When I mentioned that my posts this month would probably be sporadic, apparently I meant it. I have been traveling and working a lot lately, but I planned to post when I returned home late last week. As it turned out, Mother Nature had a different idea. We had a pretty nasty ice storm that downed a few trees in our yard and left us without power for 5 days. The storm has been hard on many people in this area, so I don’t want to downplay its impact, but for my family it was not all bad. The kids really enjoyed camping inside for a few days and keeping a fire going round the clock. Simple things like cooking each meal over an open flame turned out to be a treat. With no heat, lights, computer, or TV, we really had a chance to enjoy each other’s company without any distractions. We bundled up and told stories or played games, some of which the kids made up as we went along. I can’t say that I was disappointed when the power came back on late last night, but I can say that I enjoyed the experience of going without it for a while. Some of our friends with power thought we were crazy for turning down the offer to stay in a heated house. Maybe I am crazy, but I think they were the ones who missed out on something.

Oh yeah, I guess I should add some bike content to this post. Check out this photo coverage on designboom of the Tokyo bike show. Be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the page to see more strange bikes.