Author Archives: Rich Freggiaro

That is the name of a moderately hilarious book about punctuation. Yes, punctuation. I bet you didn’t think punctuation could be funny. But consider this example of the power of the humble hyphen: Extra-marital sex breaks one of the Ten Commandments, but extra marital sex ”tis a consummation devoutly to be wish’d’. In the bookContinue reading “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”

My father is 89 years old and in remarkably good health. Although he no longer farms and a tenant manages the property, he still can be found with a hoe, or a rake, or pruning shears taking care of some little details the tenant’s employees might miss. His major job is to run the irrigationContinue reading “Cell Phone Follies”

There must be some kind of way outta hereSaid the joker to the thiefThere’s too much confusionI can’t get no relief I can hardly think of a quatrain more apt regarding the continuing Covid conundrum. I really would like some relief from the incessant reminders and/or demands to wear a mask, stay 6 feet apartContinue reading “Relief without Relief”

Let’s start with a vocabulary lesson… If you watch the Giro d’Italia bicycle race on TV, you will occasionally hear the spectators (back when there were spectators, before Covid) shouting “Die Die Die”. Or perhaps they are screaming “Dye Dye Dye”. But that is how the Italian word ‘dai‘ is pronounced, and ‘dai‘ is whatContinue reading “Dai, Dei, DEI!”

I received my second dose on Monday at 2:30 PM. The first dose three weeks earlier had no effect on me at all. This time was different. After the shot on Monday I felt fine. I woke up Tuesday morning still feeling pretty good, with just a kind of vague headache. So I decided toContinue reading “Felled by Pfizer”

From the University of Michigan Wellness web page: For many Americans, life in the time of COVID-19 means forming “pods” – small groups of people who agree to share child care and education responsibilities, or to study or socialize together. The Brumby Road Pod is a pretty exclusive one. It contains Stoker, Luke, 7 goldfishContinue reading “Like ‘Peeps’ in a Pod”

There is an expression for a cyclist who is obsessed about how much his/her bike weighs and tries to make it as light as possible. He/she is called a ‘weight weenie’. There is even a internet forum where weight weenies trade tips on how to make their bikes skinny. I must admit that I amContinue reading “White Shoes, Light Shoes”

First it was mathematics as a tool of White Supremacists. And now this… Staff members within the University of Oxford’s music department have reportedly suggested removing sheet music from the school’s curriculum because of its purported connections to a “colonial past.” Professors said that music notation has not “shaken off its connection to its colonialContinue reading “All That Jazz”

I got my first high quality LOOK clipless pedals back in 1992. Later I switched to Shimano pedals with a very similar design. Shimano tried to develop its own pedal , but the LOOK system was so elegant that Shimano gave up and paid LOOK to license their design without patent infringement. I’ve ridden overContinue reading “Pedal Problem”

Since the Covid lockdowns started back in March 2020, organized bike rides and bike tours have pretty much vanished. Most ‘gatherings’ are verboten and even an outdoor, well spaced event like a fund raising bike ride has to make so many adaptations and follow so many rules that organizers simply give up. So yesterday, theContinue reading “Dorito Power”