Today, finally, after saving many nickels and dimes, I bought a Rans Stratus XP. I don't actually have it in hand as it is being configured with a rack, fenders, a small mirror and some different tires. I'll pick it up next Saturday, assuming I can get a roof rack for my car and an appropriately long bike rack for the roof by then.

I was going to get it back in the Spring, but, well, that didn't quite work out. I test rode a lot of recumbents up in Ft. Collins at Spring Creek Recumbents (which is pretty much the only recumbent bicycle shop in the entire [much] greater Denver area) back then and, honestly, did not much care for the short-wheelbase 'bents that are so popular in the Boulder area. I didn't like the high-bracket position of the pedals, and the steering felt twitchy to me. Maybe I could have gotten used to that, but the whole cycling position did not feel comfortable for me – nothing like the Rans, anyway.

Now I can hardly wait to pick it up. This recumbent will be a weekend enjoyment for me, and once I'm back into shape, a commuting bike as well. And maybe I'll finally lose some weight.

Have you seen it yet? This is not something to miss! Personally I love the music, but the real charm is the humor. Neil Patrick Harris is the perfect comic hero/villain.

If you've not heard of this show, it's a little ditty by Firefly and Buffy creator Joss Whedon and cohorts, created as something to do while the writer's strike stalled all production in Hollywood.

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

(Of course, it will be available for paid download after today, but why not see it for free while you can?)

Update:

Dr. Horrible is available on DVD! See it on your television!

A little birdie told me about this: