Bloviations

Pardon the Interruption

Thomas Brock — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:53:28 +0000

But I appear to be having a severe deficit of motivation.

I’m sure it’ll clear itself up as Spring comes along.

Thanks!

Newest Post at The Indie Register

Thomas Brock — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:16:18 +0000

My second post at The Indie Register is online and the comments at my first post are quite interesting.

It’s a Whole New Bike

Thomas Brock — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:58:01 +0000

Saturday I picked up the Day-Tripper from The Bicycle Shop with a new set of handlebars, brake levers and bar-con gear shifters…And man, let me tell you, she’s a beautiful creature!

The goal here isn’t to mimic a road bike or gain speed or anything like that. The goal is to provide more hand positions for longer rides. And with drop bars, I’ll have about 5 different positions to choose from. The drops will also create a lower position on those entirely-too-windy days.

I was hoping for decent weather this weekend to give her a good test ride, but there was icy rain all day yesterday and it seems like the high today will be in the low-to-mid 30s. Monday should have highs in the 40s and the rest of the week should be in the 50s, so maybe I’ll get a commute in.

It’s been a while since I’ve commuted, so I’ll need to get a few longish (the Rails-to-Trails path should be long enough) to get comfortable with the new bars and controls. And I may need to adjust the seat a little because of the new riding position. All of that will work out after the rides.

I’ll try to get some better photos, too.

New Writing Project: The Indie Register

Thomas Brock — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:09:28 +0000

My first post at now-regional alt-newspaper-turned-alt-blog The Indie Register is live.

Go check it out and leave some love.

There’s an App for That

Thomas Brock — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:41:32 +0000

…Except there isn’t.

So, I have this idea for an iPhone app. It’s not groundbreaking or even anything more than maybe ten people would want.

The idea: A BrockNet app.

The specifics: It would provide access to all BrockNet blog posts with ability to comment and access to writers’ Twitter/Facebook feeds.

It doesn’t sound very complicated. And I bet all the functionality is available in different apps. But how can I create my own app with the functionalities I want?

Unfortunately, my local libraries don’t have an iPhone programming books and it’s not something I want to spend money on…Yet.

iPhone programmers, how hard would this be?

Self Portrait 17 Jan 2010

Thomas Brock — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:03 +0000

Self Portrait 4 Jan 10

Thomas Brock — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:05:00 +0000

Self-Portait 3 Jan 2010

Thomas Brock — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:18:11 +0000

2010 Elections: Battle for the Democratic Nomination for Senate

Thomas Brock — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:05:54 +0000

There’s a fight going on for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Richard Burr. There are three candidates: Kenneth Lewis (Attorney) Elaine Marshall (NC’s sitting Secretary of State) and Cal Cunningham (former state senator and US Army veteran).

It’s quite the interesting group…Kenneth Lewis is dogged by having the same name as the former CEO for Bank of America. Elaine Marshall has low name recognition, even though she’s been Secretary of State since 1997. Cal Cunningham is the candidate that wasn’t and even formally ended his campaign that wasn’t…Until the DSCC courted him after their first choices (Representative to the US House Bob Etheridge, NC Attorney General Roy Cooper, ) backed out.

If it weren’t so serious to get rid of Senator Richard Burr (Republican), the Democratic primary would almost be comical.

Self-Portrait 2 Jan 2010

Thomas Brock — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:51:33 +0000

Photograph by Thomas Brock and his trusty iPhone (C) Thomas Brock Photography 2010