Missing Bike! Feared Stolen!

By Chris Tackett

Sunday, April 13, 2008

So, I think my bike was stolen last night.

It was in the garage, door left open overnight, no one home, etc.

I'm hoping to get a call anytime now from a friend saying he came by and took it for some urgent reason and just failed to tell me. But that doesn't look to be the case.

Not cool. Not fun.

I guess I'd been needing a new bike anyway. I'd had this one since I was a freshman in college and it was needing work on the gears. What I'm most bummed about, though, is that I won't get to see it again. I'd come to recognize the scratches and dents like scars on my body, evidence of past crashes and miles of memories.

Though, other than that, I'm actually finding myself not very upset. I guess I can say that one of the added benefits of keeping up with the news and ongoing effedupedness of the world is that I'm immediately aware that far worse things could happen.

I may be bicycle-less in the springtime, which is indeed a sorry state to be in, but I'm alive, healthy, employed and have great relationships. I'll just be walking a bit more, I guess. I can handle that.

Now, I'm just trying to convince myself that it was taken by someone that really needed it and is going to a good cause and isn't just being pawned off by some junkie. Or worse...

Happy trails, bike. May your tires remain filled and your gears forever oily.

PS. I'm in a Best Buy blogging this from an iMac. Anyone have one of these? I'm needing a new computer and am thinking of going this direction and just using my very broken-in Dell laptop for when I'm on the road or want to work from the coffee shop. It would be my first Mac, so I'm still on-the-fence, but this thing is just beautiful and would be a serious upgrade in what I've been using. Talk me into it, folks.

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Posted by godjilla (Jill Ensley) on April 13, 2008 at 9:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just made the Mac-to-PC jump and have been very happy. Apple has some great deals on refurbished laptops/desktops (that's how I bought mine). In the end, it's merely about what you're going to do with it. As a photo/design/arts person, that was the basis of my decision. I don't need all the extra software and games.

Posted by godjilla (Jill Ensley) on April 13, 2008 at 9:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

p.s. sorry to hear about the bike! I too need a new one. Come on "stimulus package".

Posted by DOTDOT (anonymous) on April 14, 2008 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I've drooled over macs for years, but get caught in the same decision cycle every time the issue actually comes up. I use a couple of key programs that either aren't available or are too expensive to replace with a mac version. Yeah, I know most software is easy to pirate these days, but if I was inclined to steal stuff, I wouldn't need a computer in the first place, if you know what I mean. I suppose a bit more forethought would make for an easier transition, but I tend to buy new computers under emergency conditions.

Next time, I tell you, next time.

god: PC-to-Mac?

Posted by DOTDOT (anonymous) on April 14, 2008 at 7:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"It was in the garage, door left open overnight, no one home, etc."

The Book of Dots calls that donated as opposed to stolen.

Posted by wbabbit (Will Babbit) on April 14, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I dunno, I'm a lifelong PC-er, but my brother is a huge mac person, and he's almost converted me. If I could afford one I'd probably get one...

Posted by matt (Matt Armstrong) on April 14, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The Mac / PC argument doesn't really hold water these days, with boot camp and shiny vista looks. Both platforms do the same thing thing, the decision is made by how you prefer that functionality offered up to you. If you want it sexy and highly designed, then your going to pay for it up front. If you want functionality and affordability, then prepare to provide maintainance and parts for it every few months. It's just a matter of taste.

Posted by OnShakedown (Chris Tackett) on April 14, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

matt, isn't Vista a big pile of poo? That seems to be the consensus on the dozen or so tech blogs I read regularly. And are the programs really comparable to iLife or whatever it's called?

Speaking of maintainance and parts, that's the thing about the iMac I'm most concerned with. Is it even possible to get into that thing for replacing worn parts or adding memory? What comes standard is going to be much faster than what i have now, so it's not a huge issue, but curious.

Posted by beatle919 (Marcy McGuffie) on April 14, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Dude - that sucks about the bike!!!

I can't really answer your question about iMac maintenance...I've never been a computer guru.

When it came time to replace my laptop (in early Dec), the hubby surprised me with a mac...I was a bit intimidated at first (the layout is a bit different). BUT - I'm a huge fan! Like Jill said, they offer some great refurbished deals. It doesn't cost too much to buy a 3 year warranty on it either (the way I have gone through laptops...it was a must). So far, so good. It's my favorite computer of all time.

Posted by lazz (anonymous) on April 14, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Been on a Mac since 95. It's all I'll ever use.
The exceedingly rare instances I find myself needing to use a PC, I'm instantly reminded how much I love the Macs.
Somebody above made a comment about the extreme design of Apple machines; true indeed, but I don't see it as being fluff. These are gorgeous machines that are exceeeeeeeeeedingly well thought out, in every phase; I see the gorgeous design as being symbolic of the overall effort that went into creation, design, production ...
Everytime they come out with a new model, it's The Next Step in whatever category ...
and i bought the iPod Touch a few months ago, after seeing a friend's ... i totally admit I fell for it basically because of looks and concept ... and ya know what? I use it CONSTANTLY. What a cool little machine.
so ... yeah, big fan of the Apple culture ...
THAT said, I've always had one from work, so I haven't had to worry about the price or repair costs since I bought my last personal Apple laptop 10 years ago ... The Union tech shop does a real good job of repairs, but I would definitely recommend buying the warranty in all cases ...

Posted by matt (Matt Armstrong) on April 14, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Sure, service on an iMac is possible. Access is through plates on the back, but it's limited to RAM and disk drives and ports. The video card and display and motherboard are pretty much permanent, though.

Here's my thoughts on Vista being poo. In my opinion, it is poo. But that's just because I don't like constant security updates, a monolithic OS that's built on 25 year old code, and I won't give shout outs to new features that have been on my MAC for 7 years. But that's me. I know people that give the same argument against MACs; that the "real" OS is hidden behind the terminal, that it's designed like a remote for old people with big shiny buttons that force you to use the machine a certain way, that if you're a gamer you're out of luck. That's opinion, too.

The only fact about computing from a user's perspective is that if you don't know what you're doing you're computer is going to perform poorly. I wouldn't put a learner's license in a Maserati, after all.

My poor G4 from 2001 is on it's last legs, and I'm broke, and if it wasn't for my Adobe suite and my home network being kinda custom (and being a packaging whore), I would go grab a $400 tower and slap Linux on it for my day to day use.

Posted by godjilla (Jill Ensley) on April 14, 2008 at 10:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ahhaha, yes...ahem...PC-to-Mac. Oops.
Even god makes mistakes.

Posted by OtherJoel (anonymous) on April 14, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I gotta say, that if I saw a chimp riding your bike around town, I don't think I'd be able to let myself stop him. It would just be too awesome, you know?

You know the devil in that Pee Wee clip looks a lot like Black Francis/Frank Black.

"This bike has gooone to heaven..."

All joking aside, that sucks man. Sorry to hear that.

Oh, and screw Apple. iPods are shite.

That is all.

Missing Bike! Feared Stolen!

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