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It took a really really long time to get home today.

New Phone

Last Saturday we went on a 20+ mile ride in and around downtown Detroit. I snaped this picture using my new phone, a Motorola Droid. The Droid has a 5MP camera built in, and takes amazing pictures when the lighting is perfect (in low light or indoors forget it).

So far so good with the phone. Today I listened to (with great success) Pandora radio on my way in to work, which i streamed from my phone into the AUX input on the cars radio. Tomorrow... who knows.

Can I Get a Fork?

I've been cheating on erg/home with another blog. Can I get a Fork was started in the beginning of November. It's a food blog.

Lisa and I had been talking about starting a food blog for a while, and in the beginning she was just doing her thing on her blog. We had talked about starting a new one where we were both setup as authors. Originally my contribution was going to be minimal and Lisa was going to do her nutrition thing, talk about, and analyze the food we cook at the house.

It was supposed to be geared more towards vegetarian cooking and help motivate us to cook at home and eat out less often.

Well, we told Matt about it and he got really excited and wanted to be a part of it. So now, the subject is everything food. Whether Lisa gets technical on some nutritional information, someone has something good at a restaurant, someone wants to post a recipe, someone cooks something good (or bad) at the house, anything goes.

The end result is, I don't know where this blog is headed but I think the contrast of Matt's I don't like vegetables, "I've don't think I've had avocado before" reluctance to try new food, Lisa's technical incite, my quest to find good mexican food in Michigan, and the continuing input we're getting by adding additional authors should keep it fresh. That said consider this an open invite to any one interested in contributing.

Moving In

Slowly but surely Lisa and I are unpacking a few boxes everyday. Today I found the boxes that had the paintings/posters in it!



Also, I put the bed frame together, so now we're back off the floor.

First Night in Ferndale

We moved to Ferndale. Last night was the first night at the new house.

Last Sunday I posted this picture on the local message board in an attempt to in list friends to help us move. It was quickly pointed out, that I was almost out of tape. As the picture suggests, I was already a few beers in and wasn't feeling a drive to Home Depot.

I figured I'd call for pizza delivery, sober up, and then make a tape run. Problem was it was 10:30, and the pizza places don't open till 11.

"Jimmy Johns is open, and does deliver" I thought!

JJ: "Thank you for calling Jimmie Johns, how can I help you?"
R: "Hey, what's up?"
JJ: "Not much, what can i get for you?"
R: "How 'bout a #12... Jalapeno chips, and an .... an ice tea."
JJ: "You got it, anything else?"
R: "well, this is this one thing... "
JJ: "what's that?"
R: "I appear to be low on packing tape, you see we're in the middle of moving."
JJ: "Sorry, sir we dont sell tape."
R: "You dont have any in back?"
JJ: "No, sorry sir."
R: "That's all right - it was a long snot."

So the delivery guy (chick) gets here and low and behold... she's got packing tape with her!!! I pay for the sandwich. I pay for the tape. I tip the lady. Score!

The new hotness

After tooling around on the velodrome, it became clear that the old Peugeot wasnt going to cut it. I picked up an actual track frame on ebay on the cheap and swapped over a few of the parts from the Peugeot to get it ridable.

Over the winter I'm going to be on the look out for parts so I can restore the Peugeot back to it's full glory.

Here she is:
The spec sheet:
'09 Bianchi Pista frame (59cm)
Chris King headset
Nitto Ultimate Ideal 2 120mm stem
Nitto drop bars w/ track grips
Origin 8 Pro Light carbon set post
Origin 8 Uno seat (from the Peugeot)
Origin 8 165mm cranks (from the Peugeot)
Tang 68x103 BB
41/15 gearing (from the Peugeot)
Eightinch Julian wheel set w/ formula hubs (from the Peugeot)

Raven, Meet Velodrome

Imagine you're the kind of guy who loves whistling along to Otis Redding's Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (who isn't?), and all of a sudden you come to find that the very dock that Redding wrote the song about is only 10 miles (give or take) from your house. Now you're thinking: "huh, maybe I should go over there and give wasting time a try... maybe do some whistling" and why wouldn't you - sounds like fun, right?

Maybe you're also into riding bikes. Maybe you've been riding a track/single speed conversion around for a while and have been thinking, if only there was a track around here - maybe I'd give it a try. Would you believe there is a velodrome less than 10 miles from my house? Why don't people tell me these things???

This morning Micah came over and we took a good ride on the fixies. The total trip was just under 23 miles, destination: the Velodrome at Bloomer Park... and maybe some lunch and a beer or two at Rochester Mills brewery along the way.

We were really hoping something was going to be going on at the velodrome; a race, some people practicing, but when we rolled up no one was around.

Cautiously (shit is steep) we made our way into the infield. The very center portion of the infield was paved. The only provision for bike storage were two long red bar sets to hang bikes by their seat, canopies were set up with chairs under them for the racers, and a low metal fence circled the inside of track.

At first the banked turns were extremely intimidating, standing at the base of the 44 degree sloped turns (it's like looking at a wall) your asking yourself, should I really do this?

Why not - starting out at the bottom of the track, building up speed and carefully venturing higher and higher around the turns, I was starting to get the hang of it. After a few times around I found my self leaning deeper into the turns and wishing for a taller gear to go faster. It was fun, really fun. I couldn't help but smile as I gasped for air and prayed for traction along the steepest part of the bank.


According to the track's website there's an intro to riding class. I'd really like to do this (not to mention it's free). Also, I really want to watch a race - and maybe someday participate in a race.

edit for video of intro to riding class: youtube

Clinton River Trail Ride

Matt met me at my house and we rode south a few miles to meet up with the Clinton River Trail. We followed the trail all the way up into Rochester and stopped for a beer and a sandwich. Had two more beers and then rode home in the dark, this time, taking the more direct way. Here's the GPS.

Total Distance: 19.23 mi
Elevation Gain: 796 ft
Ave Speed: 12.6 mph
Max Speed: 25.0 mph

The Giant Slip and Slide

Going down all at once was a bad idea. Everyone got up holding a leg, or a an elbow, or a forehead, ouch.

We made the slide out of 10'x25' 6mil vinyl sheeting, cutting it down the middle so that the slip and slide was 50' long, and staked it pointing down the slight grade in the back yard. It was a good time - and probably the only way I was able to survive the 92F/90% humidity.

More fixie pics

Photo credit goes to Matt Denner.

This Morning Joe

"Do you want me to make coffee?"
"I will not leave here with out coffee."
"Well, then I'm not making any." Lisa said, as she started to grind the beans.

Lisa has a way of being both endearing and difficult at the same time.

Down hill in traffic is scary

I did just over 13 miles on the fixie today. My plan was to go all the way to Rochester Mills Brewery and take these awesome paved bike trails that parallel the roads in this area, but when the route I had planed out turned out to be a dirt road I detoured a little and then turned around.

The dirt road is marked in red above, and is part of a state wide bike trail system called "Rails to Trails." The 'X' marks the location of the brewery.

There was a lot of elevation to deal with. On one hand uphill is hard (single speed), on the other hand down hill is scary (no brakes), and down hill into traffic is even scarier (no brakes!).

When I got home Lisa thought the brewery was a great idea, so we ended up going after all. This time by car though. So here's some pic's from the brewery.

Hard time deciding?

They were out of IPA, so I got the Wit, so did Lisa.

Every time we go here it makes me want to build something with bricks.

My Fixie

I've determined my bike is a 1977 UO8 Peogeot. I'm all done upgrading it now, lets go ride bikes!

E-Bay Irony

I shit you not. Unable to find the seat I wanted on the shelves of my local bike store, I found the only one available online on ebay. Today I get the shipping information for the item I purchased and to my disbelief the freaking seller is my local bike store.

Detroit Alleycat

Pictured left is my new obsession and the latest excuse for the lack of blog content here. It's a huge(double xl!) mid-70's Peogeot frame that I picked up for cheap on craigs list; I've ditched the old chrome wheels in favor of a pair Deep-V Eighthinch wheels and torn all the 10 speed and braking gear off. With the wheels came an Origin 8 fixed hub and black spokes. I've still got a few more goodies on order to spruce up the looks and further reduce the weight of the bike. As it stands now it's probably one of the lightest bike's I've ever owned.

I've been riding the fixed gear for about a week now and I absolutely love it. Emergency stops can get a little sketchy but otherwise it's a very relaxing ride - you get up to cruising speed and just ride.

Last night we met up with a couple other riders for the Detroit Alleycat bike race. An alleycat is kinda like a scavenger hunt on bikes - the theme for this one was Scatagories. We had a list of destinations around the city with a category and we had to ride to each destination to find the letter. Overall I'd say we did about 15-20 miles zig-zagging across the city, it was an absolute blast and I got to see parts of the city that I never knew excisted. A++++ would do again.

Number 6 is Blue

Synesthesia is a neuralgic condition where numbers and/or letters are associated with colors or sounds. How fantastic would that be? One would almost have to become an artist for the sole fact that they would owe it to the rest of us to show us the beauty they see everyday. Word on the street is Jimmy Hendrix had this gift.

Check out this article, Hearing Colors: The Unusual World of Synesthesia, By: Kathryn Williams

When Carol Steen, now in her sixties, was a girl growing up in Detroit, she used to walk home from elementary school with a friend. One day, perhaps after a lesson in spelling or an exercise in handwriting, seven-year-old Steen asked her classmate, “Isn’t the letter ‘A’ the prettiest pink?” Her classmate, in the way only kids can, wrinkled her nose and pronounced Steen “weird.” [continue reading here]

Happiness

Talking religion in the work place is a bitch. If a Jehovah's Witness comes to my door asking me if I'm happy with my life and the way the world is headed, I take it as my responsibility to tell him to fuck off and slam the door in his face. When a co-worker who I greatly respect quotes the bible during conversation I feel just as uncomfortable. The urge to slam a door in her face burns in the back of my mind and my finger tips tingle as I mentally reach for an imaginary door. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) cubicles have no doors. So I sat, and listened - shifting in my seat like I had to poop.

In the end it wasn't so bad. For example, here's one of a couple that was quoted to me:

2 Peter 1:5-7
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

What this has anything to do with work, or spreading nasty rumors of lay offs and bankruptcy blithe - I don't remember (thats normally the kind of thing we talk about around here these days). Normally I scrutinize the passages and marvel at how out of context their taken, but this one is pretty harmless.

The thing I like to take away from this one is you don't (and shouldn't) have to believe in God or read the bible to see the value in adding goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and love to your life. These are all attributes of happiness; they are actions you can take to add to happiness in your life; happiness being the most important feeling of content and self achievement... and if that's not working for you there's always hookers and blow.

Save Biodiesel!

Add biodiesel to the endangered species list; sign the petition; demand biodiesel compatible vehicles! Get all this and more at savebiodiesel.org.

While true that oil dilution is a known issue in diesel engines, it's hardly "a great threat to the future of biodiesel." Whats more, to say "Most OEMs (including Volkswagen, Ford, GM, and Dodge) are currently using biodiesel-incompatible technology, and they won't change that without public pressure" is a stretch.

At any rate, I recommend having a read. The website is blunt about the effects of biodiesel on engine oil dilution and the suggested remedy is interesting.

Hungry

It's not even 11am yet and I'm starving. Lunch cant come soon enough.

Guess the cars

There are four cars in this picture, can you guess make and model on all four?

numbers 0 through 9

I was filling out a personally intrusive health questionnaire for a new dentist I've been recommended to. Typically on most of these things you can just answer with N/A because even if you do have jondus, what does that have to do with flossing. This particular list of questions was odd because they were all worded kinda funny, like - "Do you or have you ever had tooth pain and how often?" Ummmm.... N/A?

One of the easier questions was: "What number of beverages containing alcohol do you consume per week?"

Well, as a matter of fact, this one contains numbers 0 through 9.

LOL WUT

I think I just found yet another way to bring the humor of the internet into everyday life. Props to the artist of the biting pearUrsula Vernon for with out her none of this would be possible.

Coffee Table, there's no step 4

I finished the coffee table. It turned out really really awesome. After sanding it down and flushing the legs up, making sure the legs were perpandicular to the table top and that everything sat level, I gave it a few coats of sealer.

Finaly some decent weather

Friday was the first decent day we've had since the snow started falling in November. On my drive home from work people were walking along the street in shorts, car windows were down, snow banks were melting, restaurant doors were propped open, motorcycles were out and about, and everyone you talked to had something nice to say about the weather.

I took the opertunity to drive the Corrado for the first time this year. After switching in a new battery it started on the first crank and ideled perfectly. Driving it was even better than I remembered, there's lots of power and lots of turbo noises, and the suspension is stiff enough to have some fun in the turns and on the on ramps. It was a total blast!

That motivated me to start working on the new intake manifold again. The core arived a few weeks ago.



There's a lot of talk as to whether this cardboard is going to hold up against the boost pressure of the turbo, and the heat of the engine bay - but I think it should be fine.

Music Video Throwback

... and the two most fondly remembered music videos during my time at New Mexico Tech (NMT) are....

Chop Suey - the dorm room remake


and The Avalanches, Frontier Psychiatrist


Post 'em up, what were your favorites from back in the day?

The Return of Buckethead

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Valentines day with snowman (and snowwoman).

Happy Valentines day Lisa.

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale

Dont walk, run to your nearest beer store and pick a bomber of Rogue Juniper Pale Ale. This stuff is incredible! I'm not sure how I've missed it till now - although its probably safe to say that my local distributors hadn't carried it till now.

As I was pouring it out of the bottle I was slightly disappointed at the lack of head, but once poured a nice frothy head foams on top that stayed till the last half of the glass - leaving foam rings on the side of the glass. The smell is not particularly inspiring but grab a mouthful and your taste buds are unexpectedly filled with an awesomely bitter hoppyness that's uniquely crisper than most IPAs. I suspect its the Juniper berries that are to thank for the crispy dry finish.

Coffee Table: Step 3

Following up from Coffee Table: Step 2, I drilled an additional hole through the middle of each of the main table top boards and tightened them up. Also I finished cutting the legs to length and added a cross bar across the bottom for stability. I still want to put another rod though the bottom of the legs and then take it all apart one more time to re-assemble it using wood glue.

Twenty Five Random Things

Lisa is a sucker for chain letters. She tagged me on some facebook thing where you list 25 random things about your self and then rope 25 other victims into doing the same. I refuse to continue the epidemic of the chain letter but figured I'd indulge in a response just for Lisa's sake.

1. I have two middle names. Fuck you if you don't know what they are.

2. My brother Leif is much more exciting than I am, even though I'm older, better looking, and more successful.

3. Growing up Leif hit me on the top of the head with a large rubber mallet, I haven't been the same since.

4. I love beer.

5. Most times at work I have no idea what I'm talking about.

6. I used to play soccer in high school and run track but I was never any good at it.

7. I was born in Mesa Arizona, but I used to pick up girls at the bar by telling them I was from Belgium.

8. I suck at math.

9. Sometimes I have to flush the toilet 3 times after taking a dump before it begins flushing normal again.

10. My favorite food in the whole world is cream cheese, this infatuation started in Socorro when you could order a turkey sandwich with alfalfa spouts and cream cheese. Before then it was just something that made bagels taste better.

11. I wish I could ski for a living.

12. I dislike talking on the phone.

13. I miss the south west and would like to move back someday.

14. In high school I never did any homework.

15. I like getting lost in a new city.

16. I like my coffee black, with tequila in it.

17. Eggs? Sunny side up.

18. I hate onions.

19. I love going to art galleries and museums, they inspire me to be more creative and to be happy.

20. Some times I worry about hitting my head on ceiling fans.

21. I want to build my own house someday, I like building things my self.

22. I don't read enough books.

23. I love the internet, and sometimes lie awake at night worrying about what it would be like with out it.

24. I think one of the best inventions in the world is the ballooned neck on sparkling water bottles that prevent the water from fizzing out of the bottle when you first open it.

25. I like sitting at home and doing nothing.

Just a Cool Picture from This Summer

If I Lived in Europe

Lets just say, I moved to europe and had to buy a new car. Now that I'm in Europe maybe I want something that you cant buy here in the states. For the sake of this discussion maybe price doesnt matter. Lets brain storm.

1. VW Ralley Golf, based on the mk2 chasis this special edition came with widebody fenders, projector head lights, a G60 supercharged engine, sport Recaro seats,and synco AWD. It was a euro only model, the engine would be easaly ugraded to make big power and the AWD would be tons of fun.

2. Audi A3, tdi, quatro. With the recent facelift, it's a gorgious car. Throw in a turbo diesel with more than enough torque and 50mpg and youve got a trackable grocery getter. You can get these here in the US now, but not with the TDI/quatro.

3. Cadillac CTS V Sport Waggon. Validated on the 'Ring with a supercharged v8 pushing just over 550hp. and now they're making it in waggon form - be still my heart. GM gives the MVP of the super bowl the car/truck of their choice, three years in a row these its been an escalade - clearly these players dont know about the CTS V, then again ner has there been a rap song about a waggon.

4. '09 Scirocco; what can I say, I'm a fanboy - I'll admit it.




5. Lupo GTI; small fast back to basics hatch with room for two people and a case of beer. Lowered on some splits this could also make a decent weekend racer. Do they even do club races like they do here in europe?

6. Alpha GT, this is a really cool looking car. Having the upscale 3.2L v6 in Europe probably wouldnt be very practicle but then niether would the 556hp v8 in the CTS V.

... but lets face it, if I had to move to Europe I'd probably just buy another Corrado.

Tax Retrun '08

This year was easy, I only had one W2 form, nor did I anticipate owing the government money. So instead of waiting till April (like I do every year), last night I finished my '08 tax return.

Last year I had to file for two different state tax return and include a bunch of random crap that went down including moving reimbursement, student loans, tuition payments, a 401k from Los Alamos... etc. On Justin's recommendation (or maybe it was Lisa's) I filed using Turbo Tax - the whole thing took for ever but was likely much less painful than if I'd attempted to do it all my self.

This year because Turbo Tax had last years return on record the whole process only took... maybe 30 minutes.

Hold your breath just a little longer failing economy - me and my tax return are coming!

New Bike

I bought a new mountain bike. I'm particularly excited about this because I've been with out a bike for 4 years, and from what I remember of mountain biking - it used to be a lot of fun. It's an '08 Gary Fisher Cobia 29er with a few upgraded components. It came Fed Ex in this really big box (i guess now that i think about it, there's no way it wouldn't have come in a big box) completely disassembled.

I've always enjoyed things that start as a pile of parts. In fact, when I was in 5th grade we were given a choice between choir or band. I remember making a conscious decision to go for band - not wanting to be one of those pansy ass choir boys. They piled us in to this back room where we were made to choose which instrument we wanted to play. I maintain that the reason why I chose the clarinet was because it came apart into several small pieces (unlike some stupid trumpet or saxophone where only the mouth piece was removable). Maybe this is also the reason I like puzzles so much.

The majority of the assembly time was taken up removing the bubble wrap from each and every tube of the frame, wheels, shifter and brake components.

The frame it self was crazy light weight, the entire package weight only being 38lbs. Mountain bikes have come a long way since my last bike. The extra large 21in frame is all aluminum with a bunch of small gussets at the seat post, the chain stay ends, and the brake caliper brakets. Also, some carbon fiber in the head post.

Conventional mountain bikes have 26 inch wheels. The key feature to this bike are the oversized 29 inch diameter wheels. From what I read its the monster truck of mountain bikes, the larger wheels allow one to travel with more momentum, decrease the angle of attack over bumps, and take turrns harder and faster. The only disadvantage beeing slower acceleration off the line, but I'd imagine the low mountain bike gearing would make up for this.

Sunday we had a heat wave here in Michigan, the balmey high of 40*F was just what we needed to dry up the salted snow melt from the roads. I took the opertunity to take the new bike out on a test drive. I've never ridden a bike with disk brakes before and the first time i used them I nearly fell over the handle bars. Awesome.

So here it is fully assembeled, back inside taking up space in the living room till spring time. Some time before which I'd like to pick up a decent shoe/peddle combo and a front fork with suspension.