Stuff other people don't write about
This is a tutorial on crossovers on inline skates. More specifically, it teaches the “quick feet” version of the crossover, which is actually very similar in principle to running around a circle. This long tutorial begins with some pedagogical monologues on the theory behind crossovers. You can skip the early sections and jump directly to “Side-stepping on grass”.
I’d been searching for skate bags that could comfortably hold the Powerslide Next skates I’d just bought. I fitted them with an Endless 3x110mm frame and large wheels. These big-wheel skates have been all the rage among urban inline skaters for many years now. They’re great for long-distance skating on rough roads.
But these wheel frames were longer and taller than the usual 4x80mm hockey frames I’d skated in the past, such as the ones on my True carbon skates. These hard boots were also taller and bulkier than the hybrid carbon-shell boots, such as the Powerslide Tau, that I’d been skating in for the past three years.
These big-wheel skates did not fit any skate bags in my possession. The Inline Warehouse skate bag that had carried many of my past skates, for instance, couldn’t be zipped up when I squeezed a pair of PS Nexts with big wheels into it.
In this treatise, I show four skate bags, their actual measured dimensions, and whether my monster pair of rollerblades fits inside them.
In this journey, I also discovered a new way to pack big-wheel hard boots. I found that I could nest the two skates at right angles. That makes them fit any of the four bags. But this arrangement generates other issues.
I created the website bachwrotewhat.com two years ago on a whim. My goal was to collect and showcase unaccompanied and modern cello music for the rest of us amateur cellists. As I chronicled compositions in this style that I came across, I also began writing a number of pieces of my own, which I now call “self-accompanied” cello music, inspired by modern and even pop music.
In the two years, I have written eight self-accompanied cello pieces. By now, I have long since given up trying to present the original melodies in what I’ve come to call “recompositions.” True to form, all of the original melodic notes are still there, and in many cases the original harmonies and chord progressions survive as well. But once I’ve sketched out a few bars with some new ideas and motifs, I let the recomposition take on a life of its own.
Kūhiō Beach at Waikīkī, along with its two walled ponds, is often misunderstood. It is frequently lumped together with the rest of Waikiki beaches and dismissed as eternally crowded - "like a zoo", as they say. In reality, each beach along Waikiki Bay has its own distinct vibe, shaped by differences in location, reef structure, parking access, and proximity to oceanfront resorts.
Surfers begin gathering at Kuhio Beach well before sunrise, paddling out to Canoes, arguably the most popular surf break along all of Waikiki beaches. Long before swimmers arrive at the walled ponds, surfers are already catching waves on the reef just outside the west pond. Even after sunset, silhouettes of surfers can still be seen braving the break, moving against an ocean painted with the fading afterglow of dusk.
I don't know what Kuhio Beach looks like in summer or during the holiday season, but I can describe what it feels like to stay beside it for a week in November. The experience was noticeably different from influencer videos that highlight midday crowds during peak months. It also felt less touristy than portrayed by websites written by people who have something to sell to you.