Here is a kid who NEEDS a bike

In article <[email hidden]>,

Marlene Blanshay said:

I feel like saying, get the kid a bike!

Maybe it would be better to wait until he actually wants
one, and the decision to take up cycling would be the kid's
own. But that's not to say you can't make the idea
appealing to him.

cheers, Tom

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"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Marlene Blanshay said:

I feel like saying, get the kid a bike!

Maybe it would be better to wait until he actually wants
one, and the decision to take up cycling would be the
kid's own. But that's not to say you can't make the idea
appealing to him.

cheers, Tom

--

Well, it's not my responsibility. Frankly, I also wish
they'd get him an x-BOX or a Play station. At least then
he'd be sitting down and not running up and down the hall
all the livelong day.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Marlene Blanshay said:

Well, it's not my responsibility.

No, But it's your idea, and if you wanted to, you could run
with it by playing-up cycling to the kid and his parents. A
li'l subtly persuasive advertising ;-)

Besides, it takes a village to get a kid to knock it off (or
something like that.) You'd also be potentially helping to
assimilate another rider into our ranks. Maybe you could
even become the kid's cycling mentor. While simultaneously
get all the 'dirt' about his folks, like in that TV
commercial: "My mom had to cut up all her credit cards ..."
That kind of stuff.

Quoted message said:

Frankly, I also wish they'd get him an x-BOX or a Play
station. At least then he'd be sitting down and not
running up and down the hall all the livelong day.

I once had upstairs neighbours like that, too. My tactic
was, whenever they started up, I'd fire up my earthquake
machine -- aggressive-knobbied Trek 930 on rollers -- for a
minute or two. That pretty well got the whole world to go
quiet for awhile.

I've gotta kinda feel a little sorry for apartment-dwelling
kids, though. A back yard can be an whole world to a kid.

Maybe the kid just needs a pair of slippers.

cheers, Tom

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On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700, [email hidden] (Tom Keats)

Quoted message said:

I once had upstairs neighbours like that, too. My tactic
was, whenever they started up, I'd fire up my earthquake
machine -- aggressive-knobbied Trek 930 on rollers -- for a
minute or two. That pretty well got the whole world to go
quiet for awhile.

Another option is to get an electric guitar and an amp, and
learn to play. Or better yet, fail to learn to play...
--
Rick Onanian

Parent - It's also a verb!

On Thu, 01 Jul 2004 21:39:11 -0400, Rick Onanian <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700, [email hidden]

(Tom Keats) said:

I once had upstairs neighbours like that, too. My tactic
was, whenever they started up, I'd fire up my earthquake
machine -- aggressive-knobbied Trek 930 on rollers -- for
a minute or two. That pretty well got the whole world to
go quiet for awhile.

Another option is to get an electric guitar and an amp, and
learn to play. Or better yet, fail to learn to play...

"If you wanna be a rock'n'roll star, Well listen here to wh-
at I say-- Just buy an electric guitar, take some time And
learn how to play.."
- Brian Wilson

I can't play guitar, though; I play the piano, and not too
well at that. Oh well.

-Luigi

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rick Onanian said:

On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700, [email hidden]

(Tom Keats) said:

I once had upstairs neighbours like that, too. My tactic
was, whenever they started up, I'd fire up my earthquake
machine -- aggressive-knobbied Trek 930 on rollers -- for
a minute or two. That pretty well got the whole world to
go quiet for awhile.

Another option is to get an electric guitar and an amp,
and learn to play. Or better yet, fail to learn to play...

Actually, I've got one. Custom-built by a luthier friend.
However, me and my ol' BellTone 30-watt tube amp, and
effects panel (phazer, envelope filter, baby wah pedal, etc)
have long since parted ways. I still have a little Radio
Shack D-cell amp, but it just doesn't cut the mustard.

Speaking of small amps, I remember once at a jam party, one
guy sold a Pignose amp to a bass player. Just for laffs, he
plugged in his bass and hit a few low notes. The Pignose
hopped on the floor for a few seconds, made some cackling
sounds, fell flat on its face, and died. I still haven't
figured out whether that was dramatically comedic or
comedically dramatic.

But playing loud tunes in an apartment building is too
obvious, and the building manager can easily track you down.
Generating quick, momentary earthquakes is ... sneakier.

And I do play -- quite well I think. As well as Stephan
Grossman, but not quite as well as Michael Hedges. Nowhere
near Carlos Santana or Paco de Lucia.

cheers, Tom

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Luigi de Guzman said:

"If you wanna be a rock'n'roll star, Well listen here to
what I say-- Just buy an electric guitar, take some time
And learn how to play.."
- Brian Wilson

"So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" was written by
Roger McGuinn for Patti Smith. [*]

Best way to help the kid figure out that he needs a bike is
to get him interested in yours.

[*] McGuinn just didn't know at the time that he was writing
it for Smith.

On 2 Jul 2004 02:20:00 -0700, Benjamin Weiner <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Luigi de Guzman said:

"If you wanna be a rock'n'roll star, Well listen here to
what I say-- Just buy an electric guitar, take some time
And learn how to play.."
- Brian Wilson

"So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" was written by
Roger McGuinn for Patti Smith. [*]

Damn, so it is. I always thought it was Brian Wilson. I
stand corrected.

"If I knew Picasso, I would buy myself a grey guitar and
play" -Counting Crows

Quoted message said:

Best way to help the kid figure out that he needs a bike is
to get him interested in yours.

True. But seven year old kids don't dig long distance riding
as much as they dig tricks.

-Luigi

"tk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Parent - It's also a verb!

Yeah, no kidding- it seems most parents aren't aware of
that. Which is why I sneer at this whole 'village' [censored].What
it seems to have evolved into is the belief that everyone
has toget involved with raising your kid whether they're
interested or not. And that we also have to live with the
consequences of your [censored] parenting. I've had upstairs
neighbors with kids before and not once have they ever left
me with a favorable impression. I wonder why half the
parents in the world have kids.

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Marlene Blanshay said:

Well, it's not my responsibility.

No, But it's your idea, and if you wanted to, you could
run with it by playing-up cycling to the kid and his
parents. A li'l subtly persuasive advertising ;-)

Besides, it takes a village to get a kid to knock it off
(or something like that.) You'd also be potentially
helping to assimilate another rider into our ranks. Maybe
you could even become the kid's cycling mentor. While
simultaneously get all the 'dirt' about his folks, like in
that TV commercial: "My mom had to cut up all her credit
cards ..." That kind of stuff.

Sorry, but this villager isn't getting involved. Besides I'm
moving soon and wont' have to deal with him much longer. I'm
not interested in mentoring anyone's kid right now. And I'm
not interested in the dirt about the folks, I know enough.
The father lives somehwere else and the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Frankly, I also wish they'd get him an x-BOX or a Play
station. At least then he'd be sitting down and not

running

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

up and down the hall all the livelong day.

I once had upstairs neighbours like that, too. My tactic
was, whenever they started up, I'd fire up my earthquake
machine -- aggressive-knobbied Trek 930 on rollers -- for
a minute or two. That pretty well got the whole world to
go quiet for awhile.

I'll just bang on the ceiling with the broom.

Quoted message said:

I've gotta kinda feel a little sorry for apartment-
dwelling kids, though. A back yard can be an whole world
to a kid.

Maybe the kid just needs a pair of slippers.

I think he needs to get out and do something!

Marlene Blanshay said:

"tk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Parent - It's also a verb!

Yeah, no kidding- it seems most parents aren't aware of
that. Which is why I sneer at this whole 'village'
[censored].What it seems to have evolved into is the belief that
everyone has toget involved with raising your kid whether
they're interested or not. And that we also have to live
with the consequences of your [censored] parenting.

We already are involved, and we already do deal with the
consequences of badly-raised kids every day: delinquency,
drug and alcohol abuse, low educational attainment. Not to
mention all the unsociable and sometimes anti-social
behaviour.

I'm not diminishing parental responsiblity at all; I'm just
saying that we can't just put up our hands and say "well,
THEIR kids are not MY problem." because, one way or the
other, those kids will become everybody's problem.

Quoted message said:

I've had upstairs neighbors with kids before and not once
have they ever left me with a favorable impression. I
wonder why half the parents in the world have kids.

Because it's a natural consequence of another process?

-Luigi

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Marlene Blanshay said:

"tk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Parent - It's also a verb!

Yeah, no kidding- it seems most parents aren't aware of
that. Which is why I sneer at this whole 'village'
[censored].What it seems to have evolved into is

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

belief that everyone has toget involved with raising your
kid whether they're interested or not. And that we also
have to live with the consequences of your [censored]
parenting.

We already are involved, and we already do deal with the
consequences of badly-raised kids every day: delinquency,
drug and alcohol abuse, low educational attainment. Not to
mention all the unsociable and sometimes anti-social
behaviour.

I'm not diminishing parental responsiblity at all; I'm
just saying that we can't just put up our hands and say
"well, THEIR kids are not MY problem." because, one way or
the other, those kids will become everybody's problem.

Well, it's not my RESPONSIBILITY, but it becomes everyone's
problem when parents don't parent. And then we all get roped
into it against our will!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've had upstairs neighbors with kids before and not once
have they ever left me with a favorable impression. I
wonder why half the parents in the world have kids.

Because it's a natural consequence of another process?

-Luigi

In the meantime I lived in an apartment building where dogs
were allowed. I lived for two years next to a woman who had
a 110 pound dog and I hardly ever heard apeep out of him!
Except the usual dog noises, the occasional howl at the
doorbell, whining when he was lonely. But he never woke me
up, disturbed my sleep, disrupted my dinner- in fact, until
I saw him I had no idea there was a dog there! But my
current landlord won't allow pets because they are noisy,
cause trouble, make messes. Go figure.

Marlene Blanshay said:

Well, it's not my RESPONSIBILITY, but it becomes everyone's
problem when parents don't parent. And then we all get
roped into it against our will!

It's part of the human condition.

The way I see it, if *nobody* minds the kids at all, we'll
be a lot worse off. That's all I'm saying.

Quoted message said:

In the meantime I lived in an apartment building where dogs
were allowed. I lived for two years next to a woman who had
a 110 pound dog and I hardly ever heard apeep out of him!
Except the usual dog noises, the occasional howl at the
doorbell, whining when he was lonely. But he never woke me
up, disturbed my sleep, disrupted my dinner- in fact, until
I saw him I had no idea there was a dog there! But my
current landlord won't allow pets because they are noisy,
cause trouble, make messes. Go figure.

It has always seemed to me that a lot of people treat their
dogs better than they treat their own kids.

-Luigi

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It has always seemed to me that a lot of people treat
their dogs better than they treat their own kids.

Leaving out the neutering, putting to sleep, and being put
in a kennel cage while on vacation parts.

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"Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It has always seemed to me that a lot of people treat
their dogs better than they treat their own kids.

Leaving out the neutering, putting to sleep, and being put
in a kennel

cage

Quoted message said:

while on vacation parts.

In that building dogs were allowed, and all the dogs were
great, except on that barked but they moved anyways.
HOwever, twice I had families with kids as my upstairs
neighbors and they made our life miserable. The more i see
kids, the more I like dogs!

Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

(Tom Keats) said:

Maybe the kid just needs a pair of slippers.

I think Marlene feels it would be better if he needed a
wheelchair.
--
zk

In article <[email hidden]>,

Zoot Katz said:

Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700,
<[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(Tom Keats) said:

Maybe the kid just needs a pair of slippers.

I think Marlene feels it would be better if he needed a
wheelchair.

Probably not /really/. I think she's just about at the end
of her rope, putting up with the pitter-patter (or PITTER-
PATTER) of leaden feet on her ceiling. I do know what she's
going through, 'cuz I've had to endure the same sort of hell
myself, only with multiple kids raising a ruckus. And for a
self-employed so-ho person trying to get some work done,
there's no escape.

My ... let's call it 'superstitious' ... nature leads me to
consider that when annoyances are so overtly thrust in
my face, it may be just the Powers-That-Be frustratedly
trying to get me to see and seize an opportunity that I
don't immediately recognize as such.

A case in point: when I cordially met with the guardian of
my juvenile, noisy nemeses (their aunt), she turned out to
be one of the waitresses at the pizza joint downstairs of
the apartment building I was living in. So I got some
pretty good deals and service -- like extra, /extra/
cheese, slightly scorched, precisely the way I like it. It
wasn't so hard to put up with the little brothel sprouts
after that. She finally had to move out because of
complaints from other people.

I'm not out to foist my peculiar belief system on Marlene or
anybody. I'm just saying I've found problems often come with
built-in solutions, if I can just hang loose enough to be
able to look for them, and see them. But, maybe that doesn't
work for everybody. And nobody's gotta if they don't wanna.
But she's moving out soon, so no big whoop.

Anyhow, if the kid in Marlene's case was given a bike, he'd
probably just ride it in the apartment building -- crashing
into the hallway walls and people's doors and stuff.

Tell ya this much, though: if the kid has nothing to do all
day but bounce off the apartment building walls, what he
really needs is friends & peers, and a social network his
own age. Preferably, ones who like to hang around outside.
Maybe even ones who ride bikes.

cheers, Tom

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"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:21:00 -0700,
<[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(Tom Keats) said:

Maybe the kid just needs a pair of slippers.

I think Marlene feels it would be better if he needed a
wheelchair.
--
zk

Yeah, for sure, then at least it would be QUIET.