Pretty cool idea, though the results seem to vary. I bet there’s a lot of experimenting one could do.

Sadly, I give it six months before Duncan Hines starts pre-packaging something like this, and blasting commercials across the airwaves for it. Maybe less, time than that, actually — surely they’ll want to get it on the market before the holiday seasons start… hell, I could see this going into the “trick or treat” baskets.

I think only slightly worse will be to see Sandra Lee going to town with this one.

No, not those pages.

Thanks to Chris for this heads up:

it’s been — two weeks since I took a hit, caught a little buzz and then i got the munchies.

Seriously though, dude. Cocaine?

There are times when one recollects just how redneck one’s state can be, at times. This is one of those. From Isaac Hunter’s Tavern:

The controversial measures (there are two versions) would let people tow 10-ft-wide mega-boats on the roads in the dark. Standard lane width is 8½ to 9 feet. You do the math.

Supporters of the change say it’ll keep NC competitive in the market for sport fishing tournaments and other luxury boat tourism. But critics say the boats, which aren’t lit, are dangerous on darkened two-lane roads, where they could sideswipe drivers in the oncoming lane.

I can already see the commercials. “I’m a BASS member. And I vote”

(in more ways than one)

Got on the bike for the first time in months; mdehaan joined me for what turns out to be the nearly 18-mile route from my house to as far as we can currently go on the American Tobacco Trail. I’ve ridden this segment numerous times myself before, but rarely in the heat of summer, and never the whole distance with someone else tagging along.

Did this despite somehow tweaking my back yesterday. I really don’t know how I did it, unless I (ironically) did so while lifting and twisting my bike to get a season’s worth of packed sand and mud off it — or most of the way, anyway. But, I figured a little exercise to stretch things out would be better than to sit around and feel sorry for myself, so I didn’t call off the trip.

Seemed to handle the ride okay. With about 5 miles left in the return, my back started to tell me, “hey now, sitting is better than standing, but this is playing high and fast with the rules.” Either way, I wasn’t suffering, at least not from that.

It was hot however, low 90s. A lot of shaded areas, but still warm. I drank close to all of my 3L of water. Heat didn’t stop anyone else either, there were quite a number of people on the trail, and daring ones too, like those who had the kid carrier attached to the bike and would head across the subsections of the Chatham segment heavily covered in large gravel.

We rewarded ourselves with a trip over to the new Tyler’s Taproom in town. Pretty good food, and a terrific beer selection. Afterwards, I returned home and exhausted, stuffed with food and a few beers, and still having the sore back, I passed out for a few hours.