des moines bicycle kollective

the goal a few of us have been working toward for a some time is beginning to pick up momentum, and it's starting to look like it probably will happen. but it's going to require that more of you come forward, lend a hand, and pitch in to make it certain that it does happen.

okay, mostly reverend, now what are you talking about?

all right, i'll tell you: it's a bike collective. you've heard of the iowa city bike library, and there are similar operations springing up all over the country.

what is the des moines bicycle collective?

i see it as a place to facilitate the integration of bicycles, people, and the city of des moines.

it's not a bike shop, but it's a place where folks can get a bike.

it's not a school, but it's a place where people can learn about bikes.

it's not a library, but it's a place where folks can borrow and exchange ideas and skills.

it's not a community center, but it's a place where the members of a vital community will feel welcome to come, hang out, and make and meet friends.

it's not a political entity, but it can be a unifying force for helping to expand the des moines cycling community to include many facets and residents of the city of des moines, and to help make the ENTIRE city of des moines safer for ALL bicyclists, and isn't it about time THAT happens?

first and foremost, we will have bikes. not brand new bikes, but good old bikes that have been donated and rehabbed and made better than they were before. and we'll loan them out, in exchange for a small refundable deposit. if you like the bike, you can keep it, and we keep your deposit.

we will be a service station for the homeless and under-housed bike riders in town. you've seen them riding around town. their bikes are critically important to them. well, by god, they are going to have properly-inflated tires, functioning brakes, and non-squeaking chains. and we'll do it for free, or damned near free.

we will be a training center. we will teach cyclists, young, old and in-between, how to maintain bikes. and we will teach them to APPRECIATE those good, old bikes for the vital role they can play in their lives, and in the life of ANY community in which they live. under the guidance of genuine seasoned bicycle mechanics, we will teach and and train future bike mechanics to work on, repair, and maintain their own bikes, and the bikes of others. we will hold classes--lots of classes--for whomever wants them, on whatever topics they desire. we will have "ladies nights" on a regular basis, where "women only" can address whatever gender-specific issues they wish. bike maintenance, bike building, bike community issues, dealing with assholes in cars and on bikes, whatever. we will have frame building courses. we will have "build a fixie" nights and "build a single-speeder" nights where you can convert your own bike for cheap. we will have wheel building classes.

we will have work space and tools available. and parts and other stuff you need. every bike that goes out the door will wear a "des moines bicycle collective" sticker. we will be a central voice for the bicycle, and for the people who choose to ride them.

.....

and it's all right downtown. the des moines bicycle collective is located right next door to boesen's the florists, on grand avenue between 6th and 7th streets. BIG thanks to boesen's, who is our first biggest donor, giving us free rent for the first year.

.....

here's what you can do:

1--give us your old bikes and parts. not crap; we're not a garbage bin. but we ARE a non-profit organization, and you'll get a receipt for your donation, okay? don't ebay, recycle it.

2--we need a plumber to help us do some minor installations.

3--we need someone skilled with constructing and installing shelves, counters, and workbenches, that kind of stuff.

4--ditto with an electrician.

5--we need a graphic artist [garrett, are you reading this?]

6--we're going to need some volunteers, around the end of february or early march, to clear out the space preparatory to building the place.

people who volunteer at the bike collective will be rewarded, but in order to learn how, you're gonna have to ask about "volunteering opportunities."

.....

something to keep in mind: this is not a big-budget, glitz and shiny things operation. this is about bringing bikes to the people, and the people to bikes. it's about teaching bikes and cars and trucks and buses and people and cities and counties to all get along without killing or maiming each other. you want glitz and shiny things, you know where to get them. but if you want to help build the des moines bicycling community, this is where you start.

we'll have plenty of bike parking available.

.....

we are targetting an early spring opening, and i'll be at the bike expo in march with more information.

and of course, you can contact me here in the comments, or directly at eeastonwest@aol.com.

everyone who has ever ridden a bike, or who ever hopes to ride a bike, thanks you!

no apologies: it's MY blog, doggone it!

my puppy, dmitri, will be one on february 28.

from reports of all of the various owners, he and his four brothers are the most laid-back dogs on the planet. we are scheming to get them together some time this summer, which will necessitate a trip to or through georgia--never a bad thing. these guys are all different, all similar, and all have the craziest damned ears. here they are, within the past few months.

custo--shaggy face, fuzzy body; custo has big old fuzzy ears.

dmitri--the shaggiest dog of the bunch, featuring a nice comb-over ear. i realized i don't have a recent photo showing him all shagged-out AND with his ear akimbo. take my word for it.

chips--fuzzy face, smooth body, curl-tipped ears.

cowboy--smooth body, smooth face, ross perot is missing his ears. reminds me of a song whose lyrics we re-wrote in sunday school: "god's got radar ears; he don't see, he hears."
chips, again--i love these fuzzy faces.
slick--he's probably the largest of the bunch. would look like a real tough guy, except for the blue squeak toy that he takes everywhere.

YOU write the caption

thanks, tengrain

jack and the magic bean bus

Chapter 16--hit the road, jack

Jack woke up to the gentle swaying of the titanic S. S. Chrysler sailing full steam ahead through rolling oceans of farm fields. The unevenness of the road caused the front end of the car to pitch up and down like a ship nosing its way through billowing waves. Brendan skillfully piloted through traffic as they made their way westward from Iowa City. Jack was bound for Denver at last.

A sign along the highway showed that they were approaching Des Moines, and Jack sank a little lower in his seat while pretending to sleep again. He had been on the run from a Des Moines Register investigation and a wild raccoon army for the past two days. Now it seemed to Jack that he was returning to the scene of the crime.

“But what crime?” thought Jack to himself. Why was he being sought for questioning? Why was he being chased by raccoons? What connection could he possibly have with what the newspaper called “financial irregularities”? If they could just slip past Des Moines without getting caught, Jack felt that he might make it all the way to the great mountains of the west, where he would be safe. Then maybe he could find some answers to these questions.

More than an hour later, Jack woke up again. He had fallen asleep while pretending to be asleep. The mile markers showed that they were well past Des Moines and would soon be leaving Iowa all together. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and sat up.

Seeing that Jack was awake, Brendan spoke up. “We need to stop for gas pretty soon.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” asked Jack.
“What’s safe? Shelby?”
“How do you know about Kelby?”
“Kelby? Yeah, I know Kelby. But I’m talking about Shelby,” explained Brendan with the patience of a kindergarten teacher. “There’s a town just ahead called Shelby. We need to stop there for gas.”

“Oh,” mumbled Jack, and then he was quiet for a moment. It occurred to Jack that he should help pay for gas, but he only had 99¢ left in his pocket. Even if Jack put all that money into the tank, it would probably be barely enough to propel the gas-guzzling monster back out of the parking lot. Besides, Jack was hoping to use that money for food later on. Maybe he could find another Hy-Vee down the road with a 99¢ supper to match the 99¢ breakfast he had eaten that morning. It might be his last chance for a good meal.

What would Sister Kim do? Jack stared out of the window and watched the scenery drift by. Offering to help pay for gas would be the right thing to do, even if was all the money Jack had. Jack had made it this far. He would just have to deal with whatever happened next. Besides, he was pretty sure that Brendan had just mentioned knowing Kelby.
This was quite a stroke of luck because even though Jack knew that he was supposed to head to the big mountains of the west to find Kelby, he really had no idea where to start looking once he was out there.

Of course, Brendan might have been talking about a different Kelby just by coincidence. But then again, there couldn’t be that many Kelbys out there. Or was it Kelbies? Or maybe the plural should be Kelbi. “Whatever,” thought Jack as Brendan pulled the S. S. Chrysler to starboard and exited from I-80 for the little town of Shelby. They parked at the pumps, and Brendan fueled up the car while Jack headed into the gas station for the restroom.

On his way out of the restroom, Jack overheard two customers arguing with each other by the vending machines. “We’ve been working on this stupid route from Missouri Valley for three days now, and I’m sick of it,” snapped the first customer. He was wearing a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes.

“Oh yeah? We’ve been stuck in the same car together for three days, and I’m sick of you!” hissed the other customer, who was wearing dark sunglasses.
“Shut it. Marne can’t be the last town on the route if we stay in Atlantic. We’ve got our orders.”
“That means we’ll have to rework the route. We might even have to choose a different overnight town.”
“Then there’s no way we can make budget. They’ve been clamping down on expenses ever since the new computer auditing system discovered the scam.”

“Relax. It’ll all sort out once they catch that run-away orphan and feed him to the raccoons. Besides, this computer thing is just a fad. Within ten years, they’ll be as popular as 8-Tracks.”
“What-Tracks?”
“Exactly.”
Jack had heard enough. He slipped quietly out of the gas station and into Brendan’s car, sinking as far down into the seat as he could.

to be continued...

[a serial by little orphan dbax]

the bush administration judicial vetting process

more than once i've heard someone sincerely ask,

"where the hell do they FIND these people?"

well, for judges in the boston area, apparently they go as far as new hampshire.

specifically, the breezeway pub, at 14 pearl street, which bills itself as “new hampshire’s favorite gay and alternative bar,” according to its web site.

why the hell would i say that? well, let's just read this.

hot news from the archives

...of the library of congress, lincoln department:

when i was a kid--elementary school, and on into junior high--i was all over this abraham lincoln stuff. most likely because my father was a photographer, and since i could remember, my brother and i had as one of our many primary play places his old--and still semi-functioning--darkroom out on grandma's farm, i had always been transfixed by the old field photography from the civil war battlefields [see the example, above]. not just the rawness of the subjects [death, life, and all things in-between], but also because of the unbelievable life-like details achievable in those then century-old photos. our little kodak brownies, and other hand-made oatmeal pin-hole cameras, could only dream of such quality. so with great interest i listened to this piece on npr's morning edition [click here to read; click here to hear] about a new discovery in the library of congress archives. seems some photos and negatives had been mislabelled and filed under "president grant" and not discovered until the whole she-banged was gone through as the library puts its massive--massive--archives online. [and what a wet dream THAT is for the history geeks out there.]

above is a photograph of the text of lincoln's second inaugural address, hand-written by old honest abe himself, and featuring his own edit markings. if you're as geeky as i am, you'll explore the many links on the npr story, and then realize you've forgotten to eat breakfast--again.

click on "let levi ride"

then visit and read the site.

thanks. [like it will help...]