How to fix a failed school.

I work at a failed school. San Francisco State University. It’s a terrible place if you are looking for a quality education. A good student can find opportunities anywhere but any of our students that go on to succeed in life do that in spite of us, not because of us. These are strong words. … Read more

Ronen Sarig

The student becomes the master. I tease Ronen with this Star Wars scene. He’s very much a powerful Jedi. The Interview: http://www.peterverdone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-02-18-Ronen-Sarig_02.mp3 I met Ronen in about 2013. He was young then. I was younger then. In Fairfax Cyclery and in the parking lot we connected. This kid was different. His early fast time on … Read more

Advice to a freshman student

I was contacted by a student in my department (Physics & Astronomy) the other day. To satisfy a course requirement, he needed to interview someone from the department to get advice on his path through school and beyond. He probably asked the wrong person. I asked him if I could record the interview for my … Read more

Feynman Technique

I was doing a quick spin on the bike today. The mind clears when you’re trying to ride down narrow singletrack as fast as you can. I was bopping through Hobo Trail and I was thinking about Richard Feynman and his learning technique. Study a subject Pretend to teach a concept you want to learn … Read more

Crackhead “inventors”

Here’s another from the message vault. The other day, a guy posts to the bicycle Framebuilder’s group on Facebook. His claims were that he understood the cause of Chloé Dygert’s recent crash during the women’s individual time trial at the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola, Italy. It was a very gnarly crash as … Read more

The finish line.

Advice for the aspiring designer; Have lots of patience, keep working hard, don’t ever stop! I’m currently working on producing a new fixture for making my bicycle frames (a mandrel bender also but that is another story). I need a tool that will work better than what I have been using for modern geometries, mopeds … Read more

On mentors

It was Thanksgiving a few days ago. Thanksgiving is one of only a few real holidays in the United States and it’s probably the most important. Important, as it’s not about turkey or shopping or even your crazy aunt and uncle.  It’s about gratitude and that’s some good shit. I always try to focus on … Read more

Wabi-sabi

侘寂. Imperfection is sometimes a strange kind of perfection. We’ll see a hot rod, motorcycle, or bicycle and it is such a terrible thing in the details but in that, it’s fantastic. Producing something like that takes time, wisdom, and a little bit of luck. Knowing just what blemishes bring out the soul of something … Read more

Never make when you can buy

The general rule in the machine shop is to never make when you can buy. With some exceptions, you’re usually doing yourself a huge disservice by choosing to make something that is otherwise available commercially at reasonable prices. There are some exceptions to this but often you’ll end up spending more money than it would … Read more

I am a critic

I am a critic. The clip below is from the Screen Junkies Honest Trailers and it got me thinking this afternoon. After a savage “Everything Wrong With:” from CinemaSins, and back and forth discussions with critics at ComicCon; Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts joined the fun with the Screen Junkies crew to help make this critique of his … Read more

Pay attention!!!!

What the fuck is this? How is this even possible. This comes out of a $10,000 bike. It was ridden this way for over 500 miles, probably a lot more. This wasn’t a college beater. I just don’t know what to say. I’m absolutely appalled. I’m not an inocent. Not by a long shot. I … Read more

Trigonometry

I absolutely love trigonometry. It’s how we come to understand circles and curves. I work at the Physics & Astronomy Department at San Francisco State University. Every semester a few students will express their unease, confusion, and problem doing trigonometric work. Over the years, it’s been shown that, all of them, have never been given … Read more