Cracker!

My favorite band, Cracker, played in Lincoln at Knickerbocker's last night. Kimber and I went and had a great time. The last time I saw Cracker in Lincoln was in 1998 at Guitars and Cadillacs. That show was horribly promoted and maybe 50 people showed up in a venue that could probably hold 1,000. David Lowery opened that show by saying, "Welcome to Cracker's first, last and only show in Lincoln." Well, a few years later and being cut from Virgin records and they're back. The band's bassist was MIA due to a death in the family, so some songs were played sans bass and David took over 4-string duties on others. They took a few requests. I yelled out one of my favorites, "Been Around the World," a few times. I didn't expect them to play it, but they ended the encore and closed the show with it. I don't know if I influenced them or not, but I was happy to hear it. I also discoverd that cel phones make good tools for recording set-lists during a show.

We've got your crazy, right here.

One of the interesting things about where I work is that we get customers from all walks of life. On occaision this can be very entertaining, other times very annoying and frustrating. Andrew is one of our "regular" customers. My friend Todd who works at a bike shop in Beverly Hills likes to talk about the crazy people he interacts with there. Well, I'll put Andrew up next to anything Todd can describe and I think he'll hold his own. Andrew can be seen riding around town on a 24" wheel bike from Target. It's the only bike he'll ride. His bike, like most everything he owns, is covered in paint. Layers and layers of paint. He says it makes thing more beautiful. I'm fairly certain the pigments in the paint aren't the only colors Andrew is seeing. He likes to ride the wrong way down streets-into traffic-at night without lights. He wears vinyl track suits all the time, even on the hottest, muggiest days of the year. And he smells like a gas station bathroom with broken plumbing. Some of Andrew's observations about life and the people he meets are quite intriguing, but getting him to stop talking about them and actually leave your store can be very agonizing. Often we end up helping him just to get him on his way so he doesn't scare the other customers. Andrew kinda makes me sad. Here's this guy who wasn't able to deal with his problems or cope in society on a normal level and turned to drugs. Now he doesn't have much of a mind left and exists in the margins of society. I don't know much more about him, I've tried to pry info from him, but that's frustrating, too. As much of a pain he can be, I worry that I'm going to read about him getting smeared on his bike on O Street someday.

Trees' Mini Mean Machine

This guy, Trees, came into the shop a couple weeks ago. Check out the gear ratio on that bike. I think he just needed some air. He said the bike was great for ridin' dirty.

Ahhh!!! Snakes On A Bike!!!

 

Went up to Ponca State Park to camp this last weekend with my girlfriend Kimber. We had a really good time relaxing and hiking the trails. Lots of beutiful scenery and wildlife to be seen.

On the trip up to Ponca we followed this truck for at least half an hour. I had a strange hankering for pork.

Kimber and her bestest-pup, Rip.

Here's a spy shot of Iowa's undocumented missle program. Nebraska Governor Heineman is considering it an act of aggression and has deployed the Nebraska Navy to the Missouri river to defend "The Good Life."

There was an abundance of butterflies of many species to be found through-out Ponca.

Kimber and her part-dog/part-frog pet, Rip.

The glory of the shower house on Sunday morning.

Ash Falls Fossil Bed. If you ever get the chance you should visit this most interesting place. Entire skeletons of bizarre, prehistoric animals unearthed right here in Nebraska. Well worth the drive and $5 admission. You can even take your dog into the Rhino Barn.

AHHHHH!!! BUGS!!!! The one on the left being held my filthy fingers is a cicada, or more commonly and erroneously called a locust by most Nebraskans. The shell on the right is what the cicada sheds shortly after emerging from the ground. My cousins and I used to hunt for the shells when we were kids and would line them up on our grandparent's kitchen window screen. We'd sometimes get over a hundred shells on the screen in a single summer.

Photo hunt. Find the bug.

Good ol' Nebraska ditch weed.

Went to Kimber's friend David's farm somewhere in the boonies near Nebraska City last weekend. It's kinda cool being so far out in the country that all you can hear is the wind and the birds and the cicadas.

A couple of swingin' babes! My cousin Tiffiny's two adorable baby girls Abby and Maddy having a good time at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Up-Skirt Pervert

J-Rod taking a gander at some local community art. 

When bicycle mechanics get bored...

Sometimes you just gotta push that envelope. When the challenge of building a wheel is gone try implementing some sort of handicap. Adding the danger of suffocation will really increase those spoke lacing times! 

Holst Family Gathering

My mother's family recently gathered together for a family dinner in G.I. Had a nice time seeing everyone. 

Why me?

Hmm... Cowboy hat, check. Weight-lifting belt, check. Body odor, check. Yup, let's go shopping for bicycles! 

You can't make this stuff up.

So, Kabuki happens to be a pretty decent sushi place in Lincoln, at least by mid-west raw fish standards. I just can't help but giggle every time I go because it's located next to a store that sells live bait.