Bitching about bicycles
I shut down my mobile bike-repair service about six years ago, which meant my bicycle-technology obsessions quickly lost most of their intensity. But there was a lot of innovation going on in the bike industry when I got my start in the early 2010s, and by the time I...
President Biden defends the truth
I kept waiting to read a column devoted to this observation, and maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t seen it. But since I haven’t, here goes: The best thing about President Biden’s inaugural address was that he called out Republican lies...
Proposed: A way to address propaganda
Pass a law that grants the Federal Communications Comission power to review “public-interest news and commentary” programming for its “stewardship of facts,” regardless of whether the programming is broadcast over the air or transmitted via...
A problem, but not THE problem
Originally published on Facebook on Nov. 23, 2020. re: This wandering conversation we’re all having about what to think about the 73.8 million people who voted for Trump this month despite four years of mayhem. And I’m going to keep it simple. It’s...
Things Trump has called a hoax
(A partial list) Global Warming The Democrats President Obama Low unemployment rates in 2016 The Steele Dossier “Russia, Russia, Russia” Wikileaks The Mueller Investigation Criminal charges against Paul Manafort “Immigration” New York Times...
The heirloom tomato problem
There’s something romantic about heirloom tomatoes. People wax poetic about them, write songs about them, pine for them. That’s one of the reasons I emphasized them when we started growing for market: I figured it was just good business to provide a thing...
The non-linear 2020 election
I just read an NPR interview with journalist McKay Coppins (thank you Lex Alexander), where the topic was what Trump and his campaign will do to win this fall. It covers the waterfront pretty well, with serial focus on the powers of incumbency, preparations for a...
Fix the cans, save the world
So: I’m a progressive, and I tend to support candidates that other people call “communists,” “socialists,” or just “too liberal.” What do they mean by that? Who knows? People believe all sorts of crazy shit. But here’s...
The Spoils of Empire
Some years ago, Janet gave me a used copy of Gore Vidal’s “Burr” as my Christmas present. Thoroughly recommended, but I’m not here to write a book report. What Vidal understood about America was what I refused to admit: Though we were founded...
Racing to the bottom
American hot rod legend Carroll Shelby is experiencing something of a cultural moment this month, thanks to the feature film “Ford vs. Ferrari,” which I hope to see soon. But last night I watched a new documentary called “Shelby American,” and...
Dan Conover
Howdy
Howdy! This is my current blog,