Carfree Family

• Father and Mother Parenting

  Number of comments: 4
  I heard a radio interview yesterday on the differences between mother and father parenting. I'm always a little bothered by the people writing books about this subject because they seem to typecast men and women into traditional roles even while they try to expand them.
  
  First of all, I' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:12am EST
  by Paul Cooley

• jDarkroom vs. WriteRoom

  Number of comments: 2
  Since I've been caught up in thoughts of minimalism, I've been playing around with various minimalist word processors. Two, in particular, are frequently pitted against each other in blogs: WriteRoom and jDarkroom. jDarkroom is a java implementation of a Windows-only imitator of WriteRoom.
  
  WriteRoom costs $24, though [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 9:57am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Excuse the Absence

  Number of comments: 4
  I haven't felt that I have much to add to the blog right now. I've been writing every day, and that's occupying my time. I'm still writing at least five hundred words daily. I wanted to write about the difficulties inherent in choosing to live a more simple life. The [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Leo's Minimalist Blog

  Number of comments: 5
  I've never gotten around to bookmarking Leo Babauta's Zen Habits blog here. In part, that's just because I haven't been paying much attention to my blog recently. His blog is one of my favorites, and right now, I'm reading through his book, The Power of Less.
  
  He's starting [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2009, 5:32pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Some First Draft Material from my Book

  Number of comments: 3
  I'm trying to write a book on Simple Living that deals a little more squarely with our human foibles and the difficulties associated with trying to live simply. I, for one, have always strived for some imagined state of inner and outer peace, and some books, like Duane Elgin's Voluntary [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2009, 11:06am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Nice Article on Getting Stolen Bikes Back

  Number of comments: 3
  The article is here. We have actually recovered a stolen bike through Craigslist, so it does work. [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Anyone out there good with flooring?

  Number of comments: 7
  I'm not much of a handyman. I can build things, and repair things, but it's usually in the cut twice, measure, cut again, measure, curse, bike to the store for more wood vein. Occasionally, however, I think about flooring my office with old pallet wood. I work in the converted [...]
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  Posted: August 23, 2009, 11:08am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Blew Out a Bicycle Rim

  Number of comments: 6
  Here's a new one to me. We were bicycling back from a party on our Xtracycles with the kids on back. I was cruising along, listening to the hum of the bottle generator and enjoying the cool night air. We were approaching an intersection when, from behind me, a loud' [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 1:34pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• The Market's First Carfree Peaches

  Number of comments: 2
  We have a peach tree in our back yard, and the peaches all seem to ripen at the same time and just drop. I've never gotten it together to can them or freeze them, so we eat as many as we can, but the tree keeps getting bigger every year.' [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2009, 10:53pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Goodbye Summer Cottage?

  Number of comments: 4
  We just returned from ten days at my wife's family's summer cottage in Manomet, Mass. This might be the last summer. My mother-in-law has been talking about selling it for a while, and I believe that there might be some consensus building among her and her sisters.
  
  It's just' [...]
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  Posted: August 11, 2009, 8:53am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• How is Everyone Getting By?

  Number of comments: 5
  While Zebediah was in Science Camp last week, I had the opportunity to hang out with my wife, reading magazines in the library where she works and having a couple of lunch dates with her. It was very nice. I love my wife a lot.
  
  I was browsing through [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2009, 2:39pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Free Mississippi River Desktop Background

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Computer desktop backgrounds have always been a very mild annoyance to me. They're either too busy or too bland. I had a photo of my kids on my desktop for a while, but' [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2009, 2:26pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• A "Why the Hell are We Paying for Dental Insurance" Moment.

  Number of comments: 5
  I have to state, up front, that I hate going to the dentist. I completely avoided the dentist in my twenties, which is probably why I'm having so much trouble now.
  
  I was going to a dentist that used a sonic cleaner. The sonic cleaner vibrated at just such' [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2009, 6:51pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• On the Relative Safety of Bicycles to Cars

  Number of comments: 4
  Tim raised some important points in the comment section of my previous post. First, I need to say that I was not advocating inattentive cycling, and that particular section of the essay was badly worded. I was thinking about a particular point in our commute to science camp. My average [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• How Living Without a Car is Like a Painting by Courbet

  Number of comments: 7
  It has been over five years since we sold our car, and in that time, getting around without one has become such a point of normality for us that I do not often think about it, much less write about it on the blog or in [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2009, 6:24pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Happiness

  Number of comments: 3
  So far, it’s been a very busy, but very happy summer. We were able to sign the kids up for a little more summer camp. It was expensive, and now we don’t have much savings, but they really are much happier. It’s not having them with me that is wearing; [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 2:51pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• MoneyWell Edges Ahead of iBank in my personal OSX Financial Software Race

  Number of comments: 4
  It looks like I might need a separate category for financial software, or in MoneyWell's case, a bucket, but I went ahead and bought a license for the MoneyWell program I've been using.
  
  The more I looked at it -- and yes, my kids will be back next week [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2009, 1:35pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• OSX Finance Software Revisited: iBank versus Moneywell

  Number of comments: 5
  For the time being, iBank has won my personal contest for OSX financial software. I was beta testing Financial Life for Mac, but the beta expired, and a popup box popped up saying, "check for updates, otherwise there is a new version available on the web," or something like that. [...]
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  Posted: June 25, 2009, 10:26am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Pandora Internet Radio

  Number of comments: 2
  I wanted to put in a plug for Pandora. I was searching for streaming radio apps for the iPod Touch, and I stumbled across Pandora Internet Radio. It taps into the Music Genome Project. You type in a song, artist, or composer in the search box, and Pandora builds [...]
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  Posted: June 22, 2009, 10:09pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Cash, Credit or Debit

  Number of comments: 5
  Wisebread had an open thread on the cash, credit, debit debate recently. I've been struggling with those issues myself.
  
  In the past three years or so, I've been abandoning the checkbook in favour of using the debit card. The debit card is just so darn quick. I am [...]
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  Posted: June 22, 2009, 4:47pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Indulging in Camp

  Number of comments: 2
  After the five-hundredth, "I'm bored," from Zeb, I broke down and enrolled both Sadie and Zeb in the day camp at the local recreation center. They are there from 7:30 to 5:00 every day this week. I've been able to go out and check the bees without interruption, go down [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 10:25am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Boring, Boring, Boring Summer

  Number of comments: 5
  Summer’s coming on, and once again, I find myself struggling to balance being an at-home-parent with also being a beekeeper and a writer. I would love to spend long mornings hanging out and making notes downtown, or sketching leaves by the river, or simply reading and daydreaming. That’s how I [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 10:36pm EDT
  

• Technology I Like

  Number of comments: 2
  I know that I spend a lot of time critiquing technology on this blog. I'm still not sure, for example, that Dizzywood is the best use of my children's computer time. Computers can be a good tool, but so often, we, myself included, just pour our time into them [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 7:15pm EDT
  

• Maryland/Virginia Cousins

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Virginia Cousins
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyIn the beginning of May, we flew east to visit relatives. Laura stayed behind because of her massage school program. We went to visit her family anyway, and here are all the nephews and nieces [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 3:16pm EDT
  

• In the Outer Banks International Hostel

  Number of comments: 3
  
  In the Outer Banks International Hostel
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyI thought it would be fun and frugal to stay in hostels when we could. The Outer Banks International Hostel was a pretty nice place. The have both rooms and camping. [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 3:06pm EDT
  

• Zeb Operating the Controls of the Wright Flyer Replica

  Number of comments: 1
  
  Zeb Operating the Controls of the Wright Flyer Replica
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyThe park ranger at the Wright Brother's Memorial allowed Zeb to operate the controls of the Wright Brother's Flyer replica. Both of the kids went through the junior [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 3:03pm EDT
  

• Playing in the Ocean Near Kill Devil Hill

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Playing in the Ocean Near Kill Devil Hill
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyAfter I forced Zeb to endure the junior ranger program at the Wright Brother's Memorial, we went to the beach on the Outer Banks. The ocean seemed a little' [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 3:01pm EDT
  

• At the Boathouse of the Meher Spiritual Center

  Number of comments: 0
  
  At the Boathouse of the Meher Spiritual Center
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere we all are at the boathouse of the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, our last stop before we headed inland from the coast to [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 2:57pm EDT
  

• Behind a Wave at Myrtle Beach

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Behind a Wave at Myrtle Beach
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Sadie rising out of a wave at Myrtle Beach. It's been so long since I've been to any beach but the one at Manomet, MA, that the warm temperature of' [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 2:50pm EDT
  

• Visiting Granny

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Visiting Granny
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyWe visited my mother in Columbia, SC. She had not seen Sadie and Zeb for over two years. We celebrated my 43 birthday there. In the middle of our stay, we drove down to meet [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 2:47pm EDT
  

• 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

  Number of comments: 1
  I've been reading a review copy of 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget, put together by the writers of Wise Bread. The website offers short essays on how to save money. I have the RSS feed bookmarked on my browser, and I check it every day' [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 2:02pm EDT
  

• Sometimes You Do Your Best with the Bees . . .

  Number of comments: 4
  I spent six hours yesterday balancing on a ladder that in turn was balanced on a two-story scaffold trying to remove a bee colony from a woman's house. I had loaded up my beekeeping equipment on the bikes-at-work trailer and biked over there at ten in the morning while our' [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2009, 12:12am EDT
  

• The Honeybees are Buzzing

  Number of comments: 2
  Here's some good news!
  
  The honeybees are really buzzing. I did a split from the one remaining hive in my backyard. I also have a colony removal job over on the other side of town. It might be difficult. They're behind a wall on the second floor of a [...]
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  Posted: April 19, 2009, 8:31pm EDT
  

• Be Careful What You Blog About!

  Number of comments: 6
  I always look at this blog as a semi-private journal that is in the public realm, and given that I only have five followers, and there are seldom many comments, that assessment has seemed accurate.
  
  The officer from the National Park Service, however, did find his way onto my [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 12:03pm EDT
  

• Quicken Financial Life for Mac Beta

  Number of comments: 4
  (I should apologize for typos. My MacBook seems to be dying. At least my cursor keeps jumping around in my documents when I type. My kids have been very hard on this laptop. I don't know when I can replace it, so I might be stuck doing my accounting by' [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2009, 11:05am EDT
  

• Not My Cup of Tea

  Number of comments: 0
  I've bought, or I should say acquired, two things recently that I thought I would never own. Right before we took off for Bandelier, I picked up a pay-as-you-go cell phone from the Smiths grocery store. Usually, when we're traveling, we just use calling cards and pay phones when we [...]
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  Posted: April 06, 2009, 9:02am EDT
  

• Financial Software for Mac OS X

  Number of comments: 9
  I'm posting this entry just to see if other people have suggestions. Tracking our expenses is really the main thing that has kept us above the water financially for all these years. I've bounced back and forth between Quicken for Mac and Gnucash. I'm never really happy with either one.' [...]
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  Posted: April 02, 2009, 1:19pm EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Ready for More Bike Touring Adventure, and an apology to Officer Domini if That's What He's Left a Message About

  Number of comments: 2
  After our successful trip to Bandelier, I rebuilt some of the Bike Friday Triple. We now have new chainrings, chains, cassette, and front wheel. After five years of being carfree, the triple was getting a little long in the tooth, and I was nervous about the groove worn in the [...]
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  Posted: March 27, 2009, 1:02am EDT
  by Paul Cooley

• Bees Around Empty Hives

  Number of comments: 1
  I've been observing the bees robbing the honey from my empty hives. Their behavior is very interesting. They don't just fly in, take some honey, and fly back out, but there is a lot of hanging around and interacting with each other. Is it some sort of precursor to when [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 7:58pm EDT
  

• Short Film on Carfree Bees

  Number of comments: 1
  Ziad and Sarah Seirafi came by last Fall to film me for their video blog, A Green Journey. The film is finished and is now up on their site. Is that really what my voice sounds like?
  
  Many people lost bee colonies over the winter, but judging from [...]
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  Posted: March 07, 2009, 12:00pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Homemade Camp Stove

  Number of comments: 2
  We're experimenting with the penny alcohol stove. We've been sitting on the back porch all morning, heating up water and drinking tea. Our first stove works very well, but it doesn't have quite the burn time listed on the web page, and we have yet to achieve a full' [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 2:03pm EST
  

• Getting Ready to Depart

  Number of comments: 2
  
  Getting Ready to Depart
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere are the kids getting ready to leave. They were so excited, but what's even better is they were still excited when we came back. We didn't know if we were going to [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 7:07pm EST
  

• Me and Zeb at Camel Rock

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Me and Zeb at Camel Rock
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyWe took our first break at Camel Rock. I've lived here for over twenty years now, and this is the first time I actually stopped there. Of course, there isn't really [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 7:05pm EST
  

• Me and Sadie, Camel Rock Off Screen

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Me and Sadie, Camel Rock Off Screen
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's a picture Zeb took of me and Sadie at Camel Rock. From here, we bicycled to a gas station in Pojoaque, where a couple of people out for a' [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 7:03pm EST
  

• Relaxing Beside the Highway

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Relaxing Beside the Highway
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyWe had to push the bicycle up the last, steep segment of NM-502. Here are the kids taking a break in the sand on the side of the road during that walking segment. [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 6:59pm EST
  

• Cooking at Camp

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Cooking at Camp
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere are the kids cooking at our first camp. When we arrived, I could barely move. We found the campground closed, but an exceptionally kind ranger, Brian Dominy, allowed us to use one of [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 6:56pm EST
  

• Cliff Dwelling Photo 1

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Cliff Dwelling Photo 1
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb on the ladder to one of the Cliff Dwellings. He loves those winter boots. He did all 12 hours of the ride wearing them. I don't know how he does it.
  [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 6:53pm EST
  

• Cliff Dwelling Photo 2

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Cliff Dwelling Photo 2
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilySadie in one of the Cliff Dwellings. We finally became big spenders and bought the $1 booklet for the trail through the ruins. Reading through the booklet while walking the interpretive trail was [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 6:51pm EST
  

• Sadie Relaxing in Frijoles Canyon

  Number of comments: 1
  
  Sadie Relaxing in Frijoles Canyon
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Sadie in her sleeping bag at our last camp. We slept outside most of the night, but my son was alone in the tent, so I moved inside with him around' [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 6:50pm EST
  

• Yes We Did!

  Number of comments: 3
  As I kept telling the kids, we are awesome. I'm too beat to tell the story properly, with pictures, for a couple of days, but we made it all the way to Bandelier, camped out for a couple of nights, and then biked all the way back today. That's the [...]
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  Posted: February 27, 2009, 9:28pm EST
  

• Yes We Can?

  Number of comments: 2
  Well, enough existentialism, I figure. We've packed up the triple, and we're going to be heading out tomorrow for Bandelier National Monument.
  
  The distance isn't too bad, only about fifty miles, but there are two wicked climbs, one from the Rio Grande up to the mesa top, and' [...]
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  Posted: February 24, 2009, 11:10pm EST
  

• Waiting for Summer/Godot

  Number of comments: 3
  I've decided that living in the winter with the kids hanging around the house is a bit like being slapped down in the middle of Waiting for Godot. The most exciting thing that happened today was when I almost went to the library. All day, I've been saying "Let's go'" [...]
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  Posted: February 21, 2009, 5:44pm EST
  

• Interview Up, Bees Down

  Number of comments: 3
  There's an interview with me up at C.I.C.L.E.
  
  I'll keep this short. I'm a little bummed right now because I just checked my beehives for the first time this spring, and for some reason that I have not ascertained, most of them have died over the winter. They' [...]
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  Posted: February 19, 2009, 4:00pm EST
  

• The Fast is Over

  Number of comments: 2
  Well, I made it through the full ten days of the fast. Now, only time will tell if I am protected against this year's juniper season, though while I was fasting, an article came out in the paper that said the pollination looked as if it were ready to start.' [...]
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  Posted: February 12, 2009, 12:31am EST
  

• Electronic Creep

  Number of comments: 11
  Back when I was a little boy, I did watch a lot of TV, but it was never an issue, and it wasn't all I did. I had the good fortune to grow up next to a vast, (at least to me), swamp. I spent quite a lot of time' [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2009, 9:42am EST
  

• Fasting + Bicycling with Kids = Slow

  Number of comments: 1
  I've suffered from terrible allergies. When I moved out here to the Southwest, my allergies, and even my asthma for a while, went away. After a few years, however, the allergies came back with a vengeance. Most people out here know what Juniper Season means. With me, it got so' [...]
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  Posted: February 02, 2009, 6:42pm EST
  

• Night Riding

  Number of comments: 1
  The SON hub arrived. I've been out for a couple of night rides, mostly down the bike path and back on the road, with a stop off the bike path at the Second Street Brewery to fill up our growler of beer. It's one of those things that feels nice [...]
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  Posted: January 29, 2009, 1:53am EST
  

• Every Bicycle Tire: It came out all right in the End

  Number of comments: 0
  I wanted to wrap up the whole EBT thing. My credit card was credited, and they sent me a coupon for a couple of free tires. It sounds like they are doing everything they can to make their business run smoothly. I believe you can order tires from them without [...]
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  Posted: January 27, 2009, 1:29am EST
  

• Me 'N Zeb

  Number of comments: 1
  
  Me 'N Zeb
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyOn a non-bicycle related note, here's a photo Sadie took of me and Zeb on the Railrunner down to Albuquerque the other day. Yes, I shaved recently. We headed down to the Explora and [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 12:05pm EST
  

• Schmidt Edelux, Waiting for the Juice

  Number of comments: 9
  
  Schmidt Edelux
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyMy Schmidt Edelux arrived from SJS Cycles. (I've jumped back to edit this post to relate that SJS is NOT supposed to sell Schmidt products outside Great Britain. Peter White had me email him my' [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 9:54am EST
  

• The Railrunner

  Number of comments: 2
  
  
  On December 17, our commuter rail link to Albuquerque started working. The kids and I rode down to go to the zoo on the inaugural day. We were able to get a set of seats with a table on the [...]
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  Posted: January 07, 2009, 9:08am EST
  

• Every Bicycle Tire Update

  Number of comments: 1
  I wanted to note that the problems mentioned in this post have been resolved. Every Bicycle Tire went above and beyond to make everything right, and they have put procedures in place that should prevent this type of glitch from happening again.
  
  As we left our story, I had [...]
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  Posted: January 05, 2009, 7:47pm EST
  

• Mechanical Problems are usually not what you think.

  Number of comments: 3
  So I installed these aluminum fenders over Christmas, and they look very nice. However, there was an intermittent rubbing sound, a little "twitch, twitch, twitch." I'd get off the bike, and jiggle the fender from side to side. I checked the metal H-clip that holds the fender to the seat' [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2009, 10:41am EST
  

• Velo Orange Rack and Fenders

  Number of comments: 0
  Laura gave me a gift certificate to Velo Orange for Christmas. The installation went, oh, about 80% smoothly. I was going to blog about it, but I told the story in the comments to the Flickr photos, so if you want to know the highs and lows of installing a [...]
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  Posted: December 29, 2008, 11:29am EST
  

• Christmas is Closing In!

  Number of comments: 1
  As usual, we've pretty much ignored the holiday. It's not in the spirit of "bah humbug," life just continues on, pretty busy as usual, and the holidays just seem to come at us out of left field. True, if we owned a truck, we probably would have a Christmas tree [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2008, 10:00am EST
  

• Every Bicycle Tire: Not a Fraud, Just Incompetent

  Number of comments: 4
  I wanted to note that this problem has been resolved. It seems that an unfortunate comedy of errors occurred, and in the end, Every Bicycle Tire went above and beyond to make things right.
  
  
  In November, Laura had a couple of flats on her Xtracycle and requested I [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 1:12pm EST
  

• Unfriendly Bicyclists?

  Number of comments: 3
  I always wave to fellow bicyclists. When I was in high school, and started riding a motorcycle, I was pleased to find that motorcyclists all wave to each other. Hell, if you're going to be out there risking your necks, you might as well be friendly to one other.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2008, 9:08am EST
  

• Why does it take so long to ...

  Number of comments: 2
  Why does it take so long to fix things that are annoying? I've always hated the twist shifting on the Bike Friday. On our trip up Cape Cod a few years ago, my hands became so sweaty that I couldn't shift at all, and it is unexpectedly hilly near the [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2008, 3:28pm EST
  

• Back to a Full Complement of Homeschoolers

  Number of comments: 4
  Sadie's back home now too. I thought she was having a marvelous time in school. She enjoyed Girl Scouts, (though I would fly into rages about her having to sell magazines, nuts, and chotchkies), student council, and she was one of two 4.0 honor roll students in her class.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 6:25pm EST
  

• Thou Shalt Not Look at Bikes!

  Number of comments: 0
  I was cruising around the Rivendell website, and I started thinking about the Bombadil Mountain Bike. What is it about bikes that make one start imagining yourself out in a beautiful pine forest, cruising peacefully along? With the children, I don't even get out that often on my Rivendell [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2008, 7:12pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• The Papa-Zeb expedition team made an unsuccessful ...

  Number of comments: 0
  The Papa-Zeb expedition team made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the Rio Grande and Diablo Canyon. I used to go down there a lot years ago, but I haven't been since they built the Santa Fe bypass. The roads are all different from what I remember, and LOTS of development [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2008, 2:10pm EST
  

• The Places We Live

  Number of comments: 3
  Here's a great website exploring four different slums around the world. Be thankful for what you have! I have just begun exploring the website. There are 360 degree views of the dwellings and recordings of the families telling their stories.
  
  We also mark the passing of Odetta. I [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 8:29pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• On Top of the Old Limestone Dam

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  On Top of the Old Limestone Dam
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb on top of the old limestone dam that was built on the Santa Fe River in 1881. Beavers have been damming up the river below this point, and [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 12:01am EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Bearded for Winter

  Number of comments: 3
  
  Bearded for Winter
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb's picture of me for the week. And that's my favorite 60/40 Parka. Anyone at Sierra Designs reading this blog? You NEED to bring back the classic parka. There's no outdoorsy jacket quite [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:57pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Let's Stop and do Some Math

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  Let's Stop and do Some Math
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyPartway around the trail today, Zeb said, "let's stop and do some math." So we whipped out the first grade workbook, and he did a little bit of addition. The particular [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:55pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• By the Queenbee

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  By the Queenbee
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb at the end of today's hike around the Nature Conservancy's loop trail by the Santa Fe River. From here we went to Downtown Subscription where we had coffee and hot chocolate and [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:52pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Sadie on a Ladder

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  Sadie on a Ladder
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyYesterday, we went to Bandelier. Here's Sadie at the top of one of the ladders leading to the Alcove House on the ruins trail at Bandelier.
  [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:46pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Climbing Down From Ceremonial Cave

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  Climbing Down From Ceremonial Cave
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb climbing down one of the ladders from the Ceremonial Cave. They're calling it Alcove House now, because it seems that it was a residence and not primarily a ceremonial site [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:44pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Ancestral Pueblo Children

  Number of comments: 3
  
  Ancestral Pueblo Children
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyThis past Sunday, while my mother-in-law was still in town, we all piled into her rental car and went over to Bandelier National Monument. The ruins there were occupied about 700 years ago.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:43pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Airbox

  Number of comments: 1
  
  Airbox
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyOne night last week, when we had begun homeschooling, Zeb looked over at me and said, "Um, Papa, for homeschooling, can I make an airbox?" "What's an airbox?" I asked. "You know," he said, "we build [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:39pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• Shifting Gears

  Number of comments: 5
  For the most part, it's a delight having Zebediah home for homeschooling. I'm thankful that we are in a position to take him out. That's what I'm here for, (I keep reminding myself).
  
  I do have a feeling of being rushed -- nothing new there. I had just reached [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 4:40pm EST
  

• Christmas List

  Number of comments: 2
  I am not a Christmas List kind of person. My wife is and always asks me for one, and I mumble something about not really wanting anything, so this list is for her.
  
  Being of a romantic disposition, I prefer to be surprised. I don't know why, but I [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2008, 3:25pm EST
  

• Busch and Müller 12 volt dynamo Still Flickers

  Number of comments: 2
  I can't be the only person this happens to, but when I search the problem, which I do every month or so, I can't find any other person experiencing the same thing.
  
  I had a six volt system that worked fine. The light slowly comes up to full brightness. [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2008, 12:30am EST
  

• The  check for my essay in ...

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  The  check for my essay in the Sun Monthly finally came through.  You can ignore my earlier complaint about non-payment. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 11:16pm EST
  

• Well, Back to Homeschooling

  Number of comments: 4
  It's good that I did my ride up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin earlier this Fall. This Monday, I pulled Zebediah from the public school system. We're back to homeschooling.
  
  I had watched Zebediah's mood and self-respect decline sharply for the past two months. He just wasn't happy. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 4:14pm EST
  

• Melungeon Ancestry

  Number of comments: 3
  
  Eva Bolen
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's some more odd information from my background thanks to my sister's genealogical research. My grandmother Eva Bolen Cooley, was probably one of the Melungeon people from Eastern Tennessee. It doesn't look like there's [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2008, 8:49am EST
  by Paul Cooley

• A Cookbook for Poor Poets

  Number of comments: 5
  
  A Cookbook for Poor Poets
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyYears ago, when I was still in college, I found a cookbook at a thrift store titled A Cookbook for Poor Poets (and Others). As a poor poet -- I have made [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2008, 11:59am EST
  

• I'd also say, to continue what I ...

  Number of comments: 3
  I'd also say, to continue what I was saying in my comment in "The Race is Over," that I don't support bailing people -- or institutions -- out of economic messes of their own creation. What's all this shit about forgiving credit card balances I've heard? There's lots of stuff [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2008, 10:20am EST
  

• The essay I wrote for the Sun ...

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  The essay I wrote for the Sun Monthly is no longer available online.  (I also gave all my copies away). I believe they only keep the current month up on their website.
  
  Richard Rogers still hasn't sent me the payment he offered either.  AND he didn't respond to my [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2008, 6:48pm EST
  by Paul Cooley

• The Race is Over!

  Number of comments: 4
  Congratulations to Obama! And kudos to McCain for a hard fight, though I'm not too happy with either candidates resorting to negative ads at the end. John McCain erratic? Barack Obama a socialist? Come on people.
  
  For the record, I would be happy to pay more taxes if they [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 9:53am EST
  

• Bicycling to the Santa Fe Ski Basin

  Number of comments: 2
  
  Just Before the Ski Basin
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyI finally made it up to the ski basin this morning. This photo is taken at an overlook just before the road descends into the ski basin parking lot. I thought I [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2008, 10:03pm EST
  

• Looking Toward Santa Fe from Near Ski Basin

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  Looking Toward Santa Fe from Near Ski Basin
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's a view from near the ski basin with a similar orientation as my picture of Santa Fe from Monte Sol just below. Monte Sol is down near the [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2008, 9:29pm EST
  

• Just a quick reminder to everyone not ...

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  Just a quick reminder to everyone not to let your child keep a jack-o-lantern in his or her room.  Zeb carved one at a party last week, and today, I noticed that it was a big orange lump covered with mold sitting in a puddle on his hardwood floor.  Evidently, [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 8:45pm EDT
  

• Zeb Beside the Queen Bee Bicycle at St. John's Library

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  Zeb Beside the Queen Bee Bicycle at St. John's Library
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb beside the Queen Bee outside the St. John's College library, where his mother works. (Both Laura and I also went to St. John's).
  
  The [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 4:39pm EDT
  

• Hiking along the saddle, Monte Sol in the Background

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  Hiking along the saddle, Monte Sol in the Background
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zeb hiking along, with the summit of Monte Sol in the background.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 4:37pm EDT
  

• Zebediah on Summit of Monte Sol

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  Zebediah on Summit of Monte Sol
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zebediah, so sick with a bad tummy that he can't go to school, after practically running up the mountain. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. That's [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 4:36pm EDT
  

• Zeb's Picture of Me standing on the same rock.

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  Zeb's Picture of Me standing on the same rock.
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Zebediah's photograph of me standing on the summit of Monte Sol.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 4:35pm EDT
  

• Santa Fe from the Summit of Monte Sol

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  Santa Fe from the Summit of Monte Sol
  Originally uploaded by Carfree FamilyHere's Santa Fe from the summit of Monte Sol this morning. Look at all the beautiful yellow in the trees down there. Beyond that, you can't see much. the [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 4:34pm EDT
  

• Stuck Inside of the House with the Mountain Blues Again

  Number of comments: 5
  When I raised the alarm this morning that it was time to get ready for school, Zebediah woke up screaming. I didn't hear what he was screaming because I was in the kitchen washing dishes, so I could go out for the day and not come home to a counter [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 9:45am EDT
  

• Basic Human Rights

  Number of comments: 3
  OK, so my last post was a little weird. I had to consider what I was really preoccupied with when I wrote it.
  
  I believe that shelter is one of our basic human rights. I don't think we need elaborate shelters, but if it's raining and snowing out, it [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2008, 5:38pm EDT