@Erich@a2mi.social
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

Erich

@Erich@a2mi.social

Pronouns: He/him

I'm a nurse living in Ann Arbor who works in Oncology, specifically in clinical trials helping patients access the newest treatments and techniques.

I am a transport-oriented (rather than recreation-oriented) bicyclist. I'm very into #bikes and #ebikes and will happily talk about either at length.

I pay a lot of attention to local politics including #a2council and tend to have a "YIMBY" housing and transportation-focused outlook.

I have two elementary aged kids.

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Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

A little before 6am this morning, police in Ann Arbor moved on the diag and cleared the pro-Palestine protest encampment, using riot gear and pepper spray.

From what I can tell there was no precipitating event to this, the protesters have been pretty civil and calm on the diag.

UMich President Ono appears to have just decided this was the opportune time, with students away for the summer, and so police did what police do, used violence to move out protestors.

#Umich

sedward5, to random
@sedward5@a2mi.social avatar

What’s all this then?

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@sedward5 a group of folks are trying to change city council and mayor to nonpartisan elections in November rather than our current primary.

Also they want the city to match donors to all candidates at a 9x rate - so if you donate $10 to me, for example, I'd get $90 from the city.

I'm not a big fan of nonpartisan winner take all elections in this city given recent school board history. I'd be more on board with ranked choice. And the funding has no source allocated.

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@sedward5 the folks organizing these petitions are Elizabeth Nelson, Anne Bannister, and Kathy Griswold. All of them are former council members who lost their elections and have decided to try to change the system to make themselves more competitive.

christianselig, to random
@christianselig@mastodon.social avatar

Choosing a travel backpack is really hard, and I still haven't found one I love, so mostly for my own reference I wrote a long post with thoughts on pretty much every travel backpack out there https://christianselig.com/2024/04/choosing-a-backpack-is-hard/

If you have other recommendations gimme

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@christianselig I like my Osprey Farpoint 55 - a 40L main bag with a detachable 15L day pack. We have the older version that wasn't technically carryon compliant but never had an issue carrying on. The new version is fully compliant.

But the water bottle complaint is valid.

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

I was thinking about shopping for a nice watch and remembered I had my grandfather's old Seiko automatic sitting in a drawer. Pulled it out and it was in really bad shape. Cracked crystal, very grimy, and although it did run, there was not much of a reserve. It's not a valuable watch at all, but it does have a lot of sentimental value for me.

Well, I sent it in for a complete overhaul, and couldn't be happier with the result.

The same watch after repair and cleaning. Beautiful, and working perfectly.

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@peterhoneyman this one's an '81 so yours may have been quite similar to this one

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

Look I understand this can be hard to comprehend when you're used to driving everywhere.

But pedestrians and bikes don't make traffic worse, they make it better! Your driving commute is much more impacted by all the distracted folks playing with their phones while driving home in their SUVs than the one time you had to slow down to let a pedestrian cross the road.

Imagine every pedestrian and bike is another car in traffic ahead of you. Does that make your life better?

peterhoneyman, to random
@peterhoneyman@a2mi.social avatar

vatican city

image/jpeg

Erich,
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@peterhoneyman my favorite little bar was Cafe 't smalle if you're looking for a chill place to sit, eat and drink

peterhoneyman, to random
@peterhoneyman@a2mi.social avatar

Lynn asked me where we should stay in Amsterdam in May and I started thinking about Oosterpark and the Tropenmuseum and Museumplein and the Rijksmuseum and Concertgebouw and Vondelpark and Centraal and how I haven’t been to Amsterdam in a very long time.

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@peterhoneyman yeah, so much to do and see there! But to be honest my favorite memories were just sitting at a small brown cafe, drinking a beer and eating bitterballen, while the sun went down. Walking to the neighborhood gelato shop.

The lack of road noise was fantastic to experience

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

Pediatricians are beginning to put recommendations for risky play into guidelines for children and it's so heartwarming to see the benefits of risky play finally being realized and accepted by the medical establishment.

This from Canadian Pediatric Society:

https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play

hypomodern, to random

Officially missing woodworking enough I thought about buying access to a course on building a console for a record player just to watch it.

And then I'd have to get into records, of course.

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@peterhoneyman @hypomodern agreed. Any turntable can be good with a decent receiver and needle. We have an old belt drive Toshiba that sounds decent and was $30 at Kiwanis. I would start there. I was ogling the belt drive U-Turn as it's very pretty, but it's so expensive compared to most vintage models.

Erich, to random
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Success!! Sounds good!

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

I got a turntable at Kiwanis! It seems to work.

Now I just need a stereo receiver and some speakers

Hit me up if you've been thinking of selling!

Erich, to random
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As part of my fall journey and men's fashion journey I've been looking at overcoats. I've always wanted one but never really looked into what I would want in one, what they would cost etc.

They are not inexpensive. Think $500-$3000 expensive.

I personally prefer the wool double-breasted style, with a large collar, in a medium to light brown/camel color.

if you are thrifting and you see a nice size 38r, let me know!

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@peterhoneyman unironically yes in my opinion

I think these long slubby coats go pretty well with a suit and tie obviously, but a nice pair of jeans and a sweater or hoodie work well too, in a different way.

The biggest trouble with these coats is finding a place to set them in a restaurant nowadays, and they're not great for most bikes (or driving really) but perfect for walking or riding a bus

peterhoneyman, to random
@peterhoneyman@a2mi.social avatar

It’s my birthday!

Erich,
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@peterhoneyman it's gotta be a record!

peterhoneyman, to random
@peterhoneyman@a2mi.social avatar

you know the expression once the chickens have seen gay paree it's hard to keep them down on the farm?

in that vein, it is only a matter of time before we install a japanese toilet

Erich,
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@peterhoneyman Toto is calling

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

Each year come fall a few friends and I participate in #coffeeneuring. It's a little challenge to get outside, get a hot beverage, and savor the season. I love it, and look forward to it every year.

An overgrown patio plant partially obscures a folded up Brompton bicycle at Vertex Coffee Roasters

Erich,
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#Coffeeneuring number 3 for 2023 for me

8 miles of brisk fall riding interrupted by a cortado and bialy with friends at Hyperion in Ann Arbor. We actually intended to check out the "secret" cafe below Shinola on Main, but apparently it's not so secret anymore, and we couldn't find a table.

The entryway to Hyperion Coffee in Ann Arbor Michigan. A sign and a folded up bike are in foreground, a green painted doorway in background with a couple cement steps up to the cafe

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

#Coffeeneuring back on Oct 20, stop 4 was to Le Dog for some Oktoberfest soup and across the street to the not so secret Shinola Cafe underground, where I got a nice chai latte.

Some discussion was had with friends if soup counts for coffeeneuring. We decided probably not.

A dirty Chai latte in a big blue mug

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

On Friday: an expensive but excellent almond croissant and a Dulce de Leche latte at Comet coffee in Ann Arbor's famed Nickels Arcade. This was probably the last day for a warm weather #coffeeneuring and I'm sure glad I had the time to go.

Stop 5!

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

@hypomodern I like it too, even if they don't do a cortado. My friend John did all their interior furniture and I like his work a lot.

Erich,
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@peterhoneyman yeah agreed about the bread.

Erich, to random
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

I really didn't feel like making dinner tonight but the kids have to eat, so I made some ramen. Decided to jazz it up with some little sausage octopuses.

Kids verdict: cute, but the sausage doesn't add much to the flavor

Erich, to ebikes
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

There has been a deluge of articles in the last couple weeks about the danger of #eBikes and California's push to require licensing to ride them.

As a bike rider it's never surprising to see the media and drivers blame riders for their own deaths, no matter how egregious the driver error was. And some of the cited examples are quite egregious.

But this push for education and licensing made me wonder:

How effective is Driver's Ed at improving road safety?

Not at all.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8142340/

Erich,
@Erich@a2mi.social avatar

This NYT article is full of examples where eBike riders were doing everything they could to ride safely, and yet drivers still crashed into them.

The solution is not to reform the eBike riders, it's to reform the drivers, the cars, and the built environment.

No amount of education would have kept these people safe.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/health/ebikes-safety-teens.html

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