About Me

I'm a graduate student living in Pilsen, a creative neighborhood in Chicago's Lower West Side. I bike practically everywhere, even when people think it's not practical. I have three jobs, one of which goes unpaid.

Read more. There is no more.

My Photos

I have never professed to being a photographer or care about the quality of the photos I take. I take pictures because I like to remember what I see and look at. And to share interesting things. For my own enjoyment, tis no art.

Office building Cut bike rack Cut bike rack Abandoned bikes on Sheridan Bike of now Paying on horse drawn omnibus Chopper Carl and John Chopper Carl and his bike Chopper Carl Kathy Greg Lemond Mayor Daley Kermit on a fixie ebay ebay ebay ebay ebay ebay ebay ebay 

Resume

I work for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation as a consultant to the Chicago Department of Transportation. My supervisor and I manage the city's bike parking facilities. Alone, I deal with the city's abandoned bicycles.

My talents include PHP programming and interfacing with MySQL databases. For my current job, I developed a custom web application to plot existing and prospective bike rack locations in the city, complete with extensive metadata and geolocation data.

I'm knowledgeable when it comes to electronics and computer consulting. If you didn't get my advice first, you probably made a poor purchasing decision.

Download DOC|PDF.

Workstation

All computers run Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Listed in order of longest tenure:

  1. iBook G4 1.2 GHz
  2. Mac Intel Core Duo 2.0 GHz
  3. Mini Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83 GHz (runs Leopard Server)

All computers use Time Machine to backup. Computers 1 and 2 backup to the Mini, which hosts an external RAID 1 enclosure with two Seagate 750GB SATAII drives.

LiveJournal

Office building
Posted on Jul 01, 2008.


Office building
Originally uploaded by stevevance

This is where i work. At 30 N LaSalle

Bike of now
Posted on Jun 26, 2008.


Bike of now
Originally uploaded by stevevance

This is what my Rush Hour looks like as of Tuesday, June 24, 2008. This is right before Frank and I left to perform trial bike counts on a city street.

The quick-release rack in the back is new. It has several purposes: it holds my two u-locks, holds a pannier, or holds my grocery basket.

I put the fenders on recently, and this morning I replaced the zip tie attachment method with rubber sheathed p-clamps.

More stuff on biking in Chicago
Posted on Jun 24, 2008.

The Chicago Department of Transportation Bicycle Program has several services and resources online:

Locking your bike
Posted on Jun 24, 2008.

Here are some quick tips for locking your bike:


  • Lock each wheel to an immoveable object or the bike frame. See photo below.
  • Lock the frame to an immoveable object - preferably a bike rack, or parking meter. Avoid sign posts (they can be more easily removed from the ground) and scaffolding (they are private property).
  • Use a U-lock that uses a flat key and unlocks from the middle of the lock bar - do not use a U-lock with a cylindrical key or one that unlocks from the end of the lock bar.
  • Use two different types of locks; for example, use a cable or chain that has a padlock, and use a normal U-lock. Different tools will be need to defeat each lock - that's kind of a lie: a grinder can cut through almost anything, but a grinder prefers U-lock bars because they are steady, whereas the links in a chain will be tougher for the grinder operator to grasp.
  • Remove your seatpost or lock it to the bike (via cable or locking bolt).


How to NOT lock your bike



Other tips:

  • Do not leave your bike in any single location for more than 7 days. The city can and will remove it.
  • If your bike is "picked" for parts, take it home it immediately. Chicago has a lot of bike shops so go buy the new part and ride it home. Or call a friend with a car. The city can and will remove it.
  • Ride in a straight line. Everyone loves predictability and riding a bike shouldn't be any different.
  • Use a headlight and taillight. These come to your advantage to prevent people from hitting you and when someone hits you, it comes to your advantage again if you choose the sue the offender.
  • Use hand signals. Let motorists and other bicyclists know where you're going. Predictability again.
  • Report harassment. Let the police know of areas that are becoming less safe for bicyclists.
  • Report reckless driving.
  • Carry pepper spray.


Read the brochure, Safe Bicycling in Chicago, for more helpful information.

Protection
Posted on Jun 12, 2008.

I finally bought renter's insurance. Yay, Liberty Mutual.