A new bike and miscellaneous comments

I drove the truck into town via back-roads. It seemed smart to stay out of traffic since the brake-lights are in-op. I dropped it off at the mechanic's and then rode my new bike back home.

The bike is nothing special. It is a base-level "mountain bike" from Wally-world. It has 18 speed and I MIGHT use 6 of them. I tweaked the seat height and took slack out of the brake cables before its maiden ride. Once home I raised the handles about an inch-and-a-half and tightened the nuts that keep the seat from pitching.

The tag said the bike frame is suitable for riders from 5'-2" tall to 5'-10" tall. I am near the top end of that range. I had between 55 and 60 psi in the tires and it is a soft-riding bike.

Windfall plans

One of the hiccups the charity encountered with my donation of pear trees is they did not have a plan for "windfalls".

I suspect most of their donations come from "Grants". Grants usually include a detailed plan of how donations will be used and the money/materials are a tidy, turn-key package. A grant for a greenhouse for example, would include money and a bill-of-material for plumbing, electronic controls, fans and other such necessities.

Confronted with a single, stand-alone donation the charity administrator did not know what to do. He didn't ask. He winged it. He could have protected every tree with two rolls of masking-tape, a bunch of old news paper and two hours of work wrapping the stems.

The lesson of the story? Have a plan for windfalls. ASK what the source of the windfall would do if they were in your position. Don't be afraid to re-gift a portion of the windfall to those who are in greater need or more knowledgeable about the gift.

We are all in this together. We can change. If we have to. I guess.

Non-lethal means

The lesson of the prior post? Non-lethal means of defense have an optimum stand-off distance. The cop's actions overran his OODA loop and he deployed his TASER too late and he was much closer than the optimum distance.

It was not a TASER malfunction. It was an adrenaline-outrunning-neurons malfunction.

The take-home: If you have a layered defense that includes non-lethal means like pepper spray or a TASER then know the optimum range and have your non-lethal means in-hand before you need it.

Garden report

The Happy-Rich cut-and-come-again broccoli seeds are planted and so are the Sparx romaine lettuce seeds. Both are available from Johnny's Seeds.

Mrs ERJ and I spent some time in the garden. She recovered the tomato clips and twine. I worked at cleaning up the old nursery rows on the east end of the garden. This particular garden is really starting to shape-up.

Today, after visiting Mom, I will consolidate the persimmon seedlings and P. cally on the east end with the intention of grafting them later this spring.