Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Mother Nature
I love nature. Sometimes I wish I had a job where I spent more time outside observing things. One of the things I can't stand to see the most is suffering. Particularly with animals. When our pets are sick we can take them to the vet and get them help. Nature is beautiful but sometimes its violent and hard to watch but it all happens for a reason. I found these pictures tonight. They are from Yellowstone Park.
Back in April of 2010, a local guy was killling a few hours before work like he always does...shooting film in the park. He parked his car on the side of this highway and heard a noise. He looked behind him to see this bison running for it's life from a grizzly. The guy got these shots and said that both ran right past him.
Pretty awesome picture.
The bison made it into the woods and lost the bear but he died exactly one day later. If you look in the first picture you can see that it looks pretty banged up. Park Rangers tracked the bison and found that it was injured. They said it had likely gotten caught in one of the parks hot spots and gotten badly burned. Later the next day, the rangers euthanized the bison. So sad but.....epic pictures.
Back in April of 2010, a local guy was killling a few hours before work like he always does...shooting film in the park. He parked his car on the side of this highway and heard a noise. He looked behind him to see this bison running for it's life from a grizzly. The guy got these shots and said that both ran right past him.
Pretty awesome picture.
The bison made it into the woods and lost the bear but he died exactly one day later. If you look in the first picture you can see that it looks pretty banged up. Park Rangers tracked the bison and found that it was injured. They said it had likely gotten caught in one of the parks hot spots and gotten badly burned. Later the next day, the rangers euthanized the bison. So sad but.....epic pictures.
Productive little Saturday really
The Jeep has been neglected lately and I feel bad about that. I decided to spend some time on it this morning. Heather is really hard on brakes and the stock rotors on it are horrible. Seems like every two years I have to replace them. This time I just had the rotors turned and put on new pads.
While I was waiting for the rotors to get done, I decided to figure out what was setting off the check engine light. I knew the code was coming back with some type of evaporative system leak. I bet half the time I've had to work on this Jeep (which hasn't been much) its because of a problem in this system. Most of the system consists of hard plastic line but there are some rubber lines as well and they eventually crack. I thought I replaced all of the rubber lines last time but I didn't. This job is usually like finding a needle in a haystack but I found this little cut in about 10 minutes this time. I even had some hose laying around to fix it too.
Then I decided to investigate why the passenger window suddenly decided to stop working the other day. One nice thing about having owned multiple Cherokees is that it sure makes fixing them easy. Chrysler made the wires that run through the A pillars and control the speakers and windows/locks just a tad too short. Over time, they end up cutting the insulation and then they begin to intermittently work. So I fixed that issue. The rotors and pads went back on and that job was done. The brakes on the Jeep leave a lot to be desired after driving the Subaru. Those WRX brakes almost make that thing stand on it's nose.
While I was at it I looked into the oil leak. The valve cover is leaking which is nice. On the inline 6 motor, they end up doing this and then it runs down the back of the motor and presents itself just like a rear main seal leak. Now that I know about it, I'll get the gasket and leave that job for another day.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Shimano hydro brakes...
are dead to me. Very soon they will be coming off and they will never return. I loathe these brakes.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
I used to really be in to Jeep Cherokees. Every once in a while I miss my 96 but not all that often. Since we still have the 2001, I stay in touch with some of the members of the old club I used to be with. I got A LOT of grief from those guys when I bought the Vanagon. Recently, one of them posted up this little project they found over on Jeep Forum. It's a bit quirky but I like it. If you don't feel like checking it out...here's a pic. The Jeep itself is a bit rough but the kid's taken a Westy top and cut the roof out of the Jeep. If it were me, I would have left the roof in tact and cut a small hole big enough to climb up into and sleep up top like it's done in the Van. He chose to get rid of quite a bit of structural support in the roof and then install a cheesy single hoop cage to try and get back some support. He's also gonna use a hammock inside. Right idea. Poor execution.
In other news...Heather and I are going pants shopping today. I can't friggin' wait to get going. I guess women like trying on clothes. I think it's different for guys. Well...most guys. I'm fine with going in and getting shirts. Worst case scenario is you gotta slip it on real quick, check it out in front of the mirror, get the approval of the wife and then you're outta there. With pants you gotta take a bunch of different sizes in the dressing room and and then you gotta take your shoes off, undo the belt, worry about the wallet falling out, remember the keys and cell phone. Then you gotta take the pants off those stupid hangers with the little claws. Then the pants go on. Now...this may be more information than what you were looking for but get over it. I'm a boxers kinda guy. I'm a bit claustrophobic down there and can't really function in the confines of jockey shorts and don't even get me started on boxer briefs. So...when I pull on pants the boxers get all out of wack. If I'm uncomfortable then there's no way I can switch focus to whether the pants actually fit or not. So then I gotta sweet talk em back down outta my crack. It's usually right about this time that the person working in the store knocks on the door to do a "check in". If it's a female it goes something like this, "How are those working out for you?" Me: "Ummmmm....fantastic!!!!" Meanwhile I'm in there making adjustments while looking at the God damn fool in the mirror. Then she announces, "Well....my name's Candy so like...let me know if you need me like get you any more sizes and stuff." Just once I'd like to take have her do all the running back and forth (nothing is more humilliating than having to walk back out to the rack with a pair of pants on that are too short and so damn tight that it inhibits your forward progress but don't forget to scoop up your wallet, keys and cell phone before heading out to find the next size up which is gonna end up on the rack across the aisle because shit's never where it's supposed to be). Sometimes you get a dude that knocks on the door and then the conversation goes somthing like this, (still loud though) "HI!!!!!!! my name iths Chip, how are thoths working out for you?" Me: "%$#@! GREAT!!!!! OK...........I HAVEN'T PULLED MY BOXERS DOWN FROM MY NIPPLES JUST YET CHIP SO I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO GO DO SOME FOLDING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!"
Then you gotta put the shoes back on b/c you don't wanna end up with high waters and I also have to put the belt on because I'm very particular about how that whole situation feels. If those don't quite do it then you gotta start the whole process over again. Don't forget that you have to walk out and show the wife how they look. Nothing is worse than when Heather says, "Turn around and let me see how they fit in the crotch". Although I appreciate the fact that she doesn't want me to look like my ass is hungry, I always feel like a damn 10 year old. Inevitably you end up with a style of pants where you're on the bubble between sizes and then you're gonna go back in and try the other ones on just one more time. Sometimes I get so fed up and I decide that nothing is going to fit in this store and then you drive all the way across town to start the process all over again. Either that or I end up buying some pants that don't really fit and then they hang in the closet until I eventually throw them away. Seriously...I bet I have 40 pairs of pants in my closet and many have never been worn. To make matters worse, as I'm getting older, I'm beginning to fluctuate with my weight by as much as 20 lbs. I usually put on the weight in the winter and then it comes off in the summer when I start putting in bigger hours on the bike while surviving off Rice Krispy Treats and Oatmeal Cream Pies. This does not bode well for my pants situation. Right now I have pants that are either a bit baggy or pants that are a bit toit. I swear....my life sucks.
Any minute now she's gonna come down the stairs and say (all happy and cheery but minus the lisp), "Are you about ready to go?" Me: "YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
In other news...Heather and I are going pants shopping today. I can't friggin' wait to get going. I guess women like trying on clothes. I think it's different for guys. Well...most guys. I'm fine with going in and getting shirts. Worst case scenario is you gotta slip it on real quick, check it out in front of the mirror, get the approval of the wife and then you're outta there. With pants you gotta take a bunch of different sizes in the dressing room and and then you gotta take your shoes off, undo the belt, worry about the wallet falling out, remember the keys and cell phone. Then you gotta take the pants off those stupid hangers with the little claws. Then the pants go on. Now...this may be more information than what you were looking for but get over it. I'm a boxers kinda guy. I'm a bit claustrophobic down there and can't really function in the confines of jockey shorts and don't even get me started on boxer briefs. So...when I pull on pants the boxers get all out of wack. If I'm uncomfortable then there's no way I can switch focus to whether the pants actually fit or not. So then I gotta sweet talk em back down outta my crack. It's usually right about this time that the person working in the store knocks on the door to do a "check in". If it's a female it goes something like this, "How are those working out for you?" Me: "Ummmmm....fantastic!!!!" Meanwhile I'm in there making adjustments while looking at the God damn fool in the mirror. Then she announces, "Well....my name's Candy so like...let me know if you need me like get you any more sizes and stuff." Just once I'd like to take have her do all the running back and forth (nothing is more humilliating than having to walk back out to the rack with a pair of pants on that are too short and so damn tight that it inhibits your forward progress but don't forget to scoop up your wallet, keys and cell phone before heading out to find the next size up which is gonna end up on the rack across the aisle because shit's never where it's supposed to be). Sometimes you get a dude that knocks on the door and then the conversation goes somthing like this, (still loud though) "HI!!!!!!! my name iths Chip, how are thoths working out for you?" Me: "%$#@! GREAT!!!!! OK...........I HAVEN'T PULLED MY BOXERS DOWN FROM MY NIPPLES JUST YET CHIP SO I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO GO DO SOME FOLDING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!"
Then you gotta put the shoes back on b/c you don't wanna end up with high waters and I also have to put the belt on because I'm very particular about how that whole situation feels. If those don't quite do it then you gotta start the whole process over again. Don't forget that you have to walk out and show the wife how they look. Nothing is worse than when Heather says, "Turn around and let me see how they fit in the crotch". Although I appreciate the fact that she doesn't want me to look like my ass is hungry, I always feel like a damn 10 year old. Inevitably you end up with a style of pants where you're on the bubble between sizes and then you're gonna go back in and try the other ones on just one more time. Sometimes I get so fed up and I decide that nothing is going to fit in this store and then you drive all the way across town to start the process all over again. Either that or I end up buying some pants that don't really fit and then they hang in the closet until I eventually throw them away. Seriously...I bet I have 40 pairs of pants in my closet and many have never been worn. To make matters worse, as I'm getting older, I'm beginning to fluctuate with my weight by as much as 20 lbs. I usually put on the weight in the winter and then it comes off in the summer when I start putting in bigger hours on the bike while surviving off Rice Krispy Treats and Oatmeal Cream Pies. This does not bode well for my pants situation. Right now I have pants that are either a bit baggy or pants that are a bit toit. I swear....my life sucks.
Any minute now she's gonna come down the stairs and say (all happy and cheery but minus the lisp), "Are you about ready to go?" Me: "YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
Friday, October 22, 2010
Orbea
It's not broken so I've decided to not fix it. My hesitation with carbon has always stemmed from the poor quality and product backup from Trek and their OCLV frames and the one that I ended up kicking down the alley and pitching in the dumpster. Carbon technology has come a long way (even for Trek I'm sure). Yesterday I had a really good talk with an Orbea employee about their carbon technology and their warranty policy. Their is NOTHING wrong with my frame. I'd kinda like to have something new but I'll be disappointed when it's not the same. So I'm gonna keep riding it. One day I hope to be in a position where I can get something made in either steel or ti that's a bit non-traditional in terms of looks but retains all of the geometry that I really like from this frame.
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