Something From Nothing Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

One of my tenants came into the office last week to tell me that his live-in girlfriend had moved out and cheated on him, not necessarily in that order. In what I assume was a fit of rage, he threw out her comic book collection and her clothing. The clothing was terrible and I know nothing about comics. I had figured I would give him until trash day to reconsider. When the comics were still there yesterday, I grabbed them and listed one of the thicker books on ebay. It sold today for $24.95.

Nice guy. I feel sorry for him.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

When I first moved to California my little brother, who was ten-years-old at the time, sent me this birthday card. For about a decade we sent it back and forth. My mother sent it twice as a Christmas card so she added to the little tidbits inside. Then we started traveling and the card disappeared. Last month I was paging through an old journal and found it, so I put it back in circulation by sending it to the daughter of that same brother for her third birthday. They immediately sent it back for Mrs. Ego's birthday.

Who said family heirlooms have to be expensive?

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

We have a small two cup coffee press that has proven insufficient when entertaining. Today I found a nice Mr. Coffee in the trash. Tested. It works perfectly.

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Kriegsspiel
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Ego has convinced me that if I ever need to outfit a house, I should just go to California and pick through the trash.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Three tenants moved out last week. One left a gamma seal lidded bucket and some Ball jars. Another, a female pro volleyball player left a massive bag full of volleyball clothing. I was taking the Wilderness First Responder course last week and took the bag of clothing to class. We were doing a bunch of accident simulations where we had to alternate between rescuer and victim. The victim got their clothes cut off. So a group of us dressed in women's volleyball clothing for the sim. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

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C40
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by C40 »

... a bunch of guys who just met, dressing up in women's volleyball clothes, and then cutting them off of each-other...

Sounds legit. :-D :-D

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

C40 wrote:... a bunch of guys who just met, dressing up in women's volleyball clothes, and then cutting them off of each-other...

Sounds legit. :-D :-D
California 8-)

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

The Surly Troll is coming together and continues to be funded with Something From Nothing funds. The straight bars it came with were too wide to get into the elevator and would have been troublesome for touring so I wanted to switch them to drop bars but had to wait until shifters and brakes levers materialized. My ideal solution was Gevenalle shifters/levers but I didn't want to pay the price for them so I created an ebay saved search and sniped a pair a few months ago. Cable routing with my handlebar bag was a problem so I salvaged a few v-brake noodles and installed them at the shifters which directed the cables around and below the bag. Wrapped it up with some simple cotton tape and plugged the bar ends with wine corks from the recycle bin.

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C40
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by C40 »

huh, wow. I never knew those kind of shifters existed. That's cool! I'd appreciate those on my cyclocross bike that has turned out to require shifting adjustment way more often than I think it should (probably something related to the cables, I'd hope. But I think it's also related to having a cassette with a wide gear range). That's sort of the best of both worlds between friction shifting durability/simplicity and where the shifters are positioned. How comfortable is shifting with them? Can you shift them with your hands on the hoods? In the drops?

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Yeah, The Goats guy made them specifically for cyclocross. Brifters are fragile and can be hard to shift and brake simultaneously, especially while cornering. These are super-easy to shift while on the hoods but not as easy as brifters from the drops. On the other hand I can shift through all the gears with one push. I got them for the durability and simplicity while touring. The pair I won are actually the 3X10 version. My bike is 3X9 but the indexing somehow works perfectly with one dead click at the low end.

ps. I was trail running the other day and got going a little too fast down hill. Face planted at the exact spot you ate it. Wonky hip for a few days and a little road rash but back to normal now.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Wrapped it up with some simple cotton tape and plugged the bar ends with wine corks from the recycle bin.
The bike looks good! I use wine corks too.

For anyone else who wants to do cotton tape on a bike and wants it to be even cheaper, look at hockey tape. I haven't done a side by side comparison but it appears to be the same. I've used it and it works. That said, it's really thin so you can feel everything and the bars are too skinny for my hands without the extra thickness from the cork bar wrap.

enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

Ego wrote: ps. I was trail running the other day and got going a little too fast down hill. Face planted at the exact spot you ate it. Wonky hip for a few days and a little road rash but back to normal now.
Nice work and good scores on the bike. As for the face plant, I'm happy I've avoided that for several years. My face never actually hit the ground but my hands and legs were sure bloody. Worst was the most badly twisted ankle of my life, where I needed crutches for days. I take shorter, faster steps now.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Thanks guys!

Gilberto, hockey tape!!!! Good tip. I paid $5 a roll for the Newbaum's cotton tape.

Enigma, it was a muddy day so I wore my mud running shoes which happen to be size 12.5. I normally wear 11 or 11.5.... beggars can't be choosers. A little like running in bozo the clown shoes. They are in the goodwill bag now. I'll be conscious of shorter faster steps for a while.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I found a dollar on the ground yesterday.

I found a bike taillight (in pieces) in the street earlier this week. I put it back together and it works except that the lens has a crack. I'm going to glue the crack to keep water out and put it on my bike trailer. I would like to return it but I put an ad on craigslist and no one replied. I could just set it on the curb where I found it but it would either be picked up by someone who it doesn't belong to or buried under snow.

vexed87
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by vexed87 »

@ego, that's a nifty solution for the front bag, I have been wondering how people pair them with drops/cabling all in the way! The troll is looking sweet. How are you enjoying it? I have been riding my Surly Disc Trucker for a few weeks now and am loving the 'fattie' tyres and steel frame which smooth out the lumps... not to mention the awesome pannier capacity, but I must admit I am starting to miss the top speed and effortless climbing of the road bike (which is out of action thanks to a seized front derailleur. :evil:) Though the Surly frames sure make great utility/touring bikes.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Thanks! I like riding the troll and am looking forward to finding good racks so I can load it up with 150 lbs of groceries. I hear you regarding the difference between a road bike and these load haulers. I get on my road bike and feel like I am flying. Reminds me of ankle weights.

I recently sold some of the parts I pulled off the troll when I changed to drop bars. This morning one of my friends from the swap meet pulled me aside. Grinning from ear to ear he said, "¡Tengo algo para ti!"

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When I looked closer at those price tags I nearly fell over.

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He told me the price he wanted, which was too low, so I paid him the amount I got for the parts on ebay. He was thrilled. I was thrilled.

Now I've got to sell my old pair of panniers because they are beat up. To be honest... they clash with the color scheme of the bike :lol:

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C40
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by C40 »

Man you've got a hell of a thing going with those venders. People are excited to sell you ($180+) Ortleib panniers for $5 !! :-D :-D

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C40
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by C40 »

vexed87 wrote:but I must admit I am starting to miss the top speed and effortless climbing of the road bike (which is out of action thanks to a seized front derailleur. :evil:) Though the Surly frames sure make great utility/touring bikes.
You know, if you want to, you can ride a bike without the front derailleur working. You can just leave it in whichever ring it's stuck in, or take the derailluer off the bike entirely (you'll have to take the chain apart and put it back together, but I'm assuming you can do that). If you take it off, you can just leave it in whichever ring you want, and if you find yourself at the top of a big hill and want to go down fast, just stop to switch the chain to the big ring. Or if you've brave enough, you could use your hand to shift the front manually (just be careful!)

ducknalddon
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by ducknalddon »

C40 wrote:Or if you've brave enough, you could use your hand to shift the front manually (just be careful!)
Only if you think you have too many fingers :)

vexed87
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by vexed87 »

@C40, luckily it was stuck in the little ring (there's a 9.5% incline on my commute home!). I'm spinning out on the flats, which is why I'm left with no choice but to fix it. Can't be doing without my top gear. The FD is currently in bits on my garage floor, trying to overhaul it. That's why the bike is out of action ;)

@ego, holy shit nice find! :D

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