I made this handy tool a while back. A Spreader Bar. It works very well. This bar was intended for hanging from the ceiling and suspending from or in-line on the ground connecting hands and feet. It’s a little long for some uses but will cover a very many. It’s 5 feet long, only weighs … Read more The spreader bar
The other day, I was having a conversation via Facebook with an old friend, Dave. We were talking about something having to do with his new bicycle. This and that. At some point, he flashes a picture on the message saying “Hey! look.” I was blown away. A world from so long ago… It was … Read more Old school.
I had a little sewing party in my kitchen on Friday night. I had two things to do; fix the strap on my messenger bag and make a neat dog leash thing. I was derailed from completing the strap as my ‘unsticher’ tool broke. So I put more energy into the leash. It was to … Read more Tactical dog leash
Here’s something fun. Looking into making this little project. An odd form of bling. What is it? The guessing will begin!
I made a neat little spider chuck. It’s for machining the bolt of the 308AR for accuracy. A spider chuck allows me to locate the bolt exactly according to the several features that I decide are important regardless of the shape of the part. Since these parts are forged and then machined in very elaborate … Read more Itsy bitsy spider chuck
This is a quick little thing. Most folks have seen this before but it’s nice to remember. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model A fun project to get working correctly in Ai. Give it a try. Obviously, I had to convert the CMYK colors to RGB for this demonstration to be seen on a light emitting source.
I absolutely love trigonometry. It’s how we come to understand circles and curves. I work at the Physics & Astronomy Department at San Francisco State University. Every semester a few students will express their unease, confusion, and problem doing trigonometric work. Over the years, it’s been shown that, all of them, have never been given … Read more Trigonometry
Thinking about this today. What about the area under the curve with regard to shock rate? Should the area be similar for differerent types of bikes? The shape can change, the duration and the magnitude but will in the end the area be similar? I’m going to think a bit about this… Here’s the curves … Read more The Area Under The Curve.
Cheap stems are rad. They do just fine holding the handlebar in place and come in many sizes. Most are even lightweight. What’s the problem? Tolerances. Most cheap stems are cast or use cast parts in a weldement. These parts have deviations that cause a problem. The issue is that the bottom side of the … Read more Making a dollar out of fifteen cents.
The radar mount was installed today. I mentioned it in an earlier post. Very cool. It took some planning, lots of rope and safety harnesses but it was installed without issue. A 40 foot drop on one side and an 18 foot drop on the other. No screwing around on this job site.
This is a neat project from work. It’s a straddle mount that will sit on top of a wall above the water treatment facility on Ocean Beach. It will support a 9′ rotating radar boom against anything the Pacific Ocean can throw at it. 0.375″ stainless steel, plasma cut and welded together.
It’s not easy making things and bringing them into this world. It takes a lot of time, energy, money, devotion, and lonely days in the shop. I’ve got so many projects started right now and many more that I’d love to start. Why not? Life. Lately I’ve been really putting a lot of energy into … Read more Keeping hope alive and fear in the heart.
On Sunday I rode up to West Point Inn for the pancake breakfast. I saw plenty of friends there that had the same idea. Sadly they were on cross bikes while I was on the mountain bike intent on trail riding. The ride – Tenderfoot: Cypress: 777: Gravity Car: Railroad Grade: West Point Inn: Railroad … Read more Pancakes on the mountain.
The Pedal Panties party: The Pedal Panties girls threw an even on Union Street. It was fun. The best thing for me, not being their target audience, were the cream puffs. I love creampuffs.
I love SF Sunday Streets. http://sundaystreetssf.com/ It’s a perfect way to get out and honestly see the people of the city around you. Go to the next one!
Last night I went to the Soil Saloon race with Michelle at Golden Gate Park. http://soilsaloon.com/ What a great night and great event. The Soil Saloon folks really know how to host a really great time. Since I was again not racing (lamo!) and since Michelle decided not to ride a good bike to the … Read more Soil Saloon SF, 2010#2
Having one dog around is awesome. Two is even better. Here Maggie is posing with another dog at Stray Bar where we go for Smarty Pants Trivia Night on Tuesdays. There are usually at least 3 dogs on the scene and sometimes a few more. Later in the night a brown pitbull named Rufus showed … Read more Two dogs.
“Home is where the heart is.” It’s so true. Home is a place you know when you are there. I was feeling that this weekend on a mountain bike ride in Marin. I was on a section of singletrack waiting for the dog to catch up to me, just hanging out in the middle of … Read more Home.
One thing I love about San Francisco is that this city will close down a street or entire part of town for almost any reason. On any given weekend throughout the summer you will find several miles of “Closed for Party” road. This July 4th was the 2010 Filmore Jazz Festival. 12 solid blocks of … Read more SF loves to close it’s streets!