Nelson's World
June 6, 2005
Guess the Blog isn't so pitiful any more!
Summer is here! I know they teach you in school that summer doesn't really begin until the solstice, but for a Southerner, summer is really Memorial Day through Labor Day. I feel for the kids who have one more useless week of school before they let out. Next year they'll be out earlier since they enacted a law lengthening summer. Maybe after a couple of years they'll see the light and extend summer to the old ways (the dates I mentioned above.) I'll love it, because the longer kids are out for summer the more they have a chance to come in my store and at the very least go running home to Mom and Dad to talk them into buying something.
I just have to air this out about my store. We close at 6pm. For 27 years we have closed at 6 pm on weekdays. For the same period of time we have closed at 5 on Saturday. For the last week, including Saturday we have had people coming in right as we were getting the keys out to lock the doors. Now, Saturday wasn't so bad considering we did an additional $2K in the extra hour and a half we were kept open. Not so during the week. Today we had some kid roll his bike in right at closing and he just HAD to have us repair it tonight. He's already out of school and he would have to wait until, oh, say, about 10 tomorrow morning? Geez people, do you not have enough respect for people to understand that their day is over and it's time for them to go home, sit down, have dinner and take care of the things we work all day to pay for? Walk into Wal-Mart at closing time and they'll tell you it is time to leave, whether you're done with your business or not (okay, bad example since most of them around here are 24 hour stores.)
The lights just winked off again. I live in an old house and last year I replaced some of the breakers. That ended up costing a fortune since my house is equipped with Zinsco brand breakers, which have been out of production for some time. I found one place online who sells copies of the style, but they're like $50 each (most modern breakers are about $10.) Not to mention I have to turn the main breaker to work on it. Looks like I've got to do it all over again. There are two air conditioners, an air cleaner, an entertainment center and this computer hooked up to that circuit (thank God for my UPS!) We've taken to sitting in the dark with half the lights off just to keep it from popping. We also can't run the AC full blast, because it'll overheat it with two compressors running at once.
This is the last time I go to "Taste of Charlotte." I felt like utter crap when I got up this morning. Sore from the bike, sore from a crick in my neck, tired from not sleeping due to heartburn and my face is still a bit tender where one of my cats accidentally scratched me (she was trying to jump on my shoulder, I tried to deflect her and she grabbed my face.)
I'm trying a new look for this Blog since everyone has been complaining that it looks far too boring.
June 5, 2005
Oh, the pain. Overdid the bike, and overdid the eating while out with the bike. We went to the annual "Taste of Charlotte" festival downtown (local restaurants set up booths and sell samples of their goodies.) Needless to say, we loaded up. Well, we took our bikes, partly so we wouldn't have to pay to park anywhere, partly so I could get into some tasty adult beverages and not worry about driving.
Well, you know they tell you not to go swimming after eating? Well, add biking to the list. Like a dummy I rode a racing bike there, which means no cargo capacity to bring leftovers home with us. So, I tried to finish everything I bought (and that was a lot.) I didn't get the cramps but I sure was in no condition to ride home. Somehow I kept it all down and made it there.
Polished off the original Star Wars Trilogy today. Sticking Hayden Christianson there at the end was a bit stinky, but it's still a great movie.
June 3, 2005
Ah, Star Wars. Nothing quite like the original. Not going to say much, except there are a few little things they could still take care of, just little details. Tomorrow night, "The Empire Strikes Back"
I got a new "Star Blazers" EDF Andromeda today. Not quite sure whether I'm going to use its parts to complete the USS America (from the same kit I bought back in the 80s) or if I'll build a whole new one. I'm going to take my time at any rate and build a far better model than I did before. Little things like the fifth main turret (the Andromeda has 4, the USS America has a fifth underneath.) To get an idea of what she'll look like, check out the crappy old piccy of her on my Intergalax page.
Once again I've drifted away from my 1:6 figures. There's just not as much interest in them as I've had in the past. Perhaps it's partially because a lot have gone out of production (Dragon Models has decided to focus on World War 2 - a genre I care little about since I either do modern or SciFi)
Kind of funny today. We met with the lady from the local "Yellow Pages." She went on and on about how wonderful their web services are. I listened patiently until she was done and the owner nodded at me. They wanted almost $100 a month to host a 5 page website for us, hooked up with all kinds of search engines, etc. So, I asked her:
*How much webspace that would be?
*How much bandwidth would we have?
*Would we have FrontPage/FTP access?
She couldn't answer the first two questions, just that it was "Five pages." The answer to the third thing was the kicker. No. We don't have access. We had to work through their webmaster, who would set up our page, etc. So I dropped the bomb.
Our current website ( http://intbike.com ) costs us $12 a month, I've got 2 gigs of space (and use about 20MB) and more bandwidth than we need in a year per month. On top of that, I have utter and complete control of however many pages I want (including a planned store related Blog - as if I had time to write that - I don't even write here that much.)
So, along with my new SW Trilogy DVD set (new versions!) and the Star Blazers kit I got a pack of Faux Carbon Fiber handlebar tape (don't fall asleep on me folks) in bright red. I was going to use it on my mountain bike's bar ends (the red anodizing is fading) but instead I'm going to stash it and try some red rubber grips I found on eBay. Yay!
May 9, 2005
I know I haven't been here in quite a while. For a while I really had no desire to post here, in the several groups I belong to or even go to mIRC and chat. I needed a break from all of that. On top of that, some of the things going on at the time left me depressed and disgusted and instead of saying things that I couldn't take back later I retired from the arena. I'm speaking of national issues and to say the least it left me with a different impression of certain people and the public at large.
I'm slowly creeping into the 21st century. I finally broke down and replaced my old Sony Walkman with a 20 gig MP3 player. I don't know why I waited so long but I finally made up my mind since the player could also double as a really big jump drive. I can back up the entire hard drive at work and still have plenty of room for my digital music collection as it is at the moment. Kind of makes me want to find a way to connect the thing to my car stereo (I'm sure there's a way, I just haven't researched it yet.) I also got a bigger memory card for my camera. Nice being able to take over 700 pictures now instead of about 50. I'm a little POed that the old 16 mb card won't fit my other camera (this one takes XD, the other SD - drat!) Oh well, the second camera is a cheapy that came with my computer.
In usual Charlotte fashion, we've gone directly from cold, nasty weather to hot, humid. I spent the day feeling the creeping sweats, especially since the boss hasn't fired up the AC yet (note, opening one of two doors and not all of them (security reasons) doesn't help much)
March 16, 2005
Rain rain go away... well, you know the rest. It's cold and raining and winter just won't let us go. I was raised here and March is generally considered Spring. It's 36 degrees outside (cold for a lifelong North Carolina resident) and raining, with the threat of it changing to snow over the next 24 hours. A few days ago I went to a deck party where I could have comfortably worn shorts. I came home from there and had to turn the air conditioners on. Now I'm wearing fleece inside the house, hoping my electric heaters will catch up. Well, at least these cool temperatures are supposed to be good for my computer.
Cars tend to be my little bugaboo. Sandy came to me complaining her tire looked low. I responded by handing her an electronic pressure gauge. Well, that was a mistake. Pretty soon it was clear the tire had a leak and a pretty good one at that. So, I had to fulfill my husbandly duties and swap vehicles with her for the day to have it fixed. Now, I knew there was a full service gas station near her store, but for some reason I'm the one who can take time off work to have this sort of thing taken care of. So, I took it to the Firestone store next to my bike shop (okay, you've got me - I was the logical one to take care of this.) They never bothered to call me to tell me it was ready but I did see them drive it out of the bay. They handed me the bill and my jaw hit the floor. I've had nails pulled out of tires and the hole plugged many many times and it almost always cost about $5-$10. They hit me up for $30!!! Turns out they don't just plug a hole, they dismount the tire, patch the hole from the inside, remount the tire and rebalance it. Okay, fine but the $5 plugs have always worked just as well for me. Next time I've got a slack tire I'm going to the auto-zone to get a plugging kit. The only reason I didn't do it myself to begin with was lack of the proper equipment - not making that mistake again. Another thing that bothers me is that when I saw my car in the bay, they had the hood up. Um, just exactly what is under the hood that involves patching the left rear tire? Well, with the bill they had a laundry list of other things I "Really needed" to have done, to the tune of $250. My radiator needed flushing. Okay, I guess I didn't do a good enough job of that two months ago. My fuel system needed cleaning. Okay, did they actually take my throttle body apart to see if it was fouled? Have I been wasting $10 every four tanks adding high-mileage fuel system cleaner? Then they said I needed alignment. That, maybe, I do need done, but they wanted almost TWICE what my favorite tire store wants for it. I paid for the patch job and drove my car back to my lot. It's probably amazing how many people will fall for that kind of crap. Maybe they're the same people that fall for all the internet scams.
Finally, I have a day off where I can sit without any guilt and finish some of my figures. It's cold and rainy, so I don't feel like I'm missing a good riding day. The truck and the car are in proper shape with all the tags and inspections up to date (hope I'm not jinxing that) and all the bills are current. The only things I'm waiting for in the mail are just minor little things for small projects, not some part I need to complete a full figure. All the crane stocks (gun types know what that is) are installed, the BBi "Renegade" figure is assembled and customized. I've got the bin I keep spare parts in cleaned out. The only "Big" thing I want to do is to buy a nice tall bookcase to display some of these guys in (they're all over my desk, even leaning on my monitor and CPU) and all over my drafting table (I was trained as an engineer LONG before CAD-CAM took over) and all over my other desk.) That'll have to wait until I can find one sufficiently deep with shelves at least 14 inches apart that doesn't cost a fortune. Once I have that, the next thing will be finding a home for all these plush dolls of my wife's in here.
I've got a nice cigar sitting here on my desk calling my name. I'm currently puffing on a pipe but I don't dare smoke a cigar in the house. That's a back porch kind of thing. I bought it during the warm weather and it's very nice to sit back there in a chair and puff away on the thing. I can buy four pouches of fine tobacco for what this one Arturo Fuente Hemmingway Short Story cost. I hate I had to miss Cigar Dave's Charlotte Invasion this year - that was great fun and Sandy (who has asthma) had a great time last year.
March 13, 2005
This was a fairly busy day for a Sunday. Usually I just lounge around the house except for the weekly trip to the grocery store. Instead I had to go to an Open House held by the local rep for one of our bike part suppliers. This is the second year I've gone to this particular function and despite it technically being a party, it was much like work for me. Upon arrival, he's got all kinds of bike related junk in his garage. Most of it is stuff he sells a lot of that he's had shipped here to sell at his party. I didn't need to look at that stuff since he used our store as a drop-off point for it (we got to cherry pick it for even cheaper!) The big fun comes in going through the junk he's picked up from other stores. If it's miss-shipped stuff it's new and possibly useful. It was funny that I could pick out what he's taken from our store. There were some broken things there for dirt cheap but I couldn't figure any use for them. So, now my truck smells like black rubber (I bought some BMX tires from him and they're in the back until I get to work tomorrow.
Once the "Business" part of the get-together was over, the real fun began. He had his girlfriend out back manning the grill and soon I had a "Plate of meat!" Huge chicken breasts (this read funny to me because the girlfriend has store-bought torpedoes!) rare steaks, chicken wings, hot chili, polish sausages. I think they put out some pasta salad and chips but my plate was filled with meat! Back to business, it was time to pick the brains of the other shop owner/managers around the house.
Since we got there at the beginning, it wasn't a problem to cut loose from there and head to the nearby town of Kannapolis (birthplace of Dale Earnhardt for those who care.) There is a 1938 theater there (with a balcony and everything though the balc was closed today for repairs!) $4 for a ticket and 75¢ for candy (normal store sized bars, not the shrunken theater sizes or the oversized - and overpriced - odd sized bags.) Popcorn is cheap too but we didn't want any since our bellies were full of meat. We went to see Robots, which was fun but not the knockout I thought it would be. Robin Williams was good, but not Alladin good!
I'm looking forward to Monday. UPS has a nice package scheduled for me containing a new, complete 1:6 figure (BBi's "Renegade") plus some other goodies. Too bad I have to wait for Wednesday to really put him together.
March12, 2005
Is this depression? Or is it just lack of sleep? I'm sitting at my computer looking at my figures and scanning my usual haunts and having a strong "I don't give a rat's ass" feeling. I hope it's just lack of sleep.
March 9, 2005
Reruns, reruns, reruns. Nothing on tonight until 10 (no, I don't watch Lost.) Still, I've got some stuff to do here in my office.
I finally got 3 of the 4 items I was waiting for from the guy on eBay. He narrowly averted being reported to them. Two of these items were paid for on February 19th, the other paid for on the 20th. These items were shipped on March 7. That is simply unacceptable. The figure itself is quite nice (Dragon figures usually are) with the sculpt looking kind of like some of the boy-band boys. This is a good thing simply because he's different than all my other figures.
March 8, 2005
You want to know how to make a DMV employee's day? (well, their quarter-hour) Show up with all your documents ready and your check made out. People, it's so simple. If you're renewing your license plate read on the card what you have to bring to do it. For most people that means simply showing up with the renewal card and the means to pay. If you have let your insurance lapse or you don't have the right stuff, don't get in the dang blamed express line. Another thing; if a person cannot speak the local language, they have no right to be issued the means to drive. Simple as that. It might make things go more smoothly at the DMV if they'd hire some people who speak Spanish but that is not the point. They shouldn't have to! This is the United States. We speak ENGLISH HERE!!! I know this is the "Great Melting Pot" but every other wave of immigration they've learned our language! We didn't bend over backwards to let them continue speaking the wrong language all the time. It's like some numbskull trying to use MAC software on a PC and constantly having to use some conversion software (I'm not going to go into an anti-MAC rant at the moment.)
There is a new system to renew a license plate on the internet. Only problem is there was some issue with the taxes on my truck. Mecklenburg County (and I presume the rest of NC) blocks your ability to renew a license plate if you owe tax. The tax was paid and I had the documentation to say so. If the system is linked so their computer shows a block why can't they be linked well enough to show the documentation. I was forced to go to the main county tax office, have them produce *another* form then drive to one of the three local DMV stations and wait in the line while moron people tried to talk their way through not having the right stuff. I tell you, this better be the last time I have to renew in person. I'm sick of waiting in this line TWICE A YEAR (two cars.)
Now, I love my wife dearly but she's laid down on this one in my opinion. We both work 5 days a week, but I have Tuesday off since I work Saturdays. So, I get to be the one standing in line for both cars (she keeps saying that I have to since both cars are in my name.) She doesn't want to take off work to take care of what, in practical terms, is HER car. Sweetie, everyone has to take time off to take care of personal things every so often. It doesn't hurt your position or reputation at work to do so.
We had nasty, nasty storms this morning. It rained all night long but a huge, fast-moving squall line moved through here about 7:30 this morning. Usually we don't expect thunderstorms this time of year but I had to rush in here and disconnect the computer. I know I've got it on two layers of surge protectors and a UPS but I don't want to take chances. I bet the weather-guy on the local CBS affiliate was pounding his head on the wall since he wasn't there at the station to proclaim the sky is falling. Then again, maybe his wings got clipped when he pre-empted a new episode of CSI to do wall-to-wall coverage of a rain storm. We don't care if a tornado is ripping through an unpopulated area 75 miles away, we want our #1 TV show!
Still nothing from the eBay seller. If nothing is sitting on my desk at work tomorrow I'm reporting him. It's only just under $30 but it's the principle of the matter.
On the 1:6 figures front I took my "Extra-Salty R Lee Ermey" figure apart. I've set aside the talking module (the Xtra Salty part is the foul language it emits) and mounted his head on a BBi body - no voice any more but a seriously superior body. I guess the old body wasn't so bad, but it didn't have the usual double articulation in the abdomen/chest area because of the voice chip. The arms and legs, despite the crappy color (slightly dead looking) have good articulation so they might get attached to some other figure at some time.
March 7, 2005
I'm sitting here trying to get the boots off an older figure so I can dress one that came today. I'm not having much luck with the second one. You just can't pry it off with force or their damned ankles will snap and I'm not in the mood for tracking down a first generation black BBi body.
Woot, got it!
Things are starting to look up at the shop. Despite Dick's doom-and-gloom attitude we doubled our February sales compared to last year. The recovery has been slow and I don't think we'll ever see the halcyon days of the early 90s again (internet sales have become pretty entrenched and that pulls away a whole segment of our clientele) but we're getting a handle on it. I finally have Dick convinced that the best way to do business is a much ***MUCH*** smaller inventory. We do spend more in shipping charges but the flexibility and the increased inventory turns more than make up for it. Problem is it pisses off some of our vendors, especially one who has this notion they don't make any money on orders smaller than $225. Well, screw them. I'm tired of vendors trying to make us their warehouse. I'll just buy from another company who proudly proclaims on the cover of their catalog that they're happy to fill orders of any size.
I'm getting very close to reporting a seller at eBay. I won four auctions, two on February 19, two on February 20. As of today neither have arrived. There's no call for that. I paid for them the moment the auction was over. Taking two or three days to get to the post office is okay. The stuff is coming about 500 miles, so it shouldn't take USPS more than a couple days to bring it. 15 days with no merchandise is just wrong. Now I just have to decide whether to leave him neutral or negative feedback. I'm certainly never ordering from him again. Sure, it's just junk for my 1:6 collection but I take pride in my eBay business - I get the stuff to the post office the very next morning - or even the same day when it's paid for. I expect the same service from other sellers. I they can't do that they have no business selling on eBay.
March 6, 2005
It may be a result of all those damned English classes I took in high school and college that makes me forget to come in here and work on this so-called "Web Log." I hated when they made us keep a journal. More often than not I had to go back and write all sorts of crap to catch up days at a time. I'd write some stream of consciousness garbage or some really bad poetry - and those fools thought I was some kind of genius. Maybe I did have some kind of brains to be able to pull crap like that out of my ass at a moment's notice and I had the professors convinced I was a natural at it but the curse of that kind of talent is the fact I HATED IT! I hated the way it made me feel to forget to do that work and then have to trick people into thinking I was doing it right. I also hate the feeling when I blew off the work intentionally (being a master procrastinator.) Day after day of the self-loathing that comes with that, thinking on one hand I had some sort of principles and on the other throwing it all out the door. Sheesh. Well, all that leads to the fact it's now the end of the first week of March and it's been since February 17th that I've put an entry in here. If you're one of the few people who actually found the link to my blog on my homepage and read this, well, there's a reason I call it my pitiful little blog. I'm supposed to be this big conservative but I certainly have never been truly inspired to put anything political in here.
Well, here it is: I am thankful to God that George W. Bush beat Kerry. Take that for what it's worth. The day after election day was one of the biggest reliefs since I found out my mother was going to be okay after breast cancer treatment.
For the first time since New Years we went out for a decent bike ride. We pulled out "Big Red" our old tandem and took it for just under 12 miles. I'm going to have to take a nice close look at it in the next couple days. I noticed that the captain's seat mast is starting to bend. If the steel cracks or bends any more that's the end of Big Red. I can't complain, we've had the thing for well over a decade and it doesn't owe us a thing. Maybe it's a good sign that it's time to consider a new tandem - something like a Raleigh "Companion" tandem - though as with most bikes it'll take a lot of work to make it like I want it. We also decided that we've gotten very badly out of shape. It was all we could do to make the trip today and we felt quite wasted when we got back in. I didn't even take the time to examine the bike, we just took the cargo trunk off and shoved it in the shed. If we do retire it there's not too much I can think of that I'd like to keep on it. maybe the handlebars. Certainly the shifters (never toss good Deore XT goodies!) I won't miss the one-sided drive train (tandems normally have a timing chain on the left and a drive train on the right - mine has both on the right and it prevents having more than a double ring in the front.
We actually sat down and tried to figure out how old Chessie really is. The way we finally reckoned it was in relation to "Chessie I" (Chester Pere Marquette Binch - Chessie II is Chessie the Railroad Kitten Binch.) Chester died in 1992 from Feline Urological Syndrome (feed your cats good quality food!) We got Chessie as a kitten a few months later so now we figure she's 12 give or take a bit. That means she is by far our oldest cat right now and we're spoiling her rotten (she gets to sleep with us now and she gets her very own can of tuna every evening - especially good for her since she has no fangs!)
February 17, 2005
I had forgotten what a pain it can be to get new bikes. Cardboard boxes everywhere. It was just strange that *both* of us were on hand when the trucks pulled up. Just a note to the driver bringing the Raleigh bikes: If you knock on the door that long, why not just walk around the front and announce you're back AT THE WRONG DOOR (our dock is on the far side of the building.) Also, I think the idiots who loaded the truck cannot read (or at least can't read English.) All the boxes were on their side, the "This End Up" and "Bikes must be shipped upright" labels were utterly ignored. Anyway, I popped all sorts of nice digital pictures of the loads as they arrived. If the bikes are damaged I can fall back on that.
Yes, I'm a ranter. I complain. Well, they say the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Only problem with that is when a wheel squeaks too loud it gets yanked off and replaced.
Maybe now with 29 new bikes hitting the floor people will quit asking us if we're going out of business (the "For Lease" sign out front doesn't help.) I need a T-shirt that reads "No, we're not closing, we're moving...No, I don't know where we're moving to, we're still looking." Then again, people don't read stuff so it'd just be a waste of money.
February 16, 2005
I would like for somebody to explain to me how I can go to bed feeling perfectly fine then wake up the next morning with my knee killing me. I didn't strain myself yesterday! With the exception of a short ride on my bike (interrupted by a fit of coughing) I spent the day in my office chair. It's not such a painful thing, only a sort of weak feeling that causes me to limp slightly. Maybe it's the weather. It's damp, moist, slick, yucky, thick outside. Despite this we've got the silly weathermen telling us we're desperately in need of rain. Maybe the local farmers need to come sop up my yard. The grass is winter-dead and the mud is deep!
Dinner time came and went and my knee is still hurting me. For once I'd like to get off in time but somebody came in and proceeded to buy and expensive bike right at closing time. I sit around on my hands half the day and the people willing to spend money wait until they're taking my time to do it.
February 15, 2005
It's my birthday. Can't take a special day off since it's already my day off. Damn. On top of that my wife has to work - they've changed the way they give them days off - meaning they just plain don't have any except for the vacation weeks they have to plan months ahead. It used to be they had 7 personal days which generally could be asked for a week in advance. The new owners went back to the old fashioned way of giving them most of the major holidays off, plus two spare days that just about have to be saved for doctor's appointments, etc. All in all it just means that I'm sitting here alone in the house playing with the internet (with crappy connections) on my birthday. Haven't heard from my parents since Sunday, but they've got bad colds (like I had last week - they didn't get it from me!) I'm still waiting for a bunch of goodies - like drop down holsters and the like to finish a couple figures.
2-14-2005
Well, if you're one of the few who actually read my blog, you'll notice it's been inverted. Might as well make it easier for you to keep up with the latest and greatest in my life. I know you care, you really do.
A note about figures. Well, maybe a rant. I got my Dragon Models "Walt" USMC Force Recon figure today. Lots of great stuff with this one, and a great head sculpt to boot. There are two things that really turn me off about this figure. One is his arms. He's meant to wear a short sleeved shirt, so instead of the triple ganged joints of a normal DML figure, he has bendy rubber arms. They just don't look right and they don't bend like they really should. I don't mind seeing the hinges, I'd rather he be able to hold a rifle properly. I'm taking care of it by putting the body on another figure (who is wearing long sleeves anyway. The other gripe has to do with the clothing of the figure. He's wearing a T-shirt with a body armor vest. It just doesn't look right to me. I think they should have included the proper uniform top and left it to the modeler whether to leave him in just the T or not. Anyway, it won't matter in the end as I've ordered him a Tiger-stripe DCU.
2-05-2005
Well, if you call sleeping until 7:30 late...
My head is so stopped up I can't sleep.
2-4-2005
I hate having a damned cold. Nose is running, head pounding, throat sore, things don't taste right. On top of that we were pretty busy today (I bet I was a sight!) Once again, somebody rolled in right before closing AND WANTED TO FINANCE A BIKE....GAHHHHH! I wish I could get home before seven!
I'm sleeping late tomorrow.
2-2-2005
Okay, the overfed rat has seen his shadow again. Come on people, for once let Phil come out and play.
All right, enough about groundhog day. Now I need to rant about something else. Just can't think of anything to torque me at the moment (no, I'm not watching the State of the Union address.) Found out today that Star Trek : Enterprise has been cancelled. Sad, but no big surprise. Despite the stories getting so much better, not many more people cared and that means more to the network than the quality of the the show.
I'm getting a little disgusted with one of the 1:6 scale vendors I deal with. I mean, he's only a few miles away, but he won't allow local pickup and I have to wait for him to take time to mail me what I've ordered (and he's taken the money via PayPal already!)
Work was a bit nicer - got a really big order from a warehouse. They use adult trikes to get around and from time to time they need work. $600+ parts orders are easy to take - more profit than on bikes.
2-1-2005
The Geekification of Natalie continues. She's finally using FrontPage but there is a huge learning curve with it. I really do feel it is her best option because it has the most control of her site without adding other junk. I gave her a copy of this page to show her a much simpler way of doing it.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues apace. I've assembled the Triforce of Courage and I've gained access to Ganon's Tower but I've got some treasure/junk gathering in front of me before I tackle the final dungeon.
1-26-05
Got the sad news today that one of the founding members of our little "Evil Chat Cabal" has passed away. Steve Christianson was part of the bunch who were meeting on ICQ those many (well, 5) years ago who finally made the migration to IRC. He'll be sorely missed. Toward the end of his life he took immense joy in his two little nieces. Here he is with one of them
Rest in Peace 'Unky Steve' I hope you find Valhalla
1-21-05
I think people have finally come to the realization that it is January. After a full week of ice-box temps we've finally slowed WAY down. I rearranged the store a little bit to give us more room and still appear full. Had to be done, considering we've got about 115 bikes left now instead of over 300.
1-10-05
The truck is behaving so far today. If the light comes back I'll just put it on an analyzer somewhere. I also got the wheel fixed and installed a spoke protector. The Fancy Mavic SP was making noise so I had to use a normal one.
Going to the doctor tomorrow. Yeesh I hate doing that
1-9-05
Not turning out to be very good day. I didn't get much sleep with my bursitis acting up. Drove to the store to pick up groceries and my truck started acting up. Starting was real weak and I got a check engine light briefly. When I parked it the engine was revving too high, though it seemed to clear up once I stopped and restarted it. If it keeps up I'll have to transfer some money and get it looked at. Crap
I finally went out to test ride my cruiser. Damned chain skipped off and ruined some of the spokes, so it's down until I can fix it. Double crap!
1-7-05
Yep, I don't work on my blog very much. I'm up to 8 bikes now. Got a Raleigh 600 and put most of the goodies from the Cadex on it. It tried some different setups with the Cadex but came right back to drop bars. Finally put some new wheels on my cruiser. Doing that, I made it into a 24 speed, but I screwed up a classic XT rear derailleur in the process. Put a new 9 speed XT on it and with some treaking that made it work.
We're still looking for a new location for the store. I've found a spot in the NoDa area (a funky, artsy type neighborhood) I think they could use a small bike shop there! The rent sounds good!
9-22-04
Stopped for gas on the way to work and tried to start my truck. The battery was kaput. Somehow the stereo had enough juice to eject the CD. Since it was pinkish red, it looked like the truck was sticking its tongue out at me.
The new RaceFace crank for my Cadex came in today - absolutely perfect. The seatpost for my Rockhopper came too but the new seat isn't in yet.
9-05-04
Okay, so everyone says I'm supposed to have a blog. Well, here goes.
The big deal of the day was buying new pots and pans. SWMBO has been after me to replace the old "Visions" cookware for a while, especially considering my inner cheek got cut on a bit that chipped off a lid. I got some really nice KitchenAid stuff in a nice shade of red. Hey, I really do most of the cooking so it's got to be something I like.
Since I was getting something for "Her" I decided to treat myself to a new wireless optical mouse. Neat! Didn't really need it but it's nice all the same.
Well, maybe if the store is quiet tomorrow I'll post some more
TTFN