At work they replaced the old vending machine with a new one that takes cards and NFC payments, including Android Pay. for some reason its called healthy vend even though it vends nothing healthy. The idea is kind of cool but you also get charged 15% more for it using cash.

The system itself is connected using either WiFi or a cellular connection, and the payment computer is running some version of before Android 4.x (looks like 2.x). I wonder what vulnerabilities are left open by running such an outdated OS.

So the fly building at 17 Allen Street didn't have flies last time I posted about it. Now it has hundreds of the most disgusting, fattest house flies I've ever seen. (e:paul,44776) wrote about the same thing years before and it turned out to be a dead body decaying inside.

Something is seriously gross a out this building. I wonder how much longer it'll be standing.

The lunar eclipse took place last night. It was the first one I've seen in a long time.

We went to (e:mike) and (e:libertad)'s house for a crazy party.

(e:paul) and I took a bike ride up for him to get a new phone. He almost decided not to upgrade, but he ended up getting a Note 5.


A comparison pic I took so we could compare the 4 and 5 cameras. Not too different.

On the way back we stopped at the Hajjar Restauraunt on Hertel Avenue. I think it was an Iraqi restaurant. I had a delicious falafel sandwich - for 50 cents more, we got fries and a huge bowl of hummus. Falafel is my absolute favorite food.


Paul and his new toy.



On the way back there was this ridiculous store with a gold(maybe?) crib in the window. For the tacky baby in your life.




Later when after we got home, I went out to brick bar for my old friend Tim's birthday. It was real bro but I got to see him and another old friend Julie.

Terry and I went on the Thursday ride. There was bridge climbing, South Buffalo shuffle board and pizza. What a good night.

It's pear season which means Basra is constantly drunk on fermented pears. He's also covered in yellow jackets constantly.

He has decided up against the house is a good place to burrow. Should we be looking for a new home for him?

We rode up to North Tonawanda via the Riverwalk for lunch. The total length of the ride was 25 miles. It was perfect weather for a long ride.





First we went down to Canalside - I saw this QR code from Dug's Dive in the ground. I never encounter QR codes in real life so I didn't have an app to see where it led to.


On the way up the Riverwalk you pass this old dock and crumbling shack. Is this part of the old Erie Canal? If so I think they should build historical replicas down in Canalside ;)



The Army Corps closed the bridge over the 190. It seems kind of ridiculous to close anoverpass to the other side of the path. Instead you're forced to ride up Niagara Street all the way up to Ontario Street.


Asphalt dog park at Black Rock Park.


Once you get into Tonawanda, they have a marker advertising a historical site off in the woods. It's a cruisey clearing where part of the original canal went through. You can see a small hill along the side which I think was the towpath, and a few rocks from the canal wall sticking through the dirt.


The Tonawanda bike path is still very industrial and smelly, but a lot less so without Tonawanda Coke and Huntley. Thanks Clean Air Coalition!

Once we got up to the end of Riverwalk, we were hungry, so we ate at Yummy Thai in North Tonawanda. The food and prices were terrible but the waiter was super cute. They did have a sweet Thai iced tea though.












In North Tonawanda there's the start of the Erie Canal trail. Ride to go visit (e:uchina), anyone?


On the way home, I almost got into a fight with another freaking car. At Sheridan Drive and Delaware Road, a giant tank of an SUV starts honking at us, yelling at us to get off the road. I start yelling back, they start flipping us off, and this guy in the back of the car starts hanging out the window saying he was going to kill us. I pulled off on the sidewalk to ride back and yell at them after they pulled off - but I called the police first since we were right near the Tonawanda station. (e:paul) talked to them, and said they said they were afraid they were going to hit and kill us. Seriously? They saw us - how hard is it to not run into cyclists and kill them? I couldn't freaking believe it. If you haven't heard, I fucking hate cars.

(e:mike) came over to get his car. I think these outfits were planned.

I'll let (e:Paul) post more about it but he made us a delicious vegetable sushi.

Apparently in another time he wanted to drop out of everything and go to sushi school. If he ever does that I expect full on Hello Kitty bento boxes.

It felt so much like fall this weekend - pumpkin spice weather - we were rained out of tour de farms and music is art.
(e:terry) and I took a walk for coffee and this small crowd of large pink suburban ladies were on some sort of charity walk down Franklin. We cut down on a little of the sadness by walking along them. Two were debating:

"I would love to live down here! The houses are so beautiful!"

"I wouldn't! The parking is a nightmare! And what about the crime?! It's too dangerous!" (on a street that's half empty parking lot)

"You're such a scaredy cat!"





(e:paul) can probably tell you I went stir crazy inside already. I'm not ready!

(e:terry) spent part of the weekend watching professional warcraft. They had uniforms, color commentators and everything. I looked up what the events looked like and it's what you would expect. I think I would be into it if I like video games more because it looks like a complete nerdfest.



I used to go to school with a guy named Sean Snack - he was a professional gamer. Weirdly enough one of his biggest wins during college was playing Yahoo pool - he won a few thousand dollars if I remember right.