Identity Theft - I've Lost Face in a Rachael Ray opinion poll!

I have a peculiar affection for my little Rantwick face. I made it as part of the very first website I ever published about 10 years ago. That site has been retired for about 5 years and isn't available any more. He was the image link for "Odd Stuff" or something. This little face has become more than a simple button to me. He is my blogging alter ego. I paste that head on stuff. That head is Rantwick and Rantwick is "me".

Other people seem to like it too.They take it out to restaurants in Texas...

Drink beer with it in London England...

Copyright Ham@londondailyphoto.com . Click pic for source web page.

And use it in saluting stuff of mine they agree with...

I get a great deal of pleasure from people using my Rantwick head in creative ways. Except when it isn't Rantwick at all. My little guy has been demoted to "button" status once more. Not only that, but he is being used to call TV cooking show hottie Rachael Ray "mediocre" (if you can possibly believe it) in a poll found on an opinion site called sodahead.com. The site isn't really to my taste, but looks like it is pretty popular.

C'mon, man, mediocre is even spelled wrong! So sad. Chin up, little guy!

It would be hypocritical of me to be crabby about others using the image, since I use images from the web all the time. I try to remember to link to sources and give credit, but my record is by no means spotless. In any case, this only bugs me because I have begun to think of that little guy as a reflection of myself, or at least of this blog. I signed up for the site just so I could leave a comment about this misuse of my face. Mediorce? Me? Impossible.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

me·di·orce (mee-dee-orse, meh-di-orse) - noun

1. A divorce mediated by a third party.
2. A divorce caused by medical concerns or issues.
3. A divorce conducted during the Middle Ages in Europe, usually characterized by the killing of one of the betrothed.
4. A divorce caused by inappropriate spousal behaviour at a Medieval Times dinner and show.
5. The divorce of married doctors, usually characterized by lawyers making tons of money.
6. A misspelling of the adjective "mediocre".

The Best Cycling Retirement Idea Ever, Or Pure Stupidity. One of Those.

As my spotty-at-best posting might suggest, life and work are continuing to conspire against my blogging efforts. The life stuff is good, I'm doing a little coaching for the first time this year and my free time is pretty much soccer soccer soccer.

Work, however, has also been crazy, which has led me to start thinking about retirement although it is a far off, unreal condition for me. Nonetheless, I have had an idea and I would like to hear from people about its potential flaws or how it might be refined.

Every cyclist loves a tailwind. What if you could take a trip that was nothing but tailwinds, every day? So here's my idea. I pick a spot somewhere smack in the middle of the US. I have a fully loaded tourer and maybe even a trailer. I have camping stuff, a few nicer things to wear and some vacation money. Each day I get up and ride in whatever direction the wind blows me. If the winds shifts, I shift with it. I stop if I'm blown into a town I want to see more of, maybe stay in a motel. If I'm blown into the middle of nowhere I find a spot to camp. In my mind's eye the first time I try this it is for a couple of weeks. The next time, lessons learned, a month or more, and so on...

Hey, I could write a travel book about it, or since I take so much video, make a short film! See ya later; dream time is over and I've got to get back to work.

Tailwinds*,

R A N T W I C K

*"Tailwinds" salutation stolen from ChipSeal.

Snow Face gets his Freak On

I've got other posts I want to write, but no time to write them. So, rather than remain absent, I present for your amusement a little bit of video of the mighty snow face !

Snow Face is now about 7 months old, and he likes gettin' his freak on...

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

THE Health Unit, Facebook and Twitter

You know, say what you want about London Ontario. The London-Middlesex Health Unit, a common naming convention for Health Units all over the province, owns the URL healthunit.com. Wow, man. Somebody was on the ball on that one.

This post was originally intended to simply state the paragraph above. I looked a it and thought "that is really only a tweet". At over 200 characters, it isn't, but nonetheless it got me thinking about Twitter and Facebook and all that and I started percolating. Percolating is bad news. Funny word choice, too, indicative of somebody who is getting oldish, I think.

You know what's wrong with Facebook and Twitter? They are aimed at people who like other people and want to know even more people. People suck. This blog is about me and the people who care to comment on me and that's how I like it. It would seem that I need to be the Centre of the Universe, at least as an online persona. This is the Internet, and I think that is my prerogative. Do I suck for being so self-centred? Well yeah, kind of. But those who engage in meaningful comment here always get my attention and respect, unless they prove to be complete a-holes.

I hate Facebook and Twitter. Rather than being online tools that enable me to connect with others, they generally just annoy me. I know that's not fair... hey, pay attention to me, while I ignore you! In an effort to be true to myself and how I operate for good or ill, I am leaving those Internet spaces. They just bug me.

I registered for both because 1) I thought I could use them to promote this blog and 2) I didn't want somebody to steal my name on them. You know what? I no longer care. They're both confusing and annoying to me. If somebody steals my identity I will see it as a sign of this blog's success.

Please don't misunderstand. I have many people I count as friends online, people I have never met in person that I value highly. I didn't meet any of them on Facebook or Twitter. They comment here, or I comment on their sites and we email and stuff. You know who you are. I have been a crusty old man as long as I can remember, from the age of 3 or so. I'm crustin' it up, baby! No more Facebook or Twitter for me! WooHoo!

Yer Newly Liberated Pal, R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode sixteen: Friends of the Freak

I mentioned in a recent post that I was gonna try my new camera on my helmet, where most would have in the first place. I must admit that I like that perspective best after all and since I edit all the video anyway, "head sweep" is not the problem I thought it would be.

Having had a camera mounted either on my bike or my person for a couple of years now, I was surprised at how much notice the new camera got. I suppose I shouldn't have been... it now sticks up off the top of my helmet in a conspicious, freakish way. London Ontario, while being a good sized city of 300K+, is not a metropolis where something odd surprises no one, and people have been reacting to the camera's presence.

Some people positively glower at me like they wish me dead. I'm not kidding. Those people, however, are not what this post is about, because I don't like them. I like the people who just shout out "hey, is that a camera?"

If I were participating in a bike race (yeah, right) or out on a MTB trail or something, I'm sure the cam would find greater acceptance and understanding. POV cams are for people who want to record their "recreational" exploits after all, right? Well, not always, and the fact that I'm recording others in the public space is interesting and exciting to some and simply pisses off others. I like the people that just shout out their curiosity rather than shooting me suspicious glances. I'm not trying to "catch" anybody doing anything. I swear.

Hey, Let Your Freak Flag Fly!

R A N T W I C K

If you're like some of these good people and want a camera like mine, check out