Lyon Public Bikes Segment

We are still alive and thanks to Journeyman Pictures, you can see a great segment on Lyon's public bike program "Velo'V". Unfortunately we can't embed but here is the direct link.

- RV's Girl

Suuunnnnnday Morning:-)

Slept well last night after watching a disposable flick on google video, it was called "The Core" the tag says it all, this is a science fiction movie. Thats enough to let you know that the world is in crisis it has something to to with the earths core and nuclear weapons will solve the problem as they do in all modern sci-fi movies, see Armageddon, Sunshine, Deep Impact the list goes on.


After this I watched a fascinating documentary on the Lomo camera and the cult of photographers or lomographers that has grown up around this quirky device. I actually discovered this a few years ago and fell in love the idea of taking pictures with the four or eight lens version but I was at college at the time and and couldn't even afford the 40 or 50 Euro it cost. Cant actually remember where I originally heard about this device like so many other thinks probably due to the several years of substance abuse that went hand in hand with college life in Ireland but my interest in this has been revived by the documentary that you can watch in its entirety here. The whole film was done in the lomo style and has great music accompanying it all the way through. It charts the history of the Lomographic society and the history of the Russian factory where it was produced. My girl tell me I take crap pictures but maybe thats due in part to the embarrassment of being made lineup for family photos while holidaying with my parents which I think fostered a sort of impatience involving all things photographic when you have to interrupt what you are doing while dad takes several snaps of everyone deliberately posing. I think this is what appeals to me about the lomo philosophy.


The pictures all seem to capture movement in a spur of th emonent sort of way and the four lens version is designed to show the progression of the target over a period of time.

On the bike front I haven't been doing much cycling lately partly due to me being a bit lazy and the fact that I generally rise from bed between 12:00 and 14:00pm every day. Actually my girl decided to drag me from the bed at nine the other day so we could shop at the market and I felt physically ill for about 6 hours. Heres an interesting cycling blog my partner in crime discovered the other day which I have not yet completely explored but looks to be packed full of cool arty bike stuff for your perusal. He also has a show somewhere on Londons ResonanceFM another thing I've been meaning to get into. Their high tech low tech orientated circuit bent art house drone music is right up my street as you will know if you read my previous post. Heads up ill be putting my first DIY optically controlled sine wave noise maker thingy up for auction on Ebay soon, wish me luck as this is going to be my primary source of income for a while.



Oh I nearly forgot the little one turned me on to this dude who makes the most awesome bamboo bikes the other day. Totally cool in my opinion both in terms of design and sustainability.

And also lets not forget to mention the case of that poor dude in the states who was tasered (Or however you spell it) and arrested at an airport for pointing out the to a police officer (Actually I think he was airport police those guys are even worse) that he could cycle on the particular road he was on. Note to self never argue with a cop just tell them you'll comply and when they are not around just continue doing whatever it was you were going to do anyway. There is no point trying to talk in a logical fashion with most cops (I say most because there are exceptions to all rules) they are hand picked to be resistant to logic. You can read more about the story here.

Anyhow that enough from me din dins is almost ready and the smell is making me hungry...

Summer is truly here and so is my HAYFEVER...

I love the outdoors but at this time of year it is with trepidation that I venture outside. Normally I do not like to take medication on a daily basis but right now its a necessity. Lyon is quite beautiful at this time of year and as someone who loves the outdoors its pretty horrible to fear leaving the confines of the flat.

You may have noticed that we haven't been blogging here for the past few months and it has to be said that in my case anyway there is really no excuse for this. My girl on the other hand has other blogs to maintain so its not her fault. I think a mixture of procrastination and a lack of inspiration are to blame.

On the cycling front I haven't been doing as much as I would normally do except the odd trip to the workshop I say odd because my visits have become more and more infrequent which is something I hope to remedy quite soon as I am starting my second custom guitar (Another project proceeding slower than expected). Will post pictures of the first on one soon, I promise.

That aside my creative projects are going well, well the design side is going strong but the realization is a bit weak right now. I suppose ill just have to get off my ass and really push myself to bring these things to life. The project I have been concentrating most on lately is the one which we hope will provide us with a small but necessary income and so making it real is very important. It consists of a small box of electronics that I'm calling a photo controlled synthesizer. When you turn it on it produces a tone typically 700 or 800 Hz depending on the level of ambient light. By interacting with the three light dependent resistors either with your hand or a light source a wide range of effects can be created from sliding , Theremin like scales to a ten note graduated scale. There are and a few other modes where you can mix and match modulating effects and create sounds ranging from techno beats (With a flashing Bike light) to weird droning sounds or crazy high pitch beeps and bips. Once you throw in some delay/reverb things really get interesting. Actually the amount of fun Ive been having playing with the prototype have probably cut into the point of this exercise which was to build these things for sale. There are some other functions too like signal paths that become active at various light levels and an optically controlled tremolo and something which is missing on all other optical instruments a setting which keeps the device silent until it is interacted with. When I finish this ill post on it. Maybe this blog can be a record of my work online?

The only other thing I want to post on is this cool open source DJ'ing software I found the other day. It was a necessity as we have volunteered to play a party for a friend in this month. Ive DJ'ed before a couple of times at private parties but never on a laptop. The software is called Mixxx its multi platform, free and really easy to use with enough functionality to get by with.

Bye for now, more posts soon...

RV

Spring is already here!

Warm weather is creeping up on us already and February has just started...I am weary of RV having to go through a flashback moment with the heat wave that scorched us heavily a couple of years back.

What this sunshine is doing is making me have to re-adjust to sleeping on some common time zone and wanting very badly to begin preparation for our tandem biking.

So many beautiful parts of France surround us and I can't imagine a more pleasant awakening then cycling with RV to find some peaceful spots we can retreat to when needed. I want to smell nature and bring our tasty picnics along, I want to draw and write then take an afternoon nap in the sun...



-RV's Girl Listening to France Musique

Two Years Ago...

Two Years ago, I was a mess. I felt that so many choices I had made were turning me into an alcoholic zombie, a wandering heart with too much love given and taken and I felt very alone despite.

Had it not been for a wonderful friend and confidante, I don't think that I would be sitting here content, calm and so sure of who I am and where I am at.

This special person became my boyfriend. His naive wisdom captivated me and his obvious intelligence, way beyond the norm of someone his age, gave me a voice to work out my bohemian thoughts I had collected so hastily along the way. I admit, I felt very strongly against our partnership and tried thoughout our first year to deter him from me. I was dangerous and seeing how friends and acquaintances had taken claim on their interpretation of me, he was undeserving of a life or first love with 'someone' like me. Yet, something deeper was always there, a notice, a sign that even if just platonic, we would have gotten together somehow anyway.

The first awkward moment of intimacy was catapulted by innocent drinks, good conversation and the dreaded early last call of Dublin bars. We walked to my temporary rental and after great discussion, I asked him to leave for fear I would take advantage of him, he stayed. For a week.

Neither of us understood what this meant be we remained, we truly respected eachother as friends. We continued in a hazy mix of exploratory sex, talk and drink.

I finally said goodbye after a shared taxi ride on the way to the airport. He dropped off and the taxi sped forward. I turned back, not knowing why, and there he was smiling as I was. Our shared moment was the beginning of what began a sweet and torturous realisation that indeed we were a good couple.

A year ago we swayed in eachother's arms at one of the best concerts of my life. We celebrated by living together for the first time and discovering from a non long distance trial that relationships can be simple, that adventure can be found without chaos and that we loved eachother for who we were and nothing changed except out growing affection, imagination and trust.

With all the mistakes and hard times I have made RV encounter along this journey, I realise now that fear and uncertainty took reign; that I was so scared of giving myself completely and scared of who I really was. Silly Girl. Who would have thought this young man would teach me a thing or two. RV you did teach me so many things and I know that now.

RV is an incredible person and lover. He never rejects any idea or emotion and only makes me want to be a better person. I still look out for him like a protective older sister (he is too nice!) but never will I underestimate his knowledge and capacity to love, to love me.

Through all these hard times, you were there for me because you believed I wasn't so bad. Baby, thank you...RV I am so proud to be with you for two years and I hope that there are many more to come.


Happy Anniversary! Many, many kisses from your 'Mogwai'.



-RV's Girl Listening to UNKLE

Canadian Environmentalist Tim Harvey on CBC

An interesting and thought provoking segment (originally aired in Nov.2006 on CBC) on Tim Harvey who biked, canoed and tried to make his way around the world, emission free.

This feature documents the many obstacles Harvey faced including losing his initial partner and having to find a way out of various situations that could have deterred his plight.

See the video here via Google Video.

"It began as a dream to adventure by zero-emission means: Vancouver to Moscow by human power. The dream then grew - how to make it home, and circle the world, without fossil fuels? It took two and a half years on bicycles, by foot, in rowboats, canoes, wooden raft and under sail, on a route across five continents and two oceans."

To learn more about the trip click here to see the official site.



-RV's Girl

What Happens When...

You make a barter 'ad deal' with someone and they don't do their share?

It's gone! Sorry!

(Anyway, I'm not that much of a bitch so here is the direct link to them)



-RV's Girl listening to RV watching Aeon Flux

Monday Morning...

Been up since six this morning due to mogwai interference but I overcame my tiredness as soon as it was light out, its funny how your body tells you your not tired simply because there was a transition from dark to bright.

Anyway this gives me a chance to do a little blogging as the mogwai is sleeping and I have the computer to myself for another hour or so and so I can impart onto you the wonderful things my journey through the internets has thought me this morning.

First up is a great bike related project from Trondheim Norway that I caught on Rocketboom and thought was worth a mention. Trondheim has the highest bicycle use in Norway, maybe even the developed world (90% of people claiming it is their primary means of transport) and one of reasons for this is the cities investment in an infrastructure that includes dedicated bike paths and this fantastic invention. Its a bicycle lift that transports you and your bike to the top of what I assume is a very steep hill. You can see a youtube video here.

And now another innovative transport solution found on BoingBoing earlier, its called Train and is was created by the French design duo HEHE. I love this idea.

Still thinking about that tandem design and no one has been forthcoming with any solutions as to how to create a DIY tandem bike that can be broken down and carried which means one of two thing either no one has any solutions or no one reads this:-)

Ok its bye bye from me, stay tuned...

Hello Friends...

Ok, this is my first post of 2007, its a little late I know but the WiFi signal that was so graciously left unsecured by some wonderful person who probably lives not more than one hundred feet from me suddenly vanished. And so I got a little lazy not wanting to hog my favorite girls laptop for too long because she has things to do to and also because I have to surf for at least four to five hours before I overcome the static friction, open blogger and build up the speed necessary to write two hundred words or so. Its not easy for me, this is why I quit my job to begin with, so I could work when I wanted to not when I had to.

Well enough of my ranting, its the new year and my special lady friend has taken her new years resolution to heart and started smoking rolling tobacco as part of of cost cutting exercise, and she is pretty good at rolling to. I also think this is better for her than the French cigarettes she was smoking before as well as the fact that she saves about fifty Euro a week.

On the bike front Ive been thinking about our dream to go biking together in the spring and trying to figure out how we can make or get a tandem that can fold up so we can take it on trains easily. I'm all ears in terms of suggestions. Stay tuned.

The Begininng Of A Slow Week...

And, it's Thursday! Rv & I had an awesome holiday weekend with ALOT of food and drink AND good sex! We amused ourselves and ended up making a funny Christmas meal on Monday. Normally when you make stuffing it's supposed to be with Turkey but we created the Holiday Stuffed Ham Roll!

Here's a glance at the beauty. Ta-da!


The Turkey we purchased turned bad on the 24th and RV said that 'normal people' usually eat on Christmas day so luckily we enjoy improvisation.

We finished off the stuffing properly though the day after for Boxing Day after a match of chess with chicken filets as the Turkey stench never left us and we were too scared to try again and be disappointed. We weren't. Yummy. It was the first time in my life I made a Christmas dinner.


We finished the evening with a viewing of 'Shortbus'. Surprisingly this is a great film to see as a couple, or maybe more appropriately, for the kind of couple we are. John Cameron Mitchell made a film so warm and human that the fact of real sexual acts being performed is relevant without it being 'porn' or awkward or whatever it was/is negative responses have deemed. Don't follow the sheep, see it for yourself. If you haven't seen JCM's Hedwig yet, watch that too and make it a double feature.


I'm kind of surprised the end of year is already near. RV picked up our key for the workshop yesterday, on bike, and now we have to load up on champagne, supplies and get the place running. I can't wait. We have been slowly leading up to bigger and greater things and like it always feels, some things are worth the wait.

Hope your Christmas was wonderful, no matter what shape or form.



-RV's Girl Listening to Trente Moller Essential Mix

Our DIY USB Powered Mini Christmas Tree

Video

About

Happy Holidays!!

-RV's Girl Listening to SomaFM

Happy Christmas Everybody:-)

Well its that time of year again and its my first Christmas away from home but its ok I have my girl to keep me company. We basically plan to eat, drink, smoke and watch a vast array of televisual delights which I'm sure will be beamed into our telebox.

Anyway, my special lady friend found this wonderful website somewhere on the net the other day and I've been itching to post about it since she dropped it in my inbox. Millegomme is a site which specializes in the creation of a range of objects which utilize old bike and car tyres in their construction. There is very little information on the site that describes Millegomme but I think their primary mission is to put on workshops that teach children and adults about recycling by focusing on the reuse of tyres which are a cheap and abundant material.



Today Make magazine has a link to a site which supplies kits that can turn your modest bike into a crazy pedal powered snow mobile. I don't know what sort of ride this would be but it looks like a barrel of fun. Just add snow.

So its bye bye from me, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the rest of In the Actors Studio with Eddie Murphy. Have a great holiday everyone.

Pedal-powerd LED Reindeer Billboard

"One by one, 120 volunteers took turns on a single bicycle to power a 1500 LED reindeer billboard in Vancouver, BC. The holiday showcase, sponsored by DDB/Vancouver and BC Hydro (hydro is a Canadian term for power or electricity), was powered solely by the cycling samaritans for 5 days straight." - Taken from Core77

-RV's Girl Listening to Radio Suisse Classique

Sunday Morning...

Hello again have been on a really weird schedule of late, getting up at three in the morning trying to stay awake as long as possible and usually back in bed by six of seven in the evening. It was a terrible regime. I was constantly tired and depressed as I had to wait for hours before anything was open, actually I had to wait for hours till the sun came up so I could go out. I think I've managed to shake it today I got up at half seven had breakfast and I sit here now typing at a more social hour than I have in a while. I think the point of this account is to demonstrate how not having a rhythm to your day that corresponds with the natural light cycle can screw with your brain. I'm all better now, I think...

Anyway, my girl spotted this the other day on Treehugger. Sussex enterprises are a company that builds shaft driven bikes, yes bikes with no chain. I like this idea it add to the complexity of the bike but the overall performance and efficiency is apparently increased. It seem like the type of assembly that would require very little maintenance and it looks solid enough to me. Some people a sticklers for doing things the old way and are not open to new concepts like this so I hope it takes off. I feel their folding city bike is the perfect thing for those commuters who would bring a bike on a train or bus for a portion of their journey and the shaft system should drastically reduce the possibility of getting oil on you work clothes while you carry it.

Well winter is here and you may have noticed that it gets dark a lot earlier now so you'll be needing a decent light on that bike or your so you don't cripple yourself by hitting a pothole or curb. I would always forget to take the little LED lights off me bike when I parked it in the city and so they were always being stolen. These little lights never really worked for me as I could be seen by other road users but on a dark road I couldn't really see what was in front of me. The construction was crap to, the little plastic mounts were weak and attaching them with cable ties made the vandals were more determined. One solution is to make your own bike lamp. The Make magazine blog has this little piece (Is well as other links) on how to build your own heavy duty, 18V (Looks like a drill battery), super duper bike light. The full instruction set is available here through instructables.

Reuters has an article today about extreme recycling in Antarctica. Everything that is produced by the myriad of scientific expeditions there is boxed up and sent back to America to be recycled. There are fines and other punishments for anybody on the continent who breaks the strict rules which are in place to protect the delicate environment there which is under threat as it is from global warming. This is something that should be a lessen to us all in my opinion.


Another environmental piece that has been doing the rounds the last few days is this list of the top ten alternative energy solutions for the future. An interesting read, no one of these technologies will be the saving grace of humanity but if we combine them all an apply them in environments where they will be best suited then we can replace virtually all our current fossil fuel dependent transport and power stations.

Ok I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Bye bye...

ATB...

DIY all terrain bike, now you can go anywhere under pedal power. I love custom bikes of all shapes, sizes and uses.










Things here are pretty relaxed now that my parents have gone home. They did bring over my micro-synth so RV and Girl can make crazy sounds together and I received the Arduino micro-controller I ordered last week so lots of little projects to look forward to over the Christmas period.

1894 Roper Steamer by Sylvester Roper

"When 73-year-old Sylvester Roper showed up at a local bicycle track in Boston aboard this machine—a steam-powered motorcycle he invented—the young bicycle racers just laughed.

Here was this old man riding a strange contraption who wanted to race the local hotshots around the one-third-mile Charles River Park track. It wasn’t until the race was on that they realized the old man had come up with something truly amazing."

Frame

1894 Columbia
High Frame
racing bicycle

Engine
Coal-fired boiler

Top Speed
More than
40 mph

Wet Weight
150 lbs

Owner
Robert "Buck" Boudeman

Roper died while taking his bike out for a ride.

"The machine was cutting out a lively pace on the back stretch when the men seated near the training quarters noticed the bicycle was unsteady,” the paper said. “The forward wheel wobbled, and then suddenly, the cycle was deflected from its course and plunged off the track into the sand, throwing the rider and overturning."

For more, read the rest of the story here.

-RV's Girl Listening to KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic

Festival of Lights & RV's Parents Visit....

A breezy, cool Sunday morning and RV is fast asleep.

We hung out with Mom and Dad last night which was a treat. They seemed to genuinely appreciate the intimacy of the diverse crowds walking through Lyon in the search for the numerous interactive light sculptures decorating the city until Monday.

The festival itself has grown and many locals are a little dismayed by the popular-isation of the event but I don't care. It was a very happy moment to see these two kind people see their son making his own in a foreign city. Their kindness and warmth, towards yours truly, touched and reassured me as I walked nervously to meet them at the local. They are discovering a new French city, they are discovering their son's new world and also having, what I hope to be, a small relaxing vacation in "our" home. I am a very happy girl...

We are a bit strapped for cash at the moment but hope to reconcile this with creative projects and some future gigs in Paris after the New Year, so it isn't so bad.

Christmas can be hard on lonely people and those who have no relatives nearby but it doesn't have to be so. I have a feeling things will work out just fine.

-RV's Girl Listening to John Coltrane

Wednesday, Halfway to the Weekend...

Hello everybody, another Wednesday. Ive been surfing quite a bit lately devoting lots of time to Curbly and Ive kinda gotten trapped in a reverse sleeping pattern again. My day typically starts at about six o'clock when I get up and have breakfast and read the news through my RSS feeds before having a shower and going to the local convenience store to buy enough booze and munchies to last the night. I return from the shop and typically my special girl rises from her slumber before we both become one with our laptops and surf the night away trading links and discussing topics we have encountered on our adventures in cyberspace. I haven't been out been out and about on my wire donkey as much as I would like due to my schedule apart from a brief trip to a factory occupied by a number of Lyon art collectives last week to discuss other projects I am currently working on. My parents are visiting my adopted city this weekend to see me and to experience the Fete du Lumieres, I hope they like the food and drink and the laid back lifestyle as much as I do.



The only news I have that is bike related is this colourful group. My girl spotted it while surfing, it seems to be some sort of bike modification cult/gang in Japan. I love the Japanese for this kind of thing I don't understand what a culture has to experience for this sort of activity to flourish but its wonderful to see people express themselves all the same.

As I said before I planned to do more posts with an environmental slant in the future. Today I would like to impart the news that Boeing-Spectrolab have developed a solar panel that is 40.7% efficient which is a huge increase from the 12-18% efficiency rating found in modern panels currently available to the public. Hopefully companies will move away from silicon panels in favor of polymer based models in the future to reduce the environmental impact of the construction process.

The other day I came across this design company which produce a range of different item a few of which are bikes. I don't know if they are available for purchase but I like them anyway.

Until next time, bye bye.

RV

Side by Side...

My special girl saw this somewhere in the net and dropped it in my inbox yesterday. You gotta love these guys for their inventiveness and passion for the great outdoors and cycling. The camper bike rocks but does it have to be so wide? Actually I think its perfect without the bit he plans to add to the back theres plenty of room for your tent, cooler, tools and other bits and pieces back there. If you put a roof style thingy on it you could cycle in all weathers. The next two links are about a dude that has been spotted all up and down the west coast of the US riding a totally modified (pedal powered) compact living unit. He is the true modern nomad in my opinion. Of late he has been experiencing technical difficulties for which he is seeking assistance. We have been staying in of late mostly playing with the Curbly site and planning various other projects and trips and talking about the future. My girl has been expressing an interest lately in purchasing a tandem of some sort for next spring and summer, if she's serious I cant wait to hit the road and explore the Rhone Alps region by bike.

We Cant Write About Bikes Forever...

Well it I suppose since my journey to visit my girl is over I've been here four months now and something big happened. My special lady cleared some space in the closet for me so am I no longer living out of my backpack. This made me a little bit wet eye to be honest. We just returned from a design Biennale in St. Etienne and are now both loaded with energy and inspiration. We plan to morph this blog and broaden its scope to include issues we are both passionate about including sustainability in architecture and design and other environmental issues. The future is brighter, cleaner and has more possibilities than either of us know. But for anyone reading this just for the bikes do not worry they tie in nicely with our new direction so check out these wicked ultra old school chinese bikes I found somewhere on the net the other day. We spotted the bike in the picture above at the design show it is by Luc Simon but I can not find him anywhere on the net so no link I'm afraid.