Hopstretch

Let’s get this bandwagon rolling!

The Specialized Turbo Vado is, as expected, a blast to ride around on errands and makes short work of the (very) steep hill up to my house. Tech and main components seem solid enough but the "afterthought" bits are just horrible for a bike at this price point. Have ordered Ergon grips, a Thudbuster ST post and Brooks saddle to rectify this outrage.

Happy Birthday Jim! Mia San Mia.

John Ashbery, noted American poet. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/03/arts/john-ashbery-dead-prize-winning-poet.html? One of his finest works, I think, reproduced here in light of current trends.

Bleachers -- Strange Desire Close to a perfect pop album.

Tell us more about the S&M bit?

Gloriously messy in the best way.

Tri-tip with, uh, some more tri-tip.

Only in South Africa!

Meanwhile ... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-18/equifax-is-said-to-suffer-a-hack-earlier-than-the-date-disclosed

Pound of steak, six eggs and a liter of milk. Back to the diet grindstone. [emoji6]

Yes!

Somewhat relevant to prior digression ...

Morrissey -- Vauxhall And I

Yeah, I want that!

Chipped cards are a lot more secure (approximately 7x) if you also require a PIN, which is how it's done everywhere else in the world. US banks and retailers didn't want to sink the money into becoming compliant when they could spend a fraction of the amount buying regulators and congressmen to keep delaying implementation of the standard. One argument frequently deployed by the financial services industry -- and I'm not joking -- is that Americans are too stupid to remember another 4-digit code. https://qz.com/717876/the-chip-card-transition-in-the-us-has-been-a-disaster/

Well, when in the Bay Area ...

Deer Tick -- Vol. 2 This I like.

Couple of decent songs. Overall it didn't make much of an impression.

Harry Dean Stanton. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/movies/actor-harry-dean-stanton-known-repo-man-others-dies-91-n801871

Weed garnish?

Foo Fighters -- Concrete and Gold

Brent with the knowledge. Warren Buffett sure gets around ...

iPhones are sooooo 2016, it appears. I like the X and will be in for one. Hopefully my huge fizzog will not exceed the parameters for the new facial recognition unlock. The HOOS (Headcase OLED Owners Society) may be willing to consider these as subsidiary screens granting affiliate membership, if anyone (other than Steve) is looking for a backdoor way to slide in.

Yes. That would be a "veggie with cheese."