The Growler

Russ' new bike

My friend Russ is having a new bike hand-built for him by a small shop in Oregon called "Landshark".  The frame is proudly featured as Landshark's "Bike of the Month".

I don't cycle myself, and don't understand the technical challenges that apparently had to be overcome to complete the frame to Russ' specifications, but I love that someone cares enough about something to hand-craft it, worry about how it looks and not accept a mass-produced substitute.  Does anyone "need" a custom-fabricated bicycle?  Heck, no.  Are we all better off because some guy in Oregon spends all day thinking about how to make the perfect bicycle?  Heck, yes.

Gotta love HP's new "Blackbird" machine - but do the kids get it?

I get a kick out of the Area 51 references that are permeating high-end gaming machines (HP's "Blackbird" joining Alienware's "Area 51", "Aurora", etc.), but does the target demo get the references?  I can't imagine too many 15 - 24 year olds are well versed in Skunk Works history.  But then, at $6,500 a pop, maybe it's not kids who are doing the buying . . .