While I've nothing against a short commute on a kilobuckbike - and in fact do this occasionally - I gotta note that I haven't seen a rack or a fender in the bunch! I can see disc brakes being a good thing in rainy country, but not critical, unless there's a lot of climbing and some dirt involved.

I wouldn't mess with those low spoke count wheels given a choice. If you have to park it near someone else's bike, someone else will most assuredly swap some paint with your ride, knock it over, or otherwise attempt to pringle something.

Lately, for short (2-3 mi each way, up to 12 miles tot), I've found a lot of satisfaction in yard sale bikes. You know, an old Raleigh here, a dreadnaught Schwinn there. Some new tires, put about 500 miles on it, turn it over to someone else. ("how many bikes do you own?" they ask. I answer: "I dunno, 3 maybe 4, they come, they go, it doesn't matter much").

For a grand you could do a Breezer with racks, fenders, and lights, or who knows what else.