I try fairly hard to buy things that are made in the U.S. as much as I can just on general principle and if I need something I will look long and hard find it. It has sort of become a game that is getting harder to play every year. Sometimes I wonder to my self if this country makes anything at all anymore.
This subject really hit home to me yesterday at the bicycle shop when we got in a discussion about the Cannondale bike brand. Cannondales are near and dear to me and I have been a loyal customer for decades. I think that I own seven of them. They are extremely high quality bikes at a fair price that are made in the USA. At least until the end of this year that is. The company recently announced that in 2010 frame manufacture will be moved to Taiwan and 200 of the current 300 employees will loose their jobs, a move that the parent company Dorel says will save the company $4 million dollars a year. They may save several million dollars but they are going to loose at least one very loyal customer.
So if you want a really good bike that will last for the rest of your life and is made in the USA, grab a Cannondale while you can. It is a dying breed.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
View from the sticks
I rounded up most of my bikes the other day for a group photo. There were still two missing. What you are looking at is the future of transportation in this country. We will still be driving cars for a long time but they will be used less and less to get around for trips under five miles.
The reaction that I get for having all these bikes strikes me a funny most of the time. I buy good quality bikes, Cannondale for the most part, and I still have less invested in all of them than I would have to pay for a decent used car. Most people don't understand what riding a good quality bike with good components is like and how much easier it is to go longer distances with one and also what a pleasure they are to ride.
So do yourself a favor. Go to a reputable local dealer, look around and take a test ride of a few upscale models and spend as much as you can afford to. Then start leaving the car at home for the local errands around town. You will be glad you did!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
View from the sticks
I have been thinking since I posted the brief piece last week about David Carradine how it was that I came to follow the Tao. The beginning was seeing Kung Fu as a kid. I did not care about the martial arts so much as the scenes in the monastery where "Grasshopper" would learn from Master Po and the other monks. That I found fascinating. Then came a book called "Dispatches" by Michael Herr which is probably the best book on the Vietnam War I have ever read. In it he wrote about a war correspondent named Tim Page who was in to Taoism.
The next link in the chain was in the Rangers. I was hanging out with a few other Rangers who were interested in the Martial Arts, especially the power of the mind. I was also reading a little bit of Carlos Castaneda at the time. The Rangers pushes people way beyond what most people would consider their own limits. I had many experiences that could not be explained in a logical, rational manner and followed them where they led. I learned some lessons that could not be learned any other way and trying to describe them I find nearly impossible. I also had a very small Bible that the Military gives out. I carried it in my Rucksack and would read it during the waiting portion of the "Hurry up and Wait" that the military is famous for. I read it cover to cover at least a dozen times over the four years I was in.
After leaving the Rangers came a few years of trying to find a balance between the life and experiences I had left and the new one as a civilian. It was very difficult and I was reading and studying very hard trying to find balance.
A major influence and the writer I give the most credit to as far as discovering the Tao goes, is Alan Watts. I have around thirty of his books and one I read over and over is "Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown, A mountain Journal. Alan is the one who really helped me, post military.
Other books with a major influence were:
TAO, The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
NAM by Tim Page
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
The Nature of personal reality by Jane Roberts
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams
Illusions by Richard Bach
This is but the very tip of a very long reading list. There are hundreds more upstairs right now that had some influence on me to some extent. I do love my books!
Anyway, there is an old saying that the Tao can not be described but only experienced and as I go along though life I believe that is very true. The books above pointed in the general direction that I should go but the Tao teaches in its own way and in its own time.
The next link in the chain was in the Rangers. I was hanging out with a few other Rangers who were interested in the Martial Arts, especially the power of the mind. I was also reading a little bit of Carlos Castaneda at the time. The Rangers pushes people way beyond what most people would consider their own limits. I had many experiences that could not be explained in a logical, rational manner and followed them where they led. I learned some lessons that could not be learned any other way and trying to describe them I find nearly impossible. I also had a very small Bible that the Military gives out. I carried it in my Rucksack and would read it during the waiting portion of the "Hurry up and Wait" that the military is famous for. I read it cover to cover at least a dozen times over the four years I was in.
After leaving the Rangers came a few years of trying to find a balance between the life and experiences I had left and the new one as a civilian. It was very difficult and I was reading and studying very hard trying to find balance.
A major influence and the writer I give the most credit to as far as discovering the Tao goes, is Alan Watts. I have around thirty of his books and one I read over and over is "Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown, A mountain Journal. Alan is the one who really helped me, post military.
Other books with a major influence were:
TAO, The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
NAM by Tim Page
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
The Nature of personal reality by Jane Roberts
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams
Illusions by Richard Bach
This is but the very tip of a very long reading list. There are hundreds more upstairs right now that had some influence on me to some extent. I do love my books!
Anyway, there is an old saying that the Tao can not be described but only experienced and as I go along though life I believe that is very true. The books above pointed in the general direction that I should go but the Tao teaches in its own way and in its own time.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
View from the sticks
For a while now I have been feeding the birds and have enjoyed watching them. After I got a guidebook I was very surprised and how many different bird species I had visiting my feeders during the course of the year. I took the next step this year and started on a long term project. After seeing an Eastern Bluebird in the garden for the first time ever I got plans and started building nesting boxes for the Bluebirds. I am also working on building boxes for the little brown bats that fly around my back yard at dusk.
An added bonus to watching the birds during the day is the great job they do in keeping the insect numbers in check. I had so little insect damage in the garden last year and did not know why. I did not realize how aggressive a predator they were until watching them go after a frayed piece of string blowing in the breeze in the garden last year. They must have thought it was a moth and went after it for hours.
So if you can, give the birds a little help and they will repay it many times over.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
View from the sticks
It is with a touch of sadness that I read that David Carradine died today in Bangkok. His role as Kwai Chang Caine, aka "grasshopper" gave me my first exposure to Asian Spirituality and is one reason that I follow the Tao today. As the master once said to grasshopper, "Time for you to leave". RIP and thank you Mr Carradine.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
View from the sticks
Spring is slowly easing its way in to central Michigan and I can't wait for it to stay. We get a few nice days where I can work outside in the garden or the shop and then that cold wind out of the north starts back up. I have increased the miles on the bike to over 10 every day and the legs are protesting less. I had hopes of seeing more people on bikes this spring but since the gas prices came down from last summer people are back in the cars even for their short trips around town.
If you decide to ride your bicycle more this year, now is a good time to look it over closely and see if anything needs maintenance or repair. Pay close attention to the tires for cuts, weathering or low pressure. Look at the brakes to be sure the pads are not worn or dried out. Operate the brakes and the shifters to make sure everything is operating properly. Give the frame a once over looking for cracks or major dents and damage. Pick up the bike and give the wheels a spin by hand and see if there is any wobble. Last, give the chain a cleaning and some lube to start the season out right.
If you have any questionable areas then take it to the local shop and get them fixed or get a manual and some tools and give it a try on your own. Its a good skill to have when times get hard. The worst that can happen is you will have to take it to the shop and have them do it after you give it a try and can't get it fixed.
Think Spring and enjoy!
If you decide to ride your bicycle more this year, now is a good time to look it over closely and see if anything needs maintenance or repair. Pay close attention to the tires for cuts, weathering or low pressure. Look at the brakes to be sure the pads are not worn or dried out. Operate the brakes and the shifters to make sure everything is operating properly. Give the frame a once over looking for cracks or major dents and damage. Pick up the bike and give the wheels a spin by hand and see if there is any wobble. Last, give the chain a cleaning and some lube to start the season out right.
If you have any questionable areas then take it to the local shop and get them fixed or get a manual and some tools and give it a try on your own. Its a good skill to have when times get hard. The worst that can happen is you will have to take it to the shop and have them do it after you give it a try and can't get it fixed.
Think Spring and enjoy!
Monday, October 6, 2008
View from Downtown Chicago.....
And no, I'm not talking about the river, unfortunately. Hi everyone, it's Alecia- My Dad invited me to contribute to his blog, and well, I'm not exactly busy at work right now... :(
I work in a Commercial Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company, and as most would expect, the general mood is a little....shall we say depressing??
It's easy to look at the agents here and think "poor babies, not making their millions this month, boo hoo!". I know that's how I felt up until I moved into the Chicago office last month from Phoenix. Problem is, looking around I am seeing young people, mostly all my age, that just graduated college a few years ago and decided that real estate was a good idea (can you really blame them?). These guys don't get a paycheck until they sell a deal. Some of these guys have not sold a deal yet- and many have been here since 2005. I watch these guys bring in cheap frozen dinners (the kind that don't even fill ME up) from home for lunch every single day- and they aren't doing it by choice. These guys are losing money by coming here everyday. They look at me and say "man, I would love to trade you jobs....". And they are dead serious.
It's easy to be naive and overly optimistic when all you have ever experienced is excess. Even I, who grew up in small town Michigan, have only seen good times. Sure, I have made my fair share of stupid decisions, but I have always had food in my stomach, and I have always known that no matter how stupid my decision was, I would have help if I needed it. It's really hard to wrap your head around a looming crisis when all you have ever known is peace. It was really hard for me at first to truly realize that the world won't always be the way that I know it- and It's even harder knowing that some of the people I love will never realize this until it's too late.
I found www.latocforum.com in the beginning of the year and well, freaked a little at first. Realizing something like Peak Oil truly exists and is imminent is not easy. Most people that hear about PO immediately shut their brains down and stick their heads in the sand because it just doesn't "fit" with their expectations of the world. And then there are the people like my Dads co-worker that fall off the deep end and freak out a little too much. I tried to stay right in the center- prepared, but still living in the "real world".
I am lucky, my Dad (obviously) understands, and my Husband plays along and lets me do my thing, even though I am pretty sure he thinks I am at least a tiny bit crazy ;). Also, I am fortunate enough to have an ex-Ranger Father that lives in a paid off house in a small, agricultural town to fall back on if (when?) my company finally folds, my hubbys company folds (he thinks it will never happen, I hope he is right...), and we run out of $$ (won't be long!!). Most people are not this lucky. Most people I know keep less than a weeks worth of food on hand and would just simply sit down and cry if the lights went out. I hope these people can get a grip before it's too late....
Well, the DOW is down 761 (OMG!) points at the moment and I should really go back to pretending to work now (yea right, I will be on LATOC in five minutes guaranteed, LOL).
Till next time,
Alecia
I work in a Commercial Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company, and as most would expect, the general mood is a little....shall we say depressing??
It's easy to look at the agents here and think "poor babies, not making their millions this month, boo hoo!". I know that's how I felt up until I moved into the Chicago office last month from Phoenix. Problem is, looking around I am seeing young people, mostly all my age, that just graduated college a few years ago and decided that real estate was a good idea (can you really blame them?). These guys don't get a paycheck until they sell a deal. Some of these guys have not sold a deal yet- and many have been here since 2005. I watch these guys bring in cheap frozen dinners (the kind that don't even fill ME up) from home for lunch every single day- and they aren't doing it by choice. These guys are losing money by coming here everyday. They look at me and say "man, I would love to trade you jobs....". And they are dead serious.
It's easy to be naive and overly optimistic when all you have ever experienced is excess. Even I, who grew up in small town Michigan, have only seen good times. Sure, I have made my fair share of stupid decisions, but I have always had food in my stomach, and I have always known that no matter how stupid my decision was, I would have help if I needed it. It's really hard to wrap your head around a looming crisis when all you have ever known is peace. It was really hard for me at first to truly realize that the world won't always be the way that I know it- and It's even harder knowing that some of the people I love will never realize this until it's too late.
I found www.latocforum.com in the beginning of the year and well, freaked a little at first. Realizing something like Peak Oil truly exists and is imminent is not easy. Most people that hear about PO immediately shut their brains down and stick their heads in the sand because it just doesn't "fit" with their expectations of the world. And then there are the people like my Dads co-worker that fall off the deep end and freak out a little too much. I tried to stay right in the center- prepared, but still living in the "real world".
I am lucky, my Dad (obviously) understands, and my Husband plays along and lets me do my thing, even though I am pretty sure he thinks I am at least a tiny bit crazy ;). Also, I am fortunate enough to have an ex-Ranger Father that lives in a paid off house in a small, agricultural town to fall back on if (when?) my company finally folds, my hubbys company folds (he thinks it will never happen, I hope he is right...), and we run out of $$ (won't be long!!). Most people are not this lucky. Most people I know keep less than a weeks worth of food on hand and would just simply sit down and cry if the lights went out. I hope these people can get a grip before it's too late....
Well, the DOW is down 761 (OMG!) points at the moment and I should really go back to pretending to work now (yea right, I will be on LATOC in five minutes guaranteed, LOL).
Till next time,
Alecia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
