- Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.—Gravity’s Rainbow
‘Is it about a bicycle?’ he asked.—The Third Policeman Categories
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You will never see an ad here. If you want or need something, we trust you will be able to want or need it without us planting the urge or ache. You certainly do not need our help finding what your heart desires on the internet.- “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”—H.G. Wells
More bicycle quotations »
Author Archives: WorldWideWeber
Maier
A very belated (i.e., posthumous) “happy birthday” to the greatest street photographer you’ve probably never heard of: Vivian Maier. She’s right up there with Cartier-Bresson and Winogrand, and she was totally unknown during her lifetime. She is unknown no longer, … Continue reading
Hyperstorage
Smartphones are amazing in a lot of ways, but the sight of the 2GB microSD card was … well, almost ludicrous. I had a flashback to a 360KB 5¼-inch floppy disk, and the big old piece of machinery needed to … Continue reading
Nots
To kick off the new year, here’s a story by a Russian writer with a very Polish name: Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky. I’m just starting to explore his works, only a few of which have appeared in English. I thought I’d add … Continue reading
Chromoconfusion
Remember my blue-green Volvo? Of course you don’t. You remember my green-blue Volvo. In any case, I’m thinking about the problem of color again, so watch out. Blame it on the University of Chicago and its blasted alumni magazine. The … Continue reading
UTF-8
Encoding (aka code pages)? No one gives a damn about encoding! True enough. It’s so deeply geeky, it’s hard to imagine any normal person knowing the difference between CP1251 and KOI8-R, for instance. Windows had code pages coming out the … Continue reading
Rallying
In October I attended two very different rallies in Washington, DC. And I did not attend a third, which was different in a different way. The third rally was actually the first, chronologically: Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” shindig in August. … Continue reading
Robič
As part of my continuing coverage of Crazy Slovenians (being ¼ C.S. myself), I’m sorry to report the death of one of the craziest (in the best sense, as usual). Back in 2008 the Basement saluted the winner of the … Continue reading
Varo
Every once in a while, a comment arrives in the Basement from out of the blue. Why, just recently a visitor commented on a post from September 2007, sharing his personal experiences visiting Inca structures in Peru and Bolivia. It’s … Continue reading
Gadsden
Not content to wrap themselves in the Stars and Bars Stripes, the “Tea Party” people are grabbing other nice flags from our great confused history. I always liked the Gadsden flag: “Don’t tread on me” (although—in a fit of revolutionary … Continue reading
Linked
There’s nothing like a new chain to make you feel good about your old bike. Topping off the tire pressure was icing on the cake.
