Category Archives: Hobbies
30 Minutes Per Day
I love to draw. It’s relaxing. It’s Zen. I’m not great at it, but I get better with daily practice. I’ve subscribed to a channel on YouTube called “Jazza”. It used to be called Draw With Jazza and I’ve learned a lot from him. He has tutorials on his channel for drawing on the computer using Photoshop. Jazza also has an app called Jazza’s Arty Games which helps you come up with ideas for things to draw.
Yesterday, I decided to try to draw 30 minutes a day. It may happen. It may not. But, when it does, I’ll post updates here.
The first task was to draw “A gargoyle which just got out of bed with a bloody knife”. I only took it to the sketch stage, but here it is.
As I get better and as time permits, I will flesh out the drawings more with color and shading. …assuming I stick with this 30 minutes a day initiative.
7 X 16′ Enclosed Cargo Trailer from Snapper Trailers
I did a LOT of research before selecting Snapper (a division of Georgia Made Trailers) to build my custom trailer. I finally settled on Snapper. I’m glad I did. They make a fantastic product with a lot of attention to detail. This video is my introduction of Snapper Trailers to you.
Yesterday, I went to Cycle Werks in Bowling Green, OH to get some cardboard so that I can mock up my interior layout. And, as a first step, I put 3 bikes in the proposed cargo/garage area to make sure that it matches my expectations. Just by doing that, I learned that I will probably want to Continue reading
Six Hours Under Kites
A New Challenge Under the Kite
I recently bought the aluminum foil kit from Clearwater Hydrofoil. The kit came with an aluminum mast and fuselage. I also ordered the surf wing (largest wing below), kite wing (middle one) and the tail. And, I ordered a short aluminum mast which will make learning much easier
The wings were just plain wood so I needed to fiberglass them before I could use them. This required so many hours of work! I wasn’t close to prepared for what would be required. There’s a 4-hour curing time for each of the following steps…
RIP Bubba
Dakine tailgate pad
Today, I got my newest bike related toy. It’s a Dakine tailgate pad that will protect the tailgate while securely holding up to seven bikes. I like it, but I wish it was attached in a more secure manner. It’s only held in place by 3 nylon straps.
I also bought a coated steel cable to secure the bikes to the truck. I’ll have to see if I can use that to hold the pad in place against theft.
Brush and Phone Stand, etc.
Some awesome things happened this week! First, I paid off my student loans from grad-school instead of buying a replacement van. Not to worry, though. I’ll still buy Adventure Van 2.0. It’s just that my student loans were at 7% interest and I can get a used car loan for 4.4%. By doing this, I’ll save several hundred dollars!
On the Van 2.0 topic, Chris and I drove to Akron on Saturday to look at a 2012 Sprinter that had moderate miles. The body was in great shape. And, it had a “clean CarFax”. Note: Clean CarFax means exactly squat if there are things wrong with the van that have not been repaired! This piece of crap needed at least $5,000 worth of work. The worst of which, the turbo didn’t work. So, it wouldn’t even Continue reading
Protracted Ordeal
Today, after a protracted and rather tedious process, I finally picked up my settlement check for the totalled Endo Adventure Van V1.5. The accident was February 25th. It took over two weeks after that, just to get an appraiser out to the little Virginia town where the carcass lay.
Since then, I’ve been chasing my local claims adjuster to get me an actual cash value settlement offer that was even in the ballpark.
First, they offered a rather insulting number that was $3,500 less than I paid for the van just 2 years ago. I demanded justification for that valuation and explained that it was extremely low.
Then, I asked about covering the upgrades that I had installed. They weren’t going to cover any of it. After a couple of days dealing with the branch manager, I got him to consider those upgrades that I was unable to salvage and i provided him with a list of just the physical items that I had added to the van and was not able to strip out when I gutted it after the wreck – not considering all the labor that went into it. That list was nearly $3k.
Later, they came back with an offer that was… Closer, but still no cigar.
Frustrated, I put in the work that they should have put in and found a dozen comparables, three of which were within 200 miles of Toledo. All of them were priced at Continue reading
Afternoon Wander Without Endo
I tried to get him to go with me, but he just wouldn’t put on his his harness when I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. I suppose I tired him out when we went to Ottawa Park earlier. Still, that was only 3 miles.
I went over to Walbridge Park where I was surprised to find Continue reading