Hey Folks,
Quick update here. I'm hoping that by making quick updates I won't have to spend a bunch of time that I'll put off.
So this weekend Emily and I had a pretty good time. Friday was the last day of work before a 2 week shutdown for me so my co-workers and I stopped at a cigar lounge and enjoyed some scotch, cigar, and good company. It was a nice way to wind down after a pretty busy work week. Emily and I went to dinner, it was too cold out to wait for the horse and carriage ride, so just dinner. The fire department got toned to a working mutual aid fire over in Lafayette. So I threw some cash on the table and ran out of dinner. We were done eating and Emily said it was OK. Turned out Lafayette had it handled, or so they thought, since it rekindled the next morning.
Saturday Emily and I got a bunch of stuff around the house taken care of then went to the Colorado Mammoth indoor Lacrosse game. There were about 20 of us in our group and we were having a pretty good time. Then one of our friends found out that some of her friends had room for about 20 people in their suite. Sweet! The seats were better and they had a better beer selection. The Mammoth lost in over time 12-11. We had a good time anyway.
Sunday I went snow shoeing with some buddies. We are looking for a place to build an igloo! If we build it, it'll get some air time here for sure. We hiked about 4.25 miles, about 1 of it was off trail bushwhacking in the Brainard Lake area. Emily got in a good work out at the gym and did some more chores around the house. There would probably be too much junk on the floor to open all the doors if she didn't live here. She really does a lot of the clean up work and I appreciate it. I was running late so I rushed to get ready and we went the Colorado Rage hockey game. Emily's company has a suite there., so we got free food and to watch the game. It was prety fun.
I'm off for snowboarding Monday and Tuesday, while Emily and a bunch of other suckers are at work! Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Snow Chains
I told you two posts ago to prepare for the barrage. I finally have some time and am getting these all banged out.
I made some home made snow chains for my bicycle. Version 2.0 is on the front wheel of my hard-tail mountain bike. Version 1.o did not clear the brake arms and had to be taken apart. It was pretty simple. I just stretched some little pieces of chain across the tire and held them in place with some plastic coated wire rope. Here are some pictures:
In this first picture you see the upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0. This is where the 1.0 version failed and hit the bike. That's bad. Anything that hits the frame as the wheel goes around is bad. It would be pretty safe in the snow, cause I'd be walking! In the foreground there you can see the chain wrapping around the edge of the tire.
This is how I connected the two ends of the loop of cable. Just used a crimping tool and locked them together. I think Version 2.1 will go on the back and the loops will be a tad smaller. I put the zip ties on to control the loose ends of the cable. There are some sharp edges there. Sharp and tubes don't go together well. 2.1 will probably get a heat shrink wrap over this whole joint as well.
Lastly here is the final product. I would like to see straighter lines from one piece of chain to the next. This will be accomplished by shortening the loops.
I only did the front wheel cause I ran out of chain, DOH! I figured no chain on the back would only slow me down. A wreck when the back wheel slides out at low speed isn't too bad. A higher speed wrek when the front wheel flies out from underneath you is worse. Thus front wheel first. Also getting the tension on the chains is more important on the back wheel delivering power over the front and these were a tiny bit loose. I tried them out in the snow and I couldn't get the front wheel to slide under heavy braking. I hope it gets me to work tomorrow!
I made some home made snow chains for my bicycle. Version 2.0 is on the front wheel of my hard-tail mountain bike. Version 1.o did not clear the brake arms and had to be taken apart. It was pretty simple. I just stretched some little pieces of chain across the tire and held them in place with some plastic coated wire rope. Here are some pictures:
In this first picture you see the upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0. This is where the 1.0 version failed and hit the bike. That's bad. Anything that hits the frame as the wheel goes around is bad. It would be pretty safe in the snow, cause I'd be walking! In the foreground there you can see the chain wrapping around the edge of the tire.
This is how I connected the two ends of the loop of cable. Just used a crimping tool and locked them together. I think Version 2.1 will go on the back and the loops will be a tad smaller. I put the zip ties on to control the loose ends of the cable. There are some sharp edges there. Sharp and tubes don't go together well. 2.1 will probably get a heat shrink wrap over this whole joint as well.
Lastly here is the final product. I would like to see straighter lines from one piece of chain to the next. This will be accomplished by shortening the loops.
I only did the front wheel cause I ran out of chain, DOH! I figured no chain on the back would only slow me down. A wreck when the back wheel slides out at low speed isn't too bad. A higher speed wrek when the front wheel flies out from underneath you is worse. Thus front wheel first. Also getting the tension on the chains is more important on the back wheel delivering power over the front and these were a tiny bit loose. I tried them out in the snow and I couldn't get the front wheel to slide under heavy braking. I hope it gets me to work tomorrow!
The Christmas Spirit
I'm usually pretty laid back. There are some things that get me fired up. There are somethings that I have strong clear cut opinions about. Timing on holidays is one of those things. You can't start celebrating Valentines Day (my opinions of which I will keep to myself) before New Years. Also you can't start Christmas stuff till AFTER Thanksgiving day. Turkey day being over the Christmas spirit is growing here. We got some decorations up, and the lights on the outside of the house. We even listened to Christmas music while cleaning up today! We put some lighted garland around the fire place. Take a look!
We put up the tree. If you have copy of last years tree you'll notice an incredible similarity. Par for the course if you keep your tree in a cardboard box in the crawl space. It's up, lit and raring to go!
Emily organized a cookie exchange for today. Several ladies braved the bitter cold (teens) and snow to gather and trade cookies. I think I heard a rumor about some wine as well. Emily made Candy Cane Cookies. I DID help. See all those little balls of dough. It was my job to make them all and make them equal. Then Emily rolled them out and twists them together.
Then, into the oven. It was my job to pull them out of the oven and put them on the cooling rack. Sounds easy, and it is, but it's stressfull. Emily is very attached to every cookie and gets a little teary eyed if one is broken before it cools and is eaten. It is the most fragile point for the cookies short life. Here is the final product (before the oven).
Like I said. We are getting into to Christmas spirit here! With Christmas always comes the question about lists. Emily and I have decided that we would prefer you give to a charity in our, or your, name instead of presents for us. Here are some charities that we like:
Max Fund - No kill animal shelter in Denver
Leukemia and Lymphoma - something that has effected some folks close to us
The American Red Cross - It's like a savings plan if you loose your house
You can use the links above to learn more about these organizations and to donate.
The Gathering Place - A homeless women and children shelter. A co-worker of mine is collecting children's books and puzzles to donate. You can send the books to me by the 19th of December or to her by the 27th. Here is the flier with more info.
That's Cooper, her Son, in the picture! About as cute as a button! These are, of course, suggestions and you can donate where ever you would like. This way you save on shipping. Emily and I also understand that it is fun to give an actual gift. We both have "wish lists" on Amazon.com you can check out.
Jon
Emily
Hope this finds all of you well. Again, sorry for the long drought on the blog!
We put up the tree. If you have copy of last years tree you'll notice an incredible similarity. Par for the course if you keep your tree in a cardboard box in the crawl space. It's up, lit and raring to go!
Emily organized a cookie exchange for today. Several ladies braved the bitter cold (teens) and snow to gather and trade cookies. I think I heard a rumor about some wine as well. Emily made Candy Cane Cookies. I DID help. See all those little balls of dough. It was my job to make them all and make them equal. Then Emily rolled them out and twists them together.
Then, into the oven. It was my job to pull them out of the oven and put them on the cooling rack. Sounds easy, and it is, but it's stressfull. Emily is very attached to every cookie and gets a little teary eyed if one is broken before it cools and is eaten. It is the most fragile point for the cookies short life. Here is the final product (before the oven).
Like I said. We are getting into to Christmas spirit here! With Christmas always comes the question about lists. Emily and I have decided that we would prefer you give to a charity in our, or your, name instead of presents for us. Here are some charities that we like:Max Fund - No kill animal shelter in Denver
Leukemia and Lymphoma - something that has effected some folks close to us
The American Red Cross - It's like a savings plan if you loose your house
You can use the links above to learn more about these organizations and to donate.
The Gathering Place - A homeless women and children shelter. A co-worker of mine is collecting children's books and puzzles to donate. You can send the books to me by the 19th of December or to her by the 27th. Here is the flier with more info.
That's Cooper, her Son, in the picture! About as cute as a button! These are, of course, suggestions and you can donate where ever you would like. This way you save on shipping. Emily and I also understand that it is fun to give an actual gift. We both have "wish lists" on Amazon.com you can check out.
Jon
Emily
Hope this finds all of you well. Again, sorry for the long drought on the blog!
Thanks Giving
OK, yes, I know it's late but I've already told you that we are not good at this and it will be an irregular thing at best, prepare for a barrage. So here is the skinny on Turkey Day.
Mom and Dad, (Barb and Chuck) came out from Indy to visit. One of my old bosses only said one intelligent thing in my entire career working for him (2 years), "Deadlines force action." He was right. It seems like a bunch of ideas and half finished projects get taken on, and finished up, right before my parents get here. Guess you never grow out of trying to impress your parents, or it takes more than 30 years. I finally finished up the Dart area. I used an old piece of plywood in the garage and cut it into a half circle, about 2' in diameter. Then covered that and the backing board holding up the dart board with dark green duck cloth. I put the half circle on the floor below the dart board. They turned out pretty nice and the dinning room has a nice Irish Pub kind of feel, with out all the dirt and fighting. We also got a little wine bar to keep the bottles and glasses in. It's looking very nice and adult down there. Which is good, cause we spend all the time in the living room, instead.
We took Mom and Dad out to Red Rocks Amphitheater. It's a pretty neat site for an amphitheater. You are at the foot of the foot hills and look over the stage at Denver. I've heard it's especially cool when there is lightening out over Denver or East. This was also the site of the Red Bull Soap Box Derby, so we got to walk, up, the course. We got in some good climbing at altitude while we were there. It's probably 150 vertical feet from the gift shop to the parking lot!
For Turkey Day Dad and I smoked a 14lb turkey! It only took a few hours and turned out great! We had to finish it off in the electric roaster. It was pretty tasty. Also tried some garlic mashed potatoes. You bake them first then put like 1/2 the skins in and mash em all up. Turned out great as well. We also had some green been casserole as well as a pumpkin pie. More food than we needed, but it's Thanksgiving, not "international diet day!"
Over all it was a good time. Always good to see the family, and the family is always welcome!
Mom and Dad, (Barb and Chuck) came out from Indy to visit. One of my old bosses only said one intelligent thing in my entire career working for him (2 years), "Deadlines force action." He was right. It seems like a bunch of ideas and half finished projects get taken on, and finished up, right before my parents get here. Guess you never grow out of trying to impress your parents, or it takes more than 30 years. I finally finished up the Dart area. I used an old piece of plywood in the garage and cut it into a half circle, about 2' in diameter. Then covered that and the backing board holding up the dart board with dark green duck cloth. I put the half circle on the floor below the dart board. They turned out pretty nice and the dinning room has a nice Irish Pub kind of feel, with out all the dirt and fighting. We also got a little wine bar to keep the bottles and glasses in. It's looking very nice and adult down there. Which is good, cause we spend all the time in the living room, instead.
We took Mom and Dad out to Red Rocks Amphitheater. It's a pretty neat site for an amphitheater. You are at the foot of the foot hills and look over the stage at Denver. I've heard it's especially cool when there is lightening out over Denver or East. This was also the site of the Red Bull Soap Box Derby, so we got to walk, up, the course. We got in some good climbing at altitude while we were there. It's probably 150 vertical feet from the gift shop to the parking lot!
For Turkey Day Dad and I smoked a 14lb turkey! It only took a few hours and turned out great! We had to finish it off in the electric roaster. It was pretty tasty. Also tried some garlic mashed potatoes. You bake them first then put like 1/2 the skins in and mash em all up. Turned out great as well. We also had some green been casserole as well as a pumpkin pie. More food than we needed, but it's Thanksgiving, not "international diet day!"
Over all it was a good time. Always good to see the family, and the family is always welcome!
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