NFL Week 2 Results

Week 2 of the NFL season wrapped up Monday night, but I'm just now getting around to sharing my results. Correct picks in green, incorrect in red:

• Detroit Lions beat Buffalo Bills*
• Carolina Panthers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Minnesota Vikings beat Chicago Bears*
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Tennessee Titans
• New England Patriots beat Pittsburgh Steelers
• Green Bay Packers beat New York Jets
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Cleveland Browns
• Baltimore Ravens beat New Orleans Saints
• Houston Texans beat Cincinnati Bengals
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Denver Broncos*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Los Angeles Chargers*
• Dallas Cowboys beat Washington Commanders
• Seattle Seahawks beat Arizona Cardinals
• San Francisco 49ers beat Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Indianapolis Colts
• Los Angeles Rams beat New York Giants

Eleven correct, five incorrect. Not a bad week. I'm currently at 22-10 for the season and in the 95th percentile among players of ESPN's "Pick'em" Game.

Wordle 1922 Hint

 Hint: The way you're going when you're not going back.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: F

Wordle 1921 Hint

 Hint: To add fuel to a literal or metaphorical fire .

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: S

Wordle 1920 Hint

 Hint: Before cell phones became common, someone who needed to stay in touch carried one of these and looked for a pay phone when it beeped.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: P

Wordle 1919 Hint

Hint: When the sun or a lamp really lit things up -- until it went down beyond the horizon or you turned it off.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: S

Lena Mae: The First 150(ish) Miles

Perfect mix of a ride yesterday: A few blocks of city street here and there, about 80 miles of "country highway" (including what passes for hills and curves -- near rivers, that is -- in north central Florida), and a little bit of the "sugar sand and ruts" country road action. Finished the day with the odometer at 147 miles.

Running a top box with maybe 8-10 pounds of rain gear, etc. didn't seem to affect the handling or aerodynamics at all, and the bike didn't disappoint on any metric -- speed, power, handling, comfort, etc.

I was especially impressed with the part I was most worried about, that "might as well be dirt single-track" stuff. She just plodded along through sand/ruts with almost no rear-wheel slaloming, etc., none of it wild enough to feel like pending loss of control. If I want to ride on that kind of stuff for fun, I'll crank up the Lifan KP Mini 150 and see how many bones I can break. But when riding to get somewhere, I prefer boring and dependable performance where the terrain gets sketchy (I'm fine with just getting my jollies by riding fairly fast on pavement).

So far, this bike looks like the right decision for my "forever bike." It will get up and go, and it will settle down to low-speed work when that's what the situation calls for.

I think spending a couple of years on cheap, light, small-displacement bikes first actually served me well. 

Those smaller bikes are simultaneously more demanding and more forgiving.

I had to learn to use a clutch that might as well have been made in 1970 before moving up to the modern "slipper/assist" clutch. The difference is quite noticeable. It's just easier and feels slicker. But I've got muscle memory helping me do things right instead of just counting on modern technology to fix my miscalculations for me from the beginning.

I had to learn to get myself out of trouble with ~15 horsepower at my disposal instead of ~45 horsepower.

But at the same time, I only had to worry about wrestling (when it came to that) 260 pounds of motorcycle weight instead of 390 pounds, and I had a lot less money at stake repairing or replacing a badly damaged bike if I messed up, which allowed me to be more comfortable taking some risks to see what happened.

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #37

"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." (Baháʼí Faith, Gleanings CXVII)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

Those familiar with my positions on borders and immigration might expect me to wholeheartedly embrace this one. I don't.

While the word "citizen" originally just meant "city-dweller," it has evolved over time to imply that a citizen is someone who -- due to accident of birth in most cases -- owes allegiance to, and has obligations to, a monopoly Westphalian Model nation-state.

A citizen, in other words, is livestock. Most conceptions of "citizenship" pretend that the state has a reciprocal duty to treat its cattle well in some respects, but ultimately a "citizen" exists to be milked, sheared, and slaughtered at will by its owners.

Some might argue that I'm reading too much into that single word for an otherwise inoffensive aphorism, but the origin of the aphorism matters: The Bahá’í faith explicitly and in detail supports a "world government" -- what Shoghi Effendi explicitly defined as "the world's future super-state." 

My political position is not that all people should be brought under the rule of one state; it is that no person should be kept under the rule of any state. So I have to reject this aphorism, even if, in partial agreement with other Bahá’í teachings, I'd like to buy the world a Coke, teach it to sing in perfect harmony, etc.

Wordle 1918 Hint

Hint: Stop being asleep.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: W

Wordle 1917 Hint

Hint: "White Christmas" weather condition.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: S

For the Most Part, I Won't Be Modifying the Eliminator Myself ...

... but this was an easy, five-minute exception.

BEFORE*:

AFTER:

It's from Wolf Line via Amazon (not an affiliate link). It's a Kawasaki Intruder specific, rather than "universal," rack, rated for up to 45 pounds.

At some point I'll put my large top box on it, probably semi-permanently, but I probably need to run to the hardware store and pick up some large washers first. I have a ride planned for tomorrow and will likely just bungee a backpack with my rain gear, etc. onto it.

UPDATE -- AFTERER:

Instead of waiting to get to a hardware store after figuring out how many and what sizes of u-bolts, washers, etc., I'd need, I decided to just use about 3 million zip ties to attach the top box ... for now. The sheer quantity, and the ability to fasten it from so many different angles, is probably about as good as four or five steel bolts on a rack like this. I may very well go from a top box to a top bag (in concert with my saddlebags) on a permanent basis anyway, and I had the zip ties lying around, so ...

* The "before" photo is not of my actual bike -- I forgot to take one and grabbed an image off the web to show the bike in stock condition. The "after" photo is the real Lena Mae.

Wordle 1916 Hint

Hint: Today's Wordle isn't an English word, it's just a Greek letter. Oh well, I guess the difference is just a matter of degrees.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: T

NFL Week 2 Picks

Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season commences tomorrow night at the brand new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, where the Buffalo Bills will host the Detroit Lions. Here are my picks (also visible at the "ESPN Pick'em" game site; I've created a "leaderboard" for anyone who wants to match their skills vs. mine).

• Detroit Lions beat Buffalo Bills*
• Carolina Panthers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Minnesota Vikings beat Chicago Bears*
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Tennessee Titans
• New England Patriots beat Pittsburgh Steelers
• Green Bay Packers beat New York Jets
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Cleveland Browns
• Baltimore Ravens beat New Orleans Saints
• Houston Texans beat Cincinnati Bengals
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Denver Broncos*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Los Angeles Chargers*
• Dallas Cowboys beat Washington Commanders
• Seattle Seahawks beat Arizona Cardinals
• San Francisco 49ers beat Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Indianapolis Colts
• Los Angeles Rams beat New York Giants

"Upset" predictions -- predictions on which I disagree with the majority of ESPN Pick'em players -- are marked with asterisks. Any changes I make to my picks will be done prior to kickoff and noted below as well.

Wordle 1915 Hint

Hint: Thin and delicate (like fine hair, or a cirrus cloud).

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: W

NFL Week 1 Results

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season wrapped up last night with -- surprisingly to most, maybe even to me just a little -- the Kansas City Chiefs delivering a 31-10 beatdown to the Denver Broncos. Here are my picks and how they panned out -- correct picks in green, incorrect in red:

• Seattle Seahawks beat New England Patriots
• San Francisco 49ers beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• Detroit Lions beat New Orleans Saints
• Tennessee Titans beat New York Jets
• Baltimore Ravens beat Indianapolis Colts
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Chicago Bears beat Carolina Panthers
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Cleveland Browns
• Houston Texans beat Buffalo Bills*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings beat Green Bay Packers*
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Washington Commanders
• Los Angeles Chargers beat Arizona Cardinals
• Dallas Cowboys beat New York Giants
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver Broncos*

Considering how little attention I paid to the NFL in the off-season, going 11 right, five wrong isn't terrible. It puts me in the 89.8th percentile of those playing ESPN's NFL Pick'em game. Also, I went three of five on "upsets" (where I picked the team to win that most players said would lose).

I still haven't decided whether I'll see this whole season through on weekly picks, because I don't know if I'll remain interested in the NFL. But based on the games I caught at least part of (49ers v. Rams, Jaguars vs. Browns, Texans v. Bills), I very well may.

Wordle 1914 Hint

Hint: The state of a poker hand once all the cards have all been distributed.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: D

Not an Exact Color Match to the Tent ...

... but not terrible, either. It's not complete (I require site approval from my wife so I'm leaving the last bit), and it's just barely big enough for the Eliminator, but it will do its job (keeping rain and UV light off the bike).

Wordle 1913 Hint

Hint: In dishwashing sequence, after scrubbing but before drying.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: R

Garrison Center Op-Ed -- Trial By Jury: In Praise of the Lone Holdout

[publisher's note: The Garrison Center's web site is having problems that I can't seem to diagnose/correct, so here's the weekend op-ed.]

Trial By Jury: In Praise of the Lone Holdout

by Thomas L. Knapp

On September 4, Judge William Sullivan, of Massachusetts's Plymouth County Superior Court, declared a mistrial in the case of Commonwealth v. Lindsey Clancy.

After seven days of deliberation, the jury was clearly "hung," with one member refusing to support a verdict of "not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility" in Clancy's killing of her three young children.

I suspect I may be the only person in America who doesn't hold strong opinions on what verdict the jury should have reached. 

Yes, I oppose murder. Yes, I'm especially appalled by the murders of children. Yes, I am skeptical of most "insanity pleas." And yes, I'm aware that juries don't always get things right. But I was not one of the 12 people who spent a week in that jury room, carefully considering the trial's 21 days of testimony, its more than 1,500 evidentiary exhibits, and the details of the applicable laws. I don't consider myself qualified to gainsay the conclusions of any of those 12 people.

I do, however, have a strong opinion on the controversy around, and the court's handling of, one juror's filibuster, his insistence on voting his informed opinion and personal conscience despite severe pressure to give in.

On the sixth day, the jury's foreperson sent a note claiming that the holdout juror wasn't following Judge Sullivan's instructions on the meaning of "reasonable doubt." The judge then privately lectured the jurors on the meaning of that term.

Clancy's attorney then petitioned Sullivan to remove the recalcitrant juror, essentially claiming that a single vote to convict in the face of 11 votes to acquit constituted a violation of the law. Sullivan rejected the petition ... but neither the lecture nor the petition should have happened in the first place.

American law recognizes the right of a jury to acquit a defendant "in the teeth of the facts." We call it "jury nullification": The jury decides that even though the defendant did X, the law forbidding X is wrong, at least in that case.

Prosecutors hate that because they prefer convictions at any cost. Judges hate it, because they like to be in charge and don't think anyone should be free to ignore their "instructions."

The lone juror in the Clancy case is a flip side of jury nullification. He decided, based on the evidence he'd seen and the testimony he'd heard, that she was guilty, and he wasn't going to let himself get bullied into saying otherwise. The effect isn't as broad as acquittal -- the prosecutor is free to bring the case again -- but it's the same principle. Jurors get to vote their conclusions and their conscience. Period.

That's important. The American "justice" system is less about actual justice these days than about padding prosecutors' records with plea bargains and convictions to advance their careers, keeping cases flowing through judges' courtrooms without inconvenient delays, and keeping American prisons operating at full capacity. Jurors are our only line of defense against that trend. Respect them.

-30-

about 500 words

Wordle 1912 Hint

Hint: When you make something the center of your attention -- and then see it clearly.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: F

After uBlock Origin

I knew that uBlock Origin was becoming ineffectual in Google Chrome, and knew that was going to happen with Microsoft Edge as well, but I didn't know when. The answer (for me, anyway): Yesterday.

The cause, according to CoPilot:

uBlock Origin originally used Manifest V2, which allowed extensions to intercept and block network requests in real time using the webRequest API .... Manifest V3, introduced by Google and adopted by Chromium-based browsers like Edge, replaced this system with the declarativeNetRequest API, which only allows a static set of rules and removes real-time interception ...

Or, in English, a new era of anti-ad-blocking infrastructure is pranging the old ad-blocking infrastructure.

So this morning I went looking for a new ad-blocking solution. I prefer free or freemium, and the the Edge extension I'm auditioning at the momend is Adblock Plus (not an affiliate link).

So far, so good. If you try it because of this post and if it works for you, you're welcome.

Longer-term readers of this blog may recall that I resisted using an ad blocker at all for quite some time. 

In my view, it was a tacit agreement of sorts: Sites agreed to provide me with content, the price of which was that I had to put up with ads. And I stuck to that for a little while until the damn things became so intrusive and annoying that I just couldn't seem to read an article without nine pop-ups every 30 seconds and 39 static ads lining the edge of everything. Then I became a hypocrite on the subject.

These days, if I like a site, I usually turn my ad blocker off to see what happens. If they keep the advertising to a reasonable maximum, I leave the ad blocker off. If the ads make the site effectively unreadable, well, ad blocking gets turned on, or, if I consider the site valuable enough, I might pay cash for the ad-free version.

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #36

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present." (Buddhism, Majjhima Nikaya 131)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

Focus on the present seems to be the most common thread in Buddhist practice, because the end of Buddhism is liberation from suffering and its means is achieving nirvāṇa -- a state without desire or sense of self. There's no room in that state for either regret or ambition, so the meditation, etc. used to reach toward the state emphasizes "mindfulness" of nothing but the present.

It's not limited to Buddhism, of course. David Hume (among others) held that we can only know the past and future through inference and that our reality actually consists entirely of the present, because it's our only directly perceivable environment (my first really powerful philosophical influence, Ayn Rand, spent a good deal of time attacking that notion, which happens to have been the subject of my first college philosophy paper).

It seems pretty obvious to me that the idea doesn't lend itself to getting much done in a practical sense, achieving new things, advancing the human condition in areas other than "enlightenment" itself. How would one incorporate feedback from past failures into plans for future successes? Anecdotally, it seems to me that Buddhists who are well-known for anything other than being Buddhists either don't commit to that, or commit to it after they've already made their mark on the world.

Not that I have anything against focusing on the present. That can be very useful when distractions impede movement into one's desired future. But to me it seems like a failure to engage with reality when adopted as a general commitment.

Wordle 1911 Hint

Hint: Today's Wordle is slang -- it may derive from the word "magnificent" (there are competing theories) but tends to be used to mean neat, stylish, or clever. Sorry to get so verbose and shifty, but this one's hard to write a hint for!

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: N

FortNine Made Me Look This Up ...

... and it turns out that in north central Florida, the whitetail deer breeding season starts earlier than, and lasts longer than, Missouri's. To wit, mid-September through late November.

I'd actually been wondering about that a little due to seeing more deer usual in the roadways lately, but then yesterday Fortnine put out a relevant video on how to handle deer collisions on a motorcycle, something I take a particular interest in these days because it seems like a bad thing:

Full of good advice, but my main takeway is that since deer are most active 1-2 hours after sunrise and 1-2 hours before sunset, I should probably just avoid riding during those hours, at this time of year, within reason.

"Within reason" is pretty broad, especially this year since I am on a new, bigger bike that I'll want to get better acquainted with before doing much night riding anyway. We have a family SUV. I can fairly easily schedule its use for any dawn/twilight outings. That will be safer for me personally, and if I'm going to get a vehicle damaged in a deer collision I'd rather it was Tamara's crappy old Honda than my shiny new Kawasaki.

Wherever you happen to live and whatever you happen to drive or ride, be careful out there. I've been fortunate enough to never have hit a deer myself but I've seen it happen, with driver injuries involved.

Wordle 1910 Hint

Hint: This flower's center is yellow but the petals might be white, pink, blue, or purple.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: A

First Round of Motorcycle Accessory Purchases

I have slip-on covers for the two older bikes ... when I remember to use them and I'm not in a hurry.

For Lena Mae, I don't want to leave that to chance. So (not an affiliate link):

Matches my tent in terms of color, or close, and will have room for related stuff to spare. Arrives early next week.

And (not an affiliate link):

Neither of my other phone holders fit well on the bike. This one is supposed to, and it's inexpensive. I may upgrade later to something with a vibration dampener, etc. I keep hearing that the Eliminator's parallel twin vibrates a lot. I haven't noticed that it does so nearly as much as one of my thumper engines. Arrives tomorrow.

I'm already scoping out the saddlebag/tank bag/top box/rack situation, but I'll be taking my time with that one. It's easy to get a thousand bucks deep in luggage, which I don't plan to do. I'll be on a budget but very selective.

Wordle 1909 HInt

Hint: When you say or do something with deadpan humor or without moisture.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: D

Meet Lena Mae

 

I got a short test ride before pulling the final trigger. I've put about 30 miles on her, from the dealership home, riding through town to get a taste of how she handles in various traffic scenarios. The answer was, beautifully.

I was wrong about her being the SE model, just a regular Eliminator 450 w/ABS brakes. I actually prefer the non-SE headlight setup (the SE has a cowl that doesn't look as nice IMO), so no biggie.

On my little 150s, going 60mph means tucking head and body down, squeezing the tank with your knees, and keeping the throttle all way. On this bike you cruise to 60 then she asks you what else you got. I haven't gone more than about 60 because this is the break-in period.

In honor of the olive drab (actually "Matte Old School Green") trim, I'm naming her after Lena Mae Basilone.

Lena Mae Riggi was a Marine Corps sergeant (the most distinguished rank in this old grunt's opinion) during World War 2.

So was John Basilone. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Guadalcanal, was brought back home to sell war bonds, got sick of that, and asked to be put back into real duty. He met Lena Mae at Camp Pendleton (the main road of which is named for him) while he was training a platoon to go into battle. They married shortly before he shipped out with them. He was killed in action on Iwo Jima.

So, she gets a motorcycle named after her. Not much of an honor, I guess, but it's what I've got to offer, and the name seems to suit the bike.

Wordle 1908 Hint

Hint: In "The Defence of Fort M'Henry" (later set to music as "The Star-Spangled Banner"), bombs did this in the air.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: B

Week 1 NFL Picks

The 2026 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night with the New England Patriots visiting the Seahawks in Seattle.

I don't know if I'll keep up weekly picks all season or not -- my level of interest is way down this year and will probably remain down unless the Chiefs or Jaguars are just really amazing.

What ESPN used to call "Pigskin Pick'em" is now just "ESPN Pick'em." I'll record my picks there to keep myself honest, and I've set up a leaderboard in a case any KN@PPSTER readers want to provably out-perform me.

This first week set of picks isn't particularly well-informed. It's based partly on last season's results and mostly on my personal prejudices.  "Upset" picks (those picked by less than half of ESPN Pick'em players) are marked with asterisks. Any changes will be made prior to kickoff and noted in an update to this post. Here we go:

• Seattle Seahawks beat New England Patriots
• San Francisco 49ers beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• Detroit Lions beat New Orleans Saints
• Tennessee Titans beat New York Jets
• Baltimore Ravens beat Indianapolis Colts
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Chicago Bears beat Carolina Panthers
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Cleveland Browns
• Houston Texans beat Buffalo Bills*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings beat Green Bay Packers*
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Washington Commanders
• Los Angeles Chargers beat Arizona Cardinals
• Dallas Cowboys beat New York Giants
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver Broncos*

I'm Already Pre-Shopping Luggage Options ...

 ... for the Kawasaki Eliminator 450 SE. And I already found something interesting:

I hadn't even been thinking about a "sissy bar" backrest, but now I am, for two reasons:

1. It costs about as much with a 22-pound-rated luggage rack as some of the luggage racks I'm looking at; and
2. The bike is comfortable to sit on, but I suspect that cruiser-style seat might be be hard on my lower back on longer rides (which is why I am also considering after-market bench seats, etc.).

I have a top box that would likely fit that rack just fine, and I'm not sure I'd need additional panniers even for longer trips. The engine guard has good mounting points for bags, I could run a tank bag for smaller stuff, maybe even a fork bag for tools and/or ultralight camping gear.

This things would get rid of the pillion seat, but I'm really not expecting to be hauling any passengers, other than perhaps trying to talk Tamara into taking one short ride, early on (I had to haul her to work on my little 50cc scooter once when her car broke down, but she just generally hates the idea).

I won't be making any decisions until I've put a few miles on the bike, but I'm already seeing options that are somewhat less expensive than I had anticipated.

Wordle 1907 Hint

Hint: When you energize the situation in an upward, positive way.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: L

Coming Soon

Put a deposit down today, picking up Wednesday:

It's a 2025 (new old stock, not used) Kawasaki Eliminator 450 SE in Metallic Matte Old School Green. Beautful machine. I initially skipped past this bike on the dealership's web site thinking "green -- ugly" but I kept getting pulled back to it and it grew on me. Much more distinctive than their black, white, or gray options.

451cc, liquid-cooled, dual overhead cam, parallel twin engine. 47 horsepower. Listed top speed is 100 mph, but real world tests say 102-103. Anyway, at least 20 mph more than I'll need under ordinary conditions. 150+ mile per tank range, and I expect to stop more often than that whether I need gas or not. If I'm crossing e.g. Nevada and Utah, I will bring a fuel can.

Two things were biggest in making up my mind to just pull the trigger on this rather than looking at others.

One was seat height. I found the KLR 650 taller than I liked to get on and off of, and the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is taller than this bike, although not as tall as the KLR. This bike has a seat height of 28.9 inches, and height-adjustable foot pegs. I have an inseam of 32 inches, so I can flat-foot this, and adjust the pegs if I find the rider posture cramped. I may move to a slightly taller after-market bench seat, but I'll give the stock seat a chance first.

The other was that my nearest Royal Enfield dealerships are all ~100 miles away, while my local Kawasaki dealership is 20 minutes away; and that Kawasaki has seven times as many US dealerships as Royal Enfield. Since I don't intend to wrench on this bike myself beyond maybe oil changes, I prefer a nearby dealership for parts (at least) and labor (probably). And when I'm on the road, I'll almost certainly be closer to a Kawasaki dealership than to a Royal Enfield dealership should I happen to break down. There's also the break-in period -- I'd have to get the Himalayan home the first time in 30-minute, sub-50-mile increments on highway. This, I can ride home at mostly street speeds, then take out on short jaunts over a couple of days. 

It's a roadster, not an adventure touring bike, but I think it will handle Florida's worst roads without too much trouble and I have no ambition to explore 50-mile dirt single tracks in the Smoky Mountains. After my own body weight, I have 150+ pounds of capacity for carrying luggage, and I'm already looking at aftermarket racks for that purpose. I almost bought a pretty much color-matching compact tent I saw at a store after committing to this one. I may go back.

For those busting at the seams to ask if it's US-made, the answer is no. Some Kawasakis are US-built, but the Eliminator is built in Thailand.

Wordle 1906 Hint

Hint: When you need this hint to be either spoken or rendered in Braille.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: B

Affirmation of My Inclination toward a Mid-Size "Adventure Touring" Bike

I've considered petitioning the county to rename my "street" from a number to "Five Lakes Road," because that's how many road-width, tens of feet long, several inch deep puddles it gets between the pavement and my driveway when it rains (fortunately, it's reasonably hard-packed dirt until right after my driveway, at which point it turns into sugar sand and ruts). Here's the first and second ones as seen from the paved road.

Look, it's far from the worst road in north central Florida, and it's less than a quarter mile from pavement to my driveway. On the other hand, I have to ride it anytime I go anywhere.

My daughter really hates that road, because she recently bought a 1988 Nissan 300ZX and has a mechanic currently working on getting it mechanically sound (I think there may even be an engine swap involved). That car has a ground clearance of 5.5 inches. My Lifan KP Mini has ground clearance of 6.7 inches. I haven't bottomed it out on that road, but still.

Speaking of the KP Mini: This morning, as I rode out, I saw a large tree limb lying across the road. As I skirted around it, my front tire caught some slick mud at the edge of one of those lakes, and I nearly went down.

Nearly. After a couple of years of riding, I've finally developed the reflexes and skills to get a foot down and save myself during low-speed slides and such, largely from riding on these medieval European goat track things that pass for roads in Florida. I did stall the bike, but nothing that wasn't supposed to touch the ground did, and I was planning to stop anyway (to get that limb out of the road for future passersby). Hooray.

But the experience showed me that 1) I can handle the "nearly offroad" riding well enough to have a more powerful bike, and 2) something like the Himalayan, with its taller seat height and bigger wheels, will address the mix I want well -- higher pavement cruising speed, better handling on bad roads.

I've really enjoyed the KP Mini. It's taught me a lot about how to ride and specifically about how to get out of whatever trouble shows up in front of, or under, me. But it's time to take off the training wheels.

Wordle 1905 Hint

Hint: The color of natural wool and most computers of the 1980s.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: B

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #35

"The guest is God." (Hinduism, Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

The four words by themselves don't convey the longer passage's point, IMO. That passage also includes one's parents and teachers as "gods" in the dharmic sense that one has duties toward them (in the case of the guest, the duty being hospitality) and that fulfilling those duties has karmic effects.

Of course, I threw in the dharmic/karmic thing to emphasize the Asian flavor of the specific aphorism. The general idea isn't specific to Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. For example:

"The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself." -- Leviticus 19:33

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." -- Hebrews 13:2

"Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him honor his guest with his due reward." -- attributed to Muhammad in hadith (Sahih al‑Bukhari).

In most of the ancient scriptural sources, "guest" is not necessarily the same thing as "invited guest." Religions are full of admonitions to treat strangers well.

Even absent the link to the divine, it seems like good practical advice, at least within limits. Perhaps the stranger you treat well instead of badly today, or someone he commends you to, will be the person who treats you well instead of badly later.

Wordle 1904 Hint

Hint: Like dense fog ... or a good gumbo.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: S

The Research Has Begun (Motorcycle Bleg)

I am now at "seriously looking for the forever (or at least 10-year) motorcycle" stage. As in quite possibly buying in the next week or two.

Pursuant to that, I dropped in at my local Harley-Davidson dealership today.

Not because I'm thinking "buy a Harley," but because dealerships often have other brands in used/trade-in stock, and I was hoping to find a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 or Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 at an attractive price.

No such luck. I was shown Harleys, and the showing made me about halfway a believer.

The halfway I achieved: I discovered that they do make a very nice bike with mid-mounted foot pegs instead of the forward cruiser style. It's called the Street Bob.  Seeing and sitting on two very much made me interested.

The halfway I didn't achieve: The best deal they had on a Street Bob was about $10k for a 2013 trade-in, which is more than I anticipate spending; and while I discovered that a very large bike isn't as heavy to wrestle around as I expected, I still don't want a 1200+ cc engine. So that's probably not going to happen.

What I'm looking for in my "forever bike" is:

• Reliability. Not only actual reliability, but the feeling of reliability. As nicely priced as Chinese bikes are, I'm just terribly skeptical of having one cover 600 miles in a day without something breaking. I want a bike that, if I happen to wake up tomorrow and decide it's been too long since I saw the Rockies, I will, deep in my heart, expect the bike to survive the trip. To me, that means a 400cc+ engine on a bike made by Harley-Davidson, Royal Enfield, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati, KMT, maybe a handful of others.
• The ability to cruise comfortably at 70 miles per hour on the freeway (with actual top speed as close to 100 mph as possible).
• The ability to handle well and to not fall apart on Florida's "three foot deep sugar sand interspersed with two foot deep ruts" back roads.
• Upright rider stance.
• Minimal gizmos and farkles and stuff. If it was up to me I'd have an analog speedo, tach, and gas gauge, a throttle cable rather than throttle by wire, etc.  That's too much to ask the last few years, but I do not need a 32" touch screen and five "ride modes" and all that stuff and want as little of it as possible.
• The ability to comfortably carry at least some luggage. I pack light and I don't want a bagger, but for long trips I'd probably run a top box and saddlebags or side boxes.
• I'd prefer alloy wheels but if the rest of the bike is right, I'm OK with spokes.
• As mentioned above, I don't want a big engine and a heavier than necessary bike. I'm not getting any younger and I don't expect to get a lot stronger. My contemplated range is 400cc to 650cc, although I might go a little higher for the right bike.
• Related to the "reliability" part -- a bike that local shops will work on. I've done repairs and modifications on my small, cheap bikes but I am not a mechanic and will have the "forever" bike serviced by professionals for anything more complicated than an oil change.
• And related to that part, I intend to leave the bike stock/factory instead of trying to soup it up, because I intend to get a bike that does what I need with stock/factory specs.

So, considering all of those things, my main candidates are the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, Guerilla 450, or Interceptor 650 or the Kawasaki KLR-650 or Eliminator 451. Those aren't the only bikes I'll consider, but they're the ones best tracking what I'm looking for and what I'm willing to pay (these are all sub-$8000 bikes new "out the door").

Anyone here have experiences with any of these bikes, or others in the "roadster" or "adventure touring" vein? I'm looking for recommendations (while really, really eyeballing a Himalayan for sale in Tallahassee).

Wordle 1903 Hint

Hint: Wanna bet?

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: W

Reminder: Generic Ballot Polling Is Worthless

I'm only using Erick-Woods Erickson as the example because I happened to come across it this morning. His general advice to Republicans isn't terrible, it's the information he's throwing out as an example of how poorly Republicans are doing that's the problem.

Republicans take 41 percent on the generic ballot while the President sits at 37 percent approval.

 So what?

1. That's national polling. There are no national elections this November. There are 435 US House elections, 35 US Senate seats, and 36 state governorships up for election.
2. That's generic party preference polling. It tells us nothing about how many people, in which of those polities, like which candidates, none of whom are named "Donald Trump."

Every two years, generic ballot polling gets used to predict a "wave" for one party or the other, but it's not a reliable predictive tool for that, even to the extent that the polling is reliable and accurate.

Republicans are going to out-perform their party's national generic ballot polling in Alabama.

Democrats are going to out-perform their party's national generic ballot polling in California.

In close/"swing" districts, it's going to come down to the individual candidates and their campaigns.

Remember that every time you see a "blue wave" prediction. While I expect the Democrats to pick up seats in both House and Senate, and maybe even take majorities in one or both, we're talking about a handful of seats changing party.

Wordle 1902 Hint

Hint: Under-floor support.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: J

The Move Is Far From Finished ...

... but it's begun.

No, that's not a sepia photo filter. It's what the inside of the tent looks like without open windows and in "natural" daylight on an overcast day.

That's about the front third of the tent (the front door is the panel centered behind the pole). Sofa, coffee table, and shoe shelf (shoes won't be worn in the tent) on the left, desk on the right.

That little chandelier on the top right is a solar-powered light with wiring going out the stove jack (you can see the panel through the roof). The light really isn't much; I'll be augmenting or replacing it ASAP. 

I'll have more shelving coming in for e.g. motorcycle helmets and other bike-related stuff, a couple of chairs for that sofa/coffee table area, either a guitar rack or multiple guitar stands, and a twin frame to move the guest bed mattress over from the camper. And so on, and so forth.

I find the desk, which I put together yesterday, a little small. I think I have a bigger one in storage. If not, I'll go shopping.

Right now, the main hold-up is finding enough cheap rugs to completely cover the floor.

Still working to get the tent correctly trimmed, as you can tell from the wrinkle behind the sofa.

While I understood in my head, from the numbers, that the tent is much larger than the camper, it took standing in it to really feel how much larger. If the doorways ran down to floor level, I'd strongly consider using the extra space as a motorcycle garage. Maybe I'll get a pool or ping-pong table!

Wordle 1901 Hint

Hint: If you figure out who's in charge, then take his measure, you'll have solved today's Wordle twice.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: R

Wordle 1900 Hint

Hint: Alternative/variant song recording.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: R

Thanks For Asking! -- 09/01/26

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. -- James 1:5

I'm not God, but I am a wiseguy. So don't count on any wisdom in the answers, but feel free to ask me anything in the comment thread below this post. If it's a real person asking a real question, I'll answer in, or link to the answer from, the comments. If it's a pseudonymous troll asking a dumb question, I'll only answer if I find the dumb question interesting.