Never Have I Ever

Never have I ever: 

* Milked a cow

But I have milked a goat!

* Eaten or been to Chick-Fil-A (PS one of my pet peeves is when people spell things wrong to be cute. This is not why I have never eaten there though!)

* Read Fifty Shades of Grey

* Seen Top Gun (either version)

* Been to the states of Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota or West Virginia (layovers on the plane don't count)

* Been to the continent of Antarctica

* Ridden a mechanical bull

* Brushed a dog's teeth

I've helped clip this one's toenails!

* Ridden on a scooter (motorized or non)

* Had kids

Volunteering at Bolivian orphanage

* Used one of the shared rental scooters, bikes, etc. in any city

* Had a gerbil, Guinea pig or hamster as a pet

I have had a lot of cats

* Put the toilet paper roll on upside down (flap goes over every time)

Which of these have you done (drink!)? And what things have you never done? 

If you haven't already, you can fill out this form with any questions you want answered for my upcoming ask me anything post!!

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

Rabbit Hole

The other day I was working on a post about things I never do and I was wondering, what DO people do that I have never done? So I googled, "what is a common thing for US people to do?" and this is what the AI blurb at the top of my search spit out, along with my comments. The answers did not really help me with my post, but it was amusing all the same. 

Here are some common things that people in the United States do:

Work: Americans tend to work long hours, often starting before 9 AM and ending before 6 PM. Many Americans start working at a young age and take relatively few vacations. [Me: Is this really what we are known for? Relatively few vacations? FYI, at my last job, I got five weeks off every year, and I always took all of them!]

 

Eat out: Americans often eat out or order takeout for convenience and time. They also enjoy eating out for fun. [I suppose this is true to a certain extent, especially the fun part, although I just checked my spending report and even when I am on the road, like now, I don't eat out a ton. In October, I went for lunch 4 times, dinner 3 times and ice cream 1 time.]

Lunch out with Elisabeth

Value time: Americans value time and convenience, and often celebrate busyness and lack of leisure. [I do think this is true, and am actually struggling with this a bit right now, as I feel like people may think that because I am not working, I am lazy and/or not busy, aka not productive, aka lazy.]

 

Follow sports: Many Americans enjoy watching and following sports, especially football, baseball, and basketball. [I do not fit in this group very much, but do feel like a lot of people do love watching sports, especially football. Those fans are INTENSE.]

 

Practice small talk: Americans often engage in small talk, which is making conversation with strangers or acquaintances about non-controversial topics. [This one seems odd; are other cultures not known for small talk? Are Americans engaging in more small talk than other cultures? As you know, I am not a huge fan of small talk.]

 

Be independent: Americans value the idea of being self-sufficient. Many American kids and teenagers leave home for extended periods of time. [I do know that in many cultures it is normal to live at  home for a long time, or have multiple generations under one roof, so in contrast to them, I do think Americans are seen to be kicking the kids out early. Also my parents definitely taught me to be self sufficient.]

 

Respect differences: Americans generally practice political correctness and respect other cultures and people's differences. [Hmmm.. not so sure about this one, AI!]

 

Use red cups: Americans often use red cups to drink alcohol out of. [THIS ONE CRACKED ME UP! I mean, what algorithm caused it to put this on top of other things? I have drunk out of a red cup, but I do not think this is a top ten defining characteristic of Americans!]

 

Celebrate holidays: Americans celebrate holidays like Halloween and Black Friday. [What about Christmas!? And Thanksgiving? Plus, is Black Friday now a holiday? My critique to AI: needs work!]

Which of these do you think AI got right, and which are just weird? And which do you think should be added? For my non-US readers, what do you think of when you think of Americans (don't be shy, I know we are known for being loud in a crowd!)? 

If you haven't already, you can fill out this form with any questions you want answered for my upcoming ask me anything post!!

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

Books, The Library and Notes on Life

Guess what? I am off the bike! Because of this, I have a little more time to hang out, and therefore you get a bonus post this week! Today I am going to talk about a book I recently read, more reasons to love the library, and a tool I have been using to help me think and get things done more efficiently! 

Books, but Specifically One Book: After reading Jonathan Haidt's book, The Coddling of the American Mind, a few years back while on a hike, I could not help but regale my hiking buddy Bugsy with blurbs from the book. It was very thought provoking and I had to get the thoughts out of my mind tout suite. I probably drove him crazy. However, now I can't wait until our next hike, because I just finished The Anxious Generation, and I have some things to say about it! There were a lot of things in it that resonated with me, or caused me to ponder how our future generations (mostly Gen Z and beyond) are going to be, and if that is necessarily going to be a bad thing or not. 

It also made me nod my head on some of the points about our current generations (boomers, Gen X, millennials). For example, he talked about our lack of ability to really truly multitask efficiently, and how we don't really listen to our friends/companions/colleagues when our phone notifications are going off, or we are distracted by our phones. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am in the middle of a conversation with someone and they keep glancing at their phone. I am sure that whoever is texting (or more likely, whatever spam email is coming into their inbox) is VERY important, but maybe we need to work on focusing more on what is in front of us rather than what is in a distant cloud of possible better things. 

This could really get me going on a rant, and/or make a lot of people angry at me, as I am a firm believer of no phones at the dinner table (or at meals out at restaurants etc.), no out loud conversations on  your phone unless you are having a call with grandma as a group in a private place, and definitely no out loud conversations in public places. Also, this goes hand in hand, but no out loud music/podcasts/news/YouTube in public places. How have we let our phones take over our lives, and were we always rude, or have they exacerbated our rudeness?? Let's discuss! Or better yet, read The Anxious Generation and let me know what you think. (PS if you do any of these things, I am sorry, but please enlighten me on why I should change my mind about how I feel about them, or why you do them). 

The Library, and Even More Reasons to Love It: As you all know, I love the library. While traveling, I can still get audio and e-books, and I have gone into the library in places like Wonewok, WI to ask where I can get lodging or in Lucknow, Ontario to use the internet and bathroom. Thanks librarians! But! Did you know that you can also borrow tools from some libraries? Yup. In Oakland, you can borrow house tools, like skill saws and screw guns (drills) and nail guns etc. You can also borrow yard tools, and you can also borrow bike repair tools. Some libraries have an area where you can fix your bike too, so if you are riding around, you can stop and work on your bike along the way. 

But wait, there is more! The other day my brother was talking about digitizing some photos and he was considering buying a photo scanner (his printer/scanner is a flattop scanner, which is a bit of a pain when you have hundreds of photos.) I told him to check the library and he did, and not only do they have top of the line photo scanning equipment, but they also have VHS digitizing equipment, so he is going to also digitize a couple of old home movies. I am sure they probably have CD and DVD digitizing equipment, so now we all have no excuse not to declutter! 

Library Extension: If you don't already have this, it is a game changer; it is an extension where you can add your library or libraries and also Hoopla and Kanopy. When you are looking up a book on Amazon or Goodreads or whatever, a sidebar will pop up, telling you where that book is available at your libraries! For example, when I went to get a screenshot of The Anxious Generation, here is what popped up! 

So Many Things to Talk About: As you may know, Engie recently did a little miniseries about books and it was so fun to not only read her posts, but to read through the comments and the back and forth about what people read, where they read and how they read! 

Ask AI: Speaking of the above...I know, you are wondering what AI has to do with it. However, I have found that if there is a really long article that I am struggling to get through, I will ask AI to summarize it. You can even do this with a blog post. For fun, I used one of Engie's book posts including comments and asked AI to summarize it for me. Here is an excerpt from the answer. It was given to me in bullet form, but I have condensed it into a paragraph. 

Do you read multiple books at a time? It turns out many of us are multi-taskers when it comes to reading! NGS regularly reads three books at once—one physical, one Kindle, and an audiobook. Birchwood Pie and Kyria are also fans of combining audiobooks with traditional reading. Jenny and Ernie are more of the “one book at a time” crowd, finding it easier to immerse themselves in just one story. Life of a Doctor’s Wife juggles multiple books, with physical copies, audiobooks, and even reading aloud to her kid. Others, like Ian & Pat and Lindsay, balance multiple genres by keeping one fiction and one non-fiction book on the go simultaneously.

I also used this on a page from the Social Security Administration to summarize something that was just not sticking and it was great. Actually, this may be helpful to some of you so I will explain what I did. Basically I took the entire SSA page and asked AI to summarize it (you have to copy and paste it into the chat box), then once I read through that, which was a six or seven paragraph bulleted summary, I asked it to sum it up in one paragraph and here is what I got: 

Understanding Social Security retirement benefits is crucial for effective retirement planning. To qualify, you need 40 credits, typically earned over 10 years of work. Your benefits are based on your Averaged Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) over your highest 35 years of income, which determines your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the monthly benefit at your Normal Retirement Age (NRA). You can start collecting benefits as early as age 62, though payments will be reduced, or delay until age 70 for higher benefits. Tools can help simulate different filing scenarios to optimize your decision.

So it can be a useful tool and is not just used to write poems about hats, although since I mentioned that, and today seems to be shout-out-to-Engie day, I thought I would ask it to do one for her, and here is what it came up with. 

Ode to Hats for Engie

Oh, hats, the word that makes her glow,

In every song and book you show.

A simple brim, a crown, a cap—

Engie’s heart skips with each "hat" snap.

Obsessed, she finds you everywhere,

In stories, lyrics, and the air.

A fleeting mention, quick as that—

Her joy ignites at the word "hat."

And though Dr. BB's hat’s absurd,

It’s still a "hat," her favorite word!

For in her world, no hat is wrong—

Her love for them is lifelong strong.

And with that, I will bid you all adieu! What book have you read lately that has sparked a fire in your mind? Have you ever borrowed tools from the library or used their equipment for a job you had? What do you use AI for? 

What I Learned

Welcome to the technology version of What I Learned. Over the years, obviously I have done a lot of things wrong for a long time and then I find out a trick and I am floored and I never look back. Here are a few things that I have found that make things so much easier when using the phone or computer. 

VPN: This is good for when you are using a lot of public networks and need security, or...if you are traveling and you want your app or website to think you are still in your country of origin. I have a good story about this which I will tell in another post but for now just know that your Netflix account does not have the same shows when you are in a different country. So if you want to have the same shows, or same subtitles etc. your IP needs to be in the country you come from. Also banking is much easier if you are "not" abroad! I use NordVPN, but there are several different options and they are not expensive, and it has saved my butt a few times!! 

Feedly Boards (Categories). I started using this when I first started using Feedly, but at the time, I only had a "favorites" category. Once I started having to use my phone to read articles, I quickly found that I needed more categories, as I like to go back to posts I have commented on to see if the author has replied to my comments. When I am on the laptop, I used to just leave the article open, then revisit it when I went back on the computer. 

However, with my phone, this is not as feasible. So now I have boards for the following: 

Commented: posts I commented on

Returned: posts I commented on and returned to and read the reply (once this is done, I remove the commented category)

Past due: posts I commented on, returned to and there is no reply after a certain amount of time (then I remove the commented category and don't go back again and waste time checking).

Book ideas: articles or posts about books that I want to add to my holds/loans on Libby

Vacation ideas: articles or posts about places I want to research more, go to, or review

Ideas: articles or posts about something that I think would be fun to write about at some point

You can bring up just the one category and see a list easily and you can also add or remove the category from the list or within the individual article or post. 

Google Reader Mode. If you use Chrome and you have any websites that use a lot of ads or photos and take forever to load or scroll, you will love the Google Reader Mode Extension. It breaks down the post into words only, and gets rid of all the pesky minutia. This also often works for posts where you can only see some of the post and then need to log in; if you hit the Reader button right away, you can get the entire article in Reader view. 

Here is an example: Purple travels a lot and retired early and I like reading her stories; however, I do not have the patience for the site to load due to so many pictures and inserts and ads! 

Big pictures! Too many ads and Instagram links!

So I pop it into Reader and voila. In Reader, you can also save, print, and read aloud. You can also change the font and size and things, but I have just left it on the default for this. 

So much cleaner! See top right for options.

Camera shortcut for phone. This may seem obvious to some but when I was on the Tour Divide, a guy I was with told me how he wasn't taking a lot of photos because it was a pain to get his phone out, swipe to open, push the camera button and then take a photo. I told him that he should have a shortcut to enable him to do it without all that fuss. For my phone (Pixel), you have to double click the power button. You can then take the photo using the volume button (either one) therefore enabling you to do it fast, or when it's wet outside, or when you have gloves on, all without touching the screen. My parent's Motorola is a quick wrist twist back and forth to activate. Also, in case you are scared, if a stranger does this, they cannot access any prior photos or other things on your phone, so you can have someone take your photo at Yosemite without worry. What is your phone's camera shortcut? 

Schedule send for text messages. Since I am often up at the buttcrack of dawn, and this is when I have time and motivation, I often set up a bunch of texts to go out later in the day when normal people are actually up. I also do this for birthday texts if I think of it the day before, I will schedule it for the next day so I won't forget. The only downside of this for me is that if I am not in service at the scheduled time, it won't go out, so it doesn't help me in that case. In Android you hard press the send button and it will give you an option for times; once you choose your date and time, you hit the send button again and it will be set! I am certain iPhone has something similar; can anyone confirm?  

What method do you use to check responses on comments if there is no auto email feature? What tricks to you use to keep track of ideas, future books to read or vacations to research? What tips and tricks do you use to save time with technology, the internet, or your computer? If none of the above, do you have any tips or tricks you often use in life? 

Honk If You Think Helmets Are Sexy (And Other Random Acts of Kindness)

One of the things that I did on this trip was to have people come and meet me along the way. My friend K came with her girls to meet up with me in Canmore, and as we were driving around we would sometimes see people with bikes full of gear riding on the side of the road. I made them cheerily honk the horn and roll down their windows and cheer for the cyclists. They thought I was crazy but I tried to explain to them that it's the little things like that which sometimes make my day, and if we could pay it forward, why not? 

They did not really think about the long days in the saddle with nobody to talk to and sometimes the only noise you hear all day is the cars wizzing by, but why would they? So I am here to tell you ten things that I've experienced and have been very appreciative of so far, and probably no long haul cyclist would refuse or be upset by if you did them. 

A friendly honk. I have had people lean on the horn in an unfriendly way, but usually a quick toot toot is such a happy sound to hear as you are lumbering up a hill with sweat dripping down your face. 

Speaking of sweat, I will almost never say no to a cold drink. I told my Mom that even if it's a soda, which I rarely drink, or even diet soda, I don't care. If it's cold, I will happily drink it! Near Merritt, BC, after accidentally going over the Coquihalla summit, a guy offered me a zero sugar Sparkling Ice and let me tell you, it was the best drink I've had in a while. 

Cold(ish) drink! 

Coquihalla summit. Not fit for bikes!!

A wave, thumbs up, hang loose or any goofy hand or arm movements are welcome, with some obvious exceptions! 

I sat in a bar in Michigan talking to some bear hunters and when I went to pay my bill, one of them offered to buy my drink. How nice is that?

Somebody bought me these! Thanks! 

In New Mexico, on a stretch of about 90 miles and 8,000 feet of gnarly climbing with no water sources on a 90+ degree day, I was walking my bike uphill over some rocks when a man in a kitted out fourrunner stopped and asked if I wanted water. If I have enough, I will sometimes say no, but in this case, I was so happy that I could have hugged him. 

Warmshowers is a cycling accommodation swapping service, and the people who have hosted me have all been wonderful. However, in the New Mexico desert, there was no place good to camp and when I asked a man if there was anything around, he called a friend and she not only let me sleep in her yard, but she fed me and let me shower! Seriously, all I need is a small place to put my tent and a tree to pee behind, but she went above and beyond. 

The Toaster House in Pie Town, NM. Free, with donations accepted. 

To all the old men in Tim Hortons and McDonald's: I loved spending time chatting with you, hearing your stories, and learning about the local area.

I'm fact, to everyone at any bar or restaurant or hotel or just randomly on the street who has asked where I am going and why I am doing this and how I do certain things and have been so curious, it was really nice to chat with you too. You really made my day. 

So many cars have moved over to the left and have given me a lot of space when they can and let me tell you, that is so nice. Even big rigs will sometimes get all the way into the other lane on a two lane highway and man it really makes a difference. Side note and fun fact: did you know that if the big rig does not get over, they often create a kind of rip tide/vacuum of air after they pass that can nearly knock me over? 

Often if I am sitting on the side of the road having a snack or adjusting my clothing, people will ask if I need any help. While luckily I never did, I am so grateful to them, because you never know when you may need help. I always do the same too, except often they have just stoped to pee 🫣 or eat. But that's okay; it's better to check anyway!

I have really been impressed and touched by all of the random people who have made my journey better in some way, often by just doing something small, and maybe even sometimes not even realizing it! This list is not all inclusive; there were people who gave me rides, people who let me take my bike into the room even though it was not allowed, people in Montana and Colorado and New Mexico who have fed or housed me and other cyclists or hikers and want nothing in return except for us to pay it forward...the list goes on! 

What unexpected thing has someone random done for you in your life? What random thing has made your journeys in this life better? Do you feel that people in certain areas or walks of life are more likely to give or receive random acts of kindness? 

Everything is Random Today

Today is Labor Day. In a normal year, for basically the past ten years, I have taken my two week vacation on this week and the next. I only have to take nine days off to get ten (or really 16 days total including weekends), the kids have gone back to school (mostly) so the places I want to see aren't packed, and the weather is perfect for backpacking and traveling. Is it weird that I am currently jealous of my past self and am kind of wishing I was somewhere in the mountains hiking? Is it possible to have FOMO when you are simultaneously doing something else that is fun? I guess it is! I guess we always kid of want the grass on the other side, even when ours is growing great and is healthy and green. Or is that just me? I actually like my grass now, but kind of want to pop onto the other side for a few too! 

As a side note, did you know that the Portuguese do not talk about the grass being greener? Instead they say something like this, a galinha do vizinho sempre é mais gorda, which I believe translates roughly to, "your neighbor's chicken is always fatter," but you can probably Google it to get the actual translation. I love things like this, where you learn how other cultures say the same thing as you do. I also enjoy hearing how they say things differently, for example, when I learned that in Spanish or French you do not take a pee, or go pee, but instead you make a pee, or you do not go grocery shopping, instead you, do/make your shopping.

The other thing that I loved when I learned it was that roosters crow in different languages! Knock me over with a feather. I am not sure why my English centric brain did not realize this, as it seems obvious, but I was surprised and delighted by this news. Here are a few examples. Portuguese/French - cocorico. Chinese - wo-wo-wo. Korean - kkokkiyo. Arabic - SiyaaH. Spanish - quiquiriquí (this was the first one I learned). Also if you start to research this, you will realize that cows do not moo and cats do not meow, and then you can really get your mind blown. I took a year of French in college, and then went to work at a grocery store in Bordeaux for a summer, but to me, the roosters (and other animals) still sounded like they were speaking English. 

I am writing this from Tim Horton's. If you would have asked me six months ago how many times I'd been to a fast food joint in he last decade, I would probably be able to count the number on one hand. However, on the last six months, between this and McDonald's, I've increased my visits by probably 5x. Am I eating a lot of donuts and big macs? Nope! I normally go in to use the WiFi, charge electronics, use the bathroom and get out of the weather, and will usually buy a coffee. Today it's hot and humid and the air conditioning feels great. However, there is a man sitting next to me that looks like he slept pretty rough, and he's been sitting there milking the same coffee for a long time, but as I look at him, and then to myself, I wonder if people think the same about me. I do have helmet hair, and due to the humidity am quite sticky and sweaty, I don't smell great, and I've been milking the same coffee for awhile now too. I wouldn't say that the Timmy's coffee is great, but just like having a real toilet, when you've been going without for a while, even the most basic one is so nice. The other good thing about Timmy's and McDonald's is they don't kick me out, except for the McDonald's in Canmore, which had a sign saying that you could only stay for a half an hour. 

The other place I go if I'm in a smaller town is the library. It's not just for books, and they will let you sit for awhile and use the WiFi and plugs at your leisure. Thanks to all of you who are paying the taxes to allow me to do this, as it is a life saver! Also the librarians are normally nice and even have local information. When I was in Wisconsin, I got stuck in a bad rainstorm and the place I had planned on camping was like a lake. I went into town and into the library (soaking wet) to find out if there was any kind of lodging in town and the wonderful librarian Kim not only was super nice but she called around to find out if one of the women in town had availability at her rental and then went outside to make sure I was connected with the landlord! 

Speaking of the library, I have two things to say. First of all, if you need more ebook or audiobook library holds, you can get a card at the Broward county library in Florida. They don't care where you are from, and so you can get ten more books added to your queue! Secondly, I'm struggling right now to concentrate on audiobooks and so have been listening to tons of podcasts. For some reason, if the audiobook has two time periods or points of view, I get lost easily and the lose interest, so I probably DNFed at least five books in August. It's not you; it's me. It's probably just a phase, and I need to clean out my podcast queue anyway, so I am okay with that. However, I have capacity for 24 holds, and of course they are all becoming available now, and I already have about ten books checked out because usually I can go through about a book per day, so I need to decide whether or not to pause some of the holds now. First world problem, eh? 

Speaking of books, this is not one that I DNFed, but I read David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice and it was his worst book that I've read so far. I generally enjoy him, but am not a huge fan of the stories including animals; nor do I love that he is pretty offensive about disabled people (FYI, he uses the R word a lot). If this is the only book of his that you've tried, please read a different one, as it is not a good representation of him as an author. 

Tell me something random about you. What custom or phrase from a different culture or language have you found interesting? How do you feel about fast food coffee? What book have you DNFed recently?