u/lingueenee

June 20: there are signs of life. A few meters of the ramp to the pedestrian bridge over the Rouge (which is not being rebuilt) has been removed leaving an approximately waist-high step, preparatory to adding fill and raising the level of the approach grounds (pic one).

The beach is also off-limits with the MUP barricaded south of the rail line. That's about it, after seven months worth of detours.

BSO, meaning Bicycle Shaped Objects. Which I think is a more apt description of the bikes available at outlets such as Walmart. Or was. When asked for buying advice by novice/casual cyclists, I reflexively used to discourage them from heading to big box stores; now I'm starting to think twice.

I don't own any such bikes but from scanning the goods (online) I'm impressed how the feature set has improved. Here's one, the Trinx Sky, (from Walmart Canada) for $400 CAD (~$290 USD).

Formed Al tubes; compact crankset; LTWOO 2x9 drivetrain; mechanical disc rakes; threadless headset; double wall rims (I'm assuming stainless spokes but not sure); semi-internal cable routing!? Alt-Chinese brands are supplanting Shimano/SRAM on lower-tier drivetrains and my experience with LTWOO (on a folder) is about what I expected: Claris quality; it works but nothing to write home about.

Of course, this isn't close to a contemporary entry level race bike but at the price point how can one deny the value? The Sky was definitely not the sort of bike one used to find at Wally World. After swapping out the saddle, installing clipless pedals, some half decent rubber, an adjustment here and there, such a bike is definitely suitable for a century.

Closed since the last week of Nov, 2025. As of Thursday May 7, over five months in, no discernible signs of progress or activity. Access is slated to be closed into summer of 2027. Don't be surprised if it's extended.

Well, it's AM so definitely not audiophile, but occasionally I switch the tuner over to that band to catch local news and programming. The problem is there is no AM reception, just wall-to-wall static. The power brick for my Aiyima amp is the culprit, that much is established. When I unplug the amp, I get a few seconds of strong, clear AM reception before its capacitors completely drain. FM and Bluetooth reception is great.

I've tried moving the brick further from the tuner etc., but no-go. I'm thinking of grabbing some ferrite rings for the power cord though it looks as if it's designed with a ring already installed a few inches from the jack. Would adding a second (or third?) ferrite ring improve matters?

Any other cheap solutions I should consider? Maybe just get an AM radio for the purpose.