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{not meant as an attack}

(Wednesday) helped my son and GF move into their new condo (movers did the heaviest stuff). They're working with the same designer who helped Karen and me with our bathroom remodels. Very nice, and she sent me a wonderful note about Andrew. Made a parent's heart swell, it did!

Trying the pilot of Naked and Afraid Apocalypse (Discovery & Max) over lunch. For fans of Naked and Afraid, Naked and Afraid XL, Naked and Afraid: Alone, Naked and Afraid: Solo, Naked and Afraid of Love, Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing, and Naked and Afraid: Castaways. 1500% authentic.

I have questions.

Apple accidentally leaked its own top secret hardware in software code, revealing new products across seven categories. Every Apple Secret That Leaked Wednesday. Second generation Apple Vision Pro, which will continue to be less stupid looking than Zucc Glasses.

Helmets are pretty simple, they should be comfortable & secure with enough ventilation to keep you from sweating too much. The hard part is finding one that fits your head well, for most people this isn't a problem, for those with big or weird shaped heads it can be difficult. What works well for me is simply putting the helmet on and adjusting the straps to a comfy & somewhat loose fit, then shaking my head around and headbanging a bit to see if the helmet stays securely in position. If it flops all over the place the fit is no good and you'll have to try out another size or model, if it only moves a little bit you can snug up the straps a bit and try again. If that stops the movement you're good, BUT you also want to make sure the straps aren't so tight that they're cutting off your circulation. After you find a helmet that fits securely, pay attention to any hot spots where the helmet, straps, or buckle is pressing into your head or flesh and causing discomfort. Sometimes you can fix this with padding & strap adjustments, sometimes you can't. If you can't get a comfy fit, move on to the next helmet. Finally, ventilation. Make sure the helmet has enough vents to keep you cool, this is gonna depend on the weather you ride in, how much you sweat, and your heat tolerance. I rotate through several helmets for this reason, I have a winter helmet with minimal vents, a spring & fall helmet which is reasonably well vented, and a summer helmet which maxes out the airflow & cooling.

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html Click Road Anything that's 5* or 4* is going to be safe. I typically go with MIPS, which most of those will have. Like with your track helmets, go try some on. Freewheeler should have Bontrager (I've got one of the 150ish$ wavecell helmets and it's solid.) Davis Cyclery probably has a few options. Biggest thing other than fit is going to be ventilation. It's brutally hot where you are so lots of vents/airflow would be my rec. Ken's will have Specialized, Bell, Giro, and Abus. Looks like the only Smith they have is one you'd want to skip. Also, you don't have to spend 300$ to get a great helmet, though you'll find plenty in that range. One more thing, some places offer different fits. See if you can find #68/69 at Freewheeler. Asia fit + Round fit. One of them may fit you better. If you find yourself looking at the MTB ones, Fox usually does a lot right, but I'd probably not look much further down that path than the Fox Crossframe or Speedframe models. You can ask Colin about POC and a couple others. POC was something I wanted to try, but sadly they don't make a 7XL

Bike newbie here. I’m going to go pick up a helmet this weekend. Is there anything I should know/look out for? I mostly plan on riding on the road and maybe light trails. Bike will come later. I want to use the bike share in town for a bit to make sure I’m committed before opening the wallet for something nice.

Became reacquainted with an old friend.

One use of three Pioneer R2Rs. More performance art, but still fun.

Needs one of these for completeness

When one of my favorite, faaarrr from perfect, quirky, no one should buy in 2025, cameras shows up in a new article... https://petapixel.com/2025/08/14/the-retro-styled-nikon-df-dslr-was-both-behind-and-ahead-of-the-times/ Mine, unfortunately, didn't come with a pocket watch.

Had to listen to the tune to get the drift

So Bob Dylan was your headmaster? 😳

Certainly a time capsule.

Very local South African tune. The singer was my high school headmaster's son. 🤷‍♂️

New to me, excellent sound quality and performance. I need to get this on vinyl.

Not great, not bad, enjoyeable. Good to see the violaist getting love. They're like the bass guitarists of classical music.

This is peak Gen Z humor, I assure you.

Untamed (Netflix). I enjoyed it. Short, to the point, didn’t overstay its welcome. I’m honestly a little surprised the critical consensus on this one wasn’t more positive.