes as the patients feel responsible to someone other than themselves.
As you can probably tell, I think that the most long-lasting effect of this bill may actually be one of its most-ignored provisions, the one that starts the reform of how medicare/medicaid payments are made. There is ridiculous potential in this.
i never said smug. your comment is possibly smug, but not France ;-)
i suppose my point is that all this "you're on your own buddy" attitude in usa also leads to some good/interesting things. Republicans are worried they will lose that edge, maybe...? Their opposition makes no sense otherwise.
personally i think healthcare is a human right. And if that don't appeal, if businesses didn't need to pay for their employees insurance they would quite likely be more competitive...don't imagine a republican would think that way (they might have once upon time) cause they don't actually care about businesses just the good will of a handful of CEO's, but would be nice if someone would explain the possibility to em.
France is cool but the ipod still comes from usa. lot's of other crazy shit too, but you know...
and the tech that made the ipod possible (compressed audio files) came from the germans.
i suppose my point is that all this "you're on your own buddy" attitude in usa also leads to some good/interesting things.
I think it leads to interesting things actually entering the marketplace and becoming available to lots of people, but these “interesting things” tend to start out in big publicly funded institutions. The roomba, for example, is based on military tech. oh - so is the internet. It’s pretty rare that a company, like apple, would spend a lot of it’s capital on R&D and innovation.
there is something special in usa that makes so much of modern life possible. it's not just r and d, its a willingness to fail that is not common in much of the world. every country has a few people willing to take a risk, but in usa its kind of enshrined in the culture (absolutely NOT so here in Japan, and less so in much of Europe too). some unforgivable things come from the same point of view too, but is too soon to say usa is not up to par. if santorum had his way i suppose it would be more worrying ;-) perhaps we need to wait another decade to see if friedman has the right end of the stick...
http://bhcourier.com/jumper-dies-grove/2012/07/02
I haven't posted in so long. I just found out about one of my friends from undergrad. Damn he was such a great guy. If crossed anyone else's path, you would surely want to know.
Brian, it's a damn shame it had to end so soon. We're sure as hell gonna miss you.
didn't brian post here in earlier archinect iterations? i seem to recall a young guy from texas tech posting a lot. that is a fucking shame, sad. just plain sad.
I was the young idiot from Texas Tech. And there was a guy with a blog named Brian Henry about the same age, but this Brian Henry is a different Brian Henry.
All in all....Wishing everyone a great 4th of July....and yes Woodie Guthrie was born about a hundred years ago...."This Land is my Land, This Land is Your Land...." Hoping you can hum a few bars.. Wondering if Mitt knows all of the verses...if he does he should be, tucking his head between his tail. America is much bigger than what money can buy!
so my car died finally while i went to lunch Tuesday. so now i need to decide whether to by a car (used, not to expensive etc) or just not and become a only by bicycle kind of guy. This would be a major commitment to a lifestyle i always enjoyed (bicycle transit) however instead of doing ti purely for enjoyment/convenience it would now just be a thing.....
do it nam!
does gainesville have zipcar or something similar? we don't have a car in philadelphia (granted phila is very different from g'ville), but we're members of phillycarshare so we have access to a car that we use about once or twice a month.
eBikes are cool, but so are eMotorcycles and eScooters. The issue is if petrol powered two wheelers are out - will battery powered ones be accepted any easier by the missus?
The plus of an eBike in a subtropical flatland city like Gainesville is: they generate a breeze to keep you cooler without breaking a sweat.
nam, i thought one these with functioning air condition would be great! I had one in mid eighties, everything in it was automatic and either chrome plated or high quality imitation hardwood. man.., king of the road... parking was cumbersome sometimes.
@nam - you will save a ton of money by not having a car - we didn't have one until a few years ago (I got rid of my car after I moved out east). Plus getting around by bike has gotten lot easier lately. Makes me feel like having a car is a luxury - except when I have to drive out to a job site.
As someone who travels about 90% by bicycle (the remaining 10% by train) I feel I am qualified to answer this... Here're my thoughts, from first-hand experience:
- Rather than start hating biking by being more reliant on it, the opposite happened - I discovered more and more reasons to like it and more and more ways to enjoy it. I started out a few years ago mostly riding the train and sometimes biking (when I had to go places that public transit couldn't take me), then ended up (without realizing it) gradually increasingly choosing bike over train, until the point where now, when I look at any given address in the city that I need to get to, I am automatically calculating the bike route and distance to figure out what time I need, BEFORE I sometimes think "oh wait, is there maybe a bus that would go there?" and then I think "nahhh it would be so much easier to bike." Anyway this is just an anecdote that won't really apply to your life unless you live in one of the 4 towns in America that has an actual, useful urban transit system - but I mean, I thought I would get tired of biking and in fact the opposite happens. You start to realize how much easier it is to get groceries by bike instead of car, and to go to the library, or to go pretty much anywhere really, and you start thinking about driving less and less and less.
- On really really hot days, to my surprise I discovered that biking actually cools you down, because of the wind. So you don't need an electric bike for that. I don't know how to explain this, so you'll just have to trust me: in the winter biking keeps you warm, and in the summer somehow it keeps you cool. Cooler than walking.
It's kind of like learning to shop at Trader Joe's. Once you switch over, and kind of re-adapt your life to a different way of eating, then you start to wonder why you ever went to regular grocery stores in the first place... I dunno, I can't describe it.
Although I LOVE driving, and come from a family of car-nuts who love to drive, somehow I have to say - nowadays when I've been in a car too much I find myself longing to get back to my bike. I turn down rides so I can take my bike instead. It's really just... I can't explain it. It brings joy. The more you're on it, the happier you are.
Just invest in a rack over your back wheel and a quality panier bag, and you'll be good to go. That's all you really need, besides a U-lock!!
manta - completely agreed. I'd also invest in gloves (if you are biking more than a few miles in one direction), LED lights, a bell, bungee cords, and maybe after a while a front rack (best thing ever when picking up take-out). Panniers can be a little expensive - collapsable wire baskets are the cheapest option, but they do add some weight and you need to secure anything you put in them because they bounce around. I know a lot of people attach a milk-crate on top of the rear rack, but I think it makes you less stable - having something lower on the sides of the wheels is better.
Thread Central
It's a 320i. Vinyl seats, original coco mats, it's in pristine condition. Slow as molasses, though. And the AC could use a recharge. But when I drive it, it makes me smile. It's like being in on an inside joke.
I used to have an old Bimmer a 1984 BMW 528e the fuel efficient version of the 535i I loved it, then three months after buying it I was going through an intersection when I got hit and goodbye car. Now I have a Beemer a 1971 R75/5 love that too, I'll love it even more when I get it running again.
I had a 1981 BMW 320i and it was one of the best cars I have ever had. Simple, fuel efficient and fun to drive. Sarah, you are driving a classic. People are restoring them like crazy in Los Angeles.
I've been in the market for an '86 or 87 320i for years and had two in my sights but couldn't buy either. I am annoyed to hear that the classics market is catching up with me because that means I'll never be able to afford one anymore...
oe not as far as i know (other than the Archinect page/board whatever the term is) although Paul or Alex might be able to suggest something...
hi all, just got back from my local and awesome citizen co-op!
Manta, I don't know if you'd ever want to come here for a car, but Husband comes across many great deals. I can put him on the hunt. We recently sold a near mint e30. It could've been yours! Orhan, your 320 had power, mine has the slowest 4banger in the world. I still love it though. It took me an entire wintry day to figure out the heater, and to make matters worse, Abe decided to open the pop-out window in the back. Then I hit every green light on my way to where I was going. Brrrr.
Sidebar: Archinect powers, the last few times I've posted from my iPhone, within Safari, none of my returns has shown up. While the text is fine, not having paragraph breaks is awkward, and makes me look like a haphazard idiot. Just thought you should know. -P.S. There was a return after "idiot."
sarah did that postscript come as an edit? also i am drink and going to bed. had snacks and drinks with co-worker after dinner.
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is the best thing to enter my world in some time. Or did I say that already?
Actually Sarah I would come down for that. I have a reason to visit friends in Austin some time anyway. Plus one of the ones I was going to buy was in the Bay Area but my cousin decided at the last minute not to sell. He was the original owner, had never sold, barely drives it, AND we picked it up for him in Germany FROM THE FACTORY back in '86 and put it on the boat to ship to him!! That's how perfect his car is. And he decided not to sell to me :-( For a really patronizing reason, too, which annoyed me. This was just a couple of years ago, so it still rankles. Anyway...
I'd love to get a e30 series 2 model, because I've heard the engines are better, but I dunno what I could even find nowadays. Haven't looked in awhile... they used to be a dime a dozen but I guess people want them for classics now. I definitely want the coupe, and had been thinking 320, but am open to whatever is in good condition & not too expensive. How much did you sell your e30 for?
Course if I got it in TX it would have to be in good enough condition for me to be comfortable driving it back up here... That might be nerve-wracking. I could always ship it...
Donna, have you tried Redbreast? It's my new whiskey love.
Am I the only liberal (actually, socialist) that doesn't agree with the healthcare law?* Seems to me like the way to bring health care costs down is not to give more money to the insurance companies, but to fix the root causes of skyrocketing costs... kill the pay-for-service model, reform tort law, and bring down the costs of medical education... and single-payer health care.
In fact it shouldn't even be called the health care law, because it doesn't even address CARE. It should be called the health insurance law. Paying for health insurance is not the same thing as receiving better care. Argh.
*Although of course on a partisan political level I suppose I am happy that Obama was vindicated. But I don't agree with the stupid law! I just can't stand the thought of yet another wealth-worshipper in the White House. The amount of money one has should not equal one's human worth, and that is what Romney and his ilk believe. To them, riches = moral value.
Argh, I'm sorry... I should have put that in the "Implosion of the Republican Party" thread. Please ignore...
Manta, the liberal wing of the democratic party aka bernie sanders, wanted medicare for all, not the massive subsides provided to the insurance companies by romneycare that we got. But a half-assed version of the swiss model of health care as reform is still better then the status quo it replaced - we progressives can only dream of getting the swedish model someday.
Manta I think those are all valid points, and since I rarely venture out of TC, I'd like to address your comment here. I agree that buying insurance isn't the answer. Yes, I think something should be done about healthcare, but I see the problem as lying with the insurance companies in the first place. I don't yet know why we can't just do away with insurance all together. At the same time, I think about how it is a law that you must have car insurance if you drive a car, and I'm glad for that law. I don't know what the answer is. Yours sound intriguing.
I did an assessment once - really simple to do - comparing American middle-class tax rate to French.
Once you figured in a very basic cost for health insurance and education costs (I based it on average single person - NOT family - coverage cost (I think ~$300/mo) + average PUBLIC uni 4-yr Bachelor's, and assumed that some would be paid for by parental savings, thus only counting the average student debt - and once you actually counted those costs, the French came out wayyyy ahead.
AKA, our effective tax rate, apples to apples, is higher than France's......... and they have FREE healthcare. Not insurance - just free care for all and free education. It made me so mad... I don't know why none of the democrats publish that kind of info. Instead they let the right malign socialism without ever answering back... The fact is that the average American lives a lower quality of life than the average French person.
(I didn't even count in the fact that they have more vacation, a 35hr work week, long standard maternal and paternal leaves, generous retirement for all (no putting aside half your money into a 401k and hoping the stock market doesn't tank!), subsidized cost for fresh vegetables, wine and coffee, AND free, high-quality child care until your kid is school-age. That's right - imagine how much further American moms could get in their careers if they had free quality child care? Not that everyone WANTS to work outside of the home, but it would be nice to have that be an OPTION.)
ok rant over. Back to your normally scheduled TC programming! I think the heat is making me rabid today.
while i also would have preferred a more gutsy health care proposal, this first step is a.... first step.
i saw this remarkably clear-headed and non-propaganda-laden description of what's in the whole ACA: http://www.reddit.com/tb/vbkfm
not that the author's opinions aren't made clear. it's just pretty fairly presented.
now that the court case is over, principled conservatives who have been braying for years about the need for 'stability' and 'certainty' for small business, the need for businesses to know what's going to happen, should back off and let it happen so that some measure of certainty and planning-ahead can be realized.
they won't, of course. we'll be dealing with the repeal fight for another year at least when the republicans have announced (already!) their 'date-certain' vote to repeal in july'13.
What Barry and Steven said. It's not a great bill, but it's a good step towards what will hopefully improve access to health care for everyone.
And manta the part that has pissed me off about the entire health care debate since it started has been what you said: instead of discussing access to health care, we've been discussing access to health insurance. Perhaps if we had access to actual care we wouldn't NEED insurance, right?
Community Service Day here at GSA today - I'll be working in Habitat for Humanity's warehouse all day in 102 d. heat. I'm fortunate to be able to do so and hope I can help my students feel the same way!
That's a great read, Steven. Very helpful. And glad to know that my under-19 year old son's pre-existing condition is already not allowed to be used as a reason to deny him coverage woo!
Thanks for the link Steven. Very informative. Looks like, though not perfect, there are a lot of good things in the bill. I'm glad to see that life-time maximums are gone and that they can't drop customers who are sick. I'm still worried though that, based on the basic Law of Supply and Demand, this will drive up the price of premiums. I'm aware premiums go up every year regardless, but will they go up more because of the new mandate? Good start, but obviously further steps need to be done.
Ahhh the French, subsidizing wine and coffee. So smart ;o)
if everyone has healthcare premiums should go down cuz they just added xx million customers to the pool....
France is cool but the ipod still comes from usa. lot's of other crazy shit too, but you know...
the thing about the doctor's opinion (linked to in the breakdown that Steven linked to) that stands out to me is that it's such a cynical viewpoint of what the job of a doctor is: to dispense medicine, not to promote health. It's also ignoring one of the things that results-based payment is meant to promote, which is connected health technologies. What if every time you had an allergic reaction (that you'd had before, that you'd been treated successfully for before) you didn't have to go into your doctor, but instead send them a photo and receive a prescription without an office visit? It would cost you less, it would cost your doctor less, they would have more time, and it would be equally effective. What if that extra time could be spent by doctors receiving updates on whether their diabetes patients were taking their medicine, or communicating with them more? Studies have shown that increased *contact* whether it be in-person or digital, makes patients feel more like their doctors are invested in their outcomes and actually produces better outcomes as the patients feel responsible to someone other than themselves.
As you can probably tell, I think that the most long-lasting effect of this bill may actually be one of its most-ignored provisions, the one that starts the reform of how medicare/medicaid payments are made. There is ridiculous potential in this.
I really agree with Will. France is like a smug cousin. All the big biotechnological breakthroughs don't come from there.
It's hard to say that this bill would affect what we produce, in terms of biotechnology
i never said smug. your comment is possibly smug, but not France ;-)
i suppose my point is that all this "you're on your own buddy" attitude in usa also leads to some good/interesting things. Republicans are worried they will lose that edge, maybe...? Their opposition makes no sense otherwise.
personally i think healthcare is a human right. And if that don't appeal, if businesses didn't need to pay for their employees insurance they would quite likely be more competitive...don't imagine a republican would think that way (they might have once upon time) cause they don't actually care about businesses just the good will of a handful of CEO's, but would be nice if someone would explain the possibility to em.
France is cool but the ipod still comes from usa. lot's of other crazy shit too, but you know...
and the tech that made the ipod possible (compressed audio files) came from the germans.
i suppose my point is that all this "you're on your own buddy" attitude in usa also leads to some good/interesting things.
I think it leads to interesting things actually entering the marketplace and becoming available to lots of people, but these “interesting things” tend to start out in big publicly funded institutions. The roomba, for example, is based on military tech. oh - so is the internet. It’s pretty rare that a company, like apple, would spend a lot of it’s capital on R&D and innovation.
oh yeah. France's role in NATO among other things, is indifferent. Yet they reap the benefits of things that are mostly developed outside of France.
That is smug, IMO
i don't follow, since.
there is something special in usa that makes so much of modern life possible. it's not just r and d, its a willingness to fail that is not common in much of the world. every country has a few people willing to take a risk, but in usa its kind of enshrined in the culture (absolutely NOT so here in Japan, and less so in much of Europe too). some unforgivable things come from the same point of view too, but is too soon to say usa is not up to par. if santorum had his way i suppose it would be more worrying ;-) perhaps we need to wait another decade to see if friedman has the right end of the stick...
yeah - more likely to take on risk... it’s the big gamble, I guess... americans like to gamble.
in more interesting news - since 2010, american cities (urban cores) grew faster than the suburbs for the first time since the 1920s.
and - the “architects are liberal” thread is funny - I’m pretty sure the OP meant laissez faire instead of the f-ed up american view of “liberal."
for donna:
naptown!
http://bhcourier.com/jumper-dies-grove/2012/07/02 I haven't posted in so long. I just found out about one of my friends from undergrad. Damn he was such a great guy. If crossed anyone else's path, you would surely want to know. Brian, it's a damn shame it had to end so soon. We're sure as hell gonna miss you.
didn't brian post here in earlier archinect iterations? i seem to recall a young guy from texas tech posting a lot. that is a fucking shame, sad. just plain sad.
I was the young idiot from Texas Tech. And there was a guy with a blog named Brian Henry about the same age, but this Brian Henry is a different Brian Henry.
someone on my facebook feed posted about him but wasn't clear on what happened. Good to have the answer, but sad story.
And toaster, I was heartened by the fact that Donna and I took the same view on that one and went the 'progressive' route.
All in all....Wishing everyone a great 4th of July....and yes Woodie Guthrie was born about a hundred years ago...."This Land is my Land, This Land is Your Land...." Hoping you can hum a few bars.. Wondering if Mitt knows all of the verses...if he does he should be, tucking his head between his tail. America is much bigger than what money can buy!
rfuller, I hope it's not in bad taste to post my deepest sympathy about Brian's untimely passing. It's a shame that people leave this world too early.
wow - that is awful... my thoughts are also with those who knew him.
The article says he was in his thesis semester - I am wondering if this will have any effect on sci-arc's program.
so my car died finally while i went to lunch Tuesday. so now i need to decide whether to by a car (used, not to expensive etc) or just not and become a only by bicycle kind of guy. This would be a major commitment to a lifestyle i always enjoyed (bicycle transit) however instead of doing ti purely for enjoyment/convenience it would now just be a thing.....
Hi all!
do it nam! does gainesville have zipcar or something similar? we don't have a car in philadelphia (granted phila is very different from g'ville), but we're members of phillycarshare so we have access to a car that we use about once or twice a month.
Split the difference, Nam. Buy a motorcycle.
i actually have thought of getting a motorcycle but none of the women in my life are down....
as for Zipcar Phil they do and i actually have looked into that as a backup type option, the wrinkle is that all the zipcars are only on campus.
How about an electric bike? It sounds cool but I don't know if they really are cool or not.
eBikes are cool, but so are eMotorcycles and eScooters. The issue is if petrol powered two wheelers are out - will battery powered ones be accepted any easier by the missus?
The plus of an eBike in a subtropical flatland city like Gainesville is: they generate a breeze to keep you cooler without breaking a sweat.
nam, i thought one these with functioning air condition would be great! I had one in mid eighties, everything in it was automatic and either chrome plated or high quality imitation hardwood. man.., king of the road... parking was cumbersome sometimes.
orhan, diggin the scene with a gangsta lean.
that is quite a car, orhan!
@nam - you will save a ton of money by not having a car - we didn't have one until a few years ago (I got rid of my car after I moved out east). Plus getting around by bike has gotten lot easier lately. Makes me feel like having a car is a luxury - except when I have to drive out to a job site.
As someone who travels about 90% by bicycle (the remaining 10% by train) I feel I am qualified to answer this... Here're my thoughts, from first-hand experience:
- Rather than start hating biking by being more reliant on it, the opposite happened - I discovered more and more reasons to like it and more and more ways to enjoy it. I started out a few years ago mostly riding the train and sometimes biking (when I had to go places that public transit couldn't take me), then ended up (without realizing it) gradually increasingly choosing bike over train, until the point where now, when I look at any given address in the city that I need to get to, I am automatically calculating the bike route and distance to figure out what time I need, BEFORE I sometimes think "oh wait, is there maybe a bus that would go there?" and then I think "nahhh it would be so much easier to bike." Anyway this is just an anecdote that won't really apply to your life unless you live in one of the 4 towns in America that has an actual, useful urban transit system - but I mean, I thought I would get tired of biking and in fact the opposite happens. You start to realize how much easier it is to get groceries by bike instead of car, and to go to the library, or to go pretty much anywhere really, and you start thinking about driving less and less and less.
- On really really hot days, to my surprise I discovered that biking actually cools you down, because of the wind. So you don't need an electric bike for that. I don't know how to explain this, so you'll just have to trust me: in the winter biking keeps you warm, and in the summer somehow it keeps you cool. Cooler than walking.
It's kind of like learning to shop at Trader Joe's. Once you switch over, and kind of re-adapt your life to a different way of eating, then you start to wonder why you ever went to regular grocery stores in the first place... I dunno, I can't describe it.
Although I LOVE driving, and come from a family of car-nuts who love to drive, somehow I have to say - nowadays when I've been in a car too much I find myself longing to get back to my bike. I turn down rides so I can take my bike instead. It's really just... I can't explain it. It brings joy. The more you're on it, the happier you are.
Just invest in a rack over your back wheel and a quality panier bag, and you'll be good to go. That's all you really need, besides a U-lock!!
Interruption: I know someone selling an e30 BMW for 6000. Six months ago it was in near mint condition. Contact me, if you're still interested.
manta - completely agreed. I'd also invest in gloves (if you are biking more than a few miles in one direction), LED lights, a bell, bungee cords, and maybe after a while a front rack (best thing ever when picking up take-out). Panniers can be a little expensive - collapsable wire baskets are the cheapest option, but they do add some weight and you need to secure anything you put in them because they bounce around. I know a lot of people attach a milk-crate on top of the rear rack, but I think it makes you less stable - having something lower on the sides of the wheels is better.
I also bike commute about half the time.
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