Ok, I know we all talk about weather too much, but I’ve got to tell you, it was sunny and in the seventies today. I was actually sweating on my ride up to campus for final exam #1. It was such a lovely respite from the cold of the past week. My apologies to the neighbors up north–I hear you’re shivering in a blizzard. After proctoring a four hour final (!) I zipped over to the Avenue Pub for the Metro Bicycle Coalition open meeting. It was my first, and it was great to hear the many activities they’ve been up to, and I hope I can help out in whatever ways they need. By the way, if you are looking for a special holiday gift, an MBC membership makes a great stocking stuffer! On my way out I snapped a photo of this impressive cigarette vending machine. Most of the cigarette vending machines I’ve seen are those old tar-covered ones, the ones with the knobs you pull out and hope the smokes that eject were packaged sometime in the past ten years. But this one is seriously posh. I used to smoke–a lot. A pack a day, everyday, for close to 15 years. This machine would have been my dream come true. I mean, check out that symmetry, that selection, that ease of purchase. But I haven’t had a cigarette in over three years, and I honestly don’t want one, not at all. I left the bar happy that I’ve got my bikes, happy that there are lots of other people out there happy to have bikes, and unexpectedly glad that I don’t have to smoke anymore.