London Bombings

As the world's attention is focused on London in the aftermath of this morning's bombings, I can't help but put myself into a terrorist's head and think that now would be an ideal time for a second attack on a major target like NYC or Paris. The local news channels in NYC have been running non-stop live footage of the subway system, tunnel entrances and bridges. From a terrorist's perspective, all of these media cameras trained on their potential prime targets can only be a good thing since it helps them spread their message of hatred through the powerful imagery of a terrorist attack. Stop a moment and think about it. Can you imagine the kinds of footage these media cameras would catch should the terrorists do a one-two kind of attack? First, a smaller attack like what happened this morning in London to get the media's attention, and then following that, a larger attack on one of the prime targets that's being monitored by hundreds of television cameras -- thus guaranteeing some kind of sensational footage.

The thought of something like this scares me but I know there is little I can do as an individual to prevent terrorists from succeeding in their plots. I subscribe to the practices put forth by the MTA and NYPD: stay alert, be aware of those around you, and report anything that might be suspicious no matter how silly it may seem.

My thoughts and concerns go out to those families affected by today's bombings in London.

New Bike

About two weeks ago my $50 garage-sale-special crappy bike was involved in a minor bike accident that completely destroyed its ridability (it truly was a piece of crap bike). Being that there are several more months of nice weather left, I decided to splurge and get a new bike. After much research I decided that the Specialized Sirrus was the best hybrid for me. Everyone I talked to confirmed that the quality of components on the Sirrus are a good deal for its $500 price tag. It's perfect for medium-length weekend rides and the occasional commute over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.

The local bike shop I bought from in Brooklyn had no red 2005 models left, but they checked their stack of recently delivered bikes and they had a brand new 2006 model in silver. So new that even Specialized's web site isn't updated yet with the 2006 models.