mountainFrugal Journal

[mountainFrugal]

An extremely simple strategy would be to answer at the same readability level as the question. This only requires generating a bunch of different answers and selecting the closest match.

Or if it used your entire prompt history to train answers that are tailored to you or a view that is slightly wider (more perspectives) than the person that is prompting. I have a few tech friends where their companies have fully embraced chatbots. I suppose that even with a small amount of interactions within a company, organization, or even personal interactions the chatbot refines its "corpus" of text training for tailored answers using some organizational lingo. Taking that one step further... which I think is what Daylen is getting at... it could then have some knowledge of who the individual was within the org and give a more diplomatic answer than the person might have done on their own?

[daylen]

Diplomacy is a natural external-facing use case; a more internally-facing use case might be psychotherapy. Relationship advice somewhere in between.

[mountainFrugal]

It was an extremely busy month. Many projects are coming together, I attended a memorial service last weekend, and I am now sick (doh!), so I'm writing this one up early. Everyone is sick after Thanksgiving spent with sick cousins. 48 hour incubation times just in time for the memorial service. Stay home you little jerks! JK. haha.

# WINS
As mentioned last month, a downtown property was available for rent in the next town over. One of my local art friends (an amazing carpenter and oil painter) asked if I wanted to co-rent a studio space. The original space we looked at was quite small and was already under contract. However, we negotiated for a much larger space up the street for not much more per month because we could make some upgrades under my business partner's contracting license. Things moved very quickly because he and I shared the same vision almost instantly. We have established a joint partnership that has just signed the lease for the space (3 years). In this space, we will have a gallery up front featuring our artwork as well as pieces from other local artists. There will be a classroom and a hangout space in the middle section, and we plan to convert the back space (currently a raw warehouse) into art studio partitions. The building has mixed-use with apartments above and boasts a nice main street storefront (in a small town). In total, it's about 2500 sqft. Each of our respective art businesses will rent from the partnership business. We will have 1-4 other renters in the remaining studio spaces, but we will start with 1 and have all the rent and utilities covered (we negotiated an amazing deal). The idea is to gradually add more artists' studio rentals.

As with any decision, there are pros and cons. The studio space is 10 miles from my door and descends about 1500 feet in elevation. It's great for the bike ride or run down there, but not as ideal for the return trip. In snowy conditions, I would need to use my bike-packing mountain bike to get there (27.5+, with 3-inch tires), but in reality, I'll likely drive the Subaru. We did explore spaces in our town, but there was nothing ideal, and the spaces were much more expensive (2-3 times the cost).

We attended some local planning meetings, and my business partner even attended a chamber of commerce meeting. There is already an art scene in the town with monthly events, and we hope our space will help catalyze further growth. All of the people that we talked with about our idea were really supportive and excited. Conveniently for me (since I focus on nature/river/trout art), the space we are renting is directly next door to a fly fishing shop. The fly shop owner is genuinely excited we are moving in and sells a lot of art just out of his shop. My business partner knows him well, as he used to be a fly fishing guide and used that shop to meet up with clients. As an aside, I no longer have the desire to be a fly fishing guide based on conversations with my business partner.

STOKE IS HIGH! We are aiming for these two businesses to be full creative extensions of who we are as entrepreneurs and artists. The gallery opening will be some time in the spring after we remove some walls, paint, install some track lighting, remove gross carpet, epoxy the floors, and build our studios.

# IMPROVEMENTS/INSPIRATIONS
I recently picked up a few recent issues of The Climbing Zine. It's a smaller zine format with a spine. I appreciate the content, of course, but the ideas on how to scale this up are intriguing. How do they handle distribution? (I spotted them in most mountain towns during our trip). What's their approach to subscriptions? How do they handle layouts? Interestingly, they allocate about 20% of each zine to advertising. I won't be doing that, but it's fascinating to see how slightly off-topic ads can disrupt the flow. They release two issues per year, each containing about 100 pages. I'm keen to get my hands on some older issues. Print is often considered dead, but long live print!

Since late October, my art business partner and I revisited The E-Myth and completed most of the exercises independently before discussing them collectively. It's a great sign for collaboration when the other person brings brilliant but completely different ideas that frame things in a new way without conflicting with my own vision. The feeling is mutual. It's so enjoyable to work with someone highly competent in a different set of skills. He is a general contractor and carpenter who specializes in custom home remodels and builds. His carpentry work is exquisite, and he owns his own mill for custom projects. He has much to teach me, and I have much to teach him on the tech side. Additionally, he's a very thoughtful and proactive doer. We can easily delegate responsibilities and decisions back and forth without worry. He's my kind of partner.

# NEW DIRECTIONS
After experiencing radio silence from my interviewers regarding leading the integrative graduate group in art/data/design, I pondered how a scaled-down version could work locally. At a drink and draw event in October, a local artist who already organizes several art-related events asked if I wanted to share studio space (now my business partner). The pre-existing thoughts about the art/design/data/studio courses that were intended for graduate students immediately aligned with our shared vision. We decided to take matters into our own hands and build a program ourselves while also focusing on our individual art pursuits. DIY tenure, here we come. We can construct a program that suits us while continuing to develop our own art.

Business 1 - This is the art business mentioned in the WINS section above. My business partner and I will teach two classes per month and gradually expand to hosting retreats that center around local landscapes. I will deliver scientific and data lectures about the area, ensuring the students have a basic understanding of the ecological processes they aim to depict through drawing, painting, or illustration. Then, we will head out to paint at some of our favorite locations. All these events will initially be on a smaller scale to attract local artists, allowing us to prototype. After refining our approach, we will use these lectures, classes, and locations as the foundation for multi-day retreats.

Business 2 - This is my personal art business. I will continue blogging, illustrating, creating data visualizations, and producing larger Zines. Additionally, I plan to teach nature and ecology science/art classes. The class fees will be allocated to Business 1 each month to offset the rent. Any surplus will be directed toward Business 2. Business 2 will have a space for three years to make it work and collaborate with others.

# DRAWING
I almost completed an entire sketchbook during our honeymoon and successfully achieved my goal of creating 100 perspective drawings this year.

Before this external studio opportunity became available, DW and I had been setting aside money to construct an ADU/art studio unit in the backyard. While we still plan to do this eventually, we decided that the art studio/gallery in the next town would be more enjoyable for now. Additionally, it would free up the spare bedroom for my office, art studio, clothing storage, and occasionally, a spare bedroom for guests. I've been managing with a small drawing desk for the last few years, but I'm excited about the prospect of building a larger drawing table to work on bigger pieces and leave them up. I've mostly prioritized smaller works due to space constraints. However, I want to create larger original artwork for sale (along with prints) that will be featured in each Zine issue. Other frequently used items like the printer, scanner, linocut tools, iPad, and paper cutter will each have their designated table space. Currently, all of these are crammed into boxes in my modified closet workspace.

# OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Various statistics + a blend of work and avalanche data exploration. I'm eagerly anticipating going out into the field with the forecasters this winter to conduct snowpack observations.

# WORK
The primary scientific paper I've been working on was finally accepted by Global Change Biology. Coincidentally, this was the first journal in which I published as a graduate student, creating a fitting bookend to my scientific career with this esteemed journal.

I completed some blog posts last month and submitted an application for a data journalism fellowship, focusing on questions I had about avalanche forecasting and data utilization. I presented this work to the local avalanche center, and they expressed genuine excitement and interest in collaborating. Although I hesitantly pitched this to my boss, he greenlit the collaboration since it's a manageable project that fits within the timeframe of my remaining contract and leverages my skillset. It might also pave the way for potential freelance work with the Avalanche Center. I was invited to attend the pre-season meeting of the avalanche forecasters, during which I took copious notes. I'll be joining them in the field several times this winter to observe their daily forecasting process. We have numerous ideas on how to leverage their 15+ years of records and forecasts to enhance their forecasting capabilities.

I've been dedicating my weekend afternoons to working on bikes in the bike shop, especially in October. I recently completed a customer's mullet build, which features a 29" front wheel and a 27.5" rear wheel with air spacer modifications to both the front and rear shock. I fine-tuned it for the customer after he took it on some test rides. Starting next week, I'll be taking an advanced bike repair class, which will complement my art business. DW is thrilled to have a personal mechanic to work on her bikes, especially during the racing season.

I finished and shipped the remaining 4 commissions that were on my plate. The t-shirt designs involved a fair amount of back-and-forth communication, including a 2-week vacation break from my contact. Each commission was worth $150.

# SOCIAL
DW and I embarked on a two-week van road trip for our honeymoon adventure. We completed a substantial loop, starting from the Eastern side of the Sierra, heading into Northern Arizona, then to Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, followed by a week of exploration in and around Moab. I'm in the process of creating a zine documenting our journey, and I'll be posting it on my website soon for those interested. During the trip, DW and I enjoyed a lot of quality time together, engaging in activities like trail running, mountain biking, art appreciation, pottery, and discussions about story structures and our five-year plans. We did indulge in massages. . Our date-night Thanksgiving meal was soup, sausage, cheese, wine, and pumpkin pie.

We also attended a memorial service for a family member in Salt Lake City before heading home, which had a predominantly positive tone as he was a very optimistic person.

Add: This mix is dope- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5Kk4Yqcy8

[AxelHeyst]

I seriously appreciate how much effort you put into your updates. It feels not only inspiring but like you’ve included enough information to be useful for others (me) to generate takeaways for my own practices. Sounds like incredibly cool stuff you’ve got going, right on!

[mountainFrugal]

Thanks @AH I am glad you can get something from my posts. This one is particularly detailed because I am laying in bed with a head cold without much else to do! I have gleaned a lot from the posts in your journal and elsewhere. I am excited about this new venture coupled with my zine biz lifestyle business.

[7Wannabe5]

Your new venture work-space sounds very cool. I think when investing in personal ventures as a frugal person, you should consider that your money would otherwise be invested in somebody else's huge business expenditures. IOW, either you invest in your art/office space OR you buy more stock in Acme, Inc., and there is no way Acme, Inc. is working out of its back bedroom. If you "pay" yourself a happy-to-do-this-thing (even if very low) wage and you make 4% + on top of that, you are successful!

[mountainFrugal]

Thanks @7Wannabe5! You have hit directly on my strategy. If I can fully offset the rent for my studio and a bit of travel to other mountain ranges/streams then I will be personally fulfilled with my personal art business. Ramen noodle profitable... everything else is just gravy*.

For the shared art business, it would be cool to really develop the scene here over the next few years. My short hand metric for that would be increasing the number of active artists in the world. For example, someone comes for a beginner class, gets inspired, practices a lot and then eventually rents out their own studio space and teaches classes in their style a few years down the road.

Both of these ideas have very large upsides for personal satisfaction and some monetary upside as well.

Is this the philosophy you went with for your used book business?

*Not @gravy .

[7Wannabe5]

Is this the philosophy you went with for your used book business?

Pretty much. I still had kids at home and I already had my gardening obsession when I started the business. I took on my sister as partner after a year, and she is always wanting to be busy with her music projects. So, our partnership contract was along the lines of "The purpose of this business is to enjoy our mutual interest in books and treasure hunting, and hopefully make enough money to cover our frugal lifestyle expenses, while leaving plenty of free time for our other avocations." And, this worked quite well for around 10 years until market conditions changed to the extent that our profits could no longer cover even our quite frugal lifestyles. Then we both had to take on other part-time gigs in addition to the book business. The book business currently exists only in the suspended animation of a very large collection of rare books of personal interest, mostly on the topic of lost arts and crafts, as in "How to Build a Stone Wall."

If you want to do Semi-ERE with only a Stash or a Roll, rather than a Fund, you need to have at least 3 businesses, gigs, or temporary passive cash flows (like royalties from an IP or proceeds from a land contract) that are robust and independent enough to cover you in the event of failure, and these need to conform to alternate frugal lifestyle options or Patterns. For instance, I couldn't combine the option of Camp for Free on Partner's Rural Acreage Without a Car with even occasional Substitute Teaching, but I could have if I had added the Car option. If your expenses are down to less than eco-Jacob PPP (approximately $12,000 per year) then this is pretty easy to do. If your expenses go up to even my current super-high-for-me level of $18,000/year (because I need/want my very own modern bathroom due to Crohn's disease), and you have other problems like severe health event or family member having mental health breakdown, then it becomes more tricky, but, although not ideal, you will still be covered with 20 hrs week at $20/hr. until you can get some other plates back up in the air. There will never be any need to resort to full-time employment-by-other, unless you totally fail at Being Frugal and your personal lifestyle expenses creep up towards $30,000 year, although you may choose this option towards either quick refresh of Stash/Roll or investment in Fund.

IOW, my perspective is that FI is just another choice for business/gig, but very clearly on the highly robust, very well capitalized, low hours required for maintenance end of the spectrum, and it must generally needfully still be combined with the fun generalist occupation known as Being Frugal.

[mountainFrugal]

"The purpose of this business is to enjoy our mutual interest in books and treasure hunting, and hopefully make enough money to cover our frugal lifestyle expenses, while leaving plenty of free time for our other avocations."

...If you want to do Semi-ERE with only a Stash or a Roll, rather than a Fund...

IOW, my perspective is that FI is just another choice for business/gig, but very clearly on the highly robust, very well capitalized, low hours required for maintenance end of the spectrum, and it must generally needfully still be combined with the fun generalist occupation known as Being Frugal.

Thank you for these thoughts. My business partner and I have similar ambitions about making things cash-flow positive fairly quickly (1 other artist rental) then build from there. We want that business to help/enhance our art and not take over all of the time. We got the keys and started demoing the space. We are going to make a small business office by putting in a door frame to an awkward corner. By having a separate space for business operations we hope it will help mentally delineate the entrepreneurship of the shared small venture and our own personal art studios. I have a fund so this makes this a pure passion project. Other than about 6K in start-up costs for the remodel we will be up an rolling in a few months. We are doing all the labor ourselves so that saves a ton. We are both frugal, but are willing to spend on medium grade flooring (25% of the cost) and nice lighting (20% of the cost) to make the gallery space look nice to match our vibe.

[mountainFrugal]

# 2024 GOALS
It is goal setting season! 2024 is the year of the Torque Wrench! Dialing everything into the exact torque spec!

I was batting about 60% on (pre-planned in 2022) goal completion for 2023. All of the things I wanted to explore were supposed to come with a zine at the end. I did do sketches or paintings for each idea, but did not assemble all of them into zines (60% in the end grade). However, all those paintings, sketches, and writing that did not make into zines are the basis for the larger zine series I will be publishing 1x a quarter for 2024. Above is an absurd checklist that will be printed out and hung above my drawing desk. Transitioning out of being a researcher that does art into an artist that does research requires this level of detail and organization. Hopefully this is helpful to folks.

The illustration above and the list below are based around my Skillathon outline I posted in October. The only way I would consider a section a failure is if I did not do 20% of it. With that same criteria I am at about 85% for 2023. I have a lot on my plate. Get it!

December
- DIY Design Sketching I - COMPLETE
- Advanced Bike Repair Class - COMPLETE
- Design Drawing of all major class concepts - COMPLETE
- Print and ship two 24 page zines with a spine (content already complete, just need to assemble for printer)

January
- DIY Comics 1 - Read/sketch
- DIY Comics 2 - Read/sketch
- DIY Comics 3 - Read/sketch

February
- Faces - 1 week, 2 characters
- Clothing - 1 week, 2 characters
- Intro to Blender 4 class (binge)
- 4 page comic with new skills

March
- 32 page zine - Trail Running!
- 6000 word feature article in zine
- Publish comic from February in zine
- 4 data visualizations
- Layouts
- Zine to printer

April
- DIY Design Sketching II
- Specialty bike repair seminars
- Draw all processes

May
- DIY Design Sketching III

June
- 32 page zine - BIKES!
- 6000 word feature article in zine
- Publish design drawings
- 4 data visualizations
- Zine to printer

July
- DIY Natural History Illustration I
- Plein air Gouache I

August
- DIY Natural History Illustration II
- Plein air Gouache II
- Hand Drawn Maps

September
- 32 page zine - NATURE!
- 6000 word feature article in zine
- Publish illustrations and maps
- 4 data visualizations
- Zine to printer

October
- Sketching Anything Course - Begin
- Painting Anything Course - Begin
- 4 comics master studies
- sketch, layouts, frame by frame, color, dissect
- Inktober - new inking techniques every few days

November
- Character designs for comic
- design sketching of character's tools and skills
- 8 page comic

December
- 32 page zine - Primitive Tech!
- 6000 word feature article in zine
- Publish illustrations, design sketches, maps, 8 page comic
- 4 data visualizations
- Zine to printer

Monthly
- 1 Nature Blog Post
- 2 social dinners
- Start, Stop, More 1x/week
- Online Group Participation
- 2 Date Nights
- $ Talks DW 1x/week
- House Maintain 2 hours/week
- Sunday Meal Planning/Prep
- Uphill Athlete Strength 1x/week
- 10 hours/week exercise
- Biz 1 Admin - 16 hours
- Biz 2 Admin - 16 hours

[mountainFrugal]

www.bikeschool.com
I finished up the Advanced Mechanics class at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon last Friday. I have to say that it was worth every single penny. The instruction was excellent. For example, the instructor teaching the brakes section had recently worked on disc brakes for pro down-hill racers and trials riders for the past 7 years. He was super chill, except when it came to tolerances! haha. The hands-ons were up-to-date for common technology. The course struck a great balance of lecture and hands-on application. The immersion with other bike nerds that were only thinking about bike mechanics for 2 weeks is my preferred way to learn. I learned just as much from other students/mechanics as I did from the instructors. The hands-ons rotated partners and benches each day simulating a real shop environment. We would often end the day with a deconstruction of a component, lay everything out, and then come back the next day to a new bench with a different layout!

Always be knollin' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-CTkbHnpNQ

Daily class was 8-5 M-F with an hour for lunch and some breaks. T/Th the shop was open from 5-7 for finishing up anything or working on your own bikes/pestering the instructors. They teach the class as sub-systems that interact to give you the larger bike/rider/environment systems. This style of teaching helps you build intuition for what might be wrong given a few key hints (even a few steps up or down stream).

I could go on but this post is already insanely long. Respond here or PM me if you are thinking about doing this course.

# 1 - Mechanical Properties
Introduction to cleaners, lubricants, physical properties of components (materials, thread count, pitch, torque etc.) and basic tools, bike stand, shop layouts.

Hands ons:
Accurate vernier Caliper use
Thread Pitch gauge use
Various wrenches, sockets, T-25 bits, torque wrench use etc.

# 2 - Bearings
Various bearing types and materials, applications, sizes, tolerances, identification, wear patterns, and common use in various bicycle subsystems.

Hands on:
Measure and identify various bearings based on dimensions of components (shell, bearing size, inner/outer diameters)

# 3 - Hubs
Components, compatibility, parts, adjustments, inspection, wear patterns, service.

Hands on:
Front and rear Shimano hub disassembly, cleaning, bearing repacking, reassembly (overhaul).
DT Swiss front and rear hub disassembly, cleaning, reassembly (overhaul, cartridge bearings).

# 4 - Wheels, Building and Service
Wheel components, dynamics, spokes (length, tension, wear), nipples, rims, hubs, material fatigue, general wear, Inspection and assessment, re-truing wheel-sets, broken spokes, etc.

Hands on:
Build a wheel-set using the hubs you just overhauled and asymmetric rims (disk brake compatible)
- Measure rims, hubs, over-lock dimensions, etc.
- Use spoke length calculator
- choose and layout all materials
- Rim/logo placement alignment
- Correct lacing pattern
- Laterally True (<1mm tolerance)*
- Radially True (<1 mm Tolerance)*
- Dish Variance (<2 mm total Tolerance)
- Average tension on all spoke pairs and all spokes
- Tension variance
- Overall quality of build

https://wheelfanatyk.com/
The Bicycle Wheel - Jobst Brandt
The Art of Wheel Building - Gerd Schraner

1) Lateral
2) Radial
3) Dish
4) Repeat

*these are heavily used taken down and rebuilt components. The lateral, radial, and dish tolerances for new materials would be less than 0.5 mm.

# 5 - Tires and Tubes
Tire categories, construction, materials, characteristics, tire and rim dimensions, tire beads, inspection, wear, replacements, etc.

Hands on:
MTB tire/tube removal, inspection, reassembly.
MTB tubeless tire removal, inspection, rim taping, reassembly, tire seating with pump (higher psi), leak check (failure if leaking, redo!).

# 6 - Pedals
Types, clipless, cleats, compatibility, service, etc.

Hands on:
remove/inspect/grease reinstall various types of pedals throughout the two weeks. Depending on type, use crows foot adapter with larger torque wrench for re-installation.

# 7 - Crankset, Bottom Brackets, Chainrings
Crank and bottom bracket interfaces, BB bearing assemblies, chainrings and compatibility, materials, tooth numbers, inspection/assessment, wear, replacement, etc.

Hands on:
Mixed and matched depending, but...
Square taper crank arm removal/install
cup-and-cone BB removal/disassembly/reassembly/installation.
2 piece crank arm removal/install
cartridge BB, splined crank arm, pedal removal/inspect/reinstall
Shimano Hollowtech 2 piece crank and BB removal, inspection, reinstall
BB30 bearing removal/inspection/reinstall
Various chanring removals/deconstructions/inspections/constructions/installations
Chainline measurements/calculations

# 8 - Fixed Gear, Freewheel, Freehub & Cassette
Fixed gear systems, compatibility, materials etc.
Geared drive mechanisms, systems, compatibility, materials etc.
Freewheel mechanisms, systems, compatibility, materials etc.
Freehub/cassette mechanisms, systems, compatibility, materials etc.

Hands on:
Shimano freehub body/cassette removal/disassembly/inspection/assembly/installation
DT Swiss Star ratchet removal/disassembly/inspection/assembly/installation

# 9 - Chains
Categories, components, dimensions, materials, compatibility, applications, wear, size, removal/installation.

Hands on:
Chain measurements, wear, removal (chain breaking), installation mechanics pin, quick links

# 10 - Derailleurs
System components, frame requirements/dimensions, component compatibility, cables and housing, shifting styles, complete system removal/inspection/installation/adjustment. Many physical examples of various types of front and rear derailleurs to play with and observe movement ranges/angles.

Hands on:
Shimano (trim style system) full front and rear derailleur measurement/removal/inspection, installation of new cables and housing, adjustments of limits, angle (rear) and cable tensions, complete smooth shifting test through entire gear range (or redo!).
The trim system has a half click on the front derailleur to prevent chain rubbing on the high/low ends of the gear combinations of the large and small front chain ring.
Dropout and rear derailleur hanger alignment


# 11 - Rim Brakes
Categories, frame and fork mounting options/dimensions, brake pads (materials, sizes etc.), cables and housing, rim brake inspection/wear (pads/rim), service/repair/assessment.

Hands on:
Front and rear caliper rim brake removal/disassembly/inspection, brake reach measurements, reassembly/re-installation, cables/housing, adjustment.
Front linear pull brake removal/disassembly/inspection/re-installation with 1 mm brake pad toe-in to prevent squeaking

# 12 - Hub Brakes
Categories, frame and fork mounting options, compatibility, materials, brake pad options/materials, rotor options/materials, inspection/wear/service, levers/hoses/cables/housing, hydraulics 101, various brake fluid types (pros, cons, compatibility), new brake burn-in, component lubrication (NOT PADS! haha).

Hands on:
Avid Disc brake removal/inspection/installation
Shimano hydraulic disc brake inspection, removal, brake bleeds, new fluid, air removal, re-installation, tuning
SRAM hydraulic disc brake inspection, removal, brake bleeds, new fluid, air removal, re-installation, tuning

# 13 - Headsets
Components, fork/stem/handlebar compatibility, headset standards, bearings, wear, failures, materials, new fork install (trimming to size?), S.H.I.S. Designation, carbon fiber considerations.

Hands on:
Threaded headset inspection/disassembly, pressed race inspection/removal, installation
Threadless headset inspection/disassembly, stack height measurements, adjustments of spacers, reassembly.

# 14 - Suspension
Vorsprung Suspension Learning- https://vorsprungsuspension.com/blogs/learn
Racetech Motorcycle Suspension Bible - book
Suspension theory (spring/damper/compression/rebound), components, materials, service, set-up, mid-ride tuning, service intervals, fluids, inspection/assessments,

Hands on:
Suntour Auron air spring inspection/disassembly of spring side and damper side, component cleaning (seals etc.), reassembly and tuning for hypothetical rider.

# 15 - Frame Materials and Construction
Materials, geometry, tube diameters, components, fabrication methods (Brazing, TIG, carbon composite molding), tolerances, frame prep and alignment, chasing, facing, reaming threads.

Hands on:
Chasing bottom bracket threads (high end cutting tools!)
Facing bottom bracket shell (tool chatter = fail! )
Headtube facing and reaming

# 16 - Contact Points
Frame Sizing and geometry of all types of bicycles, rider preferences, frame geometry and handling, all the components related to bike fitting, basic bike fitting (there as an entire sub-industry devoted to bike fitting).

Hands on:
Various seat, handlebar, control lever, and stem, adjustments throughout the course.
Handlebar taping.

# 17 - Shop Operation and Industry
Service department fundamentals, profitability, best practices, diagnostic techniques, labor rates, service writing, general business fundamentals, inventory, parts, tools,

Hands on:
Take in road bike that has been monkeyed with by the teachers, diagnose all basic problems, service write all problems/rate estimates/ parts, include full overhaul.

Final hands on day :
Take ticket from your service writing, do full road bike inspection, complete deconstruction (wheels, hubs, brakes, handlebars, cables/housing, derailleurs, cassette, chainring, bottom bracket, etc.). Repack bearings, reassemble wheels, true wheels (<1mm tolerance) and fully reassemble bike within spec in allotted time (6 hours).

There was an odd number of students so one student was always working alone. I was chosen to work alone on the overhaul day. I finished up and got checked off only 10 minutes behind the faster students that were working in a team! WhooAHHH!

Final written test:
100 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes. Open note, but 275 pages of text to pull specific answers from!!! No practice tests. haha.

75 to pass

I have to say this was a challenging test as it was VERY specific with ~54 seconds a question. My dyslexic brain had a hard time with some of the questions under such a time crunch (e.g. double negatives --> cross reference 2 look up tables). If I do not pass for some reason I will take it again soon.

ETA: Passed the test and received the certification in the mail.

[mountainFrugal]

Art Gallery/Studio Update
My business partner is a badass carpenter. After guiding fly-fishing and skiing for a few years he taught himself carpentry skills. The shoulder seasons for both jobs were spent reading lots of books. Now in his mid-twenties he owns his own contracting business focusing on high-end custom builds and remodels. A renaissance man in his own right. I am learning a ton from him because all of the work we are doing is following building code. He is patiently teaching me then checking my work as we go, but overall we are moving at a pretty fast clip.

We finished demoing the space and salvaged all the wood and material we could for framing and building out the raw warehouse space in back for the studios. The previous builders did some generally shady stuff with basically all aspects of the most recent remodel. We have to remove and work around and problem solve the previous mistakes so it is slowing us down somewhat. As an example, building rooms directly on carpet with no ventilation fans is a recipe for mold. Gross, but as my business partner reminds me, this is very tame compared to working inside a house where junkies used to live. Fair enough. I will spare you the carpet/mold photos and his junkie house stories.

I finished framing in the doorways to drywall over them in a few weekends from now. In the current photo you can see all the way from the gallery, through the classroom space and into the back warehouse space that will become art studios.

Before (minus carpet):


Current:

[mountainFrugal]

# DECEMBER 2023
# WINS
My business partner (BP, because we need more acronyms on the forum) and I secured the keys to our new art space, created plans and a budget, got it approved by the owner, and completed the demolition phase this month. It was a fascinating process discussing the various parties that needed to reach an agreement, including BP and me from our shared venture, our individual art studio requirements, the building owner, local and state building codes, and the owner's budget. The owner was quite impressed with our plan and, as a goodwill gesture, installed an updated heater in the front space and a new heater/line in the back warehouse space.

I took the United Bicycle Institute Pro Class and am now a Certified Mechanic; please see the post above for more details. As soon as I returned from the class, a customer from the bike shop started asking questions and is interested in a custom wheel set. We began working on the specifications, and this project is likely to kick off in February or March when he returns.

# IMPROVEMENTS/INSPIRATIONS
"Nobody Cares, Work Harder" - Cameron Hanes (elite hunter). The irony is not lost on me as I write up detailed series of posts about my recent activities, but I find this mentality to be a good motivator to overcome self-doubt. Hat tip to @theanimal for sharing this quote.

DW and I transitioned our financial and relationship discussions to a weekly frequency, as opposed to the previous monthly schedule. This change has lowered the stakes, and each session now lasts approximately 20 minutes. This new approach works better for us, especially with my increased time spent outside the house attending bike school and working on the art studio during the weekends.

# NEW DIRECTIONS
A reorganization is underway at work, and it seems to have come about rather suddenly. This introduces some additional uncertainty for the next few months, but I believe it will ultimately be positive for me, regardless of the outcome. DIY Tenure for the win.

I am in the process of testing several different printing services and comparing them to the quality of my home printer. There's a somewhat local print shop that provides satisfactory results. This works well for zines that I fold and staple myself, but it won't suffice for the larger zines that I plan to create. I want these larger zines to have spines so they can be easily identified on a shelf. If a zine is thick enough to have a spine, I believe it should feature some text or identifying logo/art to represent my project.

# DRAWING
I dedicated a lot of time to drawing this month, spending every morning on it, including these updates. I completed a commission and will send a larger zine to a printer for testing. During this project, I became proficient with the basics of Scribus, and it will be my workflow for the four adventure/data/art zines scheduled for 2024.

I filled an entire sketchbook with sketchnotes during the bike school class. Before attending the class, I studied design sketching techniques and applied them during the sessions. One of the instructors, who had a background in industrial design, particularly appreciated my sketches. I allowed him to peruse the nearly completed book, and he asked if I was interested in creating figures and diagrams for new class materials. I enthusiastically agreed, and though this is a future endeavor as they recently updated a significant amount of material, we exchanged contact information.

I completed a poster/t-shirt commission for a Nordic ski race in Wisconsin associated with the American Birkiebeiner.

# OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Various statistics. Unfortunately, I was sick for the first two weeks of the month, resulting in minimal light exercise.

Taking the bike class has been a long-standing interest for me, spanning over a decade. I timed it perfectly, as I can immediately practice the skills on our bikes and apply them while working in the shop for several hours a week.

# WORK
I applied for a science writing mentorship but did not secure it. I plan to reapply this fall once I have more long-form articles published in my zines.

The startup I co-founded successfully completed another round of VC funding. I had a stack of documents to review and sign. I left on good terms in 2020, and I'm pleased to see both the individuals and the company thriving.

Over the next six months, I will be concluding half of my academic position by teaching another communications person all the protocols I developed for website maintenance, content creation, schedules, report writing, and more. The other research half will continue with the Avalanche forecasters beyond my academic contract. Following this, I will be fully engaged in art/data/exploration full-time!

# SOCIAL
I was summoned for jury duty in September but rescheduled it to December for some reason. I drove 45 minutes to the courthouse, checked in, waited an hour for over 100 other jurors to be checked in, and then the judge came in and immediately dismissed everyone due to an attorney's illness. This experience was the definition of what could have been an email meeting. haha.

DW and I went out Christmas tree hunting, and we successfully secured a slightly larger Charlie Brown fire ladder tree compared to last year. It's easier to hike with a larger tree than to ski down with it. . I made Christmas Karaage for DW.

We started working on our wedding Thank You Cards. Some people gave us money for our honeymoon, while others, like @AH and the @mooretrees crew, provided immense help (this doesn't count as a thank you card, only another thank you).

# SKILLATHON 2024

- DIY Design Sketching I - completed
- Advanced Bike Repair Class - completed
- Design Drawing of all major class concepts - completed
- Print and ship two 24 page zines with a spine (content already complete, just need to assemble for printer) - 1 zine complete formatting using Scribus (main goal to test workflow)- currently working on front, back cover, and spine over the last 3 days of the month. I decided to wait until I get the test prints back from the first one before I do the second to make sure there is not something strange with my Scribus to print workflow. I will provide links when they are ready if folks want to order a print-on-demand version of the larger zines.

[mountainFrugal]

# 2023 WINDOWS HIGHLIGHTS
# WINS
DW and I got hitched in June. I think that we made each other laugh more this year than any other year. We did a honeymoon van trip throughout the Southwest. I wrote about that last month, so I will spare the update.

My ultra-running friend and I tried to connect some trails to do a mountain range traverse. It will go, but we need to implement a different strategy for this 5-6 day run.

I experienced burrito nirvana at Chili Works in Los Alamos, NM. The burrito I had could hardly be closed because it was half fresh roasted green chili salsa. That was incredibly good. Apparently, the breakfast burritos are even better. I will find out at some point!

# IMPROVEMENTS/INSPIRATIONS
Various quotes and people doing inspiring physical or creative things. There are many folks on this forum who also fall into these categories. Thanks for being such a cool crew of internet oddballs. Also, thank you to all the forumites that came before, threw down some ideas/knowledge, and are no longer active.

DW and I implemented (mostly successfully) a 15-minute per day tidy of our house. This seems to work much better than weekend power cleans. This was also the inspiration to move our money and relationships to more frequent weekly chats (from monthly).

Our wedding officiant, DW's Buddhist chaplain aunt, had us make something creative that represented our relationship. We each made something and showed the other person while on a call with DW's aunt. The art was different in details, but the layouts, shapes, and general themes were very similar between the two of us. I think this represents us well. We have very different detailed interests, but broadly enjoy the same things. DW has been inspiring me with the amount of fiction she is writing on a near-daily basis. She talked about how much she wanted to write for years but only got into the consistent writing groove this year.

# NEW DIRECTIONS
The "what would you do if you were zeroed out" thread started by @AxelHeyst got me thinking about using local social capital with some general skills to get back on my feet. I decided that working at the local bike/beer shop would be the path and then just talked to the owner, took an online class to get a bartender license, and used my bike mechanic skills to work on some projects and do simple repairs. This led to me taking the bicycle pro certification class.

Serendipity by putting yourself out there. Last year I started with flyers for sketching groups. TOO PASSIVE according to social coach @mooretrees. After I met another artist we started meeting regularly and eventually started a monthly Drink and Draw at the Bike/beer shop. There we go! These events are well attended and we got to meet other artists, including my business partner's girlfriend. My business partner ran a life drawing class in the next town that I started going to, and he started coming to Drink and Draw. Then at the Drink and draw in October, we were shooting the breeze, and he suggested renting a shared space in the next town (cheaper), and I said YES! And here we are.

# DRAWING
I drew a lot this year. I finished a few practice projects (1000 figures from imagination and 100 perspective drawings), but there was less practice drawing and more using the skills I have to make stuff. I made a number of zines (8), blog post illustrations (26), sketch notes (19 posted, many more not posted), and completed 9 commissions. There is overlap between these categories, but I did draw nearly every day and drew at least a full page (digital or sketchbook) for 327 days this year.

# OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Various stats in the illustration. I am excited about the upcoming year when I will have a lot more time on the gravel bike commuting to the art studio. This will increase my recovery exercise load.

I am fully transitioning my new spatial data/GIS modeling skills to another problem that I am interested in: avalanche prediction. This is interesting because it has many human factors to consider in addition to the base snow science. For example, back-country decision-making safety. This project fully melts away the work and play boundary.

Wrenching on bikes and then taking the pro class gives me another stable part-time income source. This has already helped me keep our bikes in top working order.

# WORK
Finished the write-up of our fire project, submitted, did revisions, resubmitted, and got the paper accepted. This will likely be my last academic paper (unless I develop some new method for the Avy project). As part of the fire project, I did two presentations at conferences and one on general data science for image processing.

My friend teaches a community college class on natural history. I taught a field class on fire at one of my field sites using zines I made. I treated them as my "lecture notes" as we hiked around and had landscape-scale discussions of fire ecology.

I wanted to get better at writing for a general science audience this year. I took this science communications position in order to get the reps in doing that. It helped in some ways, but was not exactly what I wanted to focus on. I learned how to use MailChimp to write science newsletters, but I was hoping to write more general science pieces that were researched. The job also entailed redoing the organization's website and working on annual reports. While these items fall under the category of science communications, what I am really after is more science journalism-style writing. I did a number of posts on the blog in this format, but there is a long way to go. I want to get better at this because it will make the writing portions of my zines better.

I converted my website from a static Jekyll site into a static Quarto website. Quarto is really slick for all kinds of markdown-based publishing, not just websites. You can do PDFs, HTML-based books, PDF books, etc. I considered it for my Zine project, but there was too much fiddling to get ready for print. A future project.

Taking the part-time wrenching and bartending position in August provided enough evenings and weekend hours to pay for most of the Pro Bike Class. I will continue picking up work at the shop/bar to keep my wrenching skills sharp and to pay for the advanced suspension, wheel building, dropper posts, and disc brake classes in April.

# SOCIAL
We attended 5 weddings this year, including our own. All of our travel (minus the ERE fest and honeymoon) was planned around weddings. We had to change our wedding venue at the last minute because the one we booked was still under snow! This was a costly change, but it worked out unexpectedly from a social standpoint. DW's family got to all stay together on-site and be together with her uncle who was succumbing to cancer. We are obviously sad about his passing, but we are grateful that we could provide that opportunity for all of us to be together.

ERE fest was great. I learned so much and had so many interesting conversations. DW and I caravanned down with the @animal crew. DW and I had some leftover booze and food from our wedding, including a large can of baked beans. The food got unloaded from our van upon arrival, and I did not think much of it. The baked beans got opened and served. I do apologize to the vegetarians/vegans for this oversight.

We threw a really fun Halloween pumpkin carving chili fest party.

This year many serendipitous things came together with other people in unexpected ways. @jacob and @ego (and likely others) talked about this very early on in the forum. Now I am starting to see it all over. By just putting yourself out there with the attitude of: "This is what I am actively doing; anyone else interested in participating?" This is true for my interactions on the forum, for work, for bikes, and most importantly for art and art businesses.

In conclusion, get after it AND make sure you are spending at least a small portion of your time putting yourself out there. It is painful at first for introverts, but you can learn! Looking back, it will be easy to draw a thread through events and connections that were impossible to predict a priori.

Here is a productive 2024 and good luck to all the Skillathon participants!

[avalok]

Fantastic, very inspiring look back at the year. Congratulations on all that you have achieved; here's to a great 2024!

[theanimal]

As always, it’s very cool and inspiring to see you pulling everything together. I’m excited to see what comes next!

[mountainFrugal]

Thank you @Avalok and @theanimal. I continue to draw inspiration from you both and all the active members of the forum dealing with their own internal and external struggles towards a more free life.

All the personal Plotkin work in 2022 really helped unlock something for me (this is not the only way of course!). This year I internalized a lot of that work. I am an artist, I am a scientist, I am an athlete, I am a fallible human. I am working towards becoming the best Renaissance human I can be that rallies against the specialist grain to make, do, and create cool things that incorporate all of my skills, talents, and interests. This is what I am attempting to do and at the same time where I am headed. No more waiting on grant panels. No more waiting on scientific paper reviews. No more convincing VCs your ideas are worth while. No more waiting on bureaucratic procedures that stifle creativity. No more playing strange protracted political games for slight advantages or appeasing power hungry people. My aim is to find out what I can find out about myself and the world when there are no gatekeepers getting in my way. This is DIY tenure + the first inklings of self-actualization. I have had a number of multi-day flow states this year. I have also had days where I just feel completely content with what I am working on and cannot believe I get to do all this. This calm state is strangely a bellows for feeding deep seeded motivational embers. Festina Lente my ERE Friends.

[mountainFrugal]

My 48 page test zine has been printed and started shipping. I should receive a few copies next week. December Skillathon completed.

My current Skillathon project is working through the book Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice.

I formed LLCs for the gallery studio business and my personal art business. We are finishing up framing and hanging drywall this weekend. We discovered another wall that was completely full of mold front and back. Yuck! Added to the demo pile. So far we are on track to open the second week of March.

One of my very best friends is an architecture prof. He was passing through and stayed with us for a few days. He gave us some great advice for the remodel, what value lights to buy for art installations/lighting and a few art framing hanging techniques to keep things in the space flexible (e.g. French Cleats).

[mountainFrugal]

I just received the test zines in the mail (4 copies, single issue). The print quality is excellent and consistent across all 4 copies. I changed the page count at the last minute to add some acknowledgement pages, title page, and introduction. The image I had on the spine was not exactly the correct size with the new pages so it printed a bit off (expected given the last minute change). Now I will format the remaining 2 backlog zines and get all three printed and up in an online shop. All of these are prequels to the official issue I am working on to be sent to the printer at the end of March. Holding these in my hand as physical objects of all digital creation is very motivating!

I finished up Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice. The final project of the book is to make a 4 page comic. Convenient because that is the outcome of this month's Skillathon. Through the exercises I came up with a great idea for a short comic that fits into the theme of the March Zine issue. At the same time I am reading through and making sketchnotes for Drawing Words and Writing Pictures.

We finished hanging the drywall and I got to use a DeWalt Drywall Screwgun. The motor continues to rotate, but the screw bit section disengages the motor and stops so you can load it. When you push in the screw there is a clutch like system that reengages the bit and quickly drives the screw to a specified depth. I got going pretty fast, but not nearly as fast as the pros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r2hY_35hKQ

[mountainFrugal]

The test zines were a great idea. After thumbing through and marking up one of them I am going to make some major changes to how I do my layouts. The inner edges are fine with the binding/spine, but the images and text could be made much larger and get much closer to the outer edges of the pages. I was also starting each section one right after the other instead of leaving a bit a blank space and starting a new section on a new page. It is also noticeable with a quick flip through if the images are not aligned the same on the page. I pushed a few images up occasionally to fit text underneath so I did not have to have blank space at the end of the section. It looks bad when printed because some sections are cramped. This was also much more time consuming when I was doing the layouts. I have plenty of space and can just add 4 more pages if necessary.

I do not have images that can easily go full bleed (go off the page) for these Prequel issues, but it does add variety and interest when comparing to The Climbing Zine issues I have. Full bleed illustrations will be incorporated into the issues starting in March.

DW is going to give a full read through and give me her full bookish wrath. .

I am glad that I did this entire process before formatting the other Zines. Once I do the fixes I will have a better template and workflow to make those go much faster.