DesertStandard

I need to do a post on all the various blogs and websites that I read so that you know where I am coming from. Anyway I wanted to mention two new ones that I am subscribed to now:

Tim Saffles and I have been buds for a few years now. It all started at that strange event known as Retention where we worked for Bob Parsons at Godaddy.com. Our dark and sarcastic humor pretty much clashed right away and it was all over but the arguing after that. He is a really good writer and gets his thoughts out like I wish I could:

So I have a dilemma: I want to purchase a place of my own, I feel that there will be no better time that in the next year or so, but I don’t think it will be a worthwhile investment of capital or time. I’m torn between sentimentality and responsibility. : TimothySaffles.com

Renting vs. Buying: Housing Dilemma

The second one is from Biray Alsac who I just learned of today via her teaching a blog workshop at the Chandler Library on March 26th at 6:30pm called Stop, Blog, and Roll. She is a fitness guru and really into the Internets. She is also a very good writer and I look forward to reading more from her:

Despite being a bit of a techno-geek, I’m still a health educator and fitness professional first. I admit, I spend countless hours on the web exploring online tools and reading up on new technology. But I see my efforts as directly helping me better understand this gadget-driven, internet-savvy culture. I’m striving to become more effective […] : Be Fit With Biray

Everyone Could Use Some Spare Change

This whole having a week off stuff is really nice. My body still awakens 5 minutes before my alarm goes off at 4am each day but I am unhurried now. This allows me to sit and write for a few hours after breakfast. Have a nice shave and go for a morning ride through my hood.

Today marks the second day of riding through Chandler on my bike. Yes I have lived here for over a year now but have not taken anytime to explore the area. The biggest reason for this delay is my fear of riding on the roads in Chandler because of the high proportion of drivers who are not paying attention. This is of course a silly notion because there is a high proportion of drivers not paying attention just about everywhere there are cars. So the rule is to pay attention, and then pay more attention!

Choosing a route is critical to creating an enjoyable ride. Having to constantly think about what route is best is tiring and prevents you from being able to pay attention to those inattentive drivers. There are a number of bike lanes in Chandler but I cannot find and resource that tells me exactly where they are. I winged it and came out pretty lucky. Have a look here to see my North Chandler Bike Route, just over 10 miles in about 50 minutes.