Wednesday, January 31, 2007

"Let's Make a Pie"

In the car with Shelly - passenger seat. Listening to a song about "Let's Make a Pie" with lyrics about a awesomely ridiculous inaccurate recipe. We're driving toward University Ave. Just got ice cream. These are the best days of our lives.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

lining up all my ducks

Talk to Excel. I'm figuring out how much each part costs and where I'm going to get it for my production run of bicycles. I'm lining up all my ducks, and if all goes as planned, the frames will arrive in May. Just in time for me to go on a two month bicycle vacation... but you can't keep putting off bicycle vacations. If you're following the story of the production run, it just changed a lot. Before: touring bikes, Now: 3 speeds. I made the decision for a myriad of reasons, and I'm very relieved and excited about the switch. I can also get an account with J&B as a manufacturer when I get the appropriate insurance policy. Talked to them on the phone this morning for awhile. The insurance policy I'm looking at is affordable, and I'm getting the final information and application in the mail. So... 7:21pm : mind on overdrive. Danielle is almost here - we're gonna go see the Flyers.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Hangin' out

Hangin' out in the kitchen with Danielle and Gary. Shelly is there.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

It's heatin' up.

I'm standing in my kitchen talking to Shelly and Jonas. Shelly brought my some leftover chinese food, and I just put it in the microwave for 38 seconds. It's heatin' up. Veggie general tso's chicken with pineapple chunks in there. Jonas is getting ready to split. Got his coat on and everything. But at this moment he's talking to Shelly about making money at the Fire.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Calculating spoke lengths

Calculating spoke lengths for wheels to be built.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Standing in the kitchen

Standing in the kitchen. Just got back from taking Penny on an extremely cold walk. Shelly is putting together quesadillas for a potluck at Jonas's that was postponed from last night to tonight. I thought I was being anti-social yesterday, but now I have a second chance. This is good.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

watching youtube

Watching YouTube. Sorry I don't do cool stuff around 7:21 anymore. I'll try to throw in a curveball soon.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j0b-YSbD3TE ?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

eating raisins.

Hanging out with Shelly in the cave, eating raisins.

Monday, January 22, 2007

'One Got Fat'

Sitting at Shelly's computer watching an asinine bicycle safety video. I found it by searching 'bicycle' on Google video. It's called 'One Got Fat.' The cycle-riders in the film are grotesque monkey-faced kids riding vintage nonsense bikes. I'm pretty sure that clips from this video were used in a Dr. Dog video. This shit's pretty intense.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Exhaling.

Exhaling. Sitting down at my computer.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Friday, January 19, 2007

standing around

At my parents standing around the kitchen table

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Lacing up a wheel

Lacing up a wheel for my ongoing coaster brake project. I'm trying to put together a slew of coaster brake bikes.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Monday, January 15, 2007

3 speeds

Designing and planning 3 speeds...

Sunday, January 14, 2007

bridal expo

I'm standing behind a truck on the loading dock at the Sheraton at 17th and Race St. I helped load and unload and setup for a bridal expo. Load in: 2am - 8am Load out: 3:30pm - 7:30pm. We're almost done, and I'm definitely ready to go. I cleaned stalls at the stable for three hours in between the load in and out. That's 13 hours-o-labor.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

impending empanadas

I'm sitting at a mexican restaurant with Danielle and Shelly. We just all shared a key lime cheesecake slice. Apparently that wasn't enough, 'cause now we're about to share empanadas. The order is in, we're waiting. Shelly is telling a story about the kids that she babysits for meeting a puppet.

Friday, January 12, 2007

3 speed conversion

I'm at the workshop hunched over getting some brake pads for a bike that I'm working on. The bike is the world's best mismatch of parts. Yes - another 3 speed roadbike conversion. Why does it feel like such a victory when a 3 speed comes together? I'm writing an article about this bike for Vintage Bicycle Quarterly.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

couch at Jill's

I'm sitting on the couch at Jill's house with Shelly. I'm drinking a coke, those guys have a yuenling. Jill is on Shelly's hockey team, and she's giving me a folding bike. We all hung out for awhile. The bike is nice. I should post a picture of it.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

I just let it beep

I'm just pulling away on my bicycle to ride to my workshop with Nat to work on a Raleigh Grand Prix. He's holding the frame. We ran into Pamela on the sidewalk when we exited my apartment. We chatted a minute and said goodbye a moment earlier. The watch started beeping, and we started pedaling. I let the beeping continue, and it lasted until we approached Farragut St. Usually I hit a button to stop the beeping. This is one occasion where I just let it beep.

Monday, January 8, 2007

composing an email

I'm sitting at my computer in my bedroom. I'm composing an email to Nat about our impending bicycle trip to Nemaska, Quebec this coming summer.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Playing Clue

I'm sitting around on the floor in my apartment's main room playing 'Clue' with Danielle, Gary, Nat and Shelly. Penny is sitting in the circle too, and currently licking Nat's arm. Alarm goes off, and everyone knows they're going to get written about here.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

eating eggplant

Sitting around the dining room table at my folks' in Kennett. Just got done eating eggplant parmesan. Cathy is telling us about a movie she saw recently involving a guy who goes from being homeless to being wealthy or some such.

Friday, January 5, 2007

Benotto taped Salsa bars

I'm at home in the nicely newly cleaned and organized main room of our apartment. I'm re-installing the left hand bar end shifter on my bike after installing nice new old stock green Benotto handlebar tape. Almost done... looks nice! Odd to see this vintage tape on black Salsa bars. I like that kind of thing though. Now that I just installed a tall Specialized stem, the tops of the bars are as high as my seat. It's super comfortable, and I'm really starting to dig this bike. The wheels have to go... the back one has a flat spot that I can feel bumping around on a smooth road. Rims are on the way now to build up a really nice touring wheelset that should last me a good long time. Then when I get my sample Sleeper Cycles frame, I can transfer all of these parts and have almost an exact prototype of the Sleeper Cycle I'll be selling. Excitement / apprehension. Not bad.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Walking out of the cave

Walking out of the cave - just looked at a website called digphilly.com that's affiliated with NBC and will feature an article about my bicycle workshop in February. There's nothing there yet. One of the staff reporters bought a coastie from me, and we talked for quite a bit. I'm in the process of building up eight - count'em eight - coastie wheelsets to put on frames that I've stripped all the parts off of. Should make some good bikes. If I can get people interested in these bikes, and buying them, I'll be a very happy man. Hopefully the article will be positive, 'cause the coastie he bought was pretty nice, so he ought to really like it.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

reading Bicycle Quartery

Reading 'Bicycle Quarterly' in my office chair at home next to my newly arranged computer desk. It's an article about different lighting setups using a generator hub and two headlights. The article explains the strengths and weaknesses of different lights - all generator powered - using the same hub (the SON28). This magazine gets really specific and technical about stuff. The apartment was just re-organized with my desk in the bedroom. Shelly did most of the work. It looks good for now. This is good.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Nutted to recessed

Up at my Cedar St. workshop enlarging the brake mounting hole in the back of the fork crown on my main bike - the Panasonic reflecto bike. I'm enlarging the hole to fit a recessed brake nut. This should be a simple two second operation with a drill, but I don't have the right size drill bit, so I'm alternately squirming the smaller drill bit around and using a round file. This is a really stupid way to spend your time.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Watching TMBG

Watching a They Might Be Giants video with Shelly in her office - "the cave."