Predictably a Blog RSS

I love my iPhone, but apparently have almost no use for it. This is not a competition, just an observation. I see I’m using my motorcycle a lot more than my iPhone. Hmm. See image below. Wouldn’t it be cool...

A Year-End Collection of Assorted Drivel “Riding makes every trip a bit of an adventure.” - Mr. Subjective Several years ago a couple of my co-workers encouraged me to start writing an Aerostich blog. This was about when we did...

On December 8th of this year (2023), a week or so after the release of the Tesla Cybertruck, Road & Track magazine’s Victoria Scott wrote a wonderful short essay that included this: “…our vehicles reflect (widespread cultural) anxieties. More than...

After making the youthful transition from a bicycle to motorcycle, I often found myself daydreaming about motorcycle riding. Simply looking out over the countryside was enough to trigger a lapse from reality into moto-fantasizing. In reality, I was exploring my...

We humans have spent the last few hundred years very earnestly, carefully, and diligently building a world where it is ever easier to move about efficiently, comfortably, and conveniently in order to obtain all of the things we want or...

This link is to a write-up of a very funny science experiment. Back in 2014, someone wondered what would happen if a hamster wheel was placed in a forest. Would wild mice use it? And if they did, why? I...

These days lots of people are thinking about the future of ICEs (Internal Combustion Engines) vs ‘electrics’ and are trying to make realistic projections about various things related to the widely anticipated transition. One personal thought experiment involves today's excellent...

Based on over 140 years of record keeping, today, January 17th (2023), is supposed to be the coldest day of the year in Duluth. I think the average low temperature here on this day is something like minus two (ºf) and...

This morning (March 29, 2023) I watched this sort of tedious and longish educational video about traffic problems in the largest city in the Bahamas. Enjoyed it enough to think maybe you’ll find it interesting as well, if you have...

Technology is our creation and the resulting array of physical things that are useful. There are two types of technology: Physical and metaphysical. Physical technologies are things like making a fire, doing agriculture and husbandry, and making tools and buildings...

This is a photo of me at the local old biker guy gathering a week ago. Two tables at Sir Ben’s tavern pushed together + a dozen old guys. Mostly acquaintances, some friends. Once a month. I got there via...

Or, "I sure with it would stop raining." The ancient Greeks had a useful story about a guy named Sisyphus, who forever strained pushing a large heavy ball up an inclined plane.  In our time, the famous (but little-known in...

Here’s a short-ish story about my old motard-modified Honda XR650L. I bought this bike new in 1994, intentionally planning to make it a motard. That year there was only one factory-made motard available, the very first generation KTM Duke. A...

Step One: Create a terrific product which answers a question almost nobody is asking. Something entirely new which meets a need few people are interested in meeting...

When it comes to crappy spring weather, riders living here can sing “Don’t Cry for Me Minnesota” to the melody of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and really mean it. Below is a screenshot of what might be the worst-ever...

It just hit me again last night and this morning, and it keeps coming back. Essays, news, emails. Story after story, year after year. Real-time life experiences. This so-called generational ‘divide’. The young digitally-fluent generations don’t understand how to navigate...

A few 'Max Headroom'*/Mr.Subjective/Chat GPT answers to important questions (some blog posts literally write themselves ChatGPT Jan 9 Version (2023) Red text sections = Comments from Mr. Subjecive Important Question: Why should I ride a motorcycle? ChatGPT Answer: There are...

A fair number of our customers agree about one looking like a dork/Road Grimed Astronaut if riding for transportation and utility, vs. when riding primarily for sport and recreation. These two different-but-related applications have at least this in common: they both...

A detailed explanation of how to comfortably commute on snowy and icy roads during a Minnesota Winter. My commute here in Northern Minnesota (Duluth) is five miles each way, all on surface streets, and last winter I decided to do...

Rightly or wrongly I’ve sometimes privately felt a bit like the legendary Johnny Appleseed, in that the purpose of my life’s work turned out to be to help make ordinary useful A to B daily motorcycle and scooter use in...

This story winds around a bit. The other day my younger brother, who’s a great vintage car lover, emailed me the link below which is to a story about how, during the great depression of the 1930’s, some ingenious fellow...