it's a grey, rainy day in DC

i got fired from the bike shop i've been working at for about a month.
basically i think i was made an example of. we had a misunderstanding about when i was working. lesson learned.
this means i need to find another source for cheap parts, tools, etc. maybe i'll work at the other DC bike shop, which is more my style anyways: city bikes.

Microcosm Publishing is a bitchin' distributor of revolutionary books, patches, stickers, posters, etc. i'm putting an order in this week for some sweet bike advocacy stuff.

jim g posted a link to an article about long-reach caliper brakes, which has pretty well convinced me that cantis are the way to go. i use cantis now, and the only gripes i have about 'em are how hard it is to adjust the pads and some chattering on the front brake, especially under a hard stop. the article was basically saying that cantis are a little more work to install and adjust, but there's a payoff in stopping power and clearance for fenders and such. it sounded like i could eliminate some of my gripes by learning more about how they work.

i need some drafting supplies to start working on a design drawing. Utrecht? maybe my architect uncle has some of that stuff.