Category Archives: disappointment

#bikeschool question

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this is an email i sent earlier today to the teacher / mod of tonight’s #bikeschool tweetchat – this doesn’t give all the issues or details i’m dealing with, but it’s the thrust of the problem. posted here for background for the #bikeschool crew.

Darryl -

Long story to a short question:
I bought a great road bike (2004 Klein Aura V) back in November with several intentions, the main one being commuting the 7.5 miles from home to the high school I teach at here in Pensacola.

After 6 weeks of commuting (and loving it) I come to find out that I’m being targeted by a local gang that several students in my school belong to. A teacher at the school next to mine was severely beaten, bike destroyed, money, laptop, etc. stolen 2 years ago and left for dead in this neighborhood during his morning commute.

The problem: to go around this neighborhood makes it a 14 mile ride (one way) and takes me through an even worse neighborhood to the south. To the north is I-10. This neighborhood is bottlenecked through this gang’s territory and there’s no way around it.

I’ve searched high and low for sites with info on how to physically protect yourself while riding, but have found little to nothing on the situation I’m facing.

My wife, the school-based gang expert, the school-based sheriff’s deputies, and my vice-principal are all telling me not to ride to work. The teacher who was beaten two years ago says he’ll never ride to work again through that neighborhood. The guys at my local bike shop say a) carry a gun (no thanks) b) carry a knife (again, no) c) get pepper spray d) ride really fast and stop for nothing. (I should mention that being a high school teacher, it’s illegal for me to have a gun, knife, or pepper spray on my person on school property).

Dude – is there a solution to this problem that doesn’t involve not riding the bike to work?

Seriously, this has been breaking my heart.

Scott

Vegetarian Experiment Day 28: McGuire’s Irish Pub

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Scott & Lise Try to Find Vegetarian Food @ McGuire’s Irish Pub in Destin, FL from scott rust on Vimeo.

What did they find? What did they eat? How does it end??

Well, click play and find out.

Stick around – it gets rather silly at the 4:00 mark…

A personal message to BP / Oil on Pensacola Beach (Day 1)

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During our Saturday trip to Pensacola Beach today, we got our first glimpse of what’s here, and what’s to come with the oil spill in the Gulf.

Using some of their product, I have tried to articulate how we and many of our friends here in Pensacola feel about BP and the oil spill / death of millions of animals / destruction of habitats / screwing over of lives:

fuck BP, basically. their message to me is the same, however. damn oil spill.

To be certain, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The blobs of oil we saw / stepped in / couldn’t avoid today were nothing compared to what’s a couple miles off shore, and even that is nothing compared to what’s slowly moving our way.

BP oil from oil spill found on Pensacola Beach 6-5-2010

To say that we’re heartbroken doesn’t even begin to cover it.

We’re heartbroken for the wildlife that is being killed by this tragedy. We’re heartbroken for the lives ruined (those killed on the rig; the families left behind; those whose businesses and dreams are shattered; those of us who live on the Gulf coast who will be directly and indirectly affected financially for many years to come).

And we’re heartbroken for selfish reasons, too. When Lise and I moved here back in 2007, we did so for mental health reasons and because we had fallen in love with Pensacola Beach. Many long-time residents we’ve friended here think we’re somewhat crazy – coming to the beach three, four, even five times a week is not unusual for us. We watch the sunset. We collect shells. We sit together and dream dreams. We watch pelicans, terns, and other seabirds fly and live. We watch dolphins, schools of fish, sharks, cownose stingrays, and a vast number of other sealife swim with what seems to us like carefree abandon. We swim. We love. We are still in awe of the incredible diversity that the seasons bring to the shoreline. The peace and comfort we receive just being in the presence of the Gulf shore is indescribable.

BP oil from oil spill found on Pensacola Beach 6-5-2010

Taking pictures today of Pensacola Beach littered with the first wave of tar balls / oil blobs hurt. Picking up a small amount of the oil and seeing how difficult it is to get that shit off of my hands was shocking. I still have oil stuck under / around my fingernails after washing my hands several times.

We’ve both cried. I’m sure we’ll be crying more. The pictures coming out of Louisiana are so painful that I’ve had to stop looking at them. The ramifications for our future here (mental health, financial, job-wise, etc.) are so shocking that we’ve not been able to have a coherent conversation about it yet. But we’re going to have to face this soon.  I don’t know how we’re going to be able to stay here.

And for that: Fuck you, BP.

hell-bound sinner

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quote of the day:

“To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to willfully disobey Him by voting for Obama, take warning… No, this election is not about race. It’s not about the economy. It’s about obeying God… Obey Him in the voting booth and out of it. If not, do us all a favor and quit calling yourself a Christian.”
– radio host and commentator Janet Porter

i suppose i’m helping to send this country to hell in a handbasket. DANG it!!

truth is, though, it’s folks like this who scare the crap out of me. single-issue voting is unwise, and folks like this – the zealots – they worry me more than either of the candidates.

and these folks also embarrass me as a christian.

maybe i ought to take her advice and stop calling myself one.

thoughts on semi-tropical weather patterns

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the last two weeks have been interesting as recent transplants to pensacola.

first, tropical storm fay was supposed to blow into town and terrorize us with huge storms. this was exciting, right? i made plans to sit on the front porch all day and watch storms blow through one after another! we stocked up on water and food just in case, watched the beginnings of the storm move in on saturday and braced for the coup de grace on sunday. i went to sleep that night in childish anticipation of storm watching on sunday (and everyone was talking about how school would surely be closed monday, etc – not bad!)…

woke up sunday morning, ran to the window, threw open the blinds and…! AND!!!!

sunshine. big fluffy clouds. birds singing. flowers blooming.

what the frick? who took my storm??

by the next weekend, the news has hyped up hurricane gustav to the point that gas stations were literally OUT OF GAS from the frenzied rush. grocery store lines were ridiculous. windows were being boarded up on our street and generators were tested in driveways.

now, hurricanes are different than tropical storms. i wasn’t exactly looking forward to a hurricane, but by the weekend it looked like we would just get some nice big-ass storms. woo-hoo! storms! YES!! the following pics were taken on saturday on the beach – just before The Big Storms were supposed to move in. water like glass. incredible.

01-before-02.jpg01-before-01.jpg01-before-03.jpg

so monday comes and again, excitement is in my heart as i think about sitting and watching storms all day. the hype has worked its way into my brain and we’re fully vested in this. again, reports of schools closing on tuesday were rampant, so icing on the cake, right?

monday comes. some clouds. no rain. no big storms.

now, wait a minute!! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY STORM???

we did go to the beach which was totally nutso. here’s the exact same spot 2 days after the above pics, and 20-30 feet of the beach has been washed away by 15-20 foot waves…

02-after-02.jpg02-after-lise.jpg02-after-04.jpg

so now people are talking about hurricane ike, and my reply: i’ll believe it when i see it! it’s like cincinnati weather forecasters and snowstorms – until it hits land, i’ll reserve judgement.

gimme my storm back!!!

finally! indian food in pensacola!!

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unfortunately, it sucks. bad.

a friend mentioned seeing a sign for A Taste of India (authentic indian cusine!!) at the ramada inn on scenic highway at I-10. a quick phone call confirmed that there was, in fact, a new restaurant there serving indian food!

woo-hoo! dance of joy!!

we spent the week planning our trip there for a saturday lunch. it was going to be pricey – much more than any other indian restaurant we’d ever been to: $9.99 for the lunch buffet. but hey, INDIAN FOOD!!

giddy excitement wouldn’t be exaggerating how we felt as we pulled into the parking lot. lise looked suspicious because there was nothing different about the place except the sign – but when we opened the door, oh my goodness – the smell of curry was in the air. suspicion gave way to our soon-to-be-happy rumbling stomachs.

and when we walked in…

…well, there wasn’t much of anything there. rice. chicken curry. lamb curry. dal makhani. cold naan. and salad. lots and lots of salad. find your own seat. get your own utensils and plates and napkins. it looked like we were supposed to get our own water, too, but the owner(?) came over and abruptly offered to get it for us. limited sauces (2 peppery chutneys) meant there was little to do to spice up some of the most bland and boring curry we’ve ever had. the dal makhani was heavy and flat. the naan was cold and thin. the owner(?) abruptly comes over most of the way through our meal and loudly (did i mention abruptly) says, “the food is good, yes!” – please note the punctuation.

we were hoping for at least some kheer to work some of the flavorless food down at the end of the meal but it wasn’t meant to be. dessert choices were cored and candied whole apples or pineapple upside-down cake. it was the final nail in a disappointed coffin.

we go to pay, vowing never to return, when the owner(?) announces the cost will be $22.00 – then, as i hand him $25, says, “i keep the change, yes!”

i believe the look on my face must’ve prompted him to give us our change and stop talking.

look, i’m all for giving second chances to places having an off day, but this was flat-out awful. the price, the quality, the variety, the atmosphere, the attitude – there was nothing there that could convince me to try it again (and realize that the closest we can get to indian food anywhere else is 50+ miles away in mobile, alabama).

put that extra couple of dollars in your gas tank and drive to mobile – it’s worth every dime!