The Thursday Night School Project.

So I had assumed the position on the couch after a long day on the job. Dinner was good and I'm thinking of some college football. No teams that I really care about but I can't be choosy on Thursday night. My son comes in and asks if I could help him with his math (so I thought). I asked him what kind of math and he says, "Not math, MASK". He reminded me that he had a project due at school the following day. Mask? Oh, I remember now, World War 1 gas mask. They are studying WWI, you've heard about that, it was in all the text books. He also told me that it had to be made out of things found around the house. Yeah, right.

Following a hefty sigh, I slowly moved off the couch and the two of us headed down stairs to look for bits and pieces to make a gas mask. The junk er… project room should have what we need. We started looking through the boxes of stuff and began picking out the possible items. After a few minutes of looking we had found a pair of safety goggles, plastic bowl, canteen, camouflage duct tape, hot melt glue gun, and a flexible hose that makes sound when you twirl it over your head.

As projects go, this came together pretty quickly. About a half an hour later we emerged from the basement with a genuine WW1 Gas mask. It’s surprising what you can come up with sometimes.

Now back to the game!

Recycled DVD Holder

Saturday morning found our family doing some cleaning and organizing around the house. My wife noted we had a large stack of DVD's in the front room. She looked at me, in a way I understood to mean, that it was now my problem. Glancing at the pile, I remembered a project on the internet using some old shutters. I thought of my junk room and knew there were some old wooden shutters and barn wood hiding some where in the well organized chaos. Not much of a basis for a project, but what the heck.

I quickly grabbed the "junk" and headed to the workshop. About an hour later I emerged with our new DVD holder. Cost? $0 and we saved something from the landfill. Can't beat that! The best part is my wife loved it. There are some things that I would do differently if I had to build it again (so whats new) but overall it was a nice quick project.

Get Bent

I was downstairs in our junk room the other day looking for something to complete another project when I saw the old frame in the corner. It was a bike... years ago. Well I guess it still is technically, but it has been cannibalized for other projects. (This must be an illness). It is not just any bike frame, it is a one of a kind, because I built it. It was about ten years ago and the last big project I completed prior to moving out of California. It is the second of two bikes that I have built from scratch. Both of them were recumbent bikes. Neither were perfect but both were a blast to ride.

I tried riding "regular" bikes over the years but never enjoyed the numb hands and sore crotch that developed after a few minutes of "fun". I started looking around for options and soon found the answer, the recumbent bike. The problem was that the cost of recumbent bikes was significantly more than the groin grinders. I brooded for a few days and decided why not build my own. I'd never built a bike before but gee, that's never stopped me before. Over the next week or two, I found a couple of free bikes as parts donors. I rented some oxygen and acetylene tanks and began to create. What resulted was a long wheelbase (LWB) style recumbent with under-seat steering.

The first "ride" was VERY interesting but I soon got the hang of it and it became quite natural to ride. No numb crotch no numb hands, I was sold! I began to get other ideas. One was a front wheel drive, foldable recumbent. I did build it but it was too ungainly and was quickly scrapped. The LWB recumbent was great for long straight distances but not for around the neighborhood. I just had to have a short wheelbase (SWB) recumbent. This next one was going to be built from scratch.

I called a local supplier of aircraft steel tubing and several days later I was welding together a new bike out of 4130 cro-moly tubing. This from a rough sketch on a piece of paper. It took about a month to build, but was great fun right from the start. Definitely not an off-road bike though. It did not do well with loose gravel. (Don't ask how I found that out.)

Well the bike was placed in storage after our move and slowly lost its identity to other projects as mentioned before. Recently I decided to return it to service reasoning I needed to get back into shape (yeah, right. Anything for another project even if it is a re-do).
I have been riding a little lately and remember now why I originally chose to Get Bent.

If you are interested in weird and wonderful homebuilt human powered vehicles try this site: http://www.ihpva.org/

Got Money? Now Leave it in Vegas.

I just got back from several days in Sin City. Not that I love going to Las Vegas, but that's where the conference was and since I need yearly continuing education that's where I went.

I know we keep hearing about how nobody has any money but someone forgot to tell the people in Lost Wages, Nevada. From the time I got off the plane to the time I left, there was a never ending line of people happily handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for various forms of entertainment. (What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?) The only thing I left there was... my desire to return. I walked one end of The Strip to the other and not once saw a good tool store. Who needs Gucci, Armani, and the rest of theses high priced stores? Now I admit that tools are not on the minds of most people visiting Vegas. But, gee work with me here! Whats this world coming to?
Las Vegas has grown to be a smoke-filled, overcrowded, noisy and obnoxious city that forces erotic themes at you at every opportunity. From the people pushing "hot girls" cards at you as you walk down the street to the signs on every cab and billboard in the city. Each promising you everything that you could desire (and some things you don't).
I'll take that last statement back. I actually saw a cab that had a sign advertising a place selling"extra-wide shoes". How did that ringer get in there? The driver of this cab must have committed some type of crime. He drives around pushing the benefits of wide shoes while his buddies bask in the glow of neon signs proclaiming hot girls in various forms of undress. These girls are years away from worrying about comfortable shoes!
You are just getting old you say? That may be right. But on the other hand I left NO secrets in Vegas!
When I got home I remembered what really matters most. The long list of things that broke while I was gone. Now where did I leave my tool bag?

Tears for the Teardrop

A few years ago I was surfing the cyber sea and found a site on teardrop trailers. These were popular small trailers in the late 40's and 50's. They sleep two quite cozily and have a back hatch that opens up into a kitchenette. They are regaining some of their popularity. Instantly I fell in love.
I spent the next week or two finding-out everything I could on the little teardrops. I even saw a TV program on them (Travel Channel?) I decided I just couldn't live without one. Sound familiar? Sure I could probably buy one but where is the fun in that? I decided to take the plunge. I ordered some plans and went to organize the workshop for the next assault (project).
I finally received the plans and studied them every opportunity. I realized that I was going to need more tools (metal cut-off saw, welder, angle grinder, etc). A small steel yard was discovered near my work and I was soon heading home with enough rectangular tubing to build the frame.

Over the next several days I welded the frame and purchased axle, wheels and springs. I had decided early not to use the small utility trailer wheels and went with the same wheels and tires that were on our family assault vehicle (mini-van). The plywood framing was next. It was starting to look like something!


Insulation and aluminum skin came next. To make a long story short it was completed in about 4 months. I was able to get it registered 3 days before making the 1800 mile round-trip to Oshkosh, WI for Airventure 2004. Yes I'm an airplane fanatic as well. We had numerous compliments on her during our week there.

Well things change and I have moved on to other interests and the little trailer has sat in our garage for 4 years. Only getting out for the odd campout. Two weeks ago I decided to sell her. Even though we didn't use her much, my eyes became a little misty as her new owner pulled out of our driveway promising her new adventures. I hope he treats her nice.

The Beginning

Every journey has a first step and this is mine. Just to bring you up to speed, here is some background.

The morning my wife told me that we weren't going to be "just a couple" any more; numerous things ran through my head. Excitement quickly changed to fear as I realized how inadequately prepared I was to be a dad. The FUN part of this DIY project was over but there was much more work to be done. Most men in this situation have to fight back the urge to go buy a baseball glove. Me on the other hand, began thinking about all the stuff my “mini-me” and I could build together. What would be our first project? Which tools would he (or she) need first? Whoa, wait just a minute, there was plenty of time for all that. My mind was racing now. I guess we need to schedule Lamaze classes, buy or (better yet) build furniture for the “guest room” in our apartment. Decide on regular or disposable diapers and join the nearest La Leche League chapter.

My wife patiently waited while I planned out the next several years and suggested we may want to call our parents about the news. Good idea! Always there to bring me down to earth! The rest of the morning was spent running up the long distance phone bill.

The months past too quickly for me and not quickly enough for my wife, who needed help rolling over in bed and tying her shoes for the last several weeks of her pregnancy. Then one morning she was laying there next to me and said her water broke. I said “yeah, right”, while half asleep. She gently took my hand and had me feel the mattress. “Your water broke!” I screamed and jumped out of bed. She insisted on taking a shower before we left for the hospital. Later that day, she had a C-section and the final phase of our “project” began. The anesthesiologist said our son already looked like a fullback.

My wife and son would be in the hospital for about 3 days. This was twenty years ago. Now, I think they pat you on the head and give you a sack lunch for the drive home on the same day. Well, maybe not, but I think the HMO’s have considered it.

On the way home from the hospital, with all the confidence of a man that had just “discovered” fatherhood, I decided it was a good time to grab a quick bite to eat (is there ever a bad time to eat?). Unfortunately, I discovered the joys of food poisoning and had to be content with listening to my son cry over the phone in between QUICK interruptions.

Discharge day soon arrived and my wife and I were driving home on Christmas Eve with our son sleeping soundly in the car seat. We arrived at our apartment and when we finally closed the door and sat on the couch we looked first at the “bundle of joy” and then at each other and thought, oh crap, what do we do now?