OS X Lion: First impressions

July 21, 2011

Apple launched it’s shiny new Lion operating system yesterday, for the first time available via Apple’s Ap Store–for $29.99. I am an early adopter. I had made some of the recommended preparations (such as repairing file permissions), so I was ready to go yesterday afternoon. After reading a couple of reviews and tweets, I bit […]

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Writing undressed

July 18, 2011

Sartorial Disarray: Hésiode et la Muse, Gustav Moreau, 1891 Read the update! In my very first VeloWebLog post, I mentioned a writer who claims his words pour freely onto the page unedited. His well-oiled writing habits assure a steady flow of literary bonanzas. Alas, it takes me days, sometimes weeks, to hammer out something I […]

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Victoria rally to stop the HST on bikes

July 6, 2011

Update, August 26, 2011: The people of B.C. have rejected the hated HST. The Liberals say it will take 18 months to reinstate the PST/GST system. Will that include the exemption on bicycles that they scrapped with the imposition of the HST? This is a bit last minute, but if you resent the new tax […]

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“It’s financially sustainable, it’s environmentally sustainable”: A young New Yorker praises bikes

July 4, 2011

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23645831[/vimeo] In the last few years, New York City has undertaken a massive cycling infrastructure project (to the horror of many regressive types), retrofitting hundreds of kilometres of bike lanes. These have not only served to attract new bicycle commuters to the downtown, they have “humanized” the urban landscape, attracting people to the calmed boulevards. […]

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Riding a dream: Photographing Vancouver’s classic Wooden Roller Coaster

June 30, 2011

Pacific National Exhibition, 1986 (click to enlarge) Vancouver’s Wooden Roller Coaster, situated at Playland on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds, was designed by Carl Phare, with construction overseen by Walker Leroy, in 1958. The ride has a maximum drop height of 20 m (75 ft) and attains speeds of up to 76 km/h (47 mph). It is recognized by […]

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Powering electronic devices with a bicycle generator hub

June 27, 2011

Long distance cyclists using dynamo hubs to power their lights were quick to imagine charging electronic accessories–mobile phones, GPS, PBS (personal broadcasting station)–with their own muscle. Until recently, solar-chargers were the only option, used to top up external batteries. Now, there are several aftermarket adapters to draw juice from a dynohub and supply it direct […]

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