Shallow Thoughts

Decoding a Specialized E-bike FIT file

My Review of my Specialized Turbo Levo Kids ebike mentioned that the Specialized phone app had some fun features, but also some annoying problems. (I'm using it on Android. Dave doesn't use the app on his iPhone, so I don't know how the iPhone version compares.)

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Operation Snakeweed Reseed is a Success

We don't get as many wildflowers here as I'd like, but one reliable bloom every year in late summer was the snakeweed.

Terrible name. In fact, it's quite a nice plant, which around early September explodes into a carpet of yellow flowers.

Until 2023-2024, when a severe drought managed to kill it all.

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Mythical Creatures

(A Toastmasters speech on Jul 14, 2025.)

Humans have told stories of mythical creatures for as long as there have been humans.

Creatures like mermaids, or unicorns, or fire-breathing dragons. But of course, today we know that mythical creatures don't really exist.

Or do they?

Let me tell you a couple stories of mythical creatures I've seen -- or not seen.

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Review of the Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids Ebike (for an Adult)

We had a lovely ebike trail ride this morning, getting out early to beat the heat, and it reminded me that I've had a partially written review of my current ebike that I needed to finish.

I've written about my first ebike, the Lectric XP. Not only was it fun to ride and practical for errand-running, but it also got Dave and me back into regular cycling after we'd fallen out of the habit.

Ironically, that's the reason I found myself riding the Lectric less and less: as I got back into better shape, I wanted to spend more time on the lighter and more nimble "acoustic" bike and do more of my own pedaling. At 65 lbs, the Lectric felt heavy and klunky compared to the regular bike, and it wasn't as much fun off-road. After four years with the Lectric, I found myself wishing for something lighter.

Dave, who's always keeping an eye on the e-bike market, had been pondering an unusual choice: the Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids. Yes, kids: this is an ebike made for kids,

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Using Census Population Data

A couple of us in the local League of Women Voters chapter have been talking about how our county's school board is elected. There are five school districts, to go with the five elementary schools ... but when it comes time to vote for the school board, the voting districts aren't the same as the school districts. For example, a parent whose kid goes to Barranca might be voting for the school board rep from the Aspen district. This confuses pretty much everybody.

Apparently the reason it's set up this way is that the voting districts need to have roughly equal population, which the actual school districts don't. That made us curious about how the populations of the actual school districts compared. But it turns out if you ask that question, no one has those numbers, or at least, we couldn't find anyone who would release them.

"No problem!" I chirped. "I can get population data from the Census website, and combine that with the GIS for the school districts!"

Little did I know, when I promised that, what a soul-sucking pit of despair the Census website is, and how difficult it is to get data out of it.

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Holes of Invermere

It was 2001, and Dave and I were off on a road trip to see the Canadian Rockies. My first time in another country! (Not counting an hour or two in Tijuana as a kid, and a day trip to New Brunswick as a college student.)

Our plan was to drive up through Portland, then follow the Columbia River through eastern Oregon, Washington and Idaho — places I'd always wanted to see. We'd make our way into Canada, up to Banff and Jasper, then make a loop coming back down through Glacier. Beyond that we didn't have any specific plans.

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How Many Searches Do You Do in a Month?

Michael Kennedy asked whether people are using search engines less because of AI chatbots.

I haven't really gotten into using AI chatbots as coding assistants, so I'm not one to say. But it did make me wonder how many searches I do. Michael saw a stat that people average fewer than 300 searches per month; he thought that was absurdly low until he checked his own stats and found he'd only made 211 searches so far in March. (Of course, March isn't over yet. He didn't give a search number for a complete month.)

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Fun on the White Rock Path

One of my regular routes to the grocery store and library takes me along the paved pedestrian/bike path that follows NM highway 4. I also take the southern section of the path at the end of most mountain bike rides on the DOE trails south of town.

A few days ago, a very clever art piece appeared on that southern section. Someone had noticed that some of the copious crack filling seams were shaped like a grand piano, and had added a keyboard and the words MAKE MUSIC.

But it turns out the piano was just the tip of the iceberg.

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