I wouldn't like to recommend a particular brand as I just have cheap types that are flat earphones in a headband; "sleep phones" seems like the preferred google terminology, sorry. You can get them on eBay or Amazon for under $30 though there are no doubt better quality ones.
There is a 'report a problem' link in the ⋮ (vertical ellipsis, three dots) menu. From there you should be able to request blurring for people and houses etc.
You'll have to do it several times, because usually not all years are done at once, and not all angles. I think I had to report it five times or so.
Thanks for sharing this! I'm really interested in getting a recumbent because of my back injury (I talk about this in this thread) and I think I'll start exploring all the options. The only two things that are holding me back are a) these types of bikes are more expensive than regular ones, multiple times b) embracing that I can't probably ride a regular bike anymore, it's a mental thing, and it's a mix of grief and fear how will people perceive me.
I’m not entirely sure why there’s so definite a link between being unable to ride a bicycle and riding a recumbent tricycle, though I know it to be so from talking to local manufacturers. For me, I’m perfectly able-bodied, I just wanted to ride a recumbent tricycle because it seemed to me that they would be generally better (for comfort, enjoyment and safety), and I have indeed found it so.
Fear not perception: as a generalisation, people love recumbent tricycles and their riders; my experience is that you will get an overwhelmingly positive reaction. I have observed negative reactions from drivers on a very few occasions (at a rate similar to an upright bicycle, I think), but overtly positive reactions from drivers very regularly, which is not common on an upright bicycle. As for pedestrians, well, if you’re open to it people will talk to you about your vehicle very, very regularly, positively and curiously.
I commuted everyday using my bicycle and did a few tours in my 20s here in Europe. Those were the best travel experiences I had in my life, especially when my partner joined me on one of my tours. But few months into my 30s I hurt my back (two herniated discs) and although I'm mostly fine now I can't ride a bicycle for longer periods. This depresses me quite a bit. I miss the freedom, views and the community.
I started to think about buying a recumbent bike for touring but there's no one around me who owns or sells one to try it.
I have never ridden a recumbent. But for 7 years I had a regular cycling partner who rode one, for similar reasons. He was also an ultra cyclist (think 300 miles or more a ride). We did many centuries in the mountain West. Very hard to draft on the long downhill grades, but slow on the up. No big deal. The thing is the poser cyclists who sport the carbon and the kit and the electronics are almost entirely squares and will give you shade... but you just ignore them. It's the people riding across the country, enjoying themselves, not caring what other people think, that's the people I want to ride with.
As for trying one out, I would recommend talking to your LBS with the best mechanical reputation. Every recumbent rider I've seen was the only one around, and because their rigs are non-standard they tend to have a very good relationship with their competent LBS. I suspect the local recumbent person would be delighted to introduce you to their ride.
Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah, I didn't bother about the lycra warrior culture when I was touring, just bringing so much competition and rigidness in such a (to me) anxiety free environment was off-putting to me.
My friend, who worked in a bike shop, told me that recumbents require a knowledgeable mechanic but if I find one he/she will be more than happy to work on such a different build.
> I started to think about buying a recumbent bike for touring but there's no one around me who owns or sells one to try it.
My mother used to have one. As long as you're not crossing the Alpes it is great for tours (the riding tends to be significantly easier due to less wind resistance), but not so great for commuting in the city (you're seen less, have less maneuverability, need more space for parking ...). I highly recommend searching out a place and maybe do a weekend trip to a city near you where there is a job to try it out, however be aware it takes a while to really feel comfortable on them.
I heard riding up-hill is more challenging but it's still better than not riding at all. I'll probably have to ride 300-400 km to a more bike-centric place to find a shop that sells recumbents but there's no other option. These types of bikes are expensive though.
In addition to other comments: They also are safer, at least in one significant way: Most accidents on upright bikes involve people flying over the handlebars.
I really like using notebooks and writing my thoughts, helps with ADHD and with grounding when I'm in full panic mode. I feel I think more clearly and structured when my thinking is paired with writing.
I also _love_ good quality notebooks but I feel guilty when using them for everyday scribbles like meeting notes. It feels like sacrilege.
Your meeting notes don't have to be scribbles. Learn to take quick and accurate notes while listening and talking, and they become an enormously valuable reference.
I'm not being purely metaphorical in this use of "valuable", either. Last year this skill made me about twenty-four thousand dollars.
No, but I'm sure you can think of any number of situations in which it's of material benefit to have the best memory in the conversation. Taking good notes means not having to rely for specifics on the squishy stuff between your ears.
I dedicate the very last page of all my work notebooks - Mnemosyne N195As, so very nice indeed - entirely to doodles and scribbles, both because with fountain pens sometimes you need a sheet like that, and because sometimes a person needs a sheet like that.
If I'm doodling in a work notebook, that's an indication that I need to either re-engage with the meeting or leave it, and perhaps also have a quiet word afterward to whoever was ostensibly running it. (Or I'm testing a freshly reinked or swabbed pen.)
If your fountain pen blots, you may want to consider a different ink. Western pens have larger nibs and feeds than Japanese, so tend to be very wet when filled with thinner Japanese inks. Contrapositively, Western inks tend to flow poorly in Japanese pens, especially those with smaller nib sizes. A shame; I miss my J. Herbin violet.
It could also be due to rough handling, and probably is if you tend often to find ink on the inside of the cap and the outside of the section, and thence of course on your fingers.
You might also write with too heavy a hand, which tends to splay the tines of the nib; this is especially likely if you tend to see lines that don't properly fill with ink, since too wide a space between the tines will fail to sustain the capillary action that draws ink smoothly from the feed to the tip, and will also make dripping more likely since the flow of ink from the feed is no longer properly controlled. Gold nibs are especially vulnerable here; if you're new to fountain pens, consider switching for a while to a steel nib, which will feel somewhat rougher but write just as well and be much more forgiving of mistakes as you learn how correctly to use this type of tool.
If none of these apply, then perhaps the pen just needs to be flushed and cleaned, which is something worth doing with a fountain pen after every few fills at most, or between different inks and especially different brands. This merits concern not just for color mixing reasons, but also because some inks when mixed exhibit chemical behaviors that can lead to clogging. And just generally, a well-maintained pen will write much more neatly and reliably than one that hasn't been looked after in a while.
I use notebooks for thinking at work but I've noticed I'm only ever really making progress when talking to a colleague. Now that helps untangle thoughts and get from ideas into an actionable plan. Even the notebook doesn't really help me with that.
Great post! Nowadays I struggle a lot with creating music. I mostly WFH and most of my job equipment (laptop + monitor) and my music equipment (guitars, synths, pedals etc.) with my music recording equipment (laptop + monitor) is in the same room. I don't have the luxury of another hobby only room so I mostly finish my day job and never return into my office until the next work day starts.
Also there's the recording medium problem, which is the same as my work medium - a laptop. I would love to hear some suggestions how to turn this around.
I just recently purchased a Tascam DP-008EX which is a small, portable (even runs on batteries), 8 track recorder that is entirely self contained. I love it. I want to completely remove the computer from my music process because I find it distracting. This is a great way to do it which harkens back a bit to the older 4 or 8 track cassette recorders but this has some nice built in stuff like phantom power, reverb knobs on every track, etc.
> Also there's the recording medium problem, which is the same as my work medium - a laptop. I would love to hear some suggestions how to turn this around.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. work is on the work laptop on the couch, personal is on the personal laptop on the couch. desk goes mostly unused at the moment, but music gear is surrounding the desk.
here's my current line of thinking:
* work on work laptop on the couch
* personal laptop moves to desk, where monitors and music gear live
* personal couch work gets moved to iPad Pro to be purchased, so different form factor
I think I'm stuck on the iPad Pro right now, because FOMO in 5 months, but otherwise I think I have my next steps figured out.
Are you trying to say that working in a different OS is an enough context switch for you? I also produced a lot of music but when I switched careers and became a developer a struggle to create using a laptop and a DAW.
Yeah, absolutely. Except it's not just a different OS, it's a different physical device. My Mac only gets used for work (and playing around with music visualisation), my iPad only gets used for music, I think of it as a portable studio - the iOS music ecosystem is incredible these days.
I have live in Dallas TX, the place i would go is Ft. Davis or maybe Alpine TX. Both of those places are in Southwest TX not from the Mexican border and don't seem to be in or near any target list. I know the area very well having spent a lot of time in Marfa and Marathon ( i was married in Marathon ).
The fallout maps are kind of all over the place, you can GIS for us nuclear fallout map but below is a link to a simulation that is in alignment with the rest of the maps more or less. Granted, local weather makes a huge difference so take that into account.
The signal in my mind is a NATO soldier killing a Russian soldier. I wfh so if that happens i go work from Alpine TX for a week and see if there's an escalation. If not, i come back and buy a round of drinks for my friends for being a paranoid nutjob.
Granted, it's not that simple. I have a wife+2kids and MIL in a garage apartment. what about them? Also, we have 5 pets between us. Do i hire a pet sitter? heh it's ridiculous to contemplate to the point of being offensive to those with artillery raining down on them right at this moment. But given the brain i'm blessed/cursed with, thinking through these things is how i cope.
edit: i want to reiterate this.
"it's ridiculous to contemplate to the point of being offensive to those with artillery raining down on them right at this moment. But given the brain i'm blessed/cursed with, thinking through these things is how i cope."
i wrote my post over a nice hot cup of coffee while sitting in my home office waiting for a conference call to start. I can never know the fear and anxiety affecting those in a very real line of fire. I just want to point out that i realize that.
