Bill Kauffman returns with his essay “Bye, Bye Miss American Empire,” in the latest issue of Orion Magazine. As he has done in the past, Kauffman makes a rather human plea for secession, arguing that the United States has grown too large for its own good, and we have suffered because of it. A few […]

Posted on June 29th, 2007 by admin
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I’ve come to learn that when the weather forecast calls for a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms, that really means there’s a 100% chance that I will rode home in the rain. As I pulled out of the loading dock at the office, I looked over my shoulder, to the west, and noticed the dark […]

Posted on June 28th, 2007 by admin
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Reason‘s Ronald Bailey examines the push for more bio-fuels and decides perhaps it’s not such a great idea. On the surface, using corn as a fuel product seems to be a good idea, but Bailey does a fine dissecting why this is not, in fact, the case. As you might expect, a libertarian like Bailey […]

Posted on June 23rd, 2007 by admin
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Todd, at Clever Cycles, examines the Catholic Church’s recent document on the automobile, “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road.” I left a rather long comment on the post, but I thought I may add to that a bit in this space. Tood is unabashedly anti-car, and like many like-minded folks, sees the car […]

Posted on June 20th, 2007 by admin
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Here we go again. I couldn’t resist organizing another ride for BikeFest. The route is here, though it will subject to a change or two after the recce. It is a combination of several rides from Oscar Swan’s book (specifically Wildwood and SR228). It’s about half as hilly as the Iron City Populaire, with the […]

Posted on June 20th, 2007 by admin
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Fine weather around the ‘burgh this weekend. Saturday, after tackling the task of trimming the too-large hedgerow next to our house, I spun out on the Surly in search of dirt roads north of the city. The goal was to recce Old Mill Road between Fox Chapel Road and Route 910. Being who I am, […]

Posted on June 10th, 2007 by admin
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Last night was our first CSA pick-up at Mildreds’ Daughters’ Farm. We upped our subscription to a full share this year, and even this early in the season, we filled a box with produce. The haul included: Several heads of lettuce, and several bags of salad greens Asparagus Sugar snap peas Chard Cilantro Scallions and […]

Posted on June 8th, 2007 by admin
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Ross Douthat makes a fine point about religion, specifically Christianity, in America: If Christianity in America meant the Christianity of Benedict XVI – or even the Christianity of C.S. Lewis, for that matter – I bet that about 15 percent of the country would be practicing believers. But you don’t get Benedict or even Lewis […]

Posted on June 7th, 2007 by admin
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