Those two tomatoes on the vine were about the last of my tomatoes for the year. I've had a great tomato season, my best so far. As I type this there are four green pearls on the plant. I'm dithering about weather to give up on it or see if they ripen before the plant dies.

That bike in the foreground was the one I took to Burning Man this year. I got it last winter, when I missed seeing Matt Gonzalez because my bike had a flat tire. I got this one as my "emergency backup". I used it a few times. Then I decided it would be a great playa bike, and I took it to Burning Man. It was perfect for the playa. Maybe a bit more decoration would have been good, but the rack was perfect for ice runs.

About then my new bike came in, so I had more bikes than would gracefully fit in my bike parking. This guy got demoted to "porch bike".  I took to riding it to the grocery store and the like. I wouldn't lock it there, just park it in an out of the way place. I called it my "please steal me" bike. Then we had a rainstorm and I felt bad about rusting up the chain or whatever. I finally donated it to the bikes for the destitute program. I hope they aren't bothered by the ratty seat, broken front brake lever, and stickers. It's still rubber on wheels. The gears even work.

Looking back at the bikes of my life, the only one I owned for a shorter period was the one that got stolen soon after I started community college, back in the fall of '75. That one maybe I had for a couple of weeks. This one lasted three or four months. The real reason I let it go is that bicycle technology has improved so much since it was made that I didn't want to ride the thing. Looking at the way bikes have improved since then, it's clearly the case that progress exists.