Carving Away.


Skylar telling me what he wants to make.


Trying to figure out the perfect pumpkin face.


The perfect pumpkins.

Skylar helped me get the garden area in order for winter. It's always sort of sad to see things go when the growing time is over for everything. But, there is always next year to get things growing again and it seems every year we have a garden it just gets better and better. 

It's a great way to teach Skylar to appreciate things as well.

But, that's okay, the older I get, the wiser I become. 

1. Plumas-Sierra Bicycle Club's Quincy Cranks Ride (Quincy, CA): 20-50 miles at a social pace; usually hilly. This group meets at the Dame Shirley Plaza on Tuesday. Contact Tom Frady at tdfrady@digitalpath.net

2. Cycling Spoken Here's Wednesday Ladies Only Ride (Cary, NC): 90-minute ride for women about 15-18 mph. This group meets every Wednesday at Cycling Spoken Here, 1377 NW Maynard Rd. at 6 p.m.. Contact them right on their website.

3. POF Secret Sunday Ride (Palm Harbor, FL): 55-60 miles, including 7 miles on the Upper Tampa Bay trail; 20 -16 mph. This group meets at the East Lake Publix at 8:27 a.m.. Contact them at dollarbillk@gmal.com.

4. Wednesday Mountain Bike Ride (Phoenix, AZ): 4-mile road warm-up to Dreamy trailhead then 1 hour of trail riding, 2 skill groups. This group meets at Slippery Pig Bike Shop at 5036 North Central Avenue at 7 p.m. Contact them right on their website.

5. Southbay Cruisers Ride (California): Themed nighttime cruises through Southern California beach towns, bring your lights. This group meets the 3rd Friday of every month. Contact them right on their site.

6. J&S Bike Rides through Town and Beyond (Lebanon, OR): This group ride ins based right in Lebanon and includes town rides as well as country road rides, some hills and some long distance rides as well. This group meets every other Friday. Contact Jeff or Shelly at jands_rides@yahoo.com or contact them right off their site.

7. Wednesday Night Webster No-Drop Road Ride (Webster Groves, MO): 16 miles with moderate hills and wide roads, no drops. This group meets at Webster Groves Bread Co. 211 West Lockwood Rd. at 6 p.m. Contact them right off their site.

8. Tampa Bay Freewheeler's Stanly Breakfast Ride (Seffner, Florida): 23 flat round-trip to Buddy Freddy's Family Restaurant. This group meets at Seffner Elementary School, 109 Cactus Rd. on Saturday at 7:45 a.m.. Contact them right off their site.

• Materials needs:

2-2x4s (12 feet long)
1-2x6 (8 feet long)
1-2x2 (4 feet long)
1-20x48 inch pieces of 3/4 inch plywood
124 deck screws (2 inches long)
8 deck screws (3-1/2 inches long)
8 deck screws (4-1/2 inches long)

Be sure and use good-grade lumber, for your sawhorse to be sturdy.

• How to construct:

1. Make a 10 inch mark from the corner of one leg of a right angel. One the other leg, make a mark 24-1/2 inches and another 30 inches from the corner. At the 30 inch mark, draw a line perpendicular to the leg itself.

2. Position a 2x4 with one corner on the 10 inch mark and the opposite edge aligned with the 24-1/2 inch mark. Draw a line on the 2x4 with a straight edge or a carpenter's square.

3. Use the same straight edge or carpenters square and draw lines positions with one side directly above the vertical edge of the right angle at the 30 inches mark and the other die directly above the line drawn perpendicular to that side of the right angle.

4. The 2x4 is now marked and ready to be cut. Using the dimensions in these instructions, the angle at the bottom and the top of the leg is 75 degrees, but this angle will change with other dimension. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to create the remaining seven legs.

5. Position the leg at the end of the 2x6 beam, it should be 40 inches long, and drive a 4-1/2 inch screw through the leg into the beam 1-1/2 inches from the top.

6. Turn the sawhorse over and drive a 3-1/2 inch screw through the beam and into the leg 3/4 of an inch up from the bottom of the beams.

7. Turn the sawhorse again and remove the 1st screw and pivot the leg and the remaining screw until the leg is parallel to the beam. Position a second leg, opposite the first, and drive 2 3-1/2 inch screws through the beam and into the 2nd leg. Locate one screw next to the horizontal leg and the other about 2-inches below the top edge of the beam.

8. Rotate the first leg back into position and replace the screw you removed to tighten both. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for each of the 3 remaining sets of legs.

9. Position a 9-inch wide pieces of 3/4-inch plywood so that is top edge rests against the beams bottom edge and is even with the side. Drive 2-inch screws through the plywood and into each leg.

10. Mark the plywood along both outside edges of the legs. Remove the screw and saw to the lines. Using the piece as a pattern, saw three more pieces the same size.

11. Fasten the plywood to the legs with 12-2-inch screws. Draw a vertical line from each of the corners of the beam on the lower side. To make the braces; cut 8 right triangles with 10-1/2 inches legs from the 3/4 inch plywood stock. Cut four 2x2s about 9 1.2 inches long with one end square and the other end a 45 degree angle.

12. Using two 2-inch screws fasten one of the cut 2x2s between the lines drawn underneath the beams.

13. From the other side, drive three 2-inch screws through the plywood brace and into the 2x2.

14. Using a 2-inch screw, fasten the triangle piece to the beam and the 2x2.

15. Fasten a second triangle to the other side and repeat steps 11-15 with the remaining legs, beans, 2x2 and plywood braces.

And you’re done. That's it. If you need a better step by step guide, visit here.

1. Tires: Look for signs of wear and damage.

2. Spokes: Check for bends or breaks.

3. Rims: Check for cracks or bulging spoke holes.

4. Freewheel: Take to the road and pedal head in each gear to check for skipping gears.

5. Rear Derailleur: Put the bike on a stand and check the derailleur for proper operation while you pedal the bike with your hand.

6. Crank set and Bottom Bracket: Creaking noises in this area are due to a loose chain ring or crank arm and the bolts.

7. Front Derailleur: Put the bike on a stand and check its operation.

8. Chain: A dozen links, pin to pin should measure no more than 12 1/8 inches.

9. Headset: With both wheels on the ground, squeeze the front brake while you rock the bike back and forth any sound is not good.

10. Pedals: Rotate each one by hand and feel for roughness that would require having them repacked with grease.

11. Handlebar: Does the stems and bar creak?

12. Frame and Fork: Closely inspect tube junctions, particularly under the down tube where it meets the head tube.

13. Brakes: Squeeze each lever and look inside its body at the cable, if it's frayed, replace it.

14. Hubs: Remove each wheel, and grasp its axle, and check for looseness.

Here's how:

First things first and you must designate which area of your home is going to used for the "man cave", such as a basement, an attic a back spare room, a den area, or maybe even a pool room off the house or a shed off the house. Then comes the process of making into the cave it needs to be for you and your interest. Of course your wife's help is greatly appreciated since it will be a place where she won't have to deal with you or your buddies. Here are the following steps in order to create the "man cave" of dreams.

1. Be sure and get the walls finished. If this is going to be in an unfinished basement or shed, you don't want to be freezing cold during football season. So finish the walls with dry wall or framing if that is needed. You can do this all yourself or you can hire someone to finish the walls for you. Of course doing it your self saves you money but hiring someone saves you time. So which ever one is more important to you.

2. Finish the wiring and run the wiring. You will need a television so get a big one. This is going to be the main focal point in the "man cave" so go big. Plus you will need lighting if the area doesn't already have enough lighting and some extra outlets to make sure if someone brings over a portable electronics of any kind you have the extra outlets to cover it. Plus consider investing in good speaker systems and maybe surround sound.

3. Provide the refreshments. If you are a beer drinker or liquor drinker consider a wet bar or a refrigerator converted into a keg refrigerator. You can make one yourself or you can buy one that has already been made into one. If you drink wine then consider a wine keeper. Aren't you glad you installed those extra outlets now?

4. You will need to invest in a pantry as well. Men get hungry yelling at refs on the television so install a shelving system with doors on it or have a cabinet installed above the wet bar. This will allow for easy access to the snacks as well as keep the snack from cluttering the wet bar. Got to have the room for the beer right?

5. Invest in quality made furniture. A sectional, if you have the space, works great for lots of seating but you can go with all arm chairs if you prefer. You can get durable, quality made arm chairs at a good furniture retailer for as little as $250 a chair and nothing speaks more man than a big screen TV, an ice cold beer and a recliner to lay back in while the game is on.

6. If you have the extra money, consider installing an extra bathroom. Because what woman wants her husband's buddies traipsing through her clean, tidy, sanctuary?  Crazy women and their areas of the house, they call their own.  That's just silly! 

I got help from the boy with this task! 









 

I had recently read in Bicycling Magazine about the best cities to ride your bike in. It also had listed the worst, most improved, future, and best in the world. Not very surprising to me two of the best cities in the United States are very close to where I live in the northwest. Even though it rains a lot here in the winter and spring. The summer and fall are great for riding your bike in Oregon or Washington. According to Bicycling here are the 5 best bike friendly cities in the U.S.

1. Portland, OR
2. Seattle, WA
3. Chicago, IL
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Boulder, CO

Here is another interesting fact.

Think about this: A street must be 12 lanes wide to accommodate 40,000 car commuters per hour, but only 1 lane wide to handle the same number of cyclists. (Bicycling Magazine June 2008)

The other list of cities that Bicycling list in its June 2008 issue is as follows.

The Worst

1. Dallas, TX
2. Memphis, TX
3. Miami, FL

Most Improved

1. Washington DC
2. Louisville, KY
3. New York City
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. San Jose, CA

Future

1. Boston, MA
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Columbus, OH
5. Fargo-Moorhead, ND

And if you are ever traveling abroad and you like to ride bikes here are the 8 best bike friendly cities according to Bicycling Magazine.

1. Amsterdam, Netherland
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Melbourne, Australia
4. Montreal, Canada
5. Bogota, Columbia
6. Paris, France
7. Barcelona, Spain
8. Berlin, Germany

I remember when I was a kid. It was not uncommon to hop on your bike and ride it over to a friends house. Then ride down to the market or all around town. But now it is so easy to hop in the car to go to the store. I think this summer I am going to ride my bike for more of these little short trips for milk and stuff like that. Not only will it give me good exercise but I will save money and gas. With the way gas prices are now days. But it will also be good for the environment. We have become a society that relies to much on the vehicles. Just remember the most important thing to ride your bike you helmet and lights for safety and always follow the rules of the road to get along with the people in their cars.

Ever gone to replace a car battery and end up exhausted in the end and want to kick the shit out of the car tires? Here's what I know about replacing the car battery without making your back hurt.

You should first protect your eyes from battery acid and the sparks with a pair of work gloves and splash proof polycarbonate goggles (work shades). And above all, make sure the car is off, moron. Just take the keys out of the ignition to be safe.

1. Unscrew the bracket that bolt the battery in place. Use a wrench to loosen the bolts of the negative terminal; then remove the clamp. Repeat with the positive terminal. Do not let the wrench touch both terminals at the same time or your hair will look like Flock of Seagulls or worse, Emmett Brown. And it will HURT!

2. Carefully lift out the battery. Mix 1 tsp of baking soda with 1 pint of water. Dip a toothbrush, an old one, not your wife’s. I know you're tempted, I was. (kidding), in the baking soda mix and scrub off any corrosion covering the terminals of the battery clamps and the tray. Dry it off with a rag.

3. Place the new battery in the tray, make sure that the positives and negatives are facing in the correct direction. Screw on the brackets to hold the battery down. You don't want your battery to fall out. That would suck.

4. Put some petroleum jelly (my wife would be so upset with the use of the product), but it helps to keep the battery terminals from corroding. Place the clamps back on their proper terminals and wrench the bolts tight. Again don't touch the terminals together with the wrench. Start the car. Be sure and recycle your old battery. I take mine to the local auto-supply store and they even pay you. Imagine that.




Here's how to jump start a dead battery.

A. Make sure that both cars are turned off. Connect one end of the red, the pos. to the end of the staled car batteries red terminal and the other to your car battery (the good battery).

B. Connect one end of the black, negative jumper cable to the neg. terminal of the good battery. Then connect the other black, neg. cable to a clean, unpainted metal surface under the disabled car’s hood. Do not connect the other negative cable to the negative terminal of the dead battery. It will and could cause a serious explosion of the battery.

C. Start the car that's doing the jumping, and allow it to run for 2 to 3 minutes before starting the disabled vehicle.

D. Remove the cables in reverse order as you put them on. Be sure to keep the just-jumped car running for at least 30 minutes to give the battery sufficient time to recharge itself. Then get in your car and be proud that you take care of your car better than the last guy.