Triple Bypass, Triple Chainring
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Last weekend I went on a bicycle ride along the peak to peak highway in Colorado. The old scenic bypass is a great north-south route between Black Hawk and Estes Park, and it offers great views of Long's Peak and surrounding beauties. I was fortunate enough to acquire a new(er) road bike for bike season 2007: a Lemond Alpe D'Huez. After a few rides up the local hill, I thought this baby was light enough and I had legs enough to take the Triple Bypass.
The Peak to Peak Highway told me a different story, a short story, a one-word story: NO. To make a short story long, then, tonight a good friend and I, using a 14 inch 3 pound framing hammer and a slotted screwdriver, changed out the bottom bracket and added a triple chainring to the Lemond. 10,000 feet of lung busting elevation gain? Here I come!
Labels: bicycles, colorado, projects
written by Eric Mills at 00:21 
Benefits of a Restless Brother
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
No one has ever accused Eric of being too calm, or sitting still too much. He is the person that presses every button and opens all compartments when getting into a car (OK, I do this too). Given a few minutes with a bike, he will either have fixed everything wrong with it, or caused everything on it to fall off. Lend him your laptop for a moment, and all your saved passwords are cleared and 3 new programs are installed (admittedly useful ones).
But I have to say there are benefits of having a restless brother. Especially when you confine him in the middle of nowhere in West Virgina. Under these circumstances he is left with little to do, so after borrowing your bike, using your laptop, and mowing your lawn, he is bound to start a project of some sort. In this case it was helping me organize my garage. I think the results speak for themselves:
Thanks Eric! See the results of the whole project.
written by Brian C. Mills at 09:45
Black, White, and Orange All-Over
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
12 Bottles of wine11 Home cooked meals
10 Loads of laundry
9 Family members
8 Types of Christmas cookies
7 Pounds gained
6 Appearances by the kitten
5 Stupid penguin jokes
4 Days of skiing
3 Days of snowshoeing
2 Blizzards
1 Snow-woman with a blinking red nose...
Labels: blizzard, colorado, holidays, projects, snow
written by Eric Mills at 22:03
$40.00 and Change for a Workbench Made with Opa's Tools
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Your supplies | Your cost:10) 96'' 2x4s | $19.60
1) strange long piece of plywood from the "cull" bin at homo-depot | $0.51 but the lady didn't charge us.
2) more strange things from the cull bin | $1.70 but the lady didn't charge us.
1) piece of peg board | $9.95
1) package of pegboard thingies | $1.99
1) 5/8" plywood for workbench top | $8.99
1 ea.) 3/4" 2 1/2" 3" coarse thread drywall screws | ~$4.00 a box
1) cat to get in the way | immeasurably annoying.
1) beautiful wife to help you measure | priceless.
A few hours later, and with a sore wrist from drilling, you have a really sturdy workbench that was your wife's idea (only if your wife is as cool as mine). There is a kit you can purchase from Home Despot for $60.00 that has 1/3 the space and neat things that this $40.00 homemade one has.
Interested in building your own workbench? This workbench is open source. View the progress, start to finish here.
Labels: howto, malwart/homodespot, opa, projects
written by Eric Mills at 00:39
I Am My Father's Son
Monday, August 28, 2006
OK, so it is time to come out of the closet on this issue: despite how my brother and I incessantly make fun of my father generally (and specifically for being anal-retentive), especially when it comes to his tools and how electronic equipment is wired (and tied), I found myself following in his footsteps when it came time to set up my HDTV, DVD player, and laptop docking station.
Thanks to Mal-Wart, I now have 650 nylon cable ties which, as the picture illustrates, I applied in a very similar manner to how my dad would have.
I know, I know... I have a problem, but at least when I roll my TV around the cords don't get tangled.
So the first step is admitting I have a problem. I have come to believe that a Power greater than myself can restore my sanity...
Until I finish the 12 step program for nylon tie freaks, at least I have a decent supply.
Labels: dad, malwart/homodespot, projects
written by Brian C. Mills at 16:24
