raise your hand if you're scared.

(hand raised right here)

So.
Many.
Comments.

I was ignoring this insanity all of yesterday, then this morning I thought, "oh, I'll check out these 800 comments... how could that be a bad idea?" Oops. It was SUCH a bad idea. Oh. My. GOD. I want the past 45 min of my life back... i mean, are you kidding me?

Sorry, Teresa, that your job was ridiculous yesterday and had to read all of these. For what it's worth, I have complete faith in you and in all the BoingBoing staff - you all do great work on here and elsewhere. Here's hoping this blows over as soon as possible.

I'm glad that, within a few posts, someone managed to bring out the vitriol against "trust-fund kids" and other such nonsense. That's usually a productive tack to take.

I respect that most people don't want to pay that much for a bike, but I guarantee you that it's worth it. It's fairly hard to find a good frame with angles like that, and with that parts all combined, it's totally a fair price. You could certainly build a similar bike if you know how and can find a bike with similarly relaxed angles, but most people don't have the sort of knowledge or desire. If you've never ridden a bike like this, though, the difference between this and an old racing-inspired frame is several orders of magnitude.

For reference, Velo Orange (http://www.velo-orange.com) makes bikes like this and provides parts for similar builds... and their prices are similar or more.

... this will work well on my old moped, i think...

@chester - woah, nice timing. i think we just wrote almost the exact same thing...

JWZ = jackass. Prides himself on being good at some things and enjoys stirring up controversy by insulting the equally jackass members of the cult of the fixed-gear. If anyone is really curious about bike tips and HASN'T heard of bikeforums.net, well... now's the time to go visit that font of knowledge.

No one among my insanely knowledgable group of biking friends would, when asked by someone who doesn't know much about biking, tell them to get a fixed-gear bike... despite us owning more than a few among us AND owning a messenger bag or two AND some clipless pedals. In fact, if that uneducated person asked about getting a fixed-gear, we'd probably dissuade them from getting one - for the same reason that I don't recommend FreeBSD as a desktop operating system for my mom. I mean, it's just not the right tool for what the person needs. Instead, I'd probably recommend an old english three-speed... which is generally perfect for conveying someone around town in comfort and safety.

Things that I would tell my non-biking girlfriend if she was getting a bike (instead of me building her one):

- Old steel frames are nice, touring or crusing geometry is nicer, and both combined are even better yet;

- Lights will save your life;

- Racks with baskets let you carry things easily;

- It's nice to not be wet, so get some light-weight fenders. I hear they make them out of plastic these days;

- Lock both wheels... duh. Lock one to a post and one to the bike. If you have a basket, you can carry your locks in it... genius!

- Know how to change a flat tire, and keep your minimal toolkit with you when biking, with an extra tube or two, some tire levers, and a way to get the wheel off. Not that you HAVE to change the tire every time you have a flat, but when you're stuck in the middle of Crown Heights with a flat tire, you're gonna want to be able to do it. The bike shop is a great resource, but don't expect to have one around whenever you need it. And no, NYC buses don't let you bring bikes on or carry bikes on the front... and no, taxis don't like to do that, either;

- Don't ride on the sidewalk. Seriously. Unless it's 4 am and you're alone and the road is in terrible shape;

- Have a bell on your bike and use it. If it gets stolen, well, that's $10. If someone steps out in front of you, that can cost a lot more than $10;

- Get a chain-protector on your bike. You know, the kind that's on an old english-three speed? They make them again, and they'll save your pants a lot of pain.

I saw at least one other comment like this in my quick scan through the previous 71 or so comments before me... but it deserves re-stating.

I was riding the bus and the subway by myself at age 9 in NYC in the early '80s. My parents weren't crazy, and they weren't neglectful. They taught me how to ride the train, what to do if there were problems, who to talk to and not talk to, all that sort of thing. They made sure I always had a quarter to call home, and they made me practice doing that. There were programs, I think the one where I lived was called "Safe Haven" or something... where the stickers were on storefronts if shopkeepers had promised to help a kid in trouble.

Seriously - I was fine. Kids have been doing things like this for thousands of years.

Also, my ability to easily adapt to and navigate any subway system in the world is totally because of this early training.

also, two other links I just came across looking up the links for my last epic post:

http://www.zeuscat.com/andrew/personal/info/travelpacks/
http://onebagger.squarespace.com/blog/2007/8/1/going-boldly-with-the-aeronaut-full-user-review.html

... and if you want prettier luggage, you can always try Flight001 (http://www.flight001.com/store/index.htm).

... I'll try to stop now.

Judging by what I wrote below, it's probably safe to say that I'm a bit of bag junkie. I've used and tried out a LOT, and here are some ideas for you.

If you're willing to drop a fair amount of money and are really into a bag that'll last you forever and that you may have to design part of, go with McHale packs (http://www.mchalepacks.com/index.htm). Hands-down the best backpacks I've ever seen or worn.

Another source for custom bags might be the people at ReLoad bags in Philly (http://www.reloadbags.com/). Yes, they usually make bags for bike messengers... but they make pretty great backpacks, and they're usually into whatever you can come up with. I had one of their old bags when working as a messenger, and those bags lasted through years of hard work.

If you can convince the people at PAC Designs (http://www.pacdesigns.com/) to make you a backpack, that might be your perfect bag. I use one of their bags for bike commuting in NYC in all kinds of weather, and it still looks perfect and it has perfect features - clips to hold my laptop case, some mesh pockets, a hidden pocket, the best clip system ever on a bike bag. Only catch? Not that comfortable when NOT on the bike... otherwise, I'd travel with it everywhere.

Someone else mentioned Tom Bihn (http://www.tombihn.com/), and I'd like to second that. They make fantastic bags, high-quality and super-durable with great, well-designed features. In fact, they make two bags which might be perfect for you - the Western Flyer (http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/500/TB0950) and the Aeronaut (http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/500/TB0906). I've used a lot of their bags over the years, and I've been traveling with an early version of the Aeronaut for a year-ish... holds a laptop (in a protective case), a bunch of gear, another pair of shoes, and several days worth of clothes - AND it works well as both a backpack AND a shoulderbag. When I'm not using the PAC bag, I'm probably using this one.

I hear that the backpacks from Chrome (http://www.chromebags.com/) are really comfortable, too. I've only ever briefly worn other people's bags, but people love them and the bags seem really well-designed.

Finally, you might be interested in the TAD Gear FAST pack (http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/packs%20main/f_a_s_t__pack_alpha.htm). It seems like a pretty great pack, with tons of awesome useful features - and you get to feel tough, too. They were out of them last time I was in the market for a bag, otherwise I might have some personal stories on this one too.

Judging by what I wrote below, it's probably safe to say that I'm a bit of bag junkie. I've used and tried out a LOT, and here are some ideas for you.

If you're willing to drop a fair amount of money and are really into a bag that'll last you forever and that you may have to design part of, go with McHale packs (http://www.mchalepacks.com/index.htm). Hands-down the best backpacks I've ever seen or worn.

Another source for custom bags might be the people at ReLoad bags in Philly (http://www.reloadbags.com/). Yes, they usually make bags for bike messengers... but they make pretty great backpacks, and they're usually into whatever you can come up with. I had one of their old bags when working as a messenger, and those bags lasted through years of hard work.

If you can convince the people at PAC Designs (http://www.pacdesigns.com/) to make you a backpack, that might be your perfect bag. I use one of their bags for bike commuting in NYC in all kinds of weather, and it still looks perfect and it has perfect features - clips to hold my laptop case, some mesh pockets, a hidden pocket, the best clip system ever on a bike bag. Only catch? Not that comfortable when NOT on the bike... otherwise, I'd travel with it everywhere.

Someone else mentioned Tom Bihn (http://www.tombihn.com/), and I'd like to second that. They make fantastic bags, high-quality and super-durable with great, well-designed features. In fact, they make two bags which might be perfect for you - the Western Flyer (http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/500/TB0950) and the Aeronaut (http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/500/TB0906). I've used a lot of their bags over the years, and I've been traveling with an early version of the Aeronaut for a year-ish... holds a laptop (in a protective case), a bunch of gear, another pair of shoes, and several days worth of clothes - AND it works well as both a backpack AND a shoulderbag. When I'm not using the PAC bag, I'm probably using this one.

I hear that the backpacks from Chrome (http://www.chromebags.com/) are really comfortable, too. I've only ever briefly worn other people's bags, but people love them and the bags seem really well-designed.

Finally, you might be interested in the TAD Gear FAST pack (http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/packs%20main/f_a_s_t__pack_alpha.htm). It seems like a pretty great pack, with tons of awesome useful features - and you get to feel tough, too. They were out of them last time I was in the market for a bag, otherwise I might have some personal stories on this one too.

I just went through a really intense review process to find a good portable computing device for a bunch of upcoming rural/wilderness projects, and I ended up choosing the Nokia N810 internet tablet. Small, decent battery life and easily rechargeable, running the Linux programs that I need with a built-in keyboard, a usable GPS - that's exactly what I needed.

For your purposes, I'd recommend Nokia's slightly older internet tablet model - the N800. The battery life is pretty good, and more importantly, the batteries are cheap ($10-20 cheap) and easy to charge in readily-available external chargers. You can get a bluetooth keyboard or (as I've done) get a roll-up USB keyboard and plug it in when you need it. There are ports of most Linux programs you would need - AbiWord, the Quiver image program and at least a couple blogging clients - and the built-in browser is excellent. Also, if you feel like it, you can always upgrade the memory cards in the N800 - you could stick in 2 16 GB SDHC cards if you want to (though I'm not sure you'd need all that storage in the woods).

The machine is light and easy to carry. I've stuck mine in a Pelican case and have never worried about damaging it again. If you want to spend the extra money, the N810's GPS unit is pretty good - which is just one more thing that I don't have to carry for minor trips (although I'd still take a GPS unit for a serious remote trip that involved me staking my life on it).

Setups like this are a focus of my consulting work - and thus a large part of my income. I'll 2nd or 3rd or 54th most of the comments regarding the ReadyNAS systems... it's a great product, and will do everything Cory was looking for and more.

I wanted to suggest two other brands, though, that I've used extensively for similar situations -
QNAP (http://www.qnap.com/) and Synology (http://www.synology.com/enu/index.php). I have a slight preference for the QNAP products, but that might be a personal thing.

Both of those companies make systems that cost a bit less than the ReadyNAS line but function just as well in most situations. I usually use them in situations that call for smaller storage requirements than Cory's 3TB and that need the redundancy of a RAID1 array. Home file-storage systems for non-geeks, for instance, who'd prefer to never think about their system ever again. I'm not sure that these are exactly what Cory needs, but they're certainly worth considering.

On a related note, I'd encourage you (Cory) to consider NOT backing your personal data up to the same box as your collection of media files - something I'm sure you've thought of already. I prefer, whenever feasible, to keep misson-critical data seperate... the more redundancy, the better. So I'd probably set up one NAS strictly for personal data backups (you mentioned family data, photos, etc) - this one wouldn't be a huge amount of storage space, probably just running a pair of drives in RAID1 - and then having an automated backup procedure from this one up to S3/JungleDrive.

Incidently, this is a lot like the backup system I have for myself. One small-ish QNAP box for my work files and important family/personal files (financial, writing, and other irreplaceable stuff) which is encrypted and mirrored on S3, and then another NAS with lots of storage space for media files and working space for photo and film editing. The small box gets backed-up often (every other day or so, I think), while the larger box gets backed-up maybe once a month.

... I'm all about the redundancy, clearly.