Friday, May 18, 2012

Paul as Davidic parallel?

Yeah, I know - that's what I was thinking:  what the what??
But if we look at the sequence of events and dynamics surrounding the rise of both - maybe there is a nugget of some Truth to buy into.
In the search for the king - Samuel brought before the people the biggest, most valiant, strongest, charismatic candidate he could find - Saul.  and we can read God's endorsement as if to say, "well, okay - if that's what you want to do, let's follow this path for a while and see where this leads." And then God chose David, who was, for as much as we want to romanticize him into the perfection of 'godliness' (whatever that means) - he was a scrawny, punk of a youngest child - he was a cocky smart-aleck  who had little to no business in the court of the king, let alone as the King in the court. (at least according to the world's standards of 'kingliness') Nevertheless, God chose him - if for no other purpose than to illumine the weakness of worldly wisdom, strength, and valor.
Similarly - Luke catalogues the very intentional list of criteria the remain 11 engage in order to fill the vacancy in the roster resulting from Judas' demise. As if going thru check list of criteria:  He was one of us: check.  (Okay, check-list of criterion) And I can hear God remarking:  "well, okay, if that's hat you want to do, let's follow this path for a while and see where it leads."  And we never hear from the 'chose' one again.  But God chooses Paul (Saul) who functionally fills that space vacated by Judas - even if he is never really embraced by the other 11.  Saul, that antagonist of the Way:  Saul, the judge, jury and executioner of those who would profess to follow the Way:  Saul, the one thru whom the seeds of the gospel would be sown into and cultivated within the Gentile World. The most un-natural and unimaginable (least imaginable) of roll players. But there it is, God again upending our logical course of action in favor of something wholly (and Holy) other.

Monday, May 14, 2012

MaidenVoyage of the new Frankenbeik

Many thanks to @ihadanidea Frankenbeik has been given a new life, new drive - many more miles to pedal.
review of the first ride - new 105 compact crank (vs. previous ultegra 600 crank 53/39) offer increased transfer of power as well as noticeably increased torque; the consequence of stiffer crank arms and smaller (albeit slightly) chainrings.

In the cassette, the only change made was dropping from 12-25T to 11-25T.   Increase in torque made the 50T-11T combo spin easier that previous 53T-12T, even though it's a higher gear ratio.

 both ft and rr derailleurs functioned flawlessly -
105 Brake calipers much more grabby with less effort than previous Ultegra 600 generation. (I'll lay that at the feet of moving from a single pivot to dual pivot design).
Shifters:  new shifters were awesome. - though having spent the past (almost) 20 years riding butterfly shifters, my thumbs found themselves looking for the shifters before I realized they were no longer there. Thumbs were much happier for their absence.
Don't get me wrong - these butterfly shifters have worked great over the past 2 decades.  Although they're indexed for 7spd suntour cassette -which I never could get to run quite right, on the friction setting (contrary to all professional counsel) they served me from the 6-7 speed transition, into the 8 - and finally into the 10sp cluster.  Paired with the Dura Ace rear derailleur worked flawlessly - just gotta be willing/able to work with a bit of subtlety. (Some of you reading may find irony in that).
There may be a bit of lament, letting go of these shifters;  they've been a part of every bike I've ridden since the Motobecane SuperMirage I came out of college with, thru the days of the giant Trek 800 I purchased after I killed the derailleur hanger on that frame. After several years riding a 63cm bike (that mis-appropriated geometry took its tole on my shoulders, for sure) - downsized to a 56 cm Bianchi frame - what I perceived as 'blue' was infact purple - or a deep lavender.  yeah, the family got a kick out of my colorblinddisability (I'm always good for the comic relief)- but I road the purple bike for 2+ years before getting the red Kona frame which now resides beneath my butt.
Who knows what further manifestations my pedular form of transportation will take - LBS said the headset is a bit pitted and in need of being replaced - I can't tell the difference - seems to steer smoothly to me.
Looking forward to many more miles on these piecepartedbike - how many more 1day STPs does it have in it?  who knows.
Peace to all.