The Bicycle of Theseus and the Paradox of Identity

In the fall of 2003, I bought a new bicycle. I wore spandex and those practical (albeit a bit silly) cyclist’s shirts with pockets on the back for snacks. In the years that followed, I rode that bicycle a great deal. While my data are imprecise (my crazy data nerd spreadsheet has all the miles, …

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Morning bike ride – *totally* work related

My “job”, as director of the University of New Mexico Water Resources Program, requires me to pay close attention to New Mexico’s water. So of course when I saw this morning that the Rio Grande’s flow through Albuquerque had topped 2,500 cubic feet per second, I had to conduct “field work”. Anything above 2,300 cfs …

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Crossing Interstate 25

I’ve a piece up at Better Burque about our adventures today trying to find a way to cross the interstate on our bicycles. Don’t try this kids, we’re professionals. No, not professionals, dangerous amateurs.

Will an informal norm work here, or do I need a city permit for my amplified event?

Wandering the neighborhood on this morning’s bike ride, I ran across this sign: I’m reading Robert Ellickson’s 1991 book Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes. It’s a fascinating bit of legal scholarship about how residents of Shasta County, in California, manage the problems posed by cattle wandering off the ranch and onto other folks’ …

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