Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Oh...I'm still here.
Been crazy busy the last few weeks.
Stay tuned...photos of the kids to follow.
Back to work. If you need to feel my presence...go to IM
kevin@pixelslap.com


Sunday, February 12, 2006
So this new bike of mine has become a much bigger chalenge than I expected. You see, I ordered a simple frame with no fork. The idea being that I would take most of the components from my current bike and swap them over. Well...with the exception of the crankset...which I've been quietly assembling from Ebay for the last 2 months. The crankset was more complicated than anticipated...I always wanted a Shimano Dura Ace Crankset...and I found a decent one in California for $15. So I get it shipped here and it turns out that is needs these special pedals and only they will fit. So I start a search for the pedals...I find a pair in California, I pick them up for $10 bucks. Then I find out that you can buy a special adapter for regular pedals...so I order that ($30). Now that I don't need the special pedals, I sell those. Then I find a set of the same cranks in London that are essentially unused and sitting in the back of a bike shop for 25 years...I buy those($40). And you guessed it...sold the old cranks. Turns out the chainrings I have won't fit the cranks...and of course are impossible to find anywhere...except for a great bike shop in Toronto that has them specially made in Taiwan...order that. My rear wheel hub is too wide for the frame...nothing to buy here, just need to remove some spacers on the axle and I should be good to go. I go to replace the fork this weekend. Turn out mine is a 1" and the frame needs a 1 1/8". My options are too make some kind of adapter...because I really like this fork and it would be "da bomb" on the new bike, or get a new fork. I think I'm going to get a new fork...order that. ETA on the assembled bike...likely another month.
I have a new appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into putting a bike together...it may appear like a simple machine, but there is a lot of crap that has to come together to make it sing.


Friday, February 10, 2006
I've come to realize that I have this weird phobia about leaving my shopping list lying around once I've done my groceries. Its like some stranger is going to form some kind of profile of me by reconstituting the unique and random things on the list...like some form of DNA. I often considered leaving a disclaimer on my list noting that I buy my fruits and veggies at another store...and thats why I have such a dairy/frozen food skew. I do delight in finding wayward lists at the store and doing exactly what I fear. The other day I found a list that read;

1. Milk
2. Bread

Thats it! At first I just liked the simplicity of it. Then I started to ponder the type of person who can't remember two things to get at the store. And even worse, two seminal grocery getting things.


Thursday, February 02, 2006
It seems like all the other kids are doing it...

Four things
Four jobs I've had;
1.Pizza box folder- At the age of 13 or so, I started my career in the Pizza business as a box folder. These boxes were stapled rather than tabbed. I was paid by the box rather than the hour; so I could swing in after school and whip up a zillion boxes in an hour. The bosses were amazed by my speed and would often just sit down and watch me blast thru them. I eventually worked my way up to pizza cook.
2. Sales Associate in a jeans store- Beat the hell out of the back room of the pizza place.
3. Sales Associate in a Menswear store- I learned to be a shrewed judge of people's emotions and motivations. Nothing like selling a suit to a guy who doesn't want one and would rather be anywhere else.
4. Draftsman- For a developer in Gatineau. I was so broke, I had to ride my bike 50kms each way to get there.


Movies I can watch over and over;
1. Back to the Future
2. Swingers
3. Blast from Past
4. Mighty Wind


Four Places I've Lived
1. Ottawa
2. Another place in Ottawa
3. Rome, Italy
4. Another place in Ottawa



Four TV shows I love;
1. American Hot Rod
2. American Chopper
3. Cops
4. Survivor



Four Places I've Vacationed;
1.The Greek Islands
2.Egypt
3.Paris (on several occasions)
4.Kyoto and Tokyo


Four of My Favourite Dishes
1.Meatball platter at the Prescott
2.Bagel w/ cream cheese and a side of fries at the elgin Street Cafe
3.Italian sausage in tomato cream sauce that Lainy makes
4.tie- Greek sandwich with fries from the latin quarter in Paris, or Gyro from the Plaka in Athens.


Four sites I visit daily
1.Dooce.com
2.Metafilter.com
3.Bikeforums.net
4.Hissyfit.com


Four Places I'd rather be Right Now
1.Not Ottawa
2.Paris
3.San Francisco
4.Toronto




Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Not much to add...maybe I'll make it point form
-My Kanata gig is over...thank god. They handed over a tidy little check.
-The manhut is in service; today is the first full day.
-My new bike frame is ready and I'll be building it up over the next few weeks. I've been systematically buying vintage bike parts on ebay and will have a sweet retro flavoured ride. Most of the stuff is Dura Ace; the stuff I could never afford when I was a younger, more serious bike rider.
-Man..I can't believe the projects that are plopping down on my lap, mostly leads at the moment, but if even half come thru it'll be a good year.